Leadership & Engagement
Our student leaders have begun the year meeting in their new teams to continue with the work begun late last year at our training day, establishing their goals and plans for the current year. Unless necessary to make a change, student leadership meetings will usually be held on GOLD Mondays in rooms 5,6 & 7.
The Junior School Leadership team will be finalised in the next few weeks with the election of Class Captains at Year 7 and the completion of the SRC from the Junior School. Ms Sian Sharpe will be supporting the student leaders in the SRC who have already started planning Free Dress days in support of various charitable organisations as well as some exciting plans for the school.
The continued growth of developing student voice and agency remains a priority of our school and all students are encouraged to share their ideas, opinions and goals they have an interest in seeing developed within the school and wider community.
Personal Learning
To fight for change tomorrow, we need to build resilience today ~ Sheryl Sandberg
All students in Years 7 to 10 participate in Personal Learning classes either weekly (Year 7 and 10) or fortnightly (Year 8 and 9). Personal Learning programs include sessions intended to support the development of study skills, emotional literacy including self-awareness, social-awareness and gratitude, careers exploration and employment preparation skills and teamwork. Completion of check tasks are required at various points and these will appear on Compass and the semester reports. There have been a number of changes to the programs at each level for this year following feedback from students and staff including the introduction of a student workbook and a weekly prompt on Google ‘classroom’ encouraging students to engage regularly in forward thinking, mindfulness and reflection. The use of the student planner (pages on the left) or journalling is encouraged strongly to support individual well being.
Wendy Harvey
Director of Student Leadership & Engagement
College Captain address to Welcome Assembly
I love my year level, so I thought they’d be the perfect people to ask for help with my speech. As a pretty opinionated group of girls, I thought they’d be bursting with advice to give all the other year levels, and I would be overwhelmed with the amount of responses I got.
When only seven people replied to my message, I was disappointed, maybe even slightly embarrassed. But if there’s one thing you should keep in mind this year, it’s the ability to be resilient. So, despite the rejection I faced from my peers, I continued to try and write this speech, and, as a result, here is some advice offered to you, the students of MGSC, from the Year 12s, who really aren’t that much older or wiser at all.
I might skip right past the advice that said party hard and don’t do any work, because I think we all know how that one will end. So, to the Year 7s, welcome! The biggest one here is to open your mind to new opportunities, and never be afraid to ask someone for help. You’ll get the hang of things in no time and within a week you’ll be wondering why you were so worried in the first place.
Year 8, you’re no longer in Year 7, but, it’s only the first week of Year 8, and helping out the Year 7s was exactly what you wanted only a few months ago. To both years, don’t be afraid to make mistakes, whether that be getting caught playing games on your iPad in the JLC, pushing in front of an older student in the canteen line (scary times), or whatever it may be; everything is a learning experience that will help you in your future years.
Year 9s and 10s, and yes, I’m grouping you, because despite what you might be thinking, you actually have a lot in common. These years can often be referred to as the ‘drama years’, but try not to let that get in the way of the strong friendships you can create this year. The little things may seem important at times, but, despite the fact that you may have crooked eyelashes from Kmart, blotchy fake tan and be suffering from a mid-breakdown decision to cut bangs, your year level will learn to love and accept you in these years, and you will grow closer than ever. The main message from our year level to yours is to treat everyone equally regardless of social status or friendship group; it will only benefit all of you in the long run.
To the Year 11s, get ready for the best year of high school so far. You have everything you need to have an amazing year without the pressures of an ATAR at the end. Take it seriously and you’re all set for Year 12, just make sure you wrap your toasties for the VCE Centre, and we’ll get along just fine.
To my year 12s, we’ve come so far. Everything from musical.lys on the oval in Junior School, fighting over who stole whose boyfriend in Year 10 and posting on our thirds how we could trust no one (definitely not talking about myself…), to being the most supportive, tight-knit group of girls we are today. I cannot wait to see what this year brings us, and I wouldn’t want to do it with anyone else.
To you all, despite our year levels, we are one school.
This year, wouldn’t it be great if we didn’t see our year levels as ranks of superiority, or barriers of communication. And instead, start to create a new legacy of being united as a school.
Thank you.
Ailish Byrne
College Captain
The other speeches given by our Year 12 leaders at the Welcome Assembly will be published in upcoming newsletters.