Connection and Community

As I sit, writing this last entry for the newsletter for Term 2, I reflect on what a term it has been. We finish this term totally exhausted and hanging on tightly until Friday afternoon - trying to finish with the energy, vigour and care our students need and deserve.

I could not have been happier about our start to 2020 – there was such a positive climate amongst and between staff and students and we were making great strides towards our goals for the year. In the last term, some of that has quite rightly had diminished focus, but as we edge towards mid-year, I could not be prouder of what we have achieved together.

We have achieved far more than any of us could have imagined and I personally feel like, even though for a large part of it, we were further apart, it has brought us closer together than we have ever been before, with a new appreciation for the joys and simple pleasures of face to face human interactions. So many of our students still feel excited to see us, and now that we are back at school, our ability to know what both students, families and colleagues need, and be responsive has increased many-fold.

We have learnt so much about our adult capacity to learn, problem solve and adapt: we have a renewed appreciation of daily invigorating and exhausting experience of students, who are constantly exposed to new and unfamiliar situations, period after period.

We collectively feel that our community has a new-found respect for the demands of our work, and the lengths we all will go to make things work for our students, and the pandemic has highlighted the role of schools in communities and as community builders. It has become even more evident to broader society (and also to those of us who work in schools), that our roles provide structure, care and connection that essential in a functional community.

We have been through several revolutions this term – which have disrupted the way we educate and organise several times. These have been bigger disrupters than we have ever had before in education.

Importantly we recognise that not all of what we have experienced has been bad.

It is important that we learn from our experience and hang onto the things that give value, so that we can be better every day, and should the need to revert to remote learning ever happen again – we will be better and more conscious about providing the academic, the connections and the wellbeing support required for students and each other.

Learning from our experience

This week we will be conducting a rapid review of remote learning for all staff, and it is important to us that the experiences of families and students are captured. We have a few questions to ask you about the remote learning period. The purpose of this is to honour our experience and work and seek reflections so that we can capture ideas about the things we should keep doing and incorporate into our usual practice.

Please click on this link to provide Parent feedback about the Remote Learning period:

Parent perspective survey

Please click on this link to provide Student feedback about the Remote Learning period:

Student perspective survey

Parent Student Teacher Conversations (PTSCs) by phone:

We have a survey specifically about your experience of the last round of PTSCs. Please click on this link to give us your valuable feedback:

https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/NHSPTSCsPhone

Celebrations and big events throughout the last few weeks

Public Speaking:

I was delighted to hear that Zara Baglioni (Year 10) will go into the Intermediate level finals in the online public speaking competition that is running this year, instead of interschool debating normally run by the Debaters Association of Victoria.

Rainbow Day:

It was great to have our annual celebration of Rainbow Day on Thursday 18 June. Before I left to run interviews for the new Assistant Principal position I was able to make an important stop off at school to don my rainbow cape and raise the Rainbow Flag. Thank you to the Rainbow Club and to Rachel Gramm for their leadership of the day.

Student Leaders:

I was also really pleased to meet with the Student Leadership group on Monday to hear about their plans to reignite the projects they planned and started in Term 1. I also congratulated them on their messages of support and inspiration during the Remote Learning period.

Bookmark Challenge:

Also, on Monday, we also finally held our awards ceremony for the annual Book Mark Challenge. These students’ creative designs, inspired by literary works, have been printed and will help mark the spot for all of the avid readers of our community for the year.

Farewell to Ciar Foster – Thank you, Good luck and Best wishes

This is the last Northcote High School Newsletter that Ciar will publish. Her time with us draws to an end at the end of this week. She has been a key leader at NHS since the beginning of 2017 – just three and half years, but her impact has been incredible.

Ciar has brought incredibly high calibre, values-based educational knowledge and leadership to our school, outstanding communication and organisational skills, integrity and so much more. She has played a lead in changing the face of Northcote High School. She brings to her leadership deep and critical thinking skills that are second to none. Our loss is University High School’s great gain.

On behalf of our community, I thank Ciar for her enormous contribution, wish her good luck (although she is far too sensible to leave anything to luck) and all of our very best wishes.

I would like to take this opportunity, in my last newsletter, to say thank you directly to the Northcote High School community. This has been a very special place to work, and I have been lucky to learn and grow along with so many of you. I have appreciated the support, care and challenge that you - our families and students - have provided throughout my time here. Northcote is a place where I have felt a genuine sense of belonging and community. I will watch with interest as our school continues to grow, improve and enhance the experiences for all of our students, and will miss you all immensely.

- Ciar

Welcome (back) to Kerren Diamond – New Assistant Principal

I am delighted to announce Kerren Diamond has been provisionally appointed to the position of Assistant Principal.

Kerren will be known to many of you who have been associated with Northcote for more than 3.5 years.

Kerren worked at Northcote as a Visual Arts/Media teacher, and Leading Teacher, prior to taking family leave. While on family leave, Kerren has been working for Teach for Australia as one of their key leaders.

Kerren will bring great skills and talent to the Executive Team.

I am negotiating with Teach for Australia to have her released from there as soon as possible so that we can welcome her back.

The level of interest and high calibre applicants for this position was inspiring.

Stay Safe in the holidays

I hope that our students, families and staff have an opportunity to rest and recuperate over the term break. I implore you all to stay safe and take care. The resurgence of cases of COVID-19 in Victoria over the past weeks is a salient warning that we cannot return to normal.

Thank you one and all for an incredible term – thank you for your hard work, support and adaptability. Together we are stronger, and the Northcote High School community has proven this in spades.

Sue Harrap,

Principal

Friday 26 June	End of term 2 - 2.30 finish
Monday 13 July	Term 3 begins
Wednesday 29 July	Immunisations for Year 10 and Year 7 students
Tuesday 11 August	Staff professional development day (student-free)
Wednesday 9 September	General Achievement Test (GAT)

For your diary

Key Dates