Established 2010 Years 9-12 Phone +61 3 8762 4600 Number of students 816 | Principal Mr Roger Page Enrolment 832 Motto Embrace the Challenge Founded 2010 | |
Educational authority Similar John Monash Science, Box Hill High School, Glen Waverley Secondar, Berwick College, Haileybury | ||
Nossal High School, also referred to as Nossal or NHS is a selective-entry government school for students in years 9-12. Located in the Melbourne suburb of Berwick, Nossal High School is the first co-educational, academically-selective school in Victoria. Despite its short history, Nossal has established itself as a school with strong academic performance, with its Class of 2015 cohort ranking 3rd out of government schools in Victoria, and 15th overall in the state according to VCE results. It is named after prominent Australian immunologist and 2000 Australian of the Year, Sir Gustav Nossal.
Contents
- Wotopera at nossal high school melbourne march 2015
- History
- School Logo
- House System
- Extracurricular activities
- Page Cup
- Monash Grand Challenge
- Student leadership
- Principal
- Assistant Principal
- References
The school was opened in 2010, a year before Suzanne Cory High School and John Monash Science School, as per the Brumby State Government's education policies. With its students initially undertaking study in the Berwick campus of Monash University, pending completion of school building construction, Nossal is now located within the same campus, the site of the former Casey Airfields. Prospective students must sit a 6-hour-long uniform entrance examination, testing their knowledge and reasoning in English and mathematics, with the 2015 exam attracting about 3,000 applicants; the first Year 12 cohort graduated from the school in 2013.
Nossal prides itself on its progressive adult learning environment, its vision and curriculum directed by American educator Howard Gardener's concept of the Five Minds of the Future. The school is non-conventional in this regard, in the way in which trust and considerable responsibility is placed upon the students to be in charge of of their learning; for example, the school has no bells, as students are excepted to know when and where to be, and students from years 10-12 are afforded independent study periods in order to allow them to study in a way which suits them best. The two school buildings, both recently constructed, are very modern 21st-century pieces of architecture, the interiors characterised by bright colours and open and collaborative classrooms. Although Nossal prides itself on its strong academic reputation and results, the school heavily emphasises student leadership, extra-curricular participation and community involvement as ways of gaining greater experiences and learning breadth. 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.
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.
Wotopera at nossal high school melbourne march 2015
History
Named after Australian biologist Gustav Nossal, Nossal High School was founded in 2010 with 100 male students and 100 female students.
Reports have highlighted the controversy of selective schooling in Australia, with critics concerned about 'poaching' of high achieving students from other schools, and the 'stratification' of government education.
School Logo
Nossal High School's logo consists of two crossing books that form a butterfly, with a third, smaller book forming the antennae. The logo is made of three colours: ecru, rust and yellow. The school colours, however are black, ecru and rust. The school logo was chosen for many reasons:
House System
During Nossal's foundation year a competition was run allowing students to enter possible names for the houses. The names chosen were:
Garuda (Blue and silver)
Pegasus (Green and white)
Griffin (Yellow and orange)
Phoenix (Red and black)
Each of the houses is named after a mythical flying creature; which fits with the Nossal emblem of "taking flight".
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.
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; Choral Night; Debating; Monash Grand Challenge (year 9 participation only). Other competitions include Table Tennis, Camp Challenges, Dress Up days, Tug of War and Chess Competitions.
Winners of the Page Cup:
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 amounts 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.
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 Center 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.