Welcome back and welcome to the new boys and their families who have joined over the holidays. It is interesting to observe that we start Term 4 with more boys than we started with in Term 1. Despite the impact of COVID-19 we commence with 1,689 students, a touch up on the start of the year. A positive sign during these unsettled times.

Before commenting about the term ahead I want to mention my road trip to Western Queensland in the final week of last term. Along with Mr Christian Oneto and Ms Megan Brealy, we travelled to Roma, St George, Goondiwindi and Warwick to meet with current families, families of enrolled students for coming years, as well as prospective families and a few Old Boys. We were warmly welcomed wherever we gathered and the hospitality extended to us was very generous. It has been a strategic decision to engage more meaningfully with Western Queensland communities. The hosting of various clinics in these towns as well as regular visits from Christian and other key staff over recent years have enabled the College to re-engage and to give back to these communities. It is pleasing to see Boarding numbers from Western Queensland increasing as the positive school experience of current boys from those areas has been shared with others in the local community.

While many of us have been able to enjoy a holiday, school life continued in various forms over the break. These included:

• The highly successful Year 12 Formal on the first Sunday night.
• The Year 12 external exam preparation program that operated across both weeks (particular thanks to Ms Peta Scott for her daily commitment and organisation, as well as to the Year 12 teachers who led the sessions).
• Various sports camps and activities that were offered throughout the holidays.

It has been my experience that Term 4 in schools always presents a unique challenge and opportunity. There is the heady mix of dealing with the daily details of school life combined with bringing a school year to a close with a range of occasions, walking the final weeks with our Year 12s and finalising plans for the start of the next school year. It makes for a few hectic moments!

With these thoughts in mind, beyond settling into the normal routine of school life these first three days of the term have featured:

• The leadership handover ritual from the College leaders of 2020 to those of 2021 - this marks a period of transition as Year 12s more sharply focus upon the external exams that await them and the Year 11 leaders assume day to day leadership on their behalf.
• The NCOBA Mentoring Breakfast for Year 11 students, which was well supported by a range of successful young Old Boys from a diverse range of occupations and attended by a large number of Year 11s. There was a great deal of insight shared as the Old Boys discussed their journeys since school and our boys listened with interest
• The Year 12 Boarders' Rites of Passage, which is an intimate occasion and also a night of much sharing as the Seniors prepare to leave their home away from home.

The Boarding Formal Dinner tonight, which is a celebration for the Boarding community of their year living together and, in this instance, prevailing over the challenge presented by COVID-19 and border restrictions.

In conclusion, over the holiday break the College took back part possession of the heritage-listed Treacy Bbuilding. On the first floor we are now using four beautiful new classrooms as well as the new staff rooms on the first and second floor, which we have named the Callan Centre. It is an exciting transition for the staff who have moved into these spaces. The building project in the heritage precinct continues in the coming term with the Gallagher building to be demolished in the coming weeks. This project is transforming the original areas of the College while also respecting the rich heritage dating back to 1891. Looking ahead to early 2021 this project will be completed and we will be fully able to appreciate this transformation. An exciting prospect.

Mr Peter Fullagar
Principal

During Assembly this week we recognised the new College leaders for 2021. We all know the importance of good leadership. It fosters an environment of increased productivity, a good culture and positive outcomes. Good leadership has also proved integral over recent months as organisations have had to navigate the landscape of living with uncertainty.

Andrew J. DuBrin has identified many important leadership characteristics in his book Leadership: Research Findings, Practice, and Skills, Seventh Edition. Here’s a quick summary of the traits he recounts:

• Self-confidence: Your self-confidence and calm demeanour can help others feel more certain that they, too, can overcome hurdles or reach a challenging goal.
• Humility: When you’re willing to share credit with others, and you’re willing to admit that you’re not perfect, others see that and appreciate it.
• Trustworthiness: People trust you when your attitudes, words, and motives align with what you actually choose to do. This includes being honest about mistakes, refusing to gossip and shift blame, and doing things the ethical way (even if it’s more expedient to do otherwise).
• Authenticity: Be yourself, and act in line with your core values and personality. People will notice if you’re trying to be someone other than who you really are.
• Assertiveness: Be upfront about your needs, concerns, and opinions. However, don’t forget to be tactful!
• Enthusiasm, optimism, and warmth: Staying positive, being approachable, and expressing positive thoughts and feelings through both verbal and nonverbal communication help you build rapport with those around you.
• Sense of humour: Your ability to make people laugh can help others feel comfortable and relieve tense situations.
• Passion: Leaders show an extremely strong commitment to and enthusiasm about their work.
• Emotional intelligence: A solid leader exhibits empathy towards others, has a good understanding of emotions – both others’ and their own – and recognises that their own mood can have an effect on the entire organisation’s performance.
• Flexibility and adaptability: A leader can bring about change… so it follows that he or she must also be ready and willing to adjust to different settings and situations.
• Internal locus of control: Strong leaders take responsibility for events and believe that they can have an effect on outcomes and conditions.
• Courage: Willingness to take risks on new ideas may put you ‘out there’ for criticism and blame… but it also carries the reward of bringing new ideas to fruition.

In addition to these general personality traits, DuBrin also lists several task-related personality traits common to leaders:

I wish the new student leadership team for 2021 all the very best. My hope is they can demonstrate some of the characteristics and personality traits outlined above.

Mr David Johnston
Deputy Principal

A Prayer from Pope Francis' Encyclical Fratelli Tutti

A Prayer to the Creator

Lord, Father of our human family,
you created all human beings equal in dignity:
pour forth into our hearts a fraternal spirit
and inspire in us a dream of renewed encounter,
dialogue, justice and peace.
Move us to create healthier societies
and a more dignified world,
a world without hunger, poverty, violence and war.
May our hearts be open
to all the peoples and nations of the earth.
May we recognise the goodness and beauty
that you have sown in each of us,
and thus forge bonds of unity, common projects,
and shared dreams. Amen.

Pope Francis

Mr Stephen Meara
Dean of Identity

Year 12 External Exams 

Year 12 students on an ATAR pathway wasted no time in resuming their preparations for external exams, which begin on Monday 26 October. Boys are currently completing ‘ATAR Go for Gold’ sessions with the Write That Essay team to polish their exam writing skills. They've also just finished a series of masterclasses hosted by College teachers during the holidays. Thank you to Ms Peta Scott and all the teachers who prepared holiday content and presented lectures. Over the next two weeks students will be acting upon the feedback from their mock exams in class as part of their preparation for external exams. Also, a big thank you to the teachers who marked and prepared feedback during their break. We wish them well and want them to know that the whole school is behind them. One man in an exam, supported by 10,000 brothers!

Mr Jason Sepetauc 

Dean of Learning and Teaching 

Pathways Update

Academic Firsts News

Congratulations to the following students who have qualified for entry to the Academic Firsts Program:

• James Clark
• Rohen Ferreira
• Patrick Kelly
• Elton Schibble

Their persistence and dedication to their studies will be acknowledged at an Assembly on Tuesday 13 October. Well done gentlemen.

Early Offer Applications to University

Please note the closing date for applications for the early offer schemes to Griffith University and QUT is approaching. All applications must be submitted via QTAC by 31 October to be considered. Applications can still be made after this date but will not be considered for early offers.

Once the QTAC application has been submitted, students will be contacted by the university to provide further information. Griffith University requires Semester 1, 2020 results. This may be printed from the Student Cafe. QUT requires additional information. Please contact Ms Peta Scott in Learning and Teaching and she will provide a statement for you. All additional information must be uploaded by 6 November. Early offers will be made to successful applicants on 20 November.

Do You Own Your Own Business?

Our Year 12 graduates have successfully navigated through a difficult year. Many are now seeking apprenticeships or traineeships for 2021; however, due to the current climate, opportunities are limited.

If you own your own business, and are looking for additional staff to join your team, please consider the young men graduating from Nudgee College this year. There are some outstanding candidates who have already developed relevant industry skills at TAFE and in our own Trade Training Centre.

If you are interested, please contact me in the Learning and Teaching Office on (07) 3865 0388 or 0488 559 081.

Ms Dee Tyrrell
Director of Pathways

Australian Mathematics Competition (AMC)

The AMC has been an iconic Australian challenge since 1978. Many of the parents will remember sitting the competition and challenging themselves to answer as many questions correctly as they could possible answer. There have been a few changes, such as the paper is now in colour and participants no longer lose points for getting an incorrect answer. The competition, however, is just as valuable as ever in that it allows children to challenge themselves and practise problem-solving skills.

The results for 2020 have arrived and certificates will be sent to the school next term. Congratulations to all boys who participated this year. A breakdown of the results can be seen in the graph below.

Special congratulations Dermot Clancy in Year 7 who achieved a score in the 96th percentile and also the following Year 8 students: Dusty Piper in the 97th percentile, Alex Patti in the 96th percentile and Joshua Keen in the 95th percentile.

This competition is available to all students and I encourage everyone to participate in 2021.

Mr Paul Masters
Coordinator of Years 7, 8 and 9 Mathematics

The Importance of Connection

It is the hope of the College that when a boy puts on the Nudgee College uniform for the first time and he enters the front gate, he joins a lifelong network of support, friendship and opportunity. This is certainly the case when he leaves school and enters his professional life – whatever that field might be. I witnessed this on Wednesday when more than 100 Nudgee College students connected with 13 Old Boys at the annual Year 11 Mentoring Breakfast. This event is a highlight of my calendar each year. The current Year 11s provided the mentors with some questions related to fields they may be interested in pursuing when they finish school. We were lucky that these Old Boys were able to give up their time to come and speak with our students and help guide them on their potential career paths. The careers that were covered were many and varied:

• Mr Rory Young (2013): Accounting
• Mr Mike Tyler (2000): Creative arts and international performer
• Mr Michael Trusler (2006): Business/entrepreneurial
• Mr Alex O’Regan (2010): Education
• Mr Andrew Talbot (2003): Engineering
• Mr Chris Jeffrey (NC 2000): IT
• Mr David Purcell (2002): Law
• Mr Ryan Peter McVeigh (2004): Paramedic
• Mr Chris Anderson (1991): Racing industry (horse trainer)
• Mr Matt Rudolph (1994): General Manager at Brisbane Racing
• Mr Perry Edmondson-Clark (2016): Director and licensed real estate agent
• Mr Marc Gardiner (NC 2007): Business owner at Treble Plumbing

The main messages that came out of the morning was the importance of connection that goes way past when the student leaves our gates. Many of the mentors spoke about either having work experience with a Nudgee College Old Boy, or being offered a job through an Old Boy connection or within the GPS network. Being a Nudgee College boy may be enough to get your foot in the door, but then our mentors spoke about what keeps them in the job. Being self-motivated, looking for self-education opportunities, being driven, being punctual, being able to work autonomously, trust, integrity and respect. These are many of the skills we teach and try to instil in our students on a daily basis.

We can’t thank our mentors enough for taking time out to share some of their stories with us.

School Photos

I know many of you will be wondering where your school photos are and we can only apologise for the delay. This year has provided us with many challenges to overcome and as a result our timelines have had to be extended, but I’m pleased to advise if you have ordered photo packs Silver Rose is beginning to send these out over the next few weeks. They also wanted me to remind you that if you are yet to order photos then you can order these at any time, simply go to www.silverrose.com.au and when asked for a code type XSJNC20.

Mr Peter Todd
Dean of Students

Welcome back to Term 4 at Nudgee College. I hope everyone had a wonderful and restful break.  Many staff have commented to boys that Term 4 is often referred to as the ‘turbo’ term, especially for Year 12s. The challenge will undoubtedly be to ensure all boys stay focussed and finish strong. Boarding staff will be working closely with all boys this term to help them improve the important skill of time management. This will be done by utilising their Google Calendar each night at the start of study to plan their session, along with assignment and exam preparation. We encourage parents to also connect with their son’s calendar to have those important conversations with boys about their academic progress. We have also shared with you via Team App and email the Term 4 Study Planner. These study planners are printed on A3 card for each Boarding student and is another tool they can use to manage their time, academic and sporting goals, and spiritual needs.

Boarding Formal Dinner

We are due to hold our Term 4 Boarding Formal Dinner tonight. This is a very special night where our Boarding community can formally farewell their Year 12 brothers and also welcome in the new Boarding leaders for next year. This year is the first time Boarding leaders have been chosen through the same Prefect induction process. We will also be awarding our Spirit Awards to boarders. I’ll provide some more information in next week’s newsletter after the event. We’d like to thank our parent volunteers for helping set up for the dinner: Ms Sally Hopper, Ms Sally Duffy, Ms Jocelyn Bundock and Ms Shana O’Rielley.

Please note that our students will be required to wear their formal uniform so we encourage all boys to ensure they meet all grooming and uniform standards.

Year 12 Term 4 events

Term 4 is an exciting time at Nudgee College, with some significant events on the calendar as we farewell our Year 12 students of 2020. This also sees many families finish their journey at the College. As you know, we foster a deep connection to the College and so we very deliberately facilitate a staged departure, characterised by various events and rituals which are deep in meaning and tradition. This is especially the case in Boarding. COVID-19 may have forced us to think outside the square a little in relation to some of our events, but we have managed to keep most on the program. I include a table of Boarding specific events for your information:

Mr Christian Oneto
Dean of Boarding

Locker Room price increase 

Due to COVID-19, our supplier of some of our uniforms has increased their prices, so unfortunately we have had to do the same.    

The price increase is currently in effect. Uniform prices can be found on the Nudgee College website.

The Locker Room would like to take this opportunity to thank you all for your continued support.

Ms Karen Ryan
Locker Room Manager (Acting)

Dimensions Raffle

There are limited tickets remaining for the annual Dimensions Arts Festival raffle, so make sure you get your tickets before they sell out! Major prize is:

• $10,000 cash OR
• One year of Nudgee College tuition for 2021, up to the value of $15,000

This year there are also four more great prizes to be won:

• Second Prize - Harry Harry Home Australia $2,000 voucher
• Third Prize - Panda Pearls package
• Fourth Prize - Weekend away at Sea Pearl Mooloolaba
• Fifth prize - $500 Locker Room voucher

Raffle tickets can be purchased here, and will be drawn on 31 October 2020 at 3.00pm.

Please share with your family and friends. There are many prizes to be won this year and we wish you good luck.

With our sincere thanks for your support.

Nudgee College Arts Committee