PRINCIPAL'S REPORT

VICTORIAN ACADEMY OF TEACHING AND LEADERSHIP

I would like to thank Matthew Day (Year 12) who represented the school with great pride at the official launch of the Victorian Academy of Teaching and Leadership. 

Speaking on ‘What does Teaching Excellence mean to you?’ Matthew represented the voice of government schools and spoke highly of his interactions with teachers within the McKinnon community. All members in attendance were most impressed with Matthew's message and were reminded of the importance of community and engaging teachers in shaping young people's education. 

PI DAY 2022

On Tuesday 15 and Wednesday 16 March, McKinnon celebrated Pi Day with the annual Pi Reciting Competition. Class Champions from Mathematics classes competed to see who could recite the most decimal places of the irrational number pi. We had an impressive number of students participating this year, with each contender receiving a participation certificate and House points to go towards the 2022 House Cup. 

Whilst no one was able to beat the impressive record of 1000 digits, set by current Year 12 student Chris Liolios, we had some incredible efforts from students’ across the school. 

Overall Year Level Champions have been crowned, with awards to be handed out in our next whole school General Assembly to celebrate their achievements. Chris is set to contest his own record next week; stay tuned to hear the result! Congratulations to all contenders, we can’t wait to see what next year brings. 

HOUSE MUSIC FESTIVAL

Congratulations to Monash!

What a wonderful spectacle this was with the McKinnon spirit in full view. All House Music Captains have worked so hard to prepare music arrangements, choreography and take rehearsals from early morning to after school for weeks. 

We especially are grateful for the efforts of East Campus students who had to walk to and from the Campus before and after rehearsals. I also thank our adjudicator Lisa Maxwell-Cripps for her expert judging. The sounds, the steps, the lighting, the colour; it was all on magnificent display.

What wonderful talents we have in the performing arts!

Thank you to Ms Vrisk for her guidance and assistance in coordinating this wonderful event.

EDUCATION PERFECT

This year, McKinnon Secondary College participated in the Education Perfect Languages Championships once again. For seven days, from Tuesday 8 March to Tuesday 15 March, we raced to the top spot on the global scoreboard with other schools from around the world. 

After seven days of hard work, determination and perseverance, we managed to secure second place. With 2,825 schools involved, that's no small feat. As a school, we answered an incredible number of 1,246,100 questions and earned a total of 203 awards. 

During that week, we also achieved noteworthy outcomes such as 1st overall in Victoria, 3rd overall in French, 2nd overall in German, 2nd overall in Russian and 2nd overall in Greek.

Congratulations to our Elite awardees (minimum 10,000 points):

Anya Aquende (Year 9) (2nd in the world)

Alex Do (Year 8) (23rd in the world)

Sofia Lazo Rodriguez (Year 8) (63rd in the world)

Christina Tan (Year 9) (71st in the world)

Jack Campbell (Year 10) (209th in the world)

Sally Hu (Year 9) (237th in the world)

Patrick Pacak (Year 8) (265th in the world)

Nathan Nguyen (Year 11) (279th in the world)

Special thanks to Mr Chamontin and the language staff for their encouragement and support.

INTERACT CLUB

The Interact Club raised more than $3300 for Australians in Queensland and NSW affected by the devastating floods.

By combining the funds raised from the lunchtime sausage sizzle, free dress day and the Year 12 formal, our school community was able to produce a significant donation. A special mention to those who wore a splash of yellow and blue, to show our solidarity with the people in Ukraine.

Thank you to the Interact Club members for the organisation of these events.