SCHOOL NEWS

YEAR 9 DEBATERS SHOW GRIT AND EXCELLENCE IN STATE PLAY-OFFS

Our formidable Year 9 debating team has officially wrapped up an extraordinary season, finishing right at the top of the Brighton Region in the Debating Association of Victoria (DAV) competition.

Their performances throughout the regular season were so dominant that they bypassed Play-Offs 1 and 2 entirely, advancing straight to Play-Off 3. Held at Northcote High School, this high-stakes fixture saw McKinnon Secondary College line up against elite private institutions from across the state.

Representing McKinnon on the night were Naysa Agarwal, Hugo Ko, and Aafia Fatima, with Anjali Parthasarathy supporting as substitute. Debating the Negative side of the motion "That we should implement a maximum age for driving" against Caulfield Grammar School (Wheelers Hill), our team delivered an absolute masterclass.

Across every criterion of competitive debating: Manner, Method, and Matter, our students were brilliant. They built a clear, compelling, and logically airtight case against the motion. Their poise, confidence, and floor presence matched the best speakers in the state and finally, their sharp, real-time counter arguments thoroughly dismantled the Affirmative teams' structure.

When the adjudicator ultimately awarded the debate to Caulfield Grammar by the narrowest of margins, an astonished sigh rippled through the room, a reaction shared even by the opposing team!

While it often feels like state school teams face an uphill battle against long-standing institutional prestige when reaching these upper tiers of competition, our students proved without a doubt that they belong at the absolute top level. In the eyes of our school community, Naysa, Hugo, Aafia, and Anjeli are the true winners.

Congratulations to our Year 9 debaters on an inspiring, standard-setting season.

We are proud of you!

Ms Zappner and Mrs Ozcagli

Debating Co-ordinators

SUSTAINABILITY FESTIVAL

On Thursday 3 September, four McKinnon students represented our school at the Port Philip EcoCentre’s Sustainability Festival for Schools. The festival showcased the positive environmental actions of schools in Glen Eira, Port Philip and Bayside. 

The morning involved attending workshops run by other schools sharing their Sustainability projects, ideas and inspiration. In the afternoon we walked over to the St Kilda Botanic Gardens for a smorgasbord of fun activities celebrating the theme “Life on Earth”, biodiversity and conservation including some citizen science with the EcoCentre, reptile encounters and bubble making competitions with Zoos Victoria. 

The absolute highlight was winning an award at the ceremony! McKinnon Secondary College was recognised as the Secondary school winner of the Victorian Container Deposit Scheme Award. 

In the past year, we have collected and recycled over 2000 cans and bottles and used the funds to plant over 100 native seedlings across both campuses. 

Emma Griffingham

Sustainability Organiser

Students who attended the festival share their favourite moments from the day:

In our last workshop, we saw how sheep feet affected plants. Kangaroo feet are flat and they eat only the tops of the plant, but sheep leave big holes in the ground and eat all of the plant, including the root, meaning they can’t grow back. This showed us how native species are designed specifically for the Australian landscape but invasive species can destroy that so quickly.

Grace Brown, Year 8

One of the most valuable experiences of the day was the first workshop our team participated in. Brought to us by Haileybury college, they shared the insights and profitable use of wicking beds. It was a great idea as it allowed the plants to be self-sufficient when growing. Inspired, our sustainability team would love to implement and raise this idea across both campuses in the upcoming future. 

An Dang, Year 9

One of the most valuable experiences of the day was the workshop brought to us by Albert Park College. They showed us their AI categorisational bin, which uses technology to recognise different types of waste and sort them into the correct bins. I found it really interesting to see how AI and sustainability can work together to help the environment. The workshop gave me a new perspective on recycling and how technology could make a positive difference in the future. 

Caasha Mallawaarachchi, Year 8