Dear Parents and Carers,

Welcome to Term 3.

I hope that the holiday period provided a pleasing break from the Monday to Friday routine of school. It is always pleasing to hear stories of great holiday experiences and quality time spent with families. The children have quickly settled back into school life and the term ahead promises to be an exciting time for our school community.

Last week, Individual Student NAPLAN Reports were sent home to all families in Year 3 and Year 5. These reports provide valuable insights into your child’s academic progress and highlights their strengths and areas for potential growth. Please remember that NAPLAN is just one snapshot of your child’s academic progress and should be viewed as part of a broader assessment of their capabilities. All children need to be congratulated on their effort and achievements, there is much to celebrate with Nazareth achieving above the national average in all areas. Should you wish to have a more in-depth discussion about your child's results, please contact their classroom teacher via the front office.

On Sunday 28 July, we celebrated the World Day of Grandparents and the Elderly. This date is chosen to coincide with the Feast of Saints Joachim and Anne (grandparents of Jesus), which was celebrated on 26 July. The Nazareth community will be celebrating Grandparents Day on Wednesday 7 August. This is a special day where we honour and appreciate the important role that grandparents play in our lives. All parents, carers and grandparents are warmly invited to join us in celebrating and giving thanks for the beautiful gift of grandparents. The morning will commence with mass (9:00am) and will be followed by morning (10:15am) tea and open classrooms (10:45am). Please save the date and share it with the grandparents within your families.      

Commencing this week, parents will now be notified on Wednesday afternoon via Compass if their child is to receive a merit award at the Friday afternoon assembly. Hopefully this will provide working families with an opportunity to make arrangements so they can attend the presentation of merit awards if they choose to do so. 

The theme for the 2024 Children's Book Week is "Reading is Magic”. This year we will be celebrating Book Week on Friday 16 August will our annual Book Week Parade. On this day students are invited to come to school dressed as their favourite book character. The parade will commence at 8:45am. Parents, carers, and grandparents are warmly invited to join us for the celebration!

The Parents and Friends termly general meeting will be held tonight, Thursday 1 August. All parents and carers are warmly invited to attend via the following Zoom link: https://dowcatholic.zoom.us/j/63661444170 The meeting will commence at 7:00pm, I look forward to seeing you there.

On Thursday 8 August and Friday 9 August I will be attending the Year 6 overnight excursion in Canberra. In my absence Mr Andrew Edwards will be acting principal. 

Wishing you a wonderful week.

Kind regards, 

Mr Matt Downes 

(Acting Principal)

NAIDOC Week Liturgy

On Wednesday we celebrated NAIDOC Week with a liturgy in the hall.  NAIDOC Week typically falls during the school holidays. Uncle Mark led staff and students into the hall with a traditional smoking ceremony and after the liturgy the indigenous students engaged in their cultural dances. Congratulations to Uncle Mark and the students on such a successful liturgy.

Whole School Mass - Grandparents Day

Next Wednesday we are celebrating Grandparents Day. This day is usually celebrated on 26 July which coincides with the Feast of Ss Joachim and Anne, who were the parents of Mary and so the patron saints of grandparents. This feast day reminds grandparents of their responsibility to establish a tone for generations to come. The feast has a message for the younger generation as well. It reminds the young that older people’s greater perspective, depth of experience, and appreciation of life are all part of a wisdom not to be taken lightly or ignored. To celebrate our grandparents we will have a whole school mass on Wednesday 7 August commencing at 9:00am.  We would love as many grandparents and families as possible to join us.

Religious Literacy Assessment - Year 4

Next week, Monday 5 August all Year 4 students will participate in the Primary Religious Literacy Assessment. The assessment is completed via iPads on a Google Form. This assessment provides a sustained and systemic Diocesan approach to the documentation and reporting of students’ learning in the key learning area of Religious Education (RE) across the Diocese and in particular, aspects of religious literacy. It is a means of celebrating and sharing the good news about students' learning in Religious Education. Assessment of religious literacy focuses on students’ knowledge and understanding of the key concepts that are being addressed by the RE program and the students’ ability to communicate with their religious tradition.

Year 6 Mass with the Bishop

Next Tuesday 6 August our Year 6 students will travel to St John's Dapto to attend mass with Bishop Brian. Year 6 students from across the Diocese of Wollongong enjoy the opportunity to engage with Bishop Brian Mascord and their fellow students from CEDoW schools in a special liturgical celebration in their final year of Primary School.  

Wednesday Mass and Faith & Learning visits

There will be no Wednesday Faith and Learning visit next week due to the whole school attending the Grandparents Day Mass. In Week 4, Year 4 will be attending mass at 9:00am, however, there will be no classroom visit. We look forward to seeing families join us for mass in Week 4.

Save the Date - First Holy Communion

If your child is in Year 3 or older, has completed the sacrament of Reconciliation and you wish for them to celebrate the sacrament of First Holy Communion, the enrollment weekend is 24-25 August. Please attend one of the masses over that weekend and enrol your child to celebrate this most important sacrament. First Holy Communion will be held on Sunday 24 November 2024.

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 5B we have been engaging in a project called “Genius Hour”.  Students select an area of interest that they would like to know more about and develop an enquiry question.  Genius Hour allows students to explore their own passions and encourages creativity in the classroom. It provides students a choice in what they learn during a set period of time during certain times in the week.  Students have presented a 1-2 minute speech outlining their topic of interest, what they have done so far and the challenges that they have met along the way.  Students have come up with enquiry questions such as:

• Is there anything we can learn from Greek Mythology?
• Is it a good idea to open a cafe in a Primary School?
• Mental toughness (resilience) - Is my planet without it?
• Black Holes - What’s on the other side?
• Boxing - is it an art or sport?

If these questions sound interesting and you want to know how they turned out, students will be displaying their projects in their classroom on Grandparents Day and will also present a snippet of their learning in their Celebration of Learning on Friday, 9 August.

Congratulations

Congratulations to Oliver S in Year 3 for his amazing effort at the NSW PSSA Cross Country Championship. Oliver placed 5th in his event, making him the 5th fastest runner in the state for his division. 

Upcoming Events

Rugby Union Knockout - August 12. We are excited to share that our Stage 3 Rugby Union team have received a Wild Card entry into the Chris Gangemi Cup NSWCPS Rugby Union Knockout. More information to follow on Compass. 

South Coast Athletics - August 13. Children who are attending this event have been provided a slip with their events. If you are able to assist in the running of the South Coast Athletics event, please indicate this when answering the event questions on Compass. 

Soccer Gala Day - August 23. Please note that the venue for all students will be Terry Reserve in Albion Park. Transportation is to be arranged by parents/carers for their children. The Compass event will be released shortly. Please read the section on uniform/footwear requirements. 

Basketball Gala Day - September 19 & 20. Please note that expressions of interest for this event have now closed. As the venue for this event is small, we are not able to enter many teams. The event convenor will need to confirm our teams prior to us determining how many students we can send from the list of expressions of interest we have received. More information to follow on Compass. 

2025 Sports Nominations

In the coming months we will begin to provide information regarding the 2025 Diocesan Representative Trial nomination process. This is for children in Years 4 & 5 this year who will be in Years 5 & 6 next year. Nominations for Basketball, Tennis & Cricket will close first in early November with all other sports closing towards the end of November. Please continue to check the newsletters & Compass for any information that is distributed regarding this nomination process.

IGNATIAN MEDAL

Alessandra Barrass

NAZARETH AWARDS

Airlie Bates

Katie Sarin

PRINCIPAL AWARDS

Betty Bates

Grace Hopkins

Gabriella Campos

Jack Hopkins

Sebastian Campos

MERIT AWARDS

Hunter Leitao, Alessandra Barrass, Lachlan Smith, Elijah Gualtieri, Adam Stojanoski, Ava Aitchison, Ivy Brunero, Rennan Rey, Romeo De Ornelas, Isaiah Carrasco, Zoe Cockayne

During Week 2 our PB4L focus throughout the school is re-establishing classroom routines and expectations. As children have enjoyed themselves over well deserved holidays, there is a need to re-establish what’s expected in their behaviour and reacquaint them with classroom procedures. 

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/