Principal's message
Dear MGSC Community
Is it the shortened days of the winter solstice that make it challenging for all of us to get out of bed or is it the icy mornings and ferocious storms? Whatever it is, I am sure that everyone is looking forward to a well-deserved rest over the holiday break. Winding down isn’t a concept that schools are familiar with at this time as our teachers have been finalising their reports but have also started teaching semester 2 subjects from Wednesday 15 June.
The term has been intense with students and staff having to re-familiarise and adapt to online learning. Whilst it appears from an outsider’s viewpoint to effortless for teachers to deliver their classes online, I feel there would be few professionals who could plan up to four 75 minute lessons each day in such a way that the students would remain engaged. Every lesson is crafted so that each student continues to grow but is not overwhelmed. I thank our dedicated teachers for being so flexible, caring and collegiate during these unsettling times.
I was perplexed by the The Age online article on Wednesday 23 June, “Demand for co-education surges as girls-only schools lose ground”, which said that our enrolments had declined along with other government girls’ schools. Unfounded and inacurrate information such as this paints a very skewed view for the wider community. We have recently had to increase the capacity on our school tours from 90 to 120 and increase the number of tours to accommodate the demand for places at our school.
There are many families that have chosen to move their daughter to MGSC mid-year because the reputation of the school is so high. As the only government girls’ school in the south-eastern suburbs we have an important role to play in empowering young girls and women for a future where the career paths are not yet known but where they will need to be problem solvers.
MGSC provides an affordable alternative for families who are unable to, or choose not to, pay fees for a private or catholic education. We have students travelling from over 72 suburbs which also means that families are purposefully seeking out an all-girls education in preference to a co-educational or private/catholic school environment.
Our student numbers constantly remain over 1,000. We have a thriving, energetic and passionate school community that promotes and values student voice and agency, STEAM career pathways, and innovation and diversity in all of its forms. We have past students from MGSC who have enrolled their daughters with us as they know that our values and practice will build their daughter’s sense of self-efficacy and self-esteem. MGSC has a proud tradition that has been valued and sustained over a 65 year period and will do so into the future.
Our teachers finalised their assessment and reporting for the term on the Teacher Assessment & Reporting day held on Tuesday 15 June. We are now just compiling all of the reports so that parents and students will have this information by the end of the term. I understand that there is a misconception amongst the general population that schools should have cancelled any such reporting and assessment days because they were given one planning day to prepare for online learning. Our teachers used this planning day to adjust and modify the face-to-face lessons so they were suitable to an online environment. As you would know from past experience, it is never known how long we would be in lockdown for, so teachers had to prepare for the worst case senario. The Assessment & Reporting day has a completely separate purpose. I just wanted to set the record straight on this misconception.
This last week of term has seen two major events take place in the school. The first was the Design Thinking program for all year 9 students that ran over three days and the second was the Careers Expo on Wednesday. I would like to acknowledge the work of Diana Gilbert (STEAM Learning Specialist) and Karen Garton (Careers and Pathways Coordinator) for their organisation of these events. You will find more information on these events in the newsletter this week.
There are four staff members going on leave in the first week of next term. Tiffany Peach and Anne-Claire Brunet are taking family leave and Emma Holman, the Director of Junior School, will be taking four weeks Long Service Leave. Sue D’Adamo is also taking LSL and will be away until the end of 2022. I wish them all the best on behalf of the school community. Phil Hull, Year 7 Student Manager, will also take on the role of Director of Junior School during Emma’s absence. We will welcome their replacement teachers to the school at the beginning of next term.
I hope that everyone has a restful holiday break and remains safe until we see each other next term.
Regards
Linda Brown
Principal
Building Fund - tax deductible donations
MGSC is committed to continually improving our facilities to provide dynamic spaces for the forward thinking learning experiences we provide our students. In 2020 we developed the STEAM Connect Centre which has quickly become a focus for innovation and creativity. The building project was funded by MGSC.
The next stage is the development of a Master Plan to guide building projects into the future. This plan will assist with project planning and with securing government capital funding. Having additional financial resources available will place us in a strong position to initiate the next construction project soon.
At the end of the current financial year, we invite donations to MGSC’s Building Fund.
Donations are tax deductible and receipts will be issued.
Payments can be made through Trybooking:
www.trybooking.com/au/donate/mgscbuildingfund
or using the form below. For further information contact our Business Manager,
Kelly Lloyd-Vanni (kelly.lloyd-vanni@education.vic.gov.au).
Thank you for your consideration.