Acting Principal's Message
Mentone Girls' Secondary College
Dear MGSC Community
It has been a wonderful few weeks at Mentone Girls’ Secondary College, filled with celebrations, outstanding student achievements, and some very special moments that remind us of what makes our school community so special.
Farewelling the Class of 2026
Last week, we farewelled our wonderful Class of 2026. Supported by our fantastic Senior School Team, our Year 12 students embraced some much-loved MGSC traditions, including song dedications to their teachers, decorating the pavement outside the VCE Centre with chalk, and opening letters they had written to their future Year 12 selves back in Year 7. A new addition to this year's celebrations was the decorating of graduation caps (think scrapbooking meets bedazzling). The creativity on display was extraordinary, and the caps made their debut on Thursday afternoon as our Year 12s gathered on the oval to celebrate their final school bell. The caps were thrown into the air, making for some spectacular photographs and drone footage!
The celebrations culminated in our Year 12 Reflection Assembly on Friday morning, attended by the entire school community, along with hundreds of proud parents, carers, siblings, extended family members and friends. It was a beautiful occasion, filled with heartfelt speeches, the presentation of subject awards, and a final performance by our Year 12 band. Most importantly, it was an opportunity to recognise and celebrate the remarkable young people our students have become.
On Friday evening, we came together once more for the Valedictory Dinner in the CBD. It was wonderful to see our graduates, families and teachers celebrating together, including plenty of dancing!
To the Class of 2026, congratulations! We are incredibly proud of you and all that you have contributed to MGSC. As you prepare for your examinations and the exciting opportunities that lie ahead, know that you will always be part of our College community. We wish you every success in this next chapter.
Celebrating Creativity at the VCE Art and Design Show
Amongst the Year 12 festivities, we also celebrated the extraordinary creativity and talent of our students at the annual VCE Art and Design Show on Wednesday 14 October.
It was wonderful to welcome students, families and members of our broader community to the College to admire the impressive range of work on display. The exhibition was a powerful reminder of the creativity, imagination, skill and dedication of our young artists and designers.
Creativity is one of our four College values, and events like this bring that value to life. Behind every finished piece is a process of experimentation, problem-solving, persistence and, often, the courage to try something new.
A huge thank you to our dedicated Art and Technology teachers for their work in preparing this event and for the encouragement and expertise they provide to our students throughout the year.
We are also grateful to Belle Property for generously sponsoring the prizes, and to our guest judges, Tony Mounter, professional photographer and MGSC parent, and Robert Pullia from Belle Property, also an MGSC parent, for sharing their time and expertise.
Congratulations to all students whose work was exhibited. You should be incredibly proud of your achievements!
Outstanding Sporting Achievements
We have also had some exceptional sporting achievements to celebrate, with MGSC students making their mark representing their school.
The School Sport Victoria State Championships in Athletics were held on Friday 16 October. MGSC was represented by seven students in running events. In the 12/13 years 4 x 100 replay Danielle Eckhous, Mia Anderson, Olivia Minas & Leia Hegedus crossed the line in fifth place. Cassie Servadei (Year 10), placed an impressive fourth in the Girls Open 3000m event, while Bahya Hamada (Year 9) finished sixth in the Girls 15 Years 1500m.
Amy Joy Duncan delivered an outstanding performance in the same 1500m event, taking out first place and becoming the Victorian State Champion!
Congratulations! We are incredibly proud of your achievements, and of the dedication, resilience and hard work that have made these successes possible. You are wonderful ambassadors for MGSC!
In Student Succes Stories discover the achievements of students in varied pursuits and passions beyond MGSC across Australia and internationally. Congratulations - we celebrate with you.
A Wonderful College Community
Reflecting on these events, I am reminded of the many ways our students demonstrate our College values of Achievement, Creativity, Empowerment and Inclusivity.
Whether it is a Year 12 student reflecting on six years of growth, an artist proudly sharing their work, a young author publishing her first book, or an athlete representing their school or country, each of these experiences tells a story of commitment, courage and personal growth.
What makes these achievements even more special is the community of teachers, families, friends and peers who support and celebrate our students along the way.
Thank you to our staff for the countless hours of work that go into creating these opportunities, and to our families for your ongoing support of our College.
We look forward to the many more opportunities we have to celebrate our students throughout the remainder of Term 4.
Best wishes
Hayley Dureau
Acting Principal
Reflections Assembly
It was my honour as Acting Principal to address the Reflections Assembly to farewell our Class of 2026 in front of their guests - parents, family and friends - their teachers and all students. Below is my address on this special day.
Good morning to our students, particularly our graduating class of 2026, our staff, and our family and friends up in the bleaches. I would like to begin by acknowledging the Bunurong people of the Kulin Nation, the Traditional Owners of the land on which we gather today. I pay my respects to Elders past and present and extend that respect to any Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people joining us today.
A special welcome to our visitors. Thank you for taking the time to join us this morning. For many of you, it probably feels like just yesterday you were dropping your daughter off with her oversized blazer and hoping she’d enjoy her first day of high school.
This morning we celebrate the graduating class of 2026. This is a special cohort. One whose grade 6 experience was interrupted by 2020 covid lockdowns, and whose first year of high school was also marred by lockdowns and remote learning. To our incredible Year 12s - we are immensely proud of each of you for what you have achieved, not only this year, but over your secondary school journey. And we’re not just proud of the good grades or the awards you’ve received. We are immensely proud of the challenges you have overcome, the expectations you have exceeded, and the resilience you have demonstrated when things didn’t go to plan …
Along your six year journey at MGSC, we have tried to encourage you to be the best that you can be. To try out for that sports team, learn that instrument, take part in the musical, get that assignment in on time, and study for that exam. That whole time, we were trying to show you just how brilliant and capable you are, and how much you could achieve through courage and work. The end of high school is not the end of that, it’s just that once you leave these gates, it will be the people you have surrounded yourself with – the friends you have made and the family who support you - but most importantly it will be YOU who takes over from us. You will be the person telling yourself – I can do this. Why not give it a go? I’ve got this. What do I have to lose?
Test scores and awards are wonderful achievements to celebrate and we are so proud of you for all that you have achieved academically. We are equally proud of the people you have become. When you notice that a peer seems a little flat and invite them to join your conversation or sit with you for lunch. When you see a younger student who is upset or lost and stop to ask if they’re ok. We are proud of your loyalty to your friends and family, and when you’re an upstander, not a bystander, if you witness someone being unkind. We’re proud when you see an opportunity and take it. We’re proud of your open-mindedness and the way you hold your judgements lightly while also being fiercely passionate about your values and beliefs.
You will always be a Mentone Girl. This week, especially today and tonight, there will be a range of feelings about finishing high school. Some of you are so, so ready. You’ve stepped halfway into adulthood already and you are done and ready to fly in the big wide world. Other may have thought you were ready, until this week, or today’s assembly, or maybe it’s just hit you right now. And others – like I was when I was in your shoes – have just been crying and freaking out all week. These are all very normal reactions to change – let yourself process and feel all the big feelings – this is a big change and one you will remember forever. But also know, while you’re stepping away from structured lessons, the uniform policy, and Compass, you will always be part of our school. When you’re ready, you’ll visit and we will welcome you with open arms. Your teachers will love knowing what you have been up to in the big wide world.
Take the time to thank those who have really made a positive impact on you this year. For many of you, it will be family, who put up with tantrums, made endless cups of tea, excused you from housework for two years and kept the chocolate supply up in the pantry. It may be a friend’s parent, who welcomed you into their home for study sessions. It may be a teacher, or multiple teachers, sometimes it’s teachers who taught us in earlier years who always stopped to check in when you saw them at school. It may be a school friend or a friend outside of school, or a cousin, or Des or Liz at the crossings. Whoever got you through, take the time to really thank them.
And while you’re thanking those who have helped you, take a moment to congratulate yourself. You have done your best to this point, and over the next few weeks, those of you who are completing VCE exams you’ll put your head down and “lock in” for the final leg of the marathon, the finish line. Do it for yourself – not for anyone else.
A few years ago, school captains Lucy Webster and Olivia Ayyuce coined the phrase “Mentone Girls’ support Mentone girls”. Look at each other and at this audience – we are all cheering you on for the next exciting chapter of your lives.
Thank you.