On Monday evening in the Bodkin Room in the Treacy Building the College Board hosted the Christian Brothers for the end of year Christmas dinner. It is always a warm occasion and an appropriate way to acknowledge and thank the local Brothers for their lifetime contribution to numerous schools across the state, as well as overseas. These men are now living in retirement in the local community and at Viridian. The school community at Nudgee College as well all those who work in Edmund Rice schools today are the beneficiaries of the legacy left by these generous, faith-filled men.

Fast forward to morning tea on Tuesday and the Bodkin Room hosted Ms Maria Egan’s Year 5 class for a special visit. I had the privilege of visiting their classroom fortnightly for a period of reading.There is something organic that happens when you spend time with 10 year olds. I know that I always come away from that short time enthused and energised. They possess an infectious enthusiasm that is good for your soul. Hosting these boys on Tuesday I was struck by the depth of change and growth in them during this past year. I was mindful that the future of the College was sitting in front of me.

As a school community and as individuals we need to always be respectful of our past and optimistic about the future. It also true that we can only live in the present and it is equally important that we value the opportunity of the present moment each and every day.

Broadly speaking, 2019 has been a challenging year academically at the Senior year levels in Queensland schools. One era in Queensland education is coming to a close and another is emerging. Our graduating Year 12s are part of the final cohort of students whose QCE result (Queensland Certificate of Education) will be calculated as an OP. Our Year 11s are the first cohort whose QCE result will be calculated as an ATAR (Australian Tertiary Admission Rank). Throughout this year, our Year 12s and their teachers worked hard in classrooms and in QCS preparation. In this final preparation for the QCS test we adopted a new approach to the writing task, which required a greater commitment from students and staff. This approach was challenging but gave the boys’ preparation and performance a defined focus. We now await with great expectations the results of QCS because of its importance in the calculation of the Year 12s' Overall Position (OP). 

Concurrently, there has been a noticeable increase in intensity in Year 11 under the new regime that is now driven more by the syllabus. In 2020, this ‘new’ system will become ‘the’ system as we know it. This is a new educational landscape to be negotiated by our students, their parents and our teachers. This will bring change. Significant in this change is the removal of the statewide QCS test in September and the advent of Term 4 external exams. Fast forward to this time in 12 months and Year 12s will have concluded the first sitting of the statewide external exams. Much is changing in Senior schooling. Even now, Year 11 students have commenced Unit 3 work, which carries over into the start of Year 12 in 2020. Previously, Year 11 students would have commenced block exams to conclude the term. This is no longer the case and teachers and their classes will be working on new content until the final day of the term.

As we enter the final days of 2019, the next phase of building and redevelopment of our campus is about to commence. This past year has been a time of planning and preparation in this regard while we made our Ministerial Infrastructure Designation application to the State Government. This was recently approved and now enables the commencement of construction that will continue throughout 2020. The initial phase of the Early Learning Centre will commence prior to Christmas while the refurbishment of the historic Treacy precinct will also soon be underway. It is currently anticipated that the Flats project will commence in April next year. We will provide more information in the New Year on these exciting changes that will continue to improve the campus for our current boys as well as for those who will follow in the years to come.

In conclusion, it is somewhat surprising, even a shock for some, to realise that the end of the school year is just over a week away. The busyness of the day to day can make you oblivious to the passing of the weeks and months. While classes conclude next week school life at the College will continue with camps, tours, major and minor capital projects, school administration, and more over the coming weeks. 

We have much to be grateful for this year and as we conclude school for 2019 we can reflect on a successful year for many Nudgee College men in many dimensions of school life. The break from day to day school life will be restorative for everyone and we wish students, families and staff a safe, relaxed and happy holiday. Over the coming holidays, we hope and pray that our dry and drought-stricken country will be blessed by rain. We keep in our hearts those fellow Queenslanders and Australians affected by the ongoing drought, as well as the threat of fires.

Advent and the Christmas season is almost upon us and this is always a time of anticipation in the lead-up to Christmas, as well as much celebration and joy. It is also a time to reflect upon how each of us is loved by God, whatever our circumstances may be in the present moment. 

Mr Peter Fullagar
Principal

At this time of year when the boys’ examinations loom large and our Year 12s’ OP scores are only weeks away, debate emerges on the merit of reporting and the perceived competition associated with student rankings for OP calculations. Much of the focus centres around the effect such measures may have on the self-esteem and resilience of our boys. Many child health experts, sociologists and educational leaders are keen to add their often varied opinions on matters such as: the importance of giving praise to students; establishing clear consequences for given behaviours; and the life lessons that can be learned from occasionally failing and working through some hardship. Establishing the conditions and context for our boys to experience opportunities to build resilience is an important aspect of their development as young adults.

It is very important for every person to have a positive mindset and to adopt a view in which we try to remain positive and search for the good in situations, and indeed in other people. A focus on the positive rather than the negative is an admirable one. However, it is also important to be a realist. In life, difficult situations will present themselves, negative outcomes will occur and encountering failure is likely to happen at some point. The ability of our boys to bounce back from such situations – their resilience – will determine their growth as people and greatly add to their character. I always feel it necessary at this point in one of these articles to stress that this is our aim, and I do not claim to be immune from lacking resilience in the face of bad news or when things don’t go my way. 

While it is vitally important that we praise our boys and provide affirmations for their efforts, such recognition must be genuine and appropriate. A good example of this process was the recent Awards Ceremony. It is equally important that we do not set up systems that artificially praise all of the time; or in which competition does not exist; or in which hardship and/or failure never occurs. That is not how life works – and we know how much the College does thrive on healthy competition!

While promoting each and every boy’s self-worth is an important role for parents and schools, we must equally encourage situations where young people, actually all people, develop a real and genuine sense of resilience. It is impossible to always get what we want; or what we apply for; or to win all of the time. Experiencing both failure and success helps develop resilience. Making mistakes or experiencing failure is an important mechanism for our overall development. History is marked with examples of discoveries and triumphs that have succeeded after many failed efforts. Developing determination, perseverance and staying committed to a task are all important aspects of building resilience.

Resilience in our boys can be enhanced by the approach adopted by the significant adults in their lives – essentially their parents, families, teachers and coaches. Parenting has always required an exceptionally strong set of skills, including caring, nurturing, encouraging and negotiating. Parenting is also about leading and teaching. The ability to pass on skills, knowledge and attitudes is perhaps the most important parenting skill of all. As parents, we teach by modelling behaviours and attitudes, but we also have wonderful opportunities to teach our children explicitly about how to cope with and manage those difficult situations that they may experience.

When moments of hardship, failure or disappointment do occur, we need to view such situations as ‘teachable moments’ – real opportunities for us to help our boys grow and learn from some of these challenges. Recognising and grasping these teachable moments is how we can help our boys become resilient and bounce back from some of the setbacks they will encounter now and into the future.

A former coach of mine used to say: “It is not the amount of times you stumble and fall that matters; rather, it is the number of times you get back up”.

Finally, as mentioned at the start of this article, we are in the final stretch, with all boys deeply immersed in assessment and exams. I hope the year finishes well for all families and wish everyone a happy and safe Christmas.

Mr David Johnston
Deputy Principal

Last week we shared with you some information about a wonderful program called Big Brekky. This week we’d like to share with you some information about Big BBQ. If you’re not a morning person and would prefer to volunteer with us on Tuesday afternoons, then this is the program for you:

• Who: Years 10 to 12 students (with staff and parent/caregiver supervision)
• When: Tuesday evenings, 5.00pm to 7.00pm
• Where: Brisbane North Rental Village, 1420-1432 Gympie Road, Aspley
• What: Volunteers cook sausages, prepare bread with butter, serve, prepare and then pack down the barbecue. Most importantly though this program is about community and having conversations with the people we serve.
• How: Meet at the back of the Treacy Building at the back entrance of the kitchen. You will see the Big BBQ van waiting. Together you will get the supplies from the kitchen and put them in the back of the van and then travel together to the caravan park in Aspley.

During the school holidays, we have openings for the Nudgee College community to get involved:

• Tuesday 24 December 2019
• Tuesday 31 December 2019
• Tuesday 7 January 2020
• Tuesday 14 January 2020
• Tuesday 21 January 2020

Sign up here.

For further questions please email dke@nudgee.qld.edu.au.

Ms Danyelle Kelly
Director of Identity

Soon you will receive your child’s Semester 2 subject report via the Parent Lounge. An A to E scale will be used to indicate how well your son is achieving at this point in time.

But what does the letter really mean? Years 5 to 10 boys study subjects designed using the Australian Curriculum (AC). Teachers organise lessons using the AC content descriptions and elaborations. This means that all Australian children have the opportunity to develop the same knowledge, understanding, skills and values.

The AC recognises that children are different: they develop at different rates, have different learning preferences and areas of interest, and have different aspirations. The AC achievement standards provide teachers with a statement of learning expected of students at the end of a year or band of years. The A to E result you see reflects a program of work planned using the AC by a teacher: the evidence from learning and assessment across the semester developed using the AC by a teacher and reported on using the AC achievement standard. The AC is a common link across planning, learning, assessment and instruction across the country, and at Nudgee College. When you reflect on your son’s results, understand that teachers have used the achievement standards at the end of a period of teaching, to make on-balance judgements about the quality of learning demonstrated by students – that is, whether the students have achieved below, at or above the standard. To make judgements, teachers draw on assessment data they have collected as evidence during the course of the teaching period.

More information is available via the following links:

• AC Home Page
• AC Implications for Teaching, Assessing and Reporting
• NC Assessment and Academic Policy

Mr Jason Sepetauc
Dean of Learning and Teaching 

Unfortunately, over recent weeks, the College has needed to respond to incidents which arose out of weekend private parties. The following paragraphs outline the College’s approach to private parties. 

The College does not officially condone parties, neither does it condemn parties. The College encourages parents to be actively involved in monitoring their son’s social life outside of school, being mindful of the fact that the attendance of Nudgee College students at an outside social gathering does not classify the event as a school activity.

We encourage parents to personally contact the host parents of any student social gathering, share with the host and their student their behavioural expectations and organise safety mechanisms (e.g. clearly defined drop-off and pick-up procedures and phone access). The College recommends that discussion between parents also covers issues such as security and the presence of alcohol and illicit drugs.

We recommend to parents that their student does not attend parties that are unsupervised by a responsible adult and/or have little or no security measures in place. Detailed advice on parties and other related matters is available from the Queensland Police website.

The College will involve itself in parties under the following conditions and in the following manner:

• Where a student's behaviour is unacceptable legally or against the College’s values and they involve the College via the wearing of Nudgee College clothing or have in their possession any item that identifies the College
• Where the party is quite frankly known as the ‘Nudgee College Rowing/Rugby/Football etc. Party’, the ‘Nudgee College Post-Formal Party” etc. and is poorly managed with incidents arising
• Nudgee College students bring the College’s name into disrepute through their actions and then connect the College via war cries or chants which are part of the College's traditions
• In the event that a Nudgee College student’s behaviour is illegal and it is reported to the College
• The College reserves the right to hand the matter to the police for investigation and action. Our aim as a College is for boys, staff and parents to live up to the ideals of our College motto, and the final line of our College song; that we are Signum Fidei – a ‘Sign of Faith’.

A few pieces of advice:

• If you can say you know where your child actually is and who he is with at all times (because you have strategies to confirm that without being a ‘helicopter’) his chances of being safe are great.
• Respectfully, please do not host a party Nudgee College does not want you to host, or send your son to a party we recommend you do not send him to, and then ring the College on Monday for help when things go badly or you need something resolved. The College will respond on its terms.

We look forward to a great end to Term 4 and I trust everyone has a joy filled Christmas period.

Mr Peter Todd
Dean of Students

Valedictory

Last Thursday night marked the final event in our College calendar in farewelling our 2019 Seniors – Valedictory. It was a wonderful event organised by a well-orchestrated team of staff and parent volunteers who brought together a night that many will remember. It is a time when parents can reflect on the wonderful journey their son has completed at Nudgee College and also a time for our Boarding boys to farewell their peers not only as friends, but as Boarding brothers. We wish each and every one of our students and their family members for this new chapter in their lives.

Holiday Leave

With the end of term only one week away, boys and their families should be planning their travel home at the end of the term. Could I ask that you or your son enters his vacation leave into REACH by no later than Monday 25 November to assist with rostering, meals etc.

If your son is in Years 5 to 11 and needs to depart prior to 1.00pm on Friday 29 November he must have approval from the Principal. Mr Peter Fullagar can be contacted via principal@nudgee.qld.edu.au.

We will have the usual buses to the airport and Roma Street Station on the last day of school. If your son needs transport to the airport on the last day please enter this into the notes of his leave application, including the flight number and departure time.

Weekend Recreation

• Friday: Swimming
• Saturday: Shopping and ice skating
• Sunday: Beach trip

Mr Christian Oneto
Dean of Boarding

Junior School Social Justice Team

I would like to sincerely thank our Junior School community for the outstanding response to our Christmas appeal. Your generosity in providing so many fabulous gifts to our bush families will be greatly appreciated by so many. We look forward to sending our gifts to Goondiwindi on the final day of the term. You still have one week if you wish to contribute.

 A Sporting Celebration

You will see in the photo below that this week we celebrated our wins in all three Junior GPS Championship events. For the first time this year our boys were successful in claiming all titles – Swimming, Cross Country and Track and Field. This was an extraordinary achievement and shows the depth of our programs on offer.

Final Message for 2019

Our Junior School had another very successful year. I have again had the pleasure to work with more than 260 young men here at the College. They have participated enthusiastically in both our curriculum and co-curricular programs. As I read their Core Comments for this semester’s report, I am delighted with so many comments that note the significant gains so many boys have made in their academic and social pursuits. I am also grateful for the support of our parents and caregivers on a daily basis. My conversations are not always easy ones, but in the end are based on working constructively with our families to provide the best possible educational outcomes for your son.

On behalf of the entire Junior School community I would like to express our sincere gratitude to Ms Michelle Grieve, our Administrative Assistant in the Junior School. Michelle is far more than that and provides our boys with a service second to none. A student can present to the office in the totally wrong uniform, and to that boy, it is a huge issue. In minutes Michelle will have him decked out fully in the correct uniform. This may seem a minor action, but to that boy his day is now complete. Her dedication to your sons and the Junior School staff is what makes our little corner of the College a wonderful place to be a part of.

Finally, I would like to pay tribute to the Core Teachers who make up the Junior School. They embody the mantra of our College Principal: How will what we do benefit the students? They are constantly looking for ways to enhance our curriculum delivery and how to support their students in a pastoral manner. To our teacher aides who offer so much assistance to our teachers and students on a daily basis, my sincere thanks. This year we farewell Ms Nicolette Beecham from the Junior School as she moves to our middle school. Nicolette has been a part of our team for the past 11 years and has contributed enormously to the education of our young men. We will miss her next year, but wish her all the best on her next journey within Nudgee College. To our College Leadership Team, my sincere gratitude for your ongoing support of the Junior School. Next year will see the final stage of the redevelopment of the O’Neill Building. Our top floor will have state of the art technology and classroom furniture that allows for 21st century teaching.   

For those families leaving the Junior School for the final time, and those leaving Nudgee College for the final time, I wish you every success in the years ahead. Be that as part of the Nudgee Community, or elsewhere. I hope your Junior School experience has been a positive one that sets your son up for the brightest future. On behalf of all our staff, I wish families a very safe and holy Christmas break.

The true meaning of life is to plant trees, under whose shade you do not expect to sit. - Nelson Henderson

I look forward with great anticipation to 2020.

Important Dates

Please see below the key dates for the Junior School activities in our final week:

Tuesday 26 November: 

• Years 5 and 6 end of year excursion to Wet’n’Wild

Wednesday 27 November:

• Year 6 Mass, College Chapel at 12.30pm, refreshments at 1:30pm*
• Year 6 Choral Presentation in Christian Brothers’ Conference Centre at 2.00pm

Thursday 28 November:

• Year 5 Mass, College Chapel at 12.00pm, refreshments at 1.00pm*
• Year 5 Musical Presentation in Christian Brothers’ Conference Centre at 1.30pm

Friday 29 November: 

• End of Term 4 at 12.00pm, buses will depart after Assembly (boys who catch the connecting bus at Samford are advised that this connection will not be running earlier to meet the Nudgee College bus, please make alternative arrangements)

*Please note that a shuttle bus service will operate from the pick-up/drop-off zone near the McKennariey Centre car park commencing 30 minutes prior to Mass and will also transport people back to the Conference Centre at the conclusion of Mass.

Mr Chris Cawley
Director of Junior School

Important Information Regarding Purchasing Term Bus Passes for 2020.

Term Bus Passes for 2020 will be available for purchase from the Online Payment Gateway from Friday 22 November 2019.

Term 1:

• *Pre-paid term pass (discounted): $245 if bought before midnight Sunday 19 January 2020
• *Pre-paid term pass (no discount): $255 on or before midnight Monday 27 January 2020

• 10 trip tickets (pay as you go): $30

*Note the early bird dates for a discount. For Term 1 2020 this date is Sunday 19 January 2020. Passes will still be available after the early bird dates until midnight Monday 27 January 2020 but at a higher rate. To allow for collation, printing and distribution in a timely fashion these dates are fixed. Should you miss the cut off, you will have to purchase 10 trip tickets for the term, which cost $30 each and can be purchased from the Tuckshop, Locker Room or Junior School.

Returning students can obtain their passes from their House Dean in Week 1. New students to Nudgee College (no photo on system) will receive their passes in Week 2.

If your son loses his term bus pass, this can be re-issued at a small cost through IT support.

View bus routes here.

Should you have any queries regarding bus services, including stop and routes, please feel free to contact tranport@nudgee.com. For information on purchasing tickets email finance@nudgee.qld.edu.au or 3865 0403.

The Locker Room

As it is nearing the end of the year, can anyone who has any second hand clothing to sell please take to the Locker Room as soon as possible. All clothing needs to be washed and ironed. Items must still be in good condition – anything with seams split, patches, marks, or is faded will not be accepted and will be disposed of. 

Blazers must be dry cleaned. Again we do not take blazer that are frayed, ripped or faded.

A Consignment Form is required to be filled out for these items. You can download the form on the College website or these forms are also available at the Locker Room.

When items are sold payment will go back onto school fees, or if a student has finished at the College, payment will be credited to your credit card nominated on the form.

The Locker Room will be open until 6 December 2019 and reopen on 13 January 2019. Please note we are closed Wednesday 4 December

For new student fittings, we require parents to make an appointment time, which you can do so on the College website. You will receive an automatic email back confirming your time.

Please remember to keep your credit card details up to date with the Locker Room. You can fill out a new form to return at any time. The form available on the College website.