PRINCIPAL'S REPORT

A MESSAGE FROM THE PRINCIPAL

BENTLEIGH UNITING CHURCH

Sunday morning began for me at the Bentleigh Uniting Church last weekend.

It was their Christmas Carole Service and our choir and senior singers performed beautifully, together with the Coatesville Primary School choir.

They absolutely made a difference to that community and I was so proud to be there.

Also I would like to thank and acknowledge Ms Blanka West who always brings the best out of these children.  Chloe James (Year 12) performed an amazing solo of ‘The Holy City’.  Tristan Fuhrer (Year 9) played drum kit, Andrew Seamer (Year 9) played the violin and an ex-student, Matt James, played the viola.

Well done to all of you!

MATHS AWARD

Australian Maths Trust (AMT) nominated McKinnon to receive the 2019 Australian Maths Champion school award in relation to the achievements of Australia’s talented students and inspirational teachers.  

This award recognises a school community that has demonstrated passion towards the learning and enjoyment of mathematics/algorithmics and demonstrated its commitment to motivating students’ learning through AMT competitions, products and enrichment resources.

We were delighted to receive the award given in recognition of our school’s engagement and involvement. We intend to continue the tradition of excellence and encourage students to continue and challenge themselves with these valuable competitions.

I would like to acknowledge Mr Bill Manolas (Learning Area Manager) and the Maths faculty for the wonderful work they do for our students.

PEER SUPPORT

Our 2020 Peer Support Leaders have been selected from a large number of possible candidates. Year 10 students immersed themselves wholeheartedly into the Peer Support training program. I congratulate those selected and wish them well with the very important role they play in assisting our new students’ transition into our school.

I would like to acknowledge and thank Ms Fiona Wallis for coordinating this critically important program.

Thank you also to Oliver Lopez and Skyla Isaacs (Year 11) who volunteered to come to speak to the Year 10s.

The following are our Year 11 Peer Support Leaders for 2020:

May Landau, James Helmore, Jet Moadim-Lesimha, Marcus Andonopoulos, Tayla Gustin-Edwards, James Radford, Tiarne Kalb, Perry Robinson, Chloe Fredericks, Zoe Maxfield, Ben Schmidtke, Elise McDavitt, Leesa Bristow, Matthew O'Brien, Dana Boudiab, Ishaan Chowdhary, Sarah Hatigan, Connor Macdougall, Kyla Fanstone, Digby Stannus, Isabelle Rake, Brij Shah, Manasi Deshpande, Carmen Garcia Landeira, Rosie Pendlebury, Sophie Peter, Jordan Marakhov, Irene Panagiotopoulos, Vanessa Paredes, Ben Porter, Chase Nathan, Summer Partridge, Melissa Liu, Fraser Sharman-Smith, Rhys Kennedy, Trinity Francis, Tia Finn, Tejesvhi Sagwal, Harrison McPhee, Jonathan Joseph, Cindy Mao, Kester Duggan, Julia Giantsos, Naomi Lyubic, Aiden Mosford, Liam Gill, Sonya Mikhaylova, Dmitriy Faizoulline, Catherine Braniska, Jordyn Freeman, David Pedan, Nicholas Lanaras, Adam Pacak, Chloe Smith, Kailah Hollingworth, Kundali Powell, Ethan Zelmanovich, Philippa Sharman-Smith, Liam Ayres, Kathleen Sumarna, Ben Maxwell, Rachna Petch, Evan Grenda, Karleen Han, Lina Nguyen, Ilya Parakhin, Kampi Nainhabo, Adam Hatchuel, Freya Cross, Aanya Chopra, James Vassiliou, Michelle Gu, Maia Curtain, Victoria Poulos, Joshua Plumb, Markus Duggan, Bridget Soteriou, Jackie Verbuk, Tara Bajan, Tobie Webster, Emmanuel Hontzogloy, Ben Kupshik, Millie Graham, Cara Smith, Shubh Shah, Khushi Negi, Claudia Gerbic, John Mantle, Patrick Gallagher, Grace James, Marisha Dinesh, Catherine Chang, Sam Basman, Lachlan Smith, Lucy Robertson-Reid, Leila Brough, Jaime Tyzack, Klaudija Zidonyte, Lucca Beaves, Kai Seeto-Grossi, Jade Olascoaga, Pamela Doulgeris, Anna Karayannis, Padua Beaves and Kelly Marlow.

Congratulations to you all!  I know you will be marvellous Peer Support leaders for 2020!

SCHOOL SPORT VICTORIA 

Ms Carole Hooper has been a long-standing member of our staff.

She plays a vital role as Sport Coordinator for Year 7 & 8 students. She ensures everyone is encouraged to participate in their chosen sports each term and works hard to build a love of physical activity and strong wellbeing.

Carole also plays an important role as the School Sport Victoria Coordinator for the Secondary School Division of the Kingston Region. She works to coordinate the sporting activities of 8968 participants! 

Last week Carole was recognised for her exceptional commitment and service. She was awarded the inaugural SSV Secondary Division Coordinator of the Year.

Congratulations Carole on a job well done!

GREAT VICTORIAN BIKE RIDE

I have received wonderful feedback from parents (those that accompanied our school group) and also other parents.

Their praise of our staff was appreciated.  Staff do go above and beyond to give our students life changing opportunities.

I am so grateful that people took the time to contact me to say thank you!

I would like to acknowledge and thank Phillip De Salvo and Paul King for organising this wonderful event. 

The following staff went on the bike ride and I thank them for their guidance and assistance in running this event for our students and families:

Phillip De Salvo, Paul King, Nick Foot, Tiffany Zikou, David Machin, Liam Adlington, Mel Brush, Carole Hooper, Daniel Farthing, Jack Gromer, Rachel Walker, Brett Howe, Tim Blackwood and Willem Voorham.

There is a lot more information regarding the GVBR later in the newsletter.

CONGRATULATIONS

Chloe James (Year 12) and Clare Wever (Year 11) appeared on the Channel 9 Today Show on Wednesday 27 November as part of the Australian Girls Choir, promoting this Years “Carols by Candlelight”. This was Chloe’s third appearance on the Today Show and she says that it is always a fun gig despite having to get up at 3:15am.  Both girls will be performing at “Carols by Candlelight” with the AGC at the Sidney Myer Music Bowl on Tuesday 24 December, Christmas Eve.

FINALLY....

As the academic year comes to an end can I take the opportunity to wish everyone a wonderful festive season.

May your family time together be filled with much love, laughter and joy.

Thank you for your kindness, support and encouragement throughout the year.

On behalf of all of us, rest, regroup and we look forward to everyone’s safe return in 2020.