Significant Events and Student Achievements
Doncaster Secondary College Celebrates Outstanding Success at the 2026 Victorian Global Learning Awards!
Doncaster Secondary College is incredibly proud to celebrate the outstanding achievements of our international students at the 2026 Victorian Global Learning Awards (VGLA).
The annual Victorian Global Learning Awards (VGLA) celebrate the excellence of international students while recognising schools and homestay families for their outstanding contributions to global learning and engagement. These awards highlight the strength of Victoria’s international relationships and our esteemed reputation for fostering intercultural understanding. Most importantly, they honour the students, teachers, parents, principals, and homestay families who play a vital role in creating a diverse and inclusive educational community.
This year, DSC achieved remarkable success, with four of our outstanding international students recognised for their leadership, contribution, and global citizenship.
🌟 Junyu (William) Yan
Student Leadership Award – Junior High School (Years 7–8)
William has demonstrated exceptional leadership potential through his active participation in school programs, strong academic commitment, and consistently positive attitude. His curiosity, determination, and willingness to embrace new opportunities continue to inspire both peers and staff.
🌟 Zian (Mia) Gao
Student Leadership Commendation Award – Middle School (Years 9–10)
Mia has shown outstanding dedication to leadership through her involvement in school activities, academic focus, and resilient mindset. Her confidence, enthusiasm, and readiness to take on challenges reflect her growing leadership capacity and valuable contribution to the DSC community.
🌍 Kuysing (Kyle) Te
Global Citizen Award – Year 11
Kyle has played an important role in fostering inclusion, leadership, and intercultural engagement within the school community. His commitment to supporting fellow students through academic mentoring and student initiatives truly reflects the qualities of a global citizen.
🌏 Meyly (Elly) Te
Global Citizen Award – Year 12
Elly’s passion for community engagement and intercultural understanding has made a significant and lasting impact on the International Student Program. Through mentoring, peer support, and student-led initiatives, she has consistently demonstrated compassion, maturity, and a strong sense of global responsibility.
These prestigious recognitions not only celebrate the dedication, leadership, and academic excellence of our international students, but also highlight the strength of the supportive and inclusive school community surrounding them. Their success reflects the collective efforts of our International Student Program staff, teachers, coordinators, homestay families, and Principal Team.
We extend our heartfelt congratulations to William, Mia, Kyle, and Elly on their outstanding achievements. The entire DSC community is incredibly proud of your success and the positive example you set for others.
The Department of Education’s continued recognition of DSC international students over recent years — including Harry Bui (2022 International Student of the Year – Ambassador Award) and Berry Eain (2024 International Student of the Year – Ambassador Award) — continues to strengthen the reputation of our International Student Program and showcase the exceptional calibre of students within our school community.
These achievements further position Doncaster Secondary College as a leading and highly regarded destination for international education.
In the coming weeks, the ISP Team will interview our award-winning students and their family members to reflect on their journeys, experiences, and accomplishments. We look forward to sharing their inspiring stories with the wider DSC community.
Meet our New Italian Assistant
Piacere di conoscervi!
[It is a pleasure to meet you all!]
My name is Marta, and I am very happy to introduce myself as the new Italian Language Assistant at Doncaster Secondary College.
I come from a small medieval town in central Italy called Orvieto, characterised by ancient stone buildings, narrow streets, an incredible 13th-century cathedral, and wonderful food and wine. Growing up in such a place helped me develop a strong love for Italian culture, history, and language.
Orvieto’s view
After high school, I moved to Rome to attend university. I studied there for six years, majoring in Humanities, Oriental Studies, and Languages. Before coming to Victoria, I worked as a Language Assistant in Sydney, where I supported students from Kindergarten to Year 12 in improving their Italian through speaking activities, pronunciation practice, and culturally related activities. That experience helped me understand how challenging, yet exciting and rewarding, language learning can be.
On my graduation day in Rome, I was wearing the laurel wreath traditionally worn by graduates in Italy.
I am here to help students feel more confident when speaking Italian and to share my culture in a fun, non-stereotypical way. I also hope to learn from Doncaster students and discover new aspects of Australian culture. Here at Doncaster, I assist teachers by working with students from Year 7 to Year 12, helping with conversation, pronunciation, grammar, presentations, and cultural activities. Together, we will explore many aspects of Italian culture, including food, football, fashion, traditions, music, and authentic everyday life in Italy.
Outside school, I love travelling and discovering different cultures and forms of art. My hobbies include sketching, walking in nature, and exploring new places. Like many italiani, I also love food and, even if it may sound cliché, my favourite things are gelato, pizza margherita, and, above all, caffé, so I will probably be very judgmental about Melbourne’s renowned coffee culture!
To all students: do not be afraid to practise Italian and make mistakes. Mistakes are an important part of learning, and you never stop learning. The most important thing is to stay curious, participate, and enjoy the journey of learning a new language.
Dopotutto l’esperienza è solo la somma dei nostri errori.
[After all, experience is only the sum of our mistakes.]
I am very excited to meet you all and begin this journey together. A presto e in bocca al lupo a tutti!
[See you soon and good luck to everyone!]
Marta
Bebras Computational Thinking Challenge
We are very pleased to receive the results from the Bebras Computational Thinking Challenge. The challenge is designed to promote informatics, problem-solving, and logical thinking skills through engaging and complex tasks that encourage students to think creatively and analytically.
We are proud to celebrate the outstanding achievements of our students, who demonstrated exceptional persistence, reasoning, and computational thinking skills throughout the competition.
Congratulations to William Yan, Alice Huixu, and Senul Dayarathne on receiving High Distinction awards for their exceptional performances.
Congratulations also to Ludwin Tarvand, Alexander Trajanovski, Anthony Gambis, Chloe Veevers, Liam Mullarkey, and Louis Zhai for achieving Distinction awards.
These students should be commended for their enthusiasm, critical thinking, and commitment to extending their learning beyond the classroom.
We are incredibly proud of all the students who participated in the challenge and represented the college with excellence. Their achievements highlight the strong culture of curiosity, perseverance, and academic aspiration within our school community.
KSF Maths Competition Result
(KSF) is the world’s largest international mathematics competition. The competition encourages a love of mathematics through creative, non-routine, multiple-choice problems that challenge students’ reasoning and problem-solving skills rather than relying solely on academic knowledge.
We are delighted to congratulate our students on their outstanding achievements in this year’s competition.
Congratulations to William Yan and Mingxi Han, who achieved High Distinction awards for their exceptional performances.
Congratulations also to Atticus Martin-King Tan, Eleonora Tumara, Ludwin Tarvand, Ellie Khaw, Max Cain, and Jarrell Wong for receiving Distinction awards. These students demonstrated excellent analytical thinking, determination, and a strong willingness to challenge themselves beyond the classroom curriculum.
We are incredibly proud of all the students who participated and represented the college so positively.
The college will also be running several exciting mathematics and problem-solving competitions throughout the year. In Term 2, students will have the opportunity to participate in the Computational and Algorithmic Thinking (CAT) competition and the Coding Challenge. The Australian Maths Competition will take place in Term 3.
In addition, we will continue to offer Maths Games and Maths Olympiad programs. If you enjoy mathematics, love solving problems, and are excited by challenging questions, please speak to your Maths teacher for more information about how to get involved.
ANZAC Day 2026
This year, students from DSC were involved in three ANZAC Day commemorations.
The first was the Manningham City Rotary Schools ANZAC Day service held at the Templestowe Memorial Reserve. It is the 30th year that Rotary have run this event with wide community support. Led by Mr Nick Dean, the College Wind Symphony did a fabulous job providing the live music for this event. Including both the Australian and New Zealand National Anthems, along with an ANZAC version of I Am Australian, which was led by the fabulous singing of Zack from Year 7 and Caitlin from Year 10.
Congratulations to Adrian New of Year 11 on his fabulous performance of the Last Post and Rouse on the trumpet. College Captains Joe and Flick laid a wreath on behalf of the College. Among the over 600 Manningham students attending the event were members of the year 10 history class and Mr. Lucas. I received a lovely letter from Manningham Rotary regarding the fabulous way that our students performed and carried themselves. They really appreciated the support that the College gives to this important community event.
This year, the Wind Symphony was invited to provide the music for the Doncaster RSL’s ANZAC Day Dawn Service. I am incredibly proud of the way that the Wind Symphony, led by Mr. Nick Dean and vocalist Zack, performed at this important community event at the Doncaster RSL Cenotaph. It is a very early start, needing to arrive by 5:30 am, awake and ready to perform, and I thank the parents who assisted in getting everyone there on time.
Three of our College Captains were there representing the College, with Joe and Flick laying a wreath on behalf of the College and Maya performing in the Wind Symphony. Other DSC students were also in attendance performing duties as members of the Air Services League. The Dawn Service is always a special event; this year, we were blessed with lovely weather, and it was well attended by a large number of the local community. Thank you to Mr. Morris, Mr. Ward and Mr. Veevers, along with DSC students, including members of the SRC, who attended the service. It was also lovely to catch up with past DSC students, both recent and from 20 years ago, after the service.
Thank you to the Doncaster RSL for inviting the College to be involved in this special community event.
We then had a school ANZAC commemoration on Monday, 27th April, held at the flags outside W- block and led by members of the SRC, with a number of classes attending in person and others joining online. Thank you to College Captains Joe, Xin, Flick and Maya, along with Lamar, Miller, Cartier, Shristi and Anahita for their contributions to this service. Congratulations to Lucas (Year 11) on his great performance of the Last Post and the Rouse, and Ken (Year 10) and Zack (Year 7) on their rendition of the National Anthem.
Thank you to Howin Tang, Patrick, Kiera and Miller for doing the tech, and both Mr. Sprigg and Mr. Dean for assisting with the setup.
Thank you also to the front office staff for selling ANZAC Day badges on behalf of the RSL and all members of the College community who purchased them.
VCE Italian Lunch Experience
The VCE Italian students recently enjoyed a wonderful Italian lunch experience that combined delicious food with valuable language learning opportunities. Students visited local Italian restaurant Zero 95 where they were immersed in an authentic social and cultural environment.
Throughout the lunch, students practised their Italian speaking and listening skills by ordering meals, asking questions, and responding to restaurant staff in Italian. They also interacted with their teachers and peers using the language in a natural and meaningful way. Students were encouraged to communicate confidently and spontaneously.
The experience allowed students to move beyond the classroom and apply their language skills in a real-world setting. It was not only an enjoyable social occasion, but also an important opportunity to develop fluency, build confidence, and deepen their understanding of Italian culture.
The students thoroughly enjoyed the delicious Italian cuisine and appreciated the chance to learn through authentic conversation and interaction.
Celebrating Olivia’s Success at the Victorian Gymnastics Championships
Congratulations to Olivia G (7I) on her outstanding achievements at the Victorian Gymnastics Championships held last Friday. Competing in the Future International division, Olivia had a fantastic competition, achieving the following results:
🥇 Gold on Floor
🥈 Silver on Vault
🥇 Gold for Team
These incredible results are a testament to Olivia’s dedication, resilience, and hard work in the lead-up to the event. Most importantly, it was wonderful to hear how much she enjoyed the experience and embraced the opportunity to compete at such a high level.
We are incredibly proud of Olivia and the way she continues to represent Doncaster Secondary College both in and out of the gym. Congratulations once again on this fantastic achievement!
Doncaster Secondary College Alumni
Congratulations to Year 12 alumni Mikael Evagorou-Alao on signing with Brisbane Roar Football Club!
Mikael’s dedication, hard work, and passion for football have led to this incredible achievement, and we are so proud to see him taking the next step in his sporting journey.
On behalf of the Doncaster Secondary College community, we wish Mikael every success as he begins this exciting new chapter with Brisbane Roar.
