PRINCIPAL'S REPORT

CIS RE-ACCREDITATION

I am very proud to inform you that McKinnon Secondary College has now officially received re-accreditation from the Council of International Schools.

This milestone is a testament to our school's commitment to high-quality international education and the journey of continuous improvement.

This was a huge undertaking and I thank everyone involved, particularly Mr Phillip O’Brien who led the process. Well done on this incredible achievement.

REMEMBRANCE DAY

A number of McKinnon students attended a Remembrance Day ceremony at the Bentleigh RSL on Tuesday, to honour and pay tribute to the brave men and women who selflessly served their countries to protect the values and freedoms we hold dear.

Thank you to our Year 9 Captains Yael Lasnitzki and Itay Volnerman for laying a wreath on behalf of McKinnon SC, Georgina Mead, Blanka West and Peter Quinn for accompanying these students, and I also thank the following students for performing:

Gabe Bugeja (Year 9), Kong Yan Chan (Year 11), Alison Chandra (Year 10), Amy Firestein (Year 10), Yael Lasnitzki (Year 9), Lilliana Libman (Year 12), Isabelle Nachalsky (Year 10), Pearl Olaye (Year 10), Julia Rodda (Year 11), Isla Rood (Year 10), Yeri Soung (Year 11), Isabelle Steller (Year 10), Daniela Tapia Leal (Year 11), Gwendolyn Thiere (Year 11), Itay Volnerman (Year 9) and Hongyu Zhou (Year 12).

Another group of our Year 9 student leaders had the opportunity to represent the College at the Shrine of Remembrance's Remembrance Day service. Students completed a tour of the Shrine, learning about the significance of Remembrance Day and Australia's military history.

Thank you to Lee Laskaridis and Nethmi Ranasinghe for arranging this experience. 

This year we continued our new tradition where our Remembrance Day ceremonies were written, compiled and conducted by our outstanding history students from Years 9 and 10: 

East Campus: Anastasia Saliba, Minh Bui, Zev Goodman, Alexa Rhode and Konstantinos Dimitrakopoulos

McKinnon Road Campus: Isaak Lim, Jessica Tran, Lynn Ly, Costa Vardavakis and assisted by staff: Clare Cocciardi and Romy Greenberg.

Thank you to Joshua Cukierman for coordinating the ceremonies across both campuses and to Piers Jansen, Ash Jansen, Clare Cocciardi and Romy Greenberg for their work in mentoring and facilitating the students in devising their own ceremonies.  

ART SHOW 

Our 2025 Senior Art Show was opened at the McKinnon Road campus last week by local contemporary artist Angie Pai and it was a huge success! 

Well done to all the students involved and congratulations to the prize winners. I would like to thank the Head of Arts, Ms Jess Rogosic, and the entire Art Faculty who do such an amazing job inspiring and guiding our students to create wonderful pieces of art and design.

I would also like to thank Leisa Hunt, our Art Technician who worked tirelessly behind the scenes. Without her organisation the exhibition would not have been possible. I would also like to thank the Facilities and MAV team for their invaluable contributions that ensure the event was a success. 

Finally, I would like to acknowledge our wonderful Senior Art Captains who have helped assist and promote the visual arts area throughout the year. These students are: Delilah Vlasak Galante, Ella Su, Radhe Shah, Anthe Limogiannis and Charmaine Lee.

Congratulations to the recipients of the Principal’s Acquisition award and Artist’s Choice Awards:

Scarlett Maxwell (Year 12): ‘Kiko’ (Triptych) - Principal’s Acquisition

Lucy Kaldor-Bull (Year 12): ‘Heavy’ - Artist’s Choice

YEAR 11 THEATRE STUDIES

Congratulations to all students involved in last week's Unit 1/2 Theatre Studies Showcase Night. The Year 11 students delivered a wonderful performance of excerpts from the play Metamorphosis. While often in modern performances we look for a spectacle of costumes and designs, but this showcase demonstrated that there is so much more to celebrate. The excerpts blended humour, emotion, and storytelling, exploring a range of pre-modern theatrical styles. 

Students specialised in Directing, Sound or Lighting Design to tell their full story and worked together to bring all their ideas to life.

Thank you to the MAV team and everyone who contributed to making the night such a success, as well as to their dedicated teacher, Ellie Adler, for her guidance and support. I would also like to give a special mention to Jacob Hollingsworth of Year 10 who volunteered to operate the lighting for the evening. The students’ hard work and enthusiasm shone through in every moment, creating a vibrant and memorable night of theatre that celebrated their talent and commitment to the performing arts.