Principal’s Update | August, 2023
Adelaide Exchange.
At the halfway point of Term 3, we are eagerly awaiting the arrival of our partner school, Adelaide High School, and the resumption of one of the longest running school partnerships in history.
We have an enduring relationship with Adelaide HS that runs all the way back to 1913. Many of you may not realise, in 1913 Mac.Rob and Melbourne High School were one co-educational school. Prior to 1913 the boys of each school had competed in exchanges, but for the first time, thirteen girls from Adelaide visited Melbourne to start our exchange.
The exchange was interrupted by World War I (1914/15), the Spanish Influenza flu epidemic (1919), and the separation of the school into two single sex schools in 1927.
The exchange between three schools (Melbourne High School, Mac.Rob, and Adelaide) reignited in 1952 and continued until 2019, only to be interrupted by COVID in 2020. We are thrilled to restart the exchange this year and look forward to welcoming the Adelaide students and staff visiting Mac.Rob and the Melbourne HS students and staff visiting Adelaide.
We look forward to the enduring relationships that will be formed and the friendly competitive spirit in the various competitions. We thank our school community for so generously offering to billet the students from Adelaide.
Professional Learning Day.
The staff demonstrated that they too are learners on Tuesday 8 August, on our professional learning day. We focused on further developing our skills using the Google Suite, and faculty-specific learning advice for students.
'Munientibus (Pioneers)' IB Art Exhibition
Students, families, and friends of Mac.Rob are warmly invited to support the pioneers of the IB Visual Arts Program 2023 at Mac.Rob through 'Munientibus (Pioneers)', the inaugural IB Visual Arts Exhibition.
Please join us for an evening of incredible art as we celebrate the student work developed over the past two years of the IB Program.
'Munientibus (Pioneers)' IB Art Exhibition
Thursday, August 24th | 4:30pm - 6:30pm
This is a free event, but guests are asked to RSVP to assist us with catering.
The exhbition will be held in the Lakeside Building, L101 and L102. IB students (and students considering undertaking the IB in 2024), along with their families, are welcome to attend this event.
School Review.
Every four years government schools undertake a comprehensive review with an external reviewer, a representative from the regional office, and other practising principals. We are undertaking ours at the moment.
Over the six months prior to the review, the school examines all of its policies and practices and presents a School Self Evaluation to the panel. The panel then spends four days in the school speaking to students, staff and a selection of parents, including our School Council President, Richard Chan and works with us to develop our next four year Strategic Plan. Our review will conclude on August 14th, 2023.
Student Highlights.
Hampers for Humanity
Hampers for Humanity students organised donations for the Avalon Centre.
GIV’s Hampers for Humanity is a yearly donation drive to collect items and necessities for those in need. Such items included canned food tins, clothing, sanitary items and thoughtful well-wishing cards. Students generously donated in a contest to earn the most points for their class whilst participating in a good cause. GIV is thankful and proud of everyone who participated in the initiative! In the end, we are all winners for helping those in need.
Our highest-scoring classes were: 1st – 12I (432 points); 2nd – 10J (296); 3rd – 11F (220); 4th – 103 (144).
Individual high scores belong to: Sophia Q, 12I (382), Chloe Y, 11F (200), and Chloe C, 10E (92).
All donations were sent to Avalon Centre, which is run entirely by volunteers and survives solely on donations and grants.
GIV Team
Victorian School Music Festival (VSMF)
A student polaroid of participants of the Victorian School Music Festival.
In July, the Paganini string ensemble got the chance to compete in the Victorian School Music Festival (VSMF). We chose to play two pieces that we were familiar with from previous performances: Tchaikovsky’s Ethnic Variations from Swan Lake and Britten’s Welcome Suite.
Although we were all slightly nervous going into our performance, we played well and were helped along by the show of support from Melbourne High, who were also in attendance. After we had finished our section, we were able to watch the other schools play. St Leonards’ chamber strings performance left us all in awe, and the lead violinist was incredibly talented. Getting to see performances like the ones we saw at VSMF is just one of the many things that doing music at Mac.Rob offers. In addition to giving us a break from studies, music provides a tight knit community where we are able to grow together as performers. Traditions carried over from previous years, such as going out for pizza and ice cream as an ensemble prior to VSMF for example, mean that everyone is included and able to form a close bond with one another.
Libby 11G
MHS x Mac.Rob Blitz Chess Tournament
Mac.Rob students compete against MHS in the Blitz Chess Tournament.
On Thursday, July 27th, MHS and Mac.Rob hosted a blitz chess tournament involving a group of 60 individuals playing nine rounds of intense chess. With the fast time control of 4 minutes + 2 seconds per player per game, many found it unlike any chess format they have played before. However, the overall consensus was positive and many found it challenging but ultimately a fun and rewarding experience. Throughout the day, Mac.Robbian’s collaborated with the MHS cohort and demonstrated great values of community, growth and compassion. As well as this, it was inspiring to see everyone put themselves out there to new experiences, learn from one another and share their interest in chess. Overall, the tournament ran very smoothly and we would like to thank Mr. Schaffner, Mr. Tran, and the MHS captains for making this all possible. We look forward to hosting more events like these in the future!
ForAMEAL
Students pack meals as part of For-A-Meal for the Rotary Club.
Congratulations to our Interact leaders and many student volunteers, who worked with representatives from Rotary to pack several thousand meals for those in need. The production line in the gym was a sight to behold.
Combined School Play
Last week the combined school play, “Clue” opened at Melbourne High School’s Memorial Hall. It was a truly outstanding and hysterical performance, demonstrating the magnificent talent, hard work and collaboration of our performing arts students and the tech-crew. We were thoroughly entertained and so proud of them.
Monash Scholars
Congratulations to six of our wonderful Year 10 students who have been selected as Monash Scholars and will receive mentoring and pathways opportunities over the coming years. Well done to: Tanveer Ahluwalia, Anaya Asif, Simran Chopra, Grace Li, Abigail Martinez, Preethika Vaseekaran.
Chaitanya (Cherry) A, Edstart Achievement Award winner.
Edstart Achievement Award
Recently, Year 12 student, Chaitanya (Cherry) A, was selected as the 2023 winner of the Edstart Achievement Award in the Sustainability and Environment Category. This national award aims to recognise students who have demonstrated talent, dedication and persistent effort in a range of different categories. Cherry has spent the last four years researching sustainable solutions to growing problems surrounding water quality and quantity. You can read more about Cherry’s achievement here.
Winter Concert
The Winter Concert was a phenomenal success, held once again at the Recital Centre. Congratulations to the music teams and students at both Mac.Rob and Melbourne High. The quality of their performances was truly inspiring. I had to keep reminding myself that they are students.
Wellbeing Expo
On Friday 11 August the Wellbeing team and the SRCAT student leaders ran a series of activities to promote proactive ways to to build and maintain our wellbeing.
VCE Premier’s Awards
The following students received VCE Premier’s Awards at the Convention Centre on Thursday, July 27th. Congratulations to:
Denuri G | Accounting
Sofea S | Economics (Current Year 12)
Shalana P | Economics
Juliana C | French
Reimi D | Physical Education (Current Year 12)
Perlie P | Vietnamese Second Language (VSL) (Current Year 12)
Ananaya M | Hindi (VSL) (Current Year 12)
These are awarded to only one or two students per subject in 2022 VCE.
National Whitlam Institute Competition
We have had two of our students shortlisted. Congratulations to Ayanna A (Year 9) with The path of our minds and Meha M (Year 10), with Once. We have subsequently found out that Ayanna won the Year 9 and 10 category, and will receive: $350 and will be invited to undertake a tailored program with ReachOut.com, will also be offered the opportunity to be paid $200 to produce a feature article for the ReachOut.com website. Ayanna will also receive a book pack from Allen and Unwin. Congratulations to both students, and in particular Ayanna - this is a wonderful achievement. You can read more about their achievements here.
Sue Harrap | Principal
Support Mac.Rob.
As our historic campus nears its centenary, we are constantly seeking ways to ensure Mac.Rob’s learning environment enhances the learning and experiences of our students. As educators, we want to provide facilities that match the capabilities of our students. We are continually challenged by the costs of modernising and improving our ageing buildings and grounds. The heritage listing of the school leads to significantly higher costs than other schools.
To assist us with addressing this challenge, our School Council has formed a Buildings and Grounds Sub-Committee, focused on further enhancing the school environment to meet student needs.
We are starting with a small number of achievable targets for funds raised as part of the Building and Library Funds:
The new Library has more shelves than previously expected, and unused space that could be used for more study desks. We plan to use money raised in the Library Fund to expand the book collection to fill the empty shelves, and purchase more study desks so that more students have a quiet place to concentrate.
Inclement weather is a problem at Mac.Rob, as our beautiful gardens have few places for students to keep out of the sun and rain. We plan to use the money raised so far this year by the Building Fund (along with a co-contribution from the Parents’ Association) to upgrade the outdoor areas to provide more seating and shade to students.
Our new LRC study area has ample room for more resources and study spaces to provide a better learning environment for our students.
Our historic grounds, including our new buildings, don’t provide students with many sheltered areas to sit and learn during wet or hot weather.
To donate to either of our Building or Library Funds, please click the buttons below. Donations over $2 are tax deductible.