Our History
Away in the heart of the scrub, not far from the mouth of the Nicholson River, stood a little bark hut, not more than eighteen feet by twelve feet. Its’ floor was of earth and it did not even have a window. This little hut was built for a private teacher, Mr. Henry Parkinson. He taught in this bark hut for about two years until the Education Department took over in 1875. For the bark hut the department paid 1/- a year rent. It served as a school for four years from 1875-1879.
With more settlers coming into the area, the school was not big enough and the department built its new school about a mile from the bark hut. The first teacher in the new school was Mr. A. Box.
It was soon seen that the school was not centrally situated, so it was moved to its present site.
About Us
Nicholson Primary School is a small rural school situated close to the picturesque Nicholson River on the Princess Highway approximately 10km from Bairnsdale.
The current enrolment is 60 students. We run four class rooms, Prep-1, 2-3, 3-4 and grade 5-6 All classrooms are supported by Education Support Officers who support the classroom teachers to meet the needs of our students.
Our Music Program is run by a specialist teacher while other specialist areas of Science, Physical Education and Art are covered by classroom teachers. We also have support programs such as fortnightly visits from the MARC Van, Buddies, and a Sporting School Program.
The central focus of the school is to provide students with rich, challenging and personalised learning experiences where students are motivated to achieve their potential. This is done within a caring, safe and supportive environment whereby everyone has an equal opportunity to access all aspects of the curriculum. We promote the principals of equality and inclusiveness where we value individual differences.
Our teaching philosophy is that teachers will know their students academically, know where they are at, know what needs to be taught next and assess/monitor students’ progress.
We promote our school values of growth, honest and trust, respect, connectedness, inclusiveness and fun through our everyday actions and interactions and have a philosophy of having the right to learn, to belong, to be safe, to have fun and to be ourselves.
Nicholson Primary School is a values based school where strength based relationships are developed and harnessed. We use Restorative Practices to deal with and resolve conflicts as it focuses on restoring relationships and supports our philosophy and values.
Nicholson is a small caring, vibrant community. The school is proud of its parental support and community involvement, with active participation in all aspects of the school's functions including School Council, Parents Club, Fundraising, Ground Maintenance, School Camps and Excursions.
Like all primary schools we implement the Victorian Curriculum with a priority on laying strong foundations in Literacy and Numeracy. Excursions, Camps and Incursions are an integral part of our school curriculum and are provided to support and extend classroom learning along with developing independence and co-operation.
We are an active member of the Mitchell River Cluster of schools and the Bairnsdale/Tambo Schools Network for professional purposes, working together to develop and implement shared philosophies and educational goals.
