PRINCIPAL'S REPORT

ART SHOWS

Our Senior Art Show was opened on Wednesday 15 November with huge success! Local Artist, Pamela Irving, opened the show and shared insights into the value of studying the Visual Arts with our students and families. She highlighted the positive impacts art education has on the development of problem-solving skills and resilience in young people. Pamela’s genuine appreciation of the work on display was evident, and the impressive sculptural work ‘DECAY’ by Isabel Tripp 12M was selected by Pamela to receive the 2023 Artist’s Choice Award. 

I am also personally excited to award Heidi Robertson-Reid 12K and Nefeli Tsichla-Theodosiou 11O with a Principal’s Acquisition Award. I look forward to displaying their artwork in my offices at both McKinnon Road and East Campus.   

I’d like to extend a very sincere congratulations to our McKinnon Road Campus team; Peter Eglezos, Jessica Rogosic, Rebecca Johnson, Raphaella Roden, Katherine Sip, Monica Lo Presti, Eliza Portelli and Maria Garcia. Thank you to our Visual Arts technician, Ms Leisa Hunt, and our Arts Captains Peggy Quaife 12J, Natisha Gollen 12E, Ava Zhang 11P, Radhe Shah 10N, Abby Butterworth 9M, Anthe Limogiannis 9F, Charmaine Lee 8S and Jackson Torres 8A.

We’re looking forward to the East Campus Art Show which is on Monday 4 December, Time: 5:30-6:30pm - Awards Ceremony (Gym) and 6:30-8:00pm - Exhibition.

YEAR 10 & 11 THEATRE STUDIES NIGHT

The Years 10 and 11 Theatre Studies showcase was held on Friday 10 November and was a wonderful night filled with lots of energy from all the performers.

This night offered friends, families and the school community the ability to come together to enjoy performances from both the Year 10 and 11 classes. After a semester of hard work learning about many productions roles and what is involved in putting together a production, these performances showcased so much talent and clear passion for the performing arts.

The Year 10s performance of Atlantis, based on the script by Chanella Macri, brought our attention to climate change through a vibrant lens, while the Year 11s performance of Hoods, By Angela Betzein tackled other prominent societal themes through other eclectic modern theatre styles.

Thank you to all who helped make it such a successful night including the Music and Audio team led by Nick Xanthoudakis and Michael Birkett, the Photography and Videography team led by Andrew Krause and Caleb Goldwaser, and our classroom teacher for both classes, Ellie Adler. This event would not be possible without their guidance and dedication.

Congratulations on a wonderful night celebrating the Performing Arts.

REMEMBRANCE DAY

Remembrance Day is a day that is observed as a poignant reminder of the sacrifices made by brave men and women in times of war. We commemorate November 11 as the day to honour and pay tribute to those who selflessly served their countries, protecting the freedoms and values we hold dear.

Thank you to the following students who performed at the Bentleigh RSL to mark this occasion, where they played music, read a poem and laid a wreath on behalf of our school:

Maleesha Dharmadasa 9F, Sophie Ashton 9K, Harley Karro 9D and Ben Muyemba 9N

Musicians:

JJ Braithwaite 10B, Michael Liu 10J, Tonya Mikhaylova 11J, Amelie Villella 10P, Olivia Capurro-Martinez 10B and Adele Finn 10E

Thank you also to Mr Martin West, Mr Dmitry Serebrianik and Mr Peter Quinn for attending with our students.

STATE BASEBALL CHAMPIONS

On Tuesday 14 November the Year 8 Boys Baseball team embarked on their second state title. First game MCK defeated Hazel Glen College 18-0. Second game was against Blackburn, with MCK defeating them 4-0. 

The State final was between MCK and Balwyn High School, the first innings were close within two runs however MCK ran out with the lead 10-2 taking out the 2023 state championships.

Congratulations to Hayden Yong 8F, Alex Bridges 8O, Harish Salwathura 8E, Harper Slattery 8B, Connor Hughes 8S, Revin Nanayakkara 8B, Chris Han 8J, Dan Gizbar 8A, Ashley Hill 8P and Daniel Androsenko 8A.

Thank you to Miss Ashleigh Bell, their coach, for her incredible support. 

STATE CRICKET CHAMPIONS

After an impressive run to the State Final, the Year 7 Boys cricket team were ready to play for the chance of becoming premiers yesterday as they took on Trinity in their first match. After a back and forth tussle in this first game, McKinnon won and needed to take on Viewbank in the afternoon grand final.

The team displayed outstanding bowling and batting, securing them the title of state champions with five overs to spare.

Congratulations and well done to all 13 boys involved and special mention to Mark Serebro for assisting on the day. Thank you also to Mr Ben Reid for his skilled coaching.

Team Members: Ajay Mehta (C) 7H, Finn Rowe-Hansen (VC) 7R, Satyam Yadav 7R, Leith Salwathura 7M, David Serebro 7E, Kynan Khoolstra 7O, Gabe Williams 7A, Archie Heath 7B, Arav Agarwal 7I, Thomas Varelas 7C, Jaden Leshetz 7C, Saumya Singh 7Mand Dishan Shanmuganathan 7H.

WOODWIND NIGHT 

It was a pleasure to attend the Woodwind Night at the east campus last Thursday, an intimate show where our students entertained us with skilled performances. It really is incredible to see the growth of the students’ musical skills and share the experience with friends and families. The venue on the library stairs is a stunning location with a view across the atrium and excellent acoustics.

Thank you to James Morrissey, Bernadette Russo, Martin Lee, Karen Nansen and Dmitry Serebrianik. As always, thank you to the AV team.

ART MURAL PROJECT

Last Thursday, our Year 9 Students welcomed award-winning artist Anthony Breslin to assembly. Known for his eclectic and evocative style, he spoke to our students about an exciting upcoming project. 

As our first 2-year graduating cohort of East Campus, during their final weeks on campus, our students will be mentored by Anthony as artist-in-residence with our own Art team, to create a large-scale art mural next to the East Campus outdoor basketball courts. 

Inspired playfully by the notion of Wisdom and Service, a visual narrative incorporating Anthony’s iconic characters such as bugs, flowers and hearts will be created from 3D canvases of various sizes for the students to personalise. The finished piece will see these works applied over the exterior wall, coming together in a captivating scene to reflect McKinnon’s creative voices and aspirations. We are incredibly proud of our students and the Year 9s will be remembered for years to come as the first students to experience two years at East Campus.

I would like to thank Anthony Breslin and his team for creating this special opportunity for our Year 9 students. I’d also like to thank Peter Quinn, our Facilities team, Peter Eglezos and our Art team, as well as our Year 9 Student Managers, particularly Melinda Howard for facilitating this project during a busy time. I know it will be admired and appreciated for many years to come.

GRANDPARENT NIGHT

I'm delighted to inform you that we'll be hosting a Grandparents' Wellbeing Evening in support of the release of Dr. Michael Carr Gregg’s new book, "Grandparents."

Recognising the significance of the community around our young people, we want to acknowledge the unique and crucial role that grandparents play in the lives of our young ones. Please see attached flyer for more information.