The learnings from the tuckshop line would not make for a PHD study but for me they are an insight into just how school life is travelling. Since I started in 2015, I have been a regular on the door to the tuckshop every Friday at morning tea. The learning and insights come from the incidental conversations and observations from the same place in the school and at a regular point in time.

What did last Friday tell me? That the boys were hungry! And that their Mums and Dads were already exhausted at the end of Week 1 and ten dollars spent at the tuckshop was the best solution to feeding a son at the end of the week! It was a seemingly endless queue from our biggest Year 12s to our smallest Year 5s. Boys were patient and polite and appeared to be fresh and happy to be back at school for the final term of the year. Year 12s had mixed feelings about mock exam results and the impending end of their school years. Younger boys had varied stories of holidays and what they were looking forward to this term. That freshness may well dissipate during the term as the reality of study, homework and assessment accumulates. 

Overwhelmingly, the average Nudgee boy just seemed happy to be back at school. Such a simple thing but, in reality, it is only achieved through the most complex interplay of relationships, at home and school, combined with a myriad of learning experiences in the classroom and through the many activities beyond the classroom.

Strategically, the College prioritises the nurturing of the physical, social and emotional wellbeing of our students, our staff and, where we can, our families. Integral to this endeavour is the sense of belonging and connection that is experienced throughout the College, not only by our boys, but also by our staff, parents, old boys, past members of the College as well as the wider College community. 

Over the past week, there have been numerous opportunities for this sense of belonging and connection to flourish. A sample of these include:

• The GPS Track and Field meet that was hosted on Hendry Oval last Friday night for hundreds of students from Nudgee College as well as other schools.
• The Introduction to Rowing event that was held last Saturday morning on the College dam (NB: the first time that we have used the new dam in such a way)
• The International Cricket trial T20 match that was held on Flat 6 last Saturday between the Netherlands and Afghanistan. Who would have thought that such a match could be hosted on The Flats!
• The NCOBA hosted Blue and White Race Day last Saturday at Eagle Farm
• The Pimm’s afternoon hosted by the Mothers of Old Boys last Saturday (NB: another first time event)
• The Boarders’ End of Year Formal Dinner in the Conference Centre on Tuesday evening.

Further to this long list, in the current week and next:

• Our Year 8s will be on retreat and camp
• On Thursday night the Learning and Teaching office will host a further Information evening for Year 11 parents
• The Cricket community launches their season with the luncheon at the Gabba on Friday
• We will host the NC Creatives event on Saturday afternoon and evening for students to showcase their creative talents across a range of subject areas.
• Next Monday, our Year 12s and their families will share in the Day of Farewell which features House assemblies, a final reflection in the Chapel, a gathering on the lawns of the Rose Garden, the guard of honour across the campus culminating in the final assembly. 

Like the tuckshop line last Friday the list is long. While the tuckshop meets the physical need to be fed, all these other occasions meet an innate need to be connected and to belong. 

Mr Peter Fullagar

Principal

The Janitor Who Helped Put a Man on the Moon

In preparation for a recent interview, I was looking for a reference or story that could demonstrate servant leadership. Some may have heard this story, but I had not. I found it very interesting.

In 1962, President John F. Kennedy visited NASA for the first time. During his tour of the facility, he met a janitor carrying a broom down the hallway. The President then casually asked the janitor what he did for NASA, and the janitor replied, “I’m helping put a man on the moon.”

Take a moment, and reflect on this idea. The janitor knew something that most of us struggle with: his work's purpose. He kept the building clean so that the scientists, engineers, and astronauts could focus on their mission of putting “man on the moon”. They did not have to worry about spending their time on bins, bathrooms, or hallways. He did that for them. He saw where his contribution fit in the organisation. He connected his purpose with theirs.

Too often we can think that if we are not the ones in the classroom or planning lessons, our contribution to our son's education doesn’t matter. The support staff who work on reception desks, the enrolment officer who ensures our numbers remain high, and the transport manager who ensures our boys get to and from school safely and us as parents. We are all connected. 

Our proximity to the objective - our sons - is not determined by an organisational chart or distance from the classroom. Our mindset determines how involved and influential we are. We are the ones who choose each day to work with the mentality of either “I sweep the floors” or “I help put a man on the moon”.

While it is an individual choice to determine our proximity to the education of our boys, parents can either accelerate this train of thought or stand in the way of our son’s education. I have heard parents treat education as a commodity - user buys. Suggesting the teacher and school is solely responsible for educating their son. Treating the College as a production line can be tempting but will not allow each boy to reach his potential.

When I started teaching, I was naive and thought I was better than others because I spent my time in front of my class, not working behind a desk or behind the scenes to maintain the facilities we enjoyed. It wasn’t until I heard a principal compare the school to an apple pie that I began to see things differently. She said that every member of the school community was like an ingredient. Even if you had the apples or the crust, you still didn’t have an apple pie until you had all the ingredients. We cannot educate our boys without every team member adding their 'piece of the pie'. 

Imagine how better our College would be if everyone believed their input contributed to the overall mission of educating all boys in our care. This means everyone in our community contributes to ensuring each boy leaves the College having realised his potential. Imagine how much happier we all would be if we believed our contribution mattered at the end of the day. I believe it is an achievable goal, but it takes work. We must continue to cultivate and embrace our culture to ensure we remain focused on producing outstanding young graduates. 

Mr David Johnston

Deputy Principal

It has been another big year at Nudgee. Many boys and families have thrived and some have found it tough. The College continues to offer practical support to assist in generating a sense of positive wellbeing. It is certainly a good time to again ask ourselves some questions which focus on our holistic well being. 

What are we doing to consciously look after ourselves? 

The generation of positive emotions is one part of what we are trying to do here at Nudgee with the boys. While we are Catholic School in the Edmund Rice Tradition, and teach the Habits of Mind skills, we also base our approach to students wellbeing on what Dr Martin Seligman calls Positive Psychology. It describes things that you deliberately do which lead to happiness. 

There are five elements Dr Martin Seligman’s research has found essential to human wellbeing - Positive Emotions, Engagement, Relationships, Meaning, Accomplishment (PERMA). In working with all boys we are attempting to cater for all areas of the PERMA model, giving boys an opportunity to thrive. It is worth reflecting over Term 3 using some of the questions below - a wellbeing health check. If you feel your son needs some support in different areas, House Deans, Mr Sean Toovey or myself are happy to have conversations.

Positive Emotions

Gratitude

• What things do I feel really lucky and appreciative to have? What am I really grateful for? How do I express that gratitude regularly? 

Health

• What am I doing each day or week to enhance my personal fitness? How often each day am I laughing/being playful? What might I do each day?
• How am I connecting with nature and the natural world?
• Have I done two sports or activities so far in 2022? Have I visited the gym? 

Engagement

Strengths 

• What are things which I think I am good at? What are my personal strengths? How am I utilising those gifts practically?

My flow

• What are the activities that truly engage me - things I ‘get lost’ doing? How often do I do them?
• What creative things do I do to relax - music, art, making things with my hands?
• What are my favourite subjects? How do I illustrate that interest practically?

Relationships

• Who do I love spending time with?
• Who are the five most important people in my world? How do I show them? What have I done for those people lately?
• Who are some people I’d like to get to know better? What am I doing/could do about that?
• What deliberate things do I do/could do to enhance these relationships (ie. how do I work on them?)
• Can I engage someone who struggles to make friends - make someone a project (helping with their happiness will make me happy).

Meaning

Spirituality 

• What do I do that could be described as a spiritual thing? (taking a walk in nature and admiring the beauty/saying some simple prayers to myself/thinking about life beyond me…)

Doing things for others

• What Social Justice activities do I do/might I do? 
• What Random Acts of Kindness might I consider doing (helping another student at school, mowing someone’s lawn in your street, washing the car, etc.)?

Accomplishment

Goals

• What are some goals I want to commit to school, hobbies, socially, family, etc.? What do I want to achieve this year? How might I achieve that?
• How have I gone against the “Start of Semester” interview goals I made with my PC Tutor in Term 1?

Being Busy but not Stressed

• What practical things am I doing to organise my time, my assignments, my chores at home, etc.? Do I have a plan? Am I doing too many activities and struggling to cope with school?

This framework is based on evidence and describes a holistic approach to feeling good about your life. If we can all ‘tick the boxes’ in the areas above we will be traveling okay. This is what we are trying to provide for the students, but it takes constant effort and reflection.

Mr Anthony Connellan

Dean of Students

On behalf of the Arts and Technologies Faculties it is my pleasure to invite you to what will be a fantastic event this Saturday from 3pm to 8pm in and around Tierney Auditorium. NC Creatives showcases our boys across Drama, Media Arts, Visual Arts, Music, Technologies and Industrial Skills and Training.

There are wonderful displays and performances on rotation, so drop in to this free event at any time during the afternoon to sample what is good and great from these learning areas.

The Drama and Music faculties will perform, Art on display (and for sale) and the Design and Technologies/Digital Technologies area will have interactive displays including battle robots, and our Formula Student Race Car. 

I commend the boys contributing to the event; they are creative, imaginative and innovative.

I encourage all other boys to respond with wonder and awe at the talents of their peers by joining them on Saturday. I particularly invite younger families and boys to absorb the richness Nudgee has to offer, so they can imagine their creative pathway through Nudgee.

Come along to NC Creative, grab something to eat and drink, enter the lucky door prize and spend a rich and wonderful twilight event with our creative communities. Register using the QR app on the posters around the College for more details or simply turn up. I look forward to seeing you there. 

Mr Jason Sepetauc 

Dean of Learning and Teaching 

Year 12 Reminders

EA Preparation Sessions 

Get the most out of your upcoming exams. Attend an EA preparation session - click here for more information. 

Have you Experienced Hardship?

Read the QTAC link about bolstering your ATAR through EAS. Read on to see if you qualify.

QUT Future You STEM Summit

QUT Future You STEM Summit was run over the September holidays. The goal of the Summit was to teach students the importance of a STEM mindset, helping to guide a new generation of leaders, entrepreneurs and innovators to build the jobs of Australia’s future.

Daniel O’Driscoll was selected to attend the 4 day Summit. Below is a summary of his experience. Many thanks to Daniel for sharing this with me.

Day 1

We were given some time to mingle with and introduce ourselves to other students at the Summit before going inside. Once we were inside, we listened to key industry leaders and ask questions. Some of these leaders worked for companies such as Ernst and Young and the Department of Main Roads and Transport. After this, we had lunch and split up into our internship groups. The internship I was select for was Reef Restoration. In our first session, we were able to work with a PhD student on examining dead coral from sediment samples collected from the Great Barrier Reef. To close our day, we spoke with and got to know various academics and industry leaders. I spoke with people ranging from a leading architect to an astrophysicist to the owner of a tech start-up. 

Day 2

For our second day, we started off by hearing from the Vice-Chancellor of QUT and a NASA Astrobiologist about their experiences at university and in the real world. We then split up into our internship groups for our first session of the day. In this session, my group headed to the Robotics laboratory in order to learn about the various machines being used in restoring the reef. The engineer who was hosting, Dorian, also gave us a tour of the Robotics Laboratory and all the other projects they have. After this we had lunch and got prepared for our final activity. For our second group session, we were able to speak with two social scientists and an engineer about the need for considering all stakeholders when it comes to reef restoration.

Day 3

We started off the day by hearing from leaders in the medical industry about STEM jobs, particularly ones related to the medical field available in the future. Afterwards, we split up in our internship groups for our first session of the day. In this session, my group heard from two PhD students about their work with the logistical optimisation of the Great Barrier Reef revival. This involved playing around with different programs for estimating cost and the area of the reef covered and then discussing how AI can be used in aiding this process. Then after lunch, we broke up in our groups for the final time. In this session we were able to both learn more about the reefs from one of QUT’s geology lecturers and use an electron microscope to examine grain of alameda and coral fossils. To finish off, we were able to mingle with each other and play various sports.

Day 4 

We first started hearing from multiple guest speakers on future jobs that will be available in STEM fields. Speakers included people such as the current Lord Mayor of Brisbane, Mr Adrian Schrinner, and Dr Catherine Ball, an expert in the field of engineering. We broke off into our groups to start our entrepreneurship challenge. In this session we had to find a problem and then break off into groups to solve it. Our group selected remote schooling and ideated an offline program to help teach disadvantaged students. After lunch, we had the opportunity to pitch our ideas to guests who acted as investors in order to gain as much support for our idea as possible. My group did really well and was almost one of the two most popular ideas.

The program was an incredibly positive experience and I was able to not only gain a lot of knowledge from it but also lots of contacts for the future.

What's coming up this week

Track and Field Meet 6 on Friday night

Make sure you are following @ncactivities on Instagram, Facebook and the Nudgee College App for all updates.