Andrew Chisholm

Principal

Dear Parents and Students,

The start of term three has been characterised by a hive of activity whether it be interschool sport, Olympiad competitions, music camp, course counselling and a memorable Harmony Day assembly. It was particularly pleasing to see large turnouts for our parent evenings to start the processes around pathway choices for 2027.

Our recent appearance on Channel 7’s Sunrise program was a highlight for the students selected to attend this event. Not only were these students able to engage with prominent scientists, they were able to experience the state-of-the-art science and technology facilities at Swinburne University. The program was broadcast Australia wide and was a great way to promote National Science Week. One of the photos of students following the dance moves of a robot is displayed below.  

(You can see ClickView links to videos from Sunrise under the 'Supporting a future powered by homegrown science and innovation' article)

There is still an opportunity to participate in the “Restore Science” campaign initiated by The Australian Academy of Science and send an email to your local member of parliament. Their socials have some footage of JMSS students who have been involved in the campaign.

Premiers Awards

Recently students who topped subjects in their Year 12 studies across the state in 2026 were awarded Premiers Awards at a ceremony at the Melbourne Convention Centre. JMSS had four students who received these prestigious awards:

Congratulations to the successful JMSS students: 

Darren Liu for Physics, Kallfu Llangkafilu for Maths Methods, Yimo Xie for Maths Methods and Paul Shen for English. Three of these students achieved the awards whilst studying accelerated subjects in Year 11. 

VCE Assessments and the next 4 weeks

For our VCE students the rest of Term 3 will be heavy with assessments as those studying Year 12 subjects in particular will be completing their Unit 4 studies and preparing for the final exams. The second week of the term 3 holidays are compulsory trial exams for students completing year 12 studies and a chance to practice exam technique. 

It is particularly important to sit SACs on the day they are scheduled to avoid missing class work later on and falling behind. It can be easy for students to focus too intensely on SACs in Year 12 and miss the bigger picture of preparing for the final exams that cover the entire year’s work. SACs are designed as feedback tools to give an indication about learning progress and are generally worth only a small percentage of a student’s overall score in a subject. So even if a student has a slight sniffle they should sit the SAC on the scheduled day so that they don’t have to miss other classes at a very busy time of year.

Parent Survey

All of you should have received a link for the department’s annual parents survey that is open to complete until September 18. Please contact Mr. Chris Mann if you need any further information about this survey.

QASMT Science Fair

Recently six of our students presented research at the Queensland Science Fair. Max Anquetil, Alisa Krivulin and Sanika Ribadia presented research on techniques that could be used to reduce ocean temperatures and coral bleaching and Adam Song, Brian Leap and Homing Leung presented research on changes to the pitch and loudness of bird song caused by urban noise. Both research projects were very well received and praised by judges from the University of Queensland. Our students also learnt about the latest research at the University of Queensland including innovation in peptide and protein science, removing PFAS chemicals from water, using spider venom in drug development and the latest developments in 3D printing of pharmaceuticals. JMSS students with Head of Science Kathryn Grainger are pictured at the University of Queensland School of Pharmacy.

Sir John Monash Commemoration ceremony

Six JMSS students were invited to take part in the annual Sir John Monash Commemoration Ceremony at Parliament House Victoria organised by the Spirit of Australia Foundation. Two JMSS students were given the responsibility of laying a wreath to recognise the contributions made by Sir John Monash to the people of Victoria. 

This ceremony was attended by politicians, the military, returned services, engineers and students from a number of pre-selected schools. 

Kind Regards,

Andrew Chisholm

Principal