Nossal News

From the Principals' Desk 

Exams

The Year 12 exams are almost done and many of our students have completed their final exams, study, and effectively, their secondary school education. The feedback from students I have spoken with has been quite positive and most are confident that they have done well – or at the very least, were not surprised by what was on the exam which indicates that they have been well prepared and hopefully that will translate into excellent results for them all.

 

The graduating class now have a very long break ahead of them and it will take them a while to acclimatise to the lack of structured study, homework and deadlines. Most will manage this very well – although many are quite bored by February while awaiting university commencement and we see quite a few early in the new year as they drop in to catch up or alleviate their boredom.

 

Many will find it difficult to relax though as they anxiously await the release of their results and ATARs; and then await the results of their university placement applications.

 

I commend Ms Warriner, her team, and our excellent exam supervisors for the very smooth and efficient running of the VCAA exams, they have done a great job this year and it has all gone very smoothly. The rest of the school now enters their period of final exams, commencement and end of year celebrations.

Important Events

The Valedictory Dinner takes place at Etihad Stadium on November 23 and I look forward to celebrating the graduation of the class of 2017 with the students and their families, it is always a joyous occasion.

 

The following week sees the school’s most important event take place as we gather at Robert Blackwood Hall for  Speech Night 2017. I hope that all families have made arrangements to attend as we highlight and celebrate the outstanding performances of our students and farewell the class of 2017 and of course, farewell some key staff members and hear from some of our Alumni and other important guests and speakers.

 

The school is currently in full exam mode with all other year levels undertaking formal final assessment programs designed to both assess their levels of understanding and performance, and to give them valuable experience in exam conditions as preparation for the final VCE program they will all undertake.

Staff Departures

There has been a fair bit of movement within our staff and we will be farewelling (or have already farewelled) a number of our teachers – some taking up promotion positions, some taking 12 months leave, some trying other pathways. While it can be a bit of a wrench at times – it is the sign of a healthy organisation and a feature of the calibre of the staff that Nossal attracts (they are also very attractive to others). It does give us the opportunity to bring new people and new expertise and ideas into the school, which is a good thing.

  • Mr Michael McQuaid – 12 months leave
  • Ms Elizabeth Morgan – 12 months leave
  • Ms Lucy Kutrolli – 12 months leave
  • Ms Brianna Chapple – 12 months leave
  • Ms Ashlee Walsh – moving to Kambrya SC
  • Ms Falyn D’Mello – secondment to the Education Department
  • Mr Loi Tran – moving to Sydney
  • Mr Sam Allen – moving to an independent school closer to home
  • Ms Sue Harrap – promotion to Principal position at Northcote HS

There are also several more Nossal babies on the way!

 

We are quite busy at the moment interviewing for replacement staff and will introduce our new staff members in the final newsletter for the year, and farewell the departing staff at various functions over the final few weeks of the school year.

Alpine School

Six Year 9 students have taken the brave step of spending the final 5 weeks of the school year at the Alpine School in the Victorian Alps. There they will be working with students from 6 other schools and living onsite as they undertake an intensive leadership and challenge program under the supervision of Alpine School staff.

 

They will live onsite for 5 weeks and will have limited access to phones, email and online media which might be one of the bigger challenges they will face! They also have limited contact with their families during this time which can be quite difficult for the students and their families.

 

The outcomes of this program are very impressive though and it can be a life changing event for the participants who will be returning vested with the responsibility for instigating a significant leadership project within their school or local community. I look forward to seeing what they come up with and hearing of their wonderful experiences.

 

The students involved are Wendy Si, Annabel Keecha-Milsom, Jamin Kaur Nijjar, Mridul Garg, Mohit Patel and Raymond He.

Monash University Relationship

Monash University depart the Berwick site within the next few weeks and Federation University will then fully take over the university buidings. We have been meeting with Monash to make sure the nuts and bolts of the site maintenance and development are clear as they still retain ownership of the site and the planned redevelopment is still a couple of years off.

 

I have also been meeting with the Pro Vice Chancellor and Campus Managers as Monash are very keen to maintain and strengthen our partnership even when they are no longer resident at Berwick. This is in recognition that the majority of Nossal students enter Monash courses, and Monash is very keen to continue to support and encourage this trend. Monash has a designated place on our school council which has until recently been very capably filled by Professor Leon Piterman who has been a member of the Nossal community and in charge of the Berwick Campus of Monash since 2010. I pay tribute to the strong support and assistance Leon has provided to the school in this time – his input, advice and support will be greatly missed, but we wish him well in his “retirement” and hope to see him at Nossal events long into the future.

 

I would also like to formally acknowledge Mr Michael Watchorn, the Campus Manager at Monash who has been of enormous assistance to Nossal over the years and who we will continue to work with, albeit more remotely. Monash will continue to support our VCE students, the Monash Challenge and other events and we will look at ways to strengthen the partnership with the Clayton campus where most of the Nossal graduates end up. We will forge new links with Federation University who have already offered scholarships to our students, and we will be working with them to see what areas of activity would provide mutual benefit into the future.

School Review and Strategic Planning

The school will be entering the final year of our 4-year strategic plan in 2018, and as such will be undertaking a comprehensive review of our performance as we determine our future directions and develop our next Strategic Plan.

 

We will be seeking more input from the whole school community and will be also seeking to address any areas of deficiency and strengthen areas of high performance. We gather large amount of data throughout the year (parent, student, staff surveys; performance data etc) and will be examining trends and performance levels comparative to like schools and our historical data. The review will be undertaken by an independent reviewer appointed by the Department of Education and supported by “Challenge Partners.” (experienced educational leaders who we will invite to critically analyse our work and to challenge our assumptions and thinking)

 

On all of the comparative data we collect Nossal is performing very well – although we have set some very challenging targets for ourselves and believe that there is always more we could be doing, things we can do better, and many opportunities for us to learn and grow. I want Nossal to be a school that challenges itself and others, and want us to be brave enough to move beyond the status quo and to seek to innovate and lead. I am pleased to see elements of this occurring, and the review will give us the opportunity to analyse and reflect on this.

Upcoming Events

  • Second Hand Book and Uniform Sale - The PFA will be holding their annual second-hand book and uniform sale on Saturday Dec 2 from 9.30 – 12.30 pm. Please come along if you have items to sell (or buy) or wish to assist and support the PFA. This is a great service for the school community and I sincerely thank our wonderful parent volunteers for the excellent work they do on your behalf. The booklists are now available online though Campion Online at   https://order.campion.com.au/index.html#resourceListListView?code=7FF0BC32. The 2017 into 2018 list is available on the schools website at http://nossalhs.vic.edu.au/resources/booklist.
  • Working Bee - At the same time, we will be holding a working bee, so if you can spare an hour or two, please join Mr Butler and myself and help with some gardening and landscaping. We will be focusing on the oval area – so whipper snippers and mowers and trailers and wheelbarrows (with willing labourers) would be much appreciated.
  • South East Feast – This will now take place on Saturday April 21, 2018 – please keep that date free and begin inviting friends, neighbours and relatives…. we want this to be huge.
  • Select Entry Network Day – Nossal will host the annual network curriculum day in 2018 where the staff of all four Select Entry schools will gather to share ideas and learn from national and international experts. This will take place on Tuesday April 24 which will be a pupil free day across the four schools.

Roger Page

Principal