Principal's Report 1st June
MGC Trivia Night!
Many thanks and congratulations to our wonderful parents, local community and Parents’ Association who raised over $17,000 for our students at the Trivia Night last Saturday. It is difficult to describe the camaraderie, altruism and philanthropy of the Association which ensures building community spirit alongside financial success!
Thank you to our Presidents, Gailean Hammond and Sallie Carman, M.C. Ritchie Hewitt and all of the team (I would love to list everyone but am fearful of an omission!).
Many thanks to our staff who supported the event particularly Paula McIntosh, Alison Lam and Quiz Master extraordinaire Sandor Kazi. We are all very fortunate to be part of MGC!
Strategic Planning 2017-2020 and Beyond
To inform our next Strategic Plan, the Leadership team are referencing the Review Report and latest research into the world of the future our girls are growing into. Please see the following references we are reading and discussing at present:
Education Policy Outlook Australia http://www.oecd.org/australia/ particularly the sections on preparing students for the future and continuous school improvement.
The New Work Mindset, found at http://www.fya.org.au/report/the-new-work-mindset-report/ . This report gives insight into “7 new job clusters” - the informers; the technologists; the carers; the generators; the designers; the artisans and the coordinators.
City Edge Network Professional Learning 16th and 18th August
Every two years the City Edge Network of schools including The MacRobertsons Girls’ High School, Melbourne High School, The University High School, The Victorian College of the Arts Secondary School, Albert Park Secondary College, Princes Hill Secondary College and Melbourne Girls’ conduct professional learning as an inner city Community of Practice. This year the Twilight Session will be held at The University High School on Wednesday 16th August, 2pm - 4 pm. All students will be dismissed at the end of period 3 on this day.
The Student Free Day endorsed by School Council for 18th August will see City Edge colleagues congregate at one of our seven schools to discuss pedagogy and curriculum, particularly related to our schools, performance development plans and Key Note speaker who is Adjunct Professor Erica McWilliam discussing “High Impact teaching for collaborative learning: What great pedagogy looks like.”
In her presentation, Erica will address the issue ‘why collaborate?’ before exploring what highly effective teachers do build, sustain and ‘normalise’ collaborative learning. Drawing on recent classroom research, she will share a range of useful pedagogical techniques for directing, supporting and sustaining collaborative learning in the context of a virtual ecology of digital disruption and distractibility and high stakes assessment. Insisting that all learning environments function best around facilitative routines, Erica will elaborate on pedagogical protocols for placing dynamic peer-with-peer collaboration at the centre of the inquiry-oriented learning environment.
Library Refurbishment
The Library refurbishment is finally underway and we anticipate a December completion. The spaces are designed around collaboration, problem based learning as well as quiet study. We are now working with interior designers on the final aspects of the project.
Kind Regards,
Karen Money
Principal