Andrew Chisholm
Principal
Dear Parents and Students,
As we reach the end of a very busy term it has been refreshing to see the degree to which all of our students have immersed themselves in the life of the school. This place has been a hive of activity in recent weeks, and this is reflected in increased numbers of student clubs, an increase in inter-house activities, increases in music participation and success in a range of sporting pursuits. In this article I will be covering some of the recent activities and also covering some upcoming events in Term 2.
Importance of Feedback
All of our students have been receiving multiple forms of feedback in recent weeks. This has come in the form of returned assessment tasks, progress reports, Canvas rubrics, oral feedback from conversations with teachers in class, and during parent and teacher-student conferences. Importantly, the point of feedback is for students to continue the aspects of their performance that are going well and for them to work on creating an action plan to address the areas of improvement that have been suggested by their teachers. What is contained within an action plan is a good conversation to have at home and can cover topics such as organization, note-taking, revision and question answering techniques. Please don’t hesitate to contact your students’ mentor or house leader if you need any further assistance.
School Council elections
I am pleased to announce that Alan Dormer, Moses Khor and Iain McLaren were elected for a two-year term as parent representatives on JMSS school council. Many thanks to all parents who nominated and to the many parents who voted. The two Monash University representatives on the school council are also new in 2025. They are Professor Chris Thompson from the Biomedicine faculty and Michael Benson from the Buildings and Property division of the university.
2026 Enrolment
If any of your friends or family are interested in joining JMSS in 2026, applications for students to join in Year 10 and Year 11 are now open. Applications for the assessment to enter Year 11 close on the 2nd May and the Year 11 entry test is held on the 24th May. Applications for the assessment to enter Year 10 close on the 23rd of May and the entry test date is June 14th. A link to Edutest the company that coordinates the entry assessments for JMSS can be found on our website.
Open evening for 2026 prospective students
We are again running a virtual open night for prospective students on Wednesday May 7th that will have a combination of prerecorded and live information. Further details can be found on our website.
Music Soirees
Term 1 has seen two very successful and well-attended music soirees. This week saw the Viva Vivaldi performance that had around 30 strings students perform some complex Vivaldi sonatas to an exceptionally high standard. A remarkable effort given that this group containing several new year 10 students has only been rehearsing from early this term. There are many other soirees planned in term 2 and all members of the school community are welcome to attend. A photo of the Viva Vivaldi concert is shown below.
The start of term 2
Day 1 of term 2 is Tuesday 22nd April and the Anzac Day public holiday is on Friday 25th April. Anzac Day is a student free day. The JMSS Athletics sports are on Wednesday 30th April.
The term break will give students a chance to recharge their batteries and I am looking forward to seeing a refreshed and energetic group of students return to JMSS after Easter.
Enjoy the break
Andrew Chisholm
Principal