PRINCIPAL'S REPORT

A MESSAGE FROM THE PRINCIPAL

ANNUAL REPORT PUBLIC MEETING

The Annual Report Public Meeting was held on Tuesday 10 March at the College. We are very pleased to report McKinnon Secondary College continues to build on its strengths in academic performance and student well-being. We are very grateful to the parents who attended this meeting and thank them for their contribution to the college. I would like to acknowledge and thank Mr Kan and Mr Long for their efforts in preparing the Annual Report for 2019. The report will be presented to School Council and will then be available on the college website at www.mckinnonsc.vic.edu.au

SCHOOL COUNCIL NEWS

As noted in our newsletter of 5 March, 2020 an election for our final member on School Council for 2020 took place and I am delighted to welcome Mikhail (Misha) Svyatitskiy (Year 12) who will be our second Student Representative.

I look forward to working with School Council and thank them for their willingness to serve this community.

NAPLAN

Certificates of Achievement for Year 9 NAPLAN achievers

Year 9 students will receive certificates for growth and achievement in NAPLAN from this year.

Certificates of Achievement will be awarded to students who:

• Achieve a result in the top achievement band for Reading or Numeracy, or both
• Achieve a result that shows outstanding learning growth, improving by two or more achievement bands between Year 7 and Year 9 National Assessment Program – Literacy and Numeracy (NAPLAN) assessments in Reading or Numeracy (or both).

The certificates reflect two of the key goals of the Education State: excellence and equity. They provide an opportunity for schools, families and the broader community to celebrate and recognize the importance of both excellent academic achievement and outstanding learning growth.

Pi DAY - 2020

On Thursday 12 and Friday 13 March, McKinnon celebrated Pi Day with the annual Pi Reciting Competition. Class champions from Mathematics classes competed to see who could recite the most decimal places of the irrational number pi, to determine overall year level champions. 

All participants were impressive and will receive house points towards the House Cup. During the competition, everyone was anxiously waiting for Chris Liolios’ turn knowing how well he did last year, with his mum even coming to watch and record his recital. The crowd couldn’t wipe the smiles off their faces throughout Chris’ turn as he broke the school record, which was his own record from last year, by 136 places, reciting an amazing 856 places of pi. Congratulations Chris, we can’t wait to see what next year brings!

I would like to acknowledge and thank Ms Krommydasand Miss Mauger for giving students this opportunity to shine!

CONGRATULATIONS

We are thrilled to announce the arrival of two more members of the McKinnon family:

Ms Dickson and her husband Chris have welcomed the arrival of their beautiful little girl, Darcy Mya; and

Mrs Han and her husband Andy have welcomed the arrival of their precious little boy, Malakai.

YEAR 7 INFORMATION NIGHT

Thank you to the Year 7 Student Management team – Mr Quinn, Mrs de Kretser, Mrs Ford, Ms Schmidt, Mr Rood and Mr Farthing, for a very successful Year 7 Information evening.

Many parents were in attendance and it starts the very strong partnership that we thrive on. I acknowledge and thank Mrs Wallis and the Peer Support leaders who have worked tirelessly to assist these students to transition so well into their new school.

The Form Captains were introduced and I congratulated them and wished them well with their first leadership responsibility.

BALIBO HOUSE SCHOOLS FUNDRAISER

Mr Quinn, Mr Machin, Ms Mauger and I attended a fundraiser in support for the Balibo House Trust last Thursday 12 March. The Balibo House Trust facilitates the College's Year 9 Leadership Expedition to Timor Leste. The Trust was set up in 2003 by former Premier Steve Bracks and former Member for Bentleigh, Rob Hudson. They were made aware of the deteriorating condition of the house in Balibo at which five Australian journalists were based prior to their deaths while covering the Indonesian invasion of Timor Leste in 1975. Spurred on by Shirley Shackleton - the wife of one of the journalists, Greg Shackleton; the house was purchased and the Trust began.

Since then the Trust has turned the house into a community centre where computer lessons are taught, a women's centre is based and a free dental clinic operates.

The inaugural trip was lead by Mr Quinn and Mr Machin in 2019 and was a resounding success - both for student outcomes and achievements while working in the village of Balibo. The evening was a great success with funds raised going to the Trust's work in continuing education in Timor Leste.

Year 10 student (and member of the inaugural group of students to travel), Alice Connolly spoke superbly on her experience in Timor and what she learnt. Alice more than held her own when speaking in between the former Premier and also the esteemed director of the film, Balibo.

McKinnon looks forward to future trips to Timor, supporting the impressive work of the Balibo House Trust.

INTERNATIONAL WOMENS DAY LECTURE

To celebrate International Women's Day, Haemala Thanasegaran spoke to our Senior students with the theme "What our Mothers Could Have Told Us - The Road Ahead". Haemala was able to succinctly link a grown woman's journey of self-discovery to what may lie ahead for them.    

Her experiences, knowledge and guidance were most relevant to our future generations, especially her message about strength and resolve during challenging and unexpected times, and we thank her greatly for providing this opportunity to our students.

2020 HOUSE MUSIC FESTIVAL

What can I say! Congratulations to all the students involved in the House Music competition on Wednesday 11 March. The musical talent never ceases to amaze me.

As I said on the night, it is the only totally student lead activity and it is a highlight in our calendar.

The Music House Captains were inspiring and the atmosphere electric. Thank you Ms Vrisk and Mrs Ford for their organization of this wonderful annual event.

Congratulations Flynn.  May the music banner of McKinnon continue to fly high.

INTERNATIONAL WOMEN’S DAY PHOTOGRAPHIC EXHIBITION AND LAUNCH

On Thursday 5 March, 2020 I was delighted to attend the Glen Eira Women’s Day Photographic Exhibition at the Town Hall.

This community inspired exhibition acknowledged and celebrated local women, their achievements, passions and their contributions to our community.

The exhibition is well worth seeing and is open to the public until Sunday 22 March, 2020.

WOMEN IN ROTARY BREAKFAST

On Thursday 5 March, 2020 our Year 12 leaders, Jessica Salisbury, Clare Wever, Keisha Harcourt and Genevieve O’Brien attended a breakfast organised by Rotary to celebrate International Women's Day which was held on Sunday 8 March.  The theme for the breakfast was “A Seat at the Table”.

I would also like to thank and acknowledge Ms Felmingham for organising this event for the students.

KINGSTON SWIMMING CHAMPIONSHIPS

On Thursday 12 March, 50 McKinnon students represented the college at the Kingston Swimming championships. McKinnon has had lots of success in swimming (8 titles in the last 11 years) and were looking to go back to back in 2020.

Alas, this was not our year with the team winning the Junior Boys, Intermediate Boys and overall Boys aggregate. Amazing results. A special mention to the committed senior students who joined relays and sealed the victory for the school beating Parkdale by a narrow margin of 2 points overall.

There were also some outstanding individual performances with the following students winning age group champion awards: Lani Hammam (Year 8), Summer Partridge (Year 11) and Will Sharp (Year 12).

I would like to acknowledge and thank Ms Pemberton, Mr Hoskin and Mr Adlington for their organization of this wonderful annual event.

BEACH VOLLEYBALL SCHOOLS CUP

McKinnon Volleyball would like to congratulate our school-aged athletes who represented McKinnon last week at the All Schools Beach Volleyball Championships.

Congratulations to our silver medallists (the second best Victorian teams in the state): Year 7 Boys Fours, Year 8 Girls Fours, Year 10 Girls Fours and Year 11 Boys Fours.  Our Gold medallists and the Victorian champions are Year 9 Boys Fours, Year 10 Boys Pairs and Year 12 Fours.

I would like to acknowledge and thank Miss Parker for providing students with this opportunity to participate in this wonderful event.

TRAFFIC – SCHOOL ZONE SPEED LIMITS

I would also like to remind all parents to be careful when driving along McKinnon Road. It is very congested and at times dangerous. Please be aware of street signs and adhere to road rules. Parents are being booked daily by parking officers from Glen Eira Council.

The school car park must also not be accessed by parents during school hours. 

The speed limit is always 40km per hour along McKinnon Road and u-turns are not allowed. We have many students riding bikes so please be careful parking and opening doors.

CYCLING AND PEDESTRIANS

With the 2020 school year underway, some students riding to and from school may be tempted to ride on footpaths. However, doing so can place pedestrians at significant risk of harm. The Road Safety Rules state that cyclists over 12 years are NOT permitted to ride on the footpath unless:

• they are accompanying a child under 12 years e.g. a parent supervising their child: or
• they have a physical or intellectual disability making it undesirable, or impracticable to ride on the road (and they have a certificate signed by a registered medical practitioner).

Please be vigilant at all times. Please use the school crossing and the roundabout which are there for your safety whilst crossing the road.

NOTICE FROM PUBLIC TRANSPORT VICTORIA

Buses replace trains on sections of the Frankston and Stony Point lines from 8:15pm to 10:00pm Friday 27 March.

Allow an extra 45 minutes of travel time.

Normal train services resume on Saturday 28 March.

Mentone and Cheltenham stations will close from 8:15pm Friday 20 March to mid-2020.

Trains will run express through Cheltenham and Mentone with shuttle buses operating between Southland and Parkdale stations to connect locals to train services from 28 March to Friday 22 May.

Trains that currently run express between Cheltenham and Caulfield in the morning and afternoon peaks will stop at Highett and Southland stations during the station closures.

For more information and to plan your journey, visit ptv.vic.gov.au or call 1800 800 007.