Nudgee College is a school with a long and proud history. We tell stories of our past to inspire us in the present. In a spirit of gratitude we acknowledge all the students, the staff and the parents who have gone before us. We know that as a community we have a legacy to uphold. It is also a legacy that we pass on to those who will follow us in the years to come.

It is also true that there are sorrowful stories in the history of Nudgee College and unfortunately not every chapter is filled with glory. In fact, some stories are devastating.

This is because schools are ‘people’ places and as humans every one of us is flawed. Some of those flaws are trivial and some are extremely serious.

I share this reflection with you in the context of the ABC media story of historical allegations that was featured earlier this week. All parents were emailed on Monday with the school’s response to this story. I have also spoken with our staff this week and at Tuesday’s assembly I addressed the students on this distressing story. 

Understandably this matter has generated a mixture of responses from within the community. Universally, people have been disturbed and dismayed. In particular, staff who were here in those days have been most upset. Where it has been possible to do so, the College has been in touch with numerous individuals from those days. 

I have appreciated the emails of support that I have received from current parents in reply to my communication. Amongst the emails from current parents there have also been legitimate questions raised regarding what the College is currently doing in the area of child safety and child protection.

I reiterate that the College does all it can to create an environment where every student can feel safe and our staff follow strict safety protocols around child protection. This commitment to child safety is captured on our website in the following documentation:

• Statement of Commitment for Child Safety and Wellbeing. 
• EREA Commitment Statement to Child Safety, 
• Child Protection Contacts and School Authority Details (Form C), 
• EREA Student Protection Processes and 
• Guidelines and the EREA Code of Conduct

I would encourage parents to engage with at least one of these documents for a few minutes. Hopefully this would provide the necessary assurance that the College gives this critical area due priority with appropriate policies and procedures in place. 

Beyond the documentation, the College has a highly developed and ongoing process of teacher and staff training in child safety. Employment processes mean that there is a screening process for every employee. 

Furthermore, I am reassured by the data provided in last year’s school surveys. Close to 90% of Year 12s indicated that they felt safe at school. (NB: This was the highest score of all schools surveyed). 98% of parents indicated that they were confident, very confident or extremely confident that the school acted effectively on child protection matters.

With all that in mind I would encourage parents to talk with their sons on these matters. Where emotional distress is apparent please contact your son’s House Dean, Head of Boarding House or the counselling team. 

To restate our clear position, child safety and the welfare of Nudgee College students remains paramount. Along with their learning and their faith development it is at the heart of what we do.

Mr Peter Fullagar

Principal

“Aggregation of marginal gains”

I always try and find ideas that the boys can relate to that might help them or inspire them to be better in all they do. Recently I read this great article on Mr Dave Brailsford, the man who was the General Manager and Performance Director of Team Sky (Great Britain’s professional cycling team). 

He started this role in 2010, and at that point in time, no British cyclist had ever won the Tour de France. Brailsford’s approach to change this was simple. He believed in a concept that he referred to as the 'aggregation of marginal gains'. He explained it as “the 1 per cent margin for improvement in everything you do.” His belief was that if you improved every area related to cycling by just 1 per cent, then those small gains would add up to remarkable improvement.

He started by optimising the things you might expect: the nutrition of riders, their weekly training program, the ergonomics of the bike seat, and the weight of the tires. But Brailsford and his team didn’t stop there. They searched for 1 per cent improvements everywhere. They searched for 1 per cent improvements in tiny areas that were overlooked by almost everyone else: discovering the pillow that offered the best sleep and taking it with them to hotels, testing for the most effective type of massage gel, and teaching riders the best way to wash their hands to avoid infection (his thinking here was pre-COVID, so he was onto something!).

Brailsford believed that Team Sky would be able to win the Tour de France in five years. They won it in three years. British Cycling has dominated world cycling. They are tipped to win many medals in the upcoming Commonwealth games.

The takeaway for our boys is to highlight how it’s so easy to overestimate the importance of one defining moment and underestimate the value of making better decisions daily. Almost every habit you have, good or bad, results from many small decisions over time.  Improving by just 1 per cent isn’t notable, and sometimes it isn’t even noticeable, but it can be just as meaningful, especially in the long run.

If your son finds himself stuck with bad habits or poor results, it’s usually not because something happened overnight. It’s the sum of many small choices, a 1 per cent decline here and there, that eventually leads to a problem. In the beginning, there is no difference between making a choice that is 1 per cent better or 1 per cent worse. These decisions will not impact today, but as time goes on, these minor improvements or declines compound, and you suddenly find a huge gap between people who make slightly better decisions daily and those who don’t. This is why small choices don’t make much of a difference at the time but add up over the long term.

There is power in small wins and slow gains. This is why the system is greater than the goal. This is why mastering our habits is more important than achieving a specific outcome.

Success is a few simple disciplines practised daily; failure is simply a few errors in judgement repeated daily. —Jim Rohn

Hopefully, there is something in this all our boys can take on board as they get into a rhythm and routine for Semester 2.

Taken from: By James Clear, “Continuous Improvement, Goal Setting, Self-Improvement”

Inspiration for this image came from a graphic in The Slight Edge by Jeff Olson.

Mr David Johnston

Deputy Principal

Catholic Education Week

Catholic Education Week will be celebrated in Catholic schools in Queensland from Sunday 24 through to Saturday 30 July. This annual event is held to promote the special ethos of Catholic schools and to highlight the great things that take place in Catholic schools every day. 

The theme for this year’s celebrations is Communities of Faith, Hope and Love.

Catholic education strives to make a difference in the lives of those in our schools and in the wider community by challenging young people to live out the message of Jesus and to reach their full potential as compassionate, contributing, life-giving members of society.

There are 313 Catholic schools in Queensland that educate around 154,000 students and employ more than 22,000 teachers and staff, and most will celebrate Catholic Education Week in some way.

Catholic education is a faith-based education that places the values of Jesus at its centre. It values diversity and treats each student with dignity enabling them to promote and respect the dignity of all. It nurtures a commitment to social justice and a critical social conscience and it prepares students for global responsibilities through stewardship of the earth’s resources.

As a community, Nudgee College embodies the attributes of Catholic education week through our continuous dedication to social justice activities. This year’s theme, a community of faith, hope and love has already been lived out by the numerous students participating in these programs.

Our big brekkie and barbie programs help feed hundreds of homeless people every term, re-enacting our passion for the less fortunate. Moreover, our NC Sustainability group continues to live as stewards of the Earth caring for the resources we have been given. Every week students give up their time to go out to aged care homes to play scrabble and chat, deepening our school’s connections and strengthening our community. We also celebrate our school and culture’s diversity by marching in the Luminous Lantern Parade.

As a whole, our entire school contributes to Catholic education’s mission by advocating and raising awareness for events such as Stella Fella and project compassion. In the Edmund Rice tradition, Nudgee is truly living Catholic Education Week’s message for faith, hope and love by taking the opportunities we have been given and sharing them with others.

Lord, God of all Creation,

As we celebrate the great gift that is Catholic Education in Queensland,

we give thanks for the many ways You walked beside us, comforted and inspired us.

In embracing our Spirited Tomorrow, we also rejoice in the knowledge that our stories

are woven into the Spirit that flows through all our faith-filled communities.

As we look towards new horizons, may we walk boldly forward, together in hope,

trusting in the plans you have for us.

We make this prayer in Jesus’ name.

ALL:     AMEN.

Live Jesus in our Hearts … 

ALL:     FOREVER!

Mr Stephen Meara 

Dean of Identity

Year 11 Leadership Launch

Friday last week, the young men of Year 11 attended the Year 11 Leadership Launch.  During this presentation, students were provided with details about the leadership process for 2023. Like so many other wonderful programs at the College, ritual is central for us as a Catholic school.

At Nudgee, we follow in the footsteps of Jesus and of Edmund Rice in the model of ‘servant leadership’ hence using the Gospel of John - ‘washing of the feet’. Jesus does something, rich in symbol, and we are left with a clear teaching about the Christian life. Servant leadership throws at us a challenge; pride versus bravery. Pride is narrow, selfish and possessive, while bravery is outward, protecting and giving all to others. Peter cannot understand why Jesus would want to do a slaves job – washing their feet was confronting and confusing because Peter is a proud man.

Mr Fullagar washed the feet of three Year 11 boys, in imitation of Christ’s humility and service. It also serves as a witness to our understanding of Christ and our Nudgee community. Christ’s sacrifice changed everything we understood about the world. We are a people who give of ourselves to serve the community who loves us and gives us our meaning. This act of loving witness requires sacrifice, requires service and requires bravery.

This dovetails with the theory from the book, The Leadership Challenge. Authors Mr James Kouzes and Mr Barry Posner have identified five key attributes of successful leaders.

1. Model the way
2. Inspire a shared vision
3. Challenge the Process
4. Enable others to act
5. Encourage the heart

Kouzes and Posner also talk about the importance of leaders being ‘credible’ or authentic. Credible leaders:

• Cultivate a culture of trust - HONESTY
• Having vision and direction - FORWARD LOOKING
• Having the necessary skills - COMPETENT
• Builds a truly inclusive community - INSPIRING

Finally, and something that we strive for with the students, credible leaders know that 'it's all about positive relationships'.  The process of applying for a leadership position is a life-skill, and is certainly something that we recommend for the students to undertake.

Mr Anthony Connellan

Dean of Students

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

Senior Drama and Music Performance Assessment Evening

Save the Date: Thursday 4 August we will be holding the Senior Performance Assessment evening for our current Year 11 and 12 Drama and Music students.

Where: Tierney Auditorium

Time: 6.30pm - 8.30pm (approximately)

Everyone is welcome to attend the evening and see our current students perform their FA3 or IA3 respectively for their course of study in Senior Drama and Music. Bring along family and friends. If you have any questions feel free to contact me: akilgour@nudgee.com

Ms Alison Kilgour

Head of Arts Faculty

Year 9 Business and Economics Market Day

Term 2 was capped off with the reintroduction of the Year 9 Business and Economics Market Day. Boys from the four classes, supported by the expertise and energy of Mr Scotney, Mr Fraser, Ms O’Brien and Ms Fraikin, spent the preceding weeks learning about entrepreneurship and business competitiveness. The inspired students set about launching their own business ideas, with the goal of making the most sales at the Market Day and raising money for charity. 

Clever marketing and product/service offerings dominated the festival atmosphere, which was helped along thanks to music from Stage Band. Payment by card made its Market Day debut, with students in Years 5 to 8 purchasing tickets to spend at any of the market stalls. Crowd favourites included basketball challenges, brownies, ice-cream stalls, and the famous ‘lob-a-choc’ and ‘knock-em-downs’.

Students applied their knowledge of marketing strategies to operational plans and human resource management to implement their business ideas. By donating proceeds to charity the boys demonstrated empathy, applying skills in managing their finances to a charitable venture.

As always, we extend a huge vote of thanks to Mr Raoul Carmody and the AV Crew, Mr Paul Elliot from the Development and Communications team for his graphic design skills, and the teachers and staff who attended to support the event.

Congratulations to all of the students, whose combined efforts raised a total of $1,080.40 for the chosen charity, Bravery Box.

Mr Sam Proctor

Head of Business Faculty

What We’ve Been Doing:

Chess - The 1st IV had a narrow loss 1-3 against TGS on Friday night. On board 4, Dominic Stein kept pressure on his opponent throughout his game, forcing the opponent into time pressure which eventually led to his flag falling.

The Senior Team had a convincing 3.5-0.5 win thanks to the superior play of Mitchell Dudurovic, Ryan Wedmaier, Liam McBride and Rafael Chase. While the Open B team drew 2-2 with wins from Suhaan Lashand and Hugo Elliot.

Congratulations also to Jake Page and Max Watson who won their games and Isaac Johannes who got a draw.

• First IV 1-3
• Senior 3.5-0.5
• Junior 1-3
• Open A 0-4
• Open B 2-2
• Open C 0.5-3.5
• Open D 1-3
• Open E 1-3

Debating have started their pre-season training regime, with the Senior A Development Squad meeting for the first time last Friday, and all debaters invited to a Masterclass on Monday. The Monday sessions will continue in Tierney for the next few weeks and all students interested in finding out more about debating are invited to attend.

Theatresports - the Junior Team hosted a semi-final on Wednesday evening. They put up an entertaining fight but were unsuccessful in progressing to the final.

Music teams have begun their busiest term since 2019, with performances in both the Logan and Redlands Eisteddfods. At time of writing, Junior Drumline and Drumline each walked away with a win at the Logan Entertainment Centre, Rockbands 1,2,3 and 4 competed in a tough field of 9, with RB 1 being awarded third place also in Logan, and Junior School Choir - The Treblemakers - won a trophy as first place in the redlands Eisteddfod.

What’s Coming Up

Week 3 and 4

Chess head away to play powerhouse ACGS - we are looking forward to some more strong showings. Several Senior players will also be involved in the Interschool Tournament for Term 3 on Tuesday.

Debating are holding another masterclass on Monday from 3:15, this time in Tierney - this is a great way to discover more about debating, and Junior School students are encouraged to attend.

Music continue their Eisteddfod run with Brotherhood, Allegro Strings, Chamber Strings, Concert Band and Stage Band competing at Redlands, and Year 10 Student Ajax Anderson is competing in a ‘Battle of the DJs’ at St Rita’s College on Sunday Afternoon.

Theatresports students in the Senior A Team are competing for a place in the Grand Final from 7pm at All Hallows School on Monday night - they would appreciate your support!

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 Alexandra Khafagi 

Director of Performing Arts

What's coming up this week

Basketball and Rugby vs ACGS (A)

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