Principal's Report

Many thanks to our hardworking staff who have given up personal and professional time to facilitate the Year 12 Camp, Year 7 Camp, the aerobics and rowing programs, Years 8-11 and Cadets Information Nights, Year 7 Welcome Night, Chinese New Year, swimming sports, school photographs, planning for International Women’s Day and the Pedal Cinema! Amazing!

Year 7 Parent Welcome

On Tuesday 18 February we warmly welcomed our Year 7 parents in true MGC style whilst overlooking the Yarra River. Thank you to our team who provided the refreshments and camaraderie for everyone involved. Our Year 7 parents shared stories about reports from Year 7 Camp and their daughters’ first weeks. It was a pleasure to meet you all.

School Council Information

25 February will see the final School Council meeting for Gary Funston who has been a School Councillor at MGC for over nine years in various roles including President and Treasurer. Previously Gary was on the primary school Council attended by his three daughters, Grace, Eliza and Meg. Gary brought a wealth of financial knowledge as a partner in Deloitte, robust financial questioning and attention to detail to Council business.

The meeting will also be the last for another wonderful contributor 2019 Year 12 parent, Tracie Winch. Sincere gratitude to Gary and Tracie.

As parent nominations matched the available vacancies there was no need to hold a ballot for the new School Council which begins on Tuesday 17 March, 2020. It is a pleasure to announce the following parents as our School Council parent representatives:

Emmy Andriotis parent of Nicky in Year 7

Steve Baile parent of Sara in Year 7 and Sienna in Year 11

Adam Berin, parent of Aleyna in Year 7

Raechel Forster, parent of Abigail in Year 9

Heather Pritchard, parent of Elizabeth in Year 10

A ballot will open on 20 February and close at 4pm 28 February for the student representative vacancy.

Performing Arts Centre planning is complete and the tender processes are underway. The new VCE study centre and main building refurbishment are completed and being used to great effect by our students and staff. These refurbishments will facilitate the smooth running of the school whilst the Performing Arts Centre is being constructed.

International Women’s Day (IWD) Celebrations

We are excited about welcoming Professor Fabienne Mackay as the speaker at our IWD celebration on 3 March at 6pm in The Gillard Centre. Professor Fabienne Mackay, PhD, FAHMS is Head of the School of Biomedical Sciences, Faculty of Medicine, Dentistry and Health Sciences, The University of Melbourne.

Professor Mackay will speak about her passion for making a difference to peoples' lives through Biomedicine. Her own journey has been from childhood illness to health thanks to therapies developed by medical researchers. Professor Mackay became a biomedical scientist herself and has played a key role in developing the first new treatment of the debilitating autoimmune disease Lupus in over 50 years. Professor Mackay leads the study of the human body and advancing human health through innovation and excellence. The University has nearly 100 research groups pushing the boundaries of knowledge across several disciplines, including that of Nobel Laureate, Professor Peter Doherty.  Professor Mackay is passionate about educating the next generation of health professionals and medical researchers.

The importance of the vision and values of excellent parents, Melbourne Girls’ and IWD were shown to effect in the stand Coco Smith and Eartha Hewitt (class of 2019) made against misogyny and the objectification of women in both letters to “The Age” and on the “4 Corners” program aired on 17 February. Please see below a community message which reflects many messages of support received on 17-18 February.

Good morning,

I’m sure you’ve been inundated with messages today following last night’s 4 Corners. I feel compelled to follow suit.

But for our primary school being in a position to see several girls each year go to MGC my family has no formal connection to your school, but the bravery and intelligence displayed by your two former students on last night’s program was noteworthy.

If these are the values being entrenched and this is the capacity that your girls have to verbalise those values in such challenging circumstances, then your school is not only successful, but important.

Please pass on my thanks to your educators and encourage those kids in there to stay strong and principled.

All the best,

Thank you for your support in all aspects of learning and preparing our students for the world beyond MGC.

Kind regards,

Karen