FROM THE PRINCIPAL

TERM 1 - WEEK 4

To the St Nicholas School Community  

Guided Reading

Throughout 2021 our parents would have become familiar with the reading culture we have developed, and are continuing to develop at St Nicholas School. 

As Principal of St Nicholas School, I believe the greatest gift we can give a child is the ability to read! It is therefore integral we not only provide our students with researched based learning and teaching practices, but also thoroughly resource our reading program.

Through the School budget and support of the Catholic Schools Office we can be proud of the quality literature and reading material our students have at their disposal. Not only are the texts engaging and vary in content, they are designed to make our children think critically as we aim to develop well balanced readers.

As a school we are also flooding our daily reading block with human resources. Between 9-11am Monday to Thursday, trained staff spend 40 minutes guiding the reading of students. The table below illustrates the extra staff supporting grades this term.

A small sample of the guided reading happening this morning

Safe Online

At St Nicholas School we continue to support and educate our students to safely navigate the online world. This week we welcomed Jake from the Optus Digital Thumbprint team, a trusted e-safety provider, to facilitate workshops with our Year 5 and Year 6 students. More on this can be found later in the newsletter.

It is important however to use this as another opportunity to remind parents of primary school age students that they do not have the maturity to fully understand the wide range of issues and the implications that come with the use of social media. Please, for your children's safety and wellbeing, do not allow them to access any form of social media while they are of a primary school age.

Staffing

With sadness I announce the resignations of Miss Mia Moloney and Mrs Shauna Lee. Both Mia and Shauna will finish their time with us at the end of Term 1.

Mia is moving to the Northern Territory and Shauna is relocating with her family to Brisbane. Both Mia and Shauna have had a positive impact on the culture and learning at St Nicholas School and I wish them both every success.

I am however delighted to announce the appointment of Miss Amy Geddes. Amy will join us from Newcastle after recently completing her degree at the University of Newcastle, graduating with a Bachelor of Primary (Honours). Amy will arrive to our community in Week 10 of this term and work closely with Mia for two weeks - ensuring a smooth and thorough transition.

St Nicholas' recruitment drive once again involved the services of ANZUK Education. I thank Mitch Jones and his team for their dedication in helping source educators of the highest calibre.

Congratulations Miss Dewhurst

An enormous congratulations to Miss Sophie Dewhurst and her fiance Jake Tobler on their recent engagement.  Such beautiful news for our school to help celebrate!

Best Wishes Mrs Matheson

On behalf of the school community I wish Hannah and Dylan Matheson the very best with the impending arrival of their second child, a brother or sister for Kennedy. Hannah will now commence her maternity leave, enjoying some well earned rest as she counts down the days. 

PT&F AGM

A reminder the PT&F AGM is on Monday evening at 6.00pm in the school library. More details can be found in the PT&F’s page. I would love to see you there.

Have a wonderful week!

John Clery

PRINCIPAL