2024
PRINCIPAL AND SCHOOL COUNCIL
PRESIDENT REPORT
Our Year-12 results confirm this as another great year of achievement for APC. Our congratulations and respect go to all the students and their teachers for the hard work and dedication they have shown throughout 2024.
Our results have been consistently high since we began back in 2011 – something the community has long recognised. Consistency is such a valuable asset – it means people know they can rely upon us to prepare their children for adult life. They have confidence that we will deliver. This is something they hear repeated over and over again in the local community.
How have we done this? There are many factors but several stand out.
We have stability. APC is a school that teachers want to teach at. They are hard working, and committed to always going that extra yard for their students.
We have a stable curriculum. After 14 years, we have bedded down an approach that works. Our curriculum is challenging, creative and suited to the jobs of the future.
And our values are the right ones. Most notably, we are a place that encourages positivity, hard work and kindness above all else.
As a result of our consistency, we have developed great traditions that have become hallmarks of the academic year: the art show, the music show, the musical, the dance show, the school formal, even the year-12 jump into the sea that marks the start of the last big push towards the final exams.
This all adds up to one crucial quality: we have depth. Any organisation that achieves that has it made.
Thank you for your support and we look forward to seeing you again in the future, whether as a returning student, parent or alumnus.
Steven Cook Foundation Principal
Simone Cresp School Council President
APC’S STUNNING ACADEMIC RESULTS
Wow, what a stunning end of the year for our Year 12 students. Both our VCE and IB teams achieved their highest ever results.
When their results are combined, it means 25 per cent of our Year 12 students achieved an ATAR of 90 or more. This is simply outstanding.
This result puts us into the absolute top rank of nonselective state schools, very close indeed to some of the most prestigious schools in Victoria.
In VCE our students achieved a Median Study Score of 31, with 20 per cent getting an ATAR of at least 90 and 40 per cent getting an ATAR of at least 80.
Our IB team went stellar, with 27 perfect “7” subject scores, while 64 per cent got a “6” or a “7”.
There are many ways to measure excellence in the IB but we can’t help giving you one more: we received eight perfect scores in the all important Extended Essay.
Congratulations to our two duxes. The IB Dux was Ruya Akbas, who achieved the highest possible diploma score of 45 and a notional ATR of 99.95. The VCE dux was Elisabeth Groves with an ATAR of 99.5
And, finally, congratulations to all the students and their teachers who worked so hard throughout the year. Everyone outdid themselves and deserve our highest praise.
STUDY CAMP A PERFECT START TO 2024
In the first week of Term 1, more than 160 Year 12 students attended a Study Retreat at Campaspe Downs.
The students were positive, engaged and took on every challenge and adventure with enthusiasm. It was a real joy to see them form new connections and have a heap of fun as they developed new skills. It was an excellent start to the school year for our seniors, who set a positive tone for the year ahead.
PERFECT DAY FOR A SWIMMING CARNIVAL
Is the APC Swimming Carnival the most fun day of the school year? We think so, especially when the weather gods shine down upon us.
Early in Term 1, on a 28C day at MSAC, some powerful swimming was mixed with a “Pirates” theme. As is tradition, our Year 12s chose the theme and then dressed as everything from sharks to water lilies.
Congratulations to top swimmers Arika Erdenko, Matilda Grayu, Nicole Lee, Felix Jones, Jack Gonzales and Nel Kitzis for posting great times.
House boasting rights on the day went to Flannery with 5910 points, followed by Freeman with 4865 points and Winton on 4685.
We know our swimmers are good. Arika Erdenko, Adonis Giotopoulos and Jack Gonzalez competed at the 2024 Australian Championships held on the Gold Coast in April, with Arika winning no fewer than four gold medals.
CAMP PROGRAM LEAVES OTHER SCHOOLS HANGING
APC has one of the most extensive camps programs of any state school in Victoria. We say it’s the best. Our students crossed the world, visiting Vietnam, Borneo, New Caledonia, France and other exotic places.
They also swam on the Great Barrier Reef, hiked the mountains in Gariwerd National Park, trekked through the Flinders Ranges and explored the incredible biodiversity of Kangaroo Island.
Throughout the year there were themed camps for music and philosophy, and great local adventures like horse riding, skiing and other outdoor events. And next year our ever-popular Europe Inspire Tour will be back.
We love encouraging our students to enjoy nature.
WHY OUR STAFF ARE THE BEST
In April, our teachers and education support staff attended a two-day professional development at Clunes where they worked on crucial skills, including classroom technique, curriculum innovation and discipline, all the while developing the esprit de corps that makes APC a destination school for so many members of the teaching profession.
In a tight jobs market where great teachers are hard to come by, this is one of the ways we show our staff they are valued and respected.
ROLLING THUNDER
We’re known for our music, and throughout the year our Danks St campus regularly rocked and rolled when Bandfest took over the courtyard.
Time and again, our student bands Mansplainers, Roxy Diamond, The Crushes, Spag Bol, Soultanas and The Petals gave it their all before a large crowd of appreciative students and teachers.
Having so many fine musicians doing their thing during recess and lunch was very, very cool!
A REAL SWIFTIES VIBE
We think Taylor Swift is a great role model for our students, with her message of personal strength and looking after each other.
And the excitement around the college was palpable when the singer/songwriter came to Melbourne early in the year. Students and parents fortunate enough to snare tickets (and several very senior members of staff, too) smashed the ‘G, having a great time.
Our Library staff made sure the college had a real Taylor vibe, organising a massively popular friendship bangle making session.
OPEN DAY PACKS THEM IN
In early May hundreds of people descended upon APC to check us out and maybe think of applying for a place for their children.
Never have we seen such overwhelming interest. The tours were packed, the classroom displays were full of interested onlookers, our great student bands were cheered, and the main exhibition hall was standing room only.
Our teachers and support staff were kept extremely
busy fielding inquiries about future enrolments. It seems word has got around that something special is going on here at APC, and families want to be part of it.
We’re so proud to be the school of choice for our community.
AND WE DANCED!
More than 350 people came to the Malthouse Theatre to see APC’s dance show Ends of the Earth. The performances – three shows over two dayswere powerful and moving, and testament to the enormous hours of practice put in by the cast over many months.
Congratulations to artistic director Laura Macafee, artist in residence Jo Magliolo, the APC dancers and the crew behind the scenes who all worked so hard to make Ends of the Earth a show to remember.
CREATIVE STAFF ARE AN INSPIRATION
This year our staff continued to demonstrate that creative people make great teachers.
In August, enrolment officer Emily Komiyama staged her play “t(issue)” at La Mama and comms manager Dennis Glover released his new non-fiction book Repeat: A Warning from History.
Our much loved music teachers Emilee South, Matt Dixon, Hannah Cameron, Liam McGorry, Bec Goring, Sophia Lubczenko, Holly Thomas, Darvid Thor and
several others toured and released new albums. Joining the musical crescendo were two of our library staff, Ryan Basile and Jess Zanoni, who released their debut album.
Is it any wonder our student musicians are the best when they have so many wonderful role models?
And, of course, we staged our annual Staff Art Show, full of great painting, sculpture and other creations.
A GOOD ARGUMENT PAYS DIVIDENDS
We love a good argument at APC, which is why our debating teams do so well in competition. After all, you can’t become a global citizen unless you can defend your point of view.
Six students in Years 9 and 10 attended an interschool British Parliamentary Debating competition against 64 teams from across the state.
All our students demonstrated quick wits and sharp minds but Jane Zorbas and Zamina Parker did extraordinarily well to finish second in the state.
OUR ROWERS BEAT THE BIG-NAME SCHOOLS AGAIN
Just bragging a little . . . but we can’t help it. The APC rowing team came home with a swag of medals this year, beating many big-name schools.
At the Head Of the Schoolgirls Regatta, Saska Paine and Lulu Gleeson-Payne comfortably won gold in the Open Double Scull, the third time APC has seized gold at this event. Alice Roberts and Ella Kilpikoski also took the bronze.
Not to be outdone, our boys Luca Mercuri and Dan
Tappenden won gold in the Senior Double at the Scotch Mercs regatta. Many other medals were won.
Our team rounded off the year nicely with an amazing six gold, three silver and two bronze at the Lauriston Regatta in October.
SOCCER BOYS DOMINATE
APC’s Year 7 boys soccer team won the Victorian Secondary Schools state final, defeating Rowville in a penalty shootout after the teams finished 0-0.
What a performance!
Our Year 7 girls soccer team did APC proud, too, just missing out on finishing first in their pool on goal difference.
BASKETBALL GIRLS SOAR
The new basketball season got off to a flier recently with our intermediate girls taking out the Southern Metropolitan Regional final.
This talented bunch has what it takes to take out the state final, so stay tuned.
A CHILLING PLUNGE
At APC, being in the depths of a Melbourne winter means one thing above all others for our Year 12s: it’s time for a dunking in the freezing bay. The annual ritual has one clear message: “Wake up, it’s the business end of the year. From this day onwards, it’s time to get serious about exam preparation.”
After their dip, they received their Year 12 jumpers.
The tradition never fails to grab their attention! We thank our great friends at the South Melbourne Life Saving Club for making the shivering possible.
CROWD TURNS OUT FOR LITERARY FESTIVAL
APC works hard to produce great writers and communicators. That means encouraging reading and writing.
In August a big crowd of around 130 turned up to the Danks St campus to be part of LitFest 2024.
Over the two days, they heard from a range of successful authors and songwriter, on subjects ranging from coping with adversity, to the war in Ukraine.
They were interviewed by senior students Leah and Phoenix, Fletcher and May, and Lucy and Elih.
Our thanks to the great support of the Albert Park Rotary Club, which complemented the event with their annual secondhand book fair.
OUR FRENCH PROGRAM? C’EST MAGNIFIQUE!
Our French exchange program continues to shine brightly.
A group of APC students spent the start of the year in France at our sister school Lycée Sainte Marie du Port as part of our ongoing exchange program. We then welcomed eight Year 10 and Year 11 French students to APC in August.
We know we’re doing something right - we also received a special visit from the French ambassador and the French Consul-General in November.
And it’s now back to our turn to travel. A new group of APC students are currently in France for Christmas.
What a wonderful way to improve your language skills and enjoy a new culture.
PARENTS GO FOR GLAM AND GLITZ
They came, they laughed and they danced the night away! Almost 200 APC parents and friends glammed up and let their hair down for the Eurovision gala at Studio 120.
The dance floor was packed, the trivia event pitted country against country, and the photo booth got busier as the night grew longer. We not only had fun, we raised more than $15,000 for our school.
Once again, thank you to the hardworking ALPACCA committee, led by co-presidents Ruth Allen and Anna Vermooten.
As Principal Steven Cook said to the crowd in his welcome speech, APC is blessed “with the best school community in the country”.
A NIGHT OF DRAMA AND ROMANCE
It took 15 weeks of hard work but in October the curtain went up on ‘Til The End Of Time – our drama production for 2024, which was a romance set in an aged care home! It doesn’t get much more original than that.
Even more stunning than the performance was the fact that it was written by our Year 10 Drama students who also helped produce and direct the play as part of their curriculum.
It was a true thrill to see the creativity, passion and excitement as they created their original narrative and characters.
The cast of 21 students came from all year levels and it was a delight to see them bring their fellow students’ vision to life.
HIGH SCHOOL CROWD SCREAMS FOR MORE
At the end of July, APC packed out the huge National Theatre in St Kilda not once but twice with our musical theatre production High School Musical.
This joyous celebration of student days had the crowd cheering and screaming out for more.
All the performances were amazing: Lilly Hall and Leif Weingott as the star-crossed lovers Gabriella Montez and Troy Bolton, Nina Buchler and Max
Vucic as the nasty twins Sharpay and Ryan Evans (we’re told they’re really very nice in real life…), and who will ever forget Ivy Glenfield’s portrayal of Ms Darbus.
After last year’s absolute triumph with the musical Working, we thought they couldn’t slay again.
But they did. They are brilliant!
CLASSY YEAR 12s DANCE THE NIGHT AWAY
A rite of passage for any student is the Year 12 Formal, and the Class of 2024 dressed in their best for one special night in June.
The photobooth got a serious workout and, after the speeches, it was time to hit the dance floor.
And they danced … and danced … and danced … the night away.
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THANK YOU, FROM THE HEART
In December our wonderful parents staged their annual thank you breakfast for APC teachers and staff – giving their time, baking yummy food and donating money to organise free coffees from a coffee caravan.
APC is truly blessed to have parents who appreciate the care teachers and support staff take with our hardworking students.
What a beautiful event! It proves that a great school is also a great community.
HANNAH SETS AN ART SHOW FIRST
The APC Art Show at our amazing New York-styled campus Studio 120 was a spectacular success with hundreds of visitors attending the three-day event. The show is unique because it blends student, emerging and professional artists in one amazing display of creativity.
For the first time ever, an APC student – Hannah Speed – took out the Best in Show professional prize, worth $2000. That’s extraordinary in a field of high quality professional artists.
Our thanks once again to the parent group who worked tirelessly to put the annual show together.
THE MANSPLAINERS STAR WITH DEBUT SINGLE
It wouldn’t be a celebration of the year without special mention of our student rock band, Mansplainers – Libby Homer, Matilda Lester, Lucy Ellenberger, Lily Hall and James Keating. They’re so good it’s almost scary.
Not only did they headline our amazing Music Concert at the Memo Music Hall early in the year, and impress Triple J in the Battle of the Bands, they aced Term 4 by launching their debut single The Sheriff at leading rock venue, the Tote.
You can listen to The Sheriff here.
OUR COMMUNITY IS EVERYTHING TO US
You cannot be a successful school without the backing of the community.
APC parents are fantastic, and we are also fortunate to have the support of many wonderful organisations. These include the South Melbourne Life Saving Club, Albert Park Yacht Club, Albert Park Rotary Club, the South Port Uniting Church, the Port Melbourne Life Saving Club and the Royal Melbourne Yacht Squadron.
Marshall White Port Phillip also came on board this year to sponsor our five major performing arts events.
THE YEAR AHEAD
We are excited about two big infrastructure facilities planned for 2025:
Refurbishment of the Student Food Rooms
After 13 years of constant use, these facilities need to be updated to service a growing interest in the Food/Hospitality sector as a senior subject and future career. Plans are almost complete with a budget of around $500,000.
Youth Arts Precinct in Gasworks Arts Park
APC is working with the Department of Education to revise and finalise plans for this performing arts
precinct. Once completed the fitout is expected to cost around $2 million.
The School Council is setting up a special Strategic Partnerships Committee to seek support for these important projects. If you would like to support APC by becoming a member of this important committee, or would like further information, please email School Council member Francesca Valmorbida at francescavalmorbida@albertparkcollege.vic.edu. au by 9am January 6, 2025.
And finally
We will leave you with one of the funnier things to have happened at APC this year.
For centuries, students have been coming up with lame excuses for not completing their homework.”The house burned down.” “My laptop was stolen.” “The dog ate it.”
Well, on one of our Dog Fridays, when teachers bring their mutts and pedigrees to school, Roscoe, the pampered pooch of PE teacher Matt Harvey, was left unwatched for a milisecond and ate a student’s exam paper. That’s right. A dog ate some homework!
As you can see, we have the photographic evidence.
Luckily it had already been marked. Bad dog! On the bright side, it’s pleasing to know that at APC even our dogs ingest knowledge.
As we look back across the year, we remain incredibly grateful to the hundreds of people and the many community organisations that have supported APC.
Have a safe and peaceful Christmas, and enjoy the summer break.
