MAC News 6 2023
Principal’s Report
As I pause to reflect, I feel incredibly proud of the myriad achievements of our students and staff, their ongoing positive contributions and the exciting development of our school. As a community we have much of which to be proud. As you read this newsletter, I encourage you to also pause to reflect on all that is great about MAC for our young people.
I want to congratulate the student leaders who have yet again led a range of activities for the staff and students, ranging from Book Week and Science Week events to the Trash Ball Runway, Music Soirees and a number of fundraising activities and events.
One of the many great qualities of our school is the beautiful, diverse community, comprised of people from all walks of life and with all sorts of skills, beliefs, strengths, and challenges. We are a strong community, and our diversity is a key part of that strength. It is also a part of life at MAC that must be celebrated and encouraged. All successful, diverse communities must show respect to each other, we must truly embrace each other as equal partners in our work and treat each other with kindness. Generally, our students do this so well and I’m grateful for this every day. At times we need to constructively teach, guide and model improvement behaviours to students as required. That is school and learning, and we will always do that at MAC.
We have worked hard to build a culture where this is how we work together. Building and sustaining culture takes intentional work, and it takes us all of us – students, families, staff. It’s the compact that is required for young people to thrive at school. I know that this embrace of difference, this love of diversity, is not always a universal view. For some young people and their families, the complexity of the world around us – the cultural, religious, socioeconomic, gender and sexuality and political context – can be challenging and at times overwhelming. I understand that but I also know that when we are kind to each other, when we truly show respect to each other, then everything else flows. It’s a fundamental underpinning of all else.
People are complex, emotional beings and schools are complex, fast paced, dynamic places, filled with passion, imperfection, joys, and challenges. Together we work best in such uniquely human, relationship-based environments, when we remember that we are all imperfect, we are all doing our best and we all have the very best interests of students at heart. This is one of the core commitments I make each day at MAC. It is part of my mission to ensure each day, the relationships that exist between students-staff-families are grounded in mutual respect, kindness, and a trust in each other’s good intention.
I would like to thank the staff and students for their positive efforts this term and especially wish the Unit 3 and 4 students all the best in preparing for their exams.
I am looking forward to another great term and of course all the end of year celebratory activities with our Graduate students.
Wishing the staff and students a restful break and encourage the Graduates preparing for their exams to take some time away for their studies each day.
Dani Angelico, Principal
Student Leadership
Wear It Purple Day
Gnurad Gundidj: Student Leadership Camp
Our Gnurad Gundidj Campers, Nadine, Elicia, Jasmine, Arthur, Shuming and Austin, will be returning to MAC from their 8 week adventure of a lifetime this week.
They have all had an amazing time at the Gnurad Gundidj School for Student Leadership. From week-long hiking expos, caving, ropes courses, surfing lessons and team-building challenges, they have certainly learned a lot about themselves while they have been away. It’s hard to believe that their time away has come to an end but their Community Learning Project will continue now they are back with us at MAC.
This term-long program is a fantastic opportunity for our Year 9 students and the 2024 Gnurad program will be happening in Term 1 next year. 2024 AE9 students who would like to get involved next year can look out for application information, which will come out on Compass at the start of Term 4.
Please enjoy some great photos of their time away and feel free to ask them all about the amazing experiences they have just had.
Duncan Hillier, Leading Teacher Student Leadership and Empowerment
2023 Student Leader Summit
In Week 9, our student leadership team were taken to University High for the Super Student Summit where we worked with student leaders and representatives from other schools to address the common issues we all face and what can be done to resolve them.
Some of the key discussion points were community and inclusivity, environmental education and action, and health, wellbeing and consent education. Together, we realised that we can do a lot more to better our curriculum for our current and future generations and we hope to implement these ideas in the near future.
Lachlan Janetzki, Graduate of 2024
Music Soiree
Please enjoy the following videos from our fantastic music soiree this term!
MAC Music Department
Health Day
Trash Ball Runway
African-Australian Student Conference
Going to the African Australian student conference as a MAC student was an interesting experience where we were given the opportunity to learn from many African Australians who come from low socioeconomic backgrounds and had earned degrees. Others had embarked on successful careers and entrepreneurial journeys in various fields including Law, Medicine, IT, Creative Entrepreneur, Engineering and Carpentry. If there is one thing I took away from that experience is that “if they can do it, you can do it”.
Ridwan Abdullahi, Above Entry 10
MAC students were presented with a remarkable opportunity to attend the African Student Conference with over 500 African Australian students. The event featured notable speakers, such as a Netflix director, a 2023 Logie Nominee, and the first African Women AFL player. These speakers emphasised the importance of owning one’s narrative and the discipline needed to reach their goals.
One of the highlights of the conference was a panel discussion on career pathways, featuring accomplished African Australian professionals and leaders from diverse sectors and industries. This session provided invaluable motivation for MAC students. MAC students, who stood out as crowd favorites at the conference, proudly represented the excellence of MAC. Overall, Samira, Houd, Nasteho, Zaid, Ridwan, Hiwet, Nabiha, Kalifala, and Rashid expressed their enjoyment and appreciation for the conference’s enriching experience.
Warsan Tubea, Multi-Cultural Community Liaison
Languages and Humanities
Chinese Cultural Day at Melbourne Town Hall
Students learning Chinese attended the Chinese Cultural Day excursion at the Melbourne Town Hall on 29 August. They had the opportunity to join in on the quiz competition with students from other schools across Victoria. MAC students not only won prizes for winning the quiz, they also attended various cultural workshops such as traditional Chinese movable ink painting, fan painting, Chinese knotting and games. All students ended the morning session with a panda show bag full of gifts to enrich their learning journey.
Ching Chan, Chinese and Japanese Teacher
Mid-Autumn Festival
English
Book Week
Science
Science Week
The theme for Science week this year was ‘Innovation – Powering Future Industries’. Students were invited to promote a current innovation or design an innovation of their own that could have a positive impact on our future. Congratulations to the following students who placed in the Innovation competition:
1st – Amy Morris – Limb Regeneration in humans
2nd – Malachi Marks – Spatial Molecular Imager NanoString Technologies
3rd – Polly Rowland – Self ironing, drying and folding machine
Congratulations to the following students and teacher who got a correct answer in our Daily Innovation quiz and won in a raffle:
Isadora Hartley, Amina Mohamed, Charlotte Cook, Fidelia Fietas, Riley Anderson, Abigail Terris, Dylan Catchlove, Samantha Ponman … and Mr McVeigh!
Thank you for your efforts and participation in the competitions and events during Science week – we hope you learned something interesting!
Vivian Duong, Science Teaching and Learning Leader
Year 12 GTAC Excursion
University of Melbourne Girls in Science & Mathematics
On the day of the excursion we started off with a ‘Welcome to Country’ and a traditional Indigenous smoking ceremony where students and teachers were able to partake in this. We were provided with morning tea while we listened to two women in STEM talk about their careers. We also went to the Science gallery to do a Future Foods workshop focusing on insects, and to a Dark Matter exhibition where we had to answer questions based on the artworks and science exhibits.
Vivian Duong, Science Teaching and Learning Leader
‘I loved looking at the Dark Matter exhibition as physics is my favourite subject. It made me realise how much Dark Matter there is compared to known matter’ Olivia Del Rio, Above Entry 8
‘My favourite thing was listening to the two women in STEM and their research on palaeontology and mathematics in Biology’ Anna Liddament-Ross, Above Entry 8
‘It was great to create a product using insects and make a prototype of it’ Zoe Schnabel, Above Entry 8
‘I liked listening to what palaeontology is and question forum’ Clara Hall, Above Entry 8
‘I enjoyed making the waffles and learning about Geiger counter’ Abigail Terris, Above Entry 8
Indigenous Perspectives in STEM Excursion
Our It’s not rocket science class took a trip to the Melbourne Science Gallery to take part in the Indigenous STEM Education Program and view the Dark Matters exhibit. We viewed the constellations and made our own customised version of a star constellation that was present on a night which is special to us. Students got a chance to learn about the history of our night sky and how First Nations people connected the stars to the land. We were introduced to Gawarrargy, an emu constellation that is found in the dark parts of the milky way which alerted them as to when they should collect emu eggs.
The Dark Matters exhibition was a gallery full of interesting science and space related exhibits including Time to X which explored the concept that time keeps everything from happening all at once. In this exhibit, students were encouraged to put on headphones and walk past a group of speakers that murmured faint sounds, when walking fast, you were able to hear a full coherent sentence. Another interesting exhibit was Muology, which had an experiment set up to find Muons, a large cousin of the electron. Students waited patiently to see a small LED light start blinking, which meant that a muon had been detected. A favourite of many was Mystery Box, which looked at what we don’t know. In Mystery Box, there was a box full of a dark, opaque liquid and students were asked to think about what couldn’t be in the box.
We split up into smaller teams to complete a scavenger hunt related to some of the exhibits and received prizes from trivia questions. We were taken to see Chroma V, a massive, colourful, metallic snake which appears to be eating its own tail. Chroma V is based on many myths of a snake eating its own tail like Jörmungandr, the Norse World Serpent. Every 15 minutes, Chroma V would ‘wake up’, meaning it became brightly coloured and started writhing around slowly, flexing the synthetic plates it is made up of.
Harry Morgan (Above Entry 8) and Isabelle Del Rio (Above Entry 9)
Mathematics
This year we had 28 students participate in the competition. The following students achieved Distinctions: Lucas D’Mello, Siraj Mahmoud, Mark Lubansky, Zoe Schnabel, Keiran Taylor, and Rowan Tonissen. The following student achieved a High Distinction: Ayden Schnabel.
Congratulations to all students that competed.
Justine Johnston, Mathematics Teaching and Learning Leader
Robotics
Students in Robotics worked hard and had fun making Dancing Robots. Robots were built and coded to automatically dance to music of the students’ choice. Watch the robots dance here!
Robot Engineers pictured, from left to right – Reed, Claude, Will, Kabir, Harry, Shuayb, Riley, Aiden.
Tim Phillips, Classroom Teacher
Interschool Sport
Cross Country
Basketball
Visual Arts
MAC Market Stall
Student Wellbeing
eSafety’s free webinars provide parents and carers with the knowledge, skills and tools to support their children to have safe, positive online experiences.
To register, see the 2023 parent and carer webinar schedule, and to learn more, visit here.
SchoolTV
SchoolTV is an online resource designed to empower parents with credible and sound information with realistic, practical ongoing support strategies. You can access SchoolTV by either clicking the SchoolTV icon on the home page or this link.
Special Report: R U OK? Day
Understanding the growing challenges related to mental health among young people is an important consideration. Anxiety, depression and self-harm –– are all causes for concern. Factors like academic pressure, social media, family dynamics, and societal expectations, are contributing to these issues. It’s therefore crucial for parents and caregivers to take action early, remove the stigma around discussing mental health, and offer accessible support to address these issues and the wellbeing of their children.
R U OK? contributes to suicide prevention year round by urging people to invest time in personal relationships and empowering informal support networks to identify signs of distress. We urge all families to take part, emphasising the value of genuine human relationships and reminding everyone to ask the important question, “Are you OK?”
Engaging in R U OK? Day activities goes beyond the classroom; it’s a commitment to our students’ overall development. By talking openly about mental health, schools create safe spaces where students feel understood, valued, and supported. As parents and caregivers, you can contribute by fostering open conversations, normalising feelings and breaking down mental health stigmas. Participating in R U OK? Day promotes compassion and shows our dedication to the wellbeing of the entire school community, reaffirming that together, we can truly make a difference.
This Special Report provides guidance on how to talk to your child about mental health and engage in meaningful discussions. We hope you take a moment to reflect on the information offered, and as always, we welcome your feedback. If this raises any concerns for you, a loved one or the wellbeing of your child, please consider seeking medical or professional help.
Click on this link to view the special report.
PPEP Talk
As a part of the Girls at MAC project the Pelvic Pain Foundation’s PEPP Talk came to give a MAC Community Education session on period pain and endometriosis. There was an excellent turnout. This was the first step in the Girls at MAC project to help destigmatise women’s health. Thanks so much to all who came along on the night.
Molly Short, Above Entry 10
MAC was able to offer an evening session hosted by Marianne from the Pelvic Pain Foundation. The evening was well attended and provided a vast range of information relating to Period Pain. Marianne shared with attendees where they can go for help,managing pain and their symptoms.
Marianne shared that there are 5 types of pain when it comes to period pain. These are 1: No pain at all, which 1 in 20 people experience, 2: Period Pain for the first 1-2 days of bleeding which impact 8 to 10, 3: Period pain with stabbing pains or pains with moving, 4: Period pain more than three days and does not improve with medication for 1 in 9 people and 5: Pain on most days for more than 3 months which impacts 1 in 30 people.
A quick summary of the post session survey showed that:
- 100% of attendants reported PPEP Talk® was informative.
- 100% of attendants reported knowing what endometriosis is, compared to only 67% pre PPEP Talk®.
- 100% of attendants reported that PPEP Talk® showed them tools to use if they get period pain.
- 100% of attendants reported that PPEP Talk® had information on how to improve their general health.
PPEP Talk® Next Steps:
As part of a follow up from their PPEP talk we were also offered a FREE follow up session called PPEP Talk® Next Steps. PPEP Talk® Next Steps is a FREE online session for any student who identified a complex pain concern or would like their caregiver to know more. Students attend with a caregiver, and have the opportunity to ask questions with our Gynaecologist and Pain Specialist, Dr Susan Evans. Students can register for upcoming sessions here: https://www.pelvicpain.org.au/ppep-talk-schools-program/ppep-talk-next-steps/
Kate Stevanovic, Leading Teacher Student Engagement and Wellbeing
Resource Centre
Staff and students can use 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. Bringing books back by their due date ensures that everyone is able to enjoy our collection.
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
Parents and Friends Association
Working Bee
MAC Parents and Friends is a vibrant and friendly forum for parents, carers and interested members of the community to discuss matters relating to the College.
It provides an opportunity to become involved in the life of the College, ensuring the College continues to provide the best education and is the local community’s school of choice.
MAC Parents and Friends meets at 6:00pm on the first Monday of the month during school terms. Meetings are publicised in the school newsletter, and on the events calendar.
All members and new members are warmly invited to attend.
To receive notifications of forthcoming meetings, email the PFA: mac.parents.friends@gmail.com
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.
