A warm welcome to our new and existing families to the 2023 school year.

As many of you know, I am fulfilling the role of Acting Principal in 2023 while Peter Dempsey is working in the Catholic Education Office, Wollongong. I thank the Director of Schools, Mr Peter Hill, for this opportunity and look forward to working with our students, staff, parents and the All Saints Parish as we support all students to experience growth in faith and learning.

I extend a warm welcome to the new families who have joined the Nazareth community. I also extend a warm welcome to our new staff members; Mr Andrew Edwards, Miss Amy Scurr and Mr Timothy Messner. We welcome back our Aboriginal Education Assistant, Mr Mark Mongta.

I am confident that our new students and their families, and the new members of staff, will experience the warm welcome and hospitality of our Nazareth community.

Each year, our school sets a clear and explicit improvement agenda. Our goals for 2023 will focus on the following four key areas:

• Re-established parental involvement in the faith and learning life of the school, with particular focus on belonging to a Catholic community. 
• The efficient use of reading comprehension skills to develop all students as proficient readers for their stage of learning.
• The provision of effective teaching in Mathematics so that all students experience growth in their learning throughout the year.
• Improved attendance data so that all students are able to learn, develop friendships and build skills within the school environment.

As we commence 2023, please note two new initiatives:

• Faith and Learning Visits

Each Wednesday, one grade cohort attends the parish Mass at All Saints Church at 9:00am. In 2023, an invitation will be issued to parents/caregivers to join us in the celebration of the Eucharist, and to then walk with their child’s class to their classroom where they can join in or observe some class learning. Please refer to the calendar of events to see when your child’s grade is attending the Parish Mass. Faith and Learning Visits will commence in Week 4

• Celebration of Learning

In 2023, our Friday afternoon assemblies are going to look slightly different. We will continue Acknowledgement of Country, praying our school prayer, singing our school song and distributing school awards, but now we will also include a presentation of an aspect of learning from one class each week. We hope that sharing current learning activities with the whole school community will enrich the already strong learning culture of our school. Please refer to the calendar of events to see if/when your child’s class is presenting their learning this term. The roster commences in Week 5 with 5B.

Home/School Communication

Please refer to the following protocols regarding communication between home and school;

• COMPASS is the “font of all” information - please refer to it regularly.
• The school newsletter is also a valuable source of information (if you are reading this now, you’ve probably already figured that out!)
• If you haven’t already done so, please follow our social media sites. 
• If you need to contact the school urgently or in a time-sensitive way, please phone the school office.
• If you have a question or concern, you can call to speak with one of the staff in the office, or please email the school office at info@nscdow.catholic.edu.au. A response will be delivered by either return email or phone call when the intended addressee is available.
• You are able to organise a meeting with your child's teacher by phoning the office, emailing the office, or sending a note to school with your child. 
• See-Saw is a fabulous tool that is used to show-case and share the learning that takes place in your child’s classroom. We ask that you please limit your use of See-Saw to comments on their work. It is not intended to be used as a two way communication tool, as the teachers are teaching throughout the day and do not have the ability to read and respond to messages sent directly to them.

in Faith and Learning,

Lisa Tyson