Student News

Word from the Editors

Welcome Back, this is our sixth edition of NHS Student News!

With a uniquely varied student body involved in everything from leadership to the many clubs and societies that add to Nossal's trademark adherence to a love of learning in any field, we felt that for the average student frantically checking emails, scrolling through NEO and reading the newsletter, it can be a bit of a pain to stay on top of the unpredictable Nossal lifestyle.

The student newsletter aims to change that for the better. Keep an eye on this page for all the information on big student events, news from clubs, reminders about important student matters and much more.  We sincerely hope that it aids you in not only surviving your busy student life, but thriving in it too.

There's a lot to see and do here at Nossal. With all of the tests, assignments and homework tasks, it can sometimes be incredibly difficult for the average student to truly be aware of all the opportunities at their fingertips. This newsletter aims to help you cut through to the information that YOU need.

So stay awhile, have a browse for a few minutes and come again soon!

Indira Unnava

Head Editor

SRC News

Update on School Uniform Policy

Hey everyone ! This is an update from the SRC on the previously discussed changes to uniform policy. To those that have followed our attempts to return Sports uniform policy to where it was last year, you'll be happy to know that progress has been made.

Late last term I spoke to Mr Page to try and address some of his concerns with the way sports uniform is being used at Nossal. We both came to the same compromise that at the present moment, the least we could do is ensure that the school's current uniform policy wasn't infringing on class time and majorly inconveniencing the student body.

Mr Page agreed to take to the School Council a policy in which a student would be permitted to come to school in sports uniform SO LONG AS THEY HAVE A PRACTICAL SPORTS CLASS SCHEDULED THAT DAY.

Teachers have already begun to enforce this.

Mr Page also alerted me to a lot of other uniform changes that will be detailed shortly, most notably a shift from the gender oriented uniform policy of the past. To those that are concerned with the progress made most notably regarding sports uniform, we get it. Things aren't where they used to be last year. That's okay though, because so long as the student body demonstrates a genuine need for change, the SRC of each year will do their best to see it happen. We've made some solid progress, captured some genuine ground. I have no doubts that we will be where we want to be soon enough.

A massive thank you to all that helped us in the student body. From leaving notes in the suggestion box, to coming to the open meeting, your contribution is genuinely appreciated.

Thanks for helping us to help you.

If you've any other concerns, questions or potential issues you'd like the SRC to take a look at, the suggestion box is near the breakfast club area, your friendly neighbourhood SRC representative should never be too far and another open meeting is in the works so stay tuned!

Quote of the Week

NSU News

It’s been a busy few weeks for the NSU! We’re working with clubs on the South East Feast, which will run this September 16, leading Breakfast Club, projects with AV, and other events!

Currently, the NSU is working with Mr Butler to organise parts of the South East Feast. The South East Feast is a multicultural community event centred around food which will be held Saturday September 16, from 10am - 4pm. NHS clubs and societies as well as students are encouraged in participate in this event! For more information, please contact any of the NSU executive members.

Breakfast Club is BACK! But we need your help to keep it alive. Please donate some silver or gold change into the donation box at the breakfast club bench, which is set up with the food every morning. And don’t forget to bring your own plate, cup/mug and cutlery. Breakfast club strictly closes at 8:30 am, as the leaders have to get to tutorial as well.

We’re also working with AV on Nossal Newsroom, which is a forthcoming ‘news channel’ for Nossal! The first episode of Nossal Newsroom was published last week, and it was amazing! A huge congratulations to Nossal Newsroom Team for all their hard work! It will be published fortnightly. The aim of Nossal Newsroom is to promote clubs, societies, and student voice, as well as a whole range of other things!

If you have any questions, please feel free to contact any executive member of the NSU - our contact details are on the NSU Noticeboard!

Indira Unnava

NSU Secretary

The Explainer - Complex things "Un-boring-ed" with Leo - Tesla

Biography: Nickola Tesla

His name may be emblazoned on Elon Musk’s modish car company, but who really was Nikola Tesla?

Early life and education

Born in Smiljan on 10 July 1856, Tesla lived a long and intriguing life, characterised by his scientific genius, but also the numerous hardships suffered. An ethnic Serb living in what was then the Austro-Hungarian Empire that now is Croatia, Tesla grew up as the second-youngest of five children in a crowded household. His father Milutin was an Orthodox priest, whilst his mother Đuka was a housewife.

Despite his older brother Dane dying when Nikola was only 5 years old, the latter grew up in what was a loveable working-class home. Tesla completed primary and middle school in his home Smiljan, before moving northward to complete high school in the city of Karlovac. There, he acquired his lifelong love and interest in electricity. Writing in a 1939 memoir, Tesla described how his cat Mačak appeared to “be surrounded by a halo like the aureole of a saint” during an experience observing a thunder storm. After contracting cholera in 1873 upon his return to Smiljan, Tesla avoided being conscripted into the Austro-Hungarian Army later next year; Tesla was a devout pacifist, his unwavering ethics and moral conscience distinguishing him from other contemporary scientists of the time. Although a bit of a workaholic, his hours of study being 3 am to 11 pm each day, Tesla nevertheless dropped out of the Graz University of Technology in Austria, citing that he sought a new challenge.

Move to the United States

At the age of 28, Tesla emigrated to the United States on a working visa, such an opportunity granted to him through his prior work at the Continental Edison Company back in Europe. Living in New York City, which was slowly becoming a multicultural hub at the time, Tesla worked at another one of Edison’s companies. However, Tesla’s determined and strong character, triggered by alleged unpaid bonuses on the part of the company, once again caused him to change his life direction, quitting after only 6 months at the helm.

Tesla continued to have various stints at different workplaces, experiencing depression, which he documented in his later-uncovered journal. Nikola missed his family and homeland, he regarded his employers as wasting his intellect, requiring him to complete jobs such as ditch-digging for a resultant wage of barely $2 a day. However, after much soul-searching and trial-and-error, Tesla’s big break came in late 1886, when the Western Union bank agreed to finance his research into electricity. Tesla had already had a number of revolutionary ideas in the field, especially with regards to the alternating current (AC), but struggled to make himself known, the lack of financial resources stagnating his progress.

Tesla developed an AC-running induction motor in 1887, a subject in which he was slowly becoming an expert. The alternating current was a rapidly-expanding type of electrical current and was certainly an innovative technology of the time. As opposed to the direct current or DC, the AC could flow in both directions. AC is easier to create and distribute over longer distances; it is also much more efficient than its counterpart, and can be converted to and from higher voltages in contrast to the DC. This AC vs DC debate led to what is now described as the ‘War of Currents’, with Tesla being on the opposing side to his previous employer Edison, a staunch advocate of direct current. A prominent argument of the DC camp was that due to the use of higher voltages, the AC was quite dangerous; Tesla partially helped dispel these arguments through his constant betterment of his inventions.

Later life and legacy

Tesla continued to conduct various experiments in his laboratories, constantly bringing to life many new ideas. Tesla was naturalised as a US citizen in 1891, at the same time as he was experimenting with a new field of electrical engineering: wireless power, leading to him patenting the coil which now bears his name. These discoveries were somewhat overshadowed by the tragic burning down of his lab, which destroyed much of his written work. Lawsuits and financial problems also plagued Tesla’s later years. His aforementioned humility and idealism, envisaging a world where every person could have access to free electricity, combined with his refusal to profit at the expense of others from his creations led to him dying penniless in an oftentimes cruel and cold-hearted capitalist America in 1943.

Nevertheless, Tesla’s legacy was revived following the Second World War. He became more and more recognised and acknowledged for his discoveries, which were often stolen by men such as Edison. Today, he is the namesake of many different things around the world, the most prominent being the Nikola Tesla Airport in Belgrade and the Nikola Tesla award, which is annually presented for “outstanding contributions to the generation and utilisation of electric power”.

Call for Writers!

Students are welcome and encouraged to email any pieces they would like published on the Student News page to Abhishek and Indira.

In saying that, we aim to publish some regular columns in the paper, and we need some regular writers for columns like:

·        Hot Topic – a feature article on a current issue

·        A "How To" Column

·        Recipe Column

·        Events Column

·        Sports Column

·        Person of the week (like an inspiring person)/ Guest Interviews

·        Rundown of important student dates

·        Human interest articles

·        General interest Articles.

So if you want to run a Fashion or games column, please let us know.

Those who are interested in being part of the Editorial Team for the regular sections, please write an expression of interest (no more than 200 words) and also a sample article for your preferred column. 

Please email  studentnews@nossalhs.vic.edu.au with any questions and your expressions of interest.

Meditation Club

Why should you bother meditating, when there are so many more fun things to do? Yes, it might be hard, time-consuming and strange, but it may be totally worth it. Meditation is not easy. It takes time and it takes energy. It also takes grit, determination, and discipline. So to make it easier, there is this really cool app that you can use for meditation is “Smiling Mind”.

Smiling Mind is a non-profit organisation that works to make mindfulness meditation accessible to all. The Smiling Mind app is for modern meditation. This is a simple tool that helps put a smile on your mind at anytime, anywhere. It's so helpful to just calm you down, relax you and relieve you of worries/stress. There are many different styles of meditation it offers and it caters for different age groups. Try it yourself! https://smilingmind.com.au/ 

Indira Unnava

Meditation Club Leader

Wishing everyone peace and light

Good luck to everyone for your upcoming tests and SACs. Don’t stress and stay smiling! And everyone, please try to remember:

School is not your life, you are your life, so treat yourself well, because you deserve it. :)