Week 4 Term 2 2019

Principal

“Love Nudgee College.”

Not often do I receive an email with these words in the subject line. The email went on to say:

“Just wanting to say, we love Nudgee College and are so proud to have chosen it to send our son there. The live stream of Assembly this morning was awesome and it came at a time when I’m dearly missing him yet I was able to be involved in what’s going on down there.”

This email from one of our Boarding mums was timely as well. This week is National Boarding Week as well as Saturday being Open Day at the College. The original vision for Nudgee College was that we would be a boarding school for boys from the bush. We have proudly and successfully fulfilled this mandate since 1891. It is a long time since we were a school just for boarders and currently we have nearly 280 boarders in a school population of 1,600. What has been evident to me in my time as Principal is that the Boarding community is a barometer for the ‘climate’ of the school.

If Boarding is strong then Nudgee College is strong. By strong I mean: boys are happy; boys are learning (in the broadest sense of the word); boys are connected with each other; and boys are well cared for. Our Boarding staff are working hard to achieve all this and I thank each of them for their dedication and commitment to our boarders and their families. Similarly, I thank Dean of Boarding Mr Christian Oneto for his leadership of the Boarding community.

You may already be aware of the release of episode one of the short series Home Away From Home that the College has produced to coincide with both National Boarding Week and Open Day. I share the link here and commend the four part series to you (NB: you may need your tissues for upcoming episodes 2 and 3).

We are expecting a large crowd to be in attendance at Open Day this Saturday. Registrations are tracking ahead of last year’s numbers at present. While we have committed to a range of marketing strategies for the event itself, in truth, the word of mouth of current families is our best form of advertising. You cannot buy this endorsement but you certainly have to earn it on a daily basis. Just as I have commended our Boarding staff the same words can be extended to all staff at Nudgee College. This applies not only to the teachers doing the vital work in the classrooms but the countless other staff who provide a range of support and service to our community.

Parents of students in Years 5, 7 and 9 will be well aware that their sons are involved in NAPLAN this week and next. We were one of the schools who were involved in the trial of the online test last year. This trial has been extended to more schools in 2019 and it is professionally rewarding for our staff to be leading in this area. It has necessitated the commitment of extra resources to complete the tests, but these are largely seeing a beneficial return. Results wise, our 2018 outcomes showed an improvement on previous years, which is pleasing. Obviously we will continue to monitor these results closely so that we can support individual students better and understand the strengths of year level cohorts more fully.

As part of their lessons over the past few weeks Years 5, 7 and 9 students have been introduced to the online platform and have participated in familiarisation activities. They have also engaged in a literacy/numeracy masterclass focused on some key strategies that will help them to succeed on their tests. I thank Director of Learning and Teaching Ms Natalie Webber for her leadership of NAPLAN preparation and testing as well as the other teachers involved in leading this preparation.

Interested parents might take note of Ms Webber’s sage points of advice and key messages for our boys:

You are prepared for NAPLAN! All of your lessons in English, Maths and other subjects have prepared you for these tests.
Do your best! Persist, even if you find it difficult.
NAPLAN is important because of what it measures. Your teachers and parents want to know the areas in which you're going well and how we can help you to improve. NAPLAN helps us to see your academic growth.
With every best wish for the week ahead.

Mr Peter Fullagar
Principal

Deputy Principal

Mobile phone bans a ‘simple but ineffective solution’

This was the title to an article in a recent education publication that grabbed my attention. I have stated over the years my position on the mobile phone debate. The technology attached to the modern mobile phone is a wonderful tool to support our lives in so many areas; equally it can consume our time, impact on our relationships and invade our rest.

Leading education expert Pasi Sahlberg says the issue of restricting smartphone use is best handled in close collaboration with children and their parents – not through bans by schools. Sahlberg says a ban on smartphones constitutes a “simple but ineffective” solution. “Most ‘screen time’ takes place outside of school and simply taking the gadgets away from kids in school would not help; it is especially not a good idea for those who suffer from screens the most,” Sahlberg wrote. This issue, he explained, is best handled in close collaboration with children and their parents.

Ensuring technology is a benefit in the lives of our sons does mean we need guidelines around device use at school and around the home. My advice would be as follows:

Modelling the behaviours we want from our students, children or colleagues is imperative. It is important to demonstrate we are comfortable without our phones on occasions.
Focus on the task at hand, avoiding distraction and interference is key. When is the phone a tool to help and when is it a hindrance? I teach Maths and without mobile phones in the classroom I am chasing boys to bring their calculators. I never have to chase a boy to bring his phone!
Are we in control of the mobile phone, not the other way around? Teaching boys to exercise restraint and correct use can be part of the educative process. Our boys will get jobs and go to work – I don’t believe there are many employers who will ask them to hand their phones in at the start of the day and collect at the end of the day. We are preparing students for adult life; we should therefore allow them to use the tools that they will be using in their adult life.
We can and should have set times to switch off their phones, and their computers, at school and at home.
In case of emergency mobile phones are a good tool. For some students simply knowing they have their mobile phone can alleviate real anxiety issues.
Instead of banning phones from the classroom, we need to reflect on what is working to assist our boys to thrive in their current world and being their best. Being kind to our students and accepting there will be areas to develop is pivotal.

Mr David Johnston
Deputy Principal

Identity

Prayer at Assembly on Tuesday 14 May for National Boarding Week

(Xavier): I’m thankful for the love and generosity that inspires my parents to send me to boarding school. This comes at great sacrifice, materially, but especially emotionally. I pray God blesses our family.

(Isaiah H): I’m thankful for the adults who care for us daily. They go beyond job and work and create a home and a safe place of joy and nurture. I pray God reward them.

(Jack.H): I’m thankful that this semester I have received communications: emails, phone calls, messages, letters and visits. The distance can be hard. I pray it is an opportunity to value good communication with my family all through life.

(Riley C): I’m thankful for the confidence I gain each day living away from home, travelling, making decisions for myself, managing small things like laundry and pocket money. I pray I may be mature and grown up in my dealings with others.

(Alexander B): I’m thankful for how this confidence is deeper than being able to travel well or organise my laundry. It stems from the knowledge that I am part of a meaningful community, from an awareness of the larger world and my place in it, that I leave one place I am loved only to arrive in another place where I am loved. I pray I may grow in love.

(Yideg): I’m thankful for lessons learnt at school. Schoolwork can be hard and homework is always a bit of a struggle. It is also stretching and character-building. I pray that I discover the joy of learning.

(Hamish): I’m thankful for the beautiful property we call Nudgee College. Green grass, great weather, adventure and activities, gardens and paddocks. There are many beautiful things about home but at Nudgee College it seems we live outside. I pray I may always see and appreciate beauty.

(Eyzaiah): I’m thankful for friends and for friendships. They aren’t always smooth, they aren’t easy. But they are character-building and memory-forming and for better or worse, we need our mates. I pray I may be a good friend now and always.

(Sam R): I’m thankful that no matter what, no matter where, no matter how, this is my family. At home and at Nudgee College. You can never walk away from family. Families call us to be faithful, constant, compassionate and forgiving. I pray I may be a Sign of Faith.Live Jesus in our hearts: forever!

Mr Stephen Meara
Dean of Identity

Learning and Teaching

Year 11 Parent Information Evening

An information evening will be held for all Year 11 parents to help them further understand the new QCE and ATAR system. This information evening will be held on Monday 27 May, from 6.00pm in Ryan Hall. An information session for Year 11 students will be held during Student Formation on Friday 17 May.

Mr Jason Sepetauc
Dean of Learning and Teaching

The Role of NAPLAN in School Improvement at Nudgee College

NAPLAN provides a means of monitoring student growth and celebrating progress.

It’s true that NAPLAN is a ‘point in time’ test, but its value lies in comparing student achievement from ‘point to point’. Student gain is a measure that receives close attention at Nudgee College. It shows the average change in achievement for students who have taken consecutive NAPLAN tests at this school. Specifically, student gain is a way to measure the impact the school has had on student progress. NAPLAN 2018 provided evidence of school improvement, particularly in the Writing domain. The following table shows a comparison of student gain outcomes:

NAPLAN helps us gauge the strength of school-wide programs

Nudgee College teachers are working exceptionally hard at lifting the literacy progress of every boy. In 2019, we are striving towards explicit literacy goals that target sentence structure and vocabulary. Regular professional learning opportunities enable us to pursue excellent improvement in students’ reading and writing skills. Leading teachers examine best-practice in literacy instruction and disseminate this learning through our Professional Learning Community meetings; there are opportunities to ‘sharpen the saw’ alongside expert literacy coaches from ‘Write That Essay’. We look forward to another ‘check of the gauge’ using outcomes from NAPLAN 2019.

Ms Lauren Nolan
Head of Special Programs (School Improvement)

Arts Faculty Update

21st century skills are an integral part in the development of the holistic learner so they are innovators, entrepreneurs, lifelong learners and responsible global citizens. The Arts Faculty embeds these 21st century skills into the day to day learning experiences of our students. It is our aim to ensure the Nudgee College Arts graduate is competent in critical thinking, creative thinking, communication, collaboration and teamwork, personal and social skills and ICT skills. Updates from the Arts Faculty subjects will be featured in the newsletter over the next two weeks.

Drama

Year 9 Drama are currently focusing on transforming a play text to stage and creating a script excerpt. In one recent learning experience the boys engaged in exploring pretexts in preparation to read ‘Two Weeks with the Queen’, adapted by Morris Gleitzman. Through creative thinking, working collaboratively and communicating the boys developed a role-play to reflect themes and situations connected to the script. This process allows them the opportunity for experimentation and exploration of ideas. Performance outcomes were not only entertaining, but also reflected the themes and ideas clearly. This was evident through well-crafted storylines, good control of performance skills and stagecraft.

Ms Alison Kilgour
Head of Arts Faculty

Student Formation

Great Wheelbarrow Race

Today, 10 of our Senior students and staff left to participate in the annual Great Wheelbarrow Race. This event will see students traverse a similar path to the mining pioneers during the 1800s. Today the race takes a journey through rich farmlands and is a successful fundraising event for victims of this year’s floods in Townsville. Consequently, as a result of their efforts these boys, their families and our wider community have raised more than $10,000! Thanks to participants Kobie Smith, Will Cannon, Tom Cobb, Campbell Duncan, Dylan Dunne, Thomas Enders, Dean Kenny, Mason McDonald, Maea Mitchell and Lachlan Moss. We wish them well.

Open Day

Thanks for all student, parent and staff volunteers who are coming together on Saturday 18 May to showcase our wonderful College to guests at our annual Open Day. Without the support of our students who conduct tours, our supporter group volunteers who set up stalls and the teachers who volunteer their time such an event is not possible.

College Blazers

Students adore Nudgee College and all for which it stands. At times it confuses us when boys don’t take pride in their appearance, and therefore are not conducting themselves as Nudgee College men. I ask for parental support in the College expectation concerning boys wearing their blazers. College blazers must be worn to school, during PC and at the end of the day to travel home. In public, blazers must be worn when wearing the Nudgee College uniform. Blazers must also be on during College Assembly as it is a formal event. It must also be mentioned that the other aspects of our uniform (such as socks, ties and shoes) tell a story about ‘us’.

Boys are being reminded at present, but a ‘blitz’ involving the issuing of after school detentions is coming to students who have not followed the College’s consistent statements of expectations.

Student Drivers

Driving is a wonderful privilege and one that shouldn’t be treated lightly. Students need to be aware that if they wish to drive to school and park on the College campus they are required to have a letter signed from the Student Formation team. Once again, the students’ conduct and attitude on the road impact our entire community, therefore students must take every responsibility when driving to and from school, and particularly on campus.

Mr Peter Todd and Mr Sean Toovey
Dean of Students and Director of Students

Junior School

Excursions and Incursions

In the Junior School, we are always looking for ways to engage the boys further, in both the content they are learning and in the overall subject itself. We offer a variety of excursions and incursions throughout the year for the boys to participate in, which extend the boys’ understanding of the curriculum being taught.

Both last term and this term, the Junior School students have participated in a variety of excursions and incursions.

Year 5 last term had a wonderful day trip to Sea Life at Mooloolaba as part of the Biology unit on adaptations they were learning in Science. Also last term, students got to participate in a fantastic STEAM Program, run by teachers from the high school. Skills which the students learned in that program, they now get to apply in their Year 5 classrooms, including in an upcoming Maths assessment incorporating the use of technology. At the end of this term, the students will have an immersive experience with Eureka Excursions, where the students will re-enact the Gold Rush in a memorable end to this term’s HASS History unit.

The Year 6 students last term participated in an exciting and very different Science incursion focussed on the use of forensic sciences in crime scenes. The boys were also very lucky last term to have a former State Government Minister come in to speak to them about the roles and responsibilities of a politician as part of the Civics and Citizenship unit we studied in HASS. Upcoming this term is a visit to a Synagogue and the Cathedral of St Stephen in the city as part of our Religion unit comparing the two faith systems. This excursion forms the foundation of their Religion assessment for this term.

As the year progresses, we’ll continue to keep offering unique and interesting curriculum excursions and incursions for your son to experience during his time with us.

Mr Chris Cawley
Director of Junior School

Boarding

National Boarding Week

This week is National Boarding Week, with the Australian Boarding Schools’ Association (ABSA) spearheading an awareness campaign about the benefits of boarding. Before going into the benefits it's important to note first that we in Nudgee College Boarding appreciate the incredible responsibility you give us by placing your sons in our care. Our focus in Nudgee College Boarding is about facilitating boys finding and developing their strengths. We do this by creating a safe supportive environment where boys have multiple resources and opportunities to cater for their interests. Ultimately at the end of their Nudgee journey we hope that we have moulded an independent, empathetic, culturally aware young man who is able to fulfil his potential. To coincide with this National Boarding Week, Nudgee College released episode one of the new Boarding series Home Away From Home. This four part documentary follows fourth generation Nudgee College family the Kennys from Charters Towers, focussing on the two youngest boys and their transition from life on their cattle property to becoming Nudgee College boarders. We thank the Kenny family for opening their home and life to us and to Mr Nick Piper and his team from Onion TV (producers of The Season, which followed our Premiership 1st XV team from 2017). Home Away From Home is being released every Wednesday on the Nudgee College Facebook page and we hope everyone will share it far and wide. The first episode is live now.

Principal’s Tour of Townsville and Cairns

This week our Principal Mr Peter Fullagar, Dean of Students Mr Peter Todd and Head of Cotter Boarding House Mr Casey Brealy are visiting Townsville and Cairns. We thank the Dalle Cort family for hosting a parent information night in Townsville. It was a wonderful night with many current and prospective families in attendance. We were also privileged to have Bishop Tim Harris (NC 1976-80) and be able to present him with a cheque for $10,000 for flood relief in Townsville.

Peter Tennant

This week we remember Nudgee College Old Boy Peter Tennant (NC 2012-15) whose funeral was held today. Peter was a proud Hodda man and much loved within our Boarding community. Our thoughts and prayers are with his family during this time.

Great Wheelbarrow Race

A number of our boarders are engaged this week in participating in the annual Great Wheelbarrow Race in Far North Queensland. The team, combined with our wider community have raised more than $10,000 for the victims of the Townsville floods. We wish these boys the best of luck over the gruelling 148km race and will have the results and more images from this annual event to share with you next week.

Thanks to teachers Mr Karim Sedour and Mr Sione Mohenoa who drive this event each year and accompany the students as team captains, drivers and chaperones. We also thank the Reppel family for supporting and hosting the team in Cairns.

Weekend Activities

Friday: NRL game
Saturday: Home game Football and Tennis, Open Day and dinner with Stuartholme School boarders
Sunday: Shopping

Mr Christian Oneto
Dean of Boarding

Activities

Cross Country

On a beautiful Friday afternoon, 93 Nudgee College men headed down to the southern end of the campus to push themselves on one of our incredible Cross Country courses. We are blessed to have such an expanse of land, which allows us to charge over mounds, trot through puddles and escape amongst the trees – true cross country!

Our 16 year olds and Open boys were the first race and they pushed themselves around the 3km loop twice, which ended up just short of 6km. Of our 25 boys participating in these age groups, our top three runners from the Open boys were Yiddy Nethery (21:09mins), Ethan Irvine (21:49mins) and Ben McMillan (22:50mins), whilst in the 16s we had Lachlan Hill-Lewis (20:32mins), Declan Cabot (20:51mins) and Leo De Clara (21:39mins). Tremendous effort!

The 13 year old boys were off just two minutes later, with Jacob Johnson running a 10:53mins time. He was closely followed by the three Paddys: Paddy Burchard (11:02mins), Paddy Moloney (11:06mins) and Paddy Hill-Lewis (11:14mins). Marcus Newman and Jake Thurgood were right behind them! It was a brilliant turn out from our 13 year old boys, with 18 competitors running altogether!

Our 11 and 12 year old crowd of ‘N’ singlets were off next, with so many boys running within seconds of each other! Elfie Piper (11:22mins), Tom Kewley (11:52mins) and Alex Smith (12:05mins) were our first three 11 year old boys over the line, with Henry Potter and Matt Fuller almost catching them. In our 12 year old 3km event, Angus Durkin smashed out a time of 10:47mins, followed by Sam Kewley (11:19mins) and George Gillam (11:31mins), as well as Chase Tatum sprinting over the finish line just a few seconds later.

As the brightness of the sun slowly started to fade, the 14 and 15 year old boys darted from the starting line towards the trees and over the mounds of grass for their 4km event. Byron Cason (14:48mins) pushed hard, followed by Louis Robertson (16:03mins) and Ethan Rigby (16:14mins). Kudos to the 14 year old boys for representing Nudgee College – 18 of you altogether! Our top three 15 year old boys were Sam Rogers (14:33mins), Paddy Dallimore (15:25mins) and Inigo Lawrence (16:19mins). Fantastic work boys!

Our final event was the wonderful little troop of 10 year old boys! There were a couple of little navigation hiccups, and we ended up almost tied for first place. Harry Williams just got ahead of a Brisbane Boys’ College (BBC) boy to grab the first place medal! Within less than a minute, all the boys had completed their race. Well done to Michael Donovan (third place medal winner), Baxter Witteveen, Rhys Griffiths, Jack Beaumont, Jeremy Deakin, Roman Jones and Dash Withnall.

A huge thank you to the Athletics Support Group parents Mr Michael Cox, Mr Brod Jones, Ms Chrissy Tatum and Mr Matt Thurgood for organising the barbecue and selling our new Athletics supporter caps. Also, many thanks to Mr Stephen Alexander, Mr Ralph McMillan, Ms Dominique Williams, Ms Kelly Robertson, Mr Neil Robertson, Ms Amanda Gillam and Mr Brian Donovan (my apologies if I have missed anyone) for helping out at the barbecue.

This event would not have run so smoothly without the collective efforts of coaches Mr Nick Toohey, Mr Paul Masters, Mr Joe Stephens, Mr Damien Gannon, Mr Tom Hughes, Ms Sian Kennedy, Mr CJ Massingale, Mr Harry O’Sullivan and Mr Mikey O’Sullivan. Many thanks to the staff who gave up their Friday afternoon to assist: Mr Chris Cawley, Ms Lynsey Hale, Ms Maureen Toohey, Mr Tim Bird, Ms Chloe Arnold, Ms Christine Atchison and Ms Belinda Daff. Huge thank you to Ms Annette Armstrong and the Property and Services team for all of the equipment, Mr David Phillips, Ms Vicki Dodds, Ms Deb Daly, and the Catering team.

Ms Jaimee Trembearth
Cross Country Director

Tennis

Round 3 saw the Nudgee men take on Gregory Terrace (GT). GT has had a formidable tennis program for many years and posed a real challenge for our boys.

Preparation for this round saw the team working hard and placed the boys in a great position to compete. Game day was filled with many hard fought matches and opportunities for growth and development. All teams have improved their skills and resilience from playing these difficult matches.

A special mention from last weekend must be extended to the parents and supporters for their contributions in running the canteen and BBQ. We can’t thank them enough for their efforts, which made the day even more special. Any parents looking to become involved in the tennis program are more than welcome to come down and help out.

Next week Ipswich will come to Nudgee to compete. The BBQ will be fired up, the sun will be shining (hopefully) and the tennis will be captivating. Can’t wait to see you all there.

Basketball Sign On

Sign on is now open and will close at the end of Week 5, Friday 24 May. To sign on, students will need to click the link in the daily Student Notices, which they receive via email. You may wish to offer a hand by sitting with your son on his device. Once submitted, a confirmation of the sign-on will be sent via email for his records. Trials will be run at the end of Week 6 on Saturday 1 June (timings to follow).

If you require any further information, please contact the Basketball Director Mr CJ Massingale via email on cms@nudgee.qld.edu.au.

Rugby Sign On

In 2019, all players, officials and coaches in the GPS Rugby competition must be registered via Rugby AU's Rugby Xplorer System. This is a mandatory requirement by Rugby AU, and it will allow the competition administrators greater access to important player information, including blue cards (concussion history), yellow/ red cards, club affiliation, etc. It is the parents’ responsibility to register their son into the system using the instructions outlined in Team App; players are not to register on their own.

All players wishing to participate in Rugby for Nudgee College next term need to be registered through Rugby Xplorer by Friday 31 May 31. All details on how to do this are located on Team Appunder the ‘Rugby Sign On’ tab. We thank you in advance for your support of this important process.

Mr Anthony Connellan
Director of Activities

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