From the Principals' Desk 

A newsletter to match the term!

As you look through this latest version of our newsletter, I have no doubt that you will, like me, be struck by the vibrancy and diversity of our students' learning experiences throughout the recent past. The articles included provide an incomplete snapshot of a mere three weeks of activities in what has been a busy and stimulating Term 3, and do so without even touching on what many of our students would consider the main event of the term, the House Performing Arts Festival! I recently had cause, as I will explain below, to talk to our students about what it means to both maintain and honour an inclusive community. There is perhaps no better example of the way our differences combine to create meaning and beauty than the very real joy which our students demonstrate as they pursue their diverse interests and ambitions.

I strongly encourage you to read beyond this first page, limited as it must be by my perspective and concerns, and revel in the voices of our students as they describe their learning and their successes in the fields of music, environmental studies, commerce, nutrition, languages and literature. Their excitement is infectious, and just the thing to carry us all into a long-awaited holiday period!

International Relations

One of the stories you will read on our Languages News page is about the successful relaunch of our biannual exchange program with Chosei Senior High School. This year Mr Yasukatsu Kono, the Principal of our Japanese sister school, honoured us with his presence as 18 of his students and 2 of his staff visited the school. One of our students has already ably described the details of their visit, so I will instead take this opportunity to thank our Language Teachers for their work in re-connecting us with our distant peers. The entire Language Domain, ably led by Mrs Yvonne Sly, contributed to making the visit a success, but a special vote of thanks must go to Mrs Sumiyo Kamimura who undertook the bulk of the (very considerable!) organisational work to make this trip a reality. Not content to rest on her laurels, she is already hard at work on the organisation for a reciprocal visit by Nossal students of Japanese to Chiba Prefecture early next year!

The other group which helped to make this visit such a great success were our home-stay families, who opened their homes to our visiting Japanese students. We appreciate their welcoming attitude and their willingness to contribute to this valuable shared experience for students from both schools.

It is exciting (particularly after the inward-looking attitude we have tended to adopt in recent years) to report that we are also re-activating our relationship with Felix Le Dantec High School in Lannion, France. At the time of publication, a group of Nossal students supported by both staff and volunteers are exploring Brittany (the region in which the school is located) prior to visits to Mont-Saint Michele and Paris. We look forward to hearing about their adventures when they return. 

House Performing Arts Festival

As I noted above, about the only major event in recent weeks that our students haven't provided a reflection on in this edition is our House Performing Arts Festival. This is certainly not due to a lack of enthusiasm (as those who attended can confirm!) It is likely that a future newsletter will contain some reflections from our students, so I will again keep my comments (relatively!) brief. As usual, the event was characterised by an impressive mix of ambition, collaboration and energy. All Houses impressed with their cohesive and thoughtful performances, and every performance had its highlights. 

While the judges awarded the evening to Phoenix House - who should be justly proud of their work - what struck me most was how astonishing it was to have such a large group of students coming together to attempt such a challenging feat, and succeeding! Our student-led groups combined large and small group singing, script-writing and set creation, back stage organisation, instrumental music (including some impressive conducting by the music leaders), effective chorolography and an impressive commitment to house spirit by every student there. I was very proud not just of the winning house, but of all of our students who contributed to a joyful celebration of the creative and performing arts.

The need for vigilance

Amongst all of this celebratory news, I do have one more concerning observation to share with our community. In schools around the state, a rise in racism generally and anti-semitism specifically has unfortunately been observed, and sadly Nossal has not been immune from this troubling trend. Recently, I found myself responding to the appearance of grafitti on chairs and tables - a troubling development in itself. More concerning, though, was the fact that this grafitti contained images of swastikas, which are of course historically (and I suspect permanently) linked to the racist and anti-pluralist policies so damaging to the world in the mid-20th Century through the rise of Nazi ideologies. 

Having a significant Hindu population in the school, we are of course aware that this symbol has a broader history, but there can be no doubting the fact that when it appears in isolation, it is Nazi ideas in general - and ideas relating to racial purity enforced through violence in particular - that are foregrounded. For this reason, I felt it important to talk seriously with our students about exactly why this specific sort of grafitti has no place in our school. As I noted in a whole-school briefing on the subject,

 [R]espect expresses itself in both what we SAY and in what we DO NOT SAY. I demonstrate my respect for you by USING your preferred name and by NOT USING derogatory terms when talking to you or about you. I also demonstrate it by aligning myself and my behaviours with other systems and approaches which are equally respectful in their approach...

 

[I]t is definitely – one might almost say definitively – disrespectful to the members of our community who come from Jewish backgrounds to use [the swastika] in any casual way. Many members of that community would see the use of this symbol as directly threatening, and with good reason... Everybody in this school has a right to feel safe, and a right to be safe, and graffiti like this makes our environment a more threatening place. 

 

What we do not challenge, we condone, and the actions we choose to take are the marks we leave on the world that show it the kind of people we are. I encourage you to continue to challenge yourself and, especially, your friends to ensure that their actions reflect their best selves and demonstrate their understanding that AT our best, we celebrate the humanity of everyone around us.

It is reassuring to me that I was able to start this same briefing with the assertion that "I think that most of the people listening to me today already understand that an admirable human being – the sort of human being we strive to be – always acts as if [every individual deserves respect]." I believe this to be the case, and trust that these moments when we have cause to say it aloud are just one of many ways that our community upholds an admirable and aspirational version of "normal" - one which values the contributions of all, and understands that difference is not something to be merely tolerated, but something to be celebrated.  

Back to the celebrations - Congratulations and Thanks, PFA!

On Sunday 10 September a Nossal PFA team that included current and past parents came together to sell many sausages and raise funds for the school. Thanks to a large number of generous donations prior to the event, and the hard work of the volunteers on the day, the PFA was able to raise well over $3000 dollars, which was an excellent achievement! 

Despite this being something well worth pausing and celebrating, you will notice that the group has not given itself any space on the PFA page to pat itself on the back. Instead, they are already on to the next project, which is the sale of boxes of mangos. Check out the details later in the newsletter. 

On behalf of the school, I want to acknowledge the time, effort and thought that goes into these projects. They are often driven by a small and dedicated band, and they contribute to significant improvements all around the school. This year alone, the school has made grateful and regular use of a marque sporting the Nossal logo, a set of slip-on chair covers (used during events like HPAF and Speech Night) and the outdoor furniture which the PFA funded. Our travellers in France are carrying with them one of the banners we generally use on our music stands during performances (another past purchase by the PFA) to display as they have photos taken, and a collection of native herbs which were recently planted in our vegetable garden have signs on them that were created using the laser cutter that was part-funded by the PFA earlier this year. There are few parts of the school that are untouched by the work of the PFA, and we are proud to be the recipients of their care and support.

The Term 3/4 non-contact period

This newsletter goes to "print" at the end of what has been a very busy Term 3, and I commend both our students and our staff on their hard work, good humour and resilience throughout the last 10 weeks. As usual, I want to remind both our students and their families of the importance of using the holiday break to genuinely disconnect from school, and to recharge both body and mind. It is true that our teachers may have set a small amount of holiday homework, but this should not require continuous work from our students throughout the holiday break.

There is a slight caveat in this advice for our Year 12 students. For them, this period is more of a "non-contact" period than a genuine holiday, since they are on the final push towards their examinations in October. They should certainly take significant, scheduled time for rest during the break, but they will also have received some targeted advice from their teachers about how to use these two weeks to organise themselves in preparation for their final weeks with us. I wish them luck as they work to consolidate the learning of the last three terms (and the last 12 years!). We look forward to giving them a proper farewell from the classroom in Week 3 of Term 4, and from the school at Speech Night and during their Valedictory Dinner. 

2024 Planning

As we prepare to farewell the Class of 2023, we also prepare to welcome the Class of 2027. The enrolment process for 2024 is well underway, with only a small number of offers still to be finalised. We welcome those of our new families who have found their way to the newsletter, and wish them the best of luck as they begin their time with us. A reminder to them (and to all of our families) that the school's key contact details are:

• Phone: 87624600
• Email: nossal.hs@education.vic.gov.au

Reflection, Celebration, Relaxation

As this newsletter goes to "press" we are about to finalise classes for the term and begin Parent-Student-Teacher Conferences online. This is a time for our students to feel proud of what they have achieved this term, and to consider where they need to refocus in Term 3. It's also a time to recognise that the new goals that we make during those reflections will be best achieved if we return to school in Term 4 rested and energised. I encourage both our staff and our students to make and enjoy time doing things that have nothing at all to do with the organised approach to learning which we take in the classroom. 

I have been speaking regularly this year about the joy of learning, and how much this has always driven the school's thinking, even if in the past we have used different words or phrases to describe it - learning for its own sake, for example, or embracing the challenge. The most excellent thing about expecting learning to be joyful is that it opens a vista of additional ways to experience to world from day to day. I hope that the holiday period presents many opportunities for this sort of accidental learning joy - the sort that comes from keeping your eyes open and allowing yourself to be curious about the people you are with and the fun things they are doing and making. Even in the face of challenges, a close and active reading of the world brings with it an awareness of wonder and worth. Take every opportunity to enjoy it!

Tracey Mackin

Acting Principal