Events

Thursday 22nd February 2024 - Emergency Lock-down Drill

At approximately 7:00pm, three air-horn signals were repeatedly honked to signal a lock-down drill (one outside G-block, one outside D block and one between E and F blocks.

It was quite apt that we ran this drill as during the evening we experienced a brief, wild electrical storm which prevented us from also running an evacuation drill.  After the recent destructive storms in Melbourne, it was really important to recognise that there are times we require our students to stay safely inside.

Once rooms were checked an 'All clear' was announced and students returned to their lessons.

This drill introduced our emergency procedures to our new students and staff, but also highlighted some areas we have to improve to ensure optimal safety for us all.

Thursday 26th October 2023 - Emergency Lock-down Drill

At approximately 5.10pm, two air-horn signals were repeatedly honked to signal a lock-down drill (one from the office towards G-block and one towards E and D blocks.

No students were found out of class, and all followed their teacher directions to darken the room as much as possible and quietly position themselves under the tables. Announcments were made via the megaphones to let students know this was a drill.

Once rooms were checked an 'All clear' was announced and students returned to their lessons.

Thursday 31st August 2023 - Emergency Evacuation Drill

All students evacuated to the oval and were asked to stand in a straight line behind their class laminated sign on the ground.  Teachers checked that all students present agreed with their marked roll. Students were generally well-behaved, although we had to remind some to keep the noise down and one student brought a football with them which is not acceptable.

Having the signs really worked well.  They were a reasonable distance from the buildings, but in a real evacuation, we would probably move them even further away.  We were lucky that it was not raining and not dark, but in a real emergency we won't get to choose.

Hopefully this drill reminds everyone of what to do immediately they hear the siren wail from the burgundy megaphone. The white megaphone makes a different noise, but still more of a wail than the air-"honkers" we use for a lockdown, so there shouldn't be a problem distinguishing between the two signals.  

In particular, teachers need to make sure they have marked their roll accurately, and if anyone has left the classroom, the teacher needs to know where they were going (and they are always sent in pairs of the same gender).

Sunday 21st May 2023   Department of Education recognising its long serving employees

Congratulations to our Supervisor and Admin Assistant, Diana and Karen for their longstanding commitment to public education.

The awards were presented by the Minister for Education and Women, Natalie Hutchins at the Pullman on Melbourne.

Thursday 30th March 2023 - Emergency Lockdown Drill

Following on from last week's evacuation drill, we ran the OTHER type of emergency drill tonight - the Lockdown drill.

Having them one week after the other allowed all concerned to clearly identify the difference between the emergency signals. I am pleased to report that all classes took the appropriate action to drop to the floor, close the door, close the blinds and turn the lights off.

The one improvement that could be made is for all students to KEEP QUIET and pretend they aren't even there.

Parents who were present at the time also took the appropriate action and moved to the floor.

One student was in the toilet at the sound of the alarm, but when checked, he replied that he had heard the alarm and knew to stay secure in the toilets and not to come out until the "all clear" had been sounded.

Thursday 23rd March 2023 - Emergency Evacuation Drill

An Emergency Evacuation Drill was held just before break time.  Classes were expected to evacuate to the oval on the North side of the VSL classrooms. Parents on-site at the time (near the VSL office) also evacuated to the oval.  Students arriving late to school were also asked to go straight to the oval and report to their teacher.

The drill highlighted a few things that need to be improved. Some classes were confused about the difference in the two signals (WAIL for evacuate, HONK for hunkering down in the room, ie lockdown) and this was explained to them before the break. It was also difficult to ensure classes assembled on the oval in a way to easily check their attendance, so we have created signs to be placed by the Admin staff in future that the classes will line up behind.

Any parents who are on site when either of these alarms is sounded, should 

20th October 2022 Korean Cultural Day

Thursday 19th May 2022 - Emergency Lock Down Drill

An Emergency Lock Down Drill was held just before break time and all classes followed the lock down instructions. 

Any parents who are on site when either of these alarms is sounded, should 

Thursday 26th July 2018 - Emergency Lock Down Drill

As a great start to the term, an Emergency Lock Down Drill was held just before break time and all classes followed the lock down instructions. 

Any parents who are on site when either of these alarms is sounded, should follow the students and 


Sunday 22nd July 2018- Department of Education recognising its long serving employees

More than 450 people gathered beneath the stained glass ceiling of the Great Hall at the National Gallery of Victoria on Sunday 22 July this year to recognise some of the Department’s longest-serving employees.

Over 200 teachers, principals, school support officers and corporate staff were recognised at the NGV for 40, 45, 50 and 55 years of service to education in Victoria. 

VSL_McKinnon was well-represented with 40 Year Awards for Karen Romari and Diana Hatch.

Sunday 22nd July 2018- Department of Education recognising its long serving employees

More than 450 people gathered beneath the stained glass ceiling of the Great Hall at the National Gallery of Victoria on Sunday 22 July this year to recognise some of the Department’s longest-serving employees.

Over 200 teachers, principals, school support officers and corporate staff were recognised at the NGV for 40, 45, 50 and 55 years of service to education in Victoria. 

VSL_McKinnon was well-represented with 40 Year Awards for Karen Romari and Diana Hatch.

Thursday 19th April 2018 - Emergency Evacuation Drill

As a good start to the term, we held an Emergency Evacuation Drill just before break time and all classes evacuated to the oval.  The students were very cooperative and listened carefully while the two different alarm sounds were demonstrated:  

Any parents who are on site when either of these alarms is sounded, should follow the students and 

===========================================================================================

Korean 2 class create colourful masks - 2017 August

Korean 1 class created South Korean flags - 2017 August

Evacuation Drill - 2016 27th October

On hearing the continuous ringing of our class bell, all classes were able to practice evacuating the classrooms and heading in an organised way to the oval. On the oval, classes lined up with their teacher so that we could account for all students present on the night. 

Jenny wins Prestigious Award

Congratulations to Jenny Kim for being awarded a prize from Korea for her progress in her language studies here at the McKinnon Centre of the VSL. The glamorous certificate is accompanied by a monetary prize to assist with Jenny's future studies in Korean.

Hebrew Students Scoop the Pool at the Melbourne University Essay Competition!

Essay Competiton winners Omer, Roy and Dana, with their teachers, Sharon and Yehuda.

We are proud to inform you that three of our students at VSL Hebrew have taken out all of the prizes for Hebrew essay writing at the annual Melbourne University Ziva Shavitsky Foundation Hebrew essay competition. This is the premier essay writing competition with all schools taking part. This is the first year VSL has sent in entries and our achievement is a testament to the quality of our learning program and to the skills of our students.

Dana Izofatov won the prize for her year level, year 9, with her essay on her favourite film genre - crime movies. 

Roy Bar Giora  took out the prize for his year level, year 10, with his essay on his home town of Zichron Yaacov, a famous Israeli landmark and wine making district for well over one hundred years.

Omer Samuni’s philosophical take on his perception of being successful is a very interesting read, with Omer tackling the topic many adults confront on a daily basis, with a mature approach, delving into quite personal nooks and crannies.

The winners will receive a significant monetary prize awarded next month at the community centre with University and school officials, dignitaries and the community media. This should certainly raise our profile as an elite language teaching centre.

This Thursday all Hebrew classes were assembled to congratulate the winners in front of their peers. Area Manager, Venetia Kefalianos, and McKinnon Centre Supervisor, Diana Hatch, were also there to add their congratulations to those who entered the competition.

14th May 2015 - Emergency Drills

McKinnon was startled by the sound of our ultra-loud siren on the megaphone as we ran a Lock Down drill on Thursday night.  Under the direction of teachers, students were asked to get down on the floor and under the tables - away from the windows and doors.  Even some parents who were on site at the time were asked to join in and 'stay safe'. The Lock Down is used where there is a danger outside the classrooms.

Luckily the rain eased long enough for us to then practice our Lock Out drill. The continuous ringing of the class bell was a signal to teachers to have their classes leave their room and travel by the quickest route (as indicated on their evacuation plans) to the oval where attendance was checked.

The running of these drills allows us to identify where there are issues that we need to try to solve so that in the event of a real emergency we can try to keep all students as safe as possible. 

Parents, please note:  One of the concerns we have is when students are arriving late to class.  If, when you arrive, you hear a loud siren, then that is a signal to take cover - either go the nearest classroom (and immediately report to the teacher) or return to the car and clear the area. If, when you arrive, you hear the continuous ringing of the class bell, then that is a signal to turn around and clear the area.  

If you have any concerns or suggestions for how we deal with emergency situations, please email our office

vsl@ mckinnonsc.vic.edu.au (without the space).  We welcome your feedback.

7th May 2015 -  The K2 Korean Class prepare for Mothers' Day