Science Wing Official Opening

We were lucky this month to have a visit by Premier Andrews and Anthony Carbines MP. They undertook a tour of the new facilities (and some of the less new…..) and then joined us in an assembly on the outdoor courts.

Our student leaders shone.

Our musicians played with gusto and vibrancy.

Our students and staff proudly showed the pride in their school that we all know is within each of them.

The Premier and Minister Carbines were very giving of their time, showed a genuine interest in the students and listened to our overtures about the need for new 21st century learning spaces (including a new theatre…..), and walked away suitably impressed by not only the reception they received but also the amazing Macleod Community we are all so lucky to be a part of.

Although no announcements just yet, they both confirmed that Macleod is a priority for them and that the release of election promises will happen in the next few weeks.

There are a lot of people to thank for everything that led up to the event;

Our amazing presenters - Bianca G and Anja D for speaking so beautifully at the assembly
Our brilliant tour guides - Bianca G, Amelia M, Anja D, Blake H, Mia G, Rory B, Ivy CB, Jean-Paula C and Louise T
The science team for putting on such great lessons for the Premier to witness
Jim Griffiths and Tessa Bodenham for organising the band
The staff and students for being so welcoming
The fabulous office team - Nina Nigro, Emma Wagner, Joan Cave for organising all of the events throughout the visit
Michelle Wallis and the entire Macleod staff for their brilliant work keeping 450 students settled out on the courts while the tour worked its way over
To our school council representatives who came along to celebrate

I'll keep you posted on anything more I hear, but I am feeling positive!

Uniform Changes

As you will have seen throughout this year, there have been a number of changes to our uniform policy based on student and parent feedback.

These have included:

Sports uniform is now able to be worn all day on days students have PE
Students are still expected to change from academic to sports uniform if they have sports training only
Students may wear Summer or Winter academic uniform (not a mix of the two) all year round

In addition to this flexible approach to uniform, as of Tuesday 9 August, students from our Primary Campus are able to wear their sports uniform every day. This is in recognition of feedback that although the existing academic uniform looks great, it is not necessarily fit for the more active style of learning in seen in a primary school. There are no plans for this to extend to the secondary Campus.

Primary Campus students may continue to wear the academic uniform they already own when they wish, though we will look at phasing this out by the end of 2023.

In other uniform news, we are working with our uniform supplier Noone to refresh and modernise our sports uniform for the whole college. At this stage we are refining the options and will put them out to the families, students, and staff for feedback before hopefully having these available in Term 1 of 2023. The new pieces will include a new sports top, a soft shell sports Jacket, and a new design for the black tracksuit pants (including zip pockets and a more modern fit).

We’re excited about these changes, and will keep you posted once we have some design options to share.

Mention in Parliament by Kate Thwaites, Member for Jagajaga

Macleod College was mentioned in parliament this month by Kate Twaites, member for Jagajaga. Please see below for the quote and links to the video

“Other local commitments that are important to me and, I know, will be important to our community are: an upgrade to the Macleod College Music Academy to deliver modern facilities to inspire a new generation of young musicians in our community; an upgrade of performing art spaces at Bundoora Secondary College, which will support new digital equipment in the drama area, lighting and audiovisual equipment and building works so students have fit-for-purpose spaces to use; funding to support the L2P Himilo Community Connect driving program in Heidelberg West to make sure that more young people in my community get the experience and support they need to get their drivers licence; funding to help the Eltham Toy Library reach even more local families with discounted memberships, promotions to boost membership and upgrades to toy stock; and funding for Banyule Toy Library to help them expand their reach into the community and enable local families to access toy stock at a discount. All of these are really important local commitments. I'm so much looking forward to being able to work with our local community, with our state government and with local groups to be able to deliver on that.”

If you wish to view the speech, please visit House of Representatives [Part 3] - 27/07/2022 18:24:59 - Parliament of Australia (aph.gov.au) and skip to 18:46.

I was in touch with her office two weeks ago seeking a timeline on when we might receive the pledged $50K. They have indicated the Federal Government are working through a streamlined process to disseminate the funding, so we should see this work started by the end of the year.

Parent/Student/Teacher Conferences

We are about to release the bookings for our next round of Parent Teacher Student Conferences. These are a valuable way of maintaining a strong partnership between home and school as we support the learning of our young people. I encourage all families to make appointments - both to seek strategies for further growth and to celebrate all the growth that has been had to date. Some questions you might like to ask include:

Does my child contribute to class discussion and appear happy in the subject?
How does my child interact with other students in this class?
What are my child’s strengths and weaknesses?
How can I help at home?

And yes, students should be at the interview, even if they say otherwise. They are the key to everything we do at school and home, and they are an important voice in all of these conversations.

Phew….

As always, I don't have the space to personally recognise every event and achievement we have seen at Macleod since our last newsletter. We've had 4/5/6 camp, brilliant sports achievements, amazing performances by the Macleod College Music Academy, our Year 11 and 12 formal, preparations for the upcoming working bee, a visit by the Australian Curriculum Assessment and Reporting Authority to take photos of our students for their nationwide publications, student panels as part of our 2023-2025 leadership restructure, the taking off of our Dungeons and Dragons club, not to mention all of the wins we see in each and every classroom, every day.

As we head towards our September school holidays, I am in a constant state of amazement and admiration for the way our school does what it does, and I couldn’t be prouder of the achievements of each and every one of our students and staff.

Have a great week!

Andrew Arney

Acting Principal

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