Welcome to Mac.Rob’s May newsletter!

It has been a wonderful start to Term, with deep learning and great co-curricular activities supporting the development of our students, and giving them the opportunity to shine and be challenged.

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National Basketball Champion

Congratulations to Orla M in Year 12 for representing Victoria in the U/18s Women's Basketball Team at the National Competition. This is an incredible achievement and we are incredibly proud of your hard work and commitment.

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ANZAC Commemoration Ceremony for Students

Our Year 9s did a stellar job performing with Melbourne High School students at Melbourne’s 92nd ANZAC Commemoration Ceremony for Students, organised by Legacy on Friday, April 19th, at the Shrine of Remembrance. Her Excellency Professor the Honourable Margaret Gardner AC, Governor of Victoria, addressed students from all across the state in a moving ceremony. Thank you to our Year 9s who performed ‘I am Australian’, ‘Waltzing Matilda’ and ‘Advance Australia Fair’. Thank you also to our School Captain, Kathy G, who read the poem ‘The Answer’ by R.W. Lillard. Thank you to Hannah R and Alisha S for laying the school wreath at the eternal flame.

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ANZAC Assembly

On Tuesday, April 23rd, we took time out to commemorate ANZAC day with a whole school assembly. A big thank you to our School Captain, Kathy G, and Vice Captain, Maggie U, for their address; to Soleil P, for her poem; to Jagdeep K for her introduction and explanation of the Ode, Last Post and Reveille; Dumini Manikku W for her recitation of the Ode of Remembrance; and to the Brass Band for their musical performances.

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Mac.Rob Foundation - Anna Bradbury Little Scholarships

*The Anna Bradbury Little Scholarship recipients for 2024.*

Congratulations to Lyshana Ye-L (Visual Arts), Katie W (Music), Soleil P (Writing). These students demonstrated outstanding interest and skills in each of their chosen fields. The Foundation Board was delighted to award these students with the 2024 Scholarships so that they can continue their pursuit of excellence in these areas of passion.

You can read more about the students here.

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ABC Take Over

Congratulations to Shriya R in Year 11 who was a 2023 winner in the ABC Take Over, an annual competition where young people from across the country are given the opportunity to have their voices heard and be showcased. Shriya worked with the ABC production team and crew to film her story which aired on ABC over the summer holidays. She attended many film and writing workshops to help create the episode she was a part of. For those interested in reading/watching Shriya's story please find relevant links below:

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SRC Week

It has been a big Week 4 with SRC celebrations during each lunch time. We celebrated our cultural diversity with a massive assembly and multicultural parade. There was K-Pop Dancing, an amazing Chinese Dragon Dance performed, and some terrific Bollywood Dancing that got the teachers involved too. A big thank you to SRC Co-Presidents, Danielle B and Grace T, and all of the student SRC representatives for their leadership of SRC Week.

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Graduate Portrait Gallery Induction

*The inductees of the Mac.Rob Portrait Gallery for 2024.*

Another highlight of our calendar is the Graduate Portrait Gallery Induction, where past students who have made significant achievements in their careers and community are honoured by becoming part of our gallery. The gallery lines the halls of the Kingsway Building, and is being replicated online on the Mac.Rob Foundation website.

This year the honours were awarded to Jacqui Briggs Weatherill, current CEO of the City of Dandenong and a leader in the public sector, sports administration and gender equality; Leonie Bird, barrister and theologian; Elizabeth Grant, AM, pharmacist, businesswoman and politician; and Jenn ten Seldam, marketing and leadership development and executive coach. We thank all of the recipients, their families and friends for allowing us to share their stories with the Mac.Rob community to support and inspire future generations.

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Combined Mac.Rob & Melbourne High School Musical

Congratulations to the cast and crew of Pippin. It opened to a full house on Thursday, May 9th, in Memorial Hall at Melbourne High. It was a true celebration of the performing arts and the strong culture of creativity and collaboration. It is amazing to see what the dedication, hard work and talent of our young people can produce.

More than 50 Mac.Rob students have worked together for up to five months to bring this spectacle to life. A particular mention goes to Kiki W, Joanne A, Hannah T, Alex M and Ruth G who all held leading roles. Well done. We are incredibly proud of all of you for the big and small parts you played in this wonderful production.

We now look forward to the combined school play, Much Ado About Nothing, which will be performed at Mac.Rob in August.

There are so many individual and collective achievements across the school; I hope you enjoy exploring and celebrating them throughout this and future editions of the newsletter.

Best wishes,

Sue Harrap | Principal

Developing the Mac.Rob Learner Model

Over the course of Semester 1, Mac.Rob has started work on developing a schoolwide Learner Model, which aims to align the community's understanding of how learning takes place at Mac.Rob. The model will provide a set of agreed principles for how learning takes place at Mac.Rob, as well as a set of strategies to enable students to put these principles into practice. The goal of the Learner Model is to enhance student agency in the classroom by developing their understanding of learning, and empower them to maximise their growth. It will also help to direct teachers towards the best strategies for supporting student learning, and provide an invaluable resource to parents and carers for supporting their child through the learning process.

In developing the model, our team of Learning Specialists and Wellbeing staff have been conducting community consultation sessions with students, parents, and teachers, as well as delving into research into the cognitive science of learning. We hope to launch the Learner Model to the school community in Term 3, so watch this space as the model continues to develop!

Mr. Sam Crocket, Assistant Principal

Student Highlights

Intermediate Tennis

On April 29th, the Mac.Rob Intermediate Tennis team competed at Pakenham. Conditions were tricky, but they managed to come away with the victory, and will be representing the Southern Metropolitan Region in the State Finals later this Term! Congratulations to Rachel P (9J), Suzy S (9F), Tarenya J (10C), Jianaa M (9C), Athanasia P (10G), and Mikayla M (9A), who all contributed greatly to the team’s victory, and played with the utmost sportspersonship.

Nam Nguyen, Tennis Coach

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Intermediate Softball

On April 30th, the Intermediate Softball team competed at Regionals against Elisabeth Murdoch College, Nossal High School, and McKinnon Secondary College. Our first two games, against EMC and Nossal, were quick successes, with Mac.Rob winning 14-1 and 21-6, respectively, after only the first four innings of the two matches. The weather was cold but our spirits were high, and we felt warmed up and ready for our last match to seal our win and ticket to the State Championships.

Entering our final match, we were a bit nervous, exhausted, and excited at the same time. The match started off a bit rocky, with our team being ahead by only one run after the first innings. We kept our heads up and kept pushing through the wet weather, eventually starting to see a difference between our two scores. Eventually, Mac.Rob sealed the win with an 11 points margin, and we are thrilled to be competing at State level on May 23rd.

Erin Schroeder, Softball Coach

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House Athletics

A little throw here and a little jump there! Bam, pow! The 2024 House Athletics Carnival kicked off with a burst of energy and excitement as students dashed across the track with determination and flair!

House Athletics proved to be more than a showcase of incredible physical talent, but rather a stunning display of camaraderie and friendship. It was truly lovely to feel the supportive atmosphere as students cheered from the sidelines, supporting their friends and peers as they ran, jumped, hopped and threw! The dress-up theme ‘Lights, Camera, Action!’ saw wonderfully creative costumes and outfits across all the Year levels, with teachers flaunting their passion alongside the wonderful students. The House parades were a striking display of House spirit, as each House strutted down the 100m track, singing and dancing, with smiles and laughter on their faces. Shoutout to Dryads for winning the House parade, and a massive congratulations to Nereids for winning overall! We would also like to acknowledge and celebrate the efforts from the age group champions on the day.

We extend a massive thank you to everyone who participated, as well as all the teachers and student helpers who offered to help out at all the events! Of course, the day couldn’t have run without the incredible Sport Captains, the Sport Rep team and teachers, particularly Ms. Toohey, the driving force behind the success.

We can’t wait to continue to foster house spirit and participation amongst Mac.Rob in our future events in Term 2 and 3, so make sure to get excited for what’s to come!

House Captains, out!

Ananya M, Tiffany H, Ellawen G, Verene K, Chloe G, Pia T, Anjali P and Nithusha S.

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Sailing Challenge

Recently, I had the honour of accompanying 16 other amazing volunteers, crew, and students from across the state around the bay on a four day sailing voyage. We learned how to set sail, anchor, manage seasickness, and wake up at the crack of dawn for watch groups! I even learned how to read a compass, sail a ship, and embrace new connections and challenges.

I made newfound friends, had chats in the middle of the night about topics ranging from how milo should be made, to travelling around the world, and ate great food! Being on the ship, I very literally got to see the world in a new perspective, from a horizon I never had the chance to see before. The sunset and sunrise, and steering the boat so close to a buoy to see seals sitting on it, were all key memories. I was granted the opportunity and funding by Port Phillip Rotary Club, and I am so grateful they made this trip possible! I am also thankful for Ms. Ziyad for letting us know about this opportunity.

I urge anyone who is even the slightest bit keen to apply - it is an experience you only get once in your life.

Jenisha F, Year 11

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Combined School Musical Reflections

*The Mac.Rob & MHS Stage Crew of “Pippin”.*

The combined school musical of 2024 was a sentimental one, partially due to the fact that 40 years ago, in 1984, MacRob and MHS performed the Original Broadway version of Pippin, whilst our production was the Broadway Revival. Nevertheless, there were high expectations to live up to, and the cast, crew and orchestra strove to not only meet these expectations, but exceed them. Now that the journey of endless rehearsals and singing has ended, it is safe to say that the overwhelming praise this production received from teachers, friends and family proves that this cause was successful in more ways than one. As we say goodbye to many of our graduating thespians, we must thank everyone for giving us all the extraordinary opportunity to put on this extraordinary show - and, while closing night brings bittersweet emotions, we keep in mind that the next school production will be in just no time at all!

Ruth G (10H) and Kiara W (12D)

Musical season has graced us once again, and the excitement and enthusiasm from our 27 dedicated musicians has been such an amazing experience to be a part of this year. Throughout all the rehearsals both by ourselves and with the rest of the cast and crew, we’ve really come to love the music and the production overall and the show has become a really memorable event from this year. Looking back on the show now after everything’s wrapped up, I’m really glad that I had the opportunity to be a part of it all and I hope that everyone involved in future productions will enjoy all the experiences just as much as I did.

Celia C (12D)

Stage Crew had the pleasure of working with both cast and orchestra to help bring the show to life! This was a wonderful experience for the new crewlings who got to gain lots of experience in different departments in Tech or Backstage, and a great opportunity for everyone to make lifelong friends.

“Lurking in the dark to support the magic on stage, working as a part of the Pippin stage crew was a fun and memorable experience shared with the rest of the production. From mic checks to prop making, messing with the lighting board to makeup artistry, we were able to culminate our efforts by putting on a spectacular show. The teamwork and shared passion among the crew and cast made all the effort worthwhile, letting us grow from awkward and inexperienced strangers to a stage crew family.”

Jasmine N (10J) & Mia M (10E), Mac.Rob Stage Crew

Support Mac.Rob.

*Our historic grounds, including our new buildings, don’t provide students with many sheltered areas to sit and learn during wet or hot weather.*

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. Every donation to the Building Fund contributes directly towards projects or upgrades identified by students and the Mac.Rob School Council as being beneficial to the education and wellbeing of our student. The maintenance of our historic campus is an ongoing project, and we are constantly seeking ways to provide our students with improved communal spaces, classrooms, and grounds where they can socialise, engage, and learn. A donation to the Building Fund will help ensure that generations of Mac.Robbians have access to the best teaching, learning, and wellbeing facilities possible.

To donate to the Building Fund, please select from the pre-determined amounts below, or alternatively, donate an amount of your choosing. All donations over $2 are tax deductible.

Donate to the Building Fund