PRINCIPAL'S REPORT

SCHOOL COUNCIL NEWS

Congratulations to the School Council Members for 2021

PARENT REPRESENTATIVES

Alan Bullas

Lana Kaper

Daphne Cohen

Gerd Diegelmann

Andrew Brough

Carly Griffen

Tim Stephens

Vlad Finn

DET REPRESENTATIVES

Peter Quinn

Simon Hughes

Emma Mullane

Harriet Barrow

CO-OPTED MEMBERS 

Geoff Woolnough

Alan Naylor

STUDENT REPRESENTATIVE

Liana Kelemen (Year 11)

Manasi Deshpande (Year 12)

In attendance: Michael Kan, Lachlan Noble, Richard Long

I look forward to working with School Council and thank all of you for your willingness to serve this community in this capacity.

YEAR 12 FORMAL

Our Year 12 Formal this year was in two groups. The first group attended on Wednesday 3 March and the second group on Thursday 4 March, at Merrimu. As always, much effort was undertaken to ensure these events were a tremendous success.

Students looked glamorous and I was very grateful for the efforts of the Senior Student Managers, especially Mrs James, for their organization of this important event. I also thank our student leaders for their assistance and the many staff who were in attendance and made these events possible. 

SWIMMING CARNIVAL

On Monday 1 March, 2021 the swimming trials were held at GESAC.

Due to COVID restrictions and not having use of the Carnegie Pool this year we had a small contingent of students who performed very well at this year’s event.

Congratulations to Liam Adlington for his organisation of a very successful event!

BYTES PROGRAM – 9UP (YEAR 9 URBAN PROJECT) FOR 2021

This program is a most successful event for our students. I congratulate staff for their efforts and guidance and all the Year 9 students. I received many positive calls about the behavior of our students in the city and I would like to share a couple of stories with you:

‘I’m writing to let you know I had a lovely interaction with two female McKinnon College students on Bourke St this morning. They were asking members of the public to complete a survey and they were friendly, respectful and engaged.

I was really impressed with their maturity and behavior. It’s so lovely to see young women in particular engaging confidently in the world around them.

Please pass on my compliments to the students and staff’.

And another

‘Wanted to pass on the message that I was approached to do a survey from Year 9 students in the city on Friday and students were very polite and lovely.

Also on the train on the way home I saw the same group and they were very lovely and respectful and I just had to call and let the school know’.

And another one received this morning

“About half an hour ago I was approached by a group of girls from your school in the cbd and asked to complete a survey about Euthanasia outside St Paul's Cathedral.

I just want to let you know that these young ladies are a credit to your school, they were polite and pleasant when asking if I wanted to do a survey. 

It was refreshing to be approached by young people who were so lovely.” 

It is just so pleasing to receive lovely messages like this about our students who are representing our school so well!

Thank you to all Year 9s and Mr Shaw who co-ordinated this event.

CONGRATULATIONS

Congratulations to Jordyn Freeman (Year 12) who has been advised by the Stroke Foundation that she has been nominated for the fundraiser of the year award. Last year Jordyn and her sibling Cody Freeman (Year 8) completed a fundraiser for the Stroke Foundation, after their grandfather had a stroke during lockdown. This is a marvelous achievement and we wish you all the best of luck.

PARENT EVENINGS

Thanks to all the parents who have attended the Information Evenings held so far this year. Again, a great opportunity to share stories, meet others in the same situation and reflect on our students’ journey. The support of our parent community is always very much appreciated and the Heads of Sub-school, Student Managers and teachers enjoy the strong partnerships that are built.

ATTENDANCE

We all want our students to get a great education, and the building blocks for a great education begin with students coming to school each and every day.

School participation helps people to develop important skills, knowledge and values which set them up for further learning and participation in their community. Children and young people who regularly attend school and complete Year 12 or an equivalent qualification have better health outcomes, better employment outcomes, and high incomes across their lives.

Missing school can have a major impact on a child’s future.

There is no safe number of days for missing school. Every Day Counts.

Each day a student misses puts them behind and can affect their educational outcomes.

I thank parents for their support regarding this matter.

CYCLING AND PEDESTRIANS

With the 2021 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.