Principal's Report
Welcome to week four and thank you for all of the positive feedback to our staff for their hard work in so many complex areas. As always, Melbourne Girls’ College is a hive of curricular and co-curricular learning, please see a sample below.
Generations in Jazz 3-5 May, 2019
Congratulations and sincere thanks to Anne Corry, Tony Hicks, Ellyce Calder, Susan de Jong and Andy Clarke for their excellent preparation of our musicians for the Generations in Jazz festival http://www.generationsinjazz.com.au
Each teacher returned on 6 May ‘singing’ the praises of our students. On Friday through to Sunday Melbourne Girls’ musicians competed with three hundred and ten other schools from across Australia and New Zealand. Melbourne Girls’ College won our National Division with the adjudicators applauding Tony Hicks’ arrangement of two Snarky Puppy pieces https://snarkypuppy.com/about. Our Choir came seventh in their division, an amazing achievement for first time entrants. On Saturday 4 May an awards ceremony was held for the super bands. Three of our soloists were selected best in division, a division in which eighty schools participate. Marissa Di Marzio was awarded best drummer, Miranda Moloney, best soprano saxophone soloist and Caitlin Moloney best bass player. Marissa also won the Yamaha Outstanding Drummer Award. Congratulations to everyone, award recipients and participants, an amazing experience enjoyed by all.
NAPLAN Online 2019
Many thanks to Brent Houghton for leading the rollout of NAPLAN online with such diligence and precision despite the many technical disruptions. As I write on 15 May we are continuing with the online version but will re-evaluate as the day progresses. Many thanks to all staff involved with special mentions to Mei Francis, Tony Keen, Andrew Arney, Sefija Demirova and Luke Blues for assisting with the technology and trouble-shooting each day.
Philanthropy Team
Thank you to our dedicated Philanthropy Team lead by Ella Bircher, Scarlett Cuthbertson and Harriet Dennis, supported by the wonderful Claire Tudor. Supporting the Robert Connor Dawes Foundation with Go Grey in May and anticipating Connor’s Run on 15 September are the team’s current projects. All proceeds go towards research into paediatric brain cancer. The Melbourne Girls’ College team are leading the https://rcdbirdbrain.com/ competition at present! Congratulations everyone!
International Visitors
Tuesday 7 May was an extremely busy day with a morning visit from Chinese educators who have a sister school relationship with Clifton Hill Primary School (CHPS). They were accompanied by the CHPS Principal, Megan Smith and interpreter Kevin Yang. Mr Xiue and Mr Li Yang in particular were most interested in the critical and creative approach we have to learning at MGC.
In the afternoon our Year 12 Parent, Racquel Shroff, lead a delegation of 23 Indian educators on a visit to MGC. Their interest lay in Australian best practice, our use of technology and BYOD (very rare in India). We toured the school, visited lessons and de-briefed about the similarities and contrasts between the Indian and Australian systems. This was yet another opportunity for students to see inter-cultural understanding in action.
Visible Wellbeing
On 6 May Lisa Rosos oversaw a twilight professional learning session for our Visible Wellbeing program. One aspect of the program centres on character strengths like kindness and empathy, key attributes for leadership and inclusion in the many programs provided by Melbourne Girls’ College. Thank you to our Year Level Leaders who facilitate the program at each year level with specific ‘rites of passage’ approaches pertinent to age and learning requirements.
https://search.informit.com.au/documentSummary;dn=774496527078277;res=IELAPA
Aerobics
Mariana Pappas, Holly Morrison and Lana Croker have all qualified for The Australian Championships! http://ausgymnasticschamps.com.au/ These athletes will be representing Victoria at Melbourne Arena at the end of May. All three will be doing their Individual Level 6 routines.
Our Varsity Aerodance Team (Evelyn Gammon, Amanda Kristanto, Lucy Rhodes, Jasmine Wong, Mariana Pappas and Holly Morrison) was very successful in qualifying to represent Australia at The Association of National Aerobic Championships (ANAC) http://www.sportaerobics-nac.com/ competition in Phoenix, Arizona at the end of July! Congratulations to Lenore Twist, Catie Cameron-Martin, Claire Chessman and the entire team!
Year 11 Formal 10 May
Thank you to Leaders Brooke Sandilands and Andrew Beck and our Assistant Principal Sefija Demirova for organising a fabulous night of laughter and fun for our Year 11 students. Every report was very positive and the girls appreciated all of the efforts from office and leaders to make the event a success.
Review of the Rowing Program
The Rowing Program is currently undergoing a review and planning the appointment of a new Director of Rowing. For other interested stakeholders not currently on the School Council and rowing contact lists please see the notices below
Rowing Review Notice 13 May 2019
Dear Rowing Program Members,
We are writing to let you know that Tim Dolphin and Jono Rundell will formally commence the review of the MGC Rowing Program this week.
Tim came highly recommended from Rowing Victoria as someone who understands large schoolgirl rowing programs as a highly accredited coach and leader. He is currently the Rowing Program Director at Methodist Ladies’ College where he has achieved excellent success both on and off the water.
Jono is a long-standing member of the MGC Rowing Program as a Rowing Leader and HOSG support officer. Jono has been involved with MGC Rowing for over 11 years.
The key focus of the review will be on Head Coach and Rowing Leader role descriptions and recruitment, structure of the rowing program overall including a committee, strategic plan and fundraising. The review will also be informed by your input.
In coming weeks, as a matter of priority, we will be advertising for the critical Director of Rowing role. This exciting opportunity will be advertised on Rowing Victoria, Rowing Australia, Seek, The Age and on the Department of Education and Training's Recruitment Online Platform.
As you would be aware, as a school program, MGC rowing operates under guidelines issued by the Department of Education and Training. Please feel free to contact me directly should you need any further clarification. https://www.education.vic.gov.au/school/teachers/management/community/Pages/default.aspx
Once again we invite you to email your 250 word su