Principal Team Report

Dear MC Community,

Welcome to the final Links for 2022, a celebration of our achievements and the year that was!

This final full week of school has been as busy as ever, with the Years 7-9 Gumbuya Park excursion on Monday, Year 6-7 Orientation Day on Tuesday, and all staff undertaking First Aid and Anaphylaxis training on Wednesday. My thanks to all staff for their active participation in this key college activities.

Staff have spent the remainder of the week in critical reflection and planning meetings, including in faculty teams, VCE teachers, VIT panels for full registration, and induction and handover, all in preparation for the 2023 school year.

Student Preparation for 2023

Before we celebrate our 2022 achievements, a reminder to students to prepare themselves thoroughly for 2023 by:

Firstly, having a relaxing break – enjoy your well-earned summer holiday, and stay safe and well!
Complete any tasks set for the holidays, especially for VCE – a reminder that work not submitted at your first class will lead to an accountability session on the first Wednesday afternoon.
Read – your set texts and also for enjoyment!
Ensure your uniform, books and laptop are ready to go for your first day back.

The end of 2022

Two absolute highlights of the week were the release of the Year 12 results on Monday, and the Presentation Evening on Wednesday:

2022 Mullauna College Year 12 Results

Congratulations to our Class of 2022 on your outstanding achievements! We, the college staff, are all very proud of you.

It gives us great pleasure to announce that the 2022 Dux of the college is Daniel Seymour, who attained a very impressive 97.65 ATAR.

Highlights include:

18% of the cohort achieved a 90+ ATAR,
with a further 26% achieving an ATAR in the 80s (so that’s 44% of our students at 80 or above!),
and a further 13% scored in the 70s (so 57% of our students achieved an ATAR above 70).

These wonderful levels of achievement maximise the options for tertiary entry for our students.

10% of the individual study scores were 40 or above, the highest being 47 in Visual Communication & Design.

Studies with multiple scores in the 40s were VCD, Health & Human Development, Studio Art, Business Management and English; they are living up to our motto of ‘Success through learning together’!

Our median study score is 30, a level all schools aspire to, and our average ATAR was 72.18, well above the state average of 70.33.

Finally, all of our students successfully completed their VCE!

Our students have responded magnificently to what was still a very challenging year. These results are testament to the hard work and dedication of our students, our staff, both teaching and support, and our parent community!

The Class of 2022 is to be congratulated on their efforts this year, as are the teachers who have shaped their learning throughout their time at our school to prepare our students for the challenges and climax of Year 12.

Well done, Class of 2022!

2022 Presentation Evening

What an evening of celebration! As a very proud first-year principal, it was my privilege to declare that the evening was, unashamedly, all about our students; to acknowledge and celebrate them, their work, their contribution, and their achievement. It was also an acknowledgment of those that enable our students to achieve at their best – the teachers, the families, and our wonderfully supportive community.

It was a pleasure to welcome and acknowledge in person:

our Mullauna staff, in particular the assistant principals, Jeff McMillin and Michael Bray;
our Mullauna parents and families, in particular our school council president, April Walsh, and vice president, Liesl Coulthard, and other councillors;
and a range of community leaders, our invited guests:
- the Federal Member for Menzies, Keith Wolahan
- the City of Whitehorse councillor for this ward, Ben Stennett, and the City of Whitehorse’s newly elected Deputy Mayor, Councillor Prue Cutts
- the representatives of our local Service Clubs:
  - Alicia Privitera and Janine Darker - Donvale Lions Club
  - Kimberley Cheung and Antony Wong - Mitcham Lions Club
  - Peter McPhee – Rotary Club of Mitcham

A special thank-you to these local community leaders for their service and their support of our college community, and for giving their time at this hectic time of year, to share this evening of celebration of our students’ achievements – it means a lot to us and we are grateful!

We are also grateful for 2022 - what a year it has been! After the disruption of 2020 and 2021, it has been an absolute pleasure to return to learning on campus, with some sense of normality. While the year has still had its challenges, we were lucky to be able to offer an almost normal range of co-curricular activities; most importantly, our academic program was largely spared any major disruption.

In the past, the special co-curricular programs events were ones that that students could look forward to with certainty, knowing that they would happen each year and giving students special moments and experiences to look forward to as they made their way through our school. These programs become the highlights of the time school at school, forming special memories and stronger bonds through the shared experiences they offer. But we have all learned now that nothing is so certain anymore, and certainly not to be taken for granted. So how special that we could once again offer our students:

Instrumental music (and special thanks to the three ensembles that performed on the night, led by our Music staff team Sally Newstead, Peter Brodie and Sue Haylock)
Presentation ball – what a night!
debating,
the Popstars production – what a hit!
the VCE Art Show,
German poetry competitions,
Book club in the library,
SRC and student leadership,
House events,
many wonderful music performances,
sports carnivals and inter-school sport,
excursions,
camps
and the extensive lunchtime clubs program.

It’s a joy to see so many of our students choosing to get involved and taking up the many opportunities that our Mullauna staff generously offer to our students week by week, term after term.

I’d like to acknowledge again the work of Wayne Howell, editor of our school magazine; this publication is a fabulous memento for students and staff, and especially so this year, when it is once again filled with a full spread of Mullauna life on-site!

I would like to acknowledge and thank all the staff, but especially those who have left us over the year, or who are finishing at the end of the year: Judith Jesser, Sara Valentino, Nathaniel Lamb, Kelsey De Prada, Abbey Tiernan, Sophie Moore, Sophia Kent, Maddee Kaio, Peter Vapp, Jocelyn Cameron, Sean Weatherill, Julie Whittington, Bronwyn Quint and Margaret Graham.

However, on this evening, we are drawn to celebrate our core business – learning and teaching. At the centre of all our work are our students and their academic and social growth, the students assembled on that evening. I was proud and appreciative to be celebrating their achievements with them, in this my first year as college principal, and this our first Presentation Night here in the PAC since December 2019! What a joy, and what a privilege, to be back holding this event on site and in person, together.

As you all know, our college name, Mullauna, reflects our focus on one of our college values: community – it is an aboriginal word meaning ‘together’. Our college motto exemplifies our approach – ‘Success through learning together’ – a successful combination of staff, students and families, primarily through positive and powerful learning interactions in this place, our place, our school.

And for that reason, this evening we have assembled on that night to formally acknowledge and celebrate excellence in students’ achievement from Years 7 to 11.

To our students being recognised for academic achievements, for leadership, for service, for sport, for music, and for involvement, I say be proud of what you have achieved and celebrate it. You have achieved outstanding results and excelled in our core business – learning – and in our college value of community!

You can relax and enjoy the moment now – the academic year is done, but do not make the mistake of resting on your laurels. Instead, use this to spur you on, raise your sights again, reflect on your outcomes, take on board the feedback, and come back in 2023 ready to engage with your teachers, and strive to excel again in the new year, in a higher year level, at a higher academic level.

In encouraging you to commit yourself to continuing to do your best, I also encourage you to look around you now, acknowledge your peers, and commit to supporting and encouraging each other. You are the learning role models, the academic and social leaders – do not underestimate the positive impact you can have in your classrooms and among your peers. You are part of a community, so have the courage and the curiosity to ask your teachers the extra question, seek the extra idea or response that you need or want, extend yourself through engaging with additional concepts and tasks, and have the community spirit to step up and support others – set the tone and lift them too.

In that way, I hope you can contribute in your way to achieving further success for our college. Your Year 12 peers have left you quite a standard to match, and I have no doubt that you can do even better. 2023 promises to bring more excitement and new positive challenges, with our new timetable and daily structure, some new subjects, and some new directions thanks to this year’s school review and subsequent strategic plan. We will continue to focus on our values, our motto, and our new Vision for Learning and Teaching:

“We achieve personal success by collaborating and actively engaging in supportive, challenging and diverse learning opportunities.”

In conclusion, I wish you one and all a joyous and blessed Christmas, all the very best for your summer break and the new year, and students, I look forward to celebrating your next achievements in 2023!

Warm regards,

Harry Ruff

For the MC Principal Team

2023 – early notice:

Friday 27th January – Staff commence
Monday 30th January – Years 7, 10, 11 & 12 commence
Tuesday 31st January – Years 8 & 9 commence
Tuesday 21st February – onsite Resources (6pm) and School Council (7pm) meeting

Calendar

December 2022

2023 January