Principal
“Love Nudgee College.”
Not often do I receive an email with these words in the subject line. The email went on to say:
“Just wanting to say, we love Nudgee College and are so proud to have chosen it to send our son there. The live stream of Assembly this morning was awesome and it came at a time when I’m dearly missing him yet I was able to be involved in what’s going on down there.”
This email from one of our Boarding mums was timely as well. This week is National Boarding Week as well as Saturday being Open Day at the College. The original vision for Nudgee College was that we would be a boarding school for boys from the bush. We have proudly and successfully fulfilled this mandate since 1891. It is a long time since we were a school just for boarders and currently we have nearly 280 boarders in a school population of 1,600. What has been evident to me in my time as Principal is that the Boarding community is a barometer for the ‘climate’ of the school.
If Boarding is strong then Nudgee College is strong. By strong I mean: boys are happy; boys are learning (in the broadest sense of the word); boys are connected with each other; and boys are well cared for. Our Boarding staff are working hard to achieve all this and I thank each of them for their dedication and commitment to our boarders and their families. Similarly, I thank Dean of Boarding Mr Christian Oneto for his leadership of the Boarding community.
You may already be aware of the release of episode one of the short series Home Away From Home that the College has produced to coincide with both National Boarding Week and Open Day. I share the link here and commend the four part series to you (NB: you may need your tissues for upcoming episodes 2 and 3).
We are expecting a large crowd to be in attendance at Open Day this Saturday. Registrations are tracking ahead of last year’s numbers at present. While we have committed to a range of marketing strategies for the event itself, in truth, the word of mouth of current families is our best form of advertising. You cannot buy this endorsement but you certainly have to earn it on a daily basis. Just as I have commended our Boarding staff the same words can be extended to all staff at Nudgee College. This applies not only to the teachers doing the vital work in the classrooms but the countless other staff who provide a range of support and service to our community.

Parents of students in Years 5, 7 and 9 will be well aware that their sons are involved in NAPLAN this week and next. We were one of the schools who were involved in the trial of the online test last year. This trial has been extended to more schools in 2019 and it is professionally rewarding for our staff to be leading in this area. It has necessitated the commitment of extra resources to complete the tests, but these are largely seeing a beneficial return. Results wise, our 2018 outcomes showed an improvement on previous years, which is pleasing. Obviously we will continue to monitor these results closely so that we can support individual students better and understand the strengths of year level cohorts more fully.
As part of their lessons over the past few weeks Years 5, 7 and 9 students have been introduced to the online platform and have participated in familiarisation activities. They have also engaged in a literacy/numeracy masterclass focused on some key strategies that will help them to succeed on their tests. I thank Director of Learning and Teaching Ms Natalie Webber for her leadership of NAPLAN preparation and testing as well as the other teachers involved in leading this preparation.
Interested parents might take note of Ms Webber’s sage points of advice and key messages for our boys:
You are prepared for NAPLAN! All of your lessons in English, Maths and other subjects have prepared you for these tests.
Do your best! Persist, even if you find it difficult.
NAPLAN is important because of what it measures. Your teachers and parents want to know the areas in which you're going well and how we can help you to improve. NAPLAN helps us to see your academic growth.
With every best wish for the week ahead.
Mr Peter Fullagar
Principal