Principal's Report
Welcome back to term 3! The school has certainly hit the ground running with a host of learning and activities taking place.
Jacinda Ardern, Melbourne Town Hall 18 July, 2019
Last Thursday it was a privilege to hear the Prime Minister of New Zealand speak on the topic, “Why Does Good Government Matter?” with a focus on her life, political background and rationale for the focus on improving everyday lives of people as the reason why good government matters. Her focus on humanity and the wellbeing budget she handed down in 2018 inspired our students, Ms. Trujillo, Ms. Demirova and I on many levels. The ethos resonates with the Visible Wellbeing approach we take at Melbourne Girls’ College. Thank you to our Humanities Leader, Carolina Trujillo, who organized our students during term break when the invitation to attend came through from Professor Gill Callister, Associate Dean at ANZSOG and the Victorian Association of Secondary School Principals President, Sue Bell.
Thank you to our students who supported the event at such short notice: Jemima Apperly, Sandra Byrne, Scarlett Cuthbertson, Meg Funston, Freya Humphery, Emma Naismith, Jessica Rogers, Lucy Skelton, Stella Thomson, Veronique Villis, Lucy Vogel and Georgia Wolfe.
Chinese Cultural Day 19 July
Many thanks to Lucy Chen who along with our Confucius Classroom team; Cindy Wong, Will Li, Bibo Shi and Hannah Geng organized a day of intercultural immersion in Chinese language and culture. The day began with a welcome to our guests, Ms. Robyn Mathews President of the Australia-Chinese Friendship Society and her colleagues who lead the Victorian branch of the Society Mr. Anthony Leone and Mr. Tower Liu. This was followed by workshops including the Lion Dance, Chinese Knotting and Chinese Inventions.
Information Evenings 22-23 July
Thank you also to our hard working leaders and teachers who hosted our families at information evenings to facilitate course counselling and decision making for their daughter’s 2020 subject selections and programs. It was wonderful to see and speak with so many of our amazingly supportive parents. You are a large part of the reason a school like MGC flourishes.
Cadet Camp Beaconsfield
Yet again Trevor Howlett and Ken Calligheri gave up their time to support the adventures and learning of 55 of our students in the Australian Air Force Cadet Programs. Thank you!
Student Success
<div style="text-align: center;">Congratulations to Eirene Carajias (Year 11) who has been selected as one of sixteen Australian students to be a delegate in the United Nations' Youth Australia's Middle East Experience. Eirene will be travelling to Israel and Jordan in January next year, where she will study many U.N. related topics including nationalism, religion and the broader politics of the region. Eirene is required to fundraise approximately $8000 for the trip. She has begun many initiatives, including a GoFundMe page. Please see the link which explains Eirene’s global learning in even more detail.</div>
https://www.gofundme.com/a-journey-to-peace-eirene039s-middle-east-adventure
We are so proud of Eirene’s initiative, leadership and ability to explore the many adventures the world holds!
Congratulations also to Jasmine Hughes (Year 9) of Deepdene Scout Group who earned the Australian Scout Medallion in June, 2019. To attain the top award reflects initiative, self-discipline, teamwork and leadership. Please see more detail via this link https://scoutsvictoria.com.au/age-sections-adults/scouts/badges-and-awards/australian-scout-medallion/
2020 Planning is underway
We have begun preparations for 2020 with course counselling underway in August. We plan our learning offerings and subsequent timetable with student subject choices as the initial driver. Student engagement is central to this approach rather than starting with grids and pre-conceived expectations to slot students into. This philopshy has stood our students well over time confirmed by VCE and wider learning results.
Aerobics
Thank you to Aerobics Leader, Catie Cameron-Martin and Leigh Hanley who lead and support the MGC Aerobics Program so ably along with Head Coach, Claire Cheesman. We certainly have a busy time ahead for the aerobics teams.
From 27-31 July Mariana Pappas (Year 12), Holly Morrison (Year 11), Amanda Kristanto (Year 10), Evelyn Gammon, Lucy Rhodes and Jasmine Wong (Year 9), will compete in the Aerodance routine at the Association of National Aerobics Championships in Phoenix, Arizona, U.S.A. We wish them every success and look forward to hearing about their experience internationally and in representing Australia!
Our athletes will be involved in the AeroSchool competition to be held in Diamond Creek on 2 – 3 August, we wish them every success. http://vic.gymnastics.org.au/VIC/Events/Gym_For_Schools/AeroSchools.aspx
On 23rd August the MGC Aerobics Invitational will be held where a host of other schools compete at MGC. The day is supported by parent volunteers and other aerobics supporters, we sincerely appreciate their commitment and time.
From 10-14 September the MGC Aerobics team will head to the Gold Coast for the Gymnastics Australia 2019 National Clubs Gymnastics Carnival https://www.nationalclubscarnival.com.au/compschedule/
Good luck to all of our athletes including:
Women in STEAM
Not one but two MGC teams in the Monash University “Women in STEM and Entrepreneurship” (WISE) Program have successfully made it through to the second stage of the WISE Program after their entries were assessed by three independent judges. Sincere congratulations from the WISE Team and all at MGC. The students now have the opportunity to participate in stage two of the program, an Entrepreneurship Workshop to be held on Saturday 21 and Sunday 22 September. If our teams are successful in reaching stage three they will win an immersive entrepreneurial experience to Silicon Valley, California, USA, a global centre of technological innovation.
More information is available at
https://www.monash.edu/it/wise
We wish the students every success! Many thanks to Ms. Keen who makes sure every STEAM opportunity is taken advantage of for our students.
Serenie Tsai Year 9
Over the holidays Serenie attended a Girl Power in Engineering and IT program at the University of Melbourne. It was aimed at female high school students with an interest in STEM with three stages from Year 9 through to Year 12. The program was highly competitive and only 30 girls were selected from over 150 applicants. Serenie learned about different fields of engineering, to assist in identifying
Many thanks for all of your support as always. I appreciate families letting me know of their daughters’ successes as ce