Nossal High School

Nossal High School
150px Embrace the Challenge
Location
Berwick, VIC Australia
Coordinates
Information
Type	Public, Secondary, Selective, Co-Educational
Established	2010
Founder	Government of Victoria
Principal	Roger Page
Years offered	9-12
Enrolment	816
Campus	Suburban
Houses	Griffin, Phoenix, Pegasus, Garuda
Colour(s)	Black, Ecru & Rust
Affiliations	Monash University, Chisholm Tafe, Suzanne Cory High School
Website	www.nossalhs.vic.edu.au

Nossal High School is a state government selective school in Victoria, Australia. It is located in the Berwick campus of Monash University and is adjacent to the Chisholm Institute. As of 2015, Nossal High School currently takes 208 students each year.

History

Named after Australian biologist Gustav Nossal, Nossal High School was founded in 2010 with 100 male students and 100 female students.

Reports have highlighted the controversy of selective schooling in Australia, with critics concerned about 'poaching' of high achieving students from other schools, and the 'stratification' of government education.

School Logo

Nossal High School's logo consists of two crossing books that form a butterfly, with a third, smaller book forming the antennae. The logo is made of three colours: ecru, rust and yellow. The school colours, however are black, ecru and rust. The school logo was chosen for many reasons:

• The books symbolise academic education.
• The butterfly symbolises emerging from a chrysalis into a new part of life.
• The flight of the butterfly symbolises taking flight, as well as referencing to the fact that Nossal High School is situated on old airgrounds.

House System

During Nossal's foundation year a competition was run allowing students to enter possible names for the houses. The names chosen were:
          Garuda (Blue and silver)
          Pegasus (Green and white)
          Griffin (Yellow and orange)
          Phoenix (Red and black)

Each of the houses is named after a mythical flying creature; which fits with the Nossal emblem of "taking flight".

Organisation

Extracurricular activities

Extracurricular options available to students include: Literature Circle, Chess Club, Debating, Knitting and Environmental activities. Students are also able to join in many sport teams including volleyball, cricket, badminton, table tennis, basketball, soccer, softball, football, hockey, swimming, athletics, cross country, netball and tennis.

Page Cup

At the end of each year the house to have accumulated the most points is awarded the Page Cup. Points are attained by participation in the six major events as well as smaller contests held throughout the school year. The six major events are as follows: Swimming Carnival; Athletics; Cross Country; Choral Night; Debating; Monash Grand Challenge (year 9 participation only). Other competitions include Table Tennis, Camp Challenges, Dress Up days, Tug of War and Chess Competitions.

Winners of the Page Cup:

• 2010 - Phoenix
• 2011 - Phoenix
• 2012 - Phoenix
• 2013 - Griffin
• 2014 - Pegasus
• 2015 - Garuda

Monash Grand Challenge

The Monash Grand Challenge is a competition held for year 9 students at the end of every school year; the winners gain significant amounts of points contributing to next year's Page Cup. The challenge focuses on developing essay writing, creative, public speaking and problem solving skills by incorporating each element into the challenge. The final products of each house are judged by Monash University professors and the winner is decided upon by a vote. The winning house gains the Monash Grand Challenge trophy and house points.

Student leadership

Student leadership positions include: School Captains (one male and female of the senior year), Tutorial Leaders (two per tutorial group), House Captains and Vice House Captains (two from each year level per house), Information Resource Center Leaders (two per tutorial group), Information Communications Technology Leaders (two per tutorial group) and Environmental Leaders (two per tutorial). Each year level also elects around six students to the Student Representative Council (SRC).

Administration

Principal

• Roger Page 2009–present. Formerly of Mount Erin College.

Assistant Principal

• Toni Meath 2009–2013. Formerly of Mordialloc College, from 2013 Meath became Principal of Mac.Robertson Girls' High School.
• Susan Harrap 2013–Present
• Wayne Haworth 2009-2015
• Keith Butler 2015–Present

External links

• Education Dept. Entrance info