Principal’s Report
Welcome to 2024.
Welcome to the 2024 academic year. It has been a great start and I thank everyone – staff, students, families, and alumni for playing their part. (A group of alumni participated in a panel this week for all our new students.)
For those who have joined us this year, a very warm welcome. Melbourne High School is a very special place, and it has shaped and nurtured the aspirations of many young people over the decades. We welcome you and your families to our community and look forward to your involvement in the years ahead.
Developing the learning environment.
Each year I set a theme to target our activities. This year it is about developing the learning environment.
This aligns with the Melbourne High School vision which states we aspire ‘to provide an environment that enables highly capable learners the opportunity to flourish, to be courageous in their learning endeavours, and audacious in their contributions to the communities they serve’.
The notion of environment is meant in the broadest sense of the word. It includes the classrooms and grounds at Forrest Hill in South Yarra; the outdoor education site at Millgrove in the Warburton Valley; the virtual environment we continue to develop to enhance our digital learning; and the experiential learning[1] we provide to ensure that our students are developing themselves holistically and that as a community we stay true to our belief that we are more than just marks.
How will this play out?
The learning environment – ongoing classroom upgrades and sustainability projects:
- We will continue to upgrade classrooms. This will include 5 classrooms in the Twenties Building. Additionally, we will increase perimeter security and investigate where we can put solar panels. With respect to the solar panels, the objective is to increase our capacity to generate our own power which in turn will be used to power new air-conditioning units for the Nineties Building.
Recreation spaces – ongoing upgrades:
- This will include new garden beds and re-surfacing of the southern courts.
The digital environment:
- One of the projects in this space will be around the development of a digital dashboard for staff. The dashboard will help staff gain a better understanding of student achievement and inform any interventions that may be required to improve student outcomes.
Experiential learning projects:
- This includes an ongoing commitment to the development of our entrepreneurship programs, overseas cultural experiences and internships.
- Two projects in the development phase are an Arts Enterprise project and a project in partnership with the Techknow Institute. Through Techknow, students will have an opportunity to engage in master classes on entrepreneurship and with industry groups through site visits and work experience.
Important Dates for the next few weeks.
The next few weeks are very busy. All details are on Compass. The key ones are noted below for reference.
- Junior House Cup – Monday February 5
(All Year 9 Students. Students will come to school in sports uniform that day.) - School Photos
Monday 5 February – Year 10 and 12 (And some Year 11 individual photographs will be taken on this day.)
Wednesday 7 February -the rest of the school.
Please note – all students are expected in full school uniform for their school photograph. - Swimming Carnival
Monday 12 February - Millgrove Camps in February
Tuesday February 6 to Friday February 9 – Year 9 M
Tuesday February 13 to Friday February 16 – Year 9 L - Parent Information Nights
Year 11 and 12 – Tuesday 13 February
Year 10 – Tuesday 20 February
Year 9 – Expo and Parent Information evening Tuesday 27 February - International Baccalaureate Information Session
Tuesday 13 February 5:00pm - Year 10 Father and Son Night
Monday February 26 - School Council
Tuesday 20 February
Excursion Consent
Parents and guardians will receive an email directing them to consent for their child to attend ‘whole school’ activities throughout the school year (e.g. House Swimming and Speech Night). Additionally, consent to local excursions which occur within walking distance of the school.
Please attend to this task as soon as possible and at the latest by Wednesday of next week. Without permission, students will not be able to attend these important school events. We are anticipating that our first event which is House Swimming on Monday February 12 will be a very exciting day and we want to make sure we are all ready to participate.
Transition to a new year level or school.
As I have noted in several forums this week, the transition to a new year level or school can be daunting. Please be assured assisting students through these transitions is something we have a lot of experience in. Many students will find some challenges. This is normal. It may include academic challenges – new subjects or more complex content; social challenges – making new friends; and even the challenges associated with finding their way around the school or understanding their timetable.
As noted, and as exemplified in the photographs in this edition of OURS, it appears that our students are happy, engaged and have settled in well.
Dr Tony Mordini
Principal
News
- Second Hand Uniform Shop: The SHUS is open every term 1 Friday at lunchtime for sales in the Dining Hall. The SHUS is also currently looking for new volunteers to help out each week. If you would like to join the team please email mhssecondhanduniformshop@gmail.com.
[1] Boston University Center for Teaching and Learning defines experiential learning as ‘an engaged learning process whereby students “learn by doing” and by reflecting on the experience. Experiential learning activities can include, but are not limited to, hands-on laboratory experiments, internships, practicums, field exercises, study abroad, undergraduate research and studio performances.’