From the Principal

A joyful first week

I hope everyone – students, families and staff -  have had some time for rest and rejuvenation over the holidays. I trust you have all had a chance to do whatever it is that nourishes and sustains you, and that you can carry that with you throughout the year ahead.

It has been an exciting first week for me (and hopefully many others). Thank you for the warm welcome and best wishes - from staff, students and parents, and even members of the Alumni. Thank you to everyone who has taken the time to introduce themselves and assist me with the transition into Principalship. I have thoroughly enjoyed meeting each of the year levels and the time working with staff on our 2018 goals and priorities during the Day 1 and 2 Professional Learning program. I have been most impressed by the professionalism and preparation of all staff.  We have also welcomed a number of new staff - you can get to know a little about them through their introductions in this and subsequent newsletters.

Of course, we welcome all students back to school, but in particular it has been joyful to welcome the new Year 7s and new students at other year levels. It was delightful to see, over the course of the first day on Wednesday, their nerves dissipate and enthusiasm grow. We particularly look forward to further supporting this by partnering with Year 12 and Year 7 families at upcoming events - see further in this newsletter for details.

Building, challenging and continuing to grow

My vision for Northcote High School is to build on the strong foundations and traditions already established.  To distil, celebrate and preserve what is robust and productive, and to challenge us in the areas that require further development. Of course my vision is nothing if it is mine alone, and it requires collective, collaborative review and refinement with the staff, students and community. We have an ideal opportunity to do that together with a School Review scheduled for late 2018/early 2019. It includes the following elements:

• every student feels supported and empowered to achieve their academic potential, so that they have choices, enabling them to find meaningful pathways that they’re proud of, whilst continuing to actively participate and contribute to community and co-curricular pursuits
• staff too, feel like they are learners and collaborators, empowered to know and understand their students learning needs so that they can intervene to meet those
• families feel connected, informed, and empowered to support their children and our school
• the Community is actively involved, and that we tap into and utilise the various forms of capital you can provide
• we are held in high regard within and beyond the community, because we are bold and because we realise our potential.

I have over recent years been working on:

• the design and implementation of a Teaching and Learning Framework that focuses on learning growth
• curriculum innovation to increase its relevance and engagement and provision of appropriate challenge for all learners
• enhancing learning partnerships to increase student agency; and
• embedding digital practice

You can see that this work is aligned with the aims and structure of the Northcote Model, and the extensive teaching and learning work of Northcote over the preceding years.

My most significant, initial leadership actions will be largely formative – I will be listening, observing, asking questions and seeking clarification, about the current position of the school so that I can ‘diagnose’ where we are at and gain a detailed global understanding, so that we can identify the next steps in our journey towards our preferred future.  

Thank you and best wishes - Kate Morris

As well as spending a number of days here with the Leadership Team at the end of 2017, over the two weeks prior to school starting I spent as much time as possible with Kate Morris, gleaning as much information as I could.

I would like to formally acknowledge and thank Kate for the tireless work she has done to aid my transition. No stone has been left unturned. She has made sure I have the information, the people to connect to, and that the many plans and projects are articulated. Her commitment to aiding my transition is a reflection of her commitment this community and to education more broadly.

I can’t promise that I will remember it all - in fact I know I won’t - but I am sure it will make more sense to me as I manage and lead these things over the coming days, weeks and months.

I would also like to thank Kate for her outstanding, tenacious, entrepreneurial leadership of the school over the past 9 years. The work done collectively under her leadership will have positive impacts on the school for decades to come. I am truly in awe of many things, including the:

• multitude of connections to community,
• the engagement of families with the school, including in their tangible assistance to the school - it’s operations, image and projects
• the international partnerships and pioneering spirit in the delivery of VCE Offshore
• business plan and continual rejuvenation of facilities in the face of enrolment and budgetary pressures
• and most importantly, the curriculum and pedagogy direction of the school.

No doubt I will continue to draw on Kate’s wisdom and insight over the coming months.

I am sure you join with me in thanking and congratulating her for the unerring enthusiasm and the energy she has brought to this school, the community and the system more generally.

2017 VCE Achievements

In late December Northcote celebrated the outstanding VCE results of the 2017. If you missed seeing this in the last two issues of the newsletter, later in this edition you can find an overview of the results and a further update of information about the successful pathways students have been offered.

• 244 students of the 256 who were eligible have now received at least one offer
• 24 students have received more than one offer and a number have been offered places at interstate universities
• There have also been some impressive scholarships awarded

This speaks volumes about the quality of our graduates, and the quality of their careers and pathways guidance – from both the teaching staff in general, and from our Careers and Pathways Practitioner, Kylie Witt, who continues to work with our graduates to support them and their families with information to ensure everyone has access to their desired destination.

Production 2018

We are delighted to announce that a team of teachers are assembled to support students to perform Our House, a musical production written by the British band Madness. Those parents who are my contemporaries will remember such hits as It Must be Love, House of Fun and Our House.

Events such as the Production are often defining moments for students in their school life, developing independence, resilience and social connection, along with the buzz that comes from creativity and achievement in a truly collaborative environment. It takes a community to enable this, and every contribution counts: if you are interested in offering your services or in-kind support, please contact our Director of Music and Head of Performing Arts, Jackie Brogan. 

Year 12s inspired to achieve

I spoke to a number of Year 12s on and since their Study Conference on Thursday and all of them have spoken positively of the program at LaTrobe University. They could articulate clearly the value of the session preparing them for English and they were inspired by the keynote speaker, Samantha Gash, who did a wonderful job of using her own sporting achievements as an analogy for success in the VCE and beyond. Thank you to the team who supported students on the day, and to Sarah Green for her leadership.

We look forward to meeting with the parents of our Year 12s at the Meet and Greet this Wednesday February 7 from 5.30 pm. Teachers of Unit 3 & 4 classes will have an opportunity to meet with the families of their students and to build partnerships which will support each student to make maximum progress to achieve their best.

An international perspective

One of the distinctive features of Northcote High is its international perspective. This month, we are delighted to host Alex Ma and Margarita and 14 students from our VCE Offshore partner school, Hengshui Number 1 High School for their Summer Camp. I have met with them, and many of our NHS host-students, a number of times before and after school, and have been thoroughly impressed by the hospitality, support and communication of our students. Thank you to Nick Murphy for his well-oiled plans and for priming me with the right information, and for all staff who have welcomed our Hengshui visitors into class. They are with us for another week, and fly back home to Hebei Province on Sunday 12 February. 

On Friday we also had a brief visit from our Sister School, Tianjin Binhai FLS. A group of secondary and primary students and two teachers dropped in for morning tea. Again, this group were ably hosted by Nick Murphy and supported by a group of eloquent and helpful  students from the 2017 Young Leaders to China Program. We look forward to visiting Tianjin south of Beijing on the sport tour later in the year.

Sue Harrap

Principal