From the Principal
Thank you to our parents, carers, and members of the broader school community for your support again this year. Whether you have had a formal role as part of the P&F, Sports Committees, assisted with school events, acted as a Year Ambassador, or simply taken the time to provide encouragement, complete a survey or attend a school function, your participation is very much appreciated.
Throughout 2024 we have invested in a range of opportunities for feedback in consultation with our parent and student community, and I hope very much that you can see evidence of change and improvement in response to your input.
There was some feedback about academic results and inaccurate perceptions about HSC and IB achievement. While I have addressed this quite recently, I want to reassure our community that we closely monitor and reflect on our NAPLAN, HSC and IB results and a significant amount of time is spent analysing the data, identifying areas for improvement and reviewing our approaches. We also have many teachers who are HSC and IB markers, giving them a unique insight into the specifics of requirements in their subject areas. However, as an open entry school there will be differences in our results from year to year.
Parents also asked for after school academic support particularly for older students. We were very pleased to introduce our academic support sessions; initially for Year 11 and 12 students but then extended to Year 10 due to demand. The feedback has been incredibly positive, and we look forward to continuing and refining the program in 2025.
Another of the areas identified in the initial consultation was Sport, and in response we followed up with a specific survey on this important part of MLC School life. In another section of this newsletter, you will find a summary of the findings and an outline of our plans for improvement.
Teacher turnover is an area that parents want to understand more about and for the School to address. While we are not immune from the global shortage of teachers, I am incredibly pleased to report that not only have our turnover rates returned to pre-COVID levels, but a number of much-loved staff, who had previously spent some time away from MLC School, have returned or will return next year. We are investing significantly in the development of partnerships with tertiary institutions to develop opportunities to mentor and attract talented potential teachers, investing in leadership development opportunities for interested staff, and seeking to provide a positive and supportive work environment for our staff.
Feedback about the multiple communication channels the School used drove the development and implementation of the parent portal Omnia, which sits beside the MLC School app, to provide a much improved experience for our parents. There is more work being done now to improve this experience further.
Senior School students requested that the Café be open after school and reported that it was taking too long to be served at lunchtime. With further input from the Student Representative Council (SRC), we have trialled new arrangements which are working well.
One of the big projects this year has been the development of the next Strategic Plan, which I look forward to introducing to you on Speech Day/Night and sharing more about throughout 2025. I hope very much that you will see in that plan, our intent to respond to the issues raised while also looking ahead and continuing to provide a learning environment where girls know that they can succeed, have a strong sense of self, and are supported to achieve their best.
Farewell to departing staff
I would like to thank everyone for their support and contribution to MLC School this year. The downside of reaching the end of the School year is that a number of staff will be leaving us to take up new opportunities:
Executive
- Linda Emms, Head of Learning and Teaching
- Nyrissa Filetti, Head of People and Culture
Senior School
- Alfred Chu, Head of Department, Mathematics
- Annie Conway, Teacher, History and Religious Education
- Frederique Pech, Teacher, Languages
Junior School
- Amber Bidwell, Year 6 Teacher, Year Coordinator
- Victoria Bradshaw, Visual Arts Teacher
- Emily Bryson, Teacher, Junior School
- Lesley Snelgrove, Visual Arts Teacher
- Grace Kapellos, Library Assistant
We have been fortunate to have a number of very capable and hard-working staff on temporary contracts that conclude at the end of this year. Thank you and farewell to:
- Merna Malek, Teacher, Junior School
- Anita Modok, Teacher, Visual Arts
- Xujie Wang, Teacher, Mathematics
I look forward to seeing many of you at our Annual Junior School Speech Day and Senior School Speech Night on Thursday 5 December 2024.
I hope that you have a wonderful Christmas and New Year and look forward an equally productive year in 2025.
Possible problematic link in certain Oxford University Press textbooks
At MLC School we take online safety very seriously. We have recently received advice from AIS that certain Oxford University Press textbooks contain a problematic and highly concerning weblink that redirects students to a pornographic site. The issue impacts textbooks sold as recently as September of this year although a comprehensive list of impacted texts has not been provided. We have contacted our textbook supplier Campion Education, and they have advised that the only Oxford University Press texts on our book list are those used in Years 11 and 12 IB Diploma courses. They have also advised that as MLC School accesses the digital versions of texts through MyConnect there should be no reason for students to use the link in the text. Our IT team have taken the additional measure of blocking the key words contained in the link on the MLC School network. AISNSW has reported this matter to the eSafety Commissioner.
If you wish to check your daughters’ textbook the problematic link can be found at the front of the text and contains the text “obookassess”. If any of her texts are impacted, please contact our Director of eLearning Marianna Carlino in the first instance. This issue does not impact any new texts sold post September 2024.
– Lisa Moloney
Principal