Maroondah Secondary College

Public mixed-sex secondary school in Croydon, Victoria, Australia
  Dark blue
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  WhiteSloganA tradition of excellence[1]Websitemaroondahsc.vic.edu.au (archived 23 June 2012)

Maroondah Secondary College was a secondary school located on the suburban boundary of Ringwood and Croydon, 28 kilometres east of Melbourne, Victoria. The school was opened in 1965 with principal Lindsay Young. In 1969, Harry Fletcher became principal, who held the position into the 1980s. The school was originally known as Croydon West High School until 1971, when the name was changed to Maroondah High School.[3] The school entrance was on Brentnall Road in Croydon, and this site is now used as the main campus of Melba College.

The College had an enrolment of approximately 590 students in its final year. It was part of the Maroondah Education Coalition.[4]

The school offered both VCE and VCAL programs to students, but with a limited range of subjects. Additionally they included the opportunity to complete TAFE certificates through the VCE Vocational Education and Training (VET) program. Two LOTE languages were offered at Maroondah, French and Japanese.

The school had established a connection with Sasayama Homei Senior High School in Japan, who raised money for victims of the Black Saturday bushfires in 2009. Maroondah then returned the favour by donating $1500 to victims of the 2011 Tōhoku earthquake and tsunami.[5]

A $750,000 VCE study centre and newly refurbished library was finished in late 2006.[6] In 2007, the old science wing was re-furnished, modernised and equipped with smart whiteboards. There were two gyms, and a theatre.

In September 1996 a 17-year-old student from Maroondah Secondary College, Daron Wilkinson, committed suicide.[7] It was believed that a school inquiry into the integrity of Daron's assessment in VCE English contributed to his suicide. Following this, the school established a relationship with the Peer Support Foundation, an independent youth support group.[8]

Merger

At the start of 2012, Maroondah Secondary College began a merger with Croydon Secondary College.[9][10] In 2012, the two schools adopted the temporary name Croydon Maroondah College, but continued at independent campuses. In 2013, the schools officially merged to become Melba College.[11]

Until 2017, the former site of Maroondah Secondary College acted as the Senior Campus of Melba College.[12] Since late 2017, all students reside at this site.[13]

Notable alumni

  • Wayne Johnston (VFL footballer)
  • Neil Clarke (AFL footballer)
  • Brett Montgomery (AFL footballer)

References

  1. ^ a b c "Contact Us". Maroondah Secondary College. Archived from the original on 24 March 2012. Retrieved 28 January 2012.
  2. ^ Maroondah Secondary College (February 2011). "Code of Practice" (PDF). p. 4. Archived from the original (PDF) on 24 March 2012.
  3. ^ Anderson, Hugh (1988). "Ringwood Place of Many Eagles". Ascot Vale Victoria 3032: Red Rooster Press. p. 113. ISBN 0 908247 21 4.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location (link)
  4. ^ Maroondah Secondary College (March 2010). "2009 Annual Report to the School Community" (PDF). Victoria State Government Department of Education and Early Childhood Development. Archived from the original (PDF) on 16 February 2011. Retrieved 15 July 2019.
  5. ^ "Teens repay sister school's favour". Maroondah Leader. News Corp Australia. 9 August 2011.
  6. ^ Leung, Chee Chee (27 March 2006). "So where the bloody hell are you?". Fairfax Media. Retrieved 15 July 2019. Maroondah Secondary College put overseas student fees towards a new $750,000 student centre
  7. ^ Curtis, Maree (18 May 1997). "He was top of the class. So why did he kill himself?". Sunday Age. Fairfax Digital. p. 8.
  8. ^ Milburn, Caroline (16 November 2002). "Pupils see alcohol as biggest worry". The Age. Fairfax Media. Retrieved 15 July 2019.
  9. ^ Campbell, Shaun (16 June 2009). "Educational nirvana". Maroondah Leader. News Corp Australia. Under the Maroondah Education Coalition's "concept" plan, Norwood and Parkwood Secondary Schools would merge at the Parkwood site and Croydon Secondary School students would take up residence at Maroondah Secondary College.
  10. ^ "School Council" (PDF). Croydon Maroondah College Newsletter. 9 March 2012. Archived from the original (PDF) on 24 March 2012. Retrieved 15 July 2019. The new school has been registered under the interim name of Croydon Maroondah College and a new interim logo was also tabled at the meeting.
  11. ^ "Croydon Maroondah Regeneration Project". Y2 Architects. Archived from the original on 24 August 2014. Retrieved 15 July 2019.
  12. ^ Melba Secondary College (27 July 2015). "Community Meeting: Melba College Rebuild". Google Slides. Retrieved 15 July 2019.
  13. ^ Melba Secondary College (May 2019). "2018 Annual Report to the School Community" (PDF). Victoria State Government Department of Education and Training. Retrieved 15 July 2019.