Principal
This week we encountered the future of the College during the enrolment interviews for Year 5, 2021. These young boys will comprise more than half of the Senior class of 2028!
It is an absolute privilege to meet prospective families and their sons in such a setting. The hopes and dreams of young boys are shared as well as the hopes and dreams that parents hold for their child. Often the interview can be a result of long period of discernment about what school is the most appropriate and best fit for their son.
I share with you the thoughts of one prospective Nudgee College student this week as an insight into this privilege. In his application in response to the question of ‘why Nudgee College?’ he wrote:
At the Open Day I liked the facilities and the sporting museum. I also talked to some boys and they were really proud of their school. I have no brothers or sisters so I really want to make good friends that last.
Relationships and learning are at the heart of any successful school and I would like to think at Nudgee College this young boy’s hope can be realised. On the evidence of the way our boys generally relate with each other and how connected many of them are with each other, even years after school, there is every chance this hope will be fulfilled.
More broadly, the demand for places for 2021 in Year 5 exceeds the places available, which is a healthy position for the College. Understandably this scenario creates some pressures on prospective families. Parents will be advised of the offer of places in writing in the last week of this term, which is just over three weeks away. Thank you to Director of Admissions Ms Susan Shakespear for her outstanding leadership and organisation of this important process.
At this point in the term, many of our current students are also considering their immediate futures. Year 12s are considering tertiary courses, work, apprenticeships, study and work combinations, or gap year possibilities for 2020. Our Year 11s are in process of leadership nominations, selection and election for 2020. In Year 10, 9 and 8 there are important decisions to be made about pathways and subject choices for 2020. In the case of our Year 6 students, they are thinking more seriously about high school next year.
Largely these decisions must be made while our students are also maintaining their focus on the present. Term 3 can be a demanding term and during this last third of the term it is critical that students balance their commitments inside and beyond the classroom. Consequently there are pressures on many boys to persevere. There may be the need to recommit to study harder and, in some cases, study smarter. It may be a time to become more organised. It may also be a time to seek help and to ask mates, teachers, PC tutors, parents and siblings or Boarding supervisors for assistance. It is true that there is always someone to help during such times of pressure.
Managing our study commitments often relates to good learning habits and these were highlighted at Tuesday’s Assembly by Mr Jason Sepetauc in the presentation of the Outstanding Learning Habits Awards to students from Years 5 to 12. We congratulate these boys on this achievement.
Also at Tuesday’s Assembly the student body expressed their support for our Year 12s as they prepare to undertake the challenge of the Queensland Core Skills (QCS) Test next week. This is the final sitting of this test across the state and consequently it is something of a landmark in the history of Queensland education. A generation of students have undertaken the four papers over two days. Of most importance is the fact that the individual results and the group’s results that generated from the QCS are critical to the calculation of Overall Position (OP) results at the end of the year.
In this final year of the QCS test the College has increased the focus, changed the preparation process and engaged external specialists, as well as the expertise of our own staff, in the hope of maximising the performance of the Year 12s. Consequently, the Year 12 cohort have been prepared extremely well by Ms Peta Scott and a team of teachers who have worked with the Seniors since the beginning of the year. In particular we thank Peta, Ms Louise Nardi, Ms Monica See, Mr Mik Scott, Ms Jodie Moore, Ms Bonnie Becker and Mr Anthony Gibb for their dedication and care for the Seniors. As of Tuesday morning, the final results are in the hands of these young men.
Finally, welcome back Mr Peter Todd from a period of leave and thank you to Mr Sean Toovey, Mr Michael Byrne and Mr Karim Sedour who all assumed new responsibilities so capably in Peter’s absence. The smooth operation of College life in the past six weeks is a credit to them all.
Mr Peter Fullagar
Principal
