PRINCIPAL'S REPORT

A message from the Principal

SCHOOL COUNCIL ELECTIONS

Congratulations to the School Council Members for 2015.  Elections were held and I thank all who nominated.

2015 School Council members:

Pitsa Binnion

Alan Bullas

William Confalonieri

Kellie Felmingham

Gill Highnam

Shirley Jiang

Lana Kaper

Alan Limpyer

Jim Magee

Les McLeod

Lachlan Noble

Peter Quinn

Demetrious Stoupas

Co-opted Thistlelonians:

Geoff Woolnough

Co-opted Student Representative:

Callum Lloyd

I look forward to working with School Council and thank all of you for your willingness to serve this community in this capacity.

9UP - CONGRATULATIONS TO OUR YEAR 9s

Congratulations to all staff and students involved in the 9UP excursions to the city.  I have received numerous phone calls from people who had witnessed exceptional conduct, behaviour and good manners from our students.  They have shown respect when dealing with people, courtesy on the train and I congratulate all for being exceptional ambassadors for our school.

The following are a couple of emails I received from people who were interviewed by students:

“Good morning, I wanted to pass on how impressed I was this morning when I was approached by a group of your students to conduct a survey.  Their positive demeanour, nice manners and interaction skills are a real credit to your school.  It was a pleasure to meet them and participate in their survey”.

“I was just asked by a group of Year 9 students from your school to complete a survey on my thoughts towards gay marriage.  When I asked students why they were collecting the information and what they were going to do with it afterwards I was thrilled to hear a very coherent and thorough explanation by Carly Thurgood (Year 9) that the study was to understand the community we live in, how decisions are made and how we can help to shape these.  I was so thrilled to see such a collaborative, engaging and practical approach to an important topic.  The group of students I encountered represented your school faultlessly”.

It is always wonderful to receive these compliments from people in the community.

VCE FORMAL

Our Annual VCE formal was held on Thursday 6 March at the Brighton International.  As always, much effort was undertaken to ensure this event was a tremendous success.

Students looked glamorous and I was very grateful for the efforts of Mr Noble, Ms Felmingham, Mr Hudd, Mr Quinn and Ms Lehmann for their organisation of this important event.  I also thank our student leaders for their assistance and the many staff who were in attendance and make this event possible.  The Management of International Receptions in Brighton love our school because our students are so well behaved and a credit to their families and our school.

CANBERRA TRIP

Ms Arena, Ms Cozens, Mr Cukierman and Mr Machin have travelled to Canberra with senior legal and politics students over the long weekend.  They have enjoyed three days experiencing all that is brilliant in Canberra.  

It is indeed an impressive cultural and political hub and I am sure students found it an inspirational place to visit.  I hope their learning is enhanced and I am very grateful for the efforts of the staff.

GERMAN EXCHANGE

I wish the nineteen German students along with Frau Fowler and Herr Kamener all the best for the trip to Germany.  They leave on Sunday and I know they will return with wonderful memories and a life changing experience.

CONGRATULATIONS TO

Melina Ayres(Year 10) on receiving a Soccer Award at the Victorian School Sports Awards 2014 held on Tuesday 10 March at the MCG.  

We wish you all the very best in your sporting endeavours for both Soccer and Cricket.  You are a wonderful ambassador for our College.  Well done!

NEWSPAPER ARTICLE

On Friday 6 March, Page 4, The Australian newspaper made mention of McKinnon Secondary College.

This article showcases excellence in public schools and names a number of these schools in Australia that outperform high cost private schools.  The article can be found at the following link .  

However, the last paragraph reads “Students at McKinnon Secondary College in Melbourne recorded higher results in Year 9 numeracy than those at Melbourne Girls’ Grammar, which had nearly three times more funding for each student”.

I would also like to congratulate our Maths Faculty for working tirelessly to deliver exceptional outcomes for students.  In fact I acknowledge and pay tribute to all teachers at McKinnon who help deliver these exceptional outcomes.