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Dear Parents and Carers,
Welcome to the new school year, especially to the many new families who have commenced school at Nazareth Catholic Primary School for the first time. As many of you would be aware, I was seconded to the role of Acting Principal late in 2023. A role that I am very honoured to fulfill. Nazareth is a beautiful school community and I am very appreciative of the welcome I have received from students, staff and parents.
The children have quickly settled into their new classrooms and the school-wide procedures and expectations. Thank you for ensuring your children are well-presented each day in the correct school uniform and are equipped and prepared for learning. I want to express my gratitude for the trust you place in us to nurture and educate your children. At Nazareth we are committed to creating a positive and enriching environment where every student can thrive academically, socially, and emotionally.
One of our annual improvement goals for 2024 is that ‘Students, staff, parents / carers have a shared understanding and a lived experience of the vision, mission and values of the school.’ To help develop a shared understanding during each newsletter I will share some historical information around the formation of our school. This week’s focus is the naming of the school newsletter as ‘Crossroads.’
In the Year 2000, during the first year of operation, the name ‘Crossroads’ was selected for the school newsletter. The name reflects the symbol of the crossroad on the school crest. This symbol came about because Nazareth (Jesus’ place of childhood) was the crossroad of the ancient world. The Australian Nazareth is symbolised by the Southern Cross, a crossroad where families, staff, parish and community come together to nurture and educate the children within our school.
The second goal for 2024 is that ‘Students will demonstrate continuous growth in English and Mathematics informed by ongoing quality assessment.’ Professional learning for teachers will be an integral component in achieving this goal. Throughout the year teachers will engage in professional learning targeted to improving the learning outcomes in English and Mathematics.
Starting school comes with many challenges, a new environment with new faces, new routines and expectations. As all our students settle into life at school, you are encouraged to continue to support this transition by making time for them to share their experiences, talking positively about school and keeping teachers informed about any changes to their normal routine.
Working together we will continue to maintain a positive school environment, that allows optimum spiritual, academic, social and emotional growth for your child. If you have any questions or concerns, please be sure to contact your child’s teacher, school office or myself.
Looking forward to an amazing year!
Kind regards,
Mr Matt Downes
(Acting Principal)
Sacrament of Reconciliation
If your child is in Year 2 or older please ensure you have registered your child for Reconciliation with the Parish Office. All books for the workshops will be distributed at this weekend’s masses. The first workshop will commence on the week beginning 19 February. Please make sure you have your child’s name enrolled in one of the workshops. The Celebration of the Sacrament of Penance will take place on Saturday, 16 March 2024 at 11am. All information will be available in PDF form on the Church website.
Ash Wednesday
Next Wednesday, 14 February is Ash Wednesday. All parents and families of children in Years 2-6 are most welcome to join us at Mass at 9am. Kindergarten and Year 1 students will have a small liturgy allowing them to receive the ashes here at school.
Opening School Mass
To celebrate the beginning of the 2024 school year, we will be celebrating with a whole school mass on Wednesday, 21 February at 9am. You are invited to join with your children for this occasion.
Wednesday Mass and Faith & Learning visits
The first Faith & Learning visits (Wednesday Mass), will be in Week 5. Year 5 will be the first class to celebrate Wednesday Mass at 9am and we look forward to seeing families join us for mass and then a visit to the classroom afterwards.
Faith and Learning Visit Dates-Term 1
| WEEK | DATE | CLASSES |
| 3 | 14 February - Ash Wednesday | Yr 2 - 6 |
| 4 | 21 February | Whole School |
| 5 | 28 February | Yr 5 |
| 6 | 6 March | Yr 1 |
| 7 | 13 March | Yr 2 |
| 8 | School Photos | School Photos |
| 9 | 27 March | Yr 6 & Yr 2 |
| 10 | 3 April | 2E |
| 11 | 10 April | Yr 1S |
All mass times can be found in the All Saints Parish Bulletin and all other important information. A link can be found on the Parish Website: https://www.dow.org.au/parish/all-saints-catholic-parish-shellharbour-city
In Year 3, we have been learning about things, people and places that God has created. Below are some examples of when students feel most alive and calm due to being around God’s creations.
4A have had a very productive start to the year and have been discussing how to foster a "Growth Mindset."
A growth mindset is believing in the power of yourself and your brain.
Some of the ways that we decided that we could do this are;
- Never give up
- Practice makes perfect
- Mistakes help us learn
- Ask for help
- Set new goals
- Use positive language
- Believe in yourself
- Challenge yourself
- Remember the power of the word YET. eg. I can't do that...YET!
We know that if we can practise some of these strategies over the coming months we are capable of great things!
Welcome
Welcome to the 2024 school year at Nazareth Catholic Primary School. The sports team cannot wait for all of the exciting upcoming sporting events this term. We just know that this year will be filled with some amazing sporting achievements across many sports from our talented Nazareth students.
Upcoming Events:
Friday 16/2/2023:
Nazareth Swimming Carnival- This is a competitors only event for students who are turning 8, 9, 10, 11, 12 or 13 who can confidently swim a minimum of 50m. Please see the Compass event for all information regarding this event and student race nominations.
Tuesday 5/3/2023:
Swimming South Coast- This event is for the children who are selected in the Nazareth Swimming Team after the Nazareth Swimming Carnival. More information to come via Compass after the Nazareth Swimming Carnival.
Friday 22/3/2023:
Nazareth Cross Country Carnival- This event will be held at school. More information to come via Compass in the coming weeks.
Important Notices:
Cricket training for the Mark Taylor Cricket Shield team:
Mr Messner will be running cricket training each Thursday morning before school from 7.50am beginning Week 2. Please note that children will wear appropriate cricket training clothing for the training session and will change into their school uniform after the training session finishes ready for the school day.
Run Club:
Nazareth would like to begin a run club before school to assist children in training for the Nazareth Cross Country Carnival and to prepare any students who are successful in making the Nazareth Cross Country Team for the Cross Country Championships in Term 2. More information coming via Compass in the following weeks.
Expressions of Interest
Rugby Union Knockout:
During Week 3 we will be asking students for expressions of interest from children in year 5 and 6 who would like to be considered for the Nazareth Rugby Union Team. This team will attend the Rugby Union Knockout competition on June 7th (venue TBC). Please note due to NSWCPS 10 a side knockout age restrictions, only students born in 2012 & 2013 are eligible to participate (turning 11 or 12 years of age this year). If this is something that your child is interested in, please chat with them and ask them to look for the nomination forms that will be placed in the stage 3 building. Please note that this Rugby Union Knockout is a progressive competition.
2024 Representative Trial Nominations
We are still waiting for final confirmation for the lists of children who have been invited to trial for a range of representative sporting teams. We will communicate all of this information when it is received.
| Tuesday | Kindergarten, Year 5 |
| Wednesday | Year 1H, Year 2, Year 6 |
| Thursday | Year 1S, Year 3, Year 4 |
| Friday | Whole School |
Home/School Communication
Many thanks to the parents who have already completed the ‘Parents are Partners’ Google feedback form that was shared via Compass on Wednesday. This information will assist our classroom teachers in developing a holistic understanding of your child.
Classroom teachers are currently preparing parent information videos that outline specific information for the year ahead. These videos will be shared with parents next week and will replace the previously used parent information nights.
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.
Jack Kauter, Raven Nguyen, Tommy Dafkovski, Ana Keelan, Zayn Esteves, Archie Wigmore, Isabelle Cassanego, Boston Hunt, Luke Bacchetto, Felix Forlano, Ethan Carters, Evelyn Stephenson, Blake Boje, Vincent Harrod, Olivia Walton, Christopher O'Brien, Isla Telfer, Tatyana Haralampopoulos, Riley Micallef, Samuel Benavente, Cohen Garbayo Vergan, Ariana Gigliotti, Bonnie Scofield, Sebastion Maksovic, Harrison Lyons, Bowdi Begley, Selene Timpano, Aisha Farrimond, Michaela Saveski, Cruz Kellermann, Hendrix Munn, Hugo Garcia, Matilda Mackenzie, Treazure Williams, Nate Reid, Adithya Vaisakh, Hudson Hart, Archie Dimovski.
Our PB4L focus for Week 3 will be revising expectations for procedures and behaviour expectations at church. This will be in preparation for our upcoming Ash Wednesday and Whole School Welcome Masses.
In Week 4, we will revise our behaviour expectations for gatherings in the Hall in readiness for our Celebrations of Learning on Friday afternoons.
The Parents and Friends AGM has been moved to Thursday 15 February at 8:30am in the school library. If you are interested in nominating or would like to nominate someone else (with their approval), please complete the following form:
Nazareth P & F AGM Nominations
NAZARETH PROMOTIONAL FILM
The film captures a day in the life of a Nazareth student.
Click https://youtu.be/olug9FWvZQI to view the film
FACEBOOK AND INSTAGRAM PAGE FOR NAZARETH
If you haven't already please follow our school pages to keep up to date with events at school and for photos and updates from across the school.
Please click on the direct links to follow our pages:
www.facebook.com/nazareth.shellhabour
www.instagram.com/nazareth.shellharbour
SOCIAL MEDIA POLICY
Please click on the below link for a direct link to the social media policy.
https://www.dow.catholic.edu.au/about-us/policies/social-media-policy/