From the Principals' Desk

Camps and Pathways Week

My thanks to all involved in the organisation of the Camps and Pathways week program for 2018. This week was originally devised as a way to minimise the disruptions to classes by holding our two main camps (Years 9 and 12) at the same time and incorporating a variety of events and activities for Years 10 and 11 alongside the camps. In this way we can better utilise all staff without impacting on normal classes and can offer a broader range of activities across an extended period of time.

During the past week all 208 Year 9 students attended the Roses Gap adventure camp in the Grampians where they enjoyed excellent weather, spectacular scenery, up close wildlife, a broad range of challenge and adventure activities, and most importantly the opportunity to forge stronger bonds with their peers and teachers. I had the pleasure of joining them for an evening and enjoyed my visit immensely, and (as always) was gratified to hear high praise and excellent feedback from the camp staff about the participation and demeanour of the students (and staff) A big thank you to Ms Loel and Mrs Ball for their leadership and organisation, and to all the staff who made it a success.

The Year 12 students participated in a Digital Delivery Day before heading to Lord Somers Camp for their traditional final (ever) school camp where they had a great time undertaking a range of adventure and challenge activities and importantly – bonding closely with their key teachers and peers in a more relaxed atmosphere in preparation for the pressure of their final year of study. My thanks to Ms Warriner and Ms Soltys and all accompanying staff for ensuring the students had a most enjoyable and worthwhile experience.

The Year 10 and 11 students were offered an interesting range of options for their week with the chance to complete a number of VET courses that would qualify them for part time work (RSA, Barista, First Aid, Retail and Hospitality Training) and a number of fun, recreational, and/or wellbeing activities. Many students took part in community service programs including at Puffing Billy, The Transit Soup Kitchen,  The Salvation Army or local Primary Schools. The Year 11 students undertook a three hour “value add” examination with Edutest which will give us an indication of their growth and progress since undertaking the Year 9 entry exam in 2015. I expect that their data will match that of all previous groups and will show significant improvement (over and above their expected trajectory) and comparatively very high levels of performance when compared to their peers across Australia.

I acknowledge and sincerely thank Ms Vanstan for her excellent work in managing and overseeing the entire program.

On a slightly disappointing note – we had a higher than average absentee rate by some Year 10 and 11 students on several days during this week and we will follow up directly with them and their parents. Could I ask that all parents and students ensure such activities are strongly supported and all students are in attendance – we do not undertake such events lightly and much thought, planning and organisation goes into them to ensure that they offer significant benefit for our students.

Year 9 2019 and Publicity

Applications to sit the 2019 entry exam are in full swing and will stay open for another month. Please encourage any interested students and their families to apply.

We have been working with the other three selective schools to develop a more effective marketing campaign and online presence and I would like to target the Gippsland area for Nossal as I believe there would be many eligible students within viable distance who are unaware of what selective schools are. We know from our research that the most effective marketing for us at present is word of mouth and our parents and students are our strongest advocates and best ambassadors, so will be looking at ways to spread the word more effectively – especially into the Gippsland region.

Victoriam Academic Select Entry High Schools' webpage: https://selectivehighschools.education/ 

Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/VicSelectiveEntryHighSchools/

South East Feast

April 21 is now quite close, and the final program has been locked in – and it looks fantastic. We now need to ensure that we have thousands of people in attendance so please keep publicising the event to family and friends and help us to make it a success. It is essential that large numbers attend to guarantee the longevity of the concept and to raise much needed funds for our school and for local Youth Mental Health.

Mr Butler will be calling for volunteers (students, staff and parents) to assist with specific tasks and roles on the day, and we will require lots of assistance for an event of this scale. If you will be available to assist us at this event, please complete the following form as soon as possible as the rosters will be developed over the coming school holidays: https://forms.office.com/Pages/ResponsePage.aspx?id=zkGINFG410amspa7qW_qabDIbrBwfZVLsZ-vb8T6VK1UMVVVU1VVTDhFSUEwWUhXODJHS1pPM1RPRy4u

I am still looking for some assistance handing out flyers and manning an information table at Fountain Gate Shopping Centre during the day and evening of April 18 and 19, and have had great support from members of the Rotary Club, but a very small response from the Nossal community – please contact me directly if you (or your child) may be able to spare an hour of two to help with this. (I am a little embarrassed that with a community of 800 families I have only had two able to assist and we may have to rely on the generosity of Rotary members who have managed to gain many more volunteers from a much smaller pool.)

Working Bee

On a positive note – we were impressed and very thankful to the large number of parents and students who attended the working bee on Saturday and achieved a great deal before the weather closed in. My thanks to Mr Butler and Mr Bell for their organisation (and work) – and to all who assisted.

School Council

The new school council meets for the first time this week and will elect new office bearers for the year ahead. 2018 Council Members are:

Parents               

• Ms Bridget Wong; Mr Holger Schulz; Mr Yin Taw Fung; Mr Shaikh Abid Hasan; Ms Sue Lagevin; Dr John Inns.

DET

• Ms Yvonne Sly; Ms Nancy Waddington; Ms Tracey Dilollo; Mr Roger Page.

Students

• Ms Grace Archer; Mr Sam Balazs

Community

• Mr Jack Kraan

Monash Nominee

• TBC

Observers

• Ms Viv Horner (Ms Gayl Shute); Ms Fiona Vanstan; Mr Keith Butler

Please contact any of the people listed should you wish input to School Council.

Japanese Tour

I am pleased to inform you that the Japanese tour will be going ahead, although numbers are still quite small and I encourage any other students who are studying Japanese this year to consider attending. It will be a memorable and potentially lifechanging experience for all involved. Please contact Mr Mat Delaney as soon as possible if you are interested in joining the tour.

Easter and Term 2

Term One has flown by as it generally does – although this one was a bit shorter. I remind students and staff about the Nossal Homework guidelines (outlined in the Student Diary) and exhort you all to make the most of the Easter break by doing some home study and balancing that with rest, relaxation, recreation and social activities.

One of our key school priorities this year is to focus on health and wellbeing, and many Nossal staff and students need to be reminded that they are actually more effective and productive when they are maintaining a healthy balance and not over studying at the expense of their own mental and physical health. It is an easy trap to fall into at a school like Nossal where everyone aspires to high levels of achievement, but we know from experience and consistent research that better results are achieved when people are fresh, healthy, relaxed, confident and happy.

Term Two will be quite hectic right from the first two weeks and we have a number of important big events and program changes that will impact our routines:

On Monday April 16 we have our annual whole school Anzac Assembly,

Tuesday April 17 we will be hosting a visit from Dr Moses from the Community Based Health Project,

Saturday April 21 – the South East Feast,

Monday April 23 – House Athletics Carnival,

Tuesday April 24 – joint Select Entry Network Professional Development Day (pupil free) at Nossal,

Wednesday April 25 – Anzac Day Public Holiday,

Thursday April 26 – parent -student-teacher interviews.

I ask that all students and families are actively supporting us and participating fully in these events.

Congratulations to…

• The Chess Team under the guidance of Mr Chattrath for winning the recent regional Arnold Inter-school Chess Tournament  at the Melbourne Convention and Exhibition Centre.

• Ruth Jarra and Prachi Beniwell who were featured speakers at the Monash Interfaith Network meeting, and “spoke so brilliantly and eloquently about their experiences of studying and living in a multicultural and multifaith community/school.  The assembled members all had just praise for the two girls and for our great school where so many different cultures and faiths work, live and study together in such harmony and goodwill.” (Ms Reddy).
• Wendy Si – marched in the Moomba parade as part of a community cultural group.

• Lily Lunder, Nam Nguyen and Deetya Kannan who presented at the Berwick Chase Information evening and were excellent ambassadors for the school.

Best Wishes

To Ms Gayl Shute (our outstanding Business Manager) who has a badly broken leg and will be out of action for several weeks while she recovers; and a big thank you to Ms Horner, Ms Dilollo, Ms Vanstan and the administration team for picking up some of Gayl’s many responsibilities during her absence.

Roger Page

Principal