Week 8 Term 1 2023

Principal

Deputy Principal

Two weeks ago, our Swimming team scaled the heights of the GPS Swimming Carnival. Winning both Junior and Senior GPS titles was an amazing achievement that affirmed the hard work, dedication, commitment and sacrifice. Last weekend, a number of important events occurred that saw our teams in the mix for premierships and championships but sadly, our Nudgee men were not able to replicate the successes of their swimming brothers.

Whilst the results were different, the level of commitment, passion and spirit shown by our debaters, rowers, cricketers and volleyballers was no different to that of our swimmers. I would like to congratulate all students on the way they engaged and competed during the weekend.

For me, the results, whilst heartbreaking for those involved, were not the most important observation for me. What I witnessed in our students was an unwavering spirit and desire from our spectators to ensure their brothers on the stage, water, oval or court knew that they were not walking alone. Their voices resonated to the very end of each event and despite not witnessing the successes they had the previous week at Chandler, if one was to predict the result simply by observing our spectators, it would be impossible to determine what the relevant sport results were.

As much as I would like to congratulate and acknowledge each of the young men involved in activities this term for their thorough and mature approach to representing this great school, those who line the edges of these events deserve an equal level of recognition. The spirit of Nudgee College is often spoken about, but it is not too difficult to see it in full flight.

Mr Scott Thomson

Deputy Principal

Student Formation

Nudgee / St Rita’s afternoon for Year 7

As part of our long term strategy towards positive masculinity and respectful relationships, we held our first Nudgee College / St Rita’s College Year 7 formation event this week. This is the beginning of a targeted approach to providing boys and girls an opportunity to build healthy relationships in a safe environment. The plan also includes activities for Year 8, 9 and 10 throughout the remainder of 2023. For more information regarding ongoing activities - https://docs.google.com/docume...

Note: the Year 9 and 10 one day workshop with Melinda Tankard-Reist and Daniel Principe will include a Parent session.

This is what some of our Year 7 lads said:

On Tuesday, we had an afternoon with the St Rita's girls. It was entertaining, I was a bit shy at the start but when we got through some of the activities I started talking to some girls and getting to know them. For one activity, we went to the chapel and we had to write a note to a family member or a friend and thank them for what they had done for us. In the end, we split into our house groups and we played capture the flag. The last activity I reckon was the best, as I like active activities because I'm more of a sporty person. Overall the St Rita's Afternoon was a success and I enjoyed it a lot. Harris Oswald - Magee and O’Brien House

Before the girls arrived on the bus, I think there was a lot of tension between the boys about what was going to happen. When we went up to be greeted, the schools were very split and everyone was feeling a bit uncomfortable. However, throughout the rest of the evening things really eased up between the two schools and the groups slowly morphed into one. I think that the group activities - especially the one where we had to write down what we were struggling with - were very helpful in creating a better environment. Over time, my friends and I started to gain some confidence and even talked to the St Rita's girls from time to time. To conclude, I think Tuesday afternoon was a very enjoyable event that helped the boys here at Nudgee to feel more comfortable around young ladies. Spencer Blake - Tierney House

The afternoon started off with a warm welcome to St Rita's by Mr Toovey. There was a bit of awkwardness between the two groups, but it didn't last long. We split off into groups, and started off the night. My group started off with making bracelets for the year 10 immersion to PNG. It was a great way to start, as we helped each other out with the beads and learnt each other's names. We then moved to Ryan Hall, where we got put into random groups, and got given a piece of paper and pen. We wrote what we liked and what we struggled with on a sheet of paper, crumpled it into a ball, and threw it into a hat, where we then picked up another person's piece of paper and read it aloud. This is a great way to teach everyone about respect and confidentiality, because even if we knew who wrote it, we didn't tell anyone and kept it a secret. Afterwards, we headed to the chapel to learn about the strength of words. This was a really powerful message, as words have the strength to build up, and destroy, so learning what they really mean was a good lesson for the boys and the girls.

Then we had dinner, which really closed the gap between the two schools. The girls and the boys were sitting and we all feasted on the amazing bolognese and garlic bread. We all got to know each other really well, and it was one of the highlights of the night for me. After dinner, it was time for games on Ross and Wilkes. I was on Wilkes, and did the blindfold maze and codebreakers. The blindfold maze helped people to communicate with each other, as the partner had to tell the other partner with the blindfold how to get through the maze. Codebreakers was really fun, as it was a race to get through the grid/tarp on the floor against the other team. This really helped with team building, as we all learnt how to deal with bad situations/mistakes, and how to overcome them. At the end, everyone was sitting together, as Mr Toovey rounded off the night amazingly. Overall, it was a great experience, and I would highly recommend going to anyone in Year 7 over the future years. Rory Grant - Shaw House

On Tuesday afternoon, some students from St Rita's came to Nudgee to socialise with some boys from Year 7. We made some bracelets for the Year 10 immersion to PNG, and did some fun activities, along with a few games of tug of war. The prefects were great at pushing us into socialising with the St Rita's girls. There were lots of chances to make friends with some of the girls and it seemed to be a great experience for a lot of people. My favourite part would probably have to be when the prefects were beaten by Mr Connellan using one hand and the St Rita's seniors. We wrote affirmation letters to a family member, a teacher, and a friend to thank them. Overall, it was a great evening. Harry Campbell - Fogarty and O’Brien House

Mr Anthony Connellan

Dean of Student

Learning & Teaching

Parent-Teacher-Student Conferences

On Tuesday 21 March, Learning Habits Reports will be published for all year levels. Please use this report in combination with the continuous reporting available in the Parent Lounge to gauge your son’s progress to date and to determine if you would like to meet with his teachers in Term 2 on Monday 17 April at the first of our biannual Parent-Teacher-Student Conferences.

Also on Tuesday 21 March if your son is in Years 5, 6, 12 and/or a boarder, you will receive a booking invitation email for the Parent-Teacher-Student Conferences. The remainder of the College will receive their booking invitation emails on Wednesday 22 March. Please monitor your inbox for this email and check spam/junk/promotional folders in the first instance if you cannot locate it.

Please follow the instructions in the booking email to access the booking platform - Parent Teacher Online (PTO) - using your unique login credentials provided. It is advised that you act promptly to secure your interviews as teachers’ schedules fill quickly.

At the Parent-Teacher-Student Conferences on Monday 17 April, we will once again be offering Google Meets (online) and in-person meeting times. The timings are noted below. Please remember that the time you select at booking determines the format of the interview. The interview format - online or in-person - will not be changed to accommodate parents/caregivers who select times that are not compatible with their preferred interview format.

Session 1 - 8:50 am to 10:40 am (in person)

Session 2 -11:10 am to 1:10 pm (online only)

Session 3 - 2:00 pm to 4:00 pm (online only)

Session 4 - 4:30 pm to 6:30 pm (in person)

We look forward to meeting with you next term. Should you have any queries regarding booking Parent-Teacher-Student Conferences, please contact ptint@nudgee.qld.edu.au for assistance.

Certificate II Engineering Pathways - Exciting arrival of a new CNC Plasma Cutter

Staff and students in the Connors Skills & Training Centre are excited at the recent arrival of the new CNC Plasma Cutter which will be located in the Engineering Workshop. Mr Warren Roberts (Coordinator of Engineering) consistently looks to improve the student experience in the Engineering workshops by looking at current and emerging practices in the manufacturing industry and embedding them into the Year 10 Metal Fabrication course and Certificate II Engineering Pathways qualification.

Staff in the Engineering workshop are improving students' digital literacy skills through the use of 3D CAD software to drive a CNC router and now the CNC Plasma cutter to create new projects and experience industry standard technologies that prepare them for a possible future career in advanced manufacturing.

Mr Michael Byrne

Head of Faculty - Skills & Training

Physical Education Faculty

It has been a busy start to 2023 in the Physical Education Faculty. Our staff and students have been working hard, thus far, and assessment time is nearly upon us.

This term we have seen our Year 9 H&PE program roll out to a full-year course that is ‘Core’ for each and every boy in this Year level. Our Health Investigation topics remain the same (Diet & Nutrition; Making Healthy Decisions - Substance Use), as well as the physical electives, with Volleyball now being added to the program. The classes will undertake blocks of work, in either Health or Physical Activity, across 6 week cycles. From all reports, this is going very well so far and our teachers have provided very positive feedback.

Our newest Nudgee men, the Year 5 H&PE classes (pictured above) have had a great start to 2023 meeting their new H&PE teacher and forging strong relationships through Team Building games. They then moved onto their Swimming Unit, paired for the first time with the introduction of Tennis, and an opportunity to work with our College’s Director of Tennis & Head Coach, Mr Brett Page. Brett is an incredibly passionate coach and he has provided each of our classes with the opportunity to work with him during one H&PE lesson per week. Our teachers have found this incredibly rewarding, for both their students and their own professional development. In turn, we hope this sparks the boys’ interest in taking up Tennis or continuing with it, in what we view as a ‘Sport for Life’, that can be played both competitively and socially.

Mr Matt Waters

Head of Faculty - Physical Education

Head of Special Programs (School Improvement)

Why NAPLAN will help us to grow your son

At Nudgee College, we are determined to use educational data in meaningful ways; in ways that support student learning. Your willingness to support the program of NAPLAN testing is vital to its successful completion. Working together, we are best able to support and encourage the academic growth of the young men in our care.

NAPLAN might not matter – it’s what it measures that matters.

NAPLAN is a measurement instrument. It is designed to measure students’ literacy and numeracy skills under controlled conditions. Let’s use the act of measuring one’s height as an analogy. We do not attempt to measure the person as they go about their daily activities, but instead place them in an artificial situation: shoes off, back to the wall, chin up, no slouching. The same is true of measurement in education. In reality, when we give a boy a reading test, we know that he may never again encounter those particular reading passages or those particular questions. That is not the point. The reading passages we use and the questions we ask are merely opportunities to gather relevant observations about what is really of interest – the student’s underlying reading ability, which cannot be observed directly and must be inferred. In truth, the literacy and numeracy skills students attain by Year 9 will substantially affect their life outcomes. Our belief is that every Nudgee College boy can make excellent progress in literacy and numeracy.

NAPLAN enables us to measure and reward improvement.

It’s true that NAPLAN is a ‘point-in-time’ test. The value lies in comparing student achievement from point to point. This is possible because of inbuilt statistical scaling measures. For example, a comparison of your son’s reading scores from two consecutive NAPLAN tests – say from Year 7 to Year 9 – provides information about his progress over time and across multiple year levels. This provides an opportunity to acknowledge excellent improvement, not merely excellent achievement.

We use NAPLAN for comparison, not competition.

NAPLAN shines a spotlight on school performance every year. Media commentary is often based on over-simplified comparisons of school averages (a statistic that is strongly correlated with students’ socioeconomic backgrounds). We conduct a careful examination of Nudgee College improvement against that of other schools so that we can better understand the value we add, reflected in the progress students make.

NAPLAN helps us teach in ways that are responsive to our students’ needs.

NAPLAN provides schools with detailed data on the performance of their students; data that can be used to investigate classroom teaching strategies and the strength of school-wide programs. In 2022, our Program Leader for Literacy (Acting) (Ms Tammy Grindley) is leading groups of teachers in purposeful projects that support focused improvement in students’ reading and writing skills. Our Program Leader for Enrichment (Ms Stephanie Spicer) is supporting those students who are progressing well beyond their peers, ensuring that curricular and co-curricular opportunities are responsive to their learning needs.

Performing Arts

What We’ve Been Doing

Debating - some great wins in our junior levels: 6.1, 6.2, 7.1, 8.1, 9.1, 9.2, 10.2 on Friday evening. Unfortunately Senior A went down with a tricky topic ‘That we regret the social preference of positivity and optimism’. We were, unfortunately, affirmative.

Teams of the week were 7.1 and 9.1

Player of the Round was Gage Dittman who did a smashing job with the 10.2s (their first win). He was meant to be fourth person this round, but he stepped up with only a few hours notice as one student became ill on Friday.

Special shout out to Charles Hardy Year 5 who added a photo of his dog to add weight to his argument, to Year 5s Evan Burgess-Dean and Mitch Slattery for stepping up to form ⅔ of the victorious 6.2 team, and Alex Ward 12.1 for his confidence in forming and asking POIs.

Thanks to our boarders’ cheer squad.

QDU also started last week with strong results, including Senior A who defeated All Hallows.

Chess - congratulations to all involved in Inter-house Chess over the lunchtimes in Week 7. Final results were:

1st Tierney

2nd Riley

3rd Fogarty

4th Magee

=5th Barrett, Ross & Shaw

=8th McKenna & Duggan

Thanks to Mr Martin Harmon for organising the event, and to the Senior chess players who assisted. The crowds at the Learning Centre (and armchair exports commentating) were fantastic!

Music - Thanks to the Cultural Group for their work this week. In addition to leading the singing at Boarders’ Mass every Sunday evening and preparing for school events such as this week’s St Joseph’s Day Mass, the students sang at an opening liturgy at the annual in-service training for Christian Prison Chaplains. Comments from the organiser of this event wrote that, ‘Your students demonstrated that they are fine young men and many compliments were received regarding their singing’. The boys then demonstrated their passion for music in singing for new parents at the cocktail function on Tuesday evening, again to great acclaim.

Writers’ Circle - have finished the short stories for the term, which will be collated and published in a booklet. We are working towards a visit to Varidian in the coming weeks, to share the stories with the residents there. Thanks to Arts Prefect William Duffield for his leadership of this group.

What’s Coming Up Weeks 8 and 9

Debating - we have a small number of teams heading up to Toowoomba on Friday afternoon for their debates - this is the first year that TGS have been involved in GPS Debating, and we are excited to be involved.

A couple of other teams (who have been notified) will be completing internal debates here at NC.

We are all off on the bus to the Gold Coast for our final round against TSS next week.

Music - Stage Band are excited to be observing a workshop with the Jazz Music Institute next Monday afternoon, and to be performing alongside the Jazz Ensembles from St Rita’s College after the workshop.

Esport students are heading to QUT on Saturday morning for a day of competition and learning. We wish them all the best for this exciting event, and thank Ms Cathy Lamb and Mr Dexter Friend for their encouragement and support of these boys.

Don’t Forget- details for our activities are on Team App - join your team and get involved!

As always, please contact me with any questions - akh@nudgee.qld.edu.au

Ms Alex Khafagi

Director of Performing Arts

In This Newsletter

Principal

Deputy Principal

Mission & Identity

Student Formation

Learning & Teaching

Performing Arts

Sport

The Locker Room

Community