From the Principals' Desk 

Winding up for the Wind Down

Nossal High School, like many other work places at this time of the year, is winding up with many things to do before the doors are closed for another year.  Last week, students took part in the Commencement program for their 2018 studies as well as receiving valuable examination feedback from their teachers.  We would like to congratulate all our students on the way they approached their exams.  They were prepared, arrived (in most cases) in time to be in the right place and followed the instructions of the supervisors; all of which means a better, more settled atmosphere for their exams to operate in.

For staff, this part of the term is also very busy with lots of time devoted to marking exams and preparing feedback for students that they can use to build on as they progress further in their studies.  Learning Domains are also working as teams to plan for and prepare learning programs for classes in 2018.

University Grand Challenge

As this newsletter is being written, Year 9 students have started the Grand Challenge, a program run with the generous assistance of Monash University.  We are very appreciative of this opportunity for our students to work with Monash professors and some of the Monash Education students.  In 2018, the theme of the Grand Challenge is "A bright future approaches..." and students will be working collaboratively in House groups to respond to this claim.  We look forward to hearing about your conclusions next week. 

Congratulations

Recently we have celebrated both the graduation of our Year 12 students and also the achievements and musical talents of our students.

The first  of these  was the Valedictory Dinner for the Class of 2017.  This glittering event was held at Etihad Stadium and was attended by the Year 12 students, their proud family and friends and very proud Nossal staff.  All graduating students were announced and presented with their Nossal Graduation Certificate and memento, while for some, they were also the first group to receive the Sir Gustav Nossal Gold Medallion in recognition of their involvement in both service to the Nossal community and participation in a range of co-curricular activities. 

The second major event was our Annual Speech Night, held at Robert Blackwood Hall, Monash University.  The evening was a recognition of student achievement across all year levels as well as a celebration of the considerable music talents of our students. 

The program commenced with a wonderful presentation of Freddie Mercury's  'Bohemian Rhapsody' performed by the Year 9 cohort and the school Choir who were supported by the 80 piece Nossal High School Speech Night Orchestra.  The performance was judged by some as the best opening to a Speech Night in the history of Nossal High School. 

Our orator on the night was Burnet Wang, a Nossal Graduate from the Foundation class.  Burnet spoke about his academic journey since leaving Nossal, a path that has taken him to his current ambition which is to finish his Juris Doctorate and make an active difference by leaving a positive footprint in the legal community.  

Congratulations to all the students who achieved recognition during the program both for their academic outcomes, their community spirit/service and their musical talents.  

In a further recognition, one of our many talented Year 12 students, Nathan Iuoras has received an Academic Excellence Award In "Music Style and Composition" from the Distance Education Centre.  This spectacular music achievement was in addition to the accolades Nathan received as a result of his participation in the Accelarando Program at the Melbourne Recital Centre.  The three year program seeks to encourage invited, gifted and talented musicians from Government schools. 

Congratulations also go to Charlotte Luong of Year 11. She is one of sixteen students selected from around the nation, two from each state and territory, to participate in the National Summer Art Scholarship in 2018. (13 – 20 January) The scholarship program gives Charlotte the opportunity to engage with the staff at the National Gallery of Australia, as well as other arts professionals, artists and peers from around the nation.

To enter this scholarship Charlotte created an artwork and wrote an essay in response to an excerpt from Angelica Mesiti’s The calling 2013-2014.

Here is her visual response.

The Scholarship also includes:

• Return airfares to Canberra
• 4-star hotel accommodation
• All meals, including celebratory dinner
• Free membership to the National Gallery of Australia in 2018
• Free entry to Hyper Real summer exhibition.

And finally, last week we said "Goodbye and Happy Holidays" to our Years 10 and 11 students at their final assemblies for the year.  Like the other events this was a chance to celebrate the year that was and look forward to what 2018 holds.  We wish all our students a safe and relaxing holiday.

More staffing changes for 2018

As we move closer to the end of this year, we have been advised of more staffing changes for 2018 with other members of the current staff team taking up new challenges next year.

In the next edition of the newsletter, more reference will be made to those leaving Nossal and the introductions of some of our new faces will commence.

Important End of Year Programs

On Wednesday we will be welcoming the 2018 Year 9 students into the school on Orientation Day.  As we all know, this is an important day, and the first step on their journey for these young people.  Thank you to everyone who will play their part on this day and assist to make the students feel welcome.  

Orientation Day is also an opportunity to welcome the parents of the new students and we thank the members of the PFA who will be on hand to help with this task.

The Terry Bennett Cup will also take place on Friday, this week. 

The Terry Bennett Cup is a day of fun activities and challenges held between the current Year 9 students of Nossal and Suzanne Cory High Schools.  In 2017, it is our turn to host the event.  The students will be involved in a range of challenges from sports such as soccer and table tennis through to other events such as Masterchef and newspaper fashion design.  Points are accumulated during the day for outcomes of events as well as participation culminating with the winning school being presented with the Terry Bennett Cup, which is currently held by Suzanne Corey.  

The cup is named after Mr Terry Bennett, currently the Principal of Melba College in Croydon.  Terry was an integral part of the DET team that helped established both Nossal and Suzanne Cory High Schools.  We hope to be able to welcome Terry to Nossal on our day of competition.

Pre-Christmas Sales

Thank you to the hard working members of the PFA who conducted the 2nd Hand Book and Uniform Sale last weekend.  Despite the overcast and at times damp conditions outside, there was a great number of students and parents present in the school gym to both buy and sell their items.  Some of those who didn't sell all of their pieces of uniform, donated them to the PFA to sell next year.

The day was a great success with over $1700.00 raised by the PFA and a further $1900.00 raised for the school by the sale of superseded computers and iPads.  All money raised will be turned back into resources for the students at the school.  A great morning's work!

Unfortunately, the planned Working Bee to be held on the same day had to be cancelled due to Melbourne's wet weather.  The list of proposed jobs we had, included some important tasks such as tidying along the oval/factories boundary, cleaning up around the new wire fence opposite the Insight school, and weeding and mulching gardens.  These jobs will still have to be attended to and we are now looking to re-schedule the day to Term 1, next year so please watch out for future announcements.

Storm Damage

The short, but strong storm over Berwick, late afternoon on Saturday 25 November left Nossal a little worse off with water entering the buildings.  While there was no significant damage apart from a small piece of flashing blown off the roof, water did manage to enter the main building, mainly on the northern side of the facility and under doors in both the Sports and Performing Arts Building and the Fitness Centre.

A few hours of work with mops and buckets late on that Saturday night and then more work with fans and dryers on Sunday, meant that the school was able to resume with little to no interruption.  Some minor water damage occurred to wall surfaces and ceilings as well as classroom furniture and other cabinetry which will now be followed up through insurance.  

As a precaution, following the previous week's damage, a small group of students and staff last week prepared sandbags which they positioned along the side of the roadway in the northern car park ready for any potential.  Thanks to their hard work and the less severe conditions, we are pleased to report there was no further water damage over this past weekend of record-breaking rainfall.

Keith Butler

Assistant Principal