Dear Parents and Carers,

Thank you to the Year 1 and Year 2 parents, carers and grandparents who have volunteered their time for parent reading each Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday and Friday morning. It is wonderful to see helpers sitting and listening to children read, supporting and developing a love of reading. Thank you to Mrs Aleckson for organising the parent helper information sessions that outlined the roles and responsibilities of parent reading helpers.
 
Enrolment interviews for Kindergarten 2025 are now complete. On Monday 24 June offers of placement will be sent to families. It is a privilege to meet with families and listen to their hopes and dreams as they embark on their journey at Nazareth. A consistent message heard from families is that Nazareth enjoys a positive reputation as a school of quality education, welcome, and inclusion within the wider community. This affirmation from families reflects the dedication and hard work of our staff, students, and parents in creating a nurturing environment for all.

As previously mentioned, Semester 1 Reports will be available on Compass from Wednesday 3 July. Learning Conversations for all students occurred in Term 1 as per our reporting and assessment schedule. It is important that you carefully read the reporting information contained within this newsletter; this is important because it will be the first time all students Kindergarten to Year 6 will receive the new reporting format. 

The P & F Executive are currently seeking a financial auditor to complete the annual audit of the P & F accounts. The audit needs to be completed by an independent and qualified accountant that is not a member of, nor related to an Executive member. If you are available to assist, please contact the school office. 

Yesterday, I attended the Leading with Integrity for Excellence Program. The program continues today and tomorrow. I am participating in this program with other Catholic school principals from within the Wollongong Diocese and across the country. The program challenges participants to consider some key elements central to the professional focus of leading with integrity for excellence in the governance of school leadership. It has also provided an opportunity to network with other principals from across the country, sharing ideas and challenges. In my absence I would like to thank Mr Danny Sykes, who is filling in as Acting Principal.

I wish everyone a safe long weekend.

Kind regards, 

Mr Matt Downes 
(Acting Principal)

Confirmation

The date for Confirmation will be Wednesday, 26 June 2024 at 7pm. Confirmation workshops are underway and are currently in their second week. All students completing the sacrament of Confirmation are required to attend all their allocated workshops over the period of 4 weeks.

Wednesday Mass and Faith & Learning visits

This coming Wednesday (Week 7) Year 1 will be attending mass at 9am. Following this, students will have their classroom visit with the parents.

Next week (Week 8) Year 2 will celebrate Wednesday mass. No classroom visit will occur on this day. A big thank you to the parents and families who do come along. 

Whole School Mass

Friday 7 June 11:30am- Sacred Heart of Jesus. All parents and families are welcome to attend. 

Reconciliation Week

Last week, the Nazareth school community had the opportunity to commemorate reconciliation week. We had a prayer celebration with Mr Mongta leading us. We were lucky to hear him play the didgeridoo for us.

In Religion, 3H have been learning about Pentecost, when the disciples were filled with the Holy Spirit. We had to imagine that we were one of the disciples and retell what happened.

SEMESTER 1 STUDENT REPORTS

As you may be aware, the NSW Educational Standards Authority (NESA) have undertaken a comprehensive review of the NSW Curriculum, leading to curriculum reform and subsequent implementation of a reformed curriculum which commenced in 2023. In response to the curriculum changes, Catholic Education Diocese of Wollongong has made significant modifications to student semester reports for Primary schools to better reflect your child's academic progress at key points throughout the year and provide parents and carers with a clear picture of their child’s strengths and areas for improvement in specific subject areas.

4R has had a busy start to Term 2! We have hit the ground running in Mathematics learning about the connections we can make in multiplication as well as the chance and probability of specific events. In English we have been creating all types of persuasive texts from letters, written essays, discussions and advertisements. We have been working hard in using our Persuasive Language skills to persuade our audiences, and have also created new advertisements for existing products as well as creating and advertising our own products. Just to think we are only half way through this term!

Congratulations!

Congratulations to the senior boys Rugby Union team for coming in the top 4 in the NSW Rugby Union 7s Championship. A huge thank you to Dean Wheeler, Jess Ford & Geoff Hicks for assisting with training sessions each Wednesday morning! The boys played so well and with such passion and it was great to see them represent Nazareth with such respect, well done!

Congratulations to Oliver in 3H for attending the NSWCPS (MacKillop) Cross Country Championships this week. He came first in his race which is a massive achievement! We wish Oliver luck as he attends the next event in July to represent Nazareth and the Diocese of Wollongong. Well done Oliver!

Upcoming Events: 

Friday 14 June
Rugby League Catholic Legends Gala Day. This event is for boys in Years 3 - 6 and girls in Years 5 & 6. Sign ups have already occurred & a Compass event will be out ASAP. Please note that for boys in Years 3-6 this is a tackling only event & girls in Years 5 & 6 will be playing league tag. Please check Compass for the information regarding tackling divisions for the boys. If you are able to assist on the day by coaching/managing a team, please indicate this on the Compass event when answering the event questions. 

Friday 21 June
Rugby Union Knock Out. This event is for the stage 3 Rugby Union team to play against Ss Peters & Pauls Kiama to determine who has the right to represent the Diocese in the NSW CPS Rugby Union finals, date TBC. Please see Compass in the coming days for further event details. 

Tuesday 25 June
Netball Gala Day. This gala day is for girls in Years 3-6 & boys Years 5-6. Expressions of interest for this event have closed. Please give consent on the Compass event so that your child can attend. If you are able to assist on the day, please indicate this on the Compass event. 

Thursday 27 June
Athletics Carnival. This event is held at Croome Road Sporting Complex. More details to follow on Compass. 

Friday 23 August
Soccer Gala Day. This gala day is for both boys and girls in Years 3 - 6. Sign ups for this event will occur in the coming weeks before the end of term 2. More information to come regarding venues as this is one of the biggest gala days run by the Diocese of Wollongong. 

NAZARETH AWARDS

Luke Formosa

PRINCIPAL AWARDS

Oliver Walton

Airlie Bates

Tyler Ryan

Amara Garbayo Vergan

Jorja Witt

Jaxx Tonegato

Logan Testa

MERIT AWARDS

Zach Mayfield, Lydia De Jesus, Ariella Lopez, Layla Cobby, Aliyah Betz, Brody Dell, Max Toohey, Brianna Manfiotto, Jake Maruca, Tyler Ryan, Lincoln Mackenzie, Nina Da Gama, Mason Redfern, Hayden Reitsma, Iyla Horsey, Ruby Tripp, Jacob Hulbert, Natalia Popovski

During Week 6 we continue to focus on respect with a particular emphasis on personal space. During the week students will be engaged in activities and reminded of the continual need to respect personal space and boundaries both inside and outside of the classroom. The children are encouraged to respect their peers' wishes when they tell me “no” or “stop” and to keep hands off when playing games on the playground.

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/