FROM THE PRINCIPAL

Term 3 Week 2

Hi Everyone, 

I would like to extend a warm welcome back to everyone for Term 3. It has been great to see everyone return, happy, healthy and re-energised to take on Term 3.

This term we welcome some new staff to our St Nicholas team:

Heidi Nebauer: Heidi has replaced Jenna Hall in 1H. 

Olivia Jones: Olivia has replaced Grace Maher in 4M 

Lauren Fisher: Lauren has commenced full time in a RFF (teacher release) capacity. She will be primarily working in Year 4 and Year 6. 

Dave Pollock: Dave has been employed to look after our grounds and maintenance across the school.  

Jenna Hall: Has replaced Sophie Tobler as the Leader of Inclusion for the next 12 months while Sophie is on Maternity leave. 

Notre Dame University practicum students:

Sophie Elsmore, Bella Burgess and Samantha Cadman are all in their final year of their Bachelor of Education and will be completing their final 10 week teaching placement with us at St Nicholas School. This is thanks to a partnership between the Armidale Catholic Schools and Notre Dame University. I know you will join me in welcoming Sophie, Bella and Samantha to our school and we hope they get the most out of their time with us. 

We are so lucky to be able to employ such capable and professional staff at our school and I would like to thank Armidale Catholic Schools for their support in appointing our new staff members. 

Grandparents Day 

We have many celebrations throughout the year that bring together our wider St Nicholas School community, however our annual Grandparents Day is the biggest and arguably the most special. It coincides with the Feast Day of St Joachim and Anne (Jesus' Grandparents) and we were privileged to be joined by so many of or our grandparents, grand friends and other significant visitors for this day. 

I would like to thank Fr Chris for celebrating our Grandparents Day Liturgy with us at school, our admin staff for organising the morning tea and Mrs. Dunst for coordinating the momentous day.  A particular thanks also to our teachers and students for preparing such special activities during our classroom visits. 

NAPLAN

Last Friday our students in Years 3 and 5 received their Individual Student Reports for the 2025 NAPLAN. These reports provide a snapshot of your child's literacy and numeracy achievements at the time of the tests, which were conducted in March this year.

NAPLAN (National Assessment Program – Literacy and Numeracy) is a standardised assessment that offers valuable insights into student progress against national proficiency standards. For St Nicholas’, these results help us identify areas of strength and areas where we can further enhance our teaching programs and support for students. The reports will show your child's results in Reading, Writing, Language Conventions (spelling, grammar, and punctuation), and Numeracy, indicating their achievement against four proficiency levels: Exceeding, Strong, Developing, and Needs additional support.

While NAPLAN is an important tool for monitoring student growth and informing school-wide planning, it's crucial to remember that it is just one assessment, taken on one specific day. It provides a snapshot of your child's learning at a particular moment in time and does not encompass the full breadth of their abilities, talents, and efforts throughout the year.

We want to sincerely commend all our Year 3 and Year 5 students for their fantastic effort and positive attitude during the NAPLAN testing period. They approached the assessments with focus and determination, and we are incredibly proud of each and every one of them.

We encourage you to discuss these results with your child, focusing on their strengths and celebrate their progress. Your child's teacher will also be able to provide further context to these results, explaining how they relate to other classroom assessments and your child's overall learning journey. If you have any questions or would like to discuss your child's report further, please do not hesitate to contact their classroom teacher to arrange a time.

Have a wonderful week everyone, 

Peter Flynn

Principal