Sally Cheah-Johnson
Assistant Principal

Dear Parents and Students,

Term two has been increasingly busy here at JMSS, with many events, milestones and celebrations occurring within our school community.

Harmony Day

Our JMSS Harmony Day was held on Wednesday 16 May. Each year our Harmony Day is celebrated with an assembly and concert where students showcase dances and songs from their different cultural backgrounds. As in the previous years, the performances were simply outstanding.

Harmony Day has become a JMSS tradition, celebrating one of our Pillars of Learning: ‘Learning To Live Together’. I am very proud to see our students work together as a great team to make it a great day. Many have worked hard over the last month in helping organise the program, and others have helped in the organisation of the BBQ lunch. More than 60 students have practiced over the last few weeks for their performances, and their hard work has paid off – their performances were amazing.

I'd like to acknowledge the hard work of some key people and groups of people who have pulled this Harmony Day together. Firstly, I would like to thank our PFA parents who helped with the BBQ lunch I would also like to thank some staff members: Mr Peter Thompson and Mr Cameron Senn-Sanger for organising the BBQ; and Mr Peter Palankay who set up the stage and sound system for the assembly.

I would also like to acknowledge the energy, enthusiasm and hard work of the Harmony Day Student Committee. These students have shown great leadership and initiative. The committee and I have had weekly meetings since the start of Term 2, and these student leaders have not wavered from their enthusiasm and determination to ensure a successful Harmony Day Assembly.

My thanks to: Kai Cappel, Kai Palihawadana, Charles Ly, Johanna Hempenstall, Jonathan Deng, Angela Frientu, Tikiri Silva, Nathan Di Pierro and Andrew Harrison. Last but not least, I would like to thank all the performers for the concert. Without their performances we would not have such a wonderful time.

Empowerment Team

The Empowerment Team is made up of the Student Counsellors and the Education Support officers. I would like to remind parents and students of the extra support that we have beyond in addition to the support from subject teachers and House mentors.

Student Counsellors

The Student Counsellors aim to assist students requiring support for personal / social reasons in a confidential and safe environment.

The Student Counsellors work in partnership with the Assistant Principal (Student Empowerment, Achievement & Wellbeing), House Leaders, Mentors, families, peers and other professionals to provide students with the skills and strategies to support them. The purpose is to empower the students to make informed and responsible decisions about their own wellbeing.

Contacting the Student Counsellors:

John Mccormack

john.mccormack@jmss.vic.edu.au

Monday & Wednesdays

Karen Macaulay

karen.macaulay@jmss.vic.edu.au

Tuesday, Thursday & Friday

Nirousha Rengarajoo

nirousha.rengarajoo@jmss.vic.edu.au

Monday, Tuesday & Thursday

Student Support Officers

Kathryn Wallace and Doreen Khor work in classrooms and behind-the-scenes in supporting teachers to ensure the best learning outcomes for students.