John Monash Science School

Peter Corkill


Principal

Dear fellow members of the JMSS Community,

 

In this final newsletter for the year, with perhaps another to come once the VCE results for 2022 are known, the prevailing emotion is one of sincere thanks to everyone for the spirit of collaboration and unity with which we approached, worked through and overcame the challenges of 2022. 

 

By any measure, it has been another challenging year. Whilst the impact of the Covid19 pandemic was somewhat lessened, its presence was still threatening, and staff and students both felt the brunt of the challenge from time to time. Added to this was a rather virulent flu season, which also took its toll. Nonetheless despite the challenges, I am again so immensely thankful to and proud of all in our community – teachers, support staff, students and parents. Everyone has played their part in keeping us healthy, learning and with spirits up despite the challenges. Above all we have faced and overcome these challenges together.

 

Australian Science Fair

This signature annual event was back onsite at JMSS in full force last week, for the first time since 2020. We welcomed Principals, students and teachers from the following partner schools, all members of the Australian Schools Science Network:

  • Newton Moore Senior High School, Bunbury, Western Australia;
  • Gunghalin College, Canberra, Australian Capital Territory;
  • Queensland Academy of Science Mathematics and Technology (QASMT), Brisbane, Queensland;
  • Darwin High School, Darwin, Northern Territory.

Unfortunately our colleagues and students from other member schools, the Australian Science and Mathematics School in Adelaide, South Australia, Sydney Girls High School, New South Wales and Launceston College, Tasmania, were unable to attend this time. Nonetheless the event was a spectacular success.

Events like this do not just happen. They are the culmination of months of work on the part of many people, and I cannot possibly mention them all. But I would like to mention the support from our colleagues at Monash University, who have been and continue to be invaluable supporters of our work. Of course a huge thanks goes to Dr. Mel Denney, Ms. Fiona Bui, Mr. Shane McLean and all of our Science staff and students who put in so much work to get this event organised, we cannot thank you all enough for your support and hard work. Despite the difficulties which 2022 continued to pose, the fifth edition of the ASF was simply another wonderful tribute to your courage, determination, strong hearts and wonderful spirit of collaboration. 

 

Science, and the passion and curiosity it evokes in all of us, is primarily what brings us together. Our schools recognise that high quality education and innovation in STEM holds an important key to the successful and sustainable future of our planet, and that national and international collaboration will provide a platform which will enable all of our students to work towards this goal. And it’s never more needed than now. We hope this event continues to grow and thrive in the years ahead, and that our partnership with our interstate colleagues will continue to thrive and even grow.

 

Sincere thanks to all involved for the Recent Immersion Days for our students

There has been a huge amount of activity in recent days which have involved our students fully. All of these are quite unique to JMSS, and result from the wonderful partnership with colleagues and faculties at Monash University. These included:

  • Science Immersion Day;
  • Engineering Immersion Day;
  • Information technology Immersion Day;
  • Year 10 Personal Development Day.

I would like to sincerely thank and congratulate the many JMSS staff members whose planning for these days was exceptional, and also to our colleagues at Monash for their planning and the time involved in hosting our students on these days.

 

I would again like to point out to students and parents that these opportunities ate UNIQUE TO JMSS STUDENTS and definitely not to be missed. They are planned to expose our students to the huge range of research and work done by these faculties and to open the eyes of our students and staff to the possibilities which lie in wait beyond the VCE. We are indebted to our Monash colleagues for their passionate support of our students.

 

2022 Year 12 s Graduation, with Sincere Thanks for Their Leadership, Care and Passion

Our Year 12 students will officially graduate from JMSS on Friday December 9th, with two signature events, the Year 12 Breakfast and Assembly followed by the Awards Presentation Night which will also feature their formal graduation from JMSS, hopefully a fitting and memorable tribute to our Year 12 students’ three years at JMSS, despite the difficulties of recent years.

 

The current Year 12 cohort has been remarkable in many ways. All of their three years at JMSS have been impacted by the Covid19 pandemic. This has curtailed many of the overseas fairs and opportunities which might have otherwise been available to them. It has also impacted their classroom learning at the school, with learning online being a strong feature of half of their time with us. Covid has impacted many trips and excursions which would otherwise have taken place. It stopped us sending teams to overseas science fairs, it also stopped the Reef and Rainforest trip from taking place in 2021. Nonetheless through the determination, ingenuity and genuine passion of this group, the last three years have seen JMSS enter more teams in international and interstate STEM competitions than at any other time in our history. This is simply a remarkable achievement.

 

On behalf of all of us at JMSS I would like to sincerely thank them all for their profoundly positive contribution to our school, and wish them every success for their VCE final results and the exciting future that beckons from here.

 

Peter Corkill

Principal