From the Principal's Desk

It is hard to believe that we are completing Week 6; the term has continued to be busy for everyone within our school community. 

Our Units 3 & 4 students have nearly all finished their VCAA examinations; at the time of writing, there are only five days to go. For our Year 11 students, this means that they have had a first taste of what the VCAA examinations are like, and they will be able to apply what they have learned when they finalise their time with us in October and November of 2025. 

For our Year 12 students, it means the end of their on-campus Nossal experience. They have finished all of the academic learning that they are ever going to do with us. What is left is for them to gather and reflect, both as a year level during their Valedictory dinner and in the whole school context of Speech Night, on how our school community has contributed to their successes and benefited from their efforts.

We look forward to the opportunity to gather with them at these important events and thank and honour them for their work with us over the last four years.

For our Years 9, 10, and 11 students, the internal examination period will begin on Friday 22 November. The goal is to practice specific skills (e.g. revising a full semester or years' worth of work, not just a few weeks) and to receive feedback on how well they have mastered these skills so that their future learning is informed and enhanced. This means that every examination, even those for subjects the student may not be continuing in 2025, has value. 

These examinations should not lead our students to unusually high levels of stress. Students are encouraged to prioritise their self-care practices as part of their study routine during this period. 

Nossal High School provides an examination experience as close as possible to the VCAA experience to assist students in learning to manage normal exam stress well. If parents feel that students need further assistance in managing examination stress, please contact their Tutorial teacher, Head of House or another member of the Wellbeing team. 

END OF YEAR EVENTS

As you are undoubtedly aware, we are entering the season of end-of-year celebrations. I would like to take this opportunity to remind you of a few important ones:

Speech Night will be held this year at the Melbourne Town Hall on Wednesday 20 November. This is a compulsory event at which we celebrate both the academic achievements of our students and their acts of service and community contribution. 

All Nossal students have a free ticket, so no bookings are required. Family and friends of the school who wish to attend can book a ticket via the link below.   

Tickets are selling fast, so if you haven't already booked your seats to Speech Night, book now!

The Year 12s will celebrate during the Valedictory Dinner, which will be held on Tuesday, November 26th, at the Pullman Melbourne Albert Park.  Families should have purchased their tickets already. 

Our new Year 9 families will have their first official day at school on Wednesday 12 December. The PFA will open the Uniform Shop from 10:30am on this day to aid new parents, particularly those seeking uniform items. 

The Second-hand Book Sale, brought to you by the PFA, will run this year on Saturday 30 November. Those who are selling should be there at 9:00am and the sales will begin at 9:30am. Just be warned that items often do sell quickly, and you are advised to get there early. 

More information is available via Compass, Teams and the Nossal High School website.

NERD PROJECT 2024

Our Year 9s have embraced the challenge of undertaking an inquiry-based project in the Nossal Extended Research and Discovery Project this year. They started this investigation during the City Week experience, and they gathered material to mount a response to the core question, “What is the future of Victoria?”. The students research, plan, create videos, and design and construct creative components. Once the Year 9s complete their exams, students will work on this project; they have had time during 9Time lessons to collaborate with their peers.   Students work in their house groups and will be awarded points for their initiative. While aspects of this project have been done in the past, this is the first time students will be undertaking the NERD project.

We look forward to the final presentations. The collaborative work that the students have undertaken has bonded the group; they will also achieve Page Cup points for 2025.

STUDENT LEADERSHIP

We are also proud to congratulate the following students on the honour of being selected as House Captains or student leaders for the 2025 school year. These students underwent a rigorous selection process, writing an application and presenting it to their house or year level.  We wish them all the best as they take on these important roles and lead our school community in the year ahead.

It is also fantastic to announce the elected members of the Student Representative Council. The Nossal High School representative council comprises five students from each year, levels 9 - 12, and our school captains, all working together to provide a voice for the students at the school. This also includes running the big events, such as the theme-based weeks like Harmony Week, Nossal Week and Kindness Week, contributing ideas, and participating in community activities. On Wednesday 4 December, all the school leaders will meet to discuss their goals and plans for 2025. 

We are looking forward to working with this amazing group of students. 

ROTARY CHARITY COLLECTION 

As a final note, for the last four years, the Berwick Rotary Club have asked the Nossal community to assist them in providing food and Christmas Gifts for local families in need. This year, they are seeing much greater demand than ever in the number of people needing support in our community. Every item we place into the collection basket is delivered directly to needy local families.

The Rotary Club does much to support our school, so I hope we can assist them as strongly as we have in the past with this worthy venture. Before our students commence their exams, we hope the basket will be filled. Last year, we filled the basket twice - much more than most other schools manage. We are appealing to parents to remind their young people to make a small contribution to the basket.   

Please donate non-perishable food items, toys or gifts, or any helpful item or product (new, unused) and place it in the basket opposite the canteen near 1.4. (We have a little over a week to fill it out!) 

DONATIONS OF SCHOOL UNIFORM

As the year is quickly wrapping up, parents of Year 12 students are advised to please consider donating their school uniform (especially ties!) to the school. Once Speech Night is completed most students will not need their uniform, and it would be a good opportunity to donate them to us. 

These donations allow us to support students who need them and restock our uniform cupboard (which we're sure many students raided from time to time). There is a large yellow bin outside the Communications office near the Canteen or it could be left in the front office.  Thanks!