From the Principal's Desk

Goodbye and Good Luck Class of 2026!

This is the season in which the Class of 2026 completes their secondary studies and start to bid farewell to the school. As you will see later in the newsletter, they have now all had their final classes, and are entering Swot Vac prior to their end of year examinations.

Our senior students have spent the last few years developing their skills in collaborative learning and consolidation, and as always at this time of year it is a pleasure to see them putting those skills to work. That may look like study groups mapping entire units of work onto a whiteboard in a breakout room, a class taking advantage of advice from a past student about how to manage the weeks ahead, or students attending revision sessions with their teachers to iron out final areas of confusion or concern. In each case, we can see our students focusing their attention on what is in some ways the most challenging part of learning - the moment when knowledge moves from being novel to being a synthesised part of our understanding of the world.

While it has been a pleasure to celebrate their final days with the Class of 2026, these farewells are also strangely unfinished since they are coloured by the knowledge that we will soon see our students back on campus in their uniforms as they undertake their examinations. It is for this reason that I look forward with such enthusiasm to our more formal opportunities to recognise the group as genuine graduates - Speech Night and the Valedictory Dinner which follows it.

I would like to encourage not just the Class of 2026 but all of our families to join us at our annual Speech Night celebration on Monday 23 November 2026. Not only is it our final whole-school opportunity to thank our Year 12 students for their many contributions to the school, but it also provides a wonderful overview of the many different types of work that have been going on in the school - both academic and community based - for the last 12 months. The event is of course compulsory for our students, but it is also an event made richer by the involvement of our parents and friends of the school.

Uniform Update

You will be aware that recent changes to the Department of Education's uniform policy were the impetus for the school to undertake a minor review of its uniform offerings. The process included consultation with staff, students and parent groups, and has yielded a confirmation that our uniform is a well-respected one, and one in which both students and families take pride. For this reason, and based on the other feedback we received, as a community it's best to think of the new policy that has been approved by Council as a series of refinements than modifications.

As is usual with any change to uniform policy, the school expects there to be a transitional period spanning multiple years. No currently enrolled student is expected to purchase new uniform items simply because of a policy update. At least until 2029 (when our current Year 9 students graduate), there will be two sets of expectations in place. Students wearing "old" elements of the uniform (e.g. the ecru shirts which will be disappearing from the new uniform story-board) will be expected to wear these with pride (i.e. tucked in and with a tie). Students buying new items will find that the new policy will apply, and that the advice from our uniform supplier will reflect that new policy.

The major changes to be aware of are outlined below:

removal of "summer" and "winter" versions - all elements of the uniform are available for students to wear at any time of year
reinforcement of non-gender specific nature of all uniform items (e.g. removal of girls v boys shirts), while retaining core clothing style options (long & short sleeved dress, long & short sleeved shirt, trousers, kilt & shorts) for all students
retention of two uniform options - academic and sports - with the expectation that students will most commonly be in academic uniform
no "mixing" of academic and sports uniform items
no logos on trousers, track suit pants, shorts so that parents can choose where to purchase these, but an expectation that traditional wool-blend trousers (not track suit pants or casual pants) will be worn with the academic uniform
retention of the blazer
retention of the tie, but primarily for formal occasions (i.e. optional for daily wear, but if worn it needs to be worn properly)
most other expectations (e.g. relating to shoes, colour of socks etc) remain the same

The new policy has been ratified by School Council and is being formatted for publication on the school's website, where it will shortly appear.

Nossal Normal: A time for pride and celebration!

As you read through this newsletter you will see (as usual!) a number of stories celebrating our students' achievements in the Humanities, Sports, external competitions and internal events. I am always particularly proud to see our students contributing in a positive way to our community, as is apparent in the work of our Charity Shop - a student-run organisation supported very ably by Ms Lucy Bonham which seeks to make better use of discarded items in a way to contributes to the common good - and in the outstanding way in which our students participate in local events.

Within the first fortnight of this term I was privileged to enjoy our Spring Concert which, as is so often the case, left me in wordless admiration for the skills and dedication of both our student performers and their instructors. Under the direction of Ms Clare Budd the Instrumental Music team brought together around 160 students in a wonderful showcase of highly developed musical talent.

The day after the concert, some of those same students - and a host more from our Year 9 students - returned to the school to be part of our annual New Parents' Information evening. Under the guidance of Mr Rian LaBrooy they did an impressive job of welcoming our new families to the school, and of explaining what life at Nossal is like to the future Class of 2030. I was extremely proud of all of them.

Our Physical Environment

I would like to take a moment to thank our students and families for their patiences as the traffic works continue in the grounds around the school. On the whole, all members of our community have been coping with the changes to traffic and pedestrian conditions with good grace and understanding. I would like to ask our parents, in particular, to continue to support us by reinforcing the message that it is important for our students to stick to the labelled pedestrian pathways. The roadworks mean that in addition to the ordinary traffic around the precinct there are also many big trucks moving around, and it takes care on the part of all involved to avoid accidents in such an environment.

Attention and Action: Ending the Year Well

As I draw my reflections to a close, I would like to take a moment to consider what it means to end the year well. I have recently been in online conversation with some of our students about how to manage what can be a stressful time with many competing priorities. This is the moment when the advice and training which our students so regularly receive in forums like Nossal Time and 9 Time, as well as through the guidance of their subject teachers, about maintaining balance and perspective.

In order to end the year well, our students need to give equal attention to all of the different things they've committed themselves to, whether that is the commitment they made to their teachers to complete a particular course of study, or commitment they've made to a club or society trying to finalise its meeting schedule and plan for next year. If they are to maintain this level of commitment, they also need to pay attention to their wellbeing, incorporating time away from thinking about school into their schedules.

For this reason, it's a useful time for them to be thinking about their study timetables - or creating one, if they don't have one already - that is honest and sustainable over the next several weeks. That way they can take action to ensure that they end the year feeling satisfied that they have not neglected anything important, and with enough energy and sang froid to enjoy the end of year break when it finally arrives!

Tracey Mackin

Principal