Our School Values:

Respect    Honesty    Teamwork    Confidence    Excellence    Endeavour

Nhill College would like to acknowledge the Traditional Owners of the Wimmera Mallee area: the Wotjobaluk, Jaadwa, Jadawadjali, Wergaia and Jupagalk people, and pay our respects to Elders past, present and future. 

With the warmer weather upon us - and the increase in heavy vehicle traffic along Whitehead Avenue that will follow - now is a perfect time to remind everyone of the need to exercise caution on the way to and from school each day.  This is especially important given that there have been reported sightings of students crossing the road - and railway tracks - at places other than the designated crossings.  Parents are asked to remind their children of the importance of road safety and taking care to cross the road at the appropriate places to ensure that no-one experiences an accident.

The final day for students at school in 2024 will be Thursday 19th December, with Friday 20th December being declared a student free day.  For the benefit of all students and parents, I have attached a table outlining some of the key events that will take place towards the end of term - highlighting the last days for students in each relevant year level.  It is often the case that some students enquire about commencing employment or assisting with harvest towards the end of the school year.  Hopefully the attached table and coming events calendar will clarify for those families the earliest date that students can be released from school.  These dates have been determined by the Department of Education, and are the earliest dates that schools are permitted to release students according to their year level.  We are especially keen to reinforce to students and parents the importance of attending the transition programs that are being provided in Term 4.  The Year 11 and 12 Transition Programs - often referred to as Orientation Weeks - will see staff delivering and assessing content from the 2025 curriculum.  Similarly, students currently in Year 6-9 will commence the first week of their 2025 Years 7-10 classes as part of the Headstart Transition Program.  Any student absent for those weeks will essentially start next year a week behind and will have those absences recorded against their 2025 attendance record.  For these reasons it is expected that all students will be in attendance for the duration of these transition programs and I urge all parents to reinforce this expectation with their children.

Regular attendance at school is extremely important for the academic and emotional growth and development of all students.  In an effort to highlight the importance of attendance, we have introduced a new Attendance Award to be presented at each of the primary and secondary Assemblies each Monday.  The names of all students who attended every day of the previous week of school will be entered into a draw from which one lucky student's name will be selected for a $5 canteen voucher.  At the Primary and Secondary Assembly, Matilda C and Kenny were presented a voucher for their attendance in the Fourth week of Term 4.  

Computers are being used more frequently in many aspects of our teaching and learning programs, and Nhill College strives to make a 1:1 provision of devices available for student use in the classroom.  However, students using school-owned laptops are not permitted to take them home at night and these devices must be returned to the relevant charging station at the end of each day.  Students wishing to access devices at home to support their learning are encouraged to explore the range of devices available through Edunet as part of our BYOD program.  In addition to gaining access to your own device at discounted prices, purchases through Edunet provide students with school based IT support and manufacturer's warranty, as well as access to the College's network, servers and printers.  Families purchasing a BYOD will also be provided with access to the Department of Education's Microsoft 365 suite, which gives free access to Microsoft Word, Excel, PowerPoint, etc on up to 5 family devices.

To assist those families interested in exploring BYOD options, we have new and updated models for our BYOD program through Edunet.  Please open the link below for details about the devices.  Mr Shrive is happy to take questions from parents or students if they are looking at purchasing a BYOD.  Devices specifically chosen for Nhill College students cover a range of specifications and price levels The BYOD Specification Sheet and instructions can be found here: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1hXfDsl69BXNRLbpCDciyIuSAE1iU6_wz/view?usp=sharing  This also includes order cutoff dates for the current year.

The IT department has a number of excess laptop bags, please contact the office or pop in to grab one.

We are currently taking orders for the 2024 Nhill College Magazine.  To help keep costs as low as possible it helps if we have accurate numbers of how many copies to order, avoiding excess ordering, or worse still - people missing out.  If you are unsure of whether or not you have ordered and paid for your copy this year please contact Mrs Farmers in the front office to check.

The Magazine is packed with photos, articles and student works.  It is a fantastic keepsake and celebration of the school year.  Magazines are $20 per copy.

If you wish to order you can email your name, the name of your child/ren, how many copies you would like and direct deposit $20 per copy ordered into the Nhill College bank account - BSB 063728 A/C 10023981.  Alternatively you can pop into the front office in person.

Thank you, 

Mrs Sampson

Editor

Parents are often quick to spot signs of stress in their child but are not always sure what can be done to help reduce worry around exams and assessments.  

Our upcoming webinar aims to provide parents with an action plan to help their child manage stress levels and prioritise their wellbeing in the run-up to exams.  

Over 2000 parents joined our last webinar on this topic and told us how useful they found the session:

‘The webinar was extremely well presented and structured with an engaging host. All our questions were answered, and we learnt a lot in one session. Thank you!’ 

‘Excellent content - didn’t just talk about the topic in broad terms but gave a bit more detail and practical tips’ 

To make it easy to share the event on your social media or website, I’ve included all the resources you need below.

• Click the button below to download some ready-to-post Twitter and Facebook promos - you'll also find a flyer and page for your school newsletter. 
• If you'd like to notify your parents about the webinar by email, feel free to copy and paste the text below my email signature.  
• If you'd like any other promotional material for the event just let us know and we'll be happy to help! 

Nhill College is proud to have seven of our students performing in the upcoming Piggery Lane Players’ pantomime, The Emperor’s New Clothes. This is an entertaining show for all ages, full of lively humour, acting, singing and dancing, and an entertaining story-line based on Hans Christian Andersen’s classic folktale.

Charlotte Donnell features as Violet, a droll lady-in-waiting to the Empress. Saskia Albrecht, Corey Hall, Katie Muller, Riley Philip, Sienna Philip and Matilda Prenzler are the children of a farming family from the Kingdom of Lethargia; they might also steal the show when they appear as pixies and fairies, with Imogen Hedt taking the lead as Pixie, their fearless spy.

We also have ten staff and our school council president playing key roles in the cast and crew. You will not want to miss the performances of those on stage, enabled by the skills of those behind the scenes. The show takes place on Friday 8th November 7.30pm, and Saturday 9th November 2.00pm and 7.30pm at the Nhill Community Centre.  See the poster in this newsletter for further details. 

Grass pollen season brings an increase in asthma and hay fever. It also brings the chance of thunderstorm asthma. For people with asthma or hay fever, especially those who experience wheezing or coughing with their hay fever, thunderstorm asthma can be sudden, serious and even life threatening.

In Victoria, the grass pollen season runs from October through December. As the season approaches, there are some things you can do to prepare and protect yourself and those in your care:

–      If you’ve ever had asthma – talk to your doctor about what you can do to help protect yourself from the risk of thunderstorm asthma this pollen season, including updating your asthma action plan. Remember, taking an asthma preventer properly and regularly is key to preventing asthma, including thunderstorm asthma.

–      If you have hay fever – see your pharmacist or doctor for a hay fever treatment plan and check if you should have an asthma reliever puffer – which is available from a pharmacy without a prescription.

–      If you have hay fever, and especially if you experience wheezing and coughing with your hay fever, it is important to make sure you don’t also have asthma. Speak to your doctor today about whether you might have asthma, and if you do, get an asthma action plan.  

–      It’s important for everyone in the community to know the four steps of asthma first aid so they know what to do if they or someone is having an asthma attack.

–      And finally, where possible, avoid being outside during thunderstorms from October through December – especially in the wind gusts that come before the storm. Go inside and close your doors and windows. If you have your air conditioning on, turn it onto recirculate.

Protect yourself this pollen season – managing asthma and allergies matters.

For more information visit the Better Health Channel <www.betterhealth.vic.gov.au/thunderstormasthma>  

Warm and wet weather can result in greater numbers of mosquitoes and increased risk of illnesses from mosquito bites. While the overall risk is low, some mosquitoes carry diseases that make people sick.

The best protection against mosquito-borne illness is to avoid mosquito bites.

Families can protect against mosquito bites by: 

·         covering up as much as possible with long, loose-fitting, light-coloured clothing  

·         applying insect repellent that contains picaridin or DEET on exposed skin when leaving home 

·         limiting outdoor activity if lots of mosquitoes are active.

Families with any health concerns should see their doctor or phone NURSE-ON-CALL: 1300 606 024 (available 24 hours).

Free Japanese encephalitis vaccines

Japanese encephalitis virus is spread to humans through bites from infected mosquitoes and can cause a rare but potentially serious infection of the brain.

Free Japanese encephalitis vaccines are available to protect Victorians at higher risk of the virus. 

The Victorian Department of Health encourages eligible people who live or work in high-risk local government areas to get vaccinated.

For more information, including what is considered a high risk area and eligibility for a free vaccine, refer to the Department of Health’s Japanese encephalitis webpage.

Find out more

For more information on protecting against mosquito-borne diseases, families can refer to the following Better Health Channel pages:

·         Mosquitoes can carry diseases

·         Protect yourself from mosquito-borne disease, including a handy checklist to help reduce mosquito breeding sites at home and resources translated into other languages

·         Protect yourself from mosquito-borne disease, including a handy checklist to help reduce mosquito breeding sites at home and resources translated into other languages.

A reminder that the Department of Education has in place a mobile phone ban that requires students who bring mobiles phones to school to have them switched off and securely put away during school hours.

The department is requiring all schools to ensure this ban is in place and enforced from the start of the 2024 school year.

The ban applies equally to all government schools right across the state.

This helps ensure that school is a learning environment free from unnecessary distractions and disruptions.

By ensuring mobile phones are kept away at recess and lunch times, students can interact with each other face-to-face, without the distractions and social pressures that mobile phones can cause.

I ask for the support of all our families, staff and students in continuing to support the implementation of this policy in our school.

Further information

Exceptions:  For a small number of students with particular health needs, an exception to the policy may be granted. Please contact Mr Zimmermann if you would like to discuss this.

Emergencies:  In the event of an emergency or if you need to immediately contact your child, I ask that families contact the school office who will pass on a message as required.

School mobile phone policy:  A copy of our school’s local mobile phone policy, which implements the government’s mobile policy in line with our local context, is available from the Nhill College website.

Parent support:  The Mobile Phones in Schools webpage provides links to resources for families to help them balance their children’s time using mobile phones.

If you have further questions, please contact the administration office. 

Parents, carers, schools, and community all play an important role in protecting children and young people from, and educating them about, the harmful effects smoking and vaping.

Research from the Royal Children’s Hospital shows many parents and carers are not aware of the harmful effects or how their views about smoking and vaping can impact the likelihood of a young person taking up smoking or vaping.

The Department of Education has developed resources to help you learn more about the health risks of smoking and vaping, and some suggestions about how to talk to children and young people about vaping, and where to get support. To access the resources, go to https://www.vic.gov.au/smoking-and-vaping-advice-parents

You can also view this video on smoking and vaping from experts at the Royal Children’s Hospital Melbourne for health advice and tips for starting a conversation with young people.

With the recent updates to our school website, parents are now able to submit Bus Notes in two ways:

• via Compass under the Star (School Favourites) icon - Bus Notes
• via the Nhill College website (https://www.nhillcollege.vic.edu.au/), under Parent Info - Bus Notes

Both options will direct parents to an online template that will inform the school of any changes to regular bus travel arrangements.  Please ensure that any Bus requests are submitted before 3.00pm.

Ad-hoc travel: A student that is not a regular bus traveller that requires occasional travel may be considered as ad-hoc. Ad-hoc travel can be used for, but not limited to, sports training, part time work, social travel to fellow students' residence and so on.