Principal’s Report

Dear MAC Community,

I would like to begin by congratulating our Graduates of 2022 who commenced their end of year written exams last week. Our graduates have endured three challenging years and have demonstrated incredible resilience, determination, and perseverance. The recent year formal, farewell assembly, and Celebration Day were particularly special, given the challenges of the last few years. We are incredibly proud of these exceptional students and wish them all the very best in their future. We look forward to hearing all about their future endeavours. Our Year 12 Graduates will be individually recognised and celebrated at the College Awards Evening on Monday 28 November. This year, the College Awards will be celebrated in person at The Clocktower Centre in Moonee Ponds. Details regarding the event can be found below.

I would like to congratulate the students who applied for the College Captain positions for 2023. As usual, the process was incredibly competitive and the calibre of applicants outstanding. I would like to congratulate Luke Vella and Rea Tinoy who have been elected as the College Captains for 2023. I know they will be wonderful advocates for the students and great ambassadors for the school.

I would like to welcome Angie Ho who has commenced as the International Students Coordinator. Angie comes to us with a wealth of knowledge and experience having worked at Melbourne Girls High School and Brunswick College in a similar role. Angie is replacing Janice Li who has worked at the College for six years. Janice has left us to pursue other interests outside education. She has been a great staff member and has made some excellent contributions to the College and the International Students Program. I know the International Students will miss her as will all the staff. We wish Janice all the best.

I would like to sincerely thank the Parents and Friends Association for all their hard work in organising the MAC Trivia Night on Saturday 22 October. This event is a huge undertaking, requiring months of planning and preparation. The event was sold out! It was wonderful to see the large number of volunteers on the night and of course, a room full of people who were incredibly generous and prepared to support the PFA’s efforts in fundraising for landscaping works for the new building. A huge congratulations and thank you to Archie Fraser, former student, who hosted the evening and ran the Trivia. He did a spectacular job and was incredibly engaging and fun. The trivia was won by a table of former MAC students! I would like to thank the community for its generous donations and all the participants on the night. Pending a few more donations to come through, we estimate that we will have raised just over $15,000.

I would like to thank Bronwen Jefferson who has led the PFA for the past 14 years and the main organiser of the Trivia night. Bronwen has organised fundraising and social events every year, from Bunnings BBQs, Entry and new families BBQs, board game nights to trivia. Thank you to Bronwen for her incredible commitment to the College over the years. She has been a wonderful advocate and champion for the school, not just out in the community, but in bringing our school community together. We will miss her and hope she will be back as a participant at least, at future College events.

Last Friday, Danny Pearson MP for Essendon and Rebecca Thistleton local member for Melbourne popped in to say hello. They met with our 2023 College Captains to get an update on the building works and talk to some of the Robotics students who were working on their projects in the Makerspace. We discussed some ideas regarding engaging the community with the school and the new building once it opens. The builders are still on track to deliver the building for the first day of term 1 next year.

In closing, I would like to wish the students undertaking Pre VCE and Unit 2 end of semester exams the best of luck, and of course the students who are finishing off their external Unit 4 exams.

As always, thank you for your continued support and I look forward to seeing many parents and carers at the Awards Night on 28 November.

Kind regards,

Dani Angelico, Principal

Building Updates

Time Lapse of Building Works

Graduates of 2022 Assembly

I want to congratulate the class of 2022, y’all are amazing, incredible people and will do great things in life. MAC will always be family and family means I’ll always be back, I Jerry Ng, deserve to be in the class of 2022, thank you.

Jerry Ng, Graduate of 2022

Celebration Day

Music Performances

Battle of the Bands

Three weeks ago, Battle of the Bands was held for the first time ever in the history of MAC, and we were so honoured to be a part of it and produce great results. Three judges (two students and a teacher) scored us based on elements such as stage presence, musicality, and communication etc. It can be a nerve-racking experience to get on stage to show your talents and compete, so thank you so much to the two bands and one soloist for mustering up the courage! 

We are looking forward to more fun with the next Battle of the Bands, and we hope to see more performers!!

Ngan Nguyen, Graduate of 2023

When I was asked to be a part of the Battle of the Bands, I was extremely flattered to play for the school. Once the day came, I sang my own song accompanied by my guitar after the senior bands. It was lovely to be a part of our school community and to be one of the youngest and on my own was really special for me.

Justine Escano, Above Entry 9

College Captain Assembly

Sports

World Teachers’ Day: Teachers vs Students Volleyball Match

In celebration of World Teachers’ Day on Friday 28 October, the P.E department held a staff versus students Volleyball match. As the rivalry continued to build up during the week, both teams were cheered on by an enthusiastic crowd of spectators. The staff worked super well as a team to produce an incredible comeback and confidently take out the first match, however were quietly humbled and out-played by the Year Elevens in the second game. Despite the 1-1 result, it was fantastic to see all the energy, laughter, and skills on display! Both students and staff are looking forward to the next event to settle the draw!

A round of applause to Mr McVeigh, Ms Pejic, Mr Le, Mr Sosnowski, Mr Phillips, Ms Hayle, Mr Morgan, Mr Richardson and Mr Stephanou who took time out of their day to join in the fun and helped carry the staff to a win! A huge thank you to Rea Tinoy for her organisation of the event and umpiring on the day. This would not have been possible without everyone’s efforts and participation.

Emily Volpe, Sports Coordinator

Inter-school Tennis

On Tuesday 17 October, my tennis team absolutely slaughtered Buckley Park College, putting up a massive fight. The key to our success was my inspirational pre-match captain speech. And obviously we were just better than Buckley Park with one of our matches being 6-1 our way. And the dream team made different doubles teams, Oscar and Jack won the friendly match 6-5. Overall a successful day off school, even got to miss out on Maths and go home early.

Humorous piece by Oscar Litcher, Captain of the Above Entry 8 Boys Tennis Team

Inter-school Volleyball

On Tuesday 18 October, the Above Entry 8 Volleyball teams went to Victorian University (Whitten Oval) to play a round robin tournament consisting of three games against Rosehill Secondary College, Essendon Keilor College (EKC) and Buckley Park College. We lost all three games but came very close to winning one of them.

In the first game, we faced Essendon Keilor College and got off to a slow start and lost the first set. We scored around 10 points and it was pretty close for a bit of the time. In the second set it was very close, we were always a few points ahead but it was very close at some points. We did end up winning and we were ecstatic. In the 3rd set we were running out of time because games were only 30 minutes and we had 8 minutes left. It was a very close game and we were constantly tied with the other team. We ended up losing by one point because we ran out of time but we came very close. 

In the second game, we were up against Buckley Park College and lost both the sets but the first one was pretty close, we just came off nearly winning a game so we were determined to win one. The first set was pretty close but we lost by a few points. In the second game it was not as close as the first set. We lost by about 10 points but it was still a fun game.

In the last game, we were versusing the best team which was Rosehill Secondary College and we held our ground for a bit. In the first set we were ahead by about 3 points for most of the time but then they came back and won that set. In the second set we did not play as well. We still scored a few points but lost by about 15 points. 

This was still a really fun day and we played better than we all thought we would and we will be back next year to try and win.

Jack Phelps, Above Entry 8 

Track and Field State Championships

On Monday 17 October, Jerry Ng (Graduate of 2022) represented Mount Alexander College at the Track and Field State Championships. He showed incredible determination and perseverance throughout the entirety of the day. He finished 4th in the 800m and was then able to collect a Bronze Medal in the 1500m. Jerry, the MAC community are once again all very proud of your efforts and humbleness as you continue to inspire the younger students and generations. 

Emily Volpe, Sports Coordinator

Arts and Technology

Clubs and Societies: Jewellery Club

In clubs and societies, we have been making jewellery and other beaded lovelies. Georgia, Olivia and I have been working hard to design different creations such as earrings, necklaces, and bag charms. We hope to make even more funky jewellery to give as gifts and to wear ourselves.

Ivy Farmar-Bowers, Above Entry 8

MasterChef: Royal Melbourne Show Cooking Competition

Students in MasterChef this semester had the opportunity to enter into the Royal Melbourne Show cooking competition. We have 10 students enter into the Anzac biscuits category. The students gave up their free time to practice and then supply an entry to compete with hundreds of other students from all over the state. We were lucky enough to have to award winning entries. Harry Morgan in Entry got second place for the 7/8 area and Ripley McAteer 4th place in the 9/10 entry. It was the school’s first time entering into the show and it definitely won’t be the last.

Additionally, we also had a school entry into the preserves category of olives. We have two olive trees that are on the playground area of the school and through student and staff participation we have also been awarded 2nd place in the preserved olive category at the show.

Clark Mitchell, Staff

I was very surprised when my Anzac biscuits came second place, especially because the first time I cooked them, they came out as mushy, raw dough. The surprise was a pleasant one though and I enjoyed cooking the Anzacs. I remember when I was told. I was at a friend’s house and my mum called me. I felt awesome. It was unbelievable. I’m really glad I came second place, especially with how my first batch turned out. Next time though, I’m aiming for first place.

Harry Morgan, Entry Student

Robotics Competition

This semester we held an Inter-class Robotics Competition in the MAC Makerspace, and the event was a great success. Teams of student engineers scratch-built some very creative designs, competed and collaborated to score points. I’m very proud of every team that participated. A massive shout out to the students in my class who built all the field obstacles and puck dispensers before beginning to construct their own robots. There really is no substitute for building something yourself if your goal is to understand how it works.

Overall winners on the day were Mr Phillips’ class in the Vex-IQ category, and Ms Gu’s class in the Vex-V5 category, with Mr Phillips’ class claiming first overall. Congratulations to the highest-scoring teams, pictured above. Vex IQ category champions left to right: Tully Webb, Alex Nichols, Ayden Schnabel, and Sean Posar. Vex V5 category champions left to right: Luke McKay, Sam Chong, Lucia Williams, and Alham Ashikak (not pictured).

Curious? For more information about the competition and the robots, search your favourite video streaming website or follow this link – ‘Vex Robotics’.

Tim Phillips, Teacher

Australian Mathematics Competition

This year, we had 19 students participate in the competition. The following students achieved Distinctions; Olivia Del Rio, Zoe Schnabel, Mark Lubansky, Muhammad Rizvi, Benison Au, and Rowan Tonissen.

Congratulations to all students that competed.

Justine Johnston, Mathematics Teaching and Learning Leader

Student Engagement and Wellbeing

Workshop: Employment Law and Workplace Wellbeing

The team from Moonee Valley Legal Services ran a session to discuss workplace wellbeing as students transition into the working age over the next year.

Stephanie Balaburov, Leading Teacher, Student Leadership and Empowerment

Action For Happiness Calendar

Some key takeaways to help you on your way to study success:

• Break your study up into manageable 20-minute chunks.
• Talk about it or say it out loud. When you say something out loud, you’ll find it much easier to remember it. Chatting with someone about what you’re studying is even better.
• Remove the distractions. Put your phone on silent and out of reach and turn off the pop-up notifications on your computer. Research shows that it can take up to 20 minutes to refocus on what you’re doing once you’ve been distracted.
• Take breaks. If you plan your study chunks with breaks in between, having the time away can help you to come back refreshed.
• Get some sleep! Getting a good night’s rest helps your brain and body to rest and recharge. In fact, you’ll do better at your exams and remember more of what you studied if you get a good night’s sleep, rather than if you stayed up late studying.
• Other things you can do include eating the right foods, perfecting your time management skills, and knowing when to take a break from studying and getting some physical activity or social time in.

Click here for more information.

Michelle Hynson, School Health Promotion Nurse

Resource Centre

As the new Resource Centre manager, I have had the pleasure of getting to know our lovely staff and students this term. I have been welcomed by such a warm and supportive community here at MAC, and I look forward to many discussions about what books people are enjoying.

Staff and students are able to access the Library Catalogue (login using the Single Sign On with your school email address and password) from school and from home. It’s a great way to see what books are on offer in the library and to reserve a book that you’ve been looking forward to reading.

A friendly reminder to anyone who has overdue books to please return them to the Resource Centre.

Do you know we have ebooks and audiobooks?

The Eplatform has over 2500 ebooks and audiobooks that you can read or listen to with new books being added every day. You can access it by downloading the app on your device and signing in with your school details in the Single Sign On (SSO). Find out more here: mountalexandercollege.wheelers.co

Carla Iannarella, Resource Centre, Communications and Marketing Manager

MAC Parents and Friends

Trivia Night

Thank you to the wonderful businesses in Flemington, Ascot Vale and Kensington who generously donated.  It was a huge success.

The next MAC Parents & Friends Association’s meeting is Monday 7 November in the Resource Centre. Come along to meet other parents and have a chat about how we can support our school!

Contact MAC Parents and Friends: mac.parents.friends@gmail.com

Join the conversation over on the PFA Facebook Group

Executive Committee, MAC Parents and Friends

Second-hand Uniform Shop

We are open on the first Monday afternoon of each month, in the Makerspace – right next to the General Office. 

We will next be open on Monday 14 November from 3.30 to 4.15pm.

Parents, carers and students are welcome to drop in and browse. 

We currently have a lot of Size 10 – 14 polos ($5), dresses and skirts in a range of sizes ($12), and trousers ($12) and grey shorts ($7) in a range of sizes, plus an assortment of other items. We also have pre-loved school shoes in good condition for just $5.

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We have high-quality second-hand items coming in all the time, and we also WELCOME DONATIONS of anything your student may have outgrown – please deliver these to the General Office during school hours, using the side window.

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We’ll see you at the Second-hand Uniform Shop.

Melanie and Clare, Shop Volunteers

MAC Awards Night Celebrations

Community News and Advertising

We advertise and support local organisations that reside in our catchment area. These suburbs include Flemington, Kensington, Ascot Vale, Moonee Ponds, Maribyrnong, West Brunswick, North Melbourne and Parkville.