PRINCIPAL'S REPORT

NAPLAN 

Congratulations to all Years 7 and 9 students that undertook the NAPLAN exams. These exams are so important and provide insightful data to identify areas for improvement. This year is so particularly important as this will be the first time since COVID we have growth data.

Thank you to Harriet Barrow and Peter Quinn who have overseen this undertaking as well as all the teachers who supervised the classes to get them done.

HOUSE MUSIC FESTIVAL

What a pleasure it was to attend the House Music Festival in our Hall on Wednesday night. Congratulations on the very high standard of performances in singing, dancing and playing musical instruments to all participants. 

In the end, there can only be one first place and we congratulate MONASH!

Their name will join the long tradition of winners on the House Music shields displayed in the Music Centre at the main campus. 

I would like to thank Mr Matthew Little, Director of Music at Salesian College who was our adjudicator. I also thank Katarina Vrisk who coordinated this wonderful event. Katarina was well supported by the dedicated team of music teachers.

PI DAY 2023

On Wednesday 15 March, McKinnon celebrated Pi Day with the annual Pi Reciting Competition. Many students competed to see who could recite the most decimal places of the irrational number pi. We had an impressive turnout at both campuses, and each student received a participation Certificate and house points to go towards the 2023 House Cup. 

The reciting was impressive with all the winners of each year level reciting between 113 and 180 places. Year level champions received awards and prizes at the General Assembly to celebrate their impressive achievement. 

Mathematics and Physics teacher Sandy Law also competed and blew us away by reciting 778 places, well and truly exceeding his previous year’s result.

Thank you to Chloe Krommydas for coordinating this competition.

Congratulations to all contenders, we look forward to celebrating again next year.

EDUCATION PERFECT 

This year, McKinnon once again participated in the Education Perfect Languages Championship. With 2,532 schools participating worldwide, I am very proud to inform you that McKinnon took out second place. What an exceptional achievement!

We were 1st overall for schools in Victoria, 1st overall in Russian, 1st for French in Victoria and 1st for German in Victoria.

I would like to thank all students and staff who spent 2057 hours answering 1,439,751 questions during this week-long event. 

Special thanks to Mr Chamontin and the languages staff for their encouragement and support.

VOLLEYBALL

Congratulations to Year 11 student James Kay who has been selected for the U19 Australian Volleyball Team to compete in Thailand, in the U21 Thai National Volleyball Championships. 

We wish James all the very best for this event which is being held during the holidays.

MCKINNON RESERVE

Unfortunately, there have been a couple of bad behaviour incidents at McKinnon Reserve after school which means I have had to make the decision to ban students from going to McKinnon Reserve straight after school.

If students wish to visit the reserve, they must go home and get changed out of uniform.

SLEEP HEALTH

Research shows that many children and young people are not getting enough sleep on school nights. This can affect thinking, concentration, memory, reaction times and mood.

Research shows about 12% of primary school-aged children, a quarter of 12 to 15 year-olds and half of 16 to 17 year olds don’t get enough sleep on school nights. The recommended amount of time to sleep for primary school-aged children is 9 to 11 hours. For teenagers, it’s 8 to 10 hours.

Signs that your child is not getting enough sleep can include:

• low mood and irritability during social interactions;
• reluctance or arguing about getting off devices and going to bed;
• falling asleep during the day;
• difficulties waking up for school and sleeping in late on weekends to catch up;
• changes to communicating or interacting at home.
• You can help your child to improve their sleep by:
• establishing a regular sleep pattern and consistent bedtime routine;
• supporting them to avoid using electronic devices such as smartphones before going to bed and in bed;
• encouraging your child to exercise and spend time outside in daylight, steering clear of vigorous activity in the hour before sleep;
• encouraging them to wind down and relax before going to bed.

If your child is still having trouble sleeping, has persistent problems with low mood, excessive daytime sleepiness, restlessness in bed, severe snoring or wakening unrefreshed, despite getting adequate length of sleep, they should see a doctor.

For more information on sleep health, you can refer to: Sleep tips for children and Facts about sleep for parents and school staff, from the Sleep Health Foundation · Why sleep is so important, from the Kids Helpline’s · Sleep explained, from the Better Health Channel.