Dear Parents and Carers,

This Sunday, 31 August, we will celebrate Social Justice Sunday. Each year the Catholic Church in Australia draws attention to important issues of social justice. The 2025 theme is “Signs of Hope on the Edge,” which addresses the interconnected challenges of homelessness and mental ill-health. The Australian Catholic Bishops’ Conference 2025–2026 Social Justice Statement highlights the importance of recognising, supporting and building relationships with those on the margins of society.

Today we celebrated Book Week 2025 ‘Book an Adventure’ with our annual parade. It was wonderful to welcome so many parents, carers and grandparents. From Kindergarten to Year 6, the children and staff impressed us with their creative and colourful costumes. Thank you to all parents and carers for the time and effort you put into organising such fantastic outfits.

A special thank you to Rebecca Dzirins (P & F President) for coordinating our recent P & F Pie Drive, and to all the helpers who assisted with the organisation and distribution of over 900 items. Just over $3,000 was raised, which will be used to purchase student picnic tables to be used during recess, lunch and outdoor learning activities.

Planning for the Nazareth Spring Fair on Saturday 20 September is progressing well. Please continue to share details with family and friends. The committee continues to seek volunteers—whether you can spare an hour or assist for the whole day, your support will be greatly appreciated. To let us know your availability, please complete the On the Day Volunteer Form. The P & F are also offering local businesses the opportunity to get involved through sponsorship. If you would like further information, please contact the P&F Spring Fair Organising Committee on nscpandf@dow.catholic.edu.au. 

In staffing news, Mrs Leonie Moylan (SSSO) has been seconded to the Catholic Education Office on Mondays, Tuesdays and Wednesdays for the remainder of this term. She will continue her role at Nazareth each Thursday and Friday. Mrs Louise Ritchie will be covering the SSSO role, supported by Mrs Carlie Allbury and Mrs Stephanie Raneri, on the days Mrs Moylan is at the Catholic Education Office.

On Friday 5 September, our school community will celebrate Father’s and Grandfather’s Day with a special breakfast, Liturgy of the Word, and P & F run Father’s Day Stall. This special occasion recognises the importance of positive male role models in the lives of our students and provides us with an opportunity to express our gratitude. I extend warm wishes to all fathers, grandfathers, and the significant men in our students’ lives for a very happy Father’s Day.

I remind all families of the shared responsibility we have in ensuring road safety around the school. Please observe speed limits, adhere to parking restrictions, and follow road rules. For the safety of our school community please:

• Do not use the parish office carpark, this small car park is reserved for those attending the daily mass or parish office. 
• Do not use the bus bay or staff car park as a drop-off or pick-up zone.
• Always use the supervised pedestrian crossing on Glider Avenue when walking with your child.

Finally, the long-awaited Hall AV upgrade is scheduled to take place from Monday 8 September to Monday 15 September. As a result, 3H’s Celebration of Learning, originally planned for Friday 12 September, will be postponed to next term. Thank you to the Catholic Education Office Wollongong for funding this important upgrade and repair.

Kind regards,

Mr Matt Downes 

(Principal)

In Religion, Year 1 have been learning that the Bible is very special and should always be treated with respect. We thought about other precious things in our lives, like our families, memories, jewellery, pets, friends, and toys. Some of these are more precious to us than anything else in the world.

We also explored how the Bible shares parables about God and the special people He chose to do important work. We learned that, just like Joseph and Moses, we can trust that God is always with us, even when we feel worried or scared.

We are grateful for the special times in our own lives when we have been chosen:

• I was chosen to be a big sister – Isabelle
  
  
• I was chosen to get an award – Mila
  
  
• I was chosen to hold some very old things – Charlie
  
  
• I was chosen to be a line leader – Brody
  
  
• I was chosen to go to the movies with my cousin – Imogen
  
  
• I was chosen to be in the SRC – Billie

This Term, Year Four has been learning about the First Fleet and impacts of British settlement on Aboriginal peoples. 

What have you found out about the First Fleet? It was a bad time for Britain in the 1700s because most of their gaols were full so the convicts had to come to Australia. Arthur Phillip was their captain. Most of the convicts were men because sometimes the women had to go to different gaols to do cooking and cleaning. Some of the convicts were as young as nine years old and had to travel with convicts more than twice their age and size. By Khaya

What happened when the British people first came to Australia? When the British arrived in Botany Bay, the Aboriginal people thought they were their ancestors. The British started chopping down trees for farming land and space for housing. By Cara

What have you found interesting about British settlement? The Aboriginal people thought the British settlers were their ancestors. The British settlers didn’t stay at the first location they landed because there wasn’t enough room and the coast was too shallow, so they relocated to Sydney Cove. The British settlers started cutting down trees to settle the area. By Evelyn

Last Friday we went on an excursion to Sydney. We visited Hyde Park Barracks and Sydney Museum to find out more about British settlement.

At the Hyde Park Barracks we found out what the convicts ate and where they slept. I enjoyed wearing the clothes convicts used to wear when they were working. By Mbali.

I learnt how the convicts slept and how they had to behave. I enjoyed joining in all of the activities and learning about the convict punishments. By Ashton

We went to the Sydney Museum which is on the site of the first Governor’s house. We learnt some Aboriginal words and played charades with them. Our guide showed us some of the relics from British settlement such as broken plates and glasses and the sewerage system. By Jaxx

I liked learning about things I hadn’t learnt about before. I liked seeing the coolamon where Aboriginal babies slept, and the fur that was used to keep them warm. I also liked seeing relics of the clothes people used to wear in the past. By Ellie

Congratulations:

Congratulations to the selected students from the Nazareth Athletics Squad who competed at the Athletics Selection Trials last week. We were fortunate enough to have minimal rain on the day allowing the day to run without any issues. Congratulations to Aubrey P, Ziggy E and Oliver S who have been selected as part of the Wollongong Athletics Team, they will compete at the MacKillop (NSWCPS) Athletics Trials on September 24 at Sydney Olympic Park Athletics Centre. We wish you all the best of luck!

Upcoming Events:

Basketball Gala Day- September 18 & 19. A Compass event has been released for this event, please provide payment and consent for your child as soon as possible. If your child is not attending, please decline as early as you can. 

Cricket Gala Day (Year 5 & 6)- October 16. This gala day is for boys and girls in Year 5 & 6. No cricket experience is required as this is a fun gala day where the children learn about playing the game of cricket. 

Oztag Gala Day- Tuesday October 28- Expressions of interest are currently being taken for this event. Please check Compass in the coming weeks for further information. 

Representative Nominations for 2026

This information is for parents and carers of children who are currently in Year 4 & 5 this year (Year 5 & 6 in 2026). At the beginning of term 4 we will begin the nomination process for CEDoW representative sport trials. Further information will be circulated on Compass and in the newsletter so please continue to be updated on this process. The current sports children are able to nominate for are:

Softball

Cricket

Basketball

Tennis

AFL
Touch Football

Hockey

Netball

Football (Soccer)

Rugby League

Rugby Union

If your child excels in one or more of the above sports, then they may be able to be nominated. Criteria for nomination will be listed for each of these sports so please continue to check Compass and the newsletter. 

NAZARETH AWARDS

Lennox W

Lydia D J

Alexa T

James W

PRINCIPAL AWARDS

Addison H

Mila O

Sol S

Chidubem O

Lennox W

Reevie R

Cohen H

Emilia G

Luca W

James W

MERIT AWARDS

Addison R, Alexa T, Jacob D, Louie S, Lucy V, Chelsea B, Bentley P, Ian B, Fenix M, Georgia M, Seyan S, Rome M, Kayden M, Robert O, Charlie-Rose V, Hendrix L, Wyatt T, Charles H, Alena P.

During Week 6 our PB4L focus continues to be on ‘How to be a Good Friend’ with particular emphasis on empathy.  During the week we will explicitly teach friendship skills to develop and foster peer to peer respect between students.

Classroom staff will teach, praise and reinforce students showing respect to their peers through friendship qualities. Playground staff will remind students before and during play, and will hand out playground tokens to students demonstrating target friendship skills.

One way we can follow our respect school rule at Nazareth is by being a good friend to our peers. Revise what being a good friend looks, sounds and feels like. Students give examples of when they’ve noticed others displaying friendship qualities.

Responsible Decision-Making

This week, students look at another one of the five SEL (Social & Emotional Learning) competencies 'Responsible Decision-Making'. Responsible Decision-Making involves identifying, solving and reflecting on problems and their causes. Students are called upon to make responsible decisions through this 5 step action plan: 

1. I stop and think about the problem;
2. Then I think about what caused the problem;
3. Next, I try to solve the problem;
4. I ask myself 'was this the right decision?'
5. I learn from my mistakes and respond appropriately.

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/