From the Principal's Desk

It is hard to believe we are already halfway through Term 3. The past few weeks have been busy, exciting, and affirming, with several important whole-school events that strengthen learning, connection, and community. We are also entering a significant assessment period and the final weeks of formal classes for our Year 12 students, who are preparing for exams and the next stage of their education. We encourage Year 12 students to keep an eye on the Careers channel for important deadlines and updates.

Term 3 Highlights

House Performing Arts Festival

Despite this being my second year, I was again blown away by the talent on display at our annual House Performing Arts Festival. This year’s theme was Every Operation Counts: Times it up, break it down, bring it together, make it count.

Each house created their own creative interpretation of their assigned operation and fully realised their vision through scripting, song, dance, acting and designed theatrical elements.

Whilst it is a house competition (well done Pegasus) what is truly special about HPAF is the way it brings our school community together in celebration of all that makes our community special. Although we all contribute to this fantastic event, I would like to acknowledge the work of Ms Fiona De Zylva and Ms Sharon Blyth on their leadership of this event.

NEST

Congratulations to the Summit Planning Team and NEST Leaders on a successful NEST Summit. Students from a variety of schools came together to participate in our Environmental Summit, I believe the students from both our school and the participating schools really enjoyed themselves. The teachers from the other schools also praised the team for its excellent planning and execution.

I would like to thank Ms Po Lin Ooi and the organising team of students for your hard work, dedication, and contribution to making the Summit such a success.

Curriculum Day

Our Curriculum Day on Monday 17 August had the theme of ‘Crafting a Culture of Wellbeing at Nossal. Our presenter for the day was Chris Egan, a passionate positive psychology coach, author, and speaker. Chris has a deep curiosity about the power of human connection and the creation of growth-oriented cultures that enable people to feel good and function at their best. With more than 35 years of experience in education – as a teacher, school leader, Assistant Principal and consultant – Chris has partnered with hundreds of schools across Australia and the United States, supporting them to grow and flourish through bespoke, strengths-based and empowering approaches.  

The day was well received and allowed staff to develop a richer understanding of wellbeing from the individual level to the community.

City Program

As I write this, our Year 9 students are involved in an extended investigation program called the Nossal Extended Research and Discovery task this year. The three days in the city are designed to allow students to commence their research into the topic. 

‘What should it mean to live well in Melbourne by 2050, and what role should technology play in getting us there?'  The final product of this project will be a video presentation and creative responses.  

Students spent Wednesday 19 August to Friday 21 August 2026, investigating and exploring their big question. This involved them working collaboratively and independently, making their way to and from the city each day, and moving around the CBD with minimal supervision while conducting research, interviewing people, and visiting businesses and support services. This year, students were expected to use the primary and secondary data during that week for a more substantial project that will be presented at the end of the year. This terms 9Time sessions have been preparing the students for this week.

We look forward to seeing the results of their endeavours. We thank Mr. Labrooy and Ms. Denman for their work in setting up the 2026 project. We also thank the many staff who were in the city to support the students in this learning journey. 

Parent Survey

WE WANT OUR PARENTS / CAREGIVERS / GUARDIANS TO TELL US WHAT THEY THINK! 

Our school is conducting the annual https://research.orima.com/parent 

offered by the Department of Education and is seeking your feedback. The survey is designed to assist schools in gaining an understanding of families’ perceptions of school climate, student behaviour, and student engagement. The survey is optional, but we encourage and appreciate your participation. We have had a fantastic response to this survey in past years. 

Our school will use the survey results to assist in identifying areas for improvement and professional development needs, as well as to target school planning and improvement strategies.  

The Parent / Caregiver / Guardian Opinion Survey is now open online until Friday, September 18th, 2026. A link has been emailed to all families and can also be found on Compass.   

All families are invited to participate in the survey. A link has been emailed to all families and can also be found on Compass.   

PLEASE NOTE: Only one parent/caregiver/guardian from your household is invited to complete the survey on behalf of the student’s family. 

The survey will be conducted online. It only takes 20 minutes to complete and can be accessed at any convenient time on desktop computers, laptops, tablets, or smartphones.   

The online survey will be available in English and ten other languages, including Arabic, Greek, Hakha Chin, Hindi, Japanese, Punjabi, Simplified Chinese, Somali, Turkish, and Vietnamese. Resources are also available in additional languages to assist parents/caregivers/guardians who speak a language other than English at home.    

The survey results will be communicated to parents/caregivers/guardians through the Annual Reporting.  If you would like more information, please send me an email Ffion.Bowled@nossalhs.vic.edu.au 

Upcoming events

We look forward to Book Week in Week Six (6). As always, a large number of activities have been organised for the week. This year's theme is "Symphony of stories!" and activities include conversations with authors such as Alice Pung and Danielle Binks, the annual Spelling Bee and writing competitions. Ms. Lal has organised several other activities as well.  

Our dress-up day will be on Monday 24 August. Students are encouraged to dress up as their favourite book character.  There will be a parade to judge the best-dressed characters. 

Students and school community members are encouraged to get into the spirit of the week.

We are grateful to Ms. Lal for her hard work and dedication this week—her passion for ensuring that all the students are exceptional. 

The Importance of Wellbeing

We are approaching peak assessment time, and I would like to take this opportunity to remind our families about the importance of taking care of each other and ourselves. 

During stressful times, small, consistent habits at home can make a meaningful difference to student wellbeing. Families can support students by encouraging regular sleep routines, balanced meals, movement, and short breaks away from screens and study. It can also help to create a calm study environment, plan assessment tasks in manageable steps, and celebrate effort and progress rather than focusing only on results.

Most importantly, young people benefit from knowing that they are not alone. Checking in regularly, listening without immediately trying to solve every problem, and reassuring students that stress is a normal response to a busy period can help them feel supported.