When asked about her favourite teacher, Ava said that Nicole Kaladzoglu, who teaches VCE Legal Studies, has made a positive impact on her this year. While Ava was a bit nervous entering Legal Studies at Units 3 and 4 this year, but Miss K (as our Grammarians call her) ensured Ava’s transition was “seamless and comfortable”, forming a bond with her students enabling them to “comfortably ask questions, understand concepts or simply have a conversation when [they] need a little break or are having a bad day.” Ava also had a special mention for former MGGS teacher Rory McCaughey, who “always taught [her] at a high level” and continued to warmly welcome Ava and her friends back to Wildfell for visits even after they’d moved on.

“I am considerably grateful to have access to such a great abundance of teachers that specialise in my subjects at such a high level.”

Ava takes a logical approach to her studies, sharing that finding an individual routine, prioritising her study based on content difficulty and her SAC schedule, and reviewing a little from each subject each day works for her. She notes that maintaining balance between study, her social life and co-curricular activities requires concerted self-care and self-discipline. Ava says, “sleeping eating and looking after yourself…is the key to keep up with everything…getting my eight hours [sleep], or if I am lucky a cheeky 9 hours” is crucial. To de-stress, Ava has begun to take a more proactive approach by ensuring she stays on top of her work and commitments, exercises regularly and takes breaks to watch her favourite TV show when she is stressed. While the end of Year 12 brings exams and undoubtedly comes with stress, Ava is looking forward to “spending the last weeks” of Year 12 surrounded by her classmates and taking advantage of the “close bond formed between [her] year level” this year. More specifically, as one of this year’s Cheer Captains, she is “really excited for Domain Netball”, which is coming up next week.

Ava hopes to pursue a career as an actress, beginning with a Bachelor of Arts at the University of Melbourne and then maybe post-graduate study overseas. She encourages younger Grammarians to enjoy School in the moment, even when they are “tired or [don’t want] to do homework”. She says it is bittersweet thinking about not seeing “all [her] friends every day and knowing [her] teachers want the best for her,” but that she is excited to grow as a person and take on the world beyond MGGS.

Eloise struggled to choose a favourite teacher “out of all the wonderful ones [she] had but Ms [Caroline] Foster has a special place in [Eloise’s] heart because she taught [Eloise] for two years in a row and they were some of [her] favourite years at School.”

Eloise used “a massive pink diary to organise [her] tasks” as she admits having a physical means of organising her ‘to dos’ helpful. Prioritising work she felt less confident in also helped ensure that she gave attention to the right work at the right time. “For most of Year 12 [Eloise] tried to keep [her] weekends free” in order to maintain balance and had clear ‘non-negotiables’ like football and exercise, that she never avoided for study.

Eloise “always knew that she wanted to go interstate for University for adventure and a change of scenery.” Australian National University, we know, is one of the best in the world, especially for undergraduate law, which is what Eloise had set her sights on. Earlier this year, Eloise began her Bachelor of Arts/Law at ANU and is enjoying her studies, particularly the challenges of law and the required reading! Eloise says that university is “definitely a change of pace from School”, and is a “lot more independent”. Though her first few weeks were an adjustment period of sorts, she loves ANU and the sense of community she has found there and encourages any Senior Years students considering interstate options to go for it!

Eloise is unsure of her career pathway at this point in her tertiary education but she has plenty of time to figure that out – her degree is five years long! When she is finished studying, Eloise is looking forward to doing some travelling and volunteering.

Yier also takes a practical approach to her study and uses a “time tracker to observe how much time [she spends] on different subjects and tasks. This helps [her] identify subjects where [she] might need to spend more or less time” on. She also makes sure to prioritise subjects that need the most attention and uses a checklist of tasks to prep for exams and SACs. She balances her schedule by using her digital calendar and keeping on top of her commitments and is quick to get in touch with her teachers when she may need to negotiate a deadline. During VCE, stress is common, so when it is time for relaxation, Yier likes to go for a walk, “to take a break from [her] usual environment and boost [her] energy levels”, or write down her feelings in her journal, which “helps [to] clear [her] head and get into a better mindset.” She is really looking forward to House Music, which is coming up later this term, which, for her, “is a mix of excitement and bittersweet emotions in anticipation of” the Class of 2024’s final week of school in Term 4.

Yier’s advice for younger Grammarians is to take advantage of the different activities available at MGGS.

“Don’t be afraid to try something new! You never know what it could bring you.”

After school, she is looking forward to having more time for her hobbies and is excited to get her driver’s license! In the future, she aspires to work as a lawyer and build on her existing humanities skills, study and interests.

Esther’s favourite teacher, Nicole Kaladzoglu, who teaches Legal Studies, “makes it impossible to not want to bring [her] A game” to classes every day. Esther says, “Miss K…is one of the most committed, intelligence and kind people [she has] encountered in [her] life,” and is someone who always “goes above and beyond…every single lesson.” Esther approaches her study logically and always uses lists. Depending on the amount of time she has she will start with the most difficult (or task she is dreading the most) first and work her way down. She has also started visiting her local library to study in a different work space and finds the “studious” environment has the right atmosphere to be productive.

Esther is no stranger to being short of time, and after five years of a heavy load of co-curriculars–including sport, productions, debating, multiple School choirs, and Stella Literary Society–she thinks that being busier “in some ways makes it easier, to know what to do with the time [she does] have.” She has learned to schedule her activities in different parts of the year, so she won’t commit to sport or debating during a certain term when she knows she’ll be preoccupied with drama rehearsals, for example. Esther loves to de-stress by taking herself to the independent cinema around the corner from home and is very much looking forward to celebrating the end of her schooling and all her hard work with her peers.

As she confronts the end of her MGGS journey, she is fully conscious “of how lucky [she has] been to be able to see [her] friends each day.” She is most excited about the Class of 2024’s final House events like House Music and participating in her last Melbourne Grammar production (she’s playing Anita in West Side Story) in Term 3. The most important piece of advice she has for younger Grammarians is that the amount of work you put in (to anything that you do) will determine what you get out of it.

Esther dreams of pursuing a career in acting and can see herself at drama school and perhaps continuing her study of Literature at the University of Melbourne into the future.  

In addition to Equine Studies, Ondine also undertook Units 3 and 4 of Psychology in Year 11 last year (for which she received a perfect study score of 50). Ondine’s exceptional commitment to her studies is clearly demonstrated by her outstanding achievement in both subjects. Ondine juggled the assessment and study requirements of her two Year 12 subjects with her Year 11 course load, in addition to leaving campus each Wednesday afternoon to attend her Equine Studies classes. This year, Ondine also plays an important role as a member of the Student Executive Council, elected by the student body as the representative for the Community and Environment domain.

Ondine found the practical component of the horse health and welfare topic the most interesting part of her Equine Studies course and enjoyed combining knowledge from previous areas of study like equine physiology, anatomy and nutrition with new units. Ondine has enjoyed developing new skills to use in emergency situations in addition to everyday horse wellbeing. Ondine says the additional workload require effective time management, dedication and prioritisation of her studies. At times it was difficult, juggling her classes outside of MGGS with her school schedule but overall found the experience very rewarding and she is proud of her ability to manage it all. She also found it super energising being in different environments with students from a variety of schools.

Ondine says she was “very fortunate to have teachers who consistently provided her with support and guidance,” helping her to catch up on any content she may have missed at School. MGGS assisted Ondine with administrative engagement with Box Hill Institute, and encouraged her to pursue this opportunity.

Ondine fondly reflects on her experience last year, sharing that it was “energising being in different environments, with students from a variety of school” throughout her Equine Studies course.