Principal’s Report

As we move into the second half of Term 3, I would like to acknowledge the school community for their ongoing commitment and effort across the first half of the term, striving for excellence. Most students have started the semester in a positive frame of mind, with enthusiastic efforts and high-quality learning tasks. 

During Term 2 we engaged staff in a whole school leadership review.  This review afforded us the opportunity to explore and identify our next leadership structure that will support our future improvement work. Several Leading Teacher and Learning Specialists interview panels are still underway, but it is with excitement and anticipation that I can announce and introduce our 2023 Assistant Principals:

• Rachel Robertson
• Andrew Arney
• Renee Liprino

It is an exciting time for Melbourne Girls’ College and I look forward to sharing with the community our 2023 Leadership Team in the coming weeks.

Each year the Department of Education and Training (DET) provides the opportunity for parent, caregivers and guardians  to participate in the Opinion Survey. The survey seeks parent, caregiver and guardian opinions on measures of learning, teaching, school environment and relationship perceptions with the school community; and provides us with celebratory moments and actionable insights for school improvement. A link to the online survey which is made available to families via the secure survey portal has been emailed to families.  We encourage our families to engage and participate in this survey and we look forward to sharing the feedback later in the year.

We have had our preliminary NAPALN results released this week.  This is not a comparison to other schools or the state, rather MGC raw data at this stage. I look forward to accessing more comprehensive date in late August. Initial impressions are very pleasing, and we will continue to analyse these results over the next few weeks.  As soon as we receive individual student results they will be sent out to families. Congratulations to our students and staff at Years 7 and 9.  NAPLAN in 2023 will be conducted much earlier, in early March as opposed to mid-May. 

Last Friday we held our second curriculum day for the year with a dedicated focus on student agency.  Staff were invited to explore student agency by connecting with what they already knew and by building upon and challenging current practices. Over the day all staff actively engaged in three key workshops on: 

• Growth Mindset
• Self-Regulation and Metacognition
• Developmental Assessments

Student Agency is a significant improvement area for the college, and we look forward to the continued growth and professional learning in this area. I would like to thank the members of the Teaching, Learning and Curriculum Leadership Team for their teamwork and inspiration in the development and delivery of this exceptional professional learning.

Last week, I had the pleasure of attending the EduTECH Conference. This is the largest gathering of the brightest minds in the technology industry, and it was the first time in 3 years that the entire education space was able to be back together in person to share knowledge, learn together, and drive the industry forward.  Six of our STEAM Club students were provided with an exciting opportunity to present at this conference, celebrating 150 years of public education in Victoria. They took the audience through a fascinating 20-minute journey that commemorated the past, celebrated the present and imagined the future and diversity of technology in education. It was an incredible presentation and our students represented themselves and the college proudly.

Finally, I encourage and invite our school community to support and attend this year’s school production of Mamma Mia.  School productions are a wonderful opportunity to bring together and strengthen our family and community partnerships.  It is an exciting time of year we are extremely grateful for the hard work, commitment, and ongoing dedication to the special community that is Melbourne Girls’ College. 

Tamy Stubley

Principal

Melbourne Girls’ College