Nossal High School
The main building of Nossal High School.
Location
Berwick, Melbourne, Victoria

Australia
Coordinates38°2′21″S 145°20′14″E / 38.03917°S 145.33722°E / -38.03917; 145.33722
Information
TypeGovernment-funded mixed-sex academically selective secondary day school
MottoEmbrace the Challenge
Established2010 (2010)
FounderGovernment of Victoria
Sister schoolChosei High School
Educational authorityDepartment of Education
PrincipalTracey Mackin (acting)
Years9–12
Enrolment832[1]
CampusSuburban
HousesGriffin, Phoenix, Pegasus, Garuda [2]
Colour(s)Black, ecru and rust    
SongEmbrace the Challenge
Newspaper
  • Nossal News (fortnightly newsletter)
YearbookThe Butterfly Effect[3]
Affiliations
NamesakeSir Gustav Nossal
Websitewww.nossalhs.vic.edu.au

Nossal High School, also referred to as Nossal or NHS, is a government-funded mixed-sex academically selective secondary day school, located in the Melbourne suburb of Berwick, Victoria, Australia. The school (named after Sir Gustav Nossal, a prominent Australian immunologist and 2000 Australian of the Year) was established in 2010 and caters for students in Year 9 to Year 12.

The school's curriculum follows American educator Howard Gardener's concept of the Five Minds of the Future[4] which includes, for example, the absence of school bells, as students are expected to know when and where to be. Students have access to many extra-curricular programs, such as inter-school sport, debating, music, clubs/societies and various national and international competitions and creative-based events such as the Model United Nations Assembly and the Australian Computational and Linguistics Olympiad.

As Nossal High School is part of the Select-Entry Network of Victorian selective schools (alongside Suzanne Cory High School, Mac.Robertson Girls' High School and Melbourne High School), prospective students must sit a 3-hour-long uniform entrance examination, testing their knowledge and reasoning in literacy and numeracy, with the 2017 exam attracting about 3,300 applicants; accepting only around 208 students into their Year 9 cohort.

Nossal High School was ranked third out of all state secondary schools in Victoria based on VCE results in 2018.[5]

History

Beginnings

Prior to the school's opening in 2010, the only selective schools in Victoria were the Mac.Robertson Girls' High School and Melbourne High School, both catering for single-sex education, as well as the arts-focused Victorian College of the Arts Secondary School. The Victorian Government's decision to create a new selective school was based on a number of factors. The increasingly-competitive entrance exam for the already-existing selective schools was excluding students which the Education Department perceived as intelligent and highly-able, but nevertheless unable to secure one of the limited places at the two schools.

As well as this, both Mac.Rob and Melbourne High were located in or around the Melbourne city centre, placing a significant transport and logistical problem for prospective students who lived in the outer suburbs, and the notion that elite education had to be linked with gender segregation was beginning to be seen as more and more archaic in the twenty-first century. Thus, during the 2006 Victorian election, the Liberal Party and Labor Party both pledged to build new selective schools, despite the fact that Education Minister Lynne Kosky had previously argued against building more selective schools in the early 2000s.[6]

The Labor Party was re-elected, and in April 2008, the government of Victoria announced that a new selective school would be established in the south-east suburb of Berwick. At the same time, similar announcements were made to establish a selective school in Werribee (to become Suzanne Cory High School)[7] and a science-specialist school in the Monash University Clayton campus (to become John Monash Science School);[8] Berwick was prioritised, however, partially since the City of Casey, which it forms part of, was announced as Melbourne's fastest-growing municipality.

Senior Department bureaucrats were tasked with making local connections and setting up plans for the eventual opening of the provisionally-named Berwick Selective Entry High School.[9] Construction works began in the Berwick campus of Monash University (now the Berwick campus of Federation University) in 2009,[10] at the site of the former Casey Airfields, and the inaugural principal, Roger Page, was appointed the same year.[11]

Nossal High School was finally opened in 2010, the first-ever joint Select-Entry Network entrance examination held only six months prior.[12] Due to incomplete school facilities, Nossal students initially undertook study in the adjacent Monash University campus; the Jean Russell Centre, a professional development and function/meeting room in the school was opened in Term 3 in 2010. The school's first-ever cohort of Year 9s were admitted in 2010, each year level eventually being added on a yearly-basis;[13] the school reached full capacity in 2013, the year when the first-ever Year 12 cohort graduated from the school. In this year, inaugural Assistant Principal, Toni Meath, left the school to become Principal of Mac.Rob.

Later development

Traditions such as the Foundation Assembly were established which still exists to this day. NHS's infrastructure continued to be developed, a second Music/Gym building completed, as well as a new Student Representative Council (SRC) meeting place and outdoor Information Resource Centre (IRC) section being built.

In 2015, the Class of 2015 achieved NHS's best-ever VCE results. 27.1% of students managed to attain a high study score of 40+ in their individual subjects. The school's highest-ever ATAR rank was recorded in 2019, with the Dux obtaining a perfect score of 99.95.

In January 2021, Nossal High School's science teacher Lisa Marie Mandeltort (27 July 1991 - 13 January 2021)[14] drowned at Venus Bay after saving two people from drowning in a rip.[15][16] In the February 2021 issue of Nossal News (the school's newsletter), it was announced that a "Memorial Assembly" would be held for her on 1 March, and that on the day, students would be allowed to wear whatever they wanted if they donated money to the school, who in turn would donate the money to the MS Society, a multiple sclerosis charity.[17] During the assembly, tribute speeches were given by a Year 12 student who had been in her classes and principal Roger Page, who called her death a "tragedy".[18] In total, students managed to raise $9000 for the MS Society.[19]

In April 2022, it was announced that Nossal would attempt to raise money to build a life-sized statue of Sir Gustav Nossal that would be situated on the school's forecourt.[20] As of December 2022, they had reached 55% of their funding goal of $90,000.[21]

At the end of 2022, it was announced that inaugural principal Roger Page would step down and that Tracey Mackin would serve as interim Acting Principal until Page officially retired.[22]

Grounds, buildings & facilities

Nossal High School has a single campus in Berwick, which comprises three buildings - these are the Main Building (also known as Building A), the Sports and Performing Arts Building (also known as Building B), and the Fitness Centre.

The Main Building is a double-storey building that was built between 2009-10. It was the first building on the campus to be built. The ground floor contains the school's canteen, library, wellbeing offices and IT support rooms, as well as some 2D and 3D modelling studios, and the common rooms for the Garuda and Griffin houses. The upper floor contains the science, technology and physics rooms, a few study spaces, and the common rooms for the Pegasus and Phoenix houses. The upper floor is also home to the Jean Russell Centre, which hosts development talks.

The Sports and Performing Arts Building is a single-storey building that was finished in 2011. It contains the Meath Auditorium which was named after Nossal's first Assistant Principal, Toni Meath. It also contains a Gym, some changing rooms, a small kitchen and some music rooms.

The Fitness Centre is located behind the Sports and Performing Arts Building. It contains the Multipurpose Area, which is used as a teaching space, but is also used by students who wish to play table tennis at lunchtime. It also contains the Weights Room, which has special equipment, such as dumbbells and exercise bikes. Use of the Weights Room is only open to students who complete a special induction program before signing a User Agreement.

In addition to these buildings, the school's campus also includes four basketball courts, an oval and a rectangular soccer field, as well as a small vegetable garden behind the Main Building.[23]

Logo & motto

The logo of Nossal High School.

The logo of Nossal High School depicts two books that cross together to form a butterfly, with a third, smaller book forming the butterfly's antennae. The logo is made of three colours: ecru, rust and yellow.

The books represent academic study, while the butterfly symbolises emerging from a chrysalis into the future. The butterfly is also a reference to the fact that the school was built on grounds that were formerly part of Casey Airfield.

Motto

The school's motto is "Embrace the Challenge". According to Nossal High School, this statement was presented to the school's first students at the first Foundation Assembly in 2010.[24]

The motto became the title of the school song, which was first performed at Melbourne Town Hall on 29 November 2022 as part of Speech Night.[25]

Co-curricular activities

Clubs and societies

Clubs and societies at Nossal High School are required to be affiliated with the Nossal Societies Union (NSU) in order to be recognised by the school and eligible for funding. The NSU's formation in 2017 consolidated the roles of the SRC and the clubs/societies themselves. The NSU is led by two Presidents. Each club/society is permitted to send one delegate to meetings of the NSU Assembly, with the SRC entitled to one ex-officio representative.

Each club/society is led by one or more students; a 'Supporting Teacher' chosen by each club/society aids it in its operation and liaises with certain persons and/or organisations when it would be more appropriate for a teacher to do so. Some NSU affiliates provide for additional positions within the organisational structure.[26]

Some current and past clubs and societies that have operated at Nossal include:[27]

Name Description
Aikido Club Club for Aikido enthusiasts at Nossal
Anime Bukatsu Anime fan club
Art Club For artists of Nossal to practice and improve art skills, whilst having fun
and experimenting with new mediums
Audio Video (AV) Club (aka Nossal FX) Students interested in video technology, conducts recordings of school assemblies, often engages in large-scale filming projects when required by the school
Aviation Group Aviation enthusiasts talk about planes and sometimes visit airfields to take practical flying lessons
Chess and Board Games Club Students interested in chess and other board games
Chinese Club Chinese language and culture group
Community Based Health Project
(CBHP)		 Nossal branch of the CBHP, an international organisation focused on community health projects in rural India
Cosplay Club For students interested in cosplay
Creative Writing Club Gives students opportunities to write creatively, holds creative writing workshops
Drama Club A club for students interested in performing arts
Fine Arts Club For students interested in fine art
Formation Feminist group dedicated to empowerment of female students
Karaoke Club Club for karaoke enthusiasts
Kite-Flying Club Club dedicated to flying kites
Knitting Club Knitting group
K-pop Dance Club Club dedicated to K-pop dancing
Literature Circle Club Holds discussions about different novels
Maths Club Students passionate about mathematics, assists students of various year levels with maths problems
Meditation Club Meditation group
Motorsport Club Students passionate about Motorsports and Cars discuss different cars and attend various motorsport events such as the Formula One Australian Grand Prix and the Australian Motorcycle Grand Prix
Nossal Environment and Sustainability
Team (NEST)		 Focuses on environmental sustainability in the school, largest club/society in terms of membership
Photography Club For photography enthusiasts
Political Society Political group, discusses and furthers knowledge about Australian and international politics, often hosts various political debates
Run Club Group that practices jogging every Wednesday
Society for Nossal E-Sports E-sports society
Table Tennis Club Casual table tennis-playing group, serves as practice for inter-school team during off-season
UNITED Christian fellowship group
Vive La France! French language and culture group
Volleyball Club Volleyball players (fun or serious)

Instrumental program

Nossal High School has various musical ensembles for students, as well as an in-school musical tutoring program. All ensembles have weekly rehearsals at set times, throughout the year. If students are undergoing in-school musical tutoring, they are required to join a relevant musical ensemble. These ensembles can perform at various school events, such as assemblies and the annual Speech Night, as well as out-of-school events, such as the Victorian School Music Festival. The Wind Symphony is Nossal's main performing ensemble.

Name By Audition/Open to all students
Big Band By audition
Choir Open to all students
Flute Ensemble Open to all students
Guitar Ensemble Open to all students
Jazz Combo By audition
Percussion Ensemble Open to all students
Saxophone Ensemble Open to all students
String Orchestra Open to all students
String Quartet By selection
Wind Symphony Open to all students

Organisation

Extracurricular activities

Extracurricular options available to students include: Literature Circle, Chess Club, Debating, Knitting and Environmental activities. Students are also able to join in many sport teams including volleyball, cricket, badminton, table tennis, basketball, soccer, softball, football, hockey, swimming, athletics, cross country, netball and tennis.[27]

Page Cup

At the end of each year, the house to have accumulated the most points is awarded the Page Cup. Points are attained by participation in the six major events as well as smaller contests held throughout the school year. The six major events are as follows: Swimming Carnival; Athletics; Cross Country; House Performing Arts Festival (commonly referred to as 'HPAF'); Debating; Monash Grand Challenge (year 9 participation only). Other competitions include Table Tennis, Camp Challenges, Dress Up days, Tug of War and Chess Competitions.[28]

Monash Grand Challenge

The Monash Grand Challenge is a competition held for year 9 students at the end of every school year; the winners gain significant numbers of points contributing to next year's Page Cup. The challenge focuses on developing essay writing, creative, public speaking and problem solving skills by incorporating each element into the challenge. The final products of each house are judged by Monash University professors and the winner is decided upon by a vote. The winning house gains the Monash Grand Challenge trophy and house points.[28]

Student leadership

Student leadership positions include: School Captains (one male and female of the senior year), Tutorial Leaders, House Captains and Vice House Captains (two from each year level per house), Information Resource Centre Leaders, Information Communications Technology Leaders and Environmental Leaders. Each year level also elects six students to the Student Representative Council (SRC). In addition to this, clubs and societies within Nossal appoint or elect delegates to represent their interests at the Nossal Societies Union (NSU), which acts to lobby school leadership for more extracurricular funding and opportunities for students, organise clubs and societies events, and govern clubs and societies at NHS.

School publications

Current

  • Nossal News: The school's official and main newsletter, which records events that take place at the school and is published fortnightly.[29][30]
  • Careers News: A newsletter that advises students on future career paths. It is included as a section of Nossal News, but is also available as a separate newsletter.[31]

Former

  • NEST News: A newsletter created for the purpose of documenting recent events regarding the Nossal Environment and Sustainability Team (NEST), which is one of the school's largest clubs.[32] This newsletter eventually became a section of the main newsletter and ceased being available separately.[33]
  • Parallel/Student News: A newsletter run by the students. Included as a section in Nossal News, but also available separately. Ceased publishing for unknown reasons.[34]

Relations with other schools

In Australia

Nossal High School has maintained relationships with the other select-entry schools in Victoria and have arranged student exchanges with Suzanne Cory High School[35] and MacRobertson Girls High School.[36] Nossal has also competed against the other selective schools in sport competitions.[37]

In other countries

Nossal has been a sister school of Chosei High School, located in Chiba Prefecture, Japan, since 2014. The affiliation includes student exchanges each year, cultural liaison and professional and staff development. The partnership with Chosei was chosen taking into consideration Nossal's offering of Japanese as a VCE subject, as well as Australia's strategic position in the Asia-Pacific.

Nossal High School has also arranged student exchanges with Collège Félix le Dantec in Lannion, Britanny, France. Nossal's former principal Roger Page expressed support for establishing a sister school partnership with Félix le Dantec.[38]

Principals

The following individuals have served as principal of Nossal High School:

OrdinalOfficeholderTerm startTerm endTime in officeNotes
1 Roger Page 2010 13–14 years Page is currently taking long service leave before officially retiring sometime in 2023. The current interim Acting Principal is Tracey Mackin.

Controversies & incidents

Hoax bomb threats

In 2016, numerous schools around Australia were subject to fake bomb threats over the phone and it was initially thought by some that the caller had come from Nossal High School.[39] It was later revealed that Israeli-American teenager Michael Kadar was responsible for the bomb threats in Australia, and that he had also made threats in several other countries. He was sentenced to 10 years in prison.[40]

Sexting

In 2019, it emerged that Australian jazz musician James Mustafa, who worked at Nossal High School as a director of music, had sent 150 sexual text messages to a student.[41] He pleaded guilty to one count of encouraging a minor to engage in sexual activity and was sentenced to two years of community service, with his name being added to the sex offender registry.[42]

Sexually explicit group chats

In 2021, controversy erupted when it was discovered that several Nossal students were in a group chat that allegedly sexually objectified women. Australian model Maria Thattil called out the group chat after she was added to it by accident. Principal Roger Page said that the school had zero tolerance for the behaviour and said that they would be investigating. Thattil later gave a speech at the school.[43]

In 2022, another group chat was allegedly found. Thattil commented that she was “absolutely disgusted and disappointed to see that students of Nossal High School are behind yet another misogynistic, sexist, sexually violent and transphobic group chat”.[44]

Appearances in media

In 2015, Nossal High School was featured in Series 5, Episode 34 of Learning World, a television program broadcast weekly by Euronews that reports on schools around the world.[45] The episode showcased the method that the school uses to select new teachers, in which students are permitted to interview applicants alongside the principal.

Footage of Nossal High School was featured in the music video for the 2015 single "It's Only Words" by Shannon Colebrook.[46][47]

See also

References

  1. ↑ "My School provides information that helps parents and the community in understanding the performance of schools over time".
  2. ↑ "Nossal House System".
  3. ↑ "Nossal News 2023 - Issue 2: From the Principals' Desk".
  4. ↑ "Foundational Ideas". Nossal High School. Retrieved 22 November 2022.
  5. ↑ "VCE Public School Ranking - 2018 - Better Education". Better Education. Retrieved 2 June 2020.
  6. ↑ Rood, David (10 November 2006). "More islands in elite education stream". The Age. Retrieved 5 January 2023.
  7. ↑ Metlikovec, Jane (1 April 2008). "Berwick and Wyndham Vale to school smart kids". Herald Sun. Archived from the original on 4 September 2012.
  8. ↑ Tomazin, Farrah (2 April 2008). "Two new selective schools to target brightest students". The Age. Retrieved 21 November 2022.
  9. ↑ "Berwick Selective Entry High School". www.smr.vic.edu.au. Archived from the original on 15 May 2009.
  10. ↑ Tarica, Elisabeth (18 October 2009). "A new school for a select few". The Sydney Morning Herald. Retrieved 21 November 2022.
  11. ↑ "Welcome to the website of Nossal High School". www.smr.vic.edu.au. Archived from the original on 14 May 2009.
  12. ↑ Perkins, Miki (24 August 2009). "I've won a place at Nossal High - where is it?". The Sydney Morning Herald. Retrieved 28 November 2022.
  13. ↑ "Nossal High School - Enrolments for Year 10 now open!". 23 January 2011. Archived from the original on 23 January 2011. Retrieved 26 November 2022.
  14. ↑ "Lisa Marie Mandeltort | Death Notices | Melbourne". My Tributes. Retrieved 22 November 2022.
  15. ↑ "Teacher who drowned saving others mourned by loving family". www.9news.com.au. Retrieved 22 November 2022.
  16. ↑ Koob, Rachael Dexter, Simone Fox (18 January 2021). "'The love of my life is gone': Woman who drowned trying to save teen mourned". The Age. Retrieved 22 November 2022.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  17. ↑ "Nossal News 2022 - Issue 1: From the Principals' Desk". newsletters.naavi.com. Retrieved 22 November 2022.
  18. ↑ "Nossal News 2022 - Issue 3: In Memoriam". newsletters.naavi.com. Retrieved 22 November 2022.
  19. ↑ "Lisa Marie Mandeltort". Do It For MS. Retrieved 22 November 2022.
  20. ↑ "Nossal News 2022 - Issue 5: Sir Gustav Nossal". newsletters.naavi.com. Retrieved 22 November 2022.
  21. ↑ "Nossal News 2022 - Issue 18: Sir Gustav Nossal Statue". newsletters.naavi.com. Retrieved 21 December 2022.
  22. ↑ "Nossal News 2022 - Issue 18: From the Principals' Desk". newsletters.naavi.com. Retrieved 21 December 2022.
  23. ↑ Student Handbook 2023. Nossal High School. 2023.
  24. ↑ "School Motto and Logo". Nossal High School. Retrieved 17 December 2022.
  25. ↑ "Nossal News 2022 - Issue 17: From the Principals' Desk". newsletters.naavi.com. Retrieved 17 December 2022.
  26. ↑ "Nossal News 2022 - Issue 6: Clubs News". newsletters.naavi.com. Retrieved 25 November 2022.
  27. 1 2 "Co-curricular Program". Nossal High School. Retrieved 22 November 2022.
  28. 1 2 "Nossal House System". Nossal High School. Retrieved 22 November 2022.
  29. ↑ "Newsletter Archives". Nossal High School. Archived from the original on 21 February 2020.
  30. ↑ "Nossal News 2022 - iNewsletter". newsletters.naavi.com. Retrieved 15 December 2022.
  31. ↑ "Nossal News 2022 - Issue 17: Careers News". newsletters.naavi.com. Retrieved 15 December 2022.
  32. ↑ "NEST News February 2013" (PDF). Nossal High School. Archived from the original (PDF) on 21 February 2017.
  33. ↑ "Nossal News 2022 - Issue 15: SRC/NEST News". newsletters.naavi.com. Retrieved 15 December 2022.
  34. ↑ "Nossal News 2022 - Issue 4: Parallel - Student News". newsletters.naavi.com. Retrieved 21 December 2022.
  35. ↑ "Nossal News 2022 - Issue 13: SRC News". newsletters.naavi.com. Retrieved 21 December 2022.
  36. ↑ "Nossal News 2022 - Issue 17: General News". newsletters.naavi.com. Retrieved 21 December 2022.
  37. ↑ "Nossal News 2022 - Issue 18: Sporting News". newsletters.naavi.com. Retrieved 21 December 2022.
  38. ↑ "Nossal News 2022 - Issue 18: Farewell, Roger!". newsletters.naavi.com. Retrieved 21 December 2022.
  39. ↑ Jacks, Timna (2 February 2016). "Victorian school says hoax bomb threat call was traced to Nossal High School". The Age. Retrieved 21 November 2022.
  40. ↑ "US-Israeli man jailed for 10 years over bomb hoax calls". The Guardian. 22 November 2018. Retrieved 28 November 2022.
  41. ↑ Cook, Henrietta (15 May 2019). "Jazz star admits sending 150 sexts to schoolgirl in just one day". The Age. Retrieved 28 November 2022.
  42. ↑ Hui, Jin (21 May 2019). "Sext teacher avoids jail". Pakenham Gazette. Retrieved 28 November 2022.
  43. ↑ Delibasic, Suzan; Jenkins, Olivia (10 August 2021). "Miss Universe Maria Thattil slams Nossal High School over toxic masculinity claims". Herald Sun.
  44. ↑ Jenkins, Olivia (2 March 2022). "Nossal students in fresh 'sexually violent' chat scandal". Herald Sun.
  45. ↑ ""Nossal was recently featured on... - Nossal High School". www.facebook.com. Retrieved 3 December 2022.
  46. ↑ Its Only Words Official Music Video, retrieved 28 January 2023
  47. ↑ It's Only Words - Single by Shannon Colebrook, 4 April 2015, retrieved 28 January 2023
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