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Message from the Principal
In relation to relevant information associated with the risk of Novel Coronavirus (COVID-19) please be aware of the following:
- Personal hygiene practices specifically effective hand washing continues to be the main advice
- Age appropriate lessons with ongoing reminders in reference to hand washing and other good hygiene practices will be in place for all classes
- The school is in the process of installing additional soap dispensers for hand washing as required, at or near the entrance of each of our buildings
- Regular checking will occur of the soap levels in the soap dispensers in student and staff toilets
- Additional soap and toilet paper has been ordered although the school currently has a good supply
In addition please refer to a statement from Bishop Brian Mascord re: temporary changes to the celebration of Mass.
If you have any concerns or seek clarity relating to any of the above information please contact the school office.
During this time of Lent I encourage all of us to incorporate additional time each day for prayer and personal reflection. You may find the Lenten information in this newsletter helpful.
Enjoy the week ahead
Peter Dempsey
Principal
Dear students, families and school communities,
Thank you for your school's participation in Catholic Schools Week from 1-7 March. It's a wonderful opportunity to celebrate and showcase many of the fantastic things happening in your school every day, and in all our Catholic schools across the Diocese of Wollongong.
We thank you for working together in partnership with us to help make your school community such a vibrant, nurturing place of learning, faith, belonging and hope.
If you or a family member or friend would like to enrol your child in one of our schools, please download an enrolment package here.
Have a look at our Catholic Schools Week video below, celebrating what our students across the diocese love about their Catholic school. Can you spot the students from your school?
LENT 2020
The church season of Lent has now commenced and will continue for 40 days up until Easter. The number 40 has held symbolic meaning in Christian and Jewish tradition for thousands of years. In the context of the Old Testament it rained for 40 days and 40 nights, the Israelites wandered in the desert for 40 years after their exodus from Egypt and Jesus spent 40 days in the wilderness before the commencement of his public ministry. In current time the 40 days of Lent is a time of prayer, fasting and almsgiving. Try to find time each day to pray and whilst praying consider how you could improve an aspect of your life by giving something up or by taking up something. Refer to the following suggested Lenten ideas as a starting point:
- Don't buy anything you do not need - give the money you would have spent to Project Compassion
- Throw away 40 things - one per day of Lent - donate to Vinnies
- Declutter your home - donate to Vinnies
- Give up Gossiping - say something nice or don't say anything at all
- Take care of the body God gave you - go for an extra walk/gym session
- Say 3 positive things to others
- Replace screen time with Prayer/Reflection/Meditation
- Don't complain or be negative
- Be understanding of someone you find hard to get along with
- Spend time with your loved ones.
PROJECT COMPASSION
During Lent, we show our love through almsgiving and our support of Project Compassion. Project Compassion boxes were sent home with families last week. Could you please give generously to this appeal? Your donations will allow Caritas Australia to reduce poverty and hunger in more than 35 countries around the world. Project Compassion boxes may be returned to school prior to the end of term.
CATHOLIC SCHOOLS WEEK
This week we celebrate Catholic School’s Week. The school has a number of events to celebrate this week.
On Monday 2nd March, the school joined together in a prayer celebration to signify the beginning of Catholic Schools Week.
On Thursday 5th March, staff will attend the Diocesan Education Mass in the evening.
On Friday 6th March, there will be the opportunity for parents to visit the classrooms at 1:50pm in order to view students work.
School Tours will be conducted Thursday 5th and Friday 6th 9:30am – 10:30am. Ring to book a tour or just come along to Nazareth School at the above mentioned times. If you can’t make it this week, ring the school office and book a convenient time.
PARISH MASS
Father Joe has invited students from Years 4, 5 and 6 to attend the Parish Mass regularly. On Wednesday at 9am and Thursday at 9am, one grade will be attending the Parish Mass for the next two weeks.
SCHOOL FEAST DAY
At Nazareth, we celebrate our school Feast Day on the Feast of the Annunciation, Wednesday 25th March. The day will begin with Mass at 9:00 am in All Saints Church. Parents are welcome to attend Mass with the students. The day will continue with fun activities for the students.
In 1999, the name Nazareth was chosen for our school. The parent body expressed a desire that peace be something their children would experience as they moved to the new century. In the bible, Nazareth was a place of peace for Jesus. As Jesus was nurtured at Nazareth and grew in wisdom and knowledge, it is our aim to nurture the children who come to Nazareth Catholic Primary School. We aim to provide excellent religious and educational development, pastoral care and a stimulating, non-threatening environment. This will hopefully allow our students to grow into loving and caring people. Our hope is that they can learn to make a difference to our society and so make the world a better and more peaceful place.
As we do not have a Saints' Feast Day to celebrate with our school name. The Feast of the Annunciation was chosen. On this day the announcement was made at Nazareth, that Mary would be the Mother of Jesus.
VSOP – Valuing and Supporting Older People
Members of the Parish based support group know as Valuing and Supporting Older People will celebrate St Patrick's Day in the school hall on Monday March 16. The school choir will be performing for this celebration.
MASS TIMES
Beginning the first weekend of Lent, there will be a change in Parish Mass times. From Saturday 29th February the Saturday Vigil Mass will start at 5:00pm. From Sunday 1st March, the evening Mass will start at 5:00pm.
SACRAMENT OF PENANCE 2020
Preparation for the Sacrament of Penance continues for students in Year Three. Please be reminded that an expectation is that children and parents attend Mass each weekend.
On the weekend of 7th/8th March, Holy Cards with the Act of Contrition will be distributed.
Monday 9th March to Friday 13th March will be the second week of workshops.
On the weekend of 14th/15th March, examination of the children’s ability to recite the Act of Contrition. Parents must be available to recite the Act of Contrition. Please allow 10 minutes after Mass.
Monday 16th March to Friday 20th March will be the third week of workshops.
On the weekend of 21st/22nd March, parents will be advised of details for the ceremony of First Reconciliation. Parents are encouraged to make a heartfelt confession.
Monday 23rd March to Friday 27th March will be the fourth week of workshops.
Wednesday 1st April - 5:00pm to 6:00pm the First Rite of reconciliation will be celebrated. There are 82 children in the program and with the help of four priests, the celebration will be completed within the hour.
PALM SUNDAY
On Palm Sunday, Sunday 5th April, Kindergarten children will be involved in the Parish Mass at 9:00am. Kindergarten children will be invited to wave palms at the beginning of Mass. During Mass, Kindergarten children will sing a song. Children will be practising this song at school. Families of Kindergarten children are requested to pencil this date into their diaries.
In Religion, Year 2 have been reading and discussing stories in the bible that can help us know what God is like. We read that He is like a shepherd who cares for his sheep(us) and keeps them safe. He is like a potter who takes some clay and moulds it into something beautiful. God is like a father who loves all his children no matter what they do or like a mother who never forgets her baby. God is all these things to us! We also talked about other special people in our lives that are like God to us.
Mrs Rowles has been in contact with a few sustainable businesses and has secured some discount codes to use on full price items on their websites. The websites are as follows:
- Seed and Sprout- https://seedsprout.
- Eco Shop Co- https://www.ecoshopco.com/
- Montii Co- https://montii.co/- Code: Nazareth
Lids 4 Kids is back for 2020. This year it will be done a little differently. We ask that bring plastic lids from bottles in (e.g. coke or other soft drinks, regular and long life milk and other plastic bottles). Lids can be dropped off to 2E from today. Once there, students will count and sort them before sending them off to be made into prosthetic hands for children.
Please click the link below for more information.
For over 17 years, the Premier’s Reading Challenge has been supporting students in NSW to develop a love of reading for pleasure and leisure and providing them with opportunities to experience quality literature. In 2019, over 310,000 students successfully completed the NSW Premier’s Reading Challenge – more than in any other year.
Students in Kinder, Years 1 & 2 will complete the challenge in their Library time, being read to by their class teacher. This will be logged each week and entered online upon completion.
Years 3 to 6 will be able to choose a PRC book during their Library time to take home along with another free choice book, they will need to keep a personal reading log of the books (available from the Library) along with the individual ID code and hand it to the Librarian upon completion. The codes and information on how many books to read are found at the Website http://www.premiersreadingchallenge.nsw.edu.au . This challenge is not difficult and we have many books to choose from, with the help of your class teacher and librarian you will be amazed how quickly you can read 20 books. If you wish to use your local library this is a wonderful time for them to become members if they have not done so previously.
If you have any questions please feel free to come and see me in the Library.
Mrs Troughton
5B have had a fabulous start to Stage 3 and to 2020. In English we each wrote a persuasive speech for our selected leadership groups. We are now leaders in Environment, Ignatian team, Mathematics and Social Justice groups. In Mathematics we are learning how to organise data into different types of graphs and how to pose questions relating to those graphs. We have had St Joseph’s, Corpus Christi, Edmund Rice and St Mary’s Catholic High Schools present information, helping to decide which high schools we might like to choose. We are loving Year 5!
PRINCIPALS AWARDS
Oliver H
Ava S
Iylah F
Vincent D
Ella F
Matilda A
MERIT AWARDS
| Class | Week 3 | Week 4 | Week 5 |
| KN | Ziggy E | Adam G | Bodhi P |
| Kaley A | Saxon R | Aubrey P | |
| KS | Mason M | Joshua K | Scarlett M |
| Alyssa R | Selena R | Emilia G | |
| 1S | Rennan R | Carter O | James W |
| Zoe C | Azariah I | Sebastian M | |
| 1H | Brody J | Harrison T | Estelle C |
| Patrick S | Laila H | Georgia M | |
| 2E | Ava S | Cristian S | Katie S |
| Luke N | Logan T | Rocco P | |
| 2L | Marisa B | Maya R | Savannah P |
| Jake M | Hugo M | Tyler R | |
| 3L | Aiden M | Kaiden M | Jacob De G |
| Danielle G | Natalia T | Ruby S | |
| 3H | Hailey G | Lucas C | Madeline S |
| Alani J | Aidan W | ||
| 4A | Layla M | Vincent D | Alexander J |
| Sebastian F | Lily O | ||
| 4R | Tauris I | Mikhail M | Cherice J |
| Ezra Z | Sienna P | Max P | |
| 5B | Chloe A | Caden C | Sienna G |
| Bella S | James S | ||
| 5O | Kody L | Sienna R | Abby B |
| Marley A | Ruben L | Jade M | |
| 6U | Luke A | Riley B | Ella J |
| Abigail K | Tahlia J | Charli W | |
| 6R | Joseph B | James D | Tom V |
| Pippa T | Ruby J | Lily M |
Nate R, Samuel D, Archie D, Aymara Z, Katie S, Hannah C, Mason R, Nixon J, Austin C, Mason M, Leo H, Aurora F, Azariah I, Dylan B, Marisa B, Jasmine R, Sienna R.
CONGRATULATION TO THE NEWLY APPOINTED P&F EXECUTIVE
The school wishes to congratulate and thank the following people who have been appointed to the P&F Executive following the recently held AGM:
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/