Subject-Based Awards Explained

Subject-Based Awards honour students who show exceptional qualities and approaches to learning in specific subject areas. These awards recognize more than just high grades – they celebrate the valuable learning behaviours and mindsets that lead to success.

Who receives these awards?

Teachers select students who consistently demonstrate these positive learning behaviours in their subject throughout the year. These students exemplify the learning mindset and skills that are essential for long-term success.

What do award winners receive?

Recipients of Subject-Based Awards are recognized with:

1. A prize
2. A formal certificate acknowledging their achievement
3. An Academic Star – a special distinction that recognizes their excellence in the subject area

AWARD	PIN	DESCRIPTION OF AWARD
The Academic Star		The Academic Star is an eight-pointed rust coloured star. It is awarded to all students who receive a subject-based award. These are students who stand out in their personal contribution to the pursuit of excellence in learning within a discipline.
Endeavour Awards		Endeavour Awards recognise students who are reflective and engaged learners.  These students demonstrate outstanding levels of participation and reflection and have outstanding study habits.  Three Endeavour Awards are given at each year level. Winners of these awards receive a prize and a certificate.
Community-Based Awards		Community-Based Awards recognise service, participation and leadership. Winners of these awards receive a prize, a certificate and a Service Star.
The Service Star		The Service Star is an eight-pointed yellow coloured star. It symbolizes excellence in service to Nossal High School and the wider community. It is awarded to students who stand out in their personal contribution to others before self.
Excellence Awards		These awards are for outstanding breadth of achievement in a range of school programs. For subject based achievement there are two additional acknowledgments; the Nossal Academic Pin and the award for Most Outstanding Student in a Year Level. The Most Outstanding Student award is explained later in this program.
The Academic Pin		The Nossal Academic Pin is an additional acknowledgment for students who achieve at a high level in multiple subjects. It is awarded to students who are nominated as the top performing students across three or more subjects for the whole year. The pin is in the shape of a globe, representing global awareness, with an arrowhead symbolizing the student travelling forward in their learning. It is hoped that the students who receive this badge will wear it with pride even after leaving school as a symbol of their commitment to learning.
Passing of the Colours		The Passing of the Nossal Colours is the symbolic gesture of handing on the custodianship of the community from the current School Captains to the future School Captains. The colours consist of the school flag and the House colours of green/white (Pegasus), red/black (Phoenix), navy/silver (Garuda) and orange/yellow (Griffin). The highest accolade for student leadership at Nossal High School is to receive the position of School Captain. School Captains are selected from within the Senior Year through a rigorous process of application, interview, and student and staff voting. On this occasion, the current School Captains thank the community for their support, and the new Captains pledge their allegiance to the school.