From the Principals' Desk 

Dear Parents,

End of Year – Exams and Farewells

Year 12 Exams are well and truly underway and end of year Nossal exams are looming for the rest of the school. This can be a time of high anxiety and stress for senior students in particular as they complete their final assessments and await the outcome and university entry offers. A gentle reminder to all Nossal students that preparation for the final exams should not be endless cramming and study – that may well be a detrimental approach and you need to trust that you have been well prepared; work closely with your teachers (who are still available to you right up until the exam itself); draw on the wellbeing team and support staff if you are feeling overwhelmed or in need of additional support and assistance; and most importantly – eat well, sleep well, exercise and maintain some family, social and recreational activities. The “experts” tell us that often the best preparation for an exam is to have a good sleep the night before – not stay up studying until 3.00 am!

Our students will (as always) perform extremely well and achieve excellent results. Some may not reach the heights that they were expecting or wanting, but that just means there might need to be a change of plans and a different pathway to future success. We have many alumni who will testify to the breadth of opportunities that will open up to you all regardless of your ATAR, and in some cases, this has resulted in greater happiness and success. 

I commend the graduating class of Year 12 for their demeanor, collegiality, and support of each other – the final celebration day was a delight – full of laughter, good wishes, and some tears. That thirteen years of schooling is now at an end can be a quite daunting realisation – childhood is now long gone, and university and adulthood is upon them. 

I too share their trepidation and excitement as I face imminent retirement after forty-seven years with the Department of Education. I could not have asked for a better way to finish my teaching career than being the Foundation Principal of Nossal High School – the last thirteen years here have been an absolute privilege; I have learnt so much; had countless new experiences; and met thousands of exceptional young adults and their families; and worked with some of the most inspiring staff in the country. Nossal is a wonderful place, and I am already mourning the many things that I will miss and am not really sure how I will cope without the daily inspiration and the challenges that are an integral part of the role. There are many things I will not miss about the job – but being at Nossal is definitely not one of them and I intend to stay connected to the school and attend events and activities long into the future.

For the past week I have been making cameo appearances in many student videos doing silly things which has been great fun, although I do worry that in the future, when people are researching the history of Nossal, such footage may come to light. 

I do hope that you will all be in attendance at my final Speech Night where I will farewell and thank the school community (probably tearfully!).

The Education Department will shortly call for applications for an Acting Principal to take the reins from the start of next year as I will be taking some long service leave prior to retiring.

Old Nossalonians Association (ONA)

I had the pleasure of attending the alumni Annual General Meeting last weekend and am (unsurprisingly) impressed by the work the group has done to achieve incorporation as a stand-alone organisation and more importantly by their intentions, beliefs and aims which will be of enormous benefit to the school and all members of the Nossal community long into the future. I commend them to you and encourage all Nossal graduates to sign up to enjoy their ongoing support and connection with the school and your peers.

A Call For Assistance

Can I call for your assistance with a few things, please?

Sir Gustav Nossal Statue Appeal

We have commissioned the statue from the sculptors (as it will take at least 12 months to create) but have not yet raised the full amount of funding required, so if you were intending to make a (tax deductible!) donation please do so now. If you know of potential sponsors or philanthropists who may also like to contribute, please contact myself or Lydia Sayer.

“Hay Shed” Donation

The Rail Crossing Removal Authority are in the process of vacating their depot in the paddock opposite the school and have generously offered us a large steel open sided shed (9 mts x 32 mts) that will make an ideal covered space for outdoor sports, teaching spaces or student shelter. The shelter is free, but we will need to re-erect it onsite and concrete the footings and surface underneath. We have received some very expensive quotes to do so to date, so if anyone knows of a builder, concreter, or construction company who may be able assist us at a reasonable cost, please let me know as it is likely to be arriving this week.

Rotary Appeal

Each year the Nossal community support the Berwick Rotary Club (who do a huge amount for us) by donating non-perishable food stuffs, toys, books, gifts and the like to their annual Christmas appeal. We have a large cage in the canteen foyer that we are hoping to fill to the brim again this year. Every item donated is delivered directly to a needy local family by the Rotarians. Please assist - it is looking rather sad and unfilled at present, and there is a greater need than ever this year.

Surplus Equipment for Sale

The school has a few new items of furniture and equipment that it does not require that we are hoping to sell. In particular, we have a new industrial (manual) wheelie bin lifter, and three sets of new office desks with returns and pedestal drawers we would love to sell at bargain prices. See details elsewhere in the newsletter or contact me directly for more information.

For Sale – Please Pass on to anyone who may be interested – Bargains!

Please contact Roger Page or Jason Bell at Nossal High School

Brand new Desks/Work-stations with three drawer under desk pedestals

White melamine - 22mm top - with cable port

1800 x1500:  730 deep and 750 high

Good quality units - 4 available

Cost close to $1000 each new - sell $250 each or make an offer

Brand New - Simpro Ezi MT manual wheelie bin lifter

Purchased in 2020 and never used

65 kg lifting capacity

Holds 80, 120, 140, 240 litre wheelie bins

Tipping height 1500mm

Overall height - raised 2534.5; lowered 2302

Weight 110 kgs

Made in NZ

Powder-coated steel construction

On castor wheels for easy manoeuvring 

For indoor or outdoor use

With operating manual

Ideal for schools or small businesses

Item is located in Berwick - pick up from there

Cost $4000 - sell $1900 or make an offer....

We will also be holding a garage sale from our storage containers during the PFA second-hand book sale on December 10, so you can also assist us by purchasing things that are junk from our point of view but may be treasure from yours!

Traffic Safety

I hope that everyone read my Compass message about traffic safety in the vicinity of the school and Federation University. We have been receiving some disturbing reports of speeding cars, students walking through the carparks instead of on the footpath, cars not giving way to pedestrians in the shared zones, and regular near misses at the roundabout near the university entry. Remember that you must give way to cars within the roundabout, and please take note – Nossal parents are being named as regular “offenders” in the car related issues and while we are working with the university to improve signage the easiest (and safest) fix is for everyone to be extra cautious. The consequences of not doing so could be tragic.

Staffing

We are in the process of appointing new staff to replace people who are retiring, transferring, or being promoted, and Nossal is not immune to the impact of the current teacher shortage. As an example – in the early days at Nossal I would receive well over one hundred applications for a teaching position – in recent times we are happy to receive 7-10 applicants. Fortunately, we have so far only had to re-advertise once and have had at least one excellent applicant for each position. This is not the case in many other schools and some of the excellent staff that we have appointed will create gaps in other schools that are going to be very hard to fill. In some cases, schools are advertising numerous times and receiving no applicants at all – and not just in hard to staff schools or subjects. This is going to be an ongoing, damaging and extremely challenging issue for all schools.

Mr Mark Jelinek

Mr Jelinek is our Maths Domain Leader and Senior Maths teacher and has recently been offered a position at ACER to develop senior Maths resource materials, so he was to depart the school in mid-November after his students had completed their final exams. Unfortunately, he has recently had a serious accident on his mountain bike resulting in badly broken bones and requiring hospitalisation and surgery. He is slowly recovering but will not be able to return to Nossal this year. We wish him well for a speedy and pain free recovery and sincerely thank him for his significant contribution to our school.

Congratulations to:

The Nossal Chess Club and Mr Bobby Chattrath – State Champions

The Nossal Bollywood Dance Club – Silver medallists and local newspaper stars

Ms Ball and Mya – for graduating from Therapy Dog School – so we will see Mya at school in future.

Final Class Dates

Year 12 – formal classes have now ended, and students finish after their final exam

Year 11 – final day of classes is 25/11

Year 10 – final day of classes is 25/11 – then Work Experience

Year 9 – final day of classes is 7/12

The school is open until 2.30 pm on December 20.

Regards,

Roger Page