Looking Ahead

Principal's Report

Our senior students are in the midst of their exams and hopefully they know we are standing with them, cheering and supporting them to the finish line.  In the end we want them to know that whatever happens, their final study scores and an ATAR do not define them, rather we hope they see it as an amazing launching pad for the new challenges and adventures that life will present. This cohort has shown immense resilience and fortitude, having completed some of their senior schooling remotely. It is a credit to them and to our Year 12 Level Team who have developed a cohesive, supportive, and positive cohort. 

 

I would like to recognise and acknowledge with a special thanks to Jade Nebbs, Monique Selcuk and Hannah Benhassine for the magnificent role they have played as our college Captains in 2022. They were incredible representatives for their year level and more importantly fantastic ambassadors for Melbourne Girls’ College. 

 

Monique, Hannah & Jade
Monique, Hannah & Jade

As we look towards next year, it is with great pleasure and pride that I announce that Louella Breach, Ashna Sharma and Clem Warren-Smith have been appointed as our 2023 College Captains. We are excited for what they will bring to Melbourne Girls’ College next year.

 

We were thrilled to be back together in person to showcase and celebrate in our exhibition the remarkable work of our students from across the subjects of Studio Arts, Media, Visual Communication Design, and Costume Design Technology on Tuesday 25 October. The exhibition ran for over a week and celebrated the extraordinary talent and skill in creative, technical, and artistic elements of some of our senior students. It is clear our students have given something of themselves, creating new ideas, articulating new ways of connecting and commenting on the world in which they live. They need to be celebrated for their courage. It was a wonderful exhibition.

 

We are well into the staff recruitment process for 2023. We have made our final leadership appointment and welcome Ursula Parker to MGC next year as our new Numeracy Learning Specialist. Ursula is currently in the leadership team at Camberwell High School, and we are excited and are extremely fortunate to have her join us.  We are planning a two-day leadership conference for the 2023 Leadership Team on Monday 5 December and Wednesday 7 December to lay the foundations, set the direction, and identify our improvement goals for MGC in 2023.

 

The 2022 Victorian Government Schools Agreement requires the maximum face to face contact hours for a full-time teacher in a secondary school to be no greater than 19 hours in 2023 and 18.5 hours in 2024. As a result, not unlike many other schools, we have needed to recruit additional teaching staff. We are very fortunate to be attracting high quality applicants, and as a result we will welcome a number of new staff to MGC next year.   

 

Our Headstart program is a key component of the learning continuum for senior students, and we are about to move into this phase of the school year. Our Headstart program provides students a taste of the year ahead by building a consistent understanding of the academic expectations and routines. Most importantly, students will have a solid foundation in their studies prior to the holiday period. We find that the beginning of the academic school year sees students and staff alike settled and focussed on teaching and learning, free from the distractions often associated with the settling in phase of the new year.

 

Finally, we have received some key dates and information from the Department of Education about adjustments to Victorian school term dates for 2026. This will provide an opportunity for Victorian communities to participate more broadly in the 2026 Commonwealth Games. The 2026 Commonwealth Games will take place across regional Victoria from Tuesday 17 March to Sunday 29 March 2026, with Geelong, Bendigo, Ballarat, Gippsland, and Shepparton hosting a range of activities and events for twenty different sports and nine para-sports

 

The 2026 Victorian school term dates are:

  • Term 1: Tuesday 27 January to Friday 13 March 2026 
  • Term 2: Monday 30 March to Friday 19 June 2026
  • Term 3: Monday 6 July to Friday 18 September 2026
  • Term 4: Monday 5 October to Friday 18 December 2026.

As we draw closer to the end of another school year, please look after one another, enjoy the warmer weather and stay safe.

 

Tamy Stubley

Principal