Principal Report
Welcome back to Term 2! I hope everyone had an enjoyable Easter and holiday break. It is great to see all our students back sharing the excitement with their friends and getting back into the flow of the school day.
I would like to welcome to the College, Mrs Kara Salmon who has joined the Mathematics Department. She will be working with Mrs Curciev, who returned from leave at the beginning of Term 2.
$7 MILLION FOR MOOROOLBARK COLLEGE
One Monday I was delighted to have received a phone call from Minister James Merlino, Deputy Premier and Minister for Education, to congratulate the school community on the $7,000,000 allocated to Mooroolbark College for capital works in the State Budget to be announced for facilities improvement.
This is not a “promise” but an actual amount allocated to the College.
At this stage, the conditions for spending of this amount are unknown, however, the Mooroolbark College Council will be working with the Victorian School Building Authority to determine which buildings are most in need of replacement. The $7 million is for capital works and not maintenance funding, which I can assure our community will result in great new learning spaces for our students. The consultation with our community will start very shortly.
This is the first significant capital works funding the College has received since the Technology grant in the 1990s, which resulted in the construction of T Block.
ATHLETICS DAY
On Monday 30th April, we enjoyed a wonderful day at the annual Inter House Athletics Carnival. We again had an amazing turn out of students who enjoyed a day of racing, competition and games.
Congratulations to Lachie Mann who ran a great day for our students.
ANZAC DAY
We held our annual ANZAC Day General Assembly on Tuesday 24th April, this has become an important part of our calendar. I would like to congratulate our students on the reverence they showed throughout the assembly and thank our College Concert Band for playing both the Australian and New Zealand national anthems.
Additional to this our College Captains spoke at the Bimbadeen Heights Primary School ANZAC Day Assembly, with Jason Kennedy a graduate of Bimbadeen Heights Primary School playing the last post at both events. Jason did a wonderful job.
On the 25th April, our Middle School Captains attended the Lilydale dawn service, laying a wreath on behalf of the College and our Senior School Captains laid a wreath at the midday service in Mooroolbark. Tiani Welch – Phillips also gave the young person’s address at this ceremony. We were very proud of the address given by Tiani.
TASSIE AND CENTRAL CAMP
Thank you to all the staff who went on the Tassie Tour at the end of Term 1.
To begin, special thanks goes to Jodie Tilley and Janet Whitby, who as tour leaders organised an outstanding trip for our students. Thank you also to the following staff who attended the tour: Andrew Dingey, Claire Jones, Chris Hanneberry, Stephanie Bell, Jiaqi Tan, Gillian Loft, Todd Zarebski, Joshua Knott, Eva Woodward and Alex Scott. It was lovely to see the healthy competition between the two tour groups to see who could get the most Facebook likes on the many fantastic events along the way.
We also have a number of staff who accompanied our students on the Central Tour. Thanks to Tracey Lackman and Naomi Van Bremen for leading the tour. Thank you also to John Nichol, Zac Parr, Belinda Cannington, Jiaqi Tan, Jev Telford, Jordan Van Keulan and Sarah Rosendale for attending and providing such a wonderful experience for the students.
After both camps I was contacted by individuals and organisations to comment on the exceptional behaviour of the Mooroolbark College students.
TAFFIC SAFETY – CHANGES TO THE NORTHERN/MANCHESTER RD CARPARK
During Term 1, the College Council approved changes to parking and student pick-ups and drop offs at the College.
The northern car park will be closed in approximately 4 weeks time during morning drop off and afternoon pick up. Boom gates are currently being installed which will require staff to use their Mooroolbark College staff card to enter during morning and afternoon peak times.
During this time parents will not be able to drop off or pick up their children in the northern car park and will be required to drop off or pick up outside the College grounds. This is in line with the advice provided from DET to maximise student safety.
Currently having a large number of cars entering and leaving the College, pedestrian traffic and buses all at the same location causes significant safety issues for our students.
We are currently working with the Shire of Yarra Ranges in regards to traffic management in the local area and their response has been positive. We hope to have changes to traffic and parking regulations in Ross Pincott Drive in the near future. During the holidays, the Shire has replaced and moved the bus stop on Manchester Rd to increase safety.
New steps have also been installed from behind the ECA to Ross Pincott Drive. I encourage students to use this to access the school and leave rather than crossing near the staff car park on Ross Pincott Drive. It is a far safer option and maximises visibility for drivers.
Ann Stratford
Principal
Click for photos of the athletics
