Thalassa Swim owner Nicole Lucas said appearing in the Sports Illustrated swimsuit issue was the "pinnacle" for any swimwear brand.

"Every supermodel in the world has pretty much appeared in the magazine," Nicole said.

"Not just anyone can send their bikinis in. I was working with a PR [public relations] company in LA and they asked me to send some bikinis in to match the themes that Sports Illustrated were working on."

She sent about 15 bikinis hoping that one would make it into the magazine. She figured she had a slim chance, given that the world's biggest brands send pieces in.

Victoria's Secret model Kelsey Merritt wore the Thalassa Swim bikini bottom that made it into the magazine.

"It was one of the first bottoms I designed. It was a very popular piece that I did in a few colours," she said.

"I think they chose that bottom because of the fit and the tones. It worked within the theme and the cut obviously fit her well. She is one of my favourite models, so I feel blessed that they chose her to wear it."

She said it featured on a full page of the magazine, along with photos online.

"Having my name in black and white on a full page of the issue feels amazing."

Nicole added that she was now making bikinis in Newcastle with a local pattern maker, using recycled fabric.

"I decided to move my production to Australia as I feel it's super important to support local business," she said.

Her swimwear was being made in "an ethical factory in Bali", but she wanted to "make an even bigger sustainable impact by making it in Australia with recycled fabric".

"The fabric is the highest quality, as well as being good for the environment. I'm expanding into kids' bikinis and also doing a curve range. All bikinis will now be available up to a size 18."

In the cult movie Ferris Bueller's Day Off, Ferris Bueller hacked into his school's computer system and changed his grades. That was back in 1986.

Ferris came to mind when we heard NAPLAN was going online. Not that we're encouraging students with a knack for hacking to follow Ferris. We did, though, have a giggle when we heard schools taking part in the NAPLAN digital trial had all received back-up hard-copy versions of the test. They were worried about glitches, Y2K-style.

NAPLAN exams began on Tuesday. Can we just say that NAPLAN could do with a name change. It stands for "National Assessment Program - Literacy and Numeracy". It's not the best acronym we've ever heard. That aside, we should note that thousands of Hunter students in years 3, 5, 7 and 9 will take NAPLAN tests this week.

It tests skills that the federal government considers "essential for every child to progress through school and life".

This means reading, writing, spelling, grammar, punctuation and numeracy.

Topics encourages students to make sure they attend NAPLAN tests. Don't be like Ferris who took his famous day off because he didn't want to take a test.

Ferris: "I do have a test today, that wasn't bullshit. It's on European socialism. I mean, really, what's the point? I'm not European. I don't plan on being European. So who gives a crap if they're socialists? They could be fascist anarchists, it still doesn't change the fact that I don't own a car."