Nossal News

From the Principals' Desk

Digital Delivery Day

As I write this report Nossal staff and students are involved in our first full Digital Delivery Day and I was alerted at School Council by some “new” parents that they were not feeling fully informed about what and why we have implemented this initiative.

 

We initiated Digital Delivery Days for a number of reasons and have been very pleased with the short and long-term benefits that flow from them. One of the biggest transition issues for students moving from secondary school into university is their comfort with, and ability to manage their workload independently and in an online environment. Much of university content is delivered almost wholly online – in fact attendance at lectures in many universities is now optional and the students access the information online. Course work, discussion and communication with lecturers and tutors in increasingly digital, and university students are expected to be independent, self-directed learners and are responsible for managing their own time and workload with minimal direction from university staff. We know from our work with our partner university in particular, that this is a huge challenge for many students and often students who have performed very well at VCE, struggle at university because they have not been well prepared as independent learners who are proficient with online content and information. I am pleased to say that Nossal students are extremely well prepared for their transition to university and feedback from our most recent through to our oldest alumni members is very positive and they contrast their preparation very favourably with that of students from other schools, often citing digital delivery days, study periods and the associated independence, self-management and trust that is placed on them as being of most benefit.

 

Digital Delivery Days occur in two formats – “Synchronous” (May 23) where the students have real time classes as per their usual timetable, but delivered online through a variety of platforms and structures. Students are not required to attend school on this day but are required to login to their class at the usual class time and their teacher will mark the roll and deliver an online lesson – students will interact and participate using a variety of platforms, chatrooms, online resources and teacher provided input and direction via NEO. The content and processes are not hugely different to a “normal” class although the environment and delivery is fully online.

 

On “Asynchronous” days (Melbourne Cup Eve – Monday November 5 is a typical example) students are allocated a number of online tasks and activities related to the classes they would have had on this day and are given a set period of time to complete them. The students can choose when and how they complete the required work by the deadlines provided. For days like Cup Eve when significant numbers of students are absent, students are still able to keep up to date and complete the required work in their own time and class time is not lost or wasted.

 

During Digital Delivery days we have found that participation levels, in some instances, are increased as more students will confidently contribute online whereas they may be more reticent in class; content is sometimes covered in much more depth as the tasks can be more open ended and (particularly for asynchronous days) students can cover much more or link to related areas of interest; teachers have developed a much larger repertoire of online processes, strategies and resources and are presenting their courses in more stimulating and effective ways; students are highly engaged and positive about their Digital Delivery Day experiences; attendance figures are (not surprisingly) higher on these days as students who may have stayed home due to illness still participate in their classes.

 

During, and at the conclusion of each of these days we collect feedback data from the students and staff to determine areas for improvement and to better inform future development work and have been very pleased with the positive and constructive responses received. This is an area where Nossal has been breaking new ground and this approach is now being emulated by a number of other schools, (within and outside Victoria) and it leads us to challenge the traditional notion of schooling which is still predominately delivered as it was in the last century.

NAPLAN

Year 9 students recently undertook the NAPLAN testing – fully online for the first time and I commend Ms Loel, Ms Vanstan, Mr Fankhauser, Mr Humphries and the other members of the implementation team who managed what was a more challenging process than the previous paper based assessments. There were some teething problems and the platform was not without some glitches – mostly as a result of things beyond our control, and presumably impacting on all schools and students. We have fed back any concerns or issues to VCAA and will work with them to ensure the system is refined and improved. I’m not sure what impact, if any, these issues may have on the overall veracity of the 2018 testing, but I know that our staff and students take the testing very seriously and some were (unsurprisingly) uncomfortable with the glitches and challenges these issues caused. The online platform however has a far greater potential to provide more accurate performance assessments than the previous “one size fits all” tests, and particularly for our highest performing students is more likely to be able to accurately measure their levels of performance.

Alumni Project

Nossal will celebrate our 10th anniversary in 2019, and our Foundation students (Class of 2013) this year celebrate 5 years since their graduation.

 

We have been looking at ways to strengthen our links with the alumni and to assist them to maintain contact across the various graduating cohorts. The alumni members have done an excellent job in maintaining contact with us, but inevitably this has become an increasingly challenging task for them as the alumni grows and they juggle their own career and educational priorities. As many of them are now embarking in full time employment following the completion of their university degrees, we always knew this would be a difficult task and the focus for them will be (rightfully) on looking forward.

 

We are of course blessed with exceptional alumni members who still maintain strong bonds with the school and who continue to assist and support us in many different ways. The Victorian Secondary Schools Principals Association has been working with us to develop a program that they have been trialing in a number of local schools with great success, and is modeled on what some of the independent schools do – as they tend to be much more proficient and experienced at establishing and maintaining their alumni than government schools have been. Part of the process has been to establish an online link with them through LinkedIn which I must admit to having avoided for many years. I was surprised and pleased though to see how many ex-students were available through this medium and it has been very affirming and pleasing to see what the early graduates are now doing, and many are already in prominent positions and undertaking really interesting and challenging roles.

Applications for 2019 Year 9 Entry

At the close of the application process, over 2000 applicants have preferenced Nossal and our numbers are up again this year. In fact, this year sees the highest number of applicants ever across the four selective schools with significant increases for each of us.

Rotary Car Raffle

 

We will begin to distribute books of tickets to all students next week and I ask that all families support us in what is our major fundraising activity for the year. If each student is able to sell just one book of ten raffle tickets ($20) we will make $16,000 for the school. We know from past experience that some students are willing and able to sell many more, but also that some are less willing to participate. I implore all Nossal families to assist where possible and to either purchase some tickets yourselves, or help to sell them to families, friends, work colleagues etc.

 

For every ticket we sell – the school receives the full amount and one of the lucky buyers may end up with a new car. The funds we raise through this initiative will be distributed across the SRC for students to allocate to student projects and programs within the school; the Music and Sports programs for additional equipment; and the addition of some outdoor student facilities. We also make a token donation back to the Rotary Club of Emerald who support an impoverished school in Africa as a gesture of thanks for the excellent support they provide in organising and running the raffle for the benefit of many community organisations.

 

Please ask your sons and daughters to assist with this and to ensure that the raffle books actually get further than their lockers. As always there will be a House competition and prizes for the top ticket sellers and Tutorial groups as an additional incentive to participate.

Resilience Project – Parent Presentation

We have organised for The Resilience Project to visit Nossal to present some programs for staff, students and parents. In an increasingly challenging world we all need to ensure that we are resilient and capable of not only surviving, but thriving – particularly during stressful times.

 

Many students are under significant pressure and adolescence can be a challenging time for students, parents and teachers so any strategies and information that assists us to support our young people (and ourselves) is highly beneficial. The Resilience Project aims to deliver emotionally engaging programs which provide students, parents and teachers with evidence based, practical strategies to build resilience, and they are offering a parent focussed session which I believe every parent should attend (even if you have no immediate issues or concerns). The strategies they offer will be of great benefit for us all personally, and as members of the wider community.

 

I encourage all parents to join us in The Meath Auditorium at Nossal on Tuesday 19 June from 7.30pm – 9.00pm.

 

Please book a place (or places) for this free event through TryBooking at https://www.trybooking.com/VOFJ  

A Midsummer Night’s Dream

Come join us in the fun, frivolity and dancing of Nossal High School’s 2018 Production of A Midsummer Night’s Dream.  Students and staff have been working very hard to put this year’s production together and a night of fun, impressive acting and singing is to be expected. Please support our Drama and Performing Arts teams by attending and making the show a sell out.

 

Cost: Single $12, Group of 4: $40. Bring friends and family!

Winter Music Concert

Please pencil August 8 into the “Must Do” section of your diary as the 2018 Winter Music Concert will be held on this evening – and for the first time we will present one of our regular music concerts offsite at Bunjil Place which is the City of Casey’s brand-new showpiece theatre and performance space. It is a stunning venue and we really hope to have a large audience for the event to do it justice.

 

As always you are guaranteed an impressive display of student talent as we showcase a variety of our musical ensembles and performers. More information about bookings will follow in future newsletters.

Year 11 Ball

I had the pleasure of attending the Year 11 Ball at Leonda last week and the students had a great time, looked stunning and were excellent ambassadors for the school. My thanks to Ms Kee and the student organising committee for their work in ensuring the success of the event. It is something the students will long remember – particularly as there must have been several thousand selfies taken during the evening and I think many students spent more time in the photo-booth than on the dance floor.

Welcome to Professor Amanda Berry

Following Professor Leon Piterman’s retirement as Pro Vice Chancellor at Monash University we have been without a Monash representative on our school council, so I am pleased to welcome Amanda to the Nossal community as the new Monash University representative.

 

Amanda brings vast experience in education and will be a wonderful addition to our council. She is a Professor of STEM (Science Technology Engineering and Maths) in the Faculty of Education. She is a former secondary school science teacher, and lectured at Monash from 1999 – 2011 before taking up a place at Leiden University in the Netherlands from 2012 – 2015. She returned to Australia in 2016 and worked at RMIT before returning to Monash in 2017. She attended her first meeting of School Council last week and we look forward to drawing on her expertise and input and to the continuation of our strong partnership with Monash University.

Casey Tech School

I have been on the planning group for Casey Tech since its inception and the building is due for completion within the next two months. Alongside the building there has been extensive work on curriculum and program design to create a truly stimulating and inspiring hands on, high tech program for secondary students in the Berwick area.

 

Being sited on the grounds of Chisholm will have significant proximity advantage for Nossal students and the programs that are being planned will link with and extend and complement the work being done here in VCE and 9/10 STEAM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts and Maths) classes in particular.

 

The Casey Tech should start to deliver programs during terms 3 and 4 this year. Please refer to the website for more information. www.caseytechschool.vic.edu.au

 

Roger Page

Principal