Associate Principal, Operations Report

I was very pleased to be able to attend the final few days of the Year 9 Melbourne Experience last week.  This was actually my first taste of the Melbourne Experience and I was very impressed by the maturity, steadiness and co-operation of our students.  I was particularly delighted when City Cite staff commented on “what a great group of kids” we had with us.

Students managed themselves effectively, moving around the city with increasing confidence.  If they were running late, they got in touch with Mrs Winter Cooke to advise her of their situation.  They worked well in groups, sometimes of their own choosing and sometimes imposed.  They were polite Visits to the offices of the Big Issue, to the National Gallery of Victoria, the Australian Centre for the Moving Image, Urban Seed, the Botanical Gardens, the Aquarium and the Queen Victoria Market occurred and the students’ interaction with guides or presenters was first class.  Our Nines were engaged and engaging.  In addition, in the evenings they showed great responsibility in dealing with some freedom to choose meal venues and then reporting to a nominated point.

Part of the rationale of the Melbourne experience is to prepare the group for some of the challenges of the China Experience.  The departure date for the China delegation this year is Sunday March 26th – suddenly this is only a bit over six weeks away!  Given my experiences in Melbourne, I am very much looking forward to sharing the twenty-six days away in China with this group of fine young people.

Finally, as we were about to depart the City Cite campus, I spoke to the students about the work which Mrs Winter Cooke had done to ensure all our arrangements had been put in place.  I noted that she is also making all the arrangements for China and I invited each student to individually ensure they acknowledged her efforts before we head away again in late March.  I hope some might have already done so.

Mr Neil MacLean

Associate Principal, Operations