From the Principal 

Welcome back to Term 4. I hope that your family had a great holiday break and are keen for the events and celebrations that are part of our final term of the year. For our junior year levels there are 10 more weeks of Term, while our Year 12s now have only 1 week left of school. I am looking forward to their graduation celebration which will occur during their SWOTVAC just before undertaking their final exams or completing any assessments required for their VCE or VCE VM.  

Our Year 12s are preparing for their end of year. Last week, I was delighted to attend the International Student Farewell Dinner and this evening I will attend the Year 12 Senior Concert that will celebrate the Year 12s who are leaving our Music Program after 6 years of participation. I am especially proud of their music achievements after returning from our Music Tour to China. Although not all of our Year 12s were able to participate, there was a group that were able to provide great leadership to the younger students. 

Our trip to Huaibei, China, to visit our Sister School was a great success. Our families in Huaibei were amazing hosts to our students and they thoroughly enjoyed the Friendship concerts that were organised. Please see the article in this issue that shows some of the great experiences that the group were able to participate in. 

Last night, we held our Meliora Sequamur Awards ceremony. It is a special event that celebrates not only the bold, but the quiet leaders who have made a significant impact in the school and the community. The evening is focused around acknowledging students that “follow the better path”, the motto of the school. We are so fortunate to have such a wonderful and caring school community. A special thanks our Year 11 Captains Charlie and Maddie who hosted the awards, Silkra Harvey and our Year 9 So You Think You Can Cater class for providing delicious food and to Peta Sirec for their work in organising the onsite event. 

Over the Holidays, our Classics team took a group of students to Italy, Turkey and Greece. Please also read the amazing adventure that they were able to participate in that will greatly assist with their historical knowledge. For both trips, I would like to thank the staff that gave up time over their own break to give students such great opportunities. 

It was also a great pleasure to be able to open the Hub and our new library, on my return from China. The students are greatly enjoying the new library spaces, and we look forward to opening Level 1 and 2 in the coming weeks, when some of our Science and Maths classes will be held in there. 

Our year 9s are completing their Morrisby Career interviews this week and gives them a great opportunity to reflect on their future careers and what they would like to try out for work experience next year. 

Thanks to the families and Friends of Northcote for the Comedy Night that ran at the end of last term. I heard that it was a great evening and I thank the team that organised it with Audra Keane for all of their effort. A big thanks to the families that came along for the evening. 

Please note the end of year dates published in this issue, to assist with planning for this term. We will also have two student free days this Term: 

Wednesday, 30 October is a Professional Practice Day (PPD) for staff and will be taken as a common day during Term 4. These days allow staff members to undertake work of their choice such as; curriculum planning, assessment and reporting or professional learning.  

Monday 4 November is a day for staff to take the Time in Lieu for hours worked during Semester 1 and 2, such as the evening PTS Conversations and the evening events held earlier in the year.  

I look forward to seeing you at one of our Term 4 events or any of our End of Year Celebrations. 

Chris Jones  

Principal