OURS Week 2 Term 3 2023 - Melbourne High School

Principal’s Report

Ensuring our students are well equipped for life…confirmation from our alumni that grades alone will not suffice.

Last week 6 groups of students participated in a ‘Pitch’ (Shark Tank). Their aim was to impress our Arts Enterprise Competition Judges, acclaimed sculptor Deborah Halpern OAM, Niv Dagan (Founder and Executive Director, Peak Asset Management (MHS 1998 – 2001), and International Brand and Leadership Coach Jon Michail (pictured above) to help take their idea to market.

It was a very successful event. We will now work with the winning group to further develop their product. Additionally, we will offer all participants the opportunity to undertake further workshops to help build their business and product development skills. It is through projects such as these that we are seeking to equip our students for life.

Junior School Assembly – Academics, life skills and service

At Junior School Assembly, I also explored this notion, reminding students that I believe the workforce of the future will need much more than their academic qualifications to be able to successfully navigate the challenges they will face.

Hence why our co-curricular and extra-curricular activities are designed to develop skills and capabilities such as leadership skills, integrity, creativity, artistic expression and appreciation, cross-cultural competencies, and business acumen. These activities are also designed to develop responsibility, respect, confidence, resilience, and character.

Additionally, and very importantly, we are committed to community service. We recently lost one of our alumni, Simon Crean. He was a great example of someone who devoted his life to public service. Simon represented the seat of Hotham from 1990 to 2013. He was Leader of the Opposition between 2001 and 2003, and he served as a cabinet minister in the Hawke, Keating, Rudd and Gillard governments.

Class of 2003 and class of 2013 Reunion

This week I had the pleasure of attending the Class of 2003 reunion and welcoming the Class of 2013 when they arrived for their reunion. (Unfortunately, due to family commitments I was unable to stay for the dinner.)

Many of the ‘old boys’ expressed how much they valued the school and how it had helped to set them on a path to future success. They acknowledged the School’s learning environment which fostered and supported academic achievement. Many also acknowledged the additional opportunities they had and these had made all the difference.

It was opportunities such as cadets, student clubs, sporting exchanges, overseas trips, debating, music and house competitions that provided the ‘value add’ and gave them the connections, skills and confidence that has positively impacted on their personal and professional lives.

The Victorian Indonesian Language Teachers’ Association (VILTA) Project

Building our students’ foreign language capacity is also something I strongly encourage. To assist us with this objective, The Victorian Indonesian Language Teachers’ Association (VILTA) has been working with Indonesian universities to provide teacher assistants who can work with Victorian primary and secondary school students studying Indonesian.

The project commenced in 2020 during the COVID-19 epidemic. During the pandemic, participating schools were provided with online synchronous support. Post the pandemic, the teacher assistants have been able to travel to Australia. They take a break (usually 2-4 weeks) from their university to gain an Australian cultural experience and provide in class support.

Over the past three years, Melbourne High School has been fortunate to benefit from the project. This year, our school has hosted two teacher assistants from Gadjah Mada University, Taqiyya Tsaqifa and Tiyo Ardianto. They have been helping our Indonesian students with exam and speaking composition preparation.

On Friday, Melbourne High School provided an orientation session for the current contingent of Indonesian university students visiting Victoria as part of this project. I am very grateful to Ms Silvy Wantania our senior Indonesian teacher for overseeing this project.