Principal

We have been wearing our hearts on our sleeves at Nudgee College this week. Literally. The white hearts on the blue and white blazers of our Year 12s have stood out and become an invitation to begin a conversation.

As many parents would know this second week of the term has been Mental Wellbeing Week at the College. The details of the week were outlined in a recent letter from Mr Anthony Connellan (Dean of Students) and referenced the ‘hearts on sleeves’ initiative. These activities at school were complemented by a powerful video message from a group of our Senior leaders. Their message of expressing feelings and supporting a mate should resonate with all of us and I know that the clip has received overwhelmingly positive feedback.

Within the context of the College 'nurturing physical, social and emotional wellbeing’ has been one of the five strategic priorities within our College’s Strategic Plan. Such plans are of value to all organisations in industry as well as not for profit organisations and in education. However, this value is diminished if words are not matched by actions. I would like to think that at Nudgee College our actions in supporting, caring for and educating our young men in terms of their wellbeing have been evident to our community over recent years.

Data collected in school surveys at the end of 2021 certainly confirmed this. Over 80% of Year 12 students from 2021 scored the school highly on the multiple criteria associated with wellbeing. These very strong results were similarly reflected in the responses of our parents to questions focused on student wellbeing in a similar survey late last year.

While initiatives such as Mental Wellbeing Week raise awareness of a significant society wide problem there are 40 other weeks in the school year in which our staff support young people who encounter a wide range of mental health challenges. It is these practical efforts at the individual level and on a daily basis that make a significant difference in the lives of many Nudgee boys. At the forefront of these support efforts are our House Deans, our Heads of Boarding House and our counselling team. I thank them for this vital work, which is largely unseen, but which I know is deeply appreciated by a growing number of our parents and students.

As our Senior leaders suggest so engagingly in the video:

‘We encourage you to start a conversation, we encourage to wear your heart on your sleeve’

With every best wish for the week ahead.

Mr Peter Fullagar

Principal

Deputy Principal

Intentionally lazy parent

My wife and I pride ourselves on being highly organised and disciplined. Like most Nudgee families, we struggle with how disorganised our son can be. We are sure he has been sent to test us. What follows is an adaptation of an article published in the Washington Post. The title caught my eye, and there are some great takeaways and challenges.

As parents and teachers, we try to help our sons build their executive function skills. Executive function skills include organisation, time management, planning, thinking flexibly, paying attention and emotional regulation. As educators, we are taught strategies and interventions to incorporate these skills in the classroom: posting schedules, making to-do lists and providing outlines or organisation checks that detail assignment requirements. This is a crucial step - but parents need a framework to reinforce these skills at home.

That framework is what has been labelled "Intentional Laziness Parenting." Essentially, it means to be disengaged deliberately. This may sound counter-intuitive, but it gives our students the independence to try, do, and maybe even fail a little on their own. And intentional laziness parenting is not lazy at all. It's challenging and requires both mental and physical determination from the parent. Trust me, I have been trying and regularly failing at this.

The average Year 7 student isn't directly taught how to keep track of his assignments, plan a night's worth of work and then complete the task. They're expected to know how to do this or to figure it out. Similarly, students are rarely taught how to plan a significant assignment over a six-week period or even how to pack, prepare and plan for a busy day of school, sports practice and dinner at a friend's house.

Executive function skills aren't generally practised. Serious tennis players have a swing coach. Singers work with a voice coach. Musicians rehearse the same piece over and over, spending extra time on sticky spots. Most people don't think of organisational and time management skills that can be practised.

Intentional laziness parenting allows children to practice and develop those skills. Instead of doing things for our children, as parents, we need to structure activities or tasks to push the boys to take ownership. Rather than jumping in and rescuing them, we need to plan a structured starting point and then step back thoughtfully - and be intentionally lazy.

An example of a possible lesson would be allowing our son to prepare for a weekend away with his friend's family. They're going to leave Friday after school, so he must pack a bag for the weekend and bring it to school. It would only take a few minutes for a parent to pack a bag for him. But an intentionally lazy parent would do things differently. We could make a list of everything he'll need. Or have him lay everything out on the floor before packing so we can ensure he has what he needs. These options allow for mistakes and errors but also require a child to be organised, plan a weekend's worth of items, and then pack.

Intentional laziness parenting requires forethought, planning and self-control. Coincidentally, these are the skills it is intended to develop in our children. Despite the negative-sounding name, it's a way for parents to strategically remove themselves from a situation, promote executive function skill development, foster independence and ultimately create patterns that will lead children to success later in life.

Mr David Johnston

Deputy Principal

Student Formation

Nudgee Mental Wellbeing Week

Our students’ health and wellbeing is always a key focus at the College. It was exciting for us as a community to launch our first Mental Wellbeing Week at the College. The theme was starting the difficult conversation, that “it is ok to not be ok”. Our hope for all boys is that they gain confidence to speak up about things going on for them and they know how to access support.

I am proud to say a huge thank you to our College Captains, Prefects and Year 12 Seniors who modelled the way by leading a number of initiatives throughout the week.

Activities included:

Edmund Rice Tree wrapped in blue as part of the Blue Tree Project
Year 12s wore their heart on their sleeve to raise awareness and begin a conversation.
All boys in PC wrote a tip or strategy that helps when they are struggling or a statement that they are comfortable to talk about their feelings or problems. These will hang in prominent places around the College for the next few days.
Our counselling team led seminars on Anxiety and Stress Management
Mental wellness was a focus in Student Formation classes, House and College Assemblies, and PC
Library activities will be connected to mental wellness.

Our aim is to help boys further develop their understanding of their mental wellness and where they sit on the ‘Mental Health Continuum’ (thriving, coping, struggling or in crisis).

I hope to release some exciting news soon about a new assessment tool we are looking to trial with boys and staff in the back end of Term 3.

School photos

Yesterday it was great to see all the boys on the Grandstand for their various photos and in Ryan Hall for their individual photos. A reminder that photos can be ordered from www.silverrose.com.au please use code XSJNC22 to place your order. For other group photos such as the Captains, Prefects, Sons of Old Boys etc. please click on the co-curricular tab on the website where these options are listed.

Semi formal

We are pleased to confirm the Semi Formal will be going ahead on Thursday 11 August. Invitation emails have been sent. The venue this year is Victoria Park ‘The Marquee’ and arrival time is 6:30pm. Please see the invitation for further details.

Mr Anthony Connellan

Dean of Students

Learning and Teaching

Academic Success in Term Three

At assembly on Tuesday, I had the opportunity to set the tone for academic success this term in what Mr Peter Fullagar described as ‘The Premiership Quarter’. I took my inspiration from what I’ve seen and heard from students and teachers over the past week. Their message was consistent, unified and complimentary to our goals in Learning and Teaching.

Last Saturday, GPS and social activities demonstrated the unity in our community. From the First XV man of the match, through to the boys who cleaned the grandstand without being asked, everyone was unified in purpose. Everyone was proud of Nudgee, and knew they were contributing to a bigger idea - community.

Nudgee is nothing if not first and foremost a learning community. To be a great community and achieve the success we crave, we need to exhibit certain traits. They’re universal and transferable. Last week, Rugby Director Mr Sean Graham stated that part of their success was due to the fact they don’t cut corners and focus forward. Head of Chess Mr Martin Harman emphasised discipline as a key ingredient to success; so too in learning.

Each of us has a responsibility to take control of our own learning journey. If boys want to be successful learners, they must work on building community in all we do and say in the classroom. Their learning habits should allow individuals to excel and their classmates to thrive.

Mr David Johnston said, we should embrace the gift we’ve been given and make every moment count. The greatest gift the College will give you is your education. It made me think of our Habits of Mind that teach us how to make every lesson count.

Lastly, College Captain Harry Roati reminded me of a metaphor I used last year. Getting into Orbit. It takes lots of energy to get moving, to thrust yourself into orbit. Not only that, it also takes the support of the learning community.

Harry extended the narrative by warning us not to fall out of orbit. I challenged boys to make the big steps for this Semester now, not when things are due in a month. Learning is more than what is due. We should all remain open to continuous learning every day.

Academic Pathways, Subject Selections and 2023 Timetables

It’s a busy term in Learning and Teaching. The College performs organisational gymnastics as they plan for 2023 whilst caring for current students. We also start gearing up Year 12s for their final internal assessments and mock exams.

Timetabling, academic pathway considerations and subject selections form a large part of the planning. Over the next few weeks Years 7, 8, 9 and 10 will engage in a variety of processes to assist their decision making. An excellent place to start for all families is the College’s subject selection website.

Cohort specific communications about information nights, online sessions and meetings will be emailed out by the Learning and Teaching Office. I thank Year 10 families who were first out of the blocks yesterday. Your engagement is appreciated. Here are the calendar events at a glance.

We will be notifying Parents of updates through the College App so please check your settings and ensure you are subscribed to your son's correct year level.

Mr Jason Sepetauc

Dean of Learning and Teaching

Congratulations to the following Academic Awards Winners that were presented at Tuesday's assembly.

Performing Arts

What We’ve Been Doing

Chess - The first round of GPS Chess, finished with a nail biting finish with the 1st IV narrowly losing 1.5-2.5 against TSS. Captain Patrick Kennedy was the last man fighting and secured a draw from a losing position against a higher rated opponent. Tanush Patel continued on from his impressive run of upsets in 2021 securing a win on board 3.

In the lower teams, Ryan Wedmaier and Nilay Shirolkar had impressive wins against significantly higher rated opponents. While Ethan Cockburn's draw against a 700 rated player gave the Junior team a narrow loss 1.5-.2.5 Our player of the week for Round 1 is Lachlan Collins. On Junior board 3, Lachlan's game was a roller coaster. He fought back after losing his queen using an impressive array of tactics to claim victory. Congratulations to all these players.

Model United Nations - 10 of this year’s Debating stars were invited to participate in a Model UN Conference held at TSS, and hosted by students from TSS and St Hilda’s. The students performed exceptionally well, and each of our Year 11 boys received an award.

Congratulations to:

Anthony Mineo - Honourable Mention

Jacob Gillam - Best Diplomacy for Asia-Pacific Security

Oliver Kele - Outstanding Delegate.

Thanks to NCOBs Mr Ian Trinh and Mr Isaac Roati for their training and support, and to Ms Julianne Daunt for her initiative and organisation.

What’s Coming Up

Week 2 to 3

Chess are at home again this week, hosting TGS before heading away next week.

Debating are beginning their pre-season training with the Development Squad meeting on Friday, and the first in a series of lectures being held on Monday afternoon in the Mindful Theatre from 3:15pm - check TeamApp for details.

Music commences their eisteddfod run with Drumlines and Rock Bands performing in the Logan Eisteddfod on Wednesday, and Treble Makers and Brotherhood competing in the Redlands Eisteddfod on Wednesday and Thursday.

Theatresports students in the Junior Team are taking part in the semi-final, hosted in Tierney on Wednesday night from 7pm.

And coming in Week 6 - Dimensions Arts Festival. Buy your raffle tickets now, and look out for the launch of ticket sales for the Opening Gala.

Check the student notices for more information about each of these activities, or feel to contact me directly.

Ms Alex Khafagi

Director of Performing Arts

Week 2 Term 3 2022

In This Newsletter

Principal

Deputy Principal

Identity

Student Formation

Learning and Teaching

Performing Arts

Sport