FROM THE PRINCIPAL
TERM 1 - WEEK 6
To the St Nicholas School Community
The St Nicholas School Community has enjoyed a wonderful start to 2020. Our culture demands we hit the ground running, and the high expectations each and every one of us place on ourselves, leads to success and accomplishments we can already be proud of.
As identified through the Annual Improvement Plan, staff have been challenged to take the learning and teaching of English to a new level in 2020. Reading, writing and the acquisition of language are core foundations. St Nicholas enjoys strong achievement data in English, though I am delighted to work with a staff who understand this achievement data, along with individual growth data, can be taken to another level. Even as very capable staff, we are committed to further improving our capacity in the delivery of the English curriculum.
The aim for every St Nicholas School student to reach their vast potential in English, providing them with a strong foundation for future learning, says a lot about our culture and commitment to improvement.
To support the delivery of the curriculum, in 2020, St Nicholas School learning spaces have greater precision in their design. Each piece of furniture is placed with a purpose to support either modeled, shared, guided or independent practice. The fact our staff, and many of our students, can already articulate why each piece of furniture is placed in a particular spot, suggests we already have plenty to celebrate. Embedding quality practices takes time, though it is important to stop for a moment to celebrate along the way.
Congratulations to our staff and students on their commitment to improvement and thank you to our parents who are supporting St Nicholas School by ensuring their children are at school on time, and ready to learn.
ST NICHOLAS SCHOOL GARDEN CLUB
St Nicholas School places enormous energy and focus on ‘engaging’ our children. We seek engaged students, not compliant children.
The St Nicholas School culture of engagement also transcends to the playground and extracurricular activities. Students who are engaged in the playground are given an environment to develop their social skills and form quality relationships. Playground engagement also sees dramatic reductions in behavioral issues and incidents of bullying.
If we want our children to be engaged in the playground at St Nicholas School we need to give them a range of opportunities and quality experiences. We understand, what is of interest to one child, may not be of interest to another. We are therefore committed to identifying each child’s niche, and strive to provide them with the opportunity to play, explore and learn (engage). Examples of this commitment on display every day include:
STEAM clubs
Lego Clubs
STEAMGirl Academy
Art Competitions
Dance clubs
Sporting opportunities
Chess Club
Handball competitions
3D Computers
Reading stations
Garden Club
Due to the drought, it would have been easy to neglect the Garden Club and place it in the too hard basket. It is, however, a place of comfort and retreat for so many of our students. The commitment to the Garden Club during the drought has allowed the recent rain to bring it back to life in all of its glory. Enjoy the few photos below of this wonderful space:
Thank you to Mrs Catrina O'Mullane and her band of helpers whose passion and commitment have allowed us all to enjoy this space.
YEAR 6 LEADERSHIP DAY
Congratulations to all involved with Monday’s Leadership Day for Year 6. As written in last week's newsletter, St Nicholas School takes our responsibility to develop our student leadership skills very seriously. The opportunities which were available to all Year 6 students on Monday, is testimony to this statement.
Quality leadership is a core ingredient in successful communities and as a society, we have high standards for our leaders. The St Nicholas School Year 6 class of 2020 gives me great confidence, the future looks bright for our region and country.
Thank you to all involved, whether in Sydney or at St Nicholas School, for the part you played in this wonderful day. A special thank you to our wonderful leaders who visited St Nicholas to share your story and educate our students about the art and skill of leadership in 2020. Each of our guests, who can be exceptionally proud of their achievements spoke about times in their life where they have hit rock bottom and could have given up. The message was clear, we will all get knocked down throughout life however, hard work and surrounding ourselves with the right people will get us through these periods and eventually help us to soar.
DIOCESAN SWIMMING CARNIVAL
Congratulations to the St Nicholas School Swimming Squad who participated with grace and sportsmanship in Moree last Friday. While the individual performance of each swimmer was of a fantastic standard and deserves acknowledgment, hearing numerous reports of the exceptional behaviour and manners of all St Nicholas School students brought the greatest pride. Thank you, Mrs Chatfield, for accompanying our students and congratulations to the entire St Nicholas School Swimming Squad.
FAREWELL LAURA CHAPMAN
It is with sadness, we today, farewell Laura Chapman. Laura, a teachers assistant, has been at St Nicholas School for the last few years and has made a significant contribution to the learning of our students. Laura is moving to the plains of Narrabri and we wish her the very best with her new role at St Joseph's Wee Waa.
CONGRATULATIONS CLARA WOLDS
For the past two years, we have had the pleasure of having Miss Clara Wolds working with our students for a few hours each week. Not only is Clara a wonderful mentor and an inspiration to our students, but she has also followed her dreams and published her first children's novel, 'Greedy Gran'. We congratulate Clara on this fantastic work and wish her well on sales and the many novels to come.
Have a wonderful week everyone.
John Clery
PRINCIPAL
MEDIA AND COMMUNICATIONS CONSENT FORM
St Nicholas School and the Catholic Schools Office (Diocese of Armidale) carry out ongoing marketing and communication activities to maintain a positive profile in our community and communicate with parents/carers and guardians. These initiatives usually involve images of students, families and individuals being utilised in all forms of media - print, electronic, online and social media. Common methods of publication have included brochures, newsletters, newspaper, radio and television advertisements, promotional DVDs, websites and educational training (photographs and/or footage). Some promotional images may also be used on the Catholic Schools Office and/or individual schools social media pages including Facebook and Twitter. To comply with our organisation's privacy obligations and in keeping with applicable legislation, it is a requirement that consent be given for such activities by a parent/guardian (if under 18 years).
Media and Communications Consent Forms were distributed to all students in 2018. Students who have enrolled since have also received this form.
We are currently updating our records and those students who do not have media and communications consent will be given a consent form over the coming days to take home for parent/guardian approval. This consent, once given, will be amended or revoked only upon receipt of correspondence from the parent or guardian.
If you have any queries in relation to your child's media and communications consent, please contact our office staff or email jgrady@arm.catholic.edu.au.
SCHOOL FEES
Have you considered Direct Debit?
The last couple of years have been very difficult for many of our families and yet in this time of hardship our families still prioritise the education of their children over material gain. Many families have opted to pay weekly and fortnightly direct debits to ease the financial burden. We encourage this type of payment for your budgeting purposes. A weekly direct debit of $39-$40 for one child, which continues throughout the holidays for the school year will cover the yearly fees. Please contact me if you wish to take advantage of the Direct Debit system.
Mrs Robyn Burke
rburke@arm.catholic.edu.au