College Principal’s Report
The last week of May is National Reconciliation Week. The theme of the week for 2024 is ‘Now more than ever’ and it is a reminder to all of us that no matter what, the fight for justice and the rights of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people will —and must —continue.
At Mill Park Secondary College we are very proud of our first nations students and I would like to acknowledge the fantastic contribution that they make to our school every day. I would also like to acknowledge that when it comes to closing the gap, truth-telling about our past, and in creating genuine reconciliation there is always more that we can do. This week at school there are a range of activities and events occurring including a smoking ceremony at our Middle Years Campus to raise awareness. If you have ideas about what more we could be doing as a College to support reconciliation I encourage you to contact me here at school as this work is ongoing.
Student leaders have been closely involved with supporting Reconciliation Week and to support their leadership capacity our Student Representative Council, Student Wellbeing Ambassadors and Students with Scholarships participated in a number of leadership training days which engaged them in a variety of voice, agency and empowerment activities during Terms 1 and 2. Through these programs, students developed their ability to implement change at Mill Park Secondary College; building their public speaking and pitching skills, their teamwork skills and their ability to reflect on past achievements and implement an action plan to ensure further success.
Our student Leaders now meet regularly as part of ‘Campus Advisory’. This new initiative allows students to interact directly with members of the school leadership team to discuss current issues, and identify ideas and actions to improve things for students on each campus. I have attended these meetings and have been very impressed by the thoughtful suggestions and advocacy that students have provided. We look forward to putting these ideas into action over coming weeks.
Our Year 10 and Year 11 students will soon be commencing their exams between June 7 and June 20. This is an important period for our students to develop their skills in managing examinations, revising their learning across their subjects and using the experience to reflect and set goals for future learning. If you have Year 10 or Year 11 students in your families I encourage you to discuss these upcoming assessments and ensure that they are ‘planning forward’ for success. Our Year 12 students are now coming close to the end of Unit 3 and I would like to congratulate them on their efforts across this semester. Year 12 English students will have a Unit 3 Practice Exam on June 26 and this also is an important learning opportunity.
Finally, I would like to remind families of the call-out for volunteers for our Performing Arts program which was made recently via Compass. As we are now moving into our new theatre we are seeking volunteers for a range of tasks for this year’s production: This includes everything from assisting with set construction, to costume, and front of house roles such as ticket sales and ushers.
A ‘Pre Production Working Bee’ will be held on Friday June 7pm between 4 and 6pm to help set up new equipment which has been purchased and any assistance will be appreciated. Expressions of interest can be made using this form. I will attend and I hope to see some of our school community members there.
