From the Principal's Desk

High Achievers Assembly

On Monday, 7 October, Nossal High School hosted its annual High Achievers Assembly, alongside the Passing of the Colours ceremony, to recognize and celebrate the outstanding achievements of our student body.

The Passing of the Colours is a symbolic tradition that marks the transfer of responsibility from the current School Captains to the future School Captains. The Colours consist of the school flag, along with the House colours: green/white (Pegasus), red/black (Phoenix), navy/silver (Garuda), and orange/yellow (Griffin). The position of School Captain, the highest honour for student leadership at Nossal High School, is awarded following a rigorous selection process involving applications, interviews, and voting by both students and staff.

During the ceremony, our current School Captains: Eesha Arun, Karthik Kalaiselvan, Thehasna Nanayakkara and Sanuda Perera, expressed their gratitude to the Nossal community for their support and officially handed over leadership to the incoming 2025 School Captains, who pledged their dedication to the school.

2025 School Captains:

Sejal Chadha

Wilbur Machado

2025 Vice-School Captains:

Kylinda ZHANG

Anhad ARORA

We extend our best wishes to the new captains as they prepare to lead the Nossal community in the coming year. We also congratulate all students who stepped up and embraced the challenge by nominating for these leadership roles. Among the many worthy candidates, those not selected as captains will undoubtedly take on other important leadership positions within the school.

Please also join me in congratulating the following students who were formally acknowledged for their outstanding achievements throughout the year:

Monash Scholars 

The recipients for this year are:

• Colin Feng
• Hilary Green
• Kimberley Ikin
• Adeeb Keshtiar
• Christine Lam
• Michelle Wu

Model United Nations in French

• Lovidu Fernando
• Chenumi Gunawardana
• Ria Gupta
• Karthik Kalaiselvan
• Poorvi Madanmohan
• Serena Shao
• Adrian Sugirth
• Annabella Woo

Model United Nations in Japanese

• Eesha Arun
• Rhitt Chakravarty
• Elina Chanana
• Aleeza Farooqi
• Justin Kam
• Ayaan Kazi
• Sriya Nambiar
• Carmen Ng
• Liam Park
• Angela Shao
• Austin Vo
• Jasmine Walker
• Samuel Wang
• Chad Xu
• Eric Yang

JLTAV Junior Speech Competition

• Kimberly Ikin
• Rhitt Chakravarty
• Angela Shao

Japanese Speech Contest Victoria

• Carmen Ng
• Aleeza Farooqi

Frankston Susono Friendship Association Japanese Speech Contest

• Ayaan Kazi
• Mukesh Kanniyappan
• Sriya Nambiar
• Charlie Loi
• Sohan Nair
• Alexander Wang

ICAS Awards Winners

Congratulations to Wolfgang on receiving the Principal's Award for their outstanding achievements both in the cohort as well as compared to the total of Yr 9 students who competed in the ICAS competition across Australia and NZ.

Spring Concert Spectacular

On Wednesday 16 October, we were treated to a spectacular Musical Extravaganza, showcasing the incredible talents, dedication, and hard work of our students as they demonstrated their musical prowess. Each of the school's ensembles—Percussion, Saxophone, Brass, Guitar, Flute, and Clarinet—along with the Jazz Combo, String Quartet, String Orchestra, Big Band, Choir, and Wind Symphony, delivered an impressive variety of music spanning decades and genres.

Highlights of the evening included a nostalgic throwback to the '80s with A-Ha's Take On Me, an enthralling performance by the Percussion Ensemble titled Stormbreak, which creatively used a wide range of instruments to evoke the sounds of a storm, and a memorable Bohemian Rhapsody (Queen) / Imagine (Beatles) Medley performed by the Guitar Ensemble.

Our VCE Music Soloists; Patrick McConachy (Trumpet), Tara Romy (Vocals), Wilson Qin (Double Bass) and Meghan Phoon (Vocals) also gave stunning performances as part of their preparation for the upcoming VCAA exams. We wish them all the best in their forthcoming music performances.

It was truly an outstanding and entertaining evening. Congratulations to all our talented musicians for their dedication and remarkable performances.

Events like this would not be possible without the tireless support of our backstage crew, the instrumental staff: Ms Sally Haworth, Mr Liam Cullen, Mr Tim Jaques, Mr Eric Jiang, Ms Elisha Oliver, Mr Stefan Nocevski, Mr Jason D’Monte, Mr Jeremy Qi and Mr Justin Zheng and the leadership of our Director of Music, Ms Clare Budd. A heartfelt thank you to everyone for your continued commitment to Nossal High School's Music Program.

Thank you for your support

Following the Musical Extravaganza, we welcomed future Nossal High School families at the New Parent/Family Information Night for 2025. Many current students and families undoubtedly recall the mix of excitement and nervousness they felt when they first learned they would be joining the Nossal community.

Our Year 9 student leaders did a fantastic job showcasing the exceptional qualities and features of attending Nossal High School through guided tours, insightful presentations, performances, and by sharing their personal experiences. They also handled questions from the incoming cohort with poise, helping to ease their transition.

Once again, an event like this does not happen without the meticulous planning led by Mr LaBrooy (Director of Years 9 and 10) and Ms Fiona DeZylva, with the support of many other dedicated staff members - Mrs Sharon Blyth, Mr Stuart Fankhauser, Ms Shantal Crow, Mr Tony Keen.

A special thank you to the PFA members who served coffee at both the Spring Music Concert and this event (where they also did an excellent job of advertising their work, and their current fundraising project!).

We look forward to welcoming the Class of 2028 for Orientation Day on Wednesday 11 December.

Congratulations

A huge congratulations to our outstanding Nossal Athletics Team, who competed in the Southern Metropolitan Region Final on Thursday 10 October. You can read more about Nossal’s impressive achievements at the carnival in the Sports News section.

Special recognition goes to two of our athletes who competed in the State Championship, held on Monday 21 October.  Hansana Chandrasena placed second in the 18-year-old boys' Triple Jump, and Dinath Silva, won the 15-year-old boys' 800m. We are proud of your accomplishments.

As we approach the end of the year, it is time to begin the process of farewelling the Class of 2024. The celebrations began on Wednesday 16 October, with each Tutorial Group hosting a class party—sharing food, exchanging memories, and presenting thoughtful gifts to their peers as a reminder of their time as active members of the Nossal community. Walking through the school, I observed the strong sense of community and belonging as I interacted with the various groups.

On Monday 21 October, the Class of 2024 held their Final Assembly in front of the whole school, where they continued to reflect on and share special memories. 

The celebrations culminated with Celebration Day on Tuesday 22 October, where students partook in long-standing traditions, including signing their camp T-shirts, engaging in House Games, and enjoying the vibrant holi-powder colour throwing. 

Students are reminded not to sign their Nossal school uniforms while they are wearing them. School uniforms are required to be worn during the VCAA exam period and the upcoming Speech Night. After this time students are encouraged to sell or donate their uniforms to the school community to support others who are in financial need and to reduce the carbon footprint.

Following Celebration Day, our students will enter Swot Vac to prepare for their upcoming VCAA exams, with many beginning their exams on Tuesday 29 October, starting with the English and English as an Additional Language (EAL) exams.

It is important to recognize that our students are exceptionally well-prepared. They have put in consistent effort throughout their years at Nossal and have been supported by the outstanding teachers who have guided them and their families. We are confident they will perform well.

However, it’s equally important to acknowledge that an individual’s worth and achievement are not solely defined by a single rank or ATAR. True success is reflected in how one overcomes challenges and forges a personal pathway toward future goals in areas they are passionate about.

During the Swot Vac period, students should be reminded to take care of their physical and mental well-being. This includes eating nutritious foods, staying physically active—whether by connecting with friends or going for a walk—and utilizing effective stress management strategies they’ve found useful. Good sleep habits are also essential for maintaining focus and energy.

We wish all our students the very best during this examination period and trust that their hard work and dedication will shine through.

Reminders and Upcoming events

You will find lots of useful information in the coming pages of our newsletter, including 

• a reminder about the importance of our Parent Contributions to maintaining the vibrant learning community which we are so proud of at Nossal, 
• different opportunities for parents to be a part of activities at the school through their involvement in either our 2025 Duke of Edinburgh activities, or by being part of our team of volunteer Exam Supervisors

  and updates on seasonal and local issues like the start of the Thunderstorm Asthma season and the latest updates on the Clyde Road Upgrade.

There are also some major events coming up this term, including:

• VCE Written exams commence on Tuesday 29 October. We remind parents and students that doors to Building B will be locked to keep the noise and distractions to a minimum. If the VCAA signs are on the door, please do not attempt to use the doors.
• An asynchronous Digital Delivery Day will be held on Monday 4 November 2024. This is the day prior to Cup Day. Work will be provided for Years 9-11 students to work on and submit online.
• Speech Night, which will be held on Wednesday 20 November 2024. This is a compulsory event for all Nossal students. Students are required to be in full academic uniform for the event. Families and students who are getting awards and prizes will be notified shortly via email.
• The Valedictory (Graduation) Dinner will be on Tuesday 26 November. More information will be available soon.

Ms Fiona Vanstan

Assistant Principal (Acting)