PRINCIPAL'S REPORT

WINTER CONCERT

The annual Winter Concert was held last night at the Robert Blackwood Hall at Monash University and what an incredible celebration of music and performance it was. This event is always a pleasure to attend.

I sincerely congratulate all the students and staff involved. The hours spent rehearsing certainly paid off. I extend my gratitude to all the families and friends who came to experience this incredible evening. Having your support means so much.

All of our music staff have done such an incredible job navigating this very difficult time with the sudden loss of our colleague and friend Mr Andrew Jacobs, to whom the evening was dedicated. 

I would particularly like to acknowledge Megan Papworth, Clare Bugeja and Dmitry Serebrianik who put this event together. Thank you to all the Performing Arts team for their work in preparing for this showcase event, and to all staff who attended the evening concert - assisting with student management.

Our community has come together to celebrate our student's talent, and I am sure you will agree with me when I say I could not be more proud. 

KINGSTON ATHLETICS

On Thursday 24 August 152 of our students competed at the Kingston Division Athletics Championships. It was a glorious day with some glorious results. Our athletes worked hard as a team and brought home almost all of the age group pennants and were once again crowned Kingston Division Champions! 

Highlights of the event can be read in the sports report. Our successful athletes will now go onto compete at the Southern Metropolitan Regional Finals in October; we wish them all the best.

Thank you to Mrs Pemberton, Mr Adlington and Miss Owen for organising the team and to Mrs Hooper and Mrs Hatch for organising the event.

TOURNAMENT OF MINDS 

Tournament of Minds is an academic competition, in which teams across different disciplines are required to solve open-ended challenges. This year, the Metro Central Challenge Tournament days were held at Deakin University, at the Burwood Campus on Saturday 19 and Sunday 20 August. McKinnon had 35 students participating with 5 Facilitators across STEM, Social Science and The ARTS.

Congratulations to the students and teachers involved. Special thanks to the team captains for their enormous work and efforts to make this year’s challenge a positive team success. Thank you also to Lynton Perry for managing this event. You can read more about TOM here 

OVENDEN AND WIND SYMPHONY FESTIVAL PERFORMANCE

On Tuesday 22 August, McKinnon's Ovenden Band and Wind Symphony performed in front of a panel of adjudicators and an audience at the Victorian School Music Festival held at the Hawthorn Arts Centre. 

It was a great event bringing together similar ensembles from other schools, all benefiting from receiving detailed feedback in a workshop led by experts. Students also enjoyed a celebratory dinner at Sofia's Restaurant in Camberwell. 

Thank you to Tracy Videon, James Morrissey, Karen Nansen, Clare Bugeja and Dmitry Serebrianik for supporting these students and overseeing this performance.

MCKINNON VOLLEYBALL PRESENTATION

On Thursday 24 August, McKinnon Volley celebrated the success of the year so far, with athletes, parents, awards, trophies and dessert at a presentation evening. Sharing the success on the big screen, photos all around and heartfelt speeches from coaches to their athletes, there was a lot of recognition, gratitude and joy in the room. 

Congratulations to all medal winners, all athletes for participating and a huge thank you to our coaches and their amazing efforts all year. 

The recipients of our trophies for Excellence were Adam Suchard (Year 8) (half scholarship) and Kyla Peel (Year 11) (Full Scholarship). Thank you also to Ellie Adler and Sandy Hope.

MCK CHESS CHAMPIONSHIP

Well done to all the students from both the East and Main campuses who were involved in the 2023 McK Chess Championship. After almost seven weeks of competitions and more than 150 games of chess later, I congratulate Steve Le (Year 11) for being crowned the 2023 McK Chess Champion. Special mention must be made to Tim Nicolaides (Year 11) (runner-up), Gregory Wen (Year 12) (3rd), and Aryan Jayanty (Year 12) (4th), all of whom have also contributed enormously to the Chess Club and have been a part of the school team at the Victorian Interschool Chess competitions.

Finally, I would like to thank Dr Sandy Law for his effort in coordinating the McK Chess Club and the school chess team.

PUBLIC TRANSPORT VICTORIA CHECKS

Please be aware that PTV inspectors have been doing spot checks on buses and trains in our area to ensure students are using validated MYKI cards. 

Please ensure your child has a topped up MYKI card. Fines will be issued if students are without a current MYKI.