From the Principals' Desk

Increased Student Voice at Nossal

We are pleased to announce Jordan van Rhyn (Year 12) and Leo Crnogorcevic (Year 11) have been elected to the School Council following the State Government’s recent introduction of mandated student positions on all school councils.

Thank you to all who accepted nominations for the two positions which were chosen through a ballot of students over the past few weeks.  Jordan and Leo will officially take up their positions at the next School Council meeting on June 26 where they will join fellow students and School Captains, Grace Archer and Sam Balazs.

The Nossal School Council now comprises: 6 parent representatives, 5 staff representatives and 4 co-opted community representatives (Monash University, Rotary Club of Berwick, School Captains).

Strengthening Students for Their Future

Nossal has commenced its program with The Resilience Project and at the time of preparing this newsletter, students were participating in their workshop with this acclaimed program. 

As both a parent and an educator, I fully appreciate the need to have today’s young people skilled and ready to meet the challenges that lie ahead of them.  When I was young and growing up, life was a lot simpler.  As kids we played in the street until it was dark; we would think nothing of walking unattended to primary school, (in my case along laneways in the inner suburbs of Melbourne) or to shops along a busy road; we knew all our neighbours; we would explore our local areas as members of scout groups and learn all sorts of physical and practical skills.  But in today’s world, we are much more fearful of the unknown or want to anticipate the unexpected to protect our children.  We want them to experience success, to be the best they can be, to be the recipient of awards and recognition, (all of which are worthy goals), but so often we want to do this ‘first up’ and not put them through the disappointment of having experienced loss or a runner up feeling. 

I know of a parent of young students who is so determined to make up for what they see as their own personal disappointments in success at the things they have done or the measures of achievement they have felt in their life, that they continue to push to have their children the absolute best at everything they do.  There are times when they are the ‘ugly parent’ at their children’s sporting matches; they are the parent who regularly tells others about their child’s latest certificate or recognition at school or sport; they are the parent of children who have all the latest gadgets and enjoy all of the ‘must do’ experiences but at what expense?  When things don’t go right or the child doesn’t succeed at what they are doing, no matter how simple a task, either they will simply give up and walk away, or they will sulk and sometimes cry because they are ‘no good at that anyway’.  And as I look at these children, I wonder what lies ahead for them in their future?

The Resilience Project is a program we at Nossal believes is a great one for all sectors of our school community.  Last week, Martin Heppell a presenter with The Resilience Project  came to the staff Professional Learning meeting.  He spoke passionately about resilience and how important it was for us all to be not only resilient ourselves, but to also help and develop resilience in the young people in our care.  Testimony to Martin’s presentation, was the number of staff who independently and personally went to Martin at the end of his presentation and thanked him for his message.  It was inspiring!

And now, as I said above, it is the student’s turn to listen and enjoy Martin who will be speaking to them on Tuesday June 12.  He will challenge them about the way they think, react and behave as they meet the situations they are faced with.  He will encourage them to take on the school’s motto to “Embrace the Challenge” but to do so in a healthy and productive way. 

Click on this video link to see a sample of Martin presenting to students participating in The Resilience Project at a primary school.

When your son or daughter comes home from school after their session, if they don’t tell you about The Resilience Project, ask them.  Get them to tell you about what it was all about.  Ask them what they thought were the best three things that Martin talked about and then come and compare their opinions with your own by attending the parents’ session of The Resilience Project to be held at the school next Tuesday June 19 at the school.  This is a free event and there are only limited seats still available.  Last week we distributed a special edition newsletter, (reproduced later in this newsletter) with details of the program and providing the link to reserve your seats.  I encourage you to read that newsletter if you haven’t already done so, watch the video links it contains and follow the link to reserve your seats.  This night is a program for all parents and provides an affirmation about the things we do well while also guiding us in ways we can do things differently to help support and nurture our children in their future.  My children are both in their 30’s, but having listened to Martin, there are things I have learned and can still do as I guide them in an ever-changing world.

Reserve your seat at The Resilience Project session for parents at    https://www.trybooking.com/VOFJ 

As indicated, seats are limited and the message being delivered is directed at parents and so we ask to ensure as many parents as possible are able to attend, that unless necessary, parents do not bring children (particularly Preschool and Primary aged children) with them on the evening.

Help us develop Nossal

Nossal High School has again been given the opportunity to take part in “The Great Community Raffle” which is generously conducted by the Rotary Club of Emerald.

Like all government schools, Nossal receives it share of funding for student learning.  However, for us to remain a school that is challenging and at the forefront of innovation and therefore able to provide our students with outstanding opportunities to excel in their studies and development as global citizens, we need to continue to look for ways to raise additional funds to provide what government funding doesn’t.

Recently you would have received a book of raffle tickets.  Every student was given a book of 10 tickets and asked to take it home to sell to family, friends, neighbours and work colleagues.  Each book is valued at $20.00 and therefore if every student sold just one book of tickets, Nossal would raise just over $16,000! 

The Great Community Raffle is an annual event.  The Rotary Club of Emerald facilitate the prizes, (in 2018 first prize is again a new car provided by the Ferntree Gully Motor Group) and every dollar returned to Nossal from ticket sales, stays with Nossal High School.  The raffle is set up for a select group of community organisations to benefit from and we are one of the fortunate ones to do so.  This is a wonderful opportunity to help us achieve our goals to provide the best educational environment for our students.  For less than the cost of a cup of coffee you can purchase your ticket and have the chance to win a new car!

Please support the raffle by selling the tickets distributed to your family, knowing all money raised will develop Nossal for the benefit of your child.

The raffle is governed by State government legislation and so all tickets regardless of whether they are sold or not must be accounted for.  Please sell your tickets and return the ticket butts and money to the school’s office promptly.  Additional tickets will be available for students to obtain, with prizes awarded to the student who sells the most tickets and also to the Tutorial group who sells the most tickets.  Points apply for the House competition as well.

Thank you for your support.

Student Safety

We continue to receive reports of cars driving in excess of the speed limit along Sir Gustav Nossal Boulevard.  In the past we have highlighted the dangers this poses not only to our students and staff in the area, but also students and staff at Federation University and the Berwick HealthCare facility.

Please slow down and drive to the conditions in the area because while our students are young adults, they do at times make foolish decisions such as recently when a parent reported that a student, chasing a soccer ball from the grassed sports area adjacent to the road, simply ran straight out in front of her car, without looking, to retrieve the ball.  Fortunately, in this case the driver was travelling slowly, but this may not always be the case and so motorists are urged to observe the speed restrictions.

"Break a Leg"

The Nossal High School 2018 season of A Midsummer Night’s Dream is fast approaching.  Have you got your tickets yet?  The production will be performed in The Meath Auditorium on Thursday June 21 and Friday June 22 and tickets are selling quickly.

The cast and crew are working feverishly to make sure the show is one of the best ever presented at Nossal.  Under the dedicated leadership of Mr Woon, many hours have gone into rehearsing lines, actions and music, while there have also been lots of hours spent in making the performances look spectacular through costumes and props.

The Performing Arts area of our school may be small in comparison to other learning domains, but what it lacks in size, it makes up for in passion and commitment to perform at its best.  The students in the production have been supported by teachers and have spent many hours developing this show.  There have been lunchtime practices, after school practices and more recently rehearsals on Sundays.

This will be a great show and the cast, musicians and crew deserve your support.  Book your tickets today at  https://www.trybooking.com/VUEV  And while we don’t mean it literally, we hope all involved ‘break a leg’.

Keith Butler

Assistant Principal