Passing of the Colours

The Passing of the Colours has traditionally been done during Speech night. However, we decided that it would be better to start Term Four with the ceremony because we want to give it the time and space it needs. We also wanted to more formally acknowledge the movement of our current student leaders out of their roles, and of next year's school leaders into their new roles. 

The Passing of the Colours symbolises the handing over of the custodianship of the school from one cohort to another in the ongoing development of Nossal High School leadership. By placing this ceremony at the start of Term Four, the current School Captains will play a pivotal role in the development of the 2025 School Captains. They will share their experiences and wisdom, ensuring a smooth transition and the preservation of our school's leadership values.

The role of a School Captain revolves greatly around the process of motivating, inspiring and empowering others to achieve a common goal. It involves having a clear idea about what they are trying to achieve and being able to communicate it to a team so that they can work together to achieve it. Being able to “lead” is demonstrated through various behaviours such as engaging others, having innovative thoughts, motivating others, encouraging others and organising activities. 

School Captains are incorporated into various groups, including SRC and the School Council. They work closely with all these people to plan and organise the many events you all know and love. In addition, they are responsible for being the voice and representative of student ideas and opinions, acting as a bridge to close the gap between the principal/teacher team and students whilst maintaining a kind, supportive, and respectful attitude throughout.

In this ceremoney, we congratulated the 2024 School Captains, Eesha Arun and Karthik Kalaiselvan, and the Vice Captains, Thehasna Nanayakkara and Sanuda Perera. We welcomed the 2025 captains by passing the Nossal school flag and the house colours: green/white (Pegasus), red and black (Phoenix), navy/silver (Garuda), and orange/yellow (Griffin). 

The various Captains then had an opportunity to address the school. Their speeches were thoughtful and impactful, and we are pleased to share them with you below. 

Introduction + What we’ve learned/Growth (Karthik)

Good Morning, teachers, guests and the students of Nossal.

It’s an honour to stand before you today at the Passing of Colours, a tradition that symbolises not just the transition of leadership but the passing of the mantle of responsibility. As a School Captain, I’ve had the privilege of leading alongside an incredible team, and today, I want to reflect on the journey we've shared and the growth we've experienced.

Taking up this mantle of responsibility is about far more than just stepping into a role. It’s about the responsibility to inspire, lead with integrity, and create meaningful change in the school community. From the moment we accepted this role, we knew that leadership would require vision, creativity, and, most importantly, teamwork. We quickly realised that no captain can carry this mantle alone—it’s something we share and hold together.

This past year has shown us the true power of teamwork. We weren’t just individuals working towards separate goals but a unified team with a shared purpose. We learned to lean on each other, combining our unique strengths, ideas, and perspectives to tackle challenges, make decisions, and bring our vision to life. Whether we were organising events, representing the student body, or launching new initiatives, our success came from collaboration and trust. We knew that together we could achieve more than any one of us could alone.

And this is one of the greatest lessons I’ll take from this experience—that authentic leadership is about uplifting those around you. Carrying the mantle means not only guiding others but also knowing when to step back and let your team’s talents shine, and I truly couldn’t have asked for better people to work with; together, we created something far greater than we could have done individually. Something that takes most people a lifetime, leaving a legacy of unity and social harmony.

To the incoming captains, remember that leadership isn’t just about the badge or title you wear as you step into these roles. It’s about the people you work with, the example you set, and the impact you leave behind. Lead with purpose, lead with heart, and, most of all, lead as a team. As Tony Stark once said, 'If you're nothing without the suit, then you shouldn't have it.' It’s not the title or position that defines you—it’s your actions, your character, and your dedication to those you serve. Carry the mantle with pride, but always remember your teamwork and commitment will truly make a difference. Don’t let the role define you; you define the role.

Importance of preserving ( Thehasna)

As Karthik has so beautifully said, the four of us grew up together this year, and as a team, we created a year of memories. Throughout it all, our dedication and hard work not only involved meetings but extended to constant communication amongst all areas within and outside of the school community, months of planning and preparations for all events, and hours of vigorous labour to continue the legacy of our school and help make it a year to remember. So, through it all, this rollercoaster of a year has significantly enabled us to appreciate the importance of perseverance.

As we know, the one thing we can count on in life is that it will always be, to an extent, challenging. Every obstacle we face can feel like a storm in its regard; however, that storm doesn’t have to stop us. In fact, we realised that it has the potential to help shape who you are, make you more resistant to the unpredictability of life, and place you on an unconsidered path that leads you to achieve more significant outcomes. 

You see, no matter how stormy it gets, even if we choose to stay inside with a hot chocolate or grab our umbrella and go dancing in the rain, being able to push through the storm teaches us how to be adaptive, to be able to learn from the setbacks in order to navigate through the storms. No matter what option you choose, the choice to continue through the journey despite a bit of rain not only allows us to gain new experiences that make us stronger, but it also helps create everlasting memories that contribute to your success. As the four of us know, any type of storm only ever brings you closer to achieving your goals and closer to the sunnier days with beautiful flowers and many butterflies. 

So you see, for us, perseverance empowered us with the ability to make all the events throughout this year so successful no matter the weather. So, as your 2024 School Captain team, if we could leave you with a single message for the upcoming weeks and beyond, it would be that success isn't defined by the extent to which we achieve our goals but by our ability to persevere through rain, hail or sunshine to reach our destinations. 

So now, let’s hear a bit more about what we accomplished throughout this journey.

2024 School Captains’ Accomplishments + Events (Sanuda)

The School Captain team attended a leadership development program at the start of the year. As part of this program, we established our theme for this year, “In unity, we soar - a tight-knit core”, – aiming to enhance the connectedness between year levels, amongst various bodies in our school and even between staff and students.

To carry on the legacy planned by all previous school captains, our first project was Harmony Week back in Term 1. Along with our free dress day, we also had performances from various cultures throughout the week. That week, we introduced our first Nossal Time activity; a competition between Tutes to create a collage that reflects diversity in your Tutes to the fullest. After seeing all the hard work each Tute put in and the collaboration between year levels in celebrating our diverse culture, we knew we started on the right foot. 

Coming into Term 2, we carried on the legacy of your 2023 school captain team by planning Nossal Week. As part of this week, we had performances from clubs within our school, activities running through lunchtime, a mini club expo event where UNON taped Mr Clarke onto a pillar, a MUGHs carnival and a Formation photobooth. Along with selling fairy floss and cotton candy, we also planned a Nossal Time activity on how things were running for you and your Tutorial so far. In addition, we displayed a message on the ‘messages to your younger self’ wall during Nossal Week, with contributions from staff and Year 12s, aiming to connect back to the youth of the school. Not to mention, our hand-crafted decorations brought together the spirit of celebrating our school culture and community for the week.

Most importantly, we had our Nossal Week family evening, which had never been done before and was a massive success. Wanting to involve parents in the wider school community to create a sense of connectedness with our school, the night was filled with many events including delicious food from a food truck, a table tennis tournament, minigames, MUGHS carnival games, Formation photo booths, popcorn stalls, fairy floss stalls, SRC trivia and raffle ticket selling. 

This couldn’t have been done without our amazing clubs, SRC, and, most importantly, our newly formed School Captain Mentor Group. The School Captain team created this group for the first time, which was an opportunity where we enabled the wider school community to take more initiative in demonstrating their skills within our school by exposing them to skills such as creativity, planning, communication and delegation. I am incredibly proud of those students who helped us in our significant events, so I give a massive shoutout to them. 

After planning a unique Nossal Week event, we got on planning Kindness Week. We knew Kindness Week this year was a hit, with the chalk art competition, band performances and our Nossal Time activity, “Garden of Gratitude”. Most importantly, we had our flower delivery service, where around 420 flowers were delivered during Tute time. For reference, in the past, we sold around 290 flowers for our Valentine's Day rose delivery. 

And finally, we are now completing some of our last tasks, writing our final speeches for this year and assisting your newly elected captains to shine for next year.

Thank you + Conclusion (Eesha)

This is the last assembly before the end of the year that you’ll see the four of us up here together, which is kind of sad. But being able to serve you as your 2024 School Captain has been an honour, and we wanted to take this moment to say thank you. Thank you for continuously supporting us throughout the year—whether through your participation in events, chatting with one of us in the hallways, working with us in the mentorship groups or contributing your ideas to improving our school.

To the teachers, staff, and, of course, Ms De Zylva and Ms Mackin, your guidance has been invaluable. You've been a constant source of encouragement, pushing us to be our best and think beyond ourselves. We are grateful for everything you do behind the scenes to ensure that our school continues to be a place of growth and opportunity.

Congratulations to the incoming school leaders for 2025, and all the best for the next 12 months. The four of us have no doubt that you will continue to build on the legacy we’ve created leading on from those before us, and take our school to even greater heights. You have the responsibility, but more importantly, the privilege, to guide this tight-knit community through the next chapter, and we know you’ll do it with heart and dedication and with the support of everyone here today.

As we head into these next few weeks of tests and VCAA exams, remember to support one another and take care of yourselves. The next month or so may seem challenging, but together, we’ve proven time and time again that we can overcome any challenge. Who would have thought that a group of four really nervous Year 11s would transform into the amazing people standing on this stage behind me today, with just 13 days left of high school? Let’s finish the year strong, proud of all we’ve accomplished. Thank you, Nossal

2025 School Captain Introduction

Good morning, teachers and fellow students of Nossal.

I hope you’ve all enjoyed the school holidays and are looking forward to the final term 2024.

 My name is Wilbur Machado, and along with Sejal Chadha, we are your 2025 School Captains. Together with the Vice Captains, Kylinda Zhang and Anhad Arora, we are excited to take charge of the student leadership team here at Nossal in the upcoming year.

First and foremost, on behalf of all four of us, I’d like to express our gratitude to you, the community of Nossal. The faith and trust you have all put in us is why we are standing on this stage today.

If you told Wilbur, Kylinda, Anhad, or me in Year Nine that we were to become the 2025 School Captains of Nossal High, I don’t think we would have believed it. Becoming School Captain is already such a rigorous process, and you’re competing with students with such high potential, so from the bottom of our hearts, it truly means so much to us that you chose us to become the leaders of 2025.

Something I noticed about our group is how passionate and hardworking we are about making Nossal a better community; our first order of business is to work hard to make 2025 a memorable and exciting year for everyone here at Nossal.

We would like to pay tribute by congratulating the 2024 Captains for their outstanding efforts throughout the year. Having had a glimpse into the hard work and dedication they've put in behind the scenes as part of the SRC, it's truly inspiring. They've set a high standard, and we hope to learn from their example this term so that we can start strong in the coming year.

Having said all this, I’d like to add just one more thing. This is just the beginning. Leaders' success is not based on their efforts but on the collective initiative and support of those they lead. We are counting on you all for your ongoing support over the next year. Together, we can continue to make Nossal a beacon for excellence and success.