PRINCIPAL'S REPORT

WINTER CONCERT

We celebrated our annual Winter Concert last Wednesday night at the Robert Blackwood Hall at Monash University where our community came together to witness our talented students showcase their musical capabilities.

Congratulations to all of the students and staff involved. It was an outstanding celebration of music and an absolute pleasure to attend. Thank you to all the families and friends who came to experience this incredible evening. Having your support means so much and I have no doubt you felt a sense of pride seeing our students perform onstage.

I would particularly like to acknowledge and thank Megan Papworth, Clare Bugeja and Karen Nansen who put this event together as well as all the other staff in attendance who supported the smooth running of this lovely evening.

WEAR IT PURPLE 

Wear it Purple Day is a significant day in the rainbow calendar. Sadly, there are still many young LGBTQIA+ people who don't feel safe in the world but Wear it Purple Day is an opportunity for us to show students (and staff) who are members of the LGBTQIA+ community that they are important, seen, and included. 

The Wear it Purple organisation was founded by high school students in 2010 after several rainbow young people took their own lives following bullying and harassment resulting from the lack of acceptance of their sexuality or gender identity. 

At McKinnon we continue to affirm our inclusive and safe culture for all.

MARKET DAY 

Our Interact Club hosted a very successful Market Day on Friday 30 August with a total of 40 stalls spread across both campuses. The event was bustling with activity and enthusiasm. Although final numbers are still being confirmed, we have raised over $450 which will go towards supporting Wear it Purple Day. 

A huge thank you to all of our entrepreneurial stall holders, the Interact Club team - Shauri Pedavalli (Year 11), Maleesha Dharmadasa (Year 10), Mitchell Nham (Year 8), Blake Harcourt (Year 11) and Itay Volnerman (Year 8) - for their outstanding efforts, to Frank Carere and his facilities team for their support on setting up for the day. Thank you also to Emily Condell, Jean Lee and all teachers involved for their invaluable guidance and supervision.

YEAR 11 GAMES NIGHT 

The Year 11 Games Night was held on Friday 23 August in the hall with 120 students joining in the fun. There was trivia, that included guessing the staff baby photos, song lyrics and much more. Other fun activities were the donut eating competition and push up contests. The event was a fundraiser for Dragonfly Music Space which helps fund music therapy programs. 

It was a wonderful afternoon where students were positive and engaged. A special thank you to the student committee who planned and ran the event themselves. The committee consisted of Maggie Cao, Shauna Enwright, Kaia Haykowski, Helios Li, Kayla Morgan, Katelyn Nguyen, Dhaanvi Sharma, Amit Steinberg and Leo Yang.

Thank you to the Year 11 Student Management team who worked alongside the students in creating the event: Karen Bares, Peter Hunt, Lara Gambino, Harriette Roberts and Kate Jobson (Head of Year 11 and 12).

VICTORIAN SCHOOL MUSIC FESTIVAL 

The final week of the Victorian Schools’ Music Festival has rounded off a very busy period for many of our wonderful music students and their teachers. 

On Tuesday 3 September, members of the Wind Symphony put the final touches to a varied musical program before heading to Hawthorn Arts Centre to represent McKinnon in the Advanced Concert Band section, performing for other school communities and enjoying a workshop with the Chief Adjudicator, Dr Albert Nguyen from the University of Memphis. 

Thanks to their conductor, Ms Tracy Videon; to Ms Karen Nansen, who supported the band on this occasion as she has done throughout the year; and to Mr Andrew Albanis who also assisted with this event.

Congratulations to the McKinnon Ovenden Band students who performed today at the Hawthorn Arts Centre. 

They played two pieces for an enthusiastic audience of students and one expert adjudicator who recorded valuable feedback on their performance.

Thank you to their conductor Karen Nansen and assistant Ben Browne, who worked to prepare the ensemble for this performance. Thanks to Colleen Wurfel, Blanka West and James Devine for helping to look after students throughout the day; and all our instrumental teachers who helped students to learn their individual parts.

SENIOR GIRLS FOOTBALL

Congratulations to the Senior Girls Football Team who are the most successful girls team at McKinnon ever! 

In the State Grand Final on Thursday, the girls played Strathmore Secondary College who took an early lead with the wind. McKinnon fought hard until the end, with the final score 18-39. McKinnon were runners up in the State out of over 1000 schools. Incredible achievement and we are all so proud of you. Thank you to the coaches Jemma Owen and Claire Weiss and all the helpers throughout the year. 

OLD MCKINNON / GLEN EIRA FOOTBALL CLUB

Congratulations to the Glen Eira/Old McKinnon women’s team on their victory against Hampton Rovers in the VAFA Div 2 Women’s Grand Final on Sunday, with an impressive score of 65-10! 

The team features many former McKinnon alumni, including captain Gemma Strangio (Class of 2019), Julia Pavlou (Class of 2019), and Taya Minin (Class of 2022). Well done on an incredible season!

ABSENCES TELEPHONE

We will be making a small adjustment to the absence telephone menu structure from Monday 9 September. When you call to report your child as being absent, late, or leaving early, you will still select option 1 to report an absence. 

There will now be another sub menu where you will select either option 1 for the McKinnon Road campus (Years 7, 10, 11 & 12), or option 2 for the East campus (Years 8 & 9).

I would like to acknowledge and thank our Attendance officers Sarah Logan (McKinnon Road Campus) and Anita McGrath (East Campus) for their incredible work. It is not easy to keep track of our nearly 3000 students throughout each day.

I also want to acknowledge our General Office staff Christine Mavropoulos, Natasha Tartiris, Joanne Robinson and Kelly Payne who do a fabulous job supporting our administration needs and making sure the school runs smoothly.