The Principal's Perspective
October 6-10, 2025
Please accept our sincere apologies for the tardy arrival of this newsletter!
The system we use to send out mass communications has been experiencing a nationwide outage since Friday, and it only came back online a short time ago.
Thank you so much for your patience as we navigated the technical disruption. We appreciate your understanding!
Note- I will always post the newsletter on our school site.
Dear Nichols Caregivers,
As we prepare for our upcoming Parent-Teacher Conferences, I invite you to view this time not just as a check-in on academic progress, but as a genuine opportunity for discovery and celebration with your scholar. And we need a little celebration right now, don't you think?!
At Nichols, our mission is clear: to train minds, bodies, and hearts for the walk of life, and to carry into it a love for humanity and compassion for oneself and others. During PTC you have the chance to connect with your scholar's teachers and engage in the power of partnership and celebration. I challenge you to take back home to your scholar one awesome thing that you heard about your scholar from each teacher that you speak to.
Going Beyond Conferences
Because there are only 5 minutes per conference, that really does not afford a lot of time to dive into what your scholar is doing on a daily basis. Our goal, however, is to shine the spotlight on the great things that your scholar is doing. If time runs out, however, you always have the opportunity to connect outside of conferences. At any point, you may find out things about your scholar such as:
A new passion: Perhaps your student, who you thought was solely interested in science, has shown an interest in writing in their English class, or a love for debate in social studies.
A new strength of character: Your teacher may highlight how your scholar was the first to offer help to a classmate, demonstrated exceptional resilience after a challenging assignment, or led a thoughtful discussion with empathy after a Character Strong Lesson.
A new interest: You might learn that your scholar has a commitment to community service that shows their growing sense of citizenship and compassion for the world around them.
These are the "new things to celebrate"—the moments that truly embody the growth of the whole Nichols student. We encourage you to seek out and celebrate these with your scholar, as you partner with teachers.
Finally, Parent-Teacher Conferences are a chance for us to align on these core values. By sharing insights and celebrating all aspects of your scholar's growth—mind, body, and heart—we reinforce the powerful message that their education is preparing them not just for a career, but for the important work of life. We also want you to be encouraged to look beyond the 5 minutes and seek ways to continue the partnership with the teachers.
We look forward to seeing you at the conferences and celebrating the unique and wonderful journey of your Nichols scholar.
Our society is constantly evolving, presenting new challenges. Now, more than ever, our students need to feel secure, guided by strong moral principles, and empowered by their education. They are inundated with information in real time, as events happen. They are able to see things that, years ago, would have never been shown for general public consumption. They have access to information that is not meant for the developing minds of children. This is where our partnership—the connection between home and school—becomes most vital. We acknowledge and affirm that right now can be a very scary time for students and their loved ones. We want to partner with you in making sure your scholar feels safe and knows that we are partners in this endeavor.
Our Roles in the Changing World:
Safety and Trust: Our students need to know that the home and school environments are anchors of safety and unwavering support. When they feel secure, they have the confidence to embrace intellectual and personal challenges without fear. This foundation of trust allows them to be courageous learners.
Kindness and Compassion: At Nichols, we emphasize compassion and kindness for others. We reinforce that true leadership is rooted in these characteristics. By modeling and celebrating empathy at home, you ensure they carry these ideals into every interaction, strengthening our entire community.
Better Citizens, Better World: Every lesson, every project, every collaboration your scholar undertakes at Nichols is designed to prepare them to be an even better citizen. They are learning to think critically, communicate effectively, and engage ethically—even when they disagree with a viewpoint, the very skills needed to build a great world for all. By affirming the value of the community and citizenship you are validating their future role as positive agents of change.
We want our scholars to know that they are both physically and emotionally safe. We welcome any input or information that we might need to know in order to make sure that all of our scholars are safe!
Here is an excellent article on how to navigate difficult news events with your scholars. Please take a moment to read the article.
Did you know that Nichols has an Athletics Website where you can find important information regarding athletics? Additionally, all athletic competitions for the year are on the Nichols Community Calendar located here? Did you also know that the district has an athletic events calendar located here? Here is an additional calendar that includes the TRY-OUT schedule. Please note these dates on your personal calendars so that your scholars do not miss out on important games, practices, and try-outs. Occasionally practices/games may be posted in this newsletter, however, the calendars are your best source of information. Finally- our coaches often include announcements on our Nichols Announcement Slides as well.
For this week:
Cross Country: Practice this week is cancelled, due to parent teacher conferences. The XC Meet at Notre Dame College Prep is still ON!!! Bus leaves at 3:15
Soccer: Practice Monday from 3:15-4:30
Girls Basketball: Practice Monday from 3:15-4:30.
Boys Basketball tryouts will be the following week on Wednesday-Friday, October 15-17th from 3:15-5:00
Grades 6-8 only:
Grades will follow a 4-point scale that aligns to a letter grade. The goal of this change is to ease their transition into high school grading practices.
"Makes strong effort to complete homework" was added as a learning habit to foster student ownership and responsibility.
If you have questions about the information reflected in your child’s progress report, we encourage you to discuss with their teacher at the upcoming family-teacher conferences. For more details, please see our updated parent webpage.
