The term is flying past and there is no doubt that now we have hit December, the reality of the end of the year approaching is becoming more obvious. There’s a vibe at school which feels like a mixture of tiredness, excitement, anticipation, panic at times and a big splash of hope for the season ahead. Join with me in praying for protection over our community in the last weeks of the school year.

Early Commencement

It’s a great thing for our senior students to be able to have a ‘taste’ of the subjects and work tasks ahead of them in their final weeks of school. Our Year 10s and 11s have now finished. The Year 10s brought the year to a close with a celebration day and our Year 11s wrapped up the year with a 3 day camp in Alexandra. See you next year, students!

VIT – Mel Bouma

One of the joys of my role, is meeting with new teachers in the final steps of them gaining full registration as teachers. You might not be aware, but after a teacher completes their teaching qualification they become a 'provisionally registered teacher' and then need to go through quite a rigorous process and assignment before they become fully registered teachers. This happened to our wonderful Mel Bouma last week, who gave a terrific presentation to the panel assessing her project for compliance. Well done to Mel, who continues to be a much valued staff member on our team.

JP’s Stay Late

I’m a huge fan of our school keeping camps as a significant part of our learning program at MECS, and it all starts down in Junior Primary, where our Year 2 students have a stay late afternoon/evening, to prepare them for what camp is like. This happened last week and I was invited to join them for dinner in the staff room. We shared stories, had to wait our turn for dinner (and seconds if we felt like it) and we even had to sit still, asking others interesting questions. It was a very special time with these students who will be going on camp in Middle Primary next year.

Prep Parent Information Evening

It was wonderful to welcome our new Prep parents to the information evening last week. Starting Prep is such an exciting time for parents and their children, as they are introduced to a more formal expression of learning in Prep. Thanks to Fi Holliday and the team of Prep teachers for making this such a lovely evening.

Year 12 Graduation

What a great night of celebration and flair! It was so good to see our Year 12s gather together in their fine evening wear and enjoy the beautiful things said about them, by their teachers. Please continue to pray for our Year 12s as they wait with anticipation on their results in the coming weeks.

School at Work Tours – Finished for 2025

This year, we have experienced great success in our new initiative of hosting school at work tours. These tours provide opportunities for interested families to come and see the school in it’s ordinary, everyday operation. No polish, just as we are. We have been quite overwhelmed at the interest and growth in enrolment applications that this has caused. Thanks for all those involved in making this happen and for all those that share the word of MECS being a great choice for families.

Year 5 Market

Some travel to Europe for Christmas markets and some head to the Pump room in late November to purchase the wares of our hard-working Year 5 students. I was thrilled to pick up some sweet treats to share with others and some lovely Christmas decorations. The games were a great addition to a fabulous market experience!

Kinder Parent Information Evening

Gill and the team gathered parents of 3 and 4 year olds together to get ready for the 2026 Kinder year. It was great to see parents gather and mingle and make new connections ahead of the great adventure that is MECS Kindergarten.

Ranges TEC Graduation

Graduations are not limited to Year 12 at MECS. On Friday, our Ranges TEC Year 12s and others leaving gathered together for an evening of speeches, good food and fun stories of great achievement in trade education. I am very excited to see where these young people will end up.

Employment at MECS

Don’t forget to keep an eye out on the employment opportunities that arise from time to time on our MECS website and through our Facebook page. We have a great team here at MECS which we want to keep growing.

Staff Leaving

Again, there are a few people who will be making changes to their employment at MECS or Ranges TEC.

Greg Smyth, who has served at Ranges TEC for 16 years and was part of the original shaping of this wonderful venture is moving with his family to Portland and picking up some teaching in a similar context to Ranges TEC. We are grateful for Greg’s service and warm contribution over so many years.

Daniel McLean, who has served as a Learning Assistant at MECS will no longer hold that position, but instead will be doing some relief teaching for us as he recently completed his teacher training qualification. Congratulations, Daniel!

Enjoy the coming days of pre-Christmas celebration and joy.

Michelle Dempsey

Principal

MECS Matters

Head, Heart, Hand

Newsletter 4, Term 4 · 04 Dec 2025

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