News and Excursions

Victorian School's Senior Epee Fencing Championships

Alex Betts won the Victorian School's Senior Epee Fencing Championships held in early August (over the weekend 5th-6th August) under the banner of JMSS. There were 50 competitors so this is a fantastic achievement- Well done Alex!

Victorian School's Senior Epee Fencing Championship results are on the web here: Results

Alex accepting his medal:

International Earth Science Olympiad

Joel Tan was selected onto the team representing Australia at the International Earth Science Olympiad being held on 8 to 16 August 2024 in Beijing, China.

Joel returned to JMSS with three medals –Gold, Silver, and Bronze, from different stages of the event. Joel’s achievement has surely spurred others to get involved in these events, judging by his reception at the whole school assembly last week.

~ Peter Cor

Spirit of Anzac Prize 

Year 10 student Bai Yang Pogos-Hill entered the Spirit of Anzac Prize earlier this year, and was excited to be selected as one of the recipients. Last week he attended the Victorian Parliament to receive his award. He will be travelling to Turkey for a 10 day study tour with 11 other students in the September School Holidays. Here he is pictured with Minister for Veteran Affairs Natalie Suleyman and the Minister for Tourism and Major Events Steve Dimopolous. Congratulations Bai Yang and we look forward to hearing all about the study tour! 

~ Peter Corkill

Principal's Day 2024

On Principals Day we celebrated the outstanding leaders who steer our schools with vision, dedication, and unwavering commitment. Happy Principal's Day Mr Corkill, Mr Chisholm and Mr Mackinnon. Thank you to our School Council President, Natalie Isborn for attending our morning tea and presenting our Principal team with a gift on behalf of the JMSS community.

2024 Australian Brain Bee Challenge

Eight of our amazing students recently attended the State Finals of the Australian Brain Bee Challenge at the University of Melbourne. Rhea Fernandez, Imogen Greenwood Mayes, Raphael Kempler, Ming Zhe Lim, Jonathan Morkos, Shaurya Naik, Brian Ong, and Christine Tung came together with some of the most talented young minds in neuroscience from across the state to learn about new research as well as compete in the State Finals of the Challenge.

During their visit, our students had the incredible opportunity to attend lectures from top neuropsychologists at The Florey Institute, gaining insights into the latest research and developments in the field. They also toured the cutting-edge laboratory facilities at the Melbourne Brain Center, where they witnessed firsthand the advanced technology and research being conducted. The students’ experience was further enriched by a visit to the DAX Centre art gallery, which features powerful artworks created by individuals with mental health conditions. This visit provided a unique perspective on the intersection of art and mental health. Additionally, they explored the Harry Brookes Allen Museum of Anatomy and Pathology, where they viewed preserved and plastinated human body parts, offering a fascinating glimpse into human anatomy. 

Rhea, Christine, and Ming Zhe also excelled in the Team Challenge, in which they were tasked with creating a video presentation that was shown to all competitors on the day. They presented an impressive video on how the sense of smell works, which won them first place in Judge's Choice as well as People's Choice.

We are incredibly proud to announce that Imogen and Raphael made it through to the top 10 and participated in a challenging test to determine the State Champion on the day. Raphael emerged victorious, securing first place and earning the honour of representing Victoria at the National level in the final round of the Brain Bee Challenge.

Congratulations to all our students for their outstanding performance and dedication. 

~ Jessica Perry

JMSS Career Expo

The JMSS Career Expo took place on Friday 19th July.

This was a great opportunity for our students to find out about different course providers and career paths.  

We had representatives from: Monash Uni, La Trobe, Swinburne, RMIT, Deakin, Box Hill, University of Tasmania,ACU, Defence Force and Adelaide University.

Melbourne University Superhack 2024

On July 6 and 7 in the Term 2 holidays, 11 JMSS students competed in the Melbourne Uni Superhack. This was an engineering competition for girls in years 10-12 to create a solution to an environmental issue of their choice, by using Arduino and giving a presentation to a judge of panellists. The event was run over 2 whole days against teams from 15 other schools. All teams worked together with mentors from the Melbourne Uni Electrical Engineering Club to come up with innovative solutions to the prompt and band together to use all their resources and skills within the team. We had the opportunity to listen to guest speakers like CEOs and engineers and had the opportunity to build our coding and problem-solving skills.

JMSS entered 3 teams into the competition, with one of our teams coming in FIRST PLACE, winning not only a $1000 check but also a tour of the Telstra labs. Congratulations to all those who participated and thank you to Dr Albrecht for making it possible for us to have the opportunity to represent the school at this competition and for your support.

~ Skye SRIRATANA,  Sharane GOWRITHARAN,  Stephanie LUDEKENS, and  Binadie JAYASINGHE ARACHCHIGE

Unit 3/4 Chemsitry Get a Visit from the Monash Faculty of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Science

Unit 3/4 Chemistry students had the opportunity to be part of a workshop from members of Monash University Faculty of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Science. We were pleased to welcome David Manallack (a long-time supporter of JMSS), along with two PhD candidates, Viktor (JMSS Class of 2018) and Pranav, into classes for the day.

It provided students the chance to revise some key ideas related to organic chemistry and reaction pathways in a fun and engaging way and provided insight into how some of these ideas can be applied in the world of medicinal chemistry. We were also lucky to hear a small snippet of what JMSS Alumni Viktor Prypoten has been up to as part of his PhD research.

A rewarding experience for all involved!

~ Melanie Denney

Senior Girls Badminton

Friday 26th July our Senior Girls Badminton Team placed 2nd! Well done Team!

2024 ASX Schools Sharemarket Game

The results for the 2024 ASX Schools Sharemarket Game are in!

During semester 1, over 200 JMSS students participated in the ASX Schools Sharemarket Game. Students worked in groups or by themselves to form syndicates and build their portfolios on the Australian Stock Exchange. 

Congratulations to the following students:

Winning JMSS Syndicate:

Runner Up JMSS Syndicate:

Second Runner Up JMSS Syndicate:

BioMed Immersion Day