Principal's message

Welcome back everyone and welcome to our new students in particular.

Last year we farewelled our Year 12s but we also farewelled some teachers who had been with us for some time: Alexandra Andrianopoulos and Janine Gollant moved to other schools and Maurice Woolcock, Jane Wainwright and Luke De Munk retired. We also farewelled Tristan Barry, Marko Berkhout, Holly Lee, Kylie Norris, Philipa Purser and Alisha Smith. We wish them all the best in their new endeavours. Two staff members - Greg Wallis and Geoff Perks - are on leave for all of this year and we will see them in 2021. I also am pleased to have three staff members returning from leave: Lisa Blumenstein, Gemma Johnson and Bronwyn Moline. 

We welcome new staff to the College :

I truly believe that we are a fantastic school community and I am so pleased to be the principal of this school. 

Last year we farewelled our Year 12 students (the class of 2019) who have now moved on to the next chapter in their lives. There are many times in our lives when we experience the challenges associated with stepping outside our comfort zones and many things are uncertain. One of these times is when we commence a new school for the first time, such as our Year 7s have done recently. We also have many new students in Years 8 to 12 to have joined this year and they will be feeling unsettled as they don’t have a safety net of shared experiences and friendships that most other students have.

Another key time that we may feel challenged is when you enter into Year 12 and you are about to take full control of your learning. This is the final 100 metres of the marathon that you have been running since you commenced prep all those years ago. Our Year 12 students will now need to dig deep into their reserves, recognise their strengths and invest consistently and fully in their studies. But what is important to remember is that even though Year 12 requires them to be independent, they are never really alone. They have the support of their family, peers, teachers, the wellbeing support staff and our education support staff every day they are here. 

No matter what your year level is, or how long you have been here, you belong to the Mentone Girls’ Secondary College community! I believe that MGSC is the embodiment of an ideal, a philosophy and a united community who believe that there are no barriers to what women are capable of.

And when I speak of barriers I am referencing gender, religious affiliation, age, cultural and economic barriers. We are all individuals but we unite to be critical and creative thinkers who are accepting, kind and generous in our actions. When you wear the MGSC uniform (or for staff we wear our badge) I want you to remember that this is what we, as a united community, represent.

This year MGSC will be celebrating its 65th year as a learning community. Last week, I had an impromptu visit from one of our former school prefects who attended the school during the time that Nina Carr, the first Principal of MGSC, was here. As she recalled stories of her time at the college, it was clear to me that she was still deeply connected through those memories to our school.

Her name was Helen Lee-Archer, and as I said she was a prefect at the school. Helen brought with her a silver tray gifted to her by Nina Carr before she died. The inscription reads “Presented to Nina Carr in sincere appreciation of services rendered from Past and Present Members of the Advisory Council of Mentone Girls’ High School, December 1965”. Whilst she was touched that Ms Carr had entrusted her with the silver tray, Helen felt that it was time to bring this back to MGSC and I will be placing it in the display cabinet near reception.

I mention this story because we stand for something at MGSC. We believe that being part of the MGSC community elevates our sense of pride in ourselves, in our community and in our environment. This applies as much to the staff as it does to students.

Of late, Australia has experienced the most severe environmental events for some time in the form of extreme heat, bushfires and floods over the holiday break. Some of our students and their families have been directly or indirectly affected by these events. Now the world is grappling with a new virus. It is important that we are all mindful of the need to be sensitive to students, families and staff members who are of Chinese or Asian decent during this time as they will be feeling scrutinised at this time. 

We live in a world where international travel is common place and Australia is both a destination for tourists and a point of departure for Australians. One of Australia's most treasured aspects is the culturally diverse nature of its communities. Many of you will have relatives living overseas that you may visit and some of our families may have been born elsewhere but have made Australia their permanent home. 

It is vital that we do not culturally or racially stereotype this virus as our students and their families need our support at this time and are not to be feared or excluded. Where MGSC staff or families have visited China recently, and have travelled from the Hubei Provence, they have remained at home for a two week period. To my knowledge we have not had any students coming from that area return to school. What can we do, as a united community to support families and the wider community during these trying times? I feel that we can continue to show compassion and empathy for those affected by these events. 

Thinking globally as well as locally we can put into place measures to respect and care for our environment by reducing waste such as single use plastics – bringing our lunches to school in a container and not in plastic wrap. And if you do use plastic wrap use the biodegradable version so that it breaks down and doesn’t end up in the stomachs of marine and bird life. Place whatever rubbish you have in the bin or if you find it hard to walk the extra 20 steps to the bin – place it back in your lunch box and take it home. 

Don’t throw your discarded fruit on the garden beds. It will only bring rats and mice to the school.  Take it home to place in your compost bin if you have one. Recycle what you can and save water by not running a tap whilst brushing your teeth.  Remember that some communities are in drought and the earth’s resources are not infinite. Do your bit for the environment and in return the environment will look after us all.

It is important that we act responsibly and collectively – united as one. Try to show kindness every day to others. I sincerely wish our MGSC a wonderful year. 

Linda Brown