It is hard to believe that we’re at the end of Term 3 already; the year seems to be flying by. The warmer Spring weather has started to transform the outdoor areas of the school, and it is lovely to see students outside at recess and lunch enjoying fresh air, and making use of the new outdoor areas associated with the school building program.

*Student work on display at the IB Art Exhibition.*

Throughout the term we have celebrated the tangible outcomes of the Year 2 IB students, our pioneers. First with the Core Exhibition with their Visual Arts and Theatre Exhibitions. All of which not only showcased the products students produced, but also demonstrated the power of collaboration and a much deeper understanding of process.

We are incredibly proud of our students for their hard work, their team work and their creativity, and we are equally proud of our teachers who have demonstrated the same – firstly Manan, thank you Manan for making the time to share in this joyful celebration, and now Sandra. You too, have both been pioneers.

*A thrilling game of table tennis between Mac.Rob and Adelaide HS.*

The return of the 110 year old, joyful tradition of the Adelaide Exchange, signalled another element of normality returning this year. It was a first for me, and a truly memorable experience. The relationships and connections formed by those involved served to re-ignite this important tradition, and they have left a legacy that future generations will build on and also treasure.

While winning or losing is far less important than the bonds that are formed, Mac.Rob secured the Prefects’ Cup once again. We thank Meggin Toohey, Michelle Pride and our coaching staff for their hard work and hospitality, and we thank Sophie Clemson and Perlie Phuong for their leadership throughout the event.

Mac.Rob Week has just past and it has been another stellar line of celebrations honouring all that is Mac.Rob. The overpass was decorated with images and inspiration, the candidates for 2024 School Captain, Vice Captain and the SRC Co-Presidents gave their speeches to the school at Assembly, there was a humorous history of Mac.Rob video, a Connect Captain dance routine, an amazing race, a staff vs student futsal match (which the staff lost), with an amazing half time presentation from our Cheer Squad, and lots of chocolate frogs and cherry ripes given out.

At our Mac.Rob week assembly Mr. Bruce Smith, a representative from the company Cadbury Mondelez (the ‘offspring’ of Mac.Robertson Chocolates) gifted us a portrait of Sir MacPherson Robertson, the chocolatier and philanthropist who donated money for girls’ education which resulted in the creation of Mac.Rob back in the early 1900s.

*Students get up close and personal with native animals for R U OK? Day*

The portrait has been on loan to us since sometime in the 1990s. This presentation was a highlight for the assembly, as was the dance routine performed by all the Connect Captains.

Last week the Mac.Rob Ultimate Frizbee team, lead by Adam Bulman took home the silver medal in the State Championships. Well done team.

RUOK? Day was held on Thursday, September 14th. It was also a great festival - encouraging us all to look after ourselves and each other. We had student led activities, including a native animal petting zoo, photo booth, karaoke, board games, and sharing uplifting notes with each other. The staff participated in all the student activities too, and had a Kindness Kringle to share the love.

The House Dance competition was an incredible demonstration of student leadership, agency and collaboration; each House performed a spectacular demonstration of skill and team work. Well done to everyone involved; it was a wonderful way to end the term.

Little Lessons Podcast

We are excited to launch a new Mac.Podcast: “Little Lessons”! We have now expanded our Little Lessons wellbeing resources to include a regular podcast, hosted by Dr. Bridget McPherson, Head of Wellbeing and Engagement. Each episode will feature a guest staff member from Mac.Rob, offering their wisdom and expertise to parents and carers.

Our first Little Lesson podcast is focussed on the wonderful proverb, “It takes a village to raise a child”. The episode features Julia Stoppa, an English teacher and Head of Professional Learning. Bridget and Julia talk about the importance of the village in raising children, and the difference between parenting as a carpenter and parenting as a gardener. It’s an interesting, insightful conversation that promises to be of value to those adults who are caring for our Mac.Rob students.

You can listen to the episode below, or subscribe to the Mac.Rob Podcast channel on SoundCloud for all the latest!

Mac.Robertson Girls' High School · Little Lessons | Podcast #1 | "It Takes A Village"

‘Look. Listen. Live’ | VCE & IB Art Exhibition

Students, families, and friends of Mac.Rob are warmly invited to support students of the VCE music, media, and visual arts programs at Mac.Rob by attending the opening of 'Look Listen Live', the inaugural VCE Art & Design Exhibition.

The exhibition will run from October 11th to 13th, with an opening night gala on Wednesday, October 11th. Please join us for an evening of incredible art, music, and media as we celebrate the student work developed in 2023.

'Look Listen Live' VCE Art & Design Exhibition | Opening Night Gala

Wednesday, October 11th | 5:00pm - 6:30pm

This is a free event, but guests are asked to RSVP to assist us with catering.

The exhibition will be held in the Mac.Rob Hall, Level 2, Kingsway Building. Please enter via the main school entrance (Front Office doors) facing Albert Road.

Click here to RSVP to this the Opening Night Gala.

Presentation Night | Tuesday, November 21st

Mac.Rob students, families, and friends are reminded to save the date - Tuesday, November 21st - for the 2023 Presentation Night.

Held this year at the magnificent Palais Theatre in St. Kilda, Presentation Night is a celebration of student performance, co-curricular, and academic success from throughout the year. The night will feature speeches from school leaders, special guests, and students, and include an awards ceremony of special and academic awards.

Families are reminded that Presentation Night is a compulsory school event for all students, and that friends and family members are encouraged to attend.

The event will be ticketed through the venue, with tickets going on sale in early Term 4. Please check Compass for more information closer to the date.

Student Highlights.

Duke of Ed Camp

As I stared up in the night sky, the skies were clear and full of star constellations embedded in the dark sky. I also saw a luminous supermoon penetrating through the clouds above the valley. I knew this camp was an experience I would always remember. While this camp continuously pushed everyone out of their comfort zones, it undoubtedly resulted in a lot of joy, happiness and reward. From forming circles around the warm and cosy fire to seeing rainbows across the Great Ocean Road, the experience of learning various skills and coming together as a class was something that was unforgettable.

A camp like this is truly a moment to reflect on and live for. Despite rain and sun battling to dominate the sky continuously over the time at camp, the memories that each of us made individually are something that I am so grateful for. Thank you so much to Ms Hobbs for organising this journey. It would not have been possible without your continuous support! In addition, thank you to Ms Toohey and Ms Smith for joining us and making our journey so exciting. - Ayanna S

BandFest 2023

On September 5th, Mac.Rob had the chance to host a special event called BandFest 2023. It was a festival where different schools' music groups came together to make music. The students from these schools worked together for the first time, and their goal was to perform some songs by the end of the day. Mac.Rob's Concert Band proudly represented our school, and it was a great opportunity for everyone to learn and improve their musical skills.

During the event, the Music Committee also set up a bake sale during break times for all the musicians who were part of the festival. People from other schools really enjoyed the delicious baked goods. We donated over $300 from selling these treats to the Australian Children's Music Foundation, a charity that helps kids through music.

Looking back, BandFest 2023 was a fantastic day filled with music, fun, and a chance to help others. It's an event we'll remember for a long time, and it was something special for everyone to be a part of.

ABC Takeover Melbourne

Year 9 students. Saathvika A (9K) recently participated in the ABC Takeover Melbourne competition. This required students to submit a short story, where winners would then have their work converted into a piece of media to be later streamed on the ABC network.

Owing to the time and energy that they dedicated to their short story (about their primary school years), Saathvika was deservingly awarded as one of the winners of the Takeover competition and, later this year, will be heading to the ABC headquarters to have their story filmed and recorded.

We’re sure that you all remember our lovely Wendy Shan - one of our Year 12 graduates from last year - who was one of the Takeover winners of 2022. And now, once again, another of our brilliant Mac.Rob students has been rightly recognised for their creative writing talent. If you see Saathvika around, please do congratulate them on their achievement.

AU-NZ International Music Finals

I received 2nd place for my solo and music group performance in AU-NZ international music finals organised by the prestigious Shanghai Academy of Visual Arts.

It is one of the largest and most anticipated competitions within China's music industry with

"Founded in 2019, the "Shanghai International Music Festival" hosted by the Shanghai Academy of Visual Arts is held regularly every year. Magnolia International Music Festival aims to provide professional salons, music halls, competition venues and other rich artistic activities with international vision for young teachers, elite piano children, teenagers who are interested in becoming future performers, and music art lovers.

In 2022, Shanghai International Music Festival creatively launched the Chinese folk music activity unit and launched the "Magnolia" Chinese Music Competition Competition, in order to display and promote the new style of Chinese music for individual national music players and bands. During the finals, several Chinese music forums, master classes, concerts, orchestra rehearsals and other activities were held at the same time, and in 2023, the Chinese Music Competition will be presented with a more professional and rigorous judging team and richer and more diversified Chinese music activities." - Isabella L

Virtual Reality - What is Reality?

On the 4th of September, our Year 10 Philosophy class had a lucky chance to have a VR incursion surrounding the question, ‘What is Reality?’ We all gathered around and we had a small debrief about Plato and how he relates back into the big question. According to Plato's Metaphysical Theory, the physical world is not the 'real' world; rather, ultimate reality resides beyond our physical world.

Now, we travelled into a world of VR Experiences during our Philosophy class to help our studies around the deep knowledge of reality. Even though most of us were nervous at the beginning, since most of us hadn’t dealt with the concept of virtual reality before, we all were enthusiastic and amazed by the VR experience by the end. All the experiences we had completely changed our perception of real life and we were indulged in this new world of whatever experience we were in. Some of the VR experiences that we did are -but not limited to - Ocean’s Rift, Rage Room, Mission ISS, Cat Dissection, Nature Walk, etc.

One conclusion we came up with was that reality is a changeable thing, which all depends on what one is doing, and most of the time it isn't controlled by yourself. For example, in the experience of Ocean's Rift, you are deep underwater, alongside some fishes occasionally passing you by. Depending on what option you picked at the start, you might’ve gotten caged and surrounded by a bunch of sharks, or maybe eaten alive by a dinosaur. The endings were... unique. Everyone in the room got scared a few times, which further proves the point. I’d like to thank Ms Cordingley for helping us to organise this event and to Mac.Rob for even making this VR experience possible. I’m positive that our class can agree that this experience was both educational yet in the end, everyone loved the experience of going to a different dimension for a bit, and this was an effective way to make us all learn what reality is and how it affects us. - Tessa B

Social Service Week

In Term 2, Social Service ran their biggest event of the year, Social Service Week! On Monday, students and teachers alike battled out together on the netball court, and despite the students’ efforts, teachers were victorious! Tuesday was led by our Year 12 Social Service team, who raised awareness about natural disasters through a riveting student-teacher trivia and scavenger hunt. The trivia brought some competitive theatrical performances, but ultimately teachers dominated! It was followed by the Year 10 Social Service team’s talent show on Wednesday, featuring the dance group ‘Penthouse’ and the singing duo Angel and Mahathi to name a few. Huge congratulations again to Charmaine for winning the talent show!

On Thursday we saw the Year 9 debate team debating against the teachers on the topic ‘What Came First, the Chicken or the Egg’, of whom the teachers won. Finally, the Year 11 Social Service team brought a carnival-like finish to the week, with karaoke, spin the wheel and Pictionary keeping everyone on their toes to win many sweet treats and prizes!

All proceeds fundraised from our jam-packed Social Service Week were entirely directed towards charities such as the Australian Red Cross which helps those affected by natural disasters, Barnardos Australia, who help children and families alike achieve their full potential despite complications, RSPCA, which focuses on animal welfare, and finally UNHCR, which supports refugees in accessing life-saving materials! We hope Social Service Week was an invigorating experience for Mac.Rob, and thank you for contributing in making a difference!

GIV Day

GIV Day was held on August 18th this year to celebrate and encourage the spirit of volunteering and community in Mac.Rob. Whether it was attending the staff and student talent show, purchasing a keychain or participating in Write a Book in a Day, we hope that the event was a reminder that together we can create a meaningful impact on our community, no matter how small our acts of kindness may be!

The beloved Student and Staff Talent show showcased our wonderful Mac.Rob talent, where students were encouraged to craft a bookmark as entry. We saw so many beautifully crafted bookmarks made from talented members of our community, all which will be donated to Reading out of Poverty, a charity dedicated towards promoting literacy skills to families with young children from lower socio-economic backgrounds.

We also brought back Write a Book in a Day, run by the Kids cancer project , where students got into teams to write a book to be featured in a library that will be accessible to children in hospitals, thus helping to brighten what may otherwise be the most difficult period of their lives.

Overall, we would like to show our appreciation for the Mac.Rob community for supporting GIV day and thank you on the behalf of Reading out of Poverty and Kids’ Cancer Project.

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.

To donate to either of our Building or Library Funds, please click the buttons below. Donations over $2 are tax deductible.

As the term comes to a close, I sincerely thank everyone (students, staff, our families and our networks) for their contributions to our community throughout this term. We thank them for their hard work and commitment, and for their continuous growth and community spirit. We are proud of everyone.

Sue Harrap | Principal