From the Principals' Desk 

The Joy of Having Learned

In the first newsletter of 2023, I had this to say about my hopes for the year:

 I am this year looking forward to rediscovering an emotion that drew me to education in the first place - the joy of learning. There is nothing quite like the combined sense of achievement, excitement and optimism which comes from learning something - and especially from noticing that you've learned it! ... 

Right now, we are at the start of the 2023 learning journey. I'm confident that when our students - and our staff - reflect at the start of 2024, they will be able to celebrate many joyful learning experiences. As much as I look forward to working with them, I look forward to celebrating with them. 

It is now the last day of the year, and I am pleased (but not at all surprised) by the fact that my confidence was well founded. In the last few weeks, we have had many points of evidence put before us about both the quantity and, more importantly, the quality of the learning which has been happening in both classrooms and staff offices this year, and it has been a joy to me to see the pleasure on the faces of many different members of our community as they talk about what they have learned and why that learning was important to them. 

VCE results

Perhaps the most public recent example of Nossal's thriving learning culture has been the announcement of the 2023 VCE results. As you may already be aware, the Class of 2023 has much to be proud of. This cohort's Year 9 and 10 experiences at the school were significantly affected by the pandemic, but it is evident both from their results and, more importantly, from the way that they subsequently embraced and supported the school's culture, that they successfully embraced the challenges with which this non-standard start presented them.

Below, you will see some statistics relating to this cohort's final VCE outcomes. They are impressive, and the students involved can be justly proud of their results. Equally proud, though, should be the hard working staff (teaching and support) who enabled their work, and the families who provided them with a foundation from which to pursue that work. 

ATAR mean = 91.1

Number of students above 99 = 15

Study score mean = 35.7

Percentage of students above 40 = 27%

Number of 50s = 12

Dux (ATAR = 99.85):  Yazan Al-Widyan

I commend all of our students Unit 3 & 4 students for their efforts, and anticipate with curiousity and excitement the news yet to come about their ultimate pathways.

Year 11 Chrysalis Conversations

A lesser-known part of our end of year programs are a series of focus groups which have are held with our Year 11 students. These discussions are an opportunity to acknowledge the fact that the Class of 2024 is about to step into the role of school leaders and role models. It's also a chance to put some of the data that is used by staff to plan for the future in front of our senior students and get their thoughts on it.

This year's discussions were co-planned by myself and our incoming School Captains, and focussed on the notion of student agency. In other words, we talked about the conditions which allow and encourage our students to take ownership of their own learning, and what 

additional things could be put in place to help our students feel empowered to act in pursuit of their learning goals rather than being passive members of their classes. 

As usual, there were things which our students shared that reinforced my existing understanding, and other things which were surprising or thought-provoking. In the context of this report, however, I thought I would share a tiny vignette. One of the elements of data was a measure from the 2023 Student Attitudes to School Survey. This survey is distributed annually to all students in government schools, and is an opportunity for students to report on their experiences. Under "Motivation and Learning" was a particular statement with which a pleasing 87% of our students agree:

I want to learn new things. 

On its own, the survey result is a reassuring reminder of our students' positive attitude to learning, but I was also pleased when I was talking to a small group reflecting on this data to have a student say to me "I don't understand who wouldn't want to learn new things." It is this preparedness to learn that underpins so much of our students' success, and makes both teaching and learning at Nossal such a joy.

Nossal Staff Learning

The end of the year also brings a time for staff to reflect on their professional learning, and this was also something we recently made time to celebrate. Staff gathered in small groups which combined teaching staff from different domains with education support staff, and each person spent some time talking about something that they had learned and that had had a positive impact on them. It was (in line with our theme for the year!) referenced as our "Joy of Learning" morning, and I was privileged to be be able to move from group to group throughout the morning and hear about a very wide range of topics. My survey included 

• a reflection on alternate approaches to counselling which might better suit our students' needs and goals
• a data analysis which a staff member has been carrying out to help  them better advise their students during course planning
• a series of developments relating to how AI can support our work with and for our students
• the development of an intervention program to better support our EAL students
• refinements to how we organise and process our parent contributions and, in a different room
• an insight into a specific curriculum element which our philosophy students have traditionally found challenging and which the teacher had found a new approach to teaching thanks to their attendance at a conference held by their professional organisation. 

No less than our students, our staff are part of a committed learning environment and, like our students, they learn in many different ways - by doing, by experimenting and failing, by seeking advice from experts, by collaborating and consolidating. It was a delight to hear the happy and engaged conversation going on around the building that morning, and a reminder to me of how much learning together - and the celebration of that learning - is one of the most positive elements of our culture and our work.

"The true realism, always and everywhere, is that of the poets: to find out where joy resides, and give it a voice far beyond singing. For to miss the joy is to miss all."

Robert Louis Stevenson

The Lantern Bearers

A Safe and Happy Holiday Break

As you can probably hear from the tone of this article, it has been a pleasure working with our students, our families and our staff this year. The research which supports the idea that those who experience gratitude also experience a greater sense of wellbeing is now quite well known, but as members of the Nossal community we don't really need the research to convince us. I am grateful every day for the enthusiasm, the passion, the dedication and the resilience that I see around the school. 

The world brings us many messages about competition and winning, and of course I am proud of our students when they are successful, and when they make progress towards their goals. I am even prouder, though, to be part of a culture which places kindness and inclusion at the heart of each interaction. I commend each individual for the work they do to create and support that culture, and thank them for that work (which is not always easy!). 

May you have a safe and restful holiday period, and may you look forward to your return to Nossal in 2024 (as I do) with optimism and joy. 

Tracey Mackin

Acting Principal