Building a national picture of child health

From May 2024, our school, along with thousands of others across the country, will participate in the Australian Early Development Census (AEDC).

The AEDC is a teacher-completed census (similar to a questionnaire) which provides a comprehensive picture of how children have developed by the time they start their first year of full-time school.

The AEDC is an Australian Government Initiative and is completed nationally every three years.

Children don’t miss any class time while the AEDC is completed, and parents/carers don’t need to supply schools with any new information.

The data collected through the AEDC is used by schools, communities and governments to better understand children and families’ needs, and identify the services, resources and support they need.

AEDC data is reported at a school, community, state/territory and national level. AEDC results for individual children are not reported and the AEDC is not used as an individual diagnostic tool.

Some teachers have found that completing the AEDC made them more aware of the needs of individual children and their class, and that the data was useful for planning for transitions to Year 1 and developing programs.

Participation in the AEDC is voluntary, however the AEDC relies on all schools with children in their first year of full-time school participating in the collection. Parents/carers don’t need to take any action unless they choose not to include their children in the census.

To find out more about the AEDC and how it is being used to help children and families visit: www.aedc.gov.au.

If you have any questions, you can contact Mr Downes or Mrs Schofield.

Summer/Winter/ Sport Uniform

The official change over to the winter uniform is Monday, 20 May (Week 4 Term 2). However, the winter uniform may be worn from the commencement of Term 2, if the weather necessitates the need to. Term 2 sport uniform days remain the same as Term 1 for all students from Kindergarten to Year 6.

• Tuesdays (Year 5, Kindergarten)
• Wednesdays (Year 6, Year 2, Year 1H)
• Thursdays (Year 4, Year 3, Year 1S)
• Fridays (Whole School)

Give Blood Today

Join the Nazareth staff and support the Red Cross by giving blood today. Everyone has their own reasons for donating blood, but a few common ones include:

• Donating is a generous thing to do. It helps people in need, and it helps people in your community. When you give, others live.
• Donors, especially those who donate regularly, keep our nation’s blood supply stable. Although many people donate blood after disasters, blood is needed every day of the year.
• There is no substitute for blood. Donors provide the only supply of life-saving blood for those in need.

The Nazareth staff are competing against other local Catholic schools and would welcome and greatly appreciate any support from parents and carers. To join the Nazareth team, it is very important to say the following when you arrive to give blood: “Could I join the Sparking Life Nazareth Shellharbour City Team”. For more information go to the Red Cross - Lifeblood website.