MECS Matters

Dempsey's Digest

Believe it or not, we are halfway through the term and it feels like we manage to pack a lot in to each week! Here’s some snapshots of what’s been happening around school over the past 2 weeks from my perspective! 

 

Prep Visits to my Office

I love having the Preps come and visit my office, so over the past 2 weeks the Geckos, Bilbies and Froggies have had some fun doing an activity (which are now on display across the windows of my office and the finance offices). The children love to come past and see their work on display. (For cute pics see 'Preps Visit Mrs Dempsey')

 

School Captains

I had a lovely meeting with our School Captains; Irin, Noah and Grace recently where we talked about what being a Welcome Advocate looks like across the school and getting their insights into areas of improvement across the school. I am very impressed with these three students and their positive, faith filled outlook on life. (Look out for more mentions on them below). 

 

Working Bees

It was great to see the first Working Bee for the year kick off with a tasty BBQ and lots of eager workers. Working Bees are not just an opportunity to get jobs done around the school, they are also a good way to get to know each other over cleaning a wall, or spreading rock or mulch, blowing some paths or covering some books..just to name a few tasks. Morning Tea is also a great time to connect and get to know someone new. 

 

Shrek Rehearsals

This year in August, our secondary students will be performing Shrek The Musical at Burrinja in Upwey. After school rehearsals are currently underway and the team is making solid progress. Parents, please make sure you have those rehearsal dates in your calendars! 

 

Welcome Week

As already mentioned in our editorial, it was such a fun week. Here’s some examples of what happened during the week:

  • Welcome Back Morning Tea – It was lovely to see our staff room filled with parents enjoying a lovely morning tea and mixing with others, some with toddlers and babies in tow. We were very encouraged by the turn out and the warmth in the room.
  • Pastor’s Breakfast – The Pastor’s Breakfast invitations were sent out to all churches that are affiliated with MECS. Churches that have our families or staff attend, or churches local to our school community. We had 10 churches represented and it was a lovely morning of fellowship and sharing. It was also great to have our School Captains be a part of this, and they joined the tables for breakfast and discussions.
  • New Staff and Board Function – it was lovely to introduce the new staff to our Board for the annual new staff and board function. This happens each February ahead of the first Board meeting. This also included our School Captains. The distinctive nature of MECS being a parent governed school is something that we value deeply, so introducing our staff to our board (all of whom have had or do have students in the school) was very special.
  • Visit from the Indonesian Consulate – It’s not everyday that visitors from a consulate come to hang out at MECS! It was great to have this group of visitors spend a good part of the day with us. I had the privilege of joining them for some lunch. They were very impressed with our school and the engagement of our students with Bahasa Indonesian.
  • Primary Picnic – Despite the unseasonal cold winds and overcast sky, the Primary Picnic was a fun and vibrant event. Free sausages with coleslaw followed by most with a Mr Whippy ice cream (you should have seen the line!) made for a lovely evening of fellowship and community. It was wonderful!
  • Well Being Activities – During Welcome Week, our wonderful Well Being team provided activities and connection for our secondary students, including the very popular face painting. It was great to see students engaging with this.

  • Chin National Day – It was Chin National Day on Thursday 20th February and our Chin students, led by our school captain, Irin Khuk Zawn hosted a fundraiser sausage sizzle.  

    Here is an update from Irin -

    As part of Welcome Week this year a Sausage Sizzle Fundraiser was held in MECS Secondary on Thursday 20th February. This was the date of Chin National Day.  I would like to express my thanks to everyone for the community spirit in MECS Secondary as we celebrated this day together. In addition to the sausage sizzle we had some activities running up in Senior School including face painting and a photo booth where other students got to try on Chin clothing. 

    Thank you to everyone who came along and joined in, bought a sausage and drink to help raise funds for people suffering the effects of war in Myanmar. We raised over $600!  The Chin State is not a safe place to live and many of our family and friends who are still there appreciate our financial help. The money we raised will be sent to an organisation called The Heal Chin Land Project. Their mission is to ensure the Chin people of Myanmar have access to healthcare and education, despite the ongoing violence and human rights violations due to the effects of war. So thank you so much everybody who supported us. It’s truly appreciated.

    Irin Khuk Zawn, Year 12 Student Leader

  • Assembly – I’m sorry to say, but if you missed the assembly on Friday, you missed something pretty special. What a full assembly which kicked off with a staff medley of songs, finished with some acknowledgement of students who were modelling what it looks like to be Welcoming Advocates and Purposeful Learners. In between, we acknowledged our indigenous friends, Indonesian connections and our own Chin community (the students did two traditional dances which were an absolute treat to watch). We heard a word from our local member of Parliament, Mr Aaron Violi. The assembly literally had something for everyone and it was a great way to celebrate our MECS community. 

A week like Welcome Week doesn’t just happen! It takes hours of planning and organising in the background. I was so encouraged as to the way that all of our staff stepped up to make it happen. There seriously wasn’t one person who didn’t get involved in some way. In the very background however, was Clare Bradbury, our Cultural Liaison Coordinator, making it all happen. We are deeply grateful Clare, for your vision and tenacity which brought this wonderful week together.