Peter Corkill
Principal
Dear Parents, Students and Friends of John Monash Science School
Term Four has continued in earnest and we have almost concluded our final examination period for all students. Students in all Unit 3, 4 studies undertook practice exams in the second week of the holidays and I would sincerely like to thank our VCE Co-ordinators Mrs Jenny Parker and Mrs Grace Turner for organising these exams so successfully.
We have moved through the events which accompany the end of schooling for our Year 12 students, and completed the ninth annual JMSS Science Fair, this year for the first time expanding to include other specialist science schools from Adelaide and Brisbane.
Farewell to the class of 2018
On Friday 19 October we officially farewelled our Year 12 students, who were soon to embark on their final exams and then move into life beyond secondary school.
The final Year 12 assembly and traditional lunch with the staff ended a week of celebrations, highlighted by the Valedictory Dinner on the Monday night, attended by almost 900 people with Associate Professor Cristina Varsavsky as our special guest, and the last official assembly of the year with the official farewell to the Year 12s. The assembly ended with Year 12s leaving the assembly up the middle stairs through a guard of honour formed by the staff, to the applause of all. Another era passed before our eyes!
I would like to again congratulate our Year 12 students on the fine leadership and ambassadorship they have shown the school since their arrival, and wish them every success in the examination period, which indeed will finish next week! Their collective achievements are many, varied and mostly exceptional, and their achievements in group and individual competitions too many to individualise.
Theirs was the second cohort to have formal student representation on our School Council, and I would like to pay a special tribute to Nick Warren and to Indianna Keith for the outstanding job they have done. Our Student Leadership group has again excelled. Wonderfully led by Captains Andrew Harrison and Angi Frentui, and Vice Captains Jonathan Deng and Tikiri Silva, the Student Parliament has had another excellent year.
Whilst acknowledging that our Year 10 and 11 students have ‘big shoes to fill’, I am in no doubt that they will continue to build their own tradition of excellence and that the school is in the best of hands over the next few years. We are lucky to have so many fine young people at our school.
Australian Science Fair – An Outstanding Success
This year saw the annual JMSS Science Fair become the Australian Science Fair for the first time. The event was held between Monday 29 October and Wednesday 1 November.
The highlight, no doubt, was the presentation of projects on the Monday evening, opened by indigenous elder Arbup Peters and attended by our Regional Exchange students as well as the many Primary students who have taken part in our Little Scientist program, together with Year 10 and 11 students from JMSS. We were joined for the first time by teams from the Australian Science and Mathematics School (ASMS) in Adelaide, and from the Queensland Academy of Science, maths and Technology (QASMT) from Brisbane. Our three schools are the only science specialist schools in the country, and we intend to maintain and grow this annual celebration of science. The event also featured oral presentations on their investigations by all students, as well as problem solving activities and challenges in science, enjoyed by JMSS students and visitors alike.
My sincere congratulations to Mark McTier, Mel Denney and the JMSS Science team, as well as Amanda Stephens and Liam Hensel from our Marketing and Outreach Department, for all their work in organising the event. Our sincere thanks to our Monash colleagues from multiple faculties who helped with judging the many events and organising tours and activities for our visitors. Monash University also contributed financially to the accommodation of our visitors, and we are indeed indebted to the University for its support of this event.May it grow bigger each year into the future, as a celebration of the huge contributions and learnings in science made by all of our young people.
Next Few Weeks
The next few weeks at school will be characterised by exams, course confirmation and settling the timetable and staffing for 2019.
The annual school ‘Restart Program’ will begin on Wednesday 28th November, when 2019 Year 11 and 12 classes will begin. We will also be joined by our new Year 10 students for the first time on that day.
Peter Corkill
Principal
John Monash Science School