PRINCIPAL'S REPORT

RECONCILIATION WEEK

McKinnon Secondary College is once again proud to recognise and celebrate National Reconciliation Week. The theme for 2025 is ‘Bridging Now to Next,’ and it is a time for all members of our community to learn about our shared histories, cultures, and achievements, and to explore how each of us can contribute to achieving reconciliation in Australia.

We have a variety of events planned across both campuses and learning areas, including Public Speaking Competitions, showcases of contemporary Indigenous artists, Australian languages competitions, and more. These events will be promoted on Compass, so make sure you read the news feed each day to find out more about what is happening.

Tomorrow, we will be running a casual dress day for ‘Wear it Yellow’ Day, an initiative by the charity ‘Children’s Ground’. Children’s Ground is led by First Nations communities who are working to create a different future for the next generation of children. We will be asking students to exchange a $2 donation for the privilege of wearing casual dress (with a splash of red, yellow, or black) and running a BBQ at the East Campus and a Bake Sale at McKinnon Road. We will have Gigs on the Green at McKinnon Road and a DJ set at the East Campus, which will be fantastic ways to end the week and raise money for Children’s Ground.

Thank you to all Learning Area Managers for their contributions to the week and the Interact Club for their work in fundraising across both campuses. Special thanks to Mrs. Angela Masterson, Key Learning Area Manager of Humanities, and Mr. Josh Cukierman, East Campus Curriculum Leader for Humanities, for their leadership of this week’s activities.

MODEL UN

The annual Model United Nations was held on Friday, 16 May, at the McKinnon Road campus. This year’s theme, “Combating Climate Change: Committing to Global Action”, inspired passionate and thoughtful engagement from participants. A total of 76 students from Years 9 to 12 took part, with particularly strong representation from Year 9, making it a wonderful opportunity for cross-campus connection. We were also delighted to welcome guest students from Wellington, St Leonards, Parkdale, St Bede's, OLSH, Glen Waverley, Oakleigh Grammar, Camberwell Girls, and Glen Eira College. 

Sincere thanks go to William Lee for his excellent coordination of the event, Lee Laskaridis for his support of the Year 9 teams, Tania Burnell for ensuring all students and guests were well catered for, and to the AV and facilities teams for their invaluable assistance. Events like this play a vital role in enriching our students’ development as global citizens, providing meaningful opportunities to build skills in public speaking, debating, negotiation, and teamwork. Their enthusiasm was outstanding, and we look forward to hosting this event again in 2026.

You can read more from our students on the School News page.

IDAHOBIT DAY 

Saturday May 17 was IDAHOBIT - the International Day Against Homophobia, Biphobia, Intersexism and Transphobia. It is a day that recognises the strides made towards equality for LGBTQIA+ people, but also to show our support and allyship. 

At McKinnon, we proudly stand with and support our LGBTQIA+ staff and students. All are welcome in our community.

The Pride Club held a fundraiser on Friday May 16 to celebrate IDAHOBIT day, and raised money for Minus 18.  

SPORTS 

It has been another busy couple of weeks for McKinnon's athletes with students competing at State Finals in Tennis & Baseball with the Intermediate Baseballers bringing home the State Champions Pennant. We also enjoyed much success at the Volleyball one day Schools Cup with the Year 12 boys and Year 10 girls teams crowned with gold medals. 

The whole school came together to participate in the school cross country carnival across both campuses last Friday, with the top runners from each age category representing the school at the upcoming Kingston Division Championships next week. 

Special thanks to Alice Breidahl and Liam Adlington who organised this event which is no easy task!

You can read more about our sporting successes in the Sport News and Volleyball News sections.

VOCAL NIGHT

Last week's vocal night showcased our Junior singers, East Choir, McKinnon Road Choir and the Senior Singers with a large number of vocal students in small groups and as soloists. 

Well done to all of the students involved. Thank you to Leah Humphrey, Megan Papworth, Laura Main and especially to Blanka West for overseeing the whole night. Thank you also to the MAV team and all staff, family and friends who came to support this night.

SENIOR CONCERT

The Senior Ensembles Concert was held on Wednesday 28th May at the Assembly Hall. The concert featured performances by all Senior Core Ensembles, as well as Senior Singers, Senior Percussion Ensemble and Senior Stage Band, with over 170 students performing in total. 

The event was a wonderful celebration of hard work and determination by some of the most accomplished musicians in the McKinnon community, culminating in a very enjoyable and entertaining evening. 

Thank you to Clare Bugeja for overseeing the organisation of the concert, the AV and facilities teams, ensemble directors and all music staff.

INTERACT CLUB

I want to take a moment to acknowledge and thank the Interact Club for hosting the democracy sausage sizzle on Election day, raising funds for Launch Housing Charity. 

Well done and thank you to our Interact Club students for their ongoing work volunteering and fundraising for numerous organisations.

You can read more from our Interact Club on the Club News page.