From the Principal

Welcome back and celebrations

Welcome back and I hope you all enjoyed a well-deserved break and with family and friends. After a busy Semester 1 and a long Term 2 staff and students celebrated on the final day of term with Brave Faces, brilliantly coordinated by Rohan Hamit who also was the MC. Students and staff performed brilliantly.  Thanks to Jerome Rush, Josh McDonald and Sophia Griffith for judging.  On this day we also farewelled Michael Grose, who will be working in Canada for the next 12 months; David Norman is also on leave for semester 2.

NHS is buzzing with final rehearsals of Guys and Dolls underway – cast and crew spent the holidays refining the various element of the show. I encourage you to join in the fun and be part of the audience.

Welcome to Erik and Katherine Koopmans who have recently arrived from Canada and will be teaching Maths, French and Computing.  Paula Andreovksi will be teaching following positions as teacher and Year Level Leader at Hawthorn Secondary, Sandringham and Elwood, and Jonathan Hoon who will be teaching English and Humanities post teaching in California.

Partnering in learning: Course Selection 2018 Years 9-11 

Over the next few weeks students and families will be participating in the Course Selection and Counselling Process.  This is another important opportunity to partner in learning with you child and the school. Important information has been emailed and sent via Newsfeed to families - see also the article 'Learning in 2018'  in this newsletter: a copy of this information has been attached there for your reference. 

Learning beyond the classroom

This issue of the newsletter is packed with highlights that celebrate student achievement across so many disciplines and areas of talent and interest.  Over the school break students travelled to Noumea on a French language tidy tour (Pierrick Hubert and Alana Smith) and also participated in marine research as part of Project Wallacea in Fiji with Megan Rolls.  Six families also hosted students from the Nice International School as part of a 4 week language immersion program, launched this year by French Teacher Pierrick Hubert. In 2018 our students will have the opportunity to do the same in Nice.

The vibrancy of our school and the strength of our community are all keys to the success and provide critical opportunities to learn and grow beyond the classroom. Our young people and teachers never cease to surprise in the effort and energy they commit to active learning.  In addition the co-curricular program is in full swing through our clubs, sport and other activities.

Building Northcote

Last week I met with the Victorian School Building Authority (VSBA) to seek support around a budget promise to ensure future planning is in place for facilities (building and landscapes) at Northcote High for future generations of students. Pleasingly, we will begin work on a new Master Plan in the next month after selection of architects in early August.  There will be opportunities for you to get involved in terms of making a contribution to the thinking that will inform the overall school planning and how the framework for learning, teaching and relationships will be supported through the design. Stay posted for a report in an upcoming newsletter.

Finally, we are committed to partnering with you around learning.  To support this partnership I encourage you to make regular dips into myNorthcoteHigh and Compass, and create opportunities to discuss your child’s ongoing assessment feedback, end of semester report and GPAs (Learning Behaviours).  If you need support with this please connect with Josh McDonald mcdonald.josh.t@edumail.vic.gov.au.

International news and VCE offshore

Northcote High School has been working for a number of years with the Department of Education and VCAA to deliver the VCE in China in partnership with Chinese schools.  We are delighted to report that in 2017/18 we will be partnering with two schools to deliver the VCE Offshore: Baotou Foreign Language School and Hengshui No. 1 High School.  During the semester break Northcote High School mentor teachers worked with partners school colleagues Teachers form Hengshui no. 1 High School will be participating in an immersion program at NHS for 3 weeks. Thank you to Nick Murphy for his leadership of this program and mentor teachers – Rosalie Maidment (EAL), Michael Waiser (Physics), Danny Leondidas (Maths), Kun Qian (Maths), Nhan Do (Chemistry), Yali Shao (1st Language Chinese) and Effie Sgardelis (EAL) for their leadership of public education at the conference and their willingness to share their expertise as educators and resources with colleagues internationally.  They showcased all that makes Northcote High an excellent school and made us all very proud.  Northcote High is flagshipping this innovative work for public education which clearly represents our progressive, outward-facing community and the quality of our teachers.  

SAVE the DATE… Comedy is Back in 2017 – Thursday 07 September 2017.

Enjoy and keep an eye on Compass Newsfeed for event reminders and year-level specific information.

Kate Morris

Principal