CEO's Update
A joyous Student Celebration Dinner
It was an immense joy and privilege to welcome over 450 people to the MCG for our MITS Student Celebration Dinner last week. A particular privilege was to have so many family members – over 200 – joining us from communities across the Top End and regional Victoria. In fact, together with our students, our staff and supporters, 300 of the people celebrating in the room were First Nations people – we believe this is the greatest gather of First Nations people to ever take place in the Members’ Dining Room at the MCG.
We were grateful to Murrundindi for leading a Welcome to Country, and sharing a very special yidaki with two mouthpieces, which he played with Year 7 student Tobias. Our student speakers through the evening – from Year 7 through to Year 12 – were exceptional. Each spoke with confidence in their voice, pride in their achievements and as ambassadors for their families and communities.
Our Year 12 speakers – Sheronica and Peggy – gave two of the most powerful, moving speeches that I have ever heard. I encourage you to read their full speeches, which are included in this newsletter.
Sheronica shared her interactions with inspirational Australian Cathy Freeman OAM. She reflected on Cathy’s advice to her earlier this year: “There’s a lot of power in the story of your life. When you can walk confidently in Melbourne and confidently when you go back home, you’re being a role model.” What an inspiring role model Sherry is to her community of Yarralin!
Peggy reflected on the core of what her education has provided to her: “What MITS and Firbank have given me is choice. I can choose to go home. I can choose to stay. I can succeed in the dominant culture here in Melbourne, and I can succeed back in my home community. To the younger MITS students: I hope that five years from now, you’re all standing here graduating together. There will be days when every part of you wants to quit and go home. But please push through. Home will always be there, but this opportunity—this moment in your life—is short and precious.”
Thanking our Principal Brad Carmody
At the Gala we also celebrated our staff who have given five or ten years of service to MITS. We particularly thanked our Principal Brad Carmody, who is leaving MITS after 10 extraordinary years of contribution to MITS and our students.
It is hard to overstate the role that Brad has played at MITS over the past decade. He joined MITS in January 2016 as one of our inaugural classroom teachers, at a time when MITS was one small classroom, one boarding house, 22 students and just 13 staff. In those early years, Brad was central to the establishment and growth of our school program, developing our new curriculum, stepping into a Lead Teacher role, and participating in every student interview process from 2016 onwards.
In 2019 Brad became Head of Boarding, bringing his trademark energy and sense of fun to our growing boarding program as we opened our pilot senior boarding house (in Wellington Street Kew) and then as we opened our first Senior Boarding House at 139 Richmond Terrace.
In 2020, Brad demonstrated his leadership for and commitment to MITS and our students, by enthusiastically embracing our move to a temporary Darwin Hub, along with his wife Sarah, and boys Toby and Levi. Despite the challenges of that COVID year, our time in the Darwin Hub were some of our happiest at MITS, living alongside students and other staff for six months at the Michael Long Centre. The Year 7 students from that Hub are our Year 12s who graduate from MITS tonight.
In 2021 Brad became Head of Education, a role which would soon evolve into Principal. Again, he demonstrated grit and dedication, leading our Pop-Up School programs in the Howard Springs Quarantine Facility at the end of each school term. In 2023, as we awaited completion of 371 Church Street, Brad, Sarah, Toby and Levi made another selfless contribution, running our Wellington Street house through Term 1 and 2.
In his current role, Brad has overseen our expansion to Year 8, our temporary move into classrooms at Richmond High, our temporary move to Trinity Grammar, and finally, the colocation of our classrooms at 283 Church Street – a significant milestone for MITS and our educational programs.
We are immensely grateful to Brad for his work for MITS and his commitment to our students. It has been a privilege to walk with Brad through his 10 years at MITS. We have all benefitted from his passion, his joy for education, his hard work, and his great contribution to MITS.
Holiday wishes
To everyone in our MITS community, I wish you a very happy and restful holiday period. I particularly thank our parents for your trust in us through 2025. I know that it will be a very happy time to have your kids home with family on Country.
We are excited to welcome all of our continuing students back to Melbourne in 2026, and to welcome 22 new students to MITS in Year 7.
Ed Tudor
CEO