PRINCIPAL'S REPORT
Dear Parents and Students
You may be aware that whilst in China visiting our sister school in Jiangsu Province, and travelling with a group of Principals and Victorian Education Department officials, I experienced a medical emergency that has resulted in my absence from the school.
As we approach the end of the 2016 school year I wanted to take this opportunity to pass on some thoughts about the college, whilst members of our community are gathered together to celebrate the achievements of our students.
There is a great deal of publicity currently, regarding the performance of Australian students compared with those from other countries, and whilst it is important to be aware of our place globally, it is also important to recognize the significant cultural differences that exist not just between countries, but between schools located in the same area. It is important because the culture of the school is something we can control and I believe in the case of MESC, the culture that has been built contributes significantly to our strong performance and positive achievements.
When we speak about achievements at this school, we are not simply referring to the VCE results, but to the way in which students are prepared for life after school. We know that the world our young people are entering is a challenging one, where the clear pathways of the past from university or other tertiary study into employment no longer necessarily exist. Young people are now expected to be flexible, able to transfer their skills across workplaces and jobs, and they must be team oriented and capable of solving problems independently. All of these are skills and attributes that we know can be grown and developed at school, and we pride ourselves in being one of the very few secondary schools in the state that genuinely incorporate this work into our curriculum.
VCE results were released on Monday 12 December, we will of course celebrate and recognize the achievements of our students, but importantly, we will be interested in seeing the measurement of the value we have added to these achievements through our efforts as a school. Very capable students will score well regardless of the school they attend. At MESC, we set ourselves the challenge of improving every students’ results because that after all, is the true measure of a great school.
We have developed a culture here where success is celebrated, challenge is embraced and as the adults in the organization, constant learning to better meet the needs of our students is the expectation. Our students have a strong voice in their learning, and we will continue strengthening their ability to take control of their lives through the opportunities given them at MESC.
In 2017 our quest to establish this college as one of the highest quality in the area, will see us respond to our community by including a Steiner Stream at year 7, and seeking Candidacy for the International Baccalaureate Middle Years Program. Neither of these changes will result in significant differences to the way we have been approaching teaching and learning in recent years, but they will provide an outstanding level of development for teachers, and better enable our students to meet the aims of our motto:
- Educated for excellence
- Prepared for life
Thank you for your support of the college throughout 2016, and I wish you a safe and happy Christmas and holiday season.