From the Principal: 28 October 2024
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From the Principal: 28 October 2024

It is at this time of year when we support our Senior Years Grammarians in sitting of their final examinations. As I am writing this piece for the Messenger, our VCE students are preparing for their exams to commence. Over the past few weeks, I have been observing students working individually and in groups with their teachers preparing for the exams. Many practice essays have been written, past papers attempted, and all marked and returned with honest and accurate feedback. The trial exams ran smoothly and were great preparation and I am confident that our Class of 2024 are well prepared. My sincere thanks to our two new Chief Exam Supervisor, Caroline Manso and Noelene Duckett who lead a wonderful team of invigilators, setting a calm and productive tone for the exams. Additionally, our talented Director of VCE and Data, Meg Brydon, and the experienced Senior Years Team have worked collectively to ensure that there is composure to our exam centres, assisting our students to focus on the task in front of them. Many of our invigilators are former MGGS teachers who have been supervising the VCE exams for years. Good invigilators create a special sense of calm and order to the exam setting and create the right tone for exam sitting and the value of this cannot be underestimated.

It was a great joy to attend the Celebration of Sport in the Artemis Team Zone on Monday 14 October. Our guest speakers were Australian cricketing legend Belinda Clarke AO, and Olympians Claudia Hollingsworth and Jemima Montag. This is a special event for celebrating the sporting achievements of our Grammarians. Thank you to our wonderful Heads of Programs and Coaches for providing a strong season of participation and competition across many sports.

The Annual Art Exhibition opened on Wednesday 16 October, by special guest artist and Old Grammarian, Helen Kennedy. The artwork was beautifully curated and the quality was exceptional. Congratulations to all exhibiting artists from ELC through to Year 12. Congratulations to Year 12 students, Mia Minoski for winning the Principal’s Acquisition Prize and to Coco Missen-Brown for winning the Poly Winterton Boarding Prize.  

Congratulations to Year 10 students, Xanthe O’Loan, Alexandra Duncan, Katherine Ye and Alexandra Chan for winning the C Grade Victorian State Debating Finals on Wednesday 23 October against Camberwell Grammar. The topic was “That museums should be required to return historical artifacts (e.g. Pharaoh coffins) to their place of origin.” MGGS were arguing the affirmative! Bravo Grammarians!

L-R: Alexandra Duncan, Katherine Ye, Xanthe O’Loan and Alexandra Chan, all Year 10.

On 24 October we welcomed our new 2025 Year 7 students and their families to Merton Hall for their first orientation. I was pleased to see our Wildfell Grammarians mixing and mingling with an open and inviting spirit. Many new friendships were made on the day and we look forward to these flourishing over the next six years.

A healthy sign of an intellectual school is the number of teachers who are engaged in outside professional associations, who are invited as speakers to state, national and international conferences and who are examiners and assessors for the Victorian Curriculum Assessment Authority (VCAA). This dedicated work complements their teaching, contributes to the professionalism of teaching, and enables them to be experts in their field. I am very pleased that we currently have 23 MGGS teachers who are assessing for VCAA this year. The VCE Examining staff in 2024 include:  

2024 VCAA Assessors 

Name 

Subject 

Oral/Written 

Jiwei Xu 

Chinese Second Language – Advanced 

Oral

Jiwei Xu 

Chinese Second Language 

Written 

Fenglan  Luo 

Chinese Second Language – Advanced 

Oral & Written 

Lucy Jongebloed 

VCAA Assessor Training: Revolutions 

Written 

Sarah Xu 

Chinese: Language, Society & Culture 

Oral & Written 

Jessica  Priestley 

Latin (incl. Examination Dev Panel) 

Written 

Noemie Langlois 

French 

Oral 

Cecile Rouveyrol-Malod 

French 

Oral 

Bei Jiang 

Mathematical Methods 

Written 

Aleks Ballarin 

Biology 

Written 

Luke A Francis 

English Language 

Written 

Tara Ambrosio 

English Language 

Written 

Elisa Gennari 

Italian 

Oral & Written 

Allison Bray 

Geography (Assistant Chief) 

Written 

Anjelina Stojanoska 

Psychology 

Written 

Yvette Arnott 

Extended Investigation 

Oral 

Yvette Arnott 

Literature 

Written 

Olivia Wilson 

Drama 

Performance & Written

Lenny Robinson 

Philosophy (Chief Assessor) 

Written 

Jessica Ashenden 

Latin 

Written 

Josphine Lim 

Chemistry 

Written 

Kirin Xie 

Accounting 

Written 

Jasmine Shih 

Physics 

Written 

Rachel King 

Health and Human Development 

Written 

Caroline Foster 

History: Revolutions 

Written 

 

In closing, the time of Valedictory is an important rite of passage for our Year 12 students. We always remind our Grammarians that as they graduate, they are part of something bigger than the individual, and that they belong to a large Merton Army that has existed since our founders; two strong women, Emily Hensley and Alice Taylor who started MGGS in 1893. The Class of 2024 are fortunate to have received a fine education, the very best teachers and the very best of care. Each year as Principal, I design a special memento as a keepsake in the form of jewellery for the graduating students. I think carefully about this and make my choice reflecting the cohort. This year, with the Year 12 motto being ‘24k magic’, I wanted it to be something whimsical, and special. This year, the necklace represents fortune and providence. It holds our precious MGGS crosslet, and a gold four leaf clover pendant. The four leaf clover is rare and symbolises faith, hope and luck, and it reminds us to look out for opportunity. The four leaf clover is believed to be a sign of God’s blessings and favour, reminding us to trust in Him and have confidence in His plan for our lives. The Class of 2024 commenced Year 7 when I first started at MGGS in January 2019. I remember my first day and the first student I met was Harriet Graham. I think Harriet and I were equally nervous as we walked through the gates of the red brick walls. We have shared many memorable adventures together. It has been an honour and a privilege over the last six years to observe this cohort flourish into the capable Grammarians they are. I have so many vivid memories of their time here over the last six years. They are well prepared for their exams and, more importantly, for life!

Enjoy your Grammarians and this exquisite Spring weather – the perfect time for a family bush walk or picnic!  

Yours in learning

Dr Toni E. Meath
Principal