2016 Newsletter Issue 4 - The Mac.Robertson Girls` High School

Newsletter Issue 4 2016
Important Dates
Principal report:
Week 9
Thur 24th March:
Last Day Term 1
Our new council met on Tuesday 15th March. Congratulations and thank you to
the parent, community and DET employee members who have put their names
forward to contribute. Thank you to the committee members who have accepted
nominations for the positions of office. These positions can be both challenging
and rewarding, but all require a commitment of time and dedication to the good
governance of the school.
Read more...
Term 2
Week 1
Mon 11th April:
Student free day
Wed 13th April:
House Chorals
Week 2
Wed 20th April:
Information evening for
prospective students and
parents
Fri 22nd April:
Legacy Service
Fri 22nd - Sun 24th April:
Music Camp
Week 3
Mon 25th April:
ANZAC Day Public Holiday
Thur 28th April:
Parent Teacher Interviews
Week 4
Wed 4th May:
Parent Teacher Interviews
Week 5
Tues 10th-Thur 12th May:
Naplan
Wed 11th May:
Combined School Musical
Women’s Rights Sumit at Mac.Rob:
After months of planning and multiple meetings with the team and Ms Howe,
on Wednesday March 16th, the team at FemYouth Melbourne, consisting of 10
students from schools across Melbourne, hosted the Women’s Rights Summit at
Mac.Rob.
Read more.....
Student Leadership - Term 1
As usual, term one has run at a rapid pace for our student leaders and students
involved in the co-curricular program. Preparation for the 79th Annual House
Chorals is well underway, with students rehearsing every day during recess,
lunchtime, and after school.
Read more..
Sport - Term 1
The 2016 sports year is off to a terrific start this term with a highly successful
House Swimming program at MSAC, the selection of our year level sports reps
and the first of our intermediate and senior sports competitions being held in the
Beachside sports competition.
Senior School:
Read more...
The Year 12 Jumpers have arrived and are ready for the very first day of Term 2.
We also had a very successful SRC planning day led by Rachel and Margaret, as
well as the Social Service planning day led by Celene and Olivia.
Read more....
Other Information:
Intrim Reports; House Chorals; International Womens Day; Careers; Parent Association;
Curtains - Combined schools musical
Principal Report
Our new council met on Tuesday 15th March. Congratulations and thank you to the parent, community and DET employee
members who have put their names forward to contribute. Thank you to the committee members who have accepted
nominations for the positions of office. These positions can be both challenging and rewarding, but all require a commitment
of time and dedication to the good governance of the school. Thank you to outgoing School Councilors including DET
member, Mr Simon Maaser, Parent members, Mr Ranjit Gavendra and Mr Victor Singh (Treasurer) and to Community
Member and President, Mrs Alison Patrick. Your service to our community is very much appreciated.
The elected office bearers for 2015 - 2016 are:
• President: Dr Sonja Hood
• Vice President: Dr Reza Hoseinnezhad
• Vice President: Dr Hans-Gerhard Schneider
• Treasurer: Dr Delphine Cassidy
• Executive Officer: Dr Toni. E Meath
2015 - 2016 Parent members:
Dr Delphine Cassidy
Dr Sonja Hood
Dr Reza Hoseinnezhad
Dr Mo Jamal
Mr Ramesh Liyanagedera
Mr Hans-Gerhard Schneider
2015 - 2016 DET members:
Ms Margaret Akins
Mr Luke Francis
Mr Micah Wilkins
Mr Russell Webber
Sub Committee Chairs include:
•
Education Sub Committee Chair: Ms Yvette Arnott
•
Finance Sub Committee Chair: Dr Delphine Cassidy
•
Buildings and Grounds Sub Committee Chair: Mr Karl Russell
•
Promotions and Development Sub Committee Chair: Dr Toni Meath
2015 - 2016 Community members:
Ms Madeline Getson
Ms Yuliya Mik
Ms Margaret Tran
Ms Margaret Webb
Guest:
Ms Rachel Kim
Principal Report
Our synchronous Digital Delivery Day on Thursday 17th March was an opportunity for our students and staff to engage in
learning whilst the interruption of the Grand Prix was underway. As I walked around the school on this day, I was delighted
to see teachers sitting with their laptops fully engaged with their 25 students on the other end of the virtual classroom. This
is our third day of this type and I look forward to further development in this innovation. Thank you to Mr Micah Wilkins
for leading this day.
The first Mac.Rob PD Day for 2016 was held on Friday 18th March and was an opportunity for our teaching staff to look
outward by visiting secondary schools. Our teachers ventured to McKinnon Secondary College, University High School,
Albert Park College, Prince Hill Secondary College, John Monash Science School, Methodist ladies College, Victorian College
of the Arts Secondary College and Nossal High School to observe professional practice. We are very appreciative to these
schools for their generosity of spirit in opening their doors for collaboration. Thank you to Mr Luke Francis for liaising with
the schools and for the outstanding organisation of the day.
The next pupil free day will be on Monday 11th April, when the annual combined Academic Select Entry Network Conference
(Mac.Rob, MHS, Nossal, SCHS) will be held at the Mac.Robertson Girls’ High School.
I am looking forward to the 78th Annual House Choral Festival will be held on Wednesday 15th April in the recently
refurbished school hall. Our students have been working hard in their Houses to prepare for this event. Please consider
supporting this important evening with your attendance.
Ms Lisa Hoang and 9 MacRobbians have travelled to Indonesia this week to participate in the combined MHS/MacRob
Indonesian Exchange Program with the SMA IV Denpasar School. Ms Margaret Akins and our 8 MacRobbians have arrived
safely in France and are busy engaging in French life at the Paris and Bordeaux schools. Both groups are in regular contact
with their families and the school and careful support is always placed around all overseas touring groups to ensure
appropriate duty of care guidelines are met. Both of these exchanges are centred on homestay arrangements and students
get to experience the authentic cuklture. Travel is a great education and I encourage parents to consider supporting their
daughter to take one of these opportunities during their time at Mac.Rob. The offerings for the 2017 Study Tours and
Exchanges will be introduced to the students early in Term 2. I wish all students and staff travelling overseas on these
exchanges a very safe and happy journey.
Whilst on the note of travel, families wishing to travel and for their daughters to take extended leave throughout the
academic year during term time, need to apply for and get the leave approved by me. It is important that parents consider
travelling only in holiday periods as a disruption of their daughter’s academic program may have negative impact on
academic achievement, especially in Years 11 and 12. Please do not book any travel until leave is approved.
As we complete our Term 1, I wish all of our community a happy and safe holiday.
Yours in learning,
Dr Toni E. Meath
Women’s Rights Summit at Mac.Rob
After months of planning and multiple meetings with the team and Ms Howe, on Wednesday March 16th, the team at
FemYouth Melbourne, consisting of 10 students from schools across Melbourne, hosted the Women’s Rights Summit
at Mac.Rob.
Our main aim was to eliminate the stigma surrounding the feminist movement, as it is now in Australia, and hope to
answer the question of why it is such an important and empowering movement to get behind. We mentioned this in
our opening address and want to repeat it here, as we feel this quote from Briohny Doyle encompasses a lot of the
answers to why we should hold an event like this: “We know how to sell to teenagers and we know how to sell them.
We don’t quite know how to empower and embolden them, how to grant them agency in regard to their desires, their
bodies, or control over their own narratives.” Summits like this aim to empower and embolden us to think critically
about how we can make the world, this country, a more equitable place for people of all genders, races, and religions.
Throughout the day we had activities and engaging group discussions, as well as presentations from three speakers:
Nabila Farhat, Celeste Liddle, and Joanna Nilson, three inspiring feminist women who all spoke on different aspects
of feminism, including the intersectionality ever-present in any movement, and how feminism is far from redundant
even in countries like Australia, who believe they have achieved gender parity.
Thank you to everyone who came, SRC Mac.Rob and Interact Club of Mac.Rob for sponsoring us, and Ms Howe for
her constant and unwavering support!
Zenia Vasaiwalla and Ann Baby
Interim Reports
On the last day of Term 1, March 24th, Interim Reports will be available on Compass. These reports are for parents/
guardians of students new to the school (including all Year 9 students) and there will also be reports on students if a
parent, teacher or co-ordinator has made a request.
These reports are an indication of how students have settled in to individual classes and whether they are progressing
as expected. They are intended to let parents know if there are any concerns, so that we can address them early and
ensure good study habits for all students.
Reports on academic progress will be provided at the end of each Semester. We also have Parent-Teacher Interviews on
Thursday April 28th/Wednesday May 4th this Semester. You will hear more details about this event after the holidays.
Parents are most welcome to contact co-ordinators and teachers with questions about student progress.
Yvette Arnott
Director of Curriculum
Sport
The Mac.Rob
- Term One
Foundation
Review Launch
Sport Captains and Reps
The 2016 sports year is off to a terrific start this term with a highly successful House Swimming program at MSAC, the
selection of our year level sports reps and the first of our intermediate and senior sports competitions being held in the
Beachside sports competition.
Congratulations to our terrific team of sports reps selected to represent their year levels in 2016.
Year 9: Catherine Huang and Athira Nair
Year 10: Jade Yuen and Kira De Boer
Year 11: Faith Lee and Felicia Mitropoulos
Year 12: Maddie Webb, Annie Huang and Janice Au
These students join the Mac.Rob sports family to support the elected Sports Captains for 2016 – Kavindya De Silva and
Jenny Cheng - to organise, promote and run sporting events in the school throughout 2016.
Breakfast Club
The sports captains, Kavindya and Jenny, have started the fortnightly breakfast club, which encourages students to join
in early morning sport and games at school followed by a nutritious breakfast, all taking place before period one even
commences. Overwhelming support from students across all year levels on the day shows how valuable the opportunity
for physical activity in a social context is for our students. Well done to Kavindya and Jenny for getting this off the ground.
Term One Sport
Congratulations to all of the students that participated in term one Beachside division sports – senior and inter softball,
ultimate Frisbee, senior and intermediate tennis, senior and intermediate cricket, senior and intermediate volleyball and
district swimming. Of these teams we had great success with senior softball and intermediate volleyball progressing
through to a preliminary match against teams from the Kingston district and our two inaugural ultimate Frisbee teams
progressing through to the state championships. Well done to the coaches of these teams for preparing their teams so well
for competition: Mr Maaser (senior softball), Mr Wilkins (ultimate Frisbee) and Ms Griffin (intermediate volleyball). Good
luck in your upcoming competitions in term two.
Other than Beachside school sport, Mac.Rob also has a highly successful cheerleading team that competes at national
championships each year. This group is predominantly student initiated and led. Selections are taking place for the group
and should be complete by the end of the term.
Students from both Melbourne High and Mac.Rob have begun ballroom dancing classes on a Monday after school. These
classes enjoy the expertise of a dance instructor from Charisma Dance who has had a long standing association with Mac.Rob.
Term Two Sport
Term two is a busy time for sport at Mac.Rob. All of the remaining senior sports (table tennis, football, netball, basketball,
hockey, badminton and cross country) are held in term two in order to maximise participation in school sport for VCE
students and also minimise disruption to their exam preparation in term three. Coaches of these teams will be holding trials
and selections early in term two. All senior students are welcome to participate in these trials. Notices will be in the student
bulletin about times and venues for selections.
Intermediate sports in term two include netball, football, badminton, soccer and cross country. Coaches for these teams
will notify students of trials and selections via the student bulletin early in term two.
Adelaide Exchange
2016 marks the 65th consecutive exchange between Adelaide High School and Mac.Robertson Girls’ High School. Adelaide
will host the long running Exchange between our schools from 7th August to 10th August. This exchange is predominantly
a sports exchange but also showcases talent in chess, debating and theatre sports. Students that have represented the
school in Beachside Sport (netball, hockey, basketball, tennis, football, table tennis, badminton, cross country, soccer,
softball and volleyball) in 2016 are eligible to be considered for the Adelaide Exchange. Coaches for these teams will hold
selections for the Adelaide Exchange early in term two. Students selected to participate in the exchange will be notified
by week four of term two so that team uniforms, airline tickets and billeting can be arranged for the traveling party of
approximately 80 students and accompanying staff. Good luck to all students that seek selection to join the exchange.
Michelle Pride
Student
co-curricular
activities – Term 1
Schoolleadership
Counciland
Elections
2016
As usual, term one has run at a rapid pace for our student leaders and students involved in the co-curricular program.
Preparation for the 79th Annual House Chorals is well underway, with students rehearsing every day during recess, lunchtime,
and after school. Our House Captains have been incredible leaders and supporters of their directors, cast, and chorus, and I
have no doubt this year’s Chorals performance – on Wednesday the 13th of April in the Mac.Rob Hall – will be some of the
best Mac.Rob has seen. Don’t forget that tickets are now on sale for $6 each via Trybooking. Check your Compass newsfeed
for the link.
Our 2016 Student Clubs have now all been registered and many of the Clubs are already up and running during lunchtimes
throughout the week. Clubs are a really important part of the co-curricular program - they’re about encouraging and
enabling students to follow their passions and share them with others, giving students leadership opportunities, and
providing time and space for students to have fun and social time together. Club leaders – who come from all year levels –
take the responsibility of running their Clubs seriously; many plan well ahead for meetings, several have over 40 members,
and a few run busy, ongoing volunteering programs in the school and wider community. This year’s Clubs include: the Mac.
Rob Feminist Collective, run by Beatrice Ciblis and Nadia Bevz; the Combined Schools Tabletop Games Club, run by Jennifer
Bui; the Harry Potter Club, run by Josie Komninos, Sage Agius-Giddings, Linda Xu, Neev Shala, and Clarissa Servinio; the
Rotary Interact Club, with Ashleigh Birch as President and Felicity Huang as Vice President; and Les Pommes De Terre
(French Club), run by Harsha Dilip, Mavitha Weerakody, and Sanduni Jinadasa. In all there are 23 clubs running in 2016 –
best of luck to all the groups and their leaders. Have fun!
Another highlight of the term has been the election and appointment of the rest of our 2016 leaders. Throughout the first
four weeks of term, there were elections for Middle School Representatives, Year level SRC Executives, Form Captains, and
Social Service Representatives. In addition, many of our portfolio leaders ran applications and interviews at this time to
decide on their cabinet and committee members. There are always a deluge of applications for each position – testament
to the way our students see themselves as leaders and to their desire to contribute and act – and while not every student
can be elected or appointed, the process of applying, campaigning, interviewing, and receiving feedback is an invaluable
learning experience ¬– for those on both sides! See below for a list of our 2016 student leaders – congratulations to all of
them.
It’s also been a busy term for our 2016 Girls in Volunteering (GIV) Leaders, Metta Chalapati, Swathy Santhakumar, Christine
He, and Chari Janakantha, and their Executives, Ibtisam Shahbaz and Aayushi Khillan. The group organised for 100 Mac.
Robbians to participate in the Red Cross Calling coin collection campaign in the CBD in mid-March, and are still busily
preparing for Mac.Rob’s annual participation in the Royal Children’s Hospital Good Friday Appeal. They have around 300
Mac.Robbians signed up to doorknock in the Albert Park area and surrounds on Good Friday – no easy feat to organise!
Bravo to our GIV Leaders, and happy volunteering to all the students who come out on Good Friday – here’s hoping we can
win back the title of ‘the school to raise the most money’ on the day!
Other leadership and co-curricular events this term have included:
•
The Annual Combined Schools Leadership Conference, organised and run so ably by our School Captains, Georgie
Bian and Monique Nguyen, with the assistance of the MHS Captains. This was a great day that brought together the energy,
passion, and ideas of the senior leaders from the select entry network schools.
•
Our House Swimming Carnival, which pulsed with energy, House spirit, and good natured competition. Congratulations
to the House Captains on supporting their Houses so beautifully on the day and in the lead up to the event. Looking
forward to the Athletics Carnival in Term 3!
•
Our 2016 SRC President, Margaret Tran, and our 2016 School Vice-Captain, Monique Nguyen, attended the St Peters
College (Adelaide) National Leadership Summit in February. They both spoke very highly of the organisation of the event
and have come back with a lot to share with the other senior leaders about creating a vision and making a change. Thanks
to St Peters for hosting the event, and to the Captain and Vice-Captain of St Peter’s Girls’ School, Adelaide, and their
families, for hosting Margo and Mon while they were in town.
•
The marking of International Women’s Day 2016, with in-school celebrations and attendance at a number of celebratory
breakfasts by our student leaders. See the full report by our 2016 SRC Secretary, Ruchika Bilagi, in the newsletter.
Student
leadership
and
co-curricular
activities – Term 1
School
Council
Elections
2016
•
The hugely successful Social Service Planning Day, held in early March and run with aplomb by our Social Service
Captains, Celene Wong and Olivia Jones, and their cabinet. The day brought together the Social Service Representatives
and the full Social Service Cabinet to discuss and plan this year’s major Social Service events, the first of which will be a
themed week of activities and ideas sharing about Women’s Rights, to be held in Week 2 of Term 2.
•
The inaugural FemRights Conference, the brainchild of Year 11 students Zenia Vasaiwalla and Ann Baby. Zenia and
Ann worked with a number of other students from schools across Melbourne to plan and run the event at Mac.Rob on
Wednesday the 16th of March. The day featured workshops, discussions, and guest speakers, including Celeste Liddle, an
Indigenous feminist who serves as the current National Indigenous Organiser for the National Tertiary Education Union in
Australia, and Nabila Farhat, a 26 year old psychology graduate, writing enthusiast, and women’s advocate. The conference
was a huge success, due in no small part to the seamless planning and management of the organising committee, but also
because of the genuine interest, curiosity, and participation of the attendees, who came from some 10 cross-sector schools
across Melbourne. Congratulations to Zenia and Ann on an impressive accomplishment.
Jo Howe, Director of Student Leadership and Co-Curricular Activities
House Chorals
The annual House Chorals competition will take place on Wednesday 13th April
2016 in the school hall commencing at 7.00pm and finishing at 10.30pm.
This event is a highlight of the school calendar and enables students, staff,
parents and friends to share the musical and dramatic talents possessed by the
students of this school. The students, and especially the house leaders, have spent
considerable time preparing for this event, and would appreciate your support
with your attendance.
Please make your booking early as there is limited seating available to meet the
demands of this popular event. Please ensure that you arrive early to ensure that
the event begins and finishes on time.
Book on Trybooking by clicking here.
Kind regards,
Russell Webber [House Activities Co-ordinator].
LEADERSHIP ROLE
Student Name
School Captain
School Vice-Captain
Georgie Bian
Monique Nguyen
BIA0002
NGU0323
SRC President
SRC Vice-President
SRC Secretary
SRC Treasurer
Yr 12 SRC Executive
Margaret Tran
Rachel Kim
Ruchika Bilagi Sandesh
Nandini Shah
Angela Fan
Maneesha Gunasekara
Kaluarachchige
Anna Anossovitch
Demi Tangri
Emma Ward
Shalinie Navaratne
Izza Zahid
Faadhila Ziyad
TRA0132
KIM0026
BIL0003
SHA0037
FAN0011
Social Service Co-Captain
Social Service Co-Captain
Social Service Secretary
Social Service Media & Communications
Manager
Social Service Senior School Executive
Social Service Middle School Executive
Olivia Jones
Celene Wong
Xialene Chang
JON0012
WON0053
CHA0096
Zenia Vasaiwalla
VAS0006
Mavitha Weerakkody
Samantha Lau
WEE0012
LAU0016
GIV Leader
GIV Leader
GIV Leader
GIV Leader
GIV Executive
GIV Executive
Christine He
Charindya Janakantha
Swathy Santhakumar
Metta Chalapati
Ibtisam Shahbaz
Aayushi Khillan
HE-0017
JAN0007
SAN0015
CHA0093
SHA0046
KHI0001
Music Co-Captain
Music Co-Captain
Concert Manager (Orchestra)
Concert Manager (Symphonic Winds)
Associate Concert Manager
Associate Concert Manager
Amanda Nguyen
Faith Bui
Michelle Huang
Emma Cui
Lillian Poh
Joanna Zhong
NGU00320
BUI0020
HUA0056
CUI0010
POH0003
ZHO0033
Debating & Public Speaking Co-Captain
Debating & Public Speaking Co-Captain
Emma Fu
Shehani Fernando
FU-0004
FER0026
Sport Co-Captain
Sport Co-Captain
Yr 12 Sports Rep
Yr 12 Sports Rep
Yr 12 Sports Rep
Yr 11 Sports Rep
Yr 11 Sports Rep
Yr 10 Sports Rep
Yr 10 Sports Rep
Yr 9 Sports Rep
Yr 9 Sports Rep
Kavindhya De Silva
Jenny Cheng
Maddie Webb
Janice Au
Annie Huang
Felicia Mitropoulos
Faith Lee
Kira De Boer
Jade Yuen
Catherine Huang
Athira Nair
DES0018
CHE0127
WEB0012
AU-0003
HUA0053
MIT0006
LEE0078
DEB0002
YUE0006
HUA0079
NAI0006
Yr 12 SRC Executive
Yr 11 SRC Executive
Yr 11 SRC Executive
Yr 10 SRC Executive
Yr 10 SRC Executive
Yr 9 SRC Executive
Yr 9 SRC Executive
GUN0015
ANO0007
TAN0089
WAR0013
NAV0006
ZAH0004
ZIY0002
Environment Co-Captain
Environment Co-Captain
Jessie Fa
Jessie Xue
FA-0007
XUE0004
IT Co-Captain
IT Co-Captain
Priscilla Lie
Samantha Lai
LIE0012
LAI0011
Drama Co-Captain
Drama Co-Captain
Holly Bromley
Katy Shaw
BRO0022
SHA0033
Naiads House Co-Captain
Naiads House Co-Captain
Naiads Middle School House Rep
Naiads Middle School House Rep
Nereids House Co-Captain
Nereids House Co-Captain
Nereids Middle School House Rep
Nereids Middle School House Rep
Dryads House Co-Captain
Dryads House Co-Captain
Dryads Middle School House Rep
Dryads Middle School House Rep
Oreads House Co-Captain
Oreads House Co-Captain
Oreads Middle School House Rep
Oreads Middle School House Rep
Erin Kemp
Ai-My Huynh
Malaika Sujeesh
Yianna Sakabetis
Nellie Gunathilake
Nethmi Madawalage
Thanushri Shanmuganathan
Emily Tsui-Wen Lai
Thejaani Aran
Eshaka Fernando
Sabrina Goh
Mina Nguyen
Ameya Ajay
Julia Zhu
Jasmine Yip
Katrina Phan
KEM0001
HUY0047
SUJ0001
SAK0003
GUN0027
MAD0001
SHA0041
LAI0003
ARA0001
FER0027
GOH0012
NGU0362
AJA0001
ZHU0018
YIP0003
PHA0109
Pallas Editor
Pallas Editor
Nilma Leelarathne
Karuna Chalapati
LEE0076
CHA0095
Stage Manager
Stage Manager
Stage Manager
Olivia Burton
Inger Ma
Annie Lam
BUR0003
MA-0013
LAM0038
Ethos Editor
Ethos Editor
Ethos Editor
Ethos Editor
Joanna Zhong
Christine Vuu
Jennifer Nguyen
Rosie Wei
ZHO0033
VUU0001
NGU0355
WEI0008
SSAYF Leader
SSAYF Leader
Kelly Cvetkova
Vy Truong
CVE0001
TRU0036
9A
9B
9C
9D
9E
9F
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9H
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2016 FORM CAPTAINS
Helia Rim
Sarah Yoon
Lakni Weerasekara
Sanika Shorey
Chelsea Truong
Tanzeem Taiyus
Harhini Sundaram
Asvini Ketheeswaran
Jenny Tran
Arshiya Merchant
Teresa Tan
Jessica Qu
Jodie Husman
Jia-Yi Lim
Saobienz Nguyen
Kalkhi Jeyaprakash
Clare Joseph
Paula Kurniawan
Chloe Lau
Melanie Zhang
Amy Ouyang
Sarah Park
Xiao-Xiao Kingham
Sanduni Jinadasa
Michelle Yu
Sophie Huang
Andrei Cruz
Jenny Nguyen-Pham
Celine Vo
Esther Khor
Orissa Dixon
Ishwari Ramesh
Samantha Chin
Sayuri Perera
Khanh Nguyen
Shelby So
Jenny He
Wendy Tran
Neha Patwardhan
RIM0002
YOO0004
WEE0019
SHO0003
TRU0048
TAI0016
SUN0030
KET0005
TRA0203
MER0006
TAN0094
QU-0001
HUS0005
LIM0027
NGU0381
JEY0009
JOS0013
KUR0008
LAU0026
ZHA0082
OUY0001
PAR0034
KIN0007
JIN0008
YU-0034
HUA0064
CRU0003
NGU0339
VO-0033
KHO0006
DIX0001
RAM0017
CHI0039
PER0037
NGU0307
SO-0007
HE-0014
TRA0151
PAT0027
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2016 SOCIAL SERVICE REPS
Mitha Mathavan
Vi Huynh
Adhithi Subramanian
Chitra Malik
Joyce Que
Senna Steen
Shalini Muthu
Jothi Pillay
Jenny Nguyen
Annie Jain
Anusha Yellapragada
Piyumini Weerakoon
Mudiyanselage
Katharine Kenton
Upeksha Galappaththie
Michelle Phan
Nethmie Wijesingha Abeykoon
Sabriya Abdeen
Chethani Atapattu
Abbygail Shun
Jacinta Speer
Wing Ee Yap
Tina Zheng
Ann Baby
Zehra Rizvi
Zainab Sayeda
Jessica Tran
Karen Lu
Anushka Ranjit Gajendra
Diya John
Sarah Leong
Samantha Ma
Rhea Iyer
Hannah Weston
Kalpana Fernando
Sarah Plessa
Sarah Ngo
Macy Greene
Tajriaan Taiyus
Raveena Mapa
MAT0014
HUY0056
SUB0007
MAL0013
QUE0005
STE0015
MUT0004
PIL0004
NGU0397
JAI0012
YEL0001
WEE0014
KEN0010
GAL0010
PHA0103
WIJ0009
ABD0007
ATA0003
SHU0008
SPE0006
YAP0008
ZHE0018
BAB0002
RIZ0001
SAY0005
TRA0156
LU-0022
RAN0022
JOH0018
LEO0006
MA-0012
IYE0012
WES0001
FER0030
PLE0001
NGO0021
GRE0015
TAI0009
MAP0003
2016 IT COMMITTEE
Priscilla Lie
Samantha Lai
Catherine Bui
Jennifer Bui
Jennifer Chen
Samantha Congdon
Stella Han
Stephanie Nguyen
Tina Nguyen
Visaka Rohatgi
Clarissa Servinio
Simran Monga
Kim Vo
Melba Wu
Jessica Xu
Anna Zachariah
2016 PALLAS COMMITTEE
LIE0012
LAI0011
BUI0027
BUI0022
CHE0153
CON0017
HAN0019
NGU0358
NGU0314
ROH0004
SER0004
MON0003
VO-0032
WU-0028
XU-0024
ZAC0004
Nilma Leelarathne
Karuna Chalapati
Monique Nguyen
Piara Wanniarachige
Aayushi Khillan
Aiko Ridwan
Rosie Wei
Metta Chalapati
Shirmen Luong
Faadhila Ziyad
Aditi Venkatesh
Thanushri
Shanmuganathan
Sona Subramanian
Briana Trang
Tashana Abeykoon
Nicole To
Stella Han
Chloe Lay
2016 STUDENT MUSIC
COMMITTEE (SMC)
Amanda Nguyen
Faith Bui
Michelle Huang
Emma Cui
Lillian Poh
Joan Zhong
Ann Baby
Emily Yang
Angeline Gonzales
Melissa Ta
Lisa Tang
Anna Bartels
Oneli Sanadanayake
NGU0320
BUI0020
HUA0056
CUI0010
POH0003
ZHO0033
BAB0002
YAN0047
GON0091
TA-0004
TAN0086
BAR0023
SAN0018
SUB0006
TRA0198
ABE0006
TO-0007
HAN0019
LAY0015
2016 ENVIRO COMMITTEE
2016 STUDENT ACTION TEAM (SAT)
Tina Jiang
Rozanna Kelly-Gerreyn
Piara Wannniarachchige
Nicole To
Harsha Dilip
Caitlin Fleming
Aarushi Kaul
Freya Permezel
Sabrina Fu
Shenpaha Ganesan
LEE0076
CHA0095
NGU0323
WAN0105
KHI0001
RID0005
WEI0008
CHA0093
LUO0020
ZIY0002
VEN0002
SHA0041
JIA0031
KEL0002
WAN0105
TO-0007
DIL0005
FLE0002
KAU0016
PER0041
FU-0003
GAN0015
Jessie Xue
Jessie Fa
Tharushi Liyanaarachchi
Cathey Saha
Natalie Trang
Anika Hettipathirana
Sanskriti Mehta
Radhika Gunda
Hailey Pham
Britney Trang
Christine Vuu
Serena Lieu
Nivida Dixit
Raagini Mehra
Ruby Craven
Karlie Jiaxi Huang
Alyssa Ng
Tashana Abeykoon
Victoria Mok
Caitlin Leong
Cindy Do
XUE0004
FA-0007
LIY0003
SAH0003
TRA0130
HET0004
MEH0004
GUN0018
PHA0085
TRA0160
VUU0001
LIE0014
DIX0003
MEH0007
CRA0002
HUA0070
NG-0031
ABE0006
MOK0001
LEO0011
DO-0017
2016 FAM (peer support)
Cynthia Nguyen
Emily Yang
Joy Hsieh
Ai-My Huynh
Alison Huynh
Anaya Anoop
Saumyaa Balakanthan
Gloria To
Himasha Panagoda
Katherine Chen
Katrina Chia
Lily Liu
Natasha Rasaratnam
Olivia Jones
Sherene Antony
Annie Lin
Ivy Cui
Jessie Xue
Melissa Ta
Carol Wu
NGU305
YAN0047
HSI0001
HUY0047
HUY0044
ANO0001
BAL0025
TO-0006
PAN0024
CHE0128
CHI0043
LIU0048
RAS0007
JON0012
ANT0002
LIN0038
CUI0006
XUE0004
TA-0004
WU0031
2016 ETHOS COMMITTEE
Joan Zhong
Jennifer Nguyen
Rose Wei
Christine Vuu
Upeksha Galappaththie
Ranuli Illankone
Shreya Jain
Catherine Le
Nilma Lee
Yu Xuan Peh
Hailey Pham
Yianna Sakabetis
Shelby So
Demi Tangri
Kimberley Li Yan Teoh
Britney Trang
Kelley Anne Trinh
Piara Wanniarachchige
Klementine Young
Faadhila Ziyad
2016 PRC CAPTAINS (Premier’s reading challenge)
9A
9B
9C
9D
9E
9F
9G
9H
9I
Helene Nguyen
Nithya Sathyamurthy
Fiona Lee
Sarah Zijlstra
Geena Chan
Jacqueline Kwon
Annie Dai
Nikeshi Gamage
Jiaying Lu
Chelsea Truong
Gauri Sambare
Tanzeem Taiyus
Bianca Denisenko
Zed Baharfar
Georgia Prentice
Michell Fernando
Majdina Widido
Anna Kaul
NGU0413
SAT0003
LEE0097
ZIJ0002
CHA0110
KWO0013
DAI0005
GAM0008
LU-0032
TRU0048
SAM0017
TAI0016
DEN0008
BAH0006
PRE0004
FER0039
WID0003
KAU0020
ZHO0033
NGU0355
WEI0008
VUU0001
GAL0010
ILL0001
JAI0016
LE-0079
LEE0076
PEH0001
PHA0085
SAK0003
SO-0007
TAN0089
TEO0019
TRA0160
TRI0026
WAN0105
YOU0014
ZIY0002
International Women’s Day Breakfasts
Every year, Mac.Rob’s senior student leaders attend three different breakfasts which celebrate International Women’s Day
– the UN Women’s breakfast, the Alliance of Girls’ Schools Australasia breakfast, and the Women in Rotary breakfast. All
three of this year’s celebrations had fabulous guest speakers, inspiring stories, and powerful messages for our students to
bring home about women in 2015 around the world. Thanks to Ms Akins, Ms Dean, and Dr Meath who accompanied the
students to the events this year. Below is a report on the Women in Rotary breakfast from Ruchika Bilagi, our 2016 SRC
Secretary.
__________________________________________________________________________________
On the 11th Of March, 10 Mac.Robbians, accompanied by Ms Akins, attended the Women in Rotary International Women’s
Day Breakfast. It was truly a thought-provoking event.
The morning consisted firstly of two notable speakers, Michelle Gallaher and Michael Avery, a married couple who brought
new perspective. They spoke together about how Michael looked after the family while Michelle progressed in her career.
They talked about their relationship and how they support each other.
The main element of breakfast was the panel consisting of very reputable figures – including Tom Gleisner, Maxine McKew,
Ahmed Fahour, Marie Turner, and Sally Warhaft – deliberating the theme for the day: “the ascent of a woman”. The panel
discussed where Australia stands in the path to achieving wage equality. It is safe to say that we still have a long way to go
– in some industries, women are payed 30% less than men in the exact same job. One of the panellists made a comment
that summarised the reality of our situation: “I might as well start paying my daughter less pocket money than her twin
brother, that way it won’t shock her when she’s older.” It goes to show – it is up to us and the future generations to change
the situation we are facing. We are capable of anything but it is important that we stand united and support each other
to reach new possibilities.
The breakfast was an inspiring event. There were so many incredible individuals in the room and each of us knew one day
we would like to be the change that further supports so many talented women to reach new limits.
Senior School Report
The Year 12 Jumpers have arrived and are ready for the very first day of Term 2. We also had a very successful SRC planning
day led by Rachel and Margaret, as well as the Social Service planning day led by Celene and Olivia.
In other exciting news, five year 12s departed on the French Exchange last weekend: Holly Bromley, Erin Kemp, Sara Lui,
Careena Yam and Jenny Cheng led by Ms Akins. There were some last-minute clearances by the department and we
managed to sort that out just before the departure.
We are very excited about having another DDD (Digital Delivery Day) last Thursday. It has been an extremely busy term
and I hope that all VCE students handled their very first SACs for the year. It is important for them to take some time off
during the break to recharge.
We have an important announcement regarding Compass usage for parents. It came to our attention that some parents are
not aware of their daughter’s absence or lateness to school. The current Compass parents’ approval system allows anyone
who has login details to tick the box to approve the absences. As clearly stated in the school attendance policy, the school
is a senior learning environment in which all students are expected to understand and appreciate their responsibilities
towards maximising their own learning and supporting the rights of other individuals to be able to maximise their learning
experience. Attendance at school and in all lessons is one of the fundamentals for successful learning.
For this reason, the school will remove ability to log on to the Compass system and authorise students’ absence directly on
to the system.
•
Parents will be able to log on to the system and monitor attendance daily for each scheduled period. If their daughter
is absent, they can follow the process of:
•
contacting the Student Absence Line (Ph: 9864 7759)and leaving a recorded message including the Family ID Code
from the Compass System card provided
•
emailing Student Absence and leaving a message ([email protected]) – please include the student’s
name and Family ID Code from the Compass System card provided
•
writing a note for their daughter to return to school the following day – please provide the Family I D Code from the
Compass System card provided
All parents are asked to regularly log on to the system and make sure their daughter’s recorded absences match their diary
of their daughter’s absence. Every note written by parents will be scanned and attached in the compass Chronicles.
Please do not hesitate to contact me with any questions regarding this matter.
Mr Sawaki
Director of Senior School
Back to Page 1
Careers
Inaugural Biomedical Circle
On the afternoon of Wednesday March 16th, 90 students attended this event. Following
an introduction from one of the convenors of the circle, Dr Que Lam, they broke into
small groups for three twenty minute sessions with the speakers. They heard about life
as a medical student at both Monash and The University of Melbourne from ex-students
Rav Gaddam, Tharusha Dadallage, Priyanka Kanumuri, Melinda Fernando and Nicola Jing.
Dr Shoshana Sztal-Mazer, Dr Jennifer Wong, Dr Perri Dyson, Dr Jennifer Wong , Dr Que
Lam and Dr Clea Alexander who are all ex-students, also gave presentations to the various
groups. Students were informed about a range of medical specialties including pathology,
endocrinology, diabetes, obstetrics and gynaecology plus general practice. Everyone then
adjourned to the function room for a more informal afternoon tea.
Special thanks to Palladians Sharann Johnson, Dr Que Lam and Rav Gaddam for organising the event.
Congratulations to alumnae Angela Pan and Alexandra Phan who were awarded Melbourne National Scholarships. These
entails a tuition fee exempt Commonwealth Supported Place and a $15000 allowance over the course of an undergraduate
degree. To be eligible students must have achieved an ATAR of 99.90 or above.
Year 10 Parents
Your daughter’s Morrisby Profile is now available to you on the Reports section of Compass. The profile used a range of
on-line psychometric assessments to test abilities and interests of the student to assist them in making informed decisions
about their future education and career options. The interactive career planning tool allows the student to drill down and
explore the different options available. If the students’ interests and aspirations change over the next few years they can
update their data on the Morrisby to reflect these changes.
Irene Serpless/Susy Puszka
Careers
Parents Association
The Parents’ Association held a very successful Bunnings BBQ Fundraiser on Sunday 6 March, raising over $1500 for the
school community. A big thank you to everyone who volunteered their time to make this event so successful. The money
raised will go toward grants for student-led activities.
The Parents Association will be serving refreshments at the House Chorals on Wednesday 13 April.
International Ball - Saturday 7 May
The Parents’ Association is again holding the International Ball at the majestic St Kilda Town Hall on Saturday 7 May,
starting at 6pm. It’s a chance to break out your finery, feast on fine food and dance like nobody is watching.
Tickets are $60 each, however, this year we have an early bird ticket price of $55 available until April 13, so get in quickly.
Tickets can be purchased at trybooking.com/183261. We will also be selling tickets during the PTS interviews on Thursday
28 April & Wednesday 4 May
The Parents’ Association are also seeking donations for our raffle prizes to be drawn on the night.
If you are able to donate items or vouchers for the International Ball raffle please email [email protected] or
deliver prizes directly to Karl Russell at the school. Prize donations in the past have included: gift vouchers, movie passes,
skin care products, homewares, driving lessons, gardening packs, small electrical appliances.
Entertainment Books
The 2016 Entertainment Books are now available for pre-order at https://www.entertainmentbook.com.au/
orderbooks/1850w65 .
If you would like to receive emails regarding events and activities run by the Parents’ Association please contact Madeline
Getson on [email protected] or phone 0412 015 911.
MAC.ROBERTSON GIRLS’ HIGH SCHOOL & MELBOURNE HIGH SCHOOL
I
n 1950s Boston, the extremely untalented
leading lady of the critically panned new
musical Robbin’ Hood of the Old West is
murdered on opening night. Enter Detective
Frank Cioffi, star of the Boston Homicide
Department and huge musical theatre fan, who
swiftly realises that the murderer must be one
of the cast or crew – who all seem strangely
keen for the show to close.
Was it the hard-bitten producer, the flamboyant
director, the tempestuous choreographer, the
newly-promoted leading lady, or one of the
other resentful characters now confined to the
theatre, including the pretty and suspiciously
naïve understudy who catches Cioffi’s eye…?
Can he solve the murder, save the show from
bad reviews and get the girl, without falling
victim to the killer himself?
John Kander and Fred Ebb’s last ever musical
is a hilarious send-up of backstage murdermystery plots, fusing classic musicals like
Kiss Me Kate and Oklahoma with shows like
Midsomer Murders and Poirot. It is full of
fantastically witty lyrics and memorable showtunes from the golden age of musical theatre,
by arguably one of the best musical-writing
teams of all time.
MELBOURNE HIGH SCHOOL • MEMORIAL HALL
11 – 14 MAY 2016
THE SUSPECTS
THE CHOREOGRAPHER
THE COMPOSER
THE PRODUCER
THE INVESTOR
THE STAGE MANAGER
THE DIRECTOR
THE REVIEWER
THE LEADING LADY
THE UNDERSTUDY
Bookings open online in mid-April:
http://www.trybooking.com/JLRE
“Curtains” is presented by arrangement with Origin™ Theatrical on behalf of Theatrical Rights Worldwide, New York
Issue 4/2016: March 16, 2016
Subject choice and the gender pay gap: Girls locked out of high-paying careers before
they even leave high school
A report by the University of Melbourne has found that the seeds of the gender pay gap are
sown in high school when girls choose not to study the subjects needed to pursue highpaying careers in science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM). The authors of
Gendered selection of STEM subjects for matriculation, Professor Moshe Justman and Dr
Susan Mendez, found that girls are much less likely to choose physics and information
technology (IT) in the senior years of high school than boys of exactly the same academic
ability. By opting out of these subjects, however, girls are limiting their options and effectively
locking themselves out of high-paying STEM careers before they even leave school.
After analysing data from 58,000 Victorian students who entered Year 7 in 2008 and
graduated from high school in 2013, Professor Justman and Dr Mendez found that “girls
simply aren’t doing the subjects required in order to launch a career in the highly paid
engineering or IT industries”. Instead, as soon as they are given the opportunity, girls choose
subjects in the life sciences like biology and human development rather than physics, IT and
advanced mathematics.
As a result, although women are equally likely as men to enrol in a STEM degree at
university, only 10% of computer science and 13% of engineering graduates in Australia are
female. In New Zealand women make up 64% of bachelor degree enrolments in science, but
comprise less than 25% of engineering and about 30% of IT graduates. And while it is true
that girls often choose to pursue high-paying STEM careers in medicine, dentistry and
optometry, much larger numbers of girls pursue lower-paid STEM careers in fields including
psychology, biological sciences and pharmacy.
Dr Mendez told The Guardian that there is a “misconception that boys are better at numeracy
and that’s why they’re entering these subjects” but their study showed that “this is not the
case”. Girls who scored exactly the same on Year 9 numeracy tests as boys were much less
likely to choose physics and IT (and to a lesser extent, advanced mathematics) in the senior
years, therefore “it is not mathematical ability driving the gender selection of STEM subjects”.
Even girls who are high achievers in mathematics failed to choose the subjects needed to
pursue high-paying STEM careers. Yet girls who did choose to take physics and IT subjects
“actually performed better on average than boys”. Dr Mendez believes that “many girls who
think they are not good enough at mathematics to study physics and information technology
could succeed at these subjects and should be encouraged to try”.
A study by Australia’s National Centre for Equity in Higher Education has also found STEM
jobs pay well — but only for male graduates. Women made up 62% of the study’s STEM
graduate sample but were “much less likely to have good jobs and earned substantially less”.
These results reinforce the Melbourne University finding that while women are equally as
likely to work in STEM as men, they are clustered in lower-paying STEM jobs and not
pursuing highly-paid careers in fields like engineering and IT. Indeed, commenting on the
issue in The Australian, Andrew Norton from the Grattan Institute said that engineering and
technology graduates have healthy career prospects, but “the general sciences are high-risk
and this message gets lost in the claims about future needs for STEM”.
While studies show that girls attending girls’ schools are significantly more likely to study
physics and advanced mathematics than girls attending co-educational schools, more work
remains to be done. A recent report by the Foundation for Young Australians found that more
than 90% of Australia’s current workforce will need digital skills to perform their roles in the
next 2-5 years, 75% will require STEM skills, and at least 50% will need advanced IT skills to
configure and build systems. In combination with the release of the latest statistics showing
that the full-time gender pay gap in Australia is 17.3%, meaning women earn $277.70 less
per week than men, there is good reason to examine the impact of girls’ subject choices.
Promoting STEM skills and careers is a high priority for the Alliance of Girls’ Schools
Australasia which recently awarded its 2016 Research Grant to Helen Forgasz, Professor of
Education, Monash University and Gilah Leder, Adjunct Professor of Education, Monash
University. Their research will investigate STEM participation rates at school level and
beyond, as well as career and life trajectories for females who attend single-sex and coeducational schools in Australia and New Zealand. The research project is due to be
completed in 2017 and will form an important part of the conversation in girls’ schools on how
we can empower girls to compete in their careers and life on an equal footing with boys. This
includes ensuring that they are aware of the opportunities that studying STEM subjects —
particularly physics, information technology and advanced mathematics — can present.
References
Davey, M. (2016, March 9). Gender pay gap has roots in schools years, when girls opt out of STEM
subjects. The Guardian. Retrieved from: http://www.theguardian.com/australianews/2016/mar/09/gender-pay-gap-has-roots-in-school-years-when-girls-opt-out-of-stem-subjects
Hare, J. & Ross, J. (2016, March 9). Women lag in science jobs, pay. The Australian. Retrieved from:
http://www.theaustralian.com.au/national-affairs/education
Ministry of Education. (2009). Trends in fields of study of bachelors degree graduates in New Zealand.
Education Counts. Retrieved from:
https://www.educationcounts.govt.nz/publications/80898/41801/3
National Advisory Council on the Employment of Women. (n.d.). Women in innovation.
Women@Work. Retrieved from: http://womenatwork.org.nz/work-programme/women-in-theinnovation-sector/
National Centre for Student Equity in Higher Education. (2016, March 8). Background no barrier to
finding jobs. Curtin University. Retrieved from: https://www.ncsehe.edu.au/background-no-barrierto-finding-jobs/
Pope, J., & Mutch, R. (2015, November). Report card 2015: How are young people fairing in the
transition from school to work? Foundation for Young Australians. Retrieved from:
http://unlimitedpotential.fya.org.au/wp-content/uploads/2015/11/How-young-people-are-faringreport-card-2015-FINAL.pdf
University of Melbourne. (2016, March 9). Wage gap linked to high school subject choices. The
Melbourne Newsroom, University of Melbourne. Retrieved from:
http://newsroom.melbourne.edu/news/wage-gap-linked-high-school-subject-choices
Workplace Gender Equality Agency. (2016, March). Gender pay gap statistics. Workplace Gender
Equality Agency. Retrieved from:
https://www.wgea.gov.au/sites/default/files/Gender_Pay_Gap_Factsheet.pdf