MAC News 5 2024
Principal’s Report
Dear Students, Parents, Guardians, and School Community,
As we reach the end of another incredible school year, I want to take a moment to reflect on our shared journey and celebrate the achievements of our students, staff, and wider school community.
First and foremost, I want to commend our students for their hard work, determination, and spirit. Whether it was through academic pursuits, extracurricular activities, or community service and student led events, you have shown us what it means to be dedicated learners and compassionate individuals. To our graduating students, we wish you every success in your future endeavours. Your time here has left an indelible mark on our school, and we are incredibly proud of you.
To our teachers and support staff, thank you for your unwavering commitment and passion. Your ability to inspire, nurture, and guide our students through challenges and triumphs has been nothing short of extraordinary. Your dedication behind the scenes ensures that every student feels seen, valued, and empowered to succeed.
I would like to express our gratitude and bid farewell to the following staff members who are departing this year: Sam Boardman Bradley, who is returning to the UK, and Michael Buckingham, who is taking up a Leading Teacher position at Auburn High School. We sincerely thank them for their commitment to our students and school community and valuable contributions to MAC and wish them all the very best in their future endeavours. We also extend our best wishes to Graeme Morgan and Megan Blanch as they embark on a year’s leave, as well as to Claire Runci, who will be commencing maternity leave.
I am pleased to announce some significant changes to the leadership team for 2025. Congratulations to Kate Stevanovic on her appointment as Assistant Principal, Tom Grocott as Leading Teacher Junior School Sub-School Coordinator, and Jordan Donnelly on his appointment as Leading Teacher Middle School Sub-School Coordinator. We look forward to their leadership and contributions in these key roles.
To our parents, guardians, and wider school community, thank you for being steadfast partners in education. Your support, patience, and encouragement have played a vital role in creating a positive and inclusive environment for our students. We recognize that education is a team effort, and we are grateful to have you as part of our team.
To our MAC Parents and Friends Association, a big thank you for your extraordinary work in the fundraising activities throughout the year. Our thanks also extends out to all the organizations and individuals who donated goods and services for the silent auction and all the attendees on the night that supported the raffle and other fundraising activities. The total amount raised was $14,041.94. As mentioned the funds will go towards establishing a herb and vegetable garden to support the Masterchef program.
This year, we celebrated milestones, overcame challenges, and created memories that will last a lifetime. From school productions and sports competitions to academic achievements and community events, each experience has helped us grow stronger as a community. None of this would have been possible without the collective effort of each and every one of you.
As we look ahead to the next school year, I encourage everyone to take time to rest, recharge, and reflect. The break is an opportunity to celebrate your accomplishments, set new goals, and prepare for the journey ahead. We have exciting plans in store for the upcoming year, and I am confident that we will continue to achieve great things together.
On behalf of the entire leadership team, I wish you all a joyful, safe, and restful holiday season. May the coming year bring new opportunities for growth, learning, and happiness.
It is an ongoing privilege and honour to serve as College Principal. I firmly believe that a thriving school environment is built through collective effort and a shared commitment to positivity. I look forward to continuing our work together and warmly welcoming the new students and families who will join the MAC community in 2025.
Thank you for being part of our school community. We look forward to welcoming you back next year with renewed energy and enthusiasm.
Kind regards,
Dani Angelico, Principal
Computer Room Refresh
Orientation Day – 2025 Entry Students Visit MAC
Danny Pearson Visits MAC
A couple of years ago, Jessica approached me to ask that pedestrian lights be installed on Racecourse Rd in Flemington so her Dad could safely cross the road.
Great to see the finished product. Well done, Jess!
Danny Pearson MP for Essendon
Awards Night
Award Assembly
Spring Arts Festival
Another triumph for the creatives at MAC
Students, parents, friends, and families came together to celebrate the remarkable work of our students in the Arts and technology. The students, with their talent and dedication, took to the stage, belting out familiar and contemporary tunes. The crowd, filled with pride and inspiration, demonstrated their appreciation with raucous applause. The year 12 students, with their final folio work, not only showcased their skills but also their passion, engaging with the viewing public.
On the 3rd floor, people were encouraged to engage with robots and various pieces of technology. Visitors were led around the spaces to view a rich tapestry of works from the textiles, graphic design, film, television, and photography fields. This diverse showcase not only enriched our understanding of art but also made us more culturally aware.
On entering the B Block Building, the public were guided via the stairwell and through the building with a display of hand-cut flowers and artful spring insects. Hero pieces in the exhibition included Year 12 Media works which were displayed in the performance space. These works, which included a documentary on local wildlife and a series of thought-provoking photographs, were a testament to the students’ dedication and talent. Along with the large format digital works by the team, we were moved by the digital works that ran alongside.
In the main foyer, the 3D and Ceramic pieces commanded our attention and were a perfect accompaniment to the multitude of 2D paintings, drawings, collages and digital pieces on display.
Students should be very proud of their accomplishments this year, and we look forward to more displays of their talents.
A heartfelt thank you goes out to all who support our creatives at MAC. Your encouragement and belief in our students’ potential are invaluable, and we are truly grateful for your continued support.
Arts and Technology Department
End of Year Music Concert
Elliot Mohummadally’s Achievement
Elliot Mohummadally took part in a Shark Tank Business Pitch event in Flemington on 20 November 2024. The Maribyrnong and Moonee Valley Local Learning and Employment Network is an organization that helps young people transition from school to work and the Young Australian People group ran the Shark Tank Event.
Elliot was pitching his business, which is creating websites for small business owners. He was able to prove he had identified the market need, created a business plan and had already made free websites for a few businesses to trial his system. The judges asked probing questions ranging from technical questions on software design, to business growth as well as how will he adapt to market trends. Elliot answered them all.
When the final winner was announced, Elliot was the first-place winner with $1000 towards his website design business (WebCraft Solutions). All other contestants were at least 10-15 years older than him, but this didn’t phase Elliot with his pitch. When not pitching business ideas, Elliot is in Year 8.
Well done Elliot!
Alyena Mohummadally, Learning Specialist, PLC Leader and Classroom Teacher, Oak Park Primary School
MACtive Excursion
As part of our MACtive (Mind, Body, Move) we went to Mercy Place Aged Care Home. We visited the seniors twice, on 6 November and the 30 October. During these visits, we ran activities with the residents, like bingo, drawing and trivia. We also brought in some food, like home-baked scones and shortbread and Arnotts biscuits. It helped to bridge the generational gap and bond with people very different from us. The visits were incredibly fun and a really good learning experience.
Harry Morgan, Above Entry 9
Community Engagement Workshop
VM Learning for Life
A HUGE thank you to the wonderful warm-hearted Mt Alexander College (MAC) students who cooked and served a hot healthy meal for our Kensington community recently.
The students joined our regular Healthy Living and Learning lunch, a partnership project with Kensington Neighbourhood House. For some of our residents, this lunch is their only hearty meal of the week, and it provides an opportunity to catch up with their neighbours and Unison staff.
The MAC Vocational Major students put into practice their “Learning for Life” subject, where they learn such important life skills such as budgeting, planning and cooking meals. The young people also participate in community outreach as part of the subject.
Keen as mustard, the students researched a suitable community organisation to work with and contacted Unison. The Health Living and Learning program was a perfect fit! They presented their meal proposal in an impressively professional manner to the Unison and Kensington Neighbourhood House team. On the big day, the group were wonderful – they obviously enjoyed themselves and were organised and friendly as they served their delicious meal to our appreciative residents.
This is what a few of the students had to say to us about their experience:
“It feels right to give back to the community. I want to promote healthy eating and provide a good meal.” Rey Tinoy
“MAC is a community-oriented school and I feel like this is a really appropriate way to give back!” Gus Zaitzev
“We research different opportunities in the community, and it was great that we found this program.” Ednah Solow
Unison Community Housing Staff
VM Skills EXPO
Women’s Big Bash League
Arts and Technology
Masterchef
Masterchef students have finished off the year strong by investigating their chosen country and preparing a food item from this country. Their task was to plan and present a food item in their 75 minute lesson. Some of the highlights included KFC (Korean fried chicken), bibimbap, apple strudel, turkish kebabs, crumble cookies from the U.S.A. and lastly tacos with homemade tortilla wraps. It has been great to see the students’ skills develop as the semester progressed.
Pre-VCE students finished their unit investigating the different waves of migration that have shaped our foods in Australia. Their last task was to present a report on a food precinct of Melbourne and showcase a restaurant in this area. We finished the unit in the kitchen making our signature chicken burger and a cafe style cookie.
Wishing all our MAC MasterChef Students a safe and happy new year – and of course… keep cooking! Food skills are so important and lifelong.
Follow along our adventures in 2025 on Instagram @MACMasterChef
Thanks, Noeleen Chester and Lezanne Webb-Johnson, Food Technology department
Languages and Humanities
Japanese Excursion
English & LOTE End of Year Activities
MAC students joined end of year activities,
Singing Christmas songs in multi-languages,
Extending vocabulary & enriching knowledge,
Absorbing literacy skills all year long.
Sam Boardman-Bradley, Languages and Humanities Teaching and Learning Leader and Ching Chan, Chinese and Japanese Teacher
English
Creative Writing
rainbow
red orange yellow green blue purple pink white grey black.
at first i was red.
it was the blood rushing to my cheeks, it was it was the colour of the raining leaves, it was the velvety flow that came with your tone that stole mine away, i forgot to speak. it was the colour seeping from my face, it was a part of me that started to race, add some candle light and even the nurse’s office could become quite the place.
and it was orange
it was the box of bandaids you unsheathed like a blade, it was the warmth of your hand when the plaster was laid, you had a pack just in case we ever returned to this base, you gave me an ultimatum on how my debt could be repaid. It was the freshly laid salmon on the compact rice, it was the tint of my blush you said looked nice, even though i was in your debt you said you would gladly cover the price.
it was all yellow
it was the sand built up tall where we created our dream place, it was the car that gave automatic permission to invade each other’s space, it was the burning hot degrees and the sunflowers and the bees, our fingers intertwined together like lace.
but then it was green
it was the way she made my hope in us fray, it was the way i was wearing emeralds that day, it was the way you two clicked that made me feel sick, and she didn’t even fix the one of your hairs that went stray. it as the way you never forgot the colour of her dress, i asked what is was, you said “sage! lucky guess”, now i find myself wearing emeralds a lot less.
i was blue
it was the water i floated in for hours, the pool collected leaves and the tears started to sour, they covered my face and burned like mace but you can’t drown a dead flower. it was the vast sky above me, reflecting off my eyes, shrinking me down to my rightful size, the sky doesn’t care about us humans and our problems, the clouds will move still after my demise.
it felt, purple
it was that certain shade of lavender that was my childhood douvet, but it was also your sister’s “sorry for my crap brother” bouquet, clearing out the wasted gifts the stuffed animals were cute, so i switched, i mean i’ve always wanted to learn how to crochet.
i felt pink
it was the shop that smelt like home, my home before you, it was the roses i got myself after we were through, i started dressing how i wanted because you no longer haunted, my favourite colour came back after you thought i looked better in blue.
i saw white
it was supposed to be bliss, but you could call it a fable, the girl, the lines and the stranger’s table. it was the long flowing skirts and the absence of shirts, it was a time where i thought this was “stable”.
everything went grey
colour lost it’s meaning
everything looks the same,
i don’t care about the raining leaves
or my childhood douvet
i avoid the whites crossing the road
i step on every crack
after all we all know grey’s only one shade away from black
Alaska Darlington, Above Entry 10
Mathematics
Maths Week
ASX School Share Market Game
The second edition of the 2024 game is now over after 10 weeks of opportunity to experience the mechanism of buying and selling shares with a $50 000 virtual bank.
24 MAC students signed up with most making some trades. The class “Who wants to be a Millionaire” were participants along with a number of students participating on an extra-curricular basis.
Our best result was David Lubansky who turned his bank into $52,118.24 an increase of $2118.24 or more than 4% in the time. Over a year that would be an increase of over 20%. Most people would be happy with a 20% PA return.
David bought AGL CDA TRJ company shares along with ETFs GEAR and VDHG which are geared ETFs to magnify gains and losses. He held most of the shares along with a small amount of cash at the end of the game.
Nationally the highest result was $71,733.02 but the average result of the whole 18,008 students was $50,913.94 with 63% of syndicates in profit.
The usual disclaimer: we hope that students have learned the mechanics of share investing so that they are able to invest when they have savings to get a better outcome than bank interest. Long term share (and property) investing can be very rewarding, whereas a 10 week game is too short to reflect good long term strategies.
There will be another game next year in March. There is also another game, which is for anyone, also starting next year. Refer to asx.com.au if interested.
Graeme Morgan, Teacher of Senior Mathematics
Science
VCE Chemistry – University of Melbourne
Medicine and Disease
Women in STEM EDGE program – University of Melbourne
On Thursday 10 October, 10 girls went to the University of Melbourne for the Women in Stem Edge excursion. We first had a panel presentation from two women in STEM. We then did two workshops, one about conducting electricity and the other about our senses. This was exciting for all of us and we were all thrilled to see how these workshops went.
Our first workshop was conducting electricity. We were split into groups of two and set to work on a science experiment where we would make our mini solar panels. This was such a fun process and the lecturers at the University made it easy to understand what we had to do. It helped us broaden our understanding of the way solar panels conduct electricity. It was so fun to do and everyone there was really friendly.
In the second workshop, we did a few tests on our different senses, this tested the way we see, smell, hear and taste. It was all very interesting in how it all related to each other. For sight, we did the Ishihara test and also tried to distinguish the different colours against each other. We also smelt a lot of different things and how if we had smelled them before, they would be easier to distinguish. We also learnt about how smell and taste were connected as the mouth and nose are connected. It was so interesting and fun to experiment with the senses and see how different everyone was.
This was an amazing opportunity for all of us and the guest speakers all told their stories about how science had inspired them. The Women in STEM Edge program was a great experience and I think would inspire women to continue on a scientific path.
Marley Mackey, Above Entry 8
Interschool Sport
Oscar Lichter at the Athletics State Championship
Flemington Kensington Rotary Club
RYDA
Student Wellbeing
Information for parents, carers, and families
This fact sheet below provides tips and resources for parents, carers and families of children and young people in their care over the school holidays. This includes services to reach out to if more support for them is needed. You can also find translated fact sheets by following this link.
For parents and carers – Wellbeing support over the school holidays (English)
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.
In this edition of SchoolTV – Confidence & Motivation
Building confidence and motivation in young people is essential for their overall wellbeing and is a key aspect of their development. These qualities can have a lasting impact on their success and happiness. Confidence helps children believe in their abilities and face challenges with a positive attitude, while motivation drives their desire to learn, explore, and achieve their goals.
Fostering these traits involves creating an environment that encourages children to take risks, learn from their mistakes, and celebrate their achievements. Confidence is built when children feel capable and valued, while motivation is fuelled by the belief that their efforts will lead to growth and success. By actively supporting both, we can help young people thrive in the academic, social, and personal areas of their life.
By offering positive reinforcement, setting realistic expectations, and celebrating their efforts, we can model a positive mindset that can go a long way in helping young people develop both confidence and motivation. Nurturing these qualities, will help them grow into self-assured individuals who believe in their ability to succeed, setting the foundation for a fulfilling future.
In this edition of SchoolTV, discover how to provide opportunities for autonomy and support your child in persevering through challenges.
Click here for the Confidence & Motivation edition of SchoolTV.
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
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.
