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. 

Nhill College has always tried to provide a wide range of experiences for students as part of the rich camps and excursion program offered across the school.  Largely due to circumstances beyond our control, three separate camps managed to be held during this week, meaning that not only were our Years 5, 6, 8 and half of our Year 9 cohorts off-site throughout the week, but we were also without quite a large proportion of our teaching and ES staff who were supervising students during these camp programs.  

Our Year 5-6 students have been in Melbourne experiencing the Zoo, the Eureka Sky Deck, the MCG, the Queen Victoria Market, Science Works and a little known theatre production about some wizard called Harry Potter.  Our Year 9X students were paddling their way along the Glenelg River in the second of our Year 9 Canoe Trips.  And our Year 8 students have spent the week at Rubicon experiencing all manner of outdoor activities that have been carefully matched with our Humanities curriculum.  Once again, we have been extremely proud of the manner in which our students have conducted themselves while they have been away, and are very pleased to have received so many compliments about their behaviour and how well they have represented their school.  We look forward to welcoming all of our campers back next week.  Thank you to all of the staff who have attended these camps with our students - and to Mrs Dufty who has somehow managed to keep all remaining classes covered despite the many staff absences this week.  

Parent Teacher Interviews will be held on Tuesday 4th April.  On this day there will be no classes at school and there will be no buses operating.  Interviews will commence at 12.00pm and finish at 7.00pm.  The Progress Reports that were made available on Compass last Friday included an option for teachers to request an interview with students, but families are still encouraged to make an appointment to attend an interview even if one was not specifically requested.  We would also like to encourage families to bring their child along to attend these interviews so they can participate in the discussion about their progress so far this year.  It is hoped that this new format will lead to an increase in the number of families who attend these interviews.  Parents can still make bookings for an interview by logging in to Compass, selecting Community (the people icon), then choosing Conferences from the drop down menu.  Bookings will close at 9.00am on Monday 3rd April.

Just a reminder to all families that school will dismiss at the earlier time of 2.30pm on the last day of term, Thursday 6th April.  All school buses will also depart at this earlier time.  

This week we welcomed back to our school, presenters from Elevate Education to work with our VCE students on study skills so that they may achieve to their full potential.

Elevate have researched what the top students are doing and have developed simple, effective and practical skills based on this research. As our presenter highlighted, many of the skills and strategies can also be transferred to job search, employment, further study and sport situations.

Our Year 11 and 12 VCE students participated in two sessions – firstly, on being a Study Master and then on Ace Your Exams.

The student feedback on these workshops was very positive, with the majority of students having taken away at least one new thing they had learnt. Our Elevate Education presenter also congratulated the College on the amazing students we have – they engaged positively during the sessions and asked great questions.

At each session, students used a workbook to take notes – we encourage students to refer back to this during the year, and we encourage parents to ask their child to show them what they did.

If there is interest from students, Nhill College teachers are more than happy to offer follow up sessions during lunchtimes and with teachers in class. Study skill sessions are not something you should just listen to once and then forget – the skills need to be practiced, reinforced and developed to find what works best for each individual student. Remember the importance of REVIEW!

Students also have access to the Elevate student portal – elevateeducation.com.au - this provides further tips, practice questions as well as other resources.

Nhill College provides funding for these workshops because we know that they are a solid investment in the learning outcomes for those who participate – it was an excellent opportunity for our students to be able to have this high-quality program available in our own school.

Year 12 students will work with Elevate Education again later in the year as a lead up to the end of year exams.

 Mrs. Cole – Year 12 Co-ordinator

A recent check through our records has revealed that not all bus travellers have completed and submitted the Application for Permission to Travel on the school bus system.  As it is a condition of bus travel that this form is submitted, a new permission form will be sent home to those families in case the original form has been misplaced.

On the topic of school buses, it is timely to remind all students who travel to and from school on the school bus network that they are required to remain seated - in their allocated seat - and wear their seatbelt at all times while on the bus.  Bus Captains have been appointed on each of the 6 buses servicing the Nhill school community and they do a fantastic job with their responsibility for maintaining school bus safety, allowing bus drivers to keep their focus firmly on the road.  As part of this responsibility, Bus Captains also have the authority to report any inappropriate behaviours that might occur on the bus.

Wimmera Roadways are looking to boost their stocks of relief bus drivers to assist with the morning and after school bus runs.  Anyone who may be interested in becoming a bus driver on one of the school runs is encouraged to contact Wimmera Roadways' Horsham office at 53811548. 

Current COVIDSafe measures in Victorian government schools require us to continue to implement important practices to reduce the risk of COVID-19 transmission.

Vaccinations

Staff and students are strongly recommended to ensure they keep up-to-date with all recommended and available COVID-19 vaccinations as vaccinations are the best way to protect individuals, families and school communities from the severe effects of COVID-19 and reduce the spread of the virus.

Rapid Antigen Testing

It is recommended that rapid antigen tests (RATs) are used by students and staff :

• If you have symptoms of COVID-19 infection, no matter how mild
• If you are a household or close contact of someone who has COVID-19
• If you are a social contact of someone who has COVID-19.

The Department of Health recommends that all Victorians should report their positive RAT result to the Department of Health online, or by calling 1800 675 398. Students (or their parents) should also report a positive result to their school, either through the COVID Test portal or by phone or written notification.

Rapid Antigen Tests are available for all Victorians from Council sites. People can get 2 free packs (10 tests) for themselves and 2 free packs (10 tests) for each of their household members.

Face Masks

Face masks continue to be available from the school and any staff or students who wish to wear a mask is supported to do so.

Management of suspected cases of COVID-19

A ‘suspected’ case means a person who displays any COVID-19 symptoms

who has not yet tested positive for COVID-19.

It is recommended that any staff member, student or visitor who is symptomatic should undergo testing for COVID-19. Parents of students who are symptomatic will be asked to collect their child from school and to keep them home until they are no longer symptomatic.

Management of a confirmed case at school

Where a student or staff member is identified as a positive case, they should isolate for a minimum of 5 days and not attend school until their symptoms have resolved. There is no longer a requirement for principals to inform the school community of a positive case associated with the school.

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.

It is a Department of Education requirement that each enrolled student who has an action plan updates this annually.  Please see below the forms required, those students who currently have an action plan in place will be sent out a form to be completed by your Doctor or specialist.  If your child has recently been diagnosed with an Anaphylaxis, Asthma, Allergy or new medical condition please advise the general office.