Nossal High School Council Elections 2017

Parents are advised that an election will be run for Parent member representation on the Nossal High School Council.

Ballot papers were distributed on FRIDAY 10 MARCH via your student. Please ask for the School Council ballot documents if you have not received them.

Complete your ballot – 1 vote per parent. (2 votes per family in total unless alternative family arrangements are in place)

Follow the instructions supplied for completing the voting process carefully to ensure your vote can be counted.

Return your sealed ballot to the General Office via your student, by mail or in person.

THE BALLOT WILL CLOSE AT 4.00PM ON MONDAY 20 MARCH.

(No late ballot will be accepted)

If you have any questions regarding this process please contact the Principal, Mr. Roger Page.

Nossal High School Goes Dark for End of Term - 30.3.17 1.30pm

In 2017 Earth Hour is celebrating its 10th year. Earth Hour was originally launched in Sydney in 2007 and has become a global phenomenon with over 50 million people participating across 35 countries.

On the last hour of the last day of Term 1, Nossal High School will be switching off for Earth Hour. We hope that by switching off at this time, we will see massive flow on affect over the school holidays.

We also inviting you to join in the action as we celebrate 10 years of climate change progress by switching off on Saturday the 28th of March for 1 hour from 8.30pm.

Together we can change the future!

Mrs Jessica Ball

Sustainability Coordinator/Science Teacher

Don't miss out on all the exciting things happening at Nossal!

While we send home emails and text messages when important events and information need to be shared with our families and community, and we keep you informed about what has happened with our fortnightly newsletter, Nossal also has a number of social media pages which we use for reminders and also to share exciting news.

If you don't already follow us though one of these, please consider joining or liking our pages and get all the reminders and news we share on social media!

Nossal Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/NossalHighSchool/

Nossal PFA Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/Nossal-PFA-1519316505027842/

Nossal Twitter page: https://twitter.com/NossalHigh

Nossal Instagram page: https://www.instagram.com/nossalhighschool/

Year Level Specific Facebook pages:

Class of 2017 (Yr12): https://www.facebook.com/The-Nossal-High-School-Class-of-2017-733107156708579/

Class of 2018 (Yr11): https://www.facebook.com/The-Nossal-High-School-Class-of-2018-950067875045863/

Class of 2019 (Yr10): https://www.facebook.com/The-Nossal-High-School-Class-of-2019-1232020736827194/

Class of 2020 (Yr9): https://www.facebook.com/Nossal-High-School-Class-of-2020-239055979887305/

Online Bullying – Consequences and Concerns…….

In previous newsletters, I have expressed my concern about the online presence of some of our students and outlined at the first assembly this year my distress about a specific instance of targeted and deliberate online bullyng that we had been alerted to late last year. Of greatest concern to me at the time was the fact that this bullying appeared to have been actively supported by quite a number of other Nossal students who “liked” the postings or actively commented and contributed disparaging remarks of their own. That these postings also contained images (photos) of students taken and published without their knowledge or permission was much more disturbing and puts those taking, publishing and sharing the images on very shaky ground legally and morally. The consequences of such actions can and do have a devastating impact on the victims (and the perpetrators). In this particular instance I was dismayed to hear from several of those responsible for distributing or “liking” the inappropriate postings that they automatically “like” anything their friends post and do not/ did not consider the potential impact of what they were doing. Some also professed genuine (I think) surprise and regret that they had in fact been actively contributing to on-line bullying by doing so. In a school of mature and intelligent young people I was amazed that (if honest) some students are that careless about how they present themselves online and give no consideration to the impact their involvement may have – nor to what is right or wrong. This is not what I would expect, or accept from Nossal students.

The instigators of the inappropriate online postings have suffered some significant consequences as a result of their poor choices – 2 students have been through a formal suspension process; some have been removed from leadership or responsibility positions within the school; we have conducted a formal mediation session so the perpetrators hear first-hand the impact their actions have had; police have been involved; and all will have to work very hard to make amends, and regain the trust of their parents, peers and the school. There have also been huge ramifications and impact within families, and their friendship groups, and I am no longer able to boast that we don’t have to take disciplinary action at Nossal as our students, while not always perfect, generally don’t seriously transgress our codes of conduct.

I have worked with young people for many years and am not naive enough to expect them not to stretch the envelope and make mistakes, but I do expect them to make more considered decisions, to always behave ethically and responsibly, and to take a stand if others do not. Especially in the wake of our publicising of these issues and the work of our House and Student Leaders to draw attention to the issue - “Do not be a bystander.”

Please discuss this with your children and reinforce the need for them to be aware of the implications and possible consequences of their actions and the damage it may cause for others (and themselves). I have tasked some students with specific responsibility for actively addressing this issue as part of their “rehabilitation” and to demonstrate their commitment to making changes. What follows is a reflective piece written by the student who instigated this episode.

Roger Page

Naive, is what we all are. We think laughing, making fun and humiliating someone is a joke.

Repeated verbal, social, physical or psychological aggressive behaviour by a certain person or group of people directed towards a certain someone is bullying whether you intended it to cause harm, fear or distress or not.

Some types of bullying are obvious to spot while others can be more subtle, the most common type of bullying in young adults is cyberbullying. It is done online via the internet or cell phones. It is done via public domain tools for example Facebook, Instagram, snapchat etc. It can be quite difficult to escape and horribly invasive. It can consist of nasty gossip or rumours, deliberately excluding others online, imitating others online or using their log-in and abusive or hurtful texts emails or posts, images or videos which can be widely spread to a large audience. Once the material is shared in the public forum, there is no control over it, anyone can share it with whomever they wish. Cyberbullying is the easiest type of bullying because it can provide the bully with a sense of anonymity and distance from their target or targets. Sometimes the bully doesn’t realise that their actions or words are actually hurting someone, they think it’s all “just a joke” or “banter”.

It is very easy to fall into this trap using these public domains in which you can either be the victim or the bully without realising how far deep you have gone in crossed the boundary from your fun to someone’s pain.

The damage that targeted name-calling or jokes, treating people differently because of their identity or sharing posts of someone without them knowing and having humiliating captions can cause is incredibly dangerous. No one knows about the victim’s personal life; they could be having other problems and that one small thing done by the bully can trigger them to take a regretful action.

I have had personal experience to this type of situation and the after affects are far deeper than what it appears to be on the public domain. It is a life changing event which reflects the danger hidden behind and the repercussions of not correcting your actions in time are devastating. I did not realise my actions could impact myself or anyone involved in this type of activities as much as they did. The damage is irreparable and can have a lasting effect on someone’s mind. After realising the impact of my actions, I felt ashamed and devastated at how I did not put a stop to it instead became a part of it. I strongly believe we should all make effort in any way shape or form to stop these types of activities from becoming a part of our normal lives, especially amongst your peers.

It is incumbent upon us as human beings regardless of our race, religion or background to voice our concern and highlight if we see any sort of dubious actions. Let’s help bring awareness and build trust in Nossal community and the general community at large to make it a better and safe environment for all.

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