It has been a full couple of weeks at Melbourne Girls’ College. From our International Women’s Day Breakfast to NAPLAN to our Athletics Carnival, the College is currently a hive of activity as we turn the corner and lean into the Term One break. I would like to acknowledge the efforts and energy of many of our students, staff, and families over this term.

A few weeks ago we dedicated our college-wide curriculum day to review and reimagine the MGC Student Engagement and Wellbeing Framework. We recognise that our young people are growing up in a world driven by new technologies and evolving demands. We need to ensure that our students leave MGC as healthy, confident, and resilient young adults who can successfully navigate our complex world. It is our responsibility to ensure we build their cognitive, social, and emotional skills in a supportive environment that combines a focus on wellbeing with a focus on learning. One cannot happen without the other. We want to ensure we maximise every opportunity to support our young people moving forward. We will continue to keep our community informed and seek feedback from our parent and carer at specific points throughout this process.

This year, we celebrated International Women’s Day on Wednesday 15th March. The theme for International Women’s Day 2023 was ‘Cracking the Code: Innovation for a Gender Equal Future’, and we celebrated not only through a range of activities across year levels and curriculum areas, but also a breakfast that celebrated the achievements of three Alumni:

Lisa Williams; who graduated from MGC in 2013, has completed her PhD and has a career as a scientist for a biotech company.

Adelaide Grenfell; who also graduated in 2013 from MGC and has forged a successful career as a doctor.

Thirumagal Arunachalam-Elanthendral; who graduated from MGC in 2017 and is a successful Graduate Consultant for Energy Efficiency Engineering.

Each of them was so generous with their time and in sharing their story. It was inspiring to hear how Melbourne Girls’ College had contributed so positively to their lives and how their experiences have helped shape the people they are today.

Our Year 7 and 9 students are to be congratulated on the way in which they worked during NAPLAN. The tests were held much earlier than in previous years and the results, when made available, will provide families and the College with an indication of how our students are performing in Literacy and Numeracy. It is important to remember that NAPLAN provides us with a snapshot of student achievement at a particular point in time. At Melbourne Girls’ College our teachers involve students regularly in conversations about their learning journey.

On Tuesday 21st March we held a whole College assembly centred on Harmony Week, where we embraced the colour orange. Traditionally, orange signifies social communication and meaningful conversations. It also relates to the freedom of ideas and encouragement of mutual respect. I would like to say thank you to those who chose to wear something orange or culturally significant on this day as a show of support for cultural diversity. This event was a wonderful opportunity to highlight the value and importance of the many and varied thriving cultures at MGC and encouraged us to continue to build bridges between the many cultures and ethnicities that make Australia what it is. Thank you to the Student Leadership Diversity Team for their inspiration and creative planning for this event.

We have our MGC Public Reporting Meeting scheduled for Tuesday 4th April where we will present to the College community our 2022 Annual Report. This will be an online forum and families will be provided with the Microsoft Teams link via Compass. The Annual Report provides us with an opportunity to share our achievements and progress with the College community. This includes reflecting on our performance and explaining the impact of college improvement efforts on student outcomes.

We have our first Parent-Student-Teacher Conferences coming up on Monday 3rd April from 12:00pm until 7:30pm. This event will be conducted as a hybrid conference model, which means that between 12:00pm and 4:15pm interviews will be conducted online via Microsoft Teams. From 5:00pm until 7:30pm conferences will take place face to face on the College grounds and will provide families with the opportunity to meet with their child’s teachers and discuss their learning progress. This hybrid model is being trialled after a recent survey was conducted in preparation for this event. We will again seek feedback from our community in preparation for our second set of conferences in Term Three.

Communication is such a critical element to our successful partnerships and as a College we strive to connect to our students, parents and families, and the community every day. We will continue to reach out to you with regular compass newsfeeds, emails, and text messages. We also encourage you to visit our website and follow our social media pages including Facebook and Instagram for announcements, information, and celebrations. Thank you again for your support of the College. Stay safe and enjoy the upcoming break.

Tamy Stubley

Principal

Food Studies