Mr Scott Thomson (Term 1, Week 7)
I would like to commence by expressing my gratitude for the support and understanding of the entire Nudgee community during the five days of weather uncertainty that we recently experienced. Many families expressed their thanks to the College for putting the needs and safety of our boys first.
We were very lucky that no one within our community was injured or adversely affected, and that the beautiful buildings and facilities that we share remained relatively unaffected. I am a lover of trees and nature so I was saddened that a couple of mature trees fell during the storm. I would like to once again express my admiration for our Properties and Services team who were able to clean up the school on Monday, in fairly heavy rain, to ensure that our boys returned to a safe and clean campus.
Season of Lent
Last Wednesday, St Joseph’s Nudgee College community spent time together in prayer and reflection as we acknowledged the commencement of the Lenten season on Ash Wednesday. The students and staff did a wonderful job of pushing aside all thoughts of the imminent cyclone and focusing on what is an extremely solemn and important day on the calendar for the Catholic Church.
Pope Francis, whom we continue to keep in our prayers given his current health issues, once reflected on Ash Wednesday: "The imposition of ashes reminds us to ‘look within ourselves’ and remember our fragility – ‘from dust we are created, and to dust we shall return’." A key priority at Nudgee College is to ensure that we are developing young men who know and understand the value of the other. We are all daughters and sons of God and as such, there is a level of fragility that we must be aware of during our time on Earth. Qualities such as humility and compassion arise when we prioritise the wellbeing of others and act in ways that reflect this.
During Lent, we are encouraged to commit to three practices: sacrifice (fasting), prayer and generosity (almsgiving). I would encourage you to discuss with your son how he can weave these three practices into his daily life.
Higher Standards, Better Learning
In my first newsletter of the year, I discussed a number of classroom routines and expectations that were being implemented from Years 5 - 12. I am pleased to report that these continue to become embedded practices and have resulted in more settled and productive learning environments for all students. As promised since the commencement of the year, the key to any change in known procedures in an organisation is the ability to reflect on how well any change has been implemented. During a recent staff meeting, this occurred. Staff were happy with the way things were going but at the same time, offered feedback regarding how further improvements could be made.
Of equal importance, at the end of Week 5, I hosted a number of boys for one of my twice a term Bodkin Chats lunches. It was great to hear from the boys about their experiences in the class. When asked, 'Who feels there has been an improvement in the classroom environment from 2024 to 2025?' all the boys present raised their hands. The boys thoughtfully and respectfully pointed out that some teachers were still not implementing the ‘3Rs’ consistently, and that some entry routines were cutting into learning time as teachers waited for late students to arrive. This information has been fed back to teachers. The CLT continues to observe how well the practices have been implemented and some of the results can be seen below.
As I have articulated, the next goal of this process is to ensure that our learning and teaching practices are also consistent, in line with our 2025 School Improvement Plan, and based on solid research and improved results. I look forward to reporting further gains to the Nudgee community.
Best Wishes
Finally, I wish the best of luck to our debaters, cricketers, volleyballers, swimmers and rowers as we approach both the end of competition and championship events. For our swimmers and rowers, recent weather disruptions led to changes in their events, but they have handled it admirably. Three rounds remain for our GPS Term 1 activities and I would like to take this opportunity to congratulate all of our boys who have committed so well to the season and to the coaches and parents for their support of the young men competing.
Kind regards,
Scott Thomson
