PRINCIPAL'S REPORT

MURAL OPENING 

On Tuesday afternoon, we celebrated the official opening of the East Campus Mural to huge success! Staff, students and the local community were all invited to participate in this event, to help us celebrate this milestone achievement for our school.

We also unveiled a promotional video of the East Campus Mural Documentary, produced by Latham Films. 

Congratulations to all our Year 10 students, staff and the wider school community who helped us realise this incredible feat!

Thank you again to our 2023 Artist Resident Anthony Breslin, and his team; Tara Strong, Emily Lowe, Carmel Laffan and Stephen Bills. As well as Paint Spot Carnegie and Smart Hire Carnegie for providing us with the tools and resources we needed to achieve this project. 

Thank you to Peter Eglezos, the Head of Visual Arts, and the Visual Arts Team; Emma Butler, Su-Jin Chang, Maria Garcia, Tracy Griffith, Jackson Muir, Jessica Rogosic, Anna Bourke, Lynton Perry, Eliza Portelli, Amy Simpson, and our Visual Art Technician Leisa Hunt.  A special thank you to Rebecca Johnson, Raphaella Roden and Katherine Sip for their work last year on this project.

I would also like to thank Melinda Howard, who initiated this project, and the 2023 Year 9 Student Managers; Chris Pantelios, Katherine Cozens and Susan Wilken. 

Finally thank you to the school’s Communications, Music Audio/Visual and Facilities team for their support of this project. 

This mural project marks the first of many Artist in Residence projects to be undertaken at MCK. I look forward to continuing to celebrate the school Visual Arts program with the community. 

COUNCIL OF INTERNATIONAL SCHOOLS

The recent CIS visit went extremely well, and I thank everyone involved. I am very grateful for everyone’s input and look forward to implementing positive changes. For this accreditation cycle we have chosen to undertake a sustained focus on learning and teaching and this project will align with our current strategic Plan. A team visit is scheduled in September 2025 to measure our progress on these projects. The following projects will be undertaken in the next 15 months:

• Reading
• Numeracy
• School Engagement
• Student Voice and Agency
• Digital Skills

A special thanks to Mr Phillip O’Brien for coordinating the visit. I would also like to thank the Principal Team, the teachers involved in the Domain meetings and other focus groups.  What came across in the focus groups of teachers, students and parents was the incredible pride people have for our school.  This is very affirming and the great value of the CIS process. 

I would also like to thank the School Council, and Education Support Staff at both campuses for the fantastic team effort of making each day run smoothly.

YEAR 12 THEATRE PRODUCTION 

I was thrilled to attend the Year 12 Theatre Studies play on Friday night. The play, "The Conference of Birds” based on the poem by Farid ud-Din Attar and stage version by Peter Brook and Jean-Claude Carriere, is an old Persian story told from the modern-scientific perspective. Its captivating tale was creatively brought to life and had us leaving the theatre thinking about what we as humans can do differently to bring more spontaneity to our lives.

It was enthusiastically performed by the cast and expertly produced by our wonderful students. I congratulate them all on a mesmerising and engaging production.  

Congratulations to Ellie Adler, our Theatre Studies teacher who led and inspired our students to achieve such excellence and to Michael Birkett, Caleb Goldwaser and the entire AV and Media teams for ensuring it ran smoothly. I also acknowledge and thank local member Nick Staikos MP for coming to the performance and supporting our students.

YEAR 10 INFORMAL

On Friday 26 April, the Year 10 students got together for a “night under the stars" themed event. Students and staff dressed up in their favourite pyjamas, oodies and ugg boots to catch up, eat pizza, mingle, and enjoy a night full of festivities.  

They enjoyed live music, games, and lots of dancing. It was a wonderful evening that really helped the Year 10s settle back into the fold at the McKinnon Road Campus.

Thank you to the Year 10 Student Managers, all Media and AV teams and all the staff who got involved to make this event so memorable.

CROSS COUNTRY 

The theme of this year’s House Cross Country Carnival was ‘Glitter and Sparkles’ and what a successful event it was. Held on Friday 3 May during periods 3 and 4, our students ran and walked the course at each campus with all money raised being donated to State Schools' Relief who strive to improve the lives of tens of thousands of disadvantaged Victorian students, and their families.

I would like to acknowledge and thank Mrs Alice Breidahl for organising this wonderful event. I also acknowledge and thank all the staff involved.

Congratulations to Monash!

The top 10 students from each race will go on to represent the school at Kingston Divisions on Wednesday 22 May.

VOLLEYBALL

One of our Volleyball stars took their skills overseas with Sophie Kay, (Year 9) recently representing Australia in the U16 girls, at the Thailand Junior Volleyball Championships. What a great achievement! 

In more Volleyball news, the One Day Schools Cup events for Years 9-12 were very successful with Silver medals in the divisions of Year 10 Boys, Year 11 Boys and Year 11 Girls. Well done to the Year 12 Girls and Year 9 Girls who won Bronze medals in their division as well as all 94 athletes who participated in the event.

STRING NIGHT

On Monday 6 May we held our annual String Night at the McKinnon Road Campus. This was an incredible showcase of the talented string students McKinnon has to offer. The evening featured large string ensembles, extension ensembles, chamber music and VCE soloists and duets. 

Many thanks to Georgina Mead for her organisation of the event as well as the string staff, Clare Bugeja, Christine Vincent, Amelia In, Bethan Lewis, Andrew Albanis and Jill Griffiths for their preparation of the students. Thank you also to Jodi Lockyer for providing piano accompaniment. 

EDUCATION PERFECT

We’re now three days into the Education Perfect Global Languages Championship 2024, which began on Tuesday 7 May. Our students are demonstrating their linguistic skills in this spirited contest among peers from over 50 countries. This event continues until Tuesday 14 May, offering students a significant opportunity to enhance their language proficiency and contribute to our school's pursuit of global excellence. For students who have yet to participate, there is still time. 

Log in to the Education Perfect website using your school Google account to join in. Every point counts towards our collective success, and our school’s progress can be tracked on the scoreboard. Let’s strive for first place!

OLD MCKINNON/GLEN EIRA FC 

The Old McKinnon/Glen Eira FC is back in 2024, and after last season's Premiership glory, find themselves competing in the VAFA Premier C Men's competition. After a couple of losses in the first 2 rounds, the side are on the board with a resounding 22-point victory over Marcelin in Round 3.

In the women's competition, we have started the new season in Division 2 with three straight victories which has been terrific under new coach Melissa Kuys, who brings her wealth of experience from her time in the AFLW and VFLW programs.

In the Under 19s competitions we again have two boys sides competing across different competitions, highlighting a very healthy and large squad of players. 

It is always wonderful to attend these community sport events at Packer Park watching the various teams. The mens, womens and boys teams are composed of so many former Year 12 students, and it reflects so well on our culture that students are keen to engage with our partnership with the Glen Eira Football Club after they graduate and continue to play under our banner.

ATTITUDES TO SCHOOL SURVEY 

Over the coming weeks students will be participating in the Department of Education's annual Attitudes to School Survey. This is a great way to gain an understanding of students' perceptions and experience of school and the feedback helps to drive ongoing school improvement. The survey will take around 20 minutes and students will be asked about their thoughts and feelings in relation to their school, their learning, peer relationships, resilience, bullying, health and wellbeing, physical activity, and life in general.  If you have any questions, please contact the school.

VICTORIA POLICE COMMUNITY SENTIMENT SURVEY 2024

From 1 May to 31 May 2024, Victoria Police is inviting Victorians to complete the Community Sentiment Survey.

The annual Community Sentiment Survey provides an opportunity for all Victorians to share their safety concerns, how they would like to interact with police, and where Victoria Police can focus our efforts to keep our communities safer.

The survey supports the Neighbourhood Policing Framework and is for people of all backgrounds who live, work and socialise in Victoria.

The survey is anonymous and will take around five minutes to complete.

The survey is available via the Engage Victoria website (the official Victorian Government consultation site). You can also access the survey here.

If anyone wants to find out more about the survey, they can contact Victoria Police at SDTC-PROGRAM-MGT-OFF@police.vic.gov.au