Principal's Report

Once more we celebrate an extremely busy fortnight including Aerobics Championships on the Gold Coast, the MGC Student Environmental Conference, student-parent-teacher interviews, weight lifting and the launch of Space Camp with a 4am Tuesday 17 September departure!

Our 25th Anniversary

On 4 September current and former members of the wider Melbourne Girls’ College family came together to celebrate the 25 year history of our wonderful college. All of our staff worked hard towards making the event successful but special mention goes to Nia Holdenson who is an extremely talented leader, teacher and event manager!

During the event long standing and current staff members, Trevor Howlett, Anne Corry, Mary Giles, Carol Busetti and our crossing person Jan Macalister were acknowledged with gratitude and warmth. Our former student Mia Timpano spoke so eloquently and we hope to publish her speech in the 25th Anniversary edition of Upstream.

At our 25th Anniversary Open Day in March, our esteemed former principal Jan Parkes told the story of the statue “A Mighty Girl’, its replica in Federation Square and original in Wall Street New York. A small girl standing up to the rampaging bull with power and dignity. The statue symbolises all of the young women who have passed through these halls, close to 40,000 students. Over millenia our indigenous custodians, early settlers from many nations, nation builders, and now we - have all been stewards of this place on the banks of the Birrarung. We are very fortunate to be a college on the banks of the Yarra River which was established 25 years ago to celebrate girls’ education. With this understanding of the past we know we are very fortunate to work with young people today who drive for success in everything they do. The most recent case in point is the zero waste National Parks Scheme we’ve introduced. It came from really committed passionate students and teachers and we are so fortunate they are part of the story of Melbourne Girls’ College.

“Through the young people we see here and teach today all of us touch a future we will never see”.

Mia’s Biography

Mia Timpano was SRC President in 2001.  She was the first student elected SRC President and is fluent in French and Russian. Mia is a writer, journalist and editor, best known for her humourous essays and columns. Her work has appeared in The Guardian, Daily Life, ABC Life, Frankie Magazine and Smith Journal, as well as anthologies, including Women of Letters (published by Penguin). She’s been a screenwriter for Fremantle Media, an English-to-French translator for the French newspaper L’Humanité, and the Assistant Editor and Online Editor of Frankie Magazine, Australia’s biggest-selling fashion and lifestyle publication.

Mia currently heads up communications, content and marketing for Triple R, Australia’s biggest independent radio station, where she also presents rock and extreme metal programs. Her recent Melbourne Fringe Festival production, an interactive theatre performance about the science of conversation, was nominated for Best Show in the category of Words and Ideas; she also produced an award-nominated short documentary about the thrash metal band Megadeth. Mia was a representative of the Australian press at New York Fashion Week 2018, and she’s interviewed the likes of Blondie’s Debbie Harry, Slayer, the costume designers for the film Black Panther, an illegal Paris-based monument restoration collective, plus countless artists and designers. Mia is currently writing her first book.

MGC Student Environmental Conference with a focus on ENERGY!

Thank you to Daisy Batten, Lucy Skelton, Zoe Elliott, Abby Vogel and Andrew Vance, incredible leaders in Sustainability initiatives, not only here at MGC but on the world stage. It was great to see so many young people and teachers contributing to the thinking and problem solving required to address major global issues  Education for sustainability develops the knowledge, skills, values and world views necessary for people to act in ways that contribute to more sustainable patterns of living. Sustainability education is futures-oriented, focusing on protecting environments and creating a more ecologically and socially just world through informed action such as our National Parks Scheme and other zero waste initiatives.

State Government Funding

On 5 September Minister Wynne’s office informed us that we had secured $183,862 as part of the State Government’s investment in State schools so that local students get the most out of their education by ensuring safe, modern learning environments & giving schools the resources they need to maintain their first-rate facilities. Minister Wynne said,

“We know students get the most out of their education when they have safe, modern classrooms to learn in, and first-rate facilities the school community can feel proud of.”

“The Victorian Government is investing $515 million in our state schools to ensure Richmond students can attend a great local school and get a great education.

Please enjoy a happy and safe term break and we look forward to seeing everyone back for our final 2019 tem on Monday 7 October.

Kind regards,

Karen