From the Principals' Desk

Dear Parents,

As we end the first full week of the stage 4 COVID lockdown it is hard not to feel rather flattened and discouraged by the daily reporting of further infections and deaths in the state. The school is again empty of the delightful liveliness of the student body and we are all back in front of our screens for extended periods of time, and we are again waiting for further direction about how the final few months of the year are going to be managed.

Then, I glance out the window at home and see the garden looking better than it ever has, a mob of kookaburras dive bombing the pool for a bath, hear very little passing traffic, and return online to watch Prachi Beniwal of Year 12 as she participates in the State Finals of the Plain English Speaking Awards (PESA), and realise yet again that I have very little to complain about and many others are doing it much tougher than we are.

Many of us are working from home and that can be challenging, but there are many people who are not working – or unable to work; the COVID count, particularly in Victoria, is not where we would want it to be, but across the state and country we are still comparatively safe and have much lower infection and death rates than elsewhere; our health system is sound and very active and our political leaders are strong, (almost) united and (generally) focussed on what is best for the community; we are able to obtain most essential goods and services and in spite of the panic buying, there is no apparent lack of food or commodities; and we are able to stay in touch with friends and family online. Compared with previous generations and previous periods of historical global disruption, for many of us there has been little more than inconvenience to date. Obviously though, the economy and personal finances are being cumulatively impacted, jobs and businesses have been hit hard, and the mental and physical health of our community is under direct threat and it is obvious that we still have a long way to go before we can even consider a return to “normalcy.”

In this situation our most appropriate response is to continue to do the best we can in the circumstances and to work together collectively to ensure the best outcomes for the whole community. I am pleased to say that I can see that happening very positively at Nossal and staff and students have been doing remarkable things to assist and support their colleagues and to ensure that we continue through the lockdown positively and productively.

While I am sure we have all had cause to question the decisions and actions of our community and political leaders during the past 6 months, they are in an unenviable position and the pressure they are under is enormous, and it has been unrelenting and unlikely to ease anytime soon. I feel a huge responsibility just within my own small realm of influence and am grateful that I am not having to make such huge decisions and that I have many others I can call on for advice and assistance.

As we look to our leaders for advice, direction and reassurance – I have been deeply impressed by the work of our student leaders during this time. They have provided exemplary positive and supportive encouragement for the school community, have modelled exceptional proactivity, and have done much to reassure, revitalise, and soothe the concerns of the student body. They have worked collaboratively and creatively to find avenues to provide support, diversion, and engagement, and have been highly effective. At a time when some have been mourning the things they are unable to do – our student leaders have been focussing on finding other ways to engage and support the community and I would like to commend them publicly and loudly for their attitude and approach at this time.

Similarly, our staff (who are always positive and supportive) have been required to step up and work in different ways and (as in any crisis) it is wonderful to see their creativity and generosity in sharing approaches and solutions to problems – or to witness the number of them going out of their way to offer useful activities and information to their colleagues. 

The COVID crisis has triggered a dramatic change in the way schools and the community view education and has certainly accelerated our capacity to work in an online environment. It has also shown very strongly that the social and community aspects of “school” are of paramount importance and that they cannot be easily replaced or emulated online. 

The school wellbeing team have been very active behind the scenes and have been surveying and monitoring the workload and wellbeing of our students and have been proactively addressing emerging issues and concerns, as well as being available to provide individual counselling and assistance to those in need. 

DET have a huge range of information and resources to support and assist people during the lockdown period and have been providing significant additional resourcing to assist the mental health and wellbeing of staff and students. I was informed last week that Nossal has been allocated additional resources to employ an ongoing “Mental Health Practitioner” from Term 4 (Psychologist, Social Worker, Mental Health Nurse or Occupational Therapist) to join our wellbeing team to provide additional counselling and programs.

The PFA (Parents and Friends Association) continue to meet and are endeavouring to find other ways to further engage with the wider Nossal community and are offering to directly contact and communicate with other Nossal parents and share a virtual coffee. (see details elsewhere in the newsletter) 

The Alumni have been in discussion with Clarissa and others about ramping up their involvement during the remote learning period by providing some additional tutoring and mentoring support and some activities and events for current Nossal students.

Debating has continued online over the past few weeks with the Nossal Teams continuing to compete strongly and successfully in the DAV (Debating Association of Victoria). The annual Staff Student Debate was won convincingly by the students this year and was highly entertaining and keenly contested as always, (and professionally adjudicated by ex-student and DAV adjudicator Elita Pinto). Last Friday was the culmination of the House Debates with Phoenix claiming overall victory and Deetya Kannan being nominated as best speaker.

Also last Friday, Prachi Beniwal of Year 12 was one of 6 students from Victoria to contest the State Finals of the Plain English Speaking Awards where she performed very creditably amongst a field of exceptional speakers - a very impressive achievement. (I think this might be the third or fourth time that Nossal students have made it through to the state finals – a testament to the excellent work of our English team, the debaters, and our students of course).

The student leaders have continued to provide opportunity for high level discussion and debate around the “Black Lives Matter” movement and are seeking additional fundraising opportunities to support worthy causes and to respond to emerging issues as well as maintaining the momentum with their earlier Bushfire relief program.

The Year 9 students have been involved in the “City Week Program” during the past week and it is a significantly different and more challenging program when operating in lockdown. There is some very interesting and creative work taking place from what I am seeing and (as always) I am sure that we will be blown away by the quality, depth and professionalism of the final products when they are completed.

Ms Coffa has organised a continuing series of Sport related activities to keep our students and staff active during the lockdown and the school is now undertaking a two week “Lockdown Olympics” with different events taking place each day, and students can also participate in a Virtual Cross Country event.

I commend the IRC for their work previously in making sure that Book Week still ran in 2020 – and students had the opportunity to dress up, hear from guest speakers and undertake a comprehensive series of activities and events to celebrate Book Week and the joys of reading.

For VCE students, there may be opportunity to attend school at some time in the future to complete practical assessments and SACs, but we are still waiting on advice from VCAA about how and when that might occur. We will provide you with that information as soon as it arrives – potentially early this week. Ms Warriner has provided you with information about SEAS applications and at this stage there is nothing more that you need to do in relation to the Education Minister’s announcements about special consideration for the COVID impact on individuals – details of how this will work are still being developed and you will be informed in due course. At this stage – your teachers will keep you up to date and ensure that you are well prepared for the assessments and final exams.

During the stage 4 lockdown most staff will be working from home, although the school will remain open with a member of the Principal Team and the IT team onsite each day. The school switchboard will still be manned remotely and please communicate directly with me via mobile phone, TEAMs or email if there is a need. The IT team are able to work on student devices if there is a breakdown but getting them to school is problematic and you cannot drop into school without a travel permit. In the first instance, please communicate via the IT Teams channel so they can determine the best course of action for you.

I hope that you and your families are all staying safe and well and thank you for your continued support and assistance as we move though this current lockdown period. I encourage you all to draw on the resources and assistance of the school and urge you to contact us if you have any concerns or worries – not matter how small they may be.

Please keep an eye out for others and try to make the best of the current situation.

Regards,

Roger Page

Principal