Principal's Report
Celebrating Success!
Thank you to all students, parents and staff who contributed to the success of the 2015 Presentation Night. The evening was a true celebration of the persistence and determination it takes to succeed in special awards, academic endeavour and excellence. We celebrated our award winners but we also celebrated our quiet achievers too. The girls who may not have received an award but who know they have given their very best throughout 2015. Thank you to all of our staff who contribute every day and to tonight, notably to Kay Clarke who plans and oversees every detail of Presentation Night.
Congratulations to Emily Alberico and Katie Berridge of Year 10 who after a rigorous selection process by The University of Melbourne have been awarded 2017 Kwong Lee Dow Scholarships.
Kwong Lee Dow scholars are introduced to the university well ahead of other prospective students. They access events, leadership skills, VCE revision lectures and personal development sessions designed to expand academic horizons and individual development.
Congratulations to Andrew Vance, our Sustainability Leader, who at a gala ceremony on 14th November, won the City of Melbourne Contribution to Environmental Sustainability! The citation is below. An amazing but well deserved achievement!
http://www.melbourne.vic.gov.au/AboutMelbourne/MelbourneAwards/Pages/MelbourneAwardsFinalists.aspx
Congratulations to Patricia Sklavakis who has been appointed Year 11 Level Leader.
Congratulations to Sharon Gardner-Drummond who has been appointed to a Leading Teacher role at Blackburn High School.
Leadership & Learning @ Melbourne Girls' College
Gnurad-Gundidj School for Student Leadership (SSL)
Four of our students, Mabel Eldred, Lilia Mansouri, Kate Buckley and Amelie Lay are experiencing the surrounds and programs provided at Gnurad-Gundidj SSL. Melbourne Girls’ College is fortunate to have a connection to the school as it provides another aspect of leadership for our students. Leadership is not always overt and positional. Indeed, the type of leadership valued more frequently in this 24/7 technologically connected world is quiet leadership, self-regulation, kindness and initiative. The girls are demonstrating these skills through the Community Leadership Program (CLP) they intend to bring back to Melbourne Girls’. They plan to make hampers of toiletries, food, clothes and other items and distribute them through Urban Seed http://www.urbanseed.org/ . Whilst the girls are away their home-based CLP team – Fionnuala Keith, Imogen Howden, Michaela Jones, Lucinda Kelly, Jacqueline Water, Ellie Amis and Anika Blamey are spreading the word to Years 7-9 tute classes with the vision of one hamper per class. SSL mentors who attended SSL last year, Eva Brightling, Sophie Jennings, Courtney McKenzie, Ella Jackson, Lara Taylor and Emma Ferguson are also great supports.
Sallyanne Atkinson OAM
On Thursday 19th November Sallyanne Atkinson, OAM, an early female community and political leader addressed our Year 7 girls on her leadership experiences. Our connection with Sallyanne was made during the Alliance of Girls’ Schools Australasia trip to the Torres Strait. She shared her many stories including her roles as President of The Women's College at the University of Queensland and as a Director of the Queensland Brain Institute.
Professionally, Sallyanne’s career has included roles as Lord Mayor of Brisbane from 1985-91, as Senior Trade Commissioner to Paris in the 1990s and as a member of the inaugural committee to organise the Sydney Olympic Games.
Sallyanne is an inspiration. She brought a human face to high level leadership for the girls from a time when female leadership in such organisations was a rarity.
School Profile
Just for your information, the School Context Statement for our Department of Education and Training Profile has been updated. It incorporates recent initiatives and the vision for our learning and leadership work moving forward.
“Melbourne Girls' College (MGC) was established in 1994 on the banks of the Yarra River in Richmond, Victoria and is a leader in innovative girls' education. The college has a future thinking ethos which in 2016 sees the recognition of Positive Psychology; Science, Technology, Engineering, Art and Mathematics (S.T.E.A.M.) and Wellbeing embedded in the learning and teaching. This complex work is facilitated through a school-wide coaching model and the Curiosity and Powerful Learning Framework.
We provide enrolment opportunities for local, wider-Melbourne and international students to study inquiry and trans-disciplinary subjects in Years 7-9 followed by a large number of Year 10, VCE and VET units in the senior years.
The key values of our college are encapsulated in the vision of young women who will "Lead and Achieve". This values both quiet and overt leadership, success and personal achievement. Our 1300+ students are taught and nurtured by excellent staff, parent support, peers and mentors.
The achievements of MGC are certainly in academic results but a broader definition of success ensures personal, social, emotional, sporting and artistic engagement are central to being a student of the College. The Sustainability Collective of MGC is world renowned and the school community takes pride in teaching ethical understandings to ensure our young women gain a sense of stewardship for the future, the environment and for being a positive influence on others. In recent years MGC has developed new facilities including a languages wing, gymnasium, Year 7 and performing arts centres, science wing, hospitality, art and technology teaching spaces. The Gillard Centre houses a flexible learning and meeting space and provides river access for our exemplary rowing program.
Our students are global citizens conscious of the unique lessons attending a school educating young women from diverse backgrounds and over sixty nationalities can bring. Melbourne Girls, in collaboration with key tertiary and community partners in learning, is an inquiring, innovative community of excellence.”
Karen Money
Principal
A reminder of 2016 Timetable Arrangements
