From the Principals' Desk 

Dear Parents, 

As we face further lockdown restrictions and a COVID variant that is exceptionally difficult to contain, it is hard not to feel quite despondent and rather powerless in the current circumstances. The lack of certainty and the difficulty in planning for even quite mundane activities or events limit our ability to anticipate the things we would normally be looking forward to, and we all need to be prepared to “be flexible” and “pivot” on increasingly short notice. This is draining and frustrating for everyone and sadly we are now seeing this frustration manifest itself in angry demonstrations and community protests that have the potential to make the current situation even worse. I understand that many people are really hurting at the moment. Some have lost their livelihoods, people are unable to see friends and family, or are fearful and angry, and don’t like being in lockdown. Still, I fail to understand how the civil disobedience and violence might lead to any “improvement” or easing of the restrictions – quite the contrary I would think. As challenging as it may be, we need to accept that for the immediately foreseeable future our world will remain a very different place to what it was prior to the pandemic and, as a community, we can no longer enjoy many of the freedoms we previously expected and took for granted. We can mourn what we are missing but that is unlikely to lead to any improvement or great joy. As trite as it may be we really need to be finding the joy in what we are doing and achieving – even if we would much prefer to be doing other things.

The joy I take from our current situation is in seeing the dedication, professionalism, and hard work of our staff as they bend over backwards to ensure their students are well supported in both their academic studies and their health and wellbeing. It is in the resilience, persistence and focus of our students as they endeavour to do their personal best and support each other through such uncertain times. It is in the many creative ways our staff and students are employing to ensure co-curricular programs and community building events still take place, and it is in the care, love and support that is so evident within our parents and wider school community. Our school community is one that highly values education and we all want our students to be highly successful, but we also want everyone to be safe, supported, happy and resilient. These are the most important elements in what we do in the current situation, as without them “success” is less likely and much harder to attain.

I commend all members of our community for the care and support they are providing – we are much stronger as a result – and as always, I encourage you to call on us for assistance and to continue to look out for yourselves, your children, and your friends....

... and let me continue to reassure you all – Nossal students continue to perform at a high level and will come through this year with excellent outcomes. We are comparatively advantaged because of the type of student we have, the strong parental support, and the excellent staff support.

Gratitude and Random Acts of Kindness

I am really impressed with the work our staff and students have been doing in order to enhance the wellbeing and resilience of our community and have been hearing some delightful examples of classes and individuals undertaking small personal acts of kindness and support – be it gratitude letters or padlets, or bigger picture activities and events. 

Some of this has been occurring during tutorials and within the Whole School Nossal Time program, and I was quite moved by this very powerful video that Sara Villiers has recommended https://youtu.be/oHv6vTKD6lg.

It is all about the joy you feel when you express gratitude to others, and I think that we probably all know this is a good thing but rarely actually do it. I had a similar moment several years ago when asked about the people who had been important throughout my career and those who had mentored and inspired me. It caused me to contact three old friends and colleagues (all long retired from teaching) who had been the ones who supported and inspired me when I was a young teacher (over 40 years ago!). I invited them for lunch and a tour of Nossal and it was such a delight to see their genuine joy and pride in my career and accomplishments, and to be able to sincerely thank and acknowledge them for the considerable long-term impact they have had on me.

Lockdown Restrictions

The school will remain open and accessible for vulnerable and students of children of essential workers. Students who will be in attendance will require an authorisation form from me to enable them to attend where they will be supervised and assisted by onsite teachers or admin staff. Please contact me directly if you require this access.

If students need to come to school to collect items from their lockers, I would strongly discourage that unless it is absolutely essential. I am unable to issue permits for parents to transport students as they are not my employees, so unless students are coming to school under the authorised supervision guidelines they may have to manage without. If this is problematic for anyone, please contact me and I will see what I can do to assist.

If students have IT issues that require the technicians to service their device, please contact me so we can arrange for this to occur within the restrictions.

I will be surprised if we get back to face to face classes this term with the current rate of infection.

VCE Update

The GAT is still planned to take place on September 9, although I am not overly confident under the current situation, so my advice is to plan for it to take place but to be prepared for another delay.

All Year 12 students have been provided with information about the Consideration of Disadvantaged (CED) statements that they are able to submit if they believe their studies and performance has been negatively impacted by the lockdown and remote learning. There is a review process then undertaken with schools and through VCAA to ensure that no student is disadvantaged and there is minimal impact on their final results. Forms must be submitted by Sept 15 and Ms Warriner has posted the details on Microsoft Teams.

VCAA are not intending at this stage to make any further changes to course requirements or exam schedules.

As of August 30, we are permitted to bring small groups of students onsite for designated assessment tasks that cannot be undertaken any other way. The specific guidelines are yet to be released and for us it is likely to be applicable only to practical subjects like Music and Theatre Studies where there are small groups involved. We will update you once we have received the guidelines.

Let me reassure our Year 12 students as much as I can. Your teachers report that you are all making very good progress and are well on track to complete all course requirements. I am sure many of you may not be feeling this is the case and are worried about what is still to come, but compared to what I am hearing from other schools and principals, I am very confident that you will perform very well, as Nossal students always do. It will still be hard work, challenging and stressful at times, but all Year 12 cohorts feel the same at this time of year and while you have some more challenging circumstances than the pre-COVID students faced, you will ultimately be highly successful. Remember that every other student in the state is facing the same challenges as you, but without many of the advantages we enjoy at Nossal. Focus on what you can control – not on what you cannot - and do your best. That will always be good enough.

Tutoring Initiative

The school has had considerable additional support this year from Ms Kat Webster and Ms Donna Callow who have been employed as English and Maths tutors to work alongside students in need of some additional assistance, to help staff ensure their students are well on top of the work requirements, or to assist with extension and enrichment programs. We will further augment this program in term four with some intensive exam preparation and study skills programs that will be offered to all students. If you feel that you would benefit from additional support, please speak with your English or Maths teacher or Mr Mahalingam who is coordinating this program.

Global Health Youth Connect Program

I am pleased to see that this program (which was originally a joint program with Nossal High School and the University of Melbourne) has been revitalised and re-introduced thanks to a number of Nossal alumni at the University of Melbourne. We now have a new team of students at Nossal who are liaising with them to roll out some interesting and thought-provoking workshops that will be of great interest to students thinking of pursuing careers in the health and medical fields.

Global Health Youth Connect (GHYC) is a non-profit organisation affiliated with the Faculty of Medicine, Dentistry and Health Sciences at the University of Melbourne.

GYHC is offering a free 5-week Global Health Masterclass Series to high schools, targeted towards Years 10 - 12 students. The sessions aim to increase the understanding of global health challenges and empower young people to engage with public health advocacy. The pandemic has revealed the effect of health inequities across different populations and has emphasised the need for youth to better understand global health.

The sessions consist of an introductory lesson on Global Health, followed by weekly sessions dedicated to different global health topics.

Students are still able to sign up for any of the remaining sessions by following this link:

https://forms.gle/1hbQvFHqnfRTJVVP6

If you would like to join the Nossal Global Health Team – please contact our team leaders Callie Chan and Sai Kristam.

Parent Opinion Survey

In my last newsletter I made what I thought was a strong plea for parents to complete the anonymous DET Parent Opinion survey and have been rather disappointed with the response. I sent out close to 800 invitations and links and only 115 (15%) of families have responded. Please check your emails and take a few moments to complete the survey if you are able to – it is powerful and valued data for us and does help us to address any issues or concerns, and affirm what people think we are doing well.

The survey was to have closed on Sept. 3rd, but I think it will be extended until early term four so I suspect the low response rates are more widespread than just within our school. Please assist.

Vacancies and Places for 2022

The Year 9 testing is yet to take place and has been delayed again this year due to the restrictions. The vacancy testing has taken place and as always there is a long and anxious waiting list for the opportunity to enter Nossal at Years 10 or 11. At this stage I am only aware of one space for 2022 which has now been filled. If you are aware that your child will not be staying at Nossal from 2022, could you please let me know as soon as possible so that I can offer their place to the next student on the wait list.

Assistant Principal and Leading Teacher Positions

Earlier this term I advertised for a new Assistant Principal (Wellbeing, Student Agency & Leadership) and a Leading Teacher (Director of Years 9&10). We will be interviewing shortlisted candidates soon and, as is the custom at Nossal, I will be inviting and training some student representatives to sit on the interview panels to assist with the selection process. Nossal has always done this as part of our strong commitment to student voice, and nearly every teacher has been appointed after being interviewed by a panel made up of myself, an Assistant Principal, a staff member and two students. It has been a powerful and effective process for us, and we are one of the few schools to do this. In fact, we were featured in a television documentary several years ago which was broadcast right across Europe as an illustration of authentic student voice in action. As we have only had limited staff vacancies in recent times there have been few opportunities for students to experience this, but I will be shortly calling for expressions of interest for student members on the leading Teacher panel and the SRC have already nominated student representatives for the AP panel.

Online Behaviours and Culture Concerns

I hope all parents and students have read the email I sent last week which detailed our responses and actions as a result of the negative media attention that highlighted concerns with misogynistic and sexist attitudes and behaviours among some of our students and ex-students. I am genuinely distressed that some people have been quite negatively impacted by such behaviours and attitudes and that we had been ineffective in addressing it. There has been a considerable amount of work done in the past fortnight to address the issue more proactively and directly and I sincerely thank everyone who has made a contribution. I will be calling on our whole community to assist us with this as it is a widespread and insidious issue that is much bigger than our school, but I believe that this will provide us with a trigger for positive change and improvement. The teaching staff are meeting this week with Man Cave who have been working with our boys, and with Maria Thatil, as part of the short- and longer-term response. In addition, the student leaders in the selective schools are shortly to meet to reflect on the issue more widely. (Please refer to my email for more details.)

2020 VCE Premier’s Awards 

We were very pleased and proud of the performance of our Year 12 students in 2020, and five of them were formally recognised with Premiers Awards for being some of the top students in the state. Unfortunately, like many other things, the awards ceremony (which is usually held at the Exhibition Centre where each student is presented with their award by the Premier or Education Minister), was cancelled for the second year in a row and we have been unable to even celebrate these exceptional achievements here at school. Below you can read an excerpt from an article which appeared in the local press, sharing their success.

Even more impressively, three of the students were in Year 11.

I congratulate...

• Shalaaka Brahmavar (2020 School Captain) – Premier’s Award for English Language

• Neha Cheraya (Year 11 2020) – Premier’s Award for Psychology

• Nalini Jacob-rousetty (Year 11 2020) - Premier’s Award for Philosophy

• Lily Lunder (Year 11 2020) - Premier’s Award for Philosophy

...and in particular 

• Hazna Kazi (our 2020 Dux) who not only achieved the perfect ATAR of 99.95 but was awarded a “Top All Rounder” Premier’s VCE Award. This is the most prestigious of the Premier’s awards and was only granted to twenty-three students in 2020. It is reserved for students who achieve a study score of 46 or higher in at least five subjects, which is an incredible achievement.

Nossal Star News - By Danielle Kutchel

Five Nossal High School students have proved their mettle, picking up prestigious state VCE awards in one of the most challenging years ever for education.

The students’ efforts were recognised with a Premier’s VCE Award each – one of the highest achievement awards a VCE student can receive.

Three year 11 students received the award for their unit 3/4 subjects in year 11: Lily Lunder for Philosophy, Nalini Jacob-Roussety for Philosophy, and Neha Cherayath for Psychology.

This achievement is made all the more impressive given 3/4 subjects are usually taken in year 12.

Shalaaka Brahmavar won an award for her studies in English Language.

She excelled in the subject while also balancing her responsibility as a school captain in 2020, encouraging other students to keep going during the pandemic. She is now studying Arts/Law at university.

School Dux Hasna Kazi received a ‘Top All Rounder’ Premier’s VCE Award.

This award is reserved for students who achieve a study score of 46 or higher in at least five subjects. Only 23 students received this award in 2020.

Hasna also achieved a perfect ATAR of 99.95, one of only 38 students across the state – and one of only six females – to do so.

Hasna had a busy subject load in 2020, studying Chemistry, English Language, Specialist Maths, Physics, after completing Maths Methods and Psychology in year 11. She is now studying medicine at university.

Shalaaka said her VCE result had given her more faith in her abilities after a tough year.

“It gives you a bit of confidence as to how you’re able to tackle the challenges and uncertainty,” she said.

Being school captain gave her an outlet outside of her studies, and allowed her to help her fellow students to stay on track and stay well physically and mentally. “Everyone was going through this in a very individual and unique way and you don’t know the impact…particularly when you can’t see anyone,” she explained.

The student leadership team also ensured that teachers felt valued too, as they missed out on the usual classroom banter. She said teachers’ effort and dedication was reflected in the VCE awards.

Nalini agreed that students need to find an outlet separate to their studies to keep them grounded through VCE – lest they lose their identity in studying.

She said Philosophy had changed her “in the most intricate ways”. 

“It’s forced me to think critically, expand my intellectual horizons and to read broadly,” she said.

Lily recalled feeling shocked when she received her final VCE score at the end of last year. Her passion for philosophy helped keep her on track and consistent in her work throughout the interrupted year. “I was just trying my best,” she said. “By no means was I getting 100 per cent on everything, I still made a lot of mistakes. It gave me the reassurance that I can make those mistakes, but it’s important to learn from them.”

Neha said her VCE award had helped her to believe in herself and what she was capable of. “I never expected I would get a 50 – but that’s what I did!” she said. “It was a good way to finish the year even though it was disrupted.”

Nossal High School principal Roger Page said the school was proud of its 2020 graduating class.

“They achieved excellent results in spite of the challenges and disruptions throughout the year,” he said. “I commend all of our students for their resilience and persistence, and thank their families and teachers for the essential support roles they played in helping them all to attain such successful outcomes.”

Clyde Road Upgrade and Crossing Removal

I have been working closely with the crossing removal authority who are very keen to ensure that our school community is well informed, and the negative impact of their works is as minimal as possible. There will be some significant traffic disruptions late this year and early next as they enter the final stages of the project, and they are wanting to understand how this might impact our parents and students. During Term 4 I will be seeking some specific feedback from you all about how your students travel to school and, for those of us who drive here, the routes we take. This will help inform them of the traffic and detour needs when the major works are fully implemented.

“No Screen Day” Monday August 30

We had deferred our planned pupil free day this term as we wanted the students to be here face to face on the originally designated day. Now that we are back in lockdown, we have re-instated this day to August 30 to launch our Wellbeing Week. For students there will be no classes running that day and we are declaring it a screen free and homework free day and encouraging students (and the rest of their families if they are able) to spend the day doing something active or recreational, sporting, or relaxing. Play some games, read for pleasure, go for a walk, sleep, rest, exercise, have some fun.... but do not do schoolwork.... give yourself an enforced screen break. (Maybe a movie would be OK!)

We believe that this will be an invaluable circuit breaker for students and the wellbeing team will follow up with a range of activities and suggestions to help people to maintain their health and wellbeing at this crucial time of the year. Under “normal” circumstances this is a stressful time of year for all students (especially those in senior subjecs), with looming assessments and exams. Under lockdown it is more important than ever that we all focus on optimising our own health and wellbeing as that is the best way to maximise your chances of success. I know this will be very challenging for some of you and possibly counter-intuitive, but there is much expert advice and research that tells us the most effective study aids are sleep, good diet, and exercise. (Not just heaps of study or homework).

I encourage you all to join your children in some form of "leisure and pleasure" on this day if you are able, or at least in encouraging and supporting them to use this day differently and positively.

This will give the teachers the chance to finalise assessment and reports and (hopefully) prepare for the return to face to face teaching. (Although I am, sadly, not holding my breath for that.)

Roger Page 

Principal