Educating the next generation of Australians is steeped in both privilege and complexity. At Melbourne Girls Grammar, we are adept at drawing on our valuable heritage whilst ensuring that innovation and opportunity are omnipresent. We have an integrated way of looking at innovation, and we sit comfortably with complexity and uncertainty. The balance of getting this right lies at the heart of this puzzle; we are known as pioneering thought-leaders in education, so others look to us as an exemplar.
Last week, our St Hilda’s Grammarians were an example of this. Whilst our senior Grammarians were at School focused on the General Achievement Test (GAT), our Year 7 and 8 students were busily engaged with asynchronous learning at home. We learned so much during the pandemic, and we will continue to innovate in our pedagogy. Exam Week, inclusive of the GAT for senior students, is now complete and it has been heartening to see our Grammarians focused on their study. Year 12s have been making good use of their Common Room!
Our school is unified in its commitment to excellence and uniquely shaped by the rich diversity of our stakeholders. It’s a position where one size does not fit all, tasking educators with the great responsibility and reward of guiding not only student learning, wellbeing, and safety, but also the care and consideration of parents and families, and alumnae. At MGGS, we are bold when looking for openings and beginnings in thinking differently. We miss out on opportunities when we only ask, “What could go wrong?” It’s also important to ask, “What could go right?”
The recent Parent/Student/Teacher Interviews were well attended and a very important component of the feedback and communication essential for excellence in academic scholarship. I hope all parents and guardians found this opportunity to meet and discuss the progress of their respective daughter/s beneficial. At the conclusion of Semester 1, every Grammarian will receive a detailed report on their learning progress to date in 2023. These reports will be published privately online through eVI. In reporting on the Victorian Curriculum and VCE, our experienced teachers make an on-balance judgement about where each student sits on a developmental scale, using the indicators prescribed by the Victorian Curriculum and Assessment Authority (VCAA) as their basis. Our subject teachers work diligently to ensure that their decisions against the standards are both on-balance and evidence-based. These conclusions are not a reward for effort, nor a punishment for lack of effort, but hopefully a realistic and precise diagnosis. Authentic feedback of this kind provides our students and parents with invaluable information that creates the basis for future learning. Thank you to our teaching staff who contribute hours of rigorous marking to ensure that our students receive honest and accurate feedback.
As part of its 130th Anniversary celebrations, the School has recently launched a competition to create a new song which celebrates the spirit of Melbourne Girls Grammar. The competition is open to all members of the MGGS community, including students, parents, and alumnae. This song will be added to our wonderful repertoire. The song should be an original composition for female voices (one or two parts, or a combination) with piano accompaniment, and should have a total length of 2.5 to 3 minutes. The lyrics should be secular, not sacred, and should capture the spirit of MGGS. The School is looking for something that can be sung by all year levels and has a timeless quality, so that it can be sung by future generations of Grammarians. Please note that, whilst the song is being composed in our 130th year, it is not intended that the anniversary is mentioned in the lyrics, which should be of a more general nature. There is a $1000 prize for the composer of the winning song, which will become part of the singing series of MGGS. Entries, in the form of a musical score (hand-written or electronic) must be received by 23 June 2023.
It has been a big and busy term and the mid-winter break is almost upon us. To our First VIII travelling to the UK for the Henley Royal Regatta at the end of the month; we say good luck and wish them Godspeed! I am currently in Yirrkala accompanying our Year 9 cohort as part of their Arnhem Land Culture College experience. I am sure that the group will have many adventures to speak of on our return. I hope that your family can take time over these holidays to be together. I know that many families are travelling and, if so, please travel well and safely. I look forward to welcoming all Grammarians back to school on the first day of Term 3 on Wednesday 19 July.
Yours in learning
Dr Toni E. Meath
Principal