General News
SRC News
Despite another school year disrupted by lockdowns and the pandemic, the SRC has worked tirelessly to ensure student voices in these troubling times are also heard. With a multitude of initiatives and fundraisers, as the chaotic year of 2021 draws to a close, the SRC reflects on its work over the past year.
The ‘Valentine’s Day’ fundraiser is a cherished Nossal tradition, highlighted with the sale of roses and serenades, performed by our very own school captains this time. Raising approximately $500, this year’s event was one of Nossal’s most successful to date. Another crucial fundraiser was the “COVID-19 India Appeal,” as many in that country were struggling to find oxygen for loved ones suffering from the COVID-19 pandemic. The Nossal community has always proven its generosity and selflessness, and this was perfectly exemplified during this event which raised over $1, 242.50 for UNICEF India. Other highlights include “The World’s Greatest Shave,” which saw incredible participation and raised $495 in an event entirely run by the SRC, as well as wellbeing days co-ordinated with school captains, including heartfelt messages and, of course, cookies.
Another significant experience this year was the participation of the SRC in responding to the online incident in which Maria Thattil drew attention to some embedded, sexist behaviours present in our school community. A number of girls at Nossal shared their own experiences of targetted sexist remarks and/or harrassment by their male peers in the wake of this event.
Mr Page and the SRC had a discussion about the issue and explored the question of what would be an appropriate response to boys who participated in these behaviours, and how to ensure that this behaviour did not continue into the future. During this discussion, the SRC proposed an escalating scale of consequences, and Mr Page agreed to incorporate the SRC's ideas into the School's planned response to this issue.
The SRC's proposal involves an escalating scale of consequences that get more severe as more actions are committed. This would be measured the frequency of the actions combined with the number of people that have complained.
A draft of this proposal appears below:
- A one-off offence may just result in an education session, whereas repeated instances that do not stop may lead to principal-parent contact, and possibly suspension which would most likely go for 1-2 days.
- The offender would also go to counselling, with these combined measures being designed to make the person understand and change their mentality.
The main idea is to make sure the perpetrator understands the mistake in their actions and decides not to repeat it. Furthermore, teachers that either condoned or appeared to condone this type of behaviour would be involved in a discussion with Mr Page in order to ensure that we are changing the whole school culture, not just student culture.
Another aspect that was discussed was how to ensure that victims know they are heard, and that action has been taken. This is important, and finding effective ways of following up with victims to make sure that the issue has been resolved from their point of view and that they are feeling OK is of main concern.
What the School can do to help
- Keep educating and revisiting the severity and importance of the issue (Respectful Relationships Workshops)
- Talk to the parent so that they can educate their children as well
What students can do to help
- Discuss issues with friends
- Be explicit with details when reporting incidents of concern
- Call out issues in your own friend groups
- Not encouraging or reward this behaviour when you see it.
Although given more time on campus, we would have liked to accomplish many more goals, the SRC is proud of the success it has achieved this year in increasing student voice and community engagement in 2021.
Kertik Hariharan
Year 10
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