Roger Page - OAM

A Final Farewell to the Nossal High School Community

July 5, 2024, marks my formal retirement from the Victorian Department of Education after nearly 50 years of employment. I signed up for a Technical Teaching Studentship at the end of Form 6 (Year 12) when I was 17 years old. I spent the bulk of my teaching career working in Frankston and the Mornington Peninsula in schools that were very different to Nossal and (aside from teaching English and Humanities) working in leadership positions in wellbeing, gifted education, and professional development before being promoted to Principal class. I greatly enjoyed the experiences and challenges I faced in the three schools I worked in before Nossal and believe it to be a real honour to be able to (hopefully) positively impact on the lives of the next generation. As a teacher you do help to shape the future. 

My final 15 years have been spent at Nossal and I can think of no better place to complete my career. I believe it would be impossible to find a more enjoyable and rewarding educational community and I have had the great privilege of being able to have a hand in the design, structure, staffing, and culture of a brand-new school. As there had never been another purpose built academically selective school in Victoria, we were afforded considerable autonomy and I was fortunate to be able to work with some outstanding educators in the development of the curriculum, support structures, and the many small but significant features that I believe makes Nossal unique. I won’t claim that we got everything right, but I am enormously proud of what we have achieved. The role of Principal is a challenging one, but at Nossal the bulk of the challenges were positive, and I have been humbled and awed by the talent, commitment and resilience of our outstanding staff and students. As an educator I think my time at Nossal has been the greatest learning experience of my life and I have greatly enjoyed the myriad times where I have been amazed, inspired, and uplifted by our students. I have been able to work alongside some of the most talented staff in the state and actually loved coming to work each day. Not all days were perfect, but there was always something notable, stimulating, or greatly entertaining happening. 

I sincerely thank the thousands of delightful young people who have allowed me to share a part of their educational journey; the parents who so willingly and staunchly support and contribute to the success of their children and the school; and to the staff (past and present) who are exceptionally hard working, committed, and highly professional. This is the Nossal High School community, and I will always treasure the experiences, relationships, and friendships from my time here. 

I intend to maintain regular contact and continue to be a part of the school community and hope to be able to attend school related events and activities long into my dotage. 

Farewell and thank you. 

Roger Page  

Principal

June 2024 

Award Details: Medal of the Order of Australia (OAM) in the General Division

awarded to Mr. Roger Page for his service to secondary education

Education

• Foundation Principal, Nossal High School, since 2009
• Advanced Skills Teacher, Level 3, Mornington Secondary College, 1993-1996.

Mount Erin Secondary College

• Principal, 2006-2008
• Assistant Principal, 2000-2006
• Leading Teacher, Level 3, 1996-2000.

Monterey Technical School

• Advanced Skills Teacher, Level 1, 1991-1993
• Teacher Class, Secondary, 1991
• Technical Assistant Class, 1980-1991
• Former Student Welfare Coordinator.

Skyline Hatch

• Advisory Board Member, since 2021
• Director, since 2021.

Education - Other  

• Foundation Member, Academic Select Entry Network
• Foundation Member, Board of Management, Casey Tech
• Former Member, Southern Metropolitan Music Committee
• Former Member, Monash Campus Advisory Committee.

Professional Associations

• Former Member, Victorian State School Principal's Association
• Former Professional Member, Principals' Reference Group, Victorian Department of Education and Training
• Former Member, World Council for Gifted and Talented Children
• Former Member, Victorian Association for Gifted and Talented Children
• Former Member, Casey Principal's Network.