From the Principals' Desk 

The theme of Education Week (Sunday 14 May to Saturday 20 May 2023) this year was ‘Active Learners: Move, Make, Motivate’. This theme is indicative of how the face of education has changed over time. Teachers are no longer the holder of all information and students’ passive learners. Our learning environment has become increasingly dynamic, interactive, engaging and centred around the community and the world that we live. Technology has acted as a catalyst, connecting people around the world, enriching them with information and improving their understanding of the issues impacting populations worldwide. To facilitate this change, teachers have readily adapted to the changing environment and learnt new skills and pedagogical approaches which are directed at supporting students to develop not simply content knowledge but also their skills in being critical and creative thinkers, leaders, good communicators and collaborators, with high levels of resilience. I would like to take this opportunity to reflect on and acknowledge the excellent quality of the work and learning being performed by the teachers and staff at Nossal. They are committed in their support of all Nossal students, recognising that every student is unique and planning rigorous educational activities and co-curricular experiences which enhance students’ physical health, cognitive development and wellbeing.

I thank every teacher and support staff member at Nossal for their tireless and outstanding work – it is through their individual expertise and collective efforts that our students thrive in a supportive community and what makes Nossal a highly sought after and desirable school. 

Curriculum Day 

On Monday 15 May the Nossal teaching staff engaged in a full day of Professional Learning. The focus of the day was to re-engage with evidence based learning and pedagogical approaches which focussed on the theme “High Ability and Gifted students in an adult learning environment”. Throughout the day the teaching staff reflected on the major characteristics demonstrated by high achieving students including high levels of alertness, excellent memory, a sense of curiosity and the ability to learn more rapidly and in greater depth than their peers. As well as the tendencies for highly able students to also exhibit high sensitivity, perfectionism and some social and emotional difficulties. 

Teachers were then able to reflect on their teaching practices which encourage highly able students in their ongoing learning using the following questions:

• What do we want students to know and to be able to do?
• How will we know if they are learning?
• How will we respond if students are already proficient or are experiencing difficulty in their learning?

The Education Support staff spent their day engaging in DISC profiling which enabled them to ascertain the qualities that impact how they work and interact with others. They identified their key quadrant of either Dominance, Influence, Compliance or Steadiness and participated in a range of tasks to determine the most effective combination of team members to be able to perform tasks efficiently and effectively. 

Edutest results 

During Pathways Week in March, Year 11 students undertook the Edutest value-add testing. This is essentially a repeat of the Edutest examination that all students sat to gain entry into Nossal High School but designed for older students. The purpose of re-sitting the Edutest is to ascertain that students are showing continuous growth in their learning in the areas of Verbal Reasoning, Numerical Reasoning, Reading Comprehension, Mathematics and Written Expression.  

Edutest provides the school with detailed and diagnostic feedback, identifying questions/areas in which a student performed well or questions which they found more challenging. This data is made available to Nossal High School staff to inform their teaching practices, and to allow them to accommodate these identified strengths or areas requiring additional support as they work with their students. 

Academic testing can be a valuable and objective tool when used to complement the learning and assessment that occurs within classrooms. It provides data that is reliable and meaningful, and which tracks student performance over time. It must, however, be noted that this data provides only a snapshot of student understanding in the areas assessed. 

Individual student results will be mailed home this week.

Sporting achievements

In our last newsletter you read about the very successful Nossal Athletics Carnival that was held during week two of Term 2. As always, it is wonderful to see students actively having a go at a variety of events, assisting in the sausage sizzle, creating crazy hairstyles, supporting their House and peers from the grandstand and generally creating a carnival atmosphere. Please join me in congratulating our House and individual champions listed below:

Individual champions

14 Female - Isabel Koay (Griffin)

14 Male - Adeeb Keshtiar (Griffin)

15 Female - Hilary Green (Pegasus)

15 Male - Jack Huang (Griffin)

16 Female - Dimanthi AMARATHUNA MANORATHNE (Garuda)

16 Male - Kohilan BALANATHAN (Griffin)

17 Female - Avneet PABLA (Pegasus)

17 Male - Aryan MITTAL (Phoenix)

18 Female - Gemma INNS (Pegasus)

18 Male - Jaskabeer SINGH (Phoenix)

New records

Adeeb Keshtiar - 14M Triple Jump - 11.15m

Isabel Koay - 14F High Jump - 1.35m

Danuka CHANDRASENA - 17M Long Jump - 5.87m

Avneet PABLA - 17F Discus - 20.15m

Sugi RANGARAJAN - 15M Javelin - 34.63m

Senula WIJESEKARA - 16M Javelin - 37.69m

Yash PATEL - 17M Javelin - 33.55m

Arish Surani - 14M 1500m - 5:22.54

Isabel Koay - 14M 1500m - 6:24.63

Phoenix - 17F 4x100m - 1:02.69

AND THE FINAL RESULTS

1st - GARUDA - 1309 points

2nd - GRIFFIN - 1229 points

3rd - PHOENIX - 1184 points

4th - PEGASUS - 1110 points

Casey Tech School

On Tuesday 16 May until Thursday 18 May our Year 10 Garuda and Griffin students participated in a three-day program at Casey Tech. Casey Tech School is a custom-built facility which aims to deliver innovative and real-world education programs centred on resolving a problem presented by a local industry or community group. The focus of this program is to enable students to collaborate in teams to investigate the problem, develop their STEAM and enterprising skills, and engage in design thinking, building prototypes and pitching solutions. Thank you to Ms Young and Mr Tommasini for organising this program. The Year 10 students in Pegasus and Phoenix will be attending during Term 3.

IDAHOBIT

On Friday 19 May the school acknowledged IDAHOBIT (International Day Against Homophobia, Biphobia, Interphobia and Transphobia) by encouraging students to wear the colour purple or rainbow for a gold coin donation. IDAHOBIT seeks to raise awareness of and speak up against LGBTQIA+ discrimination and promotes inclusion. This is one of many important events which Nossal High School participate in as we seek to provide a positive, supportive and respectful environment for all within our community, and to eliminate discrimination or harassment of students on the basis of their sex, gender or sexuality, in alignment with the DET’s own stance. It was wonderful to see so many staff and students show their colours and support, whilst also raising funds for Minus 18.

NHS PFA Mother’s Day Trivia

On Saturday 20 May, the inaugural Mother’s Day Trivia event was held. The PFA aimed to include an event on the yearly calendar that not only matched the success of last years Father’s Day Badminton competition, but which aimed to encourage Nossal parents to come together, get to know different people and have fun. It was a wonderful and fun event. Congratulations to the PFA for organising this on behalf of the parent community.

I hope that all the mother’s in our community had a lovely Mother’s Day and were acknowledged and appreciated for their ongoing love, support, commitment and dedication.

Nossal Events coming up

The busyness of Nossal will continue throughout the term as preparations are already underway for a number of events:

Division Cross Country

Over 100 students will be attending the Division Cross Country at Akoonah Park, Berwick, on Tuesday 23 May to represent their age group for Nossal High School. We wish them good luck and know that they will perform extremely well.

Morrisby Interviews

The Morrisby interviews get underway on Thursday 25 May – Tuesday 6 June. Our Year 9 students and their families have been invited, as part of the ongoing careers education program at Nossal High School, to have a one-on-one interview with an external Careers Consultant to discuss their results from the profiling assessment they completed earlier in the year, how to interpret them and career options they could investigate. The Morrisby tool is designed to help students make informed choices for senior secondary school and beyond, by exploring their strengths, interests and career opportunities. If for some reason the student is unable to attend, please contact Ms. Ball or Ms. Jacques.

Autumn Concert

If you are wanting to enjoy a night out and listen to some magnificent music, come along and enjoy the Nossal High School Autumn Concert on Wednesday 24 May, starting at 6.30pm. You will not be disappointed by the showcase of tremendous talent shown by our students.

2024 Enrolment Applications Closing

Applications for Prospective students in Years 9 – 11 will close on Friday 2 June. All applications must be made online at: https://vic.registration.selectiveentry.acer.org

The application portal can also be accessed through the selective entry website: https://selectiveentry.acer.org/vic 

Further information about Selective Entry High Schools is available at: https://www.vic.gov.au/selective-entry-high-schools

Class of 2022 ONA Cocktail Party

The old Nossalonians (Class of 2022) are in pre-planning mode for their annual Alumni Cocktail party which is scheduled for Thursday 22 June.

Upcoming transport disruptions

For the remainder of the month of May there will be disruptions to train service on the Cranbourne and Pakenham lines. Buses will replace trains on weekdays, weekends and at night in late May 2023. Most of these disruptions will occur after 8.00pm or over the weekends.

For information on disruptions and station impacts on the Cranbourne and Pakenham lines, visit ptv.vic.gov.au/cranpak. Plan your journey with PTV tracker as it is anticipated that there will be train delays and that travel time will be longer than usual.  

Fiona Vanstan

Acting Assistant Principal