From the Principal

Open Day

Every day at Northcote is a day of active learning and engagement, but Monday was even more so than usual. We held our annual Open Day at the start of this week, where literally 100s of interested and prospective families visited the school. They participated on tours, in discussions with faculty areas, and with other key groups in the school, and in a formal presentation in the Olver Hall. They were treated to music, tea and coffee and the finest Northcote hospitality.

As new principal I was impressed by the level of volunteerism shown by our currents students who wanted to be tour guides. The pride we have in our school was obvious - our tour guides spoke of it freely and unscripted in interesting and entertaining ways; they also spoke fondly of their sense of connection and belonging. Throughout the tours our guides eagerly shared detailed information about curriculum, subjects, facilities and co-curricular opportunities. The eloquence and engagement of our tour guides was remarked upon by many families. Well done to you all.

I also extend my congratulations to four very important students – Millie and Gabe in Year 7 and Mollie and Violet (our school captains) in Year 12. Each of these four spoke beautifully, and from the heart about their experiences to date and their journeys through school.

Bookmark Competition

Last week I had the pleasure of being part of the judging team for the annual Bookmark Competition. I was thoroughly impressed with all of the entries. We are delighted to announce the winners this week, and to have the winning bookmarks back from the printers to share with students. Well done to everyone who showed their creative talents.

Friends of Performing Arts Quiz Night

Friends of Performing Arts Quiz Night was one of the community highlights of the year on Friday 27 April. The Olver Hall was packed with eager competitors. The silent auction offered a bounty of great treats for people to bid on. The organising committee did a fabulous job of striking the right tone of relaxed, fast paced fun. Thank you so much to everyone involved. The Performing Arts area of the school will benefit greatly from the just over $5000 raised on the night.

Darebin Council Netball Courts

Since our last newsletter there has been some serious machinery moved onto the construction site and works have commenced. This is great news for the school and the broader community. Darebin Council will be keeping me appraised of the progress on a fortnightly basis.

To manage the construction works the following would be in place for health, safety and other reasons:

Drivers of vehicles and pedestrians must obey the directions of traffic wardens employed by Turf One to manage traffic on days of heavy construction traffic and the directions of designated construction personnel on other days.
Turf One will notify the school in advance of days of heavy construction traffic and the school will advise members of the school community to take extra care on these days.
Turf One will endeavour to restrict deliveries to times outside of school drop-off and pick-up times.
The construction zone is to be declared ‘Out of Bounds’ to pupils of the school and the school will enforce this rule.
Access to the construction zone is to be restricted to construction workers who have been properly inducted to the work site and to authorised visitors who must sign in and be accompanied by the project supervisor during the time spent on site.

We appreciate your patience and cooperation to ensure smooth operations of the construction.

Coming up in the weeks ahead:

We are looking forward to meeting potential 2019 ACE students on Saturday 5 May when the testing is done.
Week 5 - 14- 18 May is a busy one for Year 7, 9 and 10 with both NAPLAN and Work Experience on at that time. We are excited for our Year 10s to explore the world of work and open their eyes to professions that may (or may not) interest them in the future. It is important for them to remember that they are representing the school whilst on work experience and we expect them to do so in a way that brings credit to both themselves and the school.
I am also looking forward to the Rainbow Day celebrations on Friday 18 May.

Until next time

Sue Harrap