SUCCESS STORIES
HIMARI ODAGANE
Himari Odagane of Year 11 began baton twirling in Year 7 whilst still living in Japan.
After moving to Australia, she found a baton twirling team in Victoria where she continued her training, making it through to the Australia Baton Twirling National Championships which were held on Saturday 3 and Sunday 4 October 2026.
Himari’s results are outstanding.
She took first place in the following events:
Junior Beginner Strut category (solo)
Junior Beginner 1 Baton category (solo)
Adult Entry Duet category (duet event)
In the Junior Marchpast category (a team event) she marched at the front of the team as its leader. They narrowly missed out on first place, finishing in second but Himari was selected as Junior Best Leader.
Himari intends to continue competing and aims to reach even greater heights in the future. We congratulate Himari on her wonderful performance at the championships.
AIDEN SPECTOR
Year 10 student Aiden Spector has been a Go-Kart racer for several years, who has achieved some considerable success on the track.
We are proud to announce some recent Karting Achievements for Aiden:
GOLDEN POWER SERIES (GPS) - a major state and regional karting series.
GPS Seymour - 1st Place
GPS Bendigo - 2nd Place
GPS Gippsland - 1st Place
GPS Numurkah - 3rd Place
THE VICTORIAN COUNTRY SERIES (VCS) - a popular multi-round regional karting series.
VCS Cobden - 2nd Place
VCS Portland - 1st Place
KINGSTON CUP - a state-level sprint karting event held in Melbourne, the home of Oscar Piastri.
Kingston Cup - 1st Place
Aiden’s Instagram page is linked here for anyone who wishes to follow his journey:
https://www.instagram.com/aiden66_motorsport?stkn=MXIza2tlcTEyMWlrMA==
Well done Aiden, you’ve achieved outstanding results this year.
NATIONAL FUTSAL SCHOOL CHAMPIONSHIPS
On Monday 28 September, McKinnon students Sienna Cabrita (Year 9), Chloe Jiang (Year 10) Miri Karro (Year 10), Ella Malhotra (Year 10) and Aby Muyemba (Year 9), along with their Teacher/ Coach Mrs Karro set off for the National Futsal School Championships to represent Victoria.
Over the course of four days, the students played seven games resulting in five wins, one draw and one loss. This progressed them through to the semi-finals where the girls played against NSW Central Coast. It was a competitive game, and the girls put their full effort in.
Tensions grew high with 0-0 on the board until the last minute when Team Vic scored, propelling them into the Grand Final!
That Grand Final match against QLD City was a true reflection of the girl’s determination and perseverance. A fantastic effort from the entire team saw them crowned the U16 National Futsal School Champions.
Congratulations to all the girls on an outstanding tournament and to Sienna Cabrita on winning Most Valuable Player of the Grand Final and Miri Karro for being selected in the U16 Allstars Team.
LISA WEI
Lisa Wei of Year 7 is a dedicated gymnast who has been coached since the age of 6 by Ms Valeria Vatkina, a Sydney 2000 Olympic finalist at V.V Rhythmic Academy. She has won many medals and awards.
Recently Lisa attended the National Clubs Carnival on the Gold Coast and in her specialty field, rhythmic gymnastics, achieved 3rd place. The carnival attracted 58 gymnasts at her level from across the country so in a highly competitive field, Lisa’s award is her most significant achievement thus far.
Lisa, your dedication, hard work, perseverance, and passion for your sport is clearly evident and we offer our warm congratulations.
Kelly Payne
Publicity