From the Principals' Desk

Triumphant! 

The Little Mermaid was brilliant!

Wow, what a spectacular achievement The Little Mermaid was for the students and staff committed to the Performing Arts at Nossal High School. Last week might have been cold and dreary outside, but the atmosphere inside the Meath Auditorium was the opposite, as audiences were thrilled by the 2019 production. 

Late last year, a small group of staff and students, led by Mr Woon, began the process of making the characters and their lines come alive. After months of planning, rehearsing, and making costumes, sets and props, The Little Mermaid became a reality.  Congratulations to the students who performed on stage, were a part of The Hot Crustacean Band, or part of the important production crew (back stage, props, lighting and sound); all of you contributed to one of the biggest and most successful productions presented in Nossal's history. Thank you also to the friends of Nossal and the members of the staff who worked hard behind the scenes to assist the students to present the show. This group of dedicated community members and teachers ensured that the music was outstanding, the costumes were spectacular, and the members of the audience were able to enjoy a welcoming tea or coffee before the show or at interval.

At Nossal, we take pride in facilitating opportunities for students to shine and develop their full potential. While publicly the three performances of the production may make it seem like a short term commitment, its success is only possible because the students dedicate themselves to an extended lead-up time during which they develop their skills, extend their existing talents and build new friendships. It is rewarding to see students working side by side, regardless of year level, to achieve their goals. Likewise, it is great to witness the students working together with teachers and other friends of the school, again emphasising how ours is an 'adult learning environment' in which mutual respect and collaboration are the keys to success .

The Little Mermaid set a new benchmark for Nossal High School productions. Once again, congratulations and thank you to all associated with this most successful program. Click on the gallery below to relive some moments from the opening night.  What was your favourite?

Year 12s Volunteering in the Community

Our final group of Year 12s, drawn from Pegasus House, has completed their contribution to our 2019 community service project.

As we have reported previously, our Year 12s have taken part in development works at Puffing Billy where they have learnt new skills while giving valuable hours of work to this much loved Victorian volunteer organisation. Our school considered this a most beneficial program as the students learned how capable they are of contributing to the practical business of construction and maintenance. Those who took part will be able to proudly add their community volunteer work to their CV; such service is something which employers regularly consider for what it indicates about the nature and spirit of their potential recruits.

Congratulations to those who took the opportunity to participate. It may be of interest to our community members to know that the Puffing Billy organisation is generally reluctant to take on community volunteers as they often take up valuable hours being trained and prepared, an issue which is especially relevant to school groups. However the management of Puffing Billy welcomes students from Nossal because they recognise how much they achieve during a day (which is often far more than was anticipated and planned), and because Nossal students go about their work with a positive and enthusiastic approach.  

2019 Central Australian Tour

Last Friday, the 2019 Central Australian tour group departed Nossal under grey and damp conditions to start the long road trip north. The itinerary saw the group driving express to Alice Springs via Marla before exploring the Red Centre including Kings Canyon and Uluru.  They will fly home next Friday.  The weather forecast for the week ahead promises great conditions under sunny skies, although I expect the nights will be quite cold. In fact, as I write this column the television weather presenter has just told me it will -1 Celsius in Alice Springs overnight tonight!

This wonderful opportunity will allow our students to learn about and experience some beautiful environs, and is no doubt destined to become a source of lasting memories that they will hold dear for the rest of their lives.  I would like to acknowledge the dedicated service of Mr Clark, Ms Loel, Ms Mandeltort and Mr Monaco who are accompanying the group on the tour. Such memorable student programs are only possible when staff are prepared to give freely of their personal time. On behalf of the students in the touring party and their families, we say 'Thank-you'.

Watch out for our next newsletter for a report of the tour.

Recording accurate attendance

We are now at the end of Semester 1 and in discussions with the Heads of House, there is significant concern about the number of unapproved student absences for the year to date. Unapproved absences are recorded as classes missed, including the daily Tutorial Assembly, when a student's attendance cannot be verified. Most commonly such events are associated with students being absent from school, arriving late or missing the occasional class.

The Victorian Government through the Department of Education and Training (DET) notes that daily school attendance is important for all children and young people to succeed in education and to ensure they don't fall behind both socially and developmentally. Children and young people who regularly attend school and complete Year 12 or an equivalent qualification have better health outcomes, better employment outcomes, and higher incomes across their lives. It is important that children develop habits of regular attendance at an early age. If a student misses one day per fortnight, over the period of a year that is the equivalent of missing one month of schooling.

School participation is important as it maximises life opportunities for young people by providing them with education and support networks. Regular attendance also ensures students are able to develop and strengthen links between the various elements of their lessons and learning to ensure maximum knowledge and skill enhancement. School helps people develop important skills, knowledge and values which set them up for further learning and participation in their community. Conversely, reduced school participation can result in outcomes that have later implications for employment, and has been linked with a range of health risk behaviours.

DET reminds parents that students are expected to attend school during normal school hours every day of each term, unless there is an approved exemption from school attendance for the student. In addition to regular classroom attendance, DET considers a student to be in attendance at school when they are involved in an offsite curriculum program or other activity organised by the school, for example an excursion or camp. It is this DET attendance obligation that also requires parents to submit a written request to the Principal for any period of planned non-attendance (eg: family travel) that is to occur during school terms.

Parents have a legal and moral responsibility to ensure their student attends school and to approve of any unexplained absence. Parents are informed of a student's non-attendance through Compass, the same place parents can go to approve an absence. Currently there are in excess of 2,700 unapproved student absences (ie: classes including Tutorial Assemblies) for Semester 1, 2019. Heads of House, via Tutorial teachers, regularly issue reminders to students and families to rectify these records and confirm knowledge/consent for the non-attendances. Please check your daughter/son's attendances on Compass and update any outstanding requests for non-attendance approvals. 

Personal Electrical Safety

On Thursday 8 August, we will again require all personal electrical items that are used at school to be brought in for Testing and Tagging.

This is NOT AN OPTIONAL ACTIVITY, but rather is an annual, legal requirement and applies to all electrical items. Students and staff must present all electrical cords to be tested to ensure they are safe and compliant. Last year, a number of cords were found to be unsafe. These cords had the capacity to cause a fire or personal injury and were therefore destroyed.

Recently we were reminded of the importance of this process when a visiting presenter to the school received an electrical shock from a piece of electrical equipment they had brought with them. The cord on the device had become frayed, making it dangerous to use. It is because we wish to avoid this type of risk to staff and students that the 'Test and Tag' process is pursued with such seriousness.

The school pays for the safety process to be carried out and all students and staff must declare their electrical cords for testing.  Any cords not tested on this day will need to be tested elsewhere at their owner's expense. Additionally, cords found being used at Nossal after the Test and Tag Day and not carrying a compliance sticker may be confiscated for safety reasons.

End of Term

We have arrived at the 'mid-point' of the school calendar year, and later this week student reports for Semester 1 will be released to families.  Time has passed quickly and as we look forward to the end of the year, the second semester will come and go just as quickly, if not faster.

With this in mind, it is important that students and their families take this opportunity reflect on what has been achieved in the year to date and what the potential is for the next part of the year.  For our seniors, it is naturally the start of the 'final run' to a set of exams which will have an impact on their post-school choices. These students will need to balance their desire to do well with the need to be well when the exam period finally arrives. We encourage them to remember that maintaining "a healthy mind in a healthy" body is the best way to ensure that they are at their peak in October, and urge them to maintain a sense of perspective and balance as they experience the inevitable stresses of Term 3. For those in the younger year levels, Term 3 is a time to consider their future subject choices, but also to embed those habits of mind which they know will best help them to success as they proceed through the rest of their time at school.

Regardless of where each student is on their journey to the end of secondary schooling, all students and their families are strongly urged to read carefully the comments being made by teachers in the reports, especially those that give direction to maximise student performance between now and the end of 2019. At the end of Term 1, students and parents had the opportunity to meet with teachers face-to-face to discuss progress and strategies for further improvement. Now there is a chance to reflect on the first semester and especially on the progress made following those early Parent/Student/Teacher Conferences.  It is the start of a new semester. Now is a good time for students to ask what their learning goals are, and what they need do to make best use of their time and abilities.

It is worthwhile to spend some time during the holidays carrying out such a refelction and possibly doing some study/work for school, but it is also an important time for every member of the Nossal community to stop, rest and refresh.  While we encourage all of our students to use some of the holidays to read and understand their reports, and to use the comments made by their teachers to refocus on where they are going and what they are hoping to achieve, we also remind them that they will do their best work next term if they return healthy and enthusiastic rather than tired and stressed. We look forward to hearing stories of time spent with friends, movies loved or hated, books read, games played and parks visited when our students return.

On behalf of Mr Page and Ms Mackin, I wish all our students and staff a safe and relaxing holiday.

Keith Butler

Assistant Principal