From the Principal 

Welcome back to Term 3, rockstars! I hope you've all had a fantastic break and are ready to rock and roll this term. 

With the dates falling in the school holidays, we celebrated NAIDOC week in the first week of term. Thank you to Pete Sirec and our student leaders for providing a range of opportunities and activities to celebrate and learn more about the history and culture of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples. You can read and see more about this and the fundraising efforts for a mural by a local Indigenous artist in this edition.

Now, get ready to witness another sensational performance as we kick off our 2023 School Production of "We Will Rock You" later this week in our fabulous Performing Arts Centre. Tickets are now on sale, and we encourage all families and friends to come and witness the magic on stage. Our dedicated production staff and talented students have been working tirelessly to rehearse and prepare for this spectacular event. We've had full-day rehearsals to ensure a professional and unforgettable performance. A huge shout-out to our incredible staff for their time and effort in running the rehearsals and creating the sets and props. 

This term, we will be continuing with the Course Selection process and Course Counselling. We highly value the conversations happening within families as you explore the exciting range of possibilities for each student's individual program. Our Connect teachers received training last term to provide the best support for students and families during this process. Please ensure that your child completes their Course Selection by the specified date for their year level assist us in organising their top preferences. 

At the end of last term, our Friends of Northcote committee organised a very successful ‘TalkFest’. Thanks to those that attended and enjoyed hearing from local authors who were able to so eloquently talk about the theme of change in their books. Thanks to Ruth Clare for hosting the evening and the students that assisted with the evening. Our Friends of Northcote Committee is now working on a Comedy Night to be held during Term 3. 

This term we are welcoming Fabiano Nigro, also known as Mr Fab, to our Executive Team. Fab will be an additional Assistant Principal to our Northcote team and will be responsible for much of the facilities roles in the school as well as working with our amazing Student Services team. We have a short biography in this newsletter to introduce him and I hope that you get the chance to meet him soon. Other changes to the executive team this term include the Audra Keane taking on an Assistant Principal role in Kerren Diamond’s absence, supporting our Middle School team, and Aurelie Charenton as our Head of Junior School for the term. There are a few changes to get used to this term and they will ensure that our students and families are well supported. 

We are excited to introduce the first issue of Scrolling Smartly in this edition of the newsletter. This series, developed by Johanna Santarossa, our school's Leading Teacher for Digital Learning, will provide tips, advice and support for our students and families in navigating the ever changing online world. We hope you find this series informative and useful to supporting your child to be safe online. 

As always, I look forward to seeing you at one of our many events this term. 

Chris Jones 

Principal