Dear colleagues
This has been a term characterised, as always, by continued hard, high-quality work across our schools. There have also been some very significant challenges and important developments.
I want to first highlight a success that has not been widely reported. Students at one of our government schools, the John Monash Science School (JMSS), won the 2024 Singapore International Mathematical and Computational Challenge.
At a time when we are, rightly, considering how we can best strengthen numeracy outcomes to achieve some of the improvements we have seen in literacy outcomes, this is a reminder that our teachers are helping students scale remarkable heights.
The Singapore International Mathematical and Computational Challenge is one of the most prestigious global school mathematics competitions, and to have a Victorian government school win this event is brilliant. JMSS's win is a timely reminder of the excellence as well as the equity pursued and achieved by our schools.
Congratulations to the staff and students of JMSS, and also to the teachers at the primary schools our winners attended that clearly gave them such a strong base in mathematics.
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David Howes, Deputy Secretary, Schools and Regional Services