Principal’s Report
Speech Night 2023
On Monday night we celebrated our annual speech night. The event was an incredible showcase of academic and artistic talent. A sincere and heart-felt thank you to Assistant Principal Ms Pelissa Tsilimidos for her leadership and overall administration of the event. Speech Night takes many months to put together and involves many elements including liaising with venue managers, technical staff (including Mr Brendan Litan and the Stage Crew), musical directors and school administration who look after guest lists, academic gown hire and a raft of other tasks.
I have received lots of positive feedback from parents, students, staff and guests. The choir of over 1,300 voices was incredibly moving. Congratulations to Mr De Korte, Director of Music, and the music staff for the many hours of rehearsals and the work undertaken to arrange the musical items. To our student performers, film makers whose work we screened and speakers who spoke on the night, you were absolutely amazing.
Facilities upgrades – thank you for your contributions to the Building Fund – upcoming work
The following works will be undertaken over the next two months.
- Window tinting to the top floor west facing rooms in the N Building. (Estimated cost $3,500)
- Fans in the rooms on the top floor of the N Building. (Estimated cost $7,700)
Your contributions will help reduce the heat in these classrooms and ultimately improve the learning environment.
Barberis Cup
Our students had a very successful two days in Sydney at the Barberis Cup. The Barberis Cup is a Junior School cricket competition with our brother school, North Sydney Boys’ High. Thank you to Mr Sette, Mr Guthrie and Ms Carruthers for accompanying and looking after our students.
Year 9 RoboCup
The competition was fierce but as always lots of fun. Thank you to Mr Peter Drew and the team who supervise the Robotics Club and prepare students for competitions. Robotics is a very popular club and a great adjunct to the IT-related courses taught at MHS. Competitions such as RoboCup help students sharpen their critical thinking skills and develop their coding skills.
Movie Night – Under the Stars
A sincere thank you to the Parents and Friends and the student leaders for organizing this event. Although our numbers were small, it was a very enjoyable night for those who participated. I wish to acknowledge the work of two key students, Kyle Lobo and Raphael Lee who will lead the SRC in 2024, for the many hours of work they undertook to get this project off the ground. I was also very impressed by the number of student groups who participated in the Club Expo showcasing some of our student clubs including the recently formed Vietnamese Culture club, and our student performers who entertained guests as the sun went down.
Melbourne High School Annual Ceremonial Parade
It did not rain on our parade this week! (As you may recall, the previously scheduled cadet parade had to be aborted due to a heavy rainstorm.) Thank you to our cadets, our cadet leaders, and our staff officers. Thank you also to Colonel (AAC) Colin Axup (Rtd) former Assistant Commander HQAAC who presided as the Reviewing Officer. Colin is a distinguished alumnus (MHS 1981-1984) who has held leadership roles at MHS, Williamstown High School (Assistant Principal), Suzanne Cory High School (Principal), and currently is the President of the Victorian Association of State Secondary School Principals.
Student Achievements
Junior School Captains 2024
Congratulations to Jet Cheung (9B), Archit Kannan (9G), Japvir Singh (9G) and Jaiharish Anandaraj (9A) who have been appointed Junior School Captains for 2024. It was an incredible field of applicants, and every single one of them must be congratulated on their applications. I encourage all applicants to continue to develop their leadership skills through school clubs, arts and entrepreneurship initiatives and their community service. I expect to see many of them undertake leadership roles in the years ahead.
2025 Kwong Lee Dow Young Scholars – Namra Shah (10F) and Oliver Downing (10E)
Eleven high achieving Year 10 students were shortlisted for this very prestigious award.
The Kwong Lee Dow Young Scholars Program is an academic enrichment program designed to support high-achieving secondary school students.
Some of you may be aware that Professor Kwong Lee Dow is an alumnus (MHS 1955) and ex MHS Chemistry teacher. Post his secondary education career, he spent 25 years in academia. In 1973 he was appointed Professor of Education at the University of Melbourne. He was subsequently appointed Dean of the Faculty of Education from 1978 to 1998, then Deputy Vice-Chancellor to 2003, and Vice-Chancellor through 2004.
Namra and Oliver will take part in a two-year program of events and activities aimed at expanding their academic and personal horizons. Some program participants are offered a place in an undergraduate degree, and other incentives such as financial assistance and overseas study scholarships during the term of their studies.
Nepal Trip
This weekend a group of staff and students depart for Nepal. We wish them safe travels and look forward to hearing about their adventures when they return.
Dr Tony Mordini
Principal
