From the Principal

VCE Results Released on Friday

Congratulations to our wonderful students! I am happy to report some outstanding results.

I am always somewhat ambivalent about VCE Results Day – there is much to celebrate – the culmination of hard work and collaboration and the opening up of possibilities for new journeys to begin. There are also often families and young people to support to begin reimagining a new direction. We will of course do both. My ambivalence, however, lies in the fact that these numbers do not reflect the full story or the progress of each child. They are an important part of the story, but only individual students, their parents and staff who have taught them throughout the years, including this one, know the important details that give each result meaning.

Please find the snapshot of the results below:

ATARS - 240 in total

• Dux:                               Kiarash Nikoo  - ATAR 99.2
• ATARs above 90:      36 Students – 15%
• ATARs above 80:      92 Students - 38.4%
• ATARs above 70:      56%
• ATARs above 60:      69.6%
• ATARS above 50:      81.25%

135 students achieved ATARs in the top 30% of Australia, which is a fantastic achievement, and more than in 2017.

Our Hengshui partner school in China had 22 students and their results are:

• ATARs in the 90s:     2 students
• ATARs in the 80s:     3 students
• ATARs in the 70s:     10 students

This too is a fantastic achievement. I was speaking to the Principal of one of the other schools who deliver the VCE in China, and they said their first-year results were not at all strong. The strong results here, are a testament to the rigour with which we approach the partnership, Nick Murphy’s leadership, the staff in Hengshui, and of course our fabulous mentor teachers. Well done to all.

Study Scores:

We have 3 perfect study scores with:

• 50 in Biology
• 50 in Chinese First Language
• 50 in Further Maths

There are 86 study scores over 40, which is 6.6% of all study scores.

Our mean study score is 30.6 for subjects studied at NHS and 30.3 for all studies, including subjects taught at other institutions.

Thank yous:

There are many people who contribute to the achievement of such results – all of us in big and small ways, not just this year, but throughout the years.

• I particularly want to thank the students for their efforts. The VCE is an endeavour that rewards hard work, consistency and seeking and responding to feedback. Without a willingness and motivation to persist and be resilient our students would not reap these rewards on our behalf.
• The parents and carers of our students – who care deeply about education, and unconditionally love and support their children to help them be the best they can be, and work with the school in productive ways to unlock potential.
• Our sincere thanks go to Kylie Witt for her expert guidance, and support and her dogged determination to get them all on a pathway of choice.
• Of course, the Senior Team play a large part in encouraging, organising, supporting and guiding the students to achieve their best. This year led by Sarah Green, Di Corkery and Scott MacDonald and Carolyn Richards and Ben Orphin have done a stellar job of shepherding them along the way.
• I would also like to pay tribute to Jocelyn Hill for her leadership of both the Senior School and International Students’ Program.
• Lixia Wang and Jennifer Bi and Jessica Wang for their unerring support and expertise dedicated to the International Students’ ongoing success.
• Inevitably when something means so much and takes such hard work and persistence, there are emotional and social challenges that need to be addressed, and our Student Services Team, led by Katie Archibald and including Cath Lester, Paul Giddy, Kat Brissett, and Gen DuBois do a fabulous job with students, families and support services to ensure this milestone is reached, in a healthy and productive way.
• Martin Ramsay, in his leadership of VET is an ambassador for students who want more diversity in their program, so that they can follow their interests and passions.

Let us not forget that this is also our inaugural year for a graduating Senior VCAL class. This too is a huge success that these results do not reflect. Rohan Bevan, and last year, Paul Micah Sullivan’s pioneering and persistent spirit to lead the program and break new ground, alongside their other fabulous teachers: Danny Leonidis, Tric O’Heare, Cath Lester and Zac Healey, have ensured success for students who may otherwise not have had that opportunity.

As further analysis is completed we will release more fine grained data, however, we must be conscious of the fact that data is owned by the student, VCAA and VTAC and therefore there are many sensitivities around privacy and public release of data. We have made posts on Facebook and the Website, and have been in touch with DET Media who were interested in our success.

On behalf of the community, I have thanked the staff for their support of students in both Year 12 and throughout their schooling at NHS – for the relationships, for ensuring progress for each child, and allowing students to have pride in achieving their best.

We must remember that teachers do make a difference, and that our profession contributes to society in meaningful and vital ways, as does the tremendous support of an engaged and committed community, including our School Council. Thank you for your confidence in, and support of, our fine school.

We are very proud of all concerned.

Changes to the school day for 2019

Throughout the course of the year we have been reviewing the structure of the day, and how it meets the needs of all learners. We have reviewed this with staff and students, and consulted with a range of groups, including School Council. For 2019 we have adjusted our school day. For full details, please refer to the 'Start of year key information' page in this newsletter that maps out the changes. A summary of the key changes are:

• shortened lunch to 45 minutes (this is in response to students’ providing feedback about boredom)
• 5 min warning bells at the end of recess and lunch (this is in response to students essentially ignoring the warning bell because it was too long)
• finish time at 3.11 pm on Monday, Tuesday, Thursday and Friday, and finish time of 3.00 pm continues on a Wednesday (a flow-on consequence of the shorter lunch)

End of My First Year

Wow! What a first year it has been as the new Principal of Northcote High School.

When I applied for the position of Principal, I knew there were characteristics of this community that I admired. I am delighted to say that after almost one year, I admire them more strongly now. I have been welcomed into a supportive, engaged and articulate community who are invested in progressive, inclusive and quality education.

2018 was always going to be a big one for me and for the rest of the community.

The introduction of the Northcote Model at Years 9 and 10 has been a significant change for students, parents and staff. We are delighted that students have responded so positively. Engagement with, and ownership of, learning has improved out of sight in the middle years. 

Every day at Northcote I see our very enthusiastic students and staff working in collaboration to develop these skills. The Northcote Model has prompted a re-imagining of curriculum to ensure we tackle these challenges head on. As we move into 2019 our thoughts and work are focused on how we can more systematically bring similar teaching and learning, with a different and developmentally appropriate structure, to Year 7 and 8 in 2020.

The evolution of our new Performing Arts building in the south corner of the school has been at times frustratingly slow, and then astoundingly fast. The addition of this stunning, modern, red-brick structure adds an additional sense of grandeur to our already impressive heritage façade. We look forward to its opening, not just because of its beauty, but mainly because of the fabulous, state of the art, teaching and learning spaces for the Performing Arts, and the light-filled, spacious and inviting areas for our senior students to study in. It seems fitting that one of our flagship programs, one that brings such credit to the school, should be located in an equally impressive space. I had heard of Northcote’s outstanding reputation in the Performing Arts prior to my arrival, but this year some of the greatest highlights have been the many musical performances I have attended. Be it the various Soiree’s, the significant concerts, or the incredibly professional production of Our House. One of the most memorable highlights of my year has been performing Perhaps, Perhaps, Perhaps with the overwhelmingly good Jazz Orchestra, directed by Tessa Bodenham and Kieran Conrau.

Another great pleasure of mine, has been the opportunity to work closely with the eleven student leaders in Year 12. They welcomed me quickly, and acculturated me to the school, they assisted me when hosting the many school visits we have, with political delegations and overseas delegations, and they provided me with counsel on a range of ideas and initiatives I tested with them. I look forward to the same, meaningful, mutually respectful relationship with the 2019 student leaders.

Student voice and agency is the key to active and engaged learners, and I am delighted to have worked with the leadership team and staff to enhance opportunities for students to influence and actively contribute to the development of the school throughout 2018. This year we have: elected two year 10 students, Jet Akito and Grace Burne, to School Council, introduced students on our teacher recruitment panels, conducted over twenty student focus groups to test ideas and seek feedback on the many aspects of our school’s learning, culture and programs, and most importantly, we have been working with staff to support them to seek feedback from students about their teaching and learning experience. I am in constant admiration of the insight and clarity our students have about quality schooling. I am determined that our young people will feel that their learning is in partnership with the adults charged with their care. I thank the students for their continued hard work and commitment to creating and maintaining a high quality and inclusive school for themselves and others.

Quite rightly, my focus in the first year, has been getting to know and develop trusting relationships with our staff and School Council. In doing so I recognised the enormous levels of collective professionalism amongst our various teams – teaching, support staff and Council. We have one of the most positive, collaborative, high quality teaching and support staff I have ever had the privilege to work with. Our School Council is engaged and actively helpful. They have supported and appropriately challenged us throughout the year. Perhaps they deserve the greatest credit, since they do this voluntarily. I acknowledge and sincerely thank the very many adults who remain focused on the care and progress of our young people.

I thank the graduating class for enriching the life of our school with their many contributions and trust that they will continue to be contributors in all of their future communities, including ours. I trust we have prepared them well to enter the world and seize it. Within that group we know we have the next generation of leaders; I hope we have taught them to lead with commitment, integrity, compassion and wisdom. May they always follow the better path, just as they have done so here, and just as we have all tried to do this year.

There are so many highlights in my first year here, it is impossible to credit them all here, but a few are worth a special mention, including:

• the very moving and meaningful Meliora Sequamur Awards
• VCE Offshore Conference hosted by Northcote High School in Xi'an, China, under the direction of Mr Nick Murphy
• winning the Victorian Global Learning Awards for our contributions to global citizenry
• the graduation of our inaugural Victorian Certificate of Applied Learning students
• the amazing Art Show, City School Presentations, end of Semester Showcases in Design and Visual Arts and the Festival of Thinking
• Year 12 Graduation, and Celebration Day, their final assembly and of course the very elegant Year 12 Formal
• Art Club’s latest installation of the bottle-top Mona Lisa near the Canteen
• celebrating the many successful team and individual sporting achievements of Northcote
• Northcote’s Got Talent at the end of Semester One
• the re-establishment of the Sustainability Working Group and some of the actions around that – solar panels on the new Performing Arts building, refitting the school with LED lights, changing over to recycled paper, and (eventually when we use the existing supply of others) paper cups.
• and so, so much more.

Congratulations to the entire school Community on a very successful 2018, and thank you for the many very big, and even more frequent, small ways you have supported me in my first year as part of the Northcote Community.

I look forward to seeing you back in 2019, for an even bigger and better year ahead.

Sue Harrap

Principal