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Lord, teach me to be generous,
Teach me to serve you as you deserve;
To give and not to count the cost,
To fight and not to heed the wounds,
To toil and not to seek for rest,
To labor and not to ask for reward,
Save that of knowing that I do your will.
Amen
Dear Parents/Carers
This week marks the commencement of the season of Lent with Ash Wednesday. Entering wholeheartedly into the Catholic practices of prayer, fasting and almsgiving during the sacred season of Lent can be a powerful way of drawing closer to Jesus. I have included with this newsletter a document from Bishop Brian Mascord which provides more details of "fasting and abstinence". Note the age-ranges to which the obligations apply, and also note other exceptions from fasting. Essentially, if the practice adversely affects your health or the health of others, it does not apply to you - a different more creative Lenten practice might be more suitable in that case.
Note also, "fasting" does not mean avoiding all food for the whole day.
Other ways to make the most of the season include attending an Ash Wednesday Mass or liturgy, attending Stations of the Cross on the Fridays of Lent, and giving generously to the charitable works of Caritas for those in need throughout the world, through Project Compassion. Two Year 6 students, Hailey Gropp and Murphy Batman, attended the Diocesan Caritas Project Compassion Launch with me on Tuesday. We are all invited to give generously to Caritas Australia to support their good works to “End poverty, Promote justice and uphold dignity”.
I take this opportunity to remind you of one of our 2023 Annual Improvement Plan goals:
- Re-established parental involvement in the faith and learning life of the school, with particular focus on belonging to a Catholic community.
“It takes a village to raise a child” is an African proverb that reflects the emphasis that African cultures place on family and community. I often use this term when speaking with teachers, parents and the Parish in regard to our Nazareth school setting. I have been reflecting on this proverb recently, considering the renewed community spirit that is developing within our school community as we adapt to ‘living with Covid’ in our post-lockdown world.
I strongly believe that we all form parts of the “village” that is needed to foster continual growth in faith and improvement in learning amongst the students at Nazareth. We all have an important role to play, and we are called to journey together as parents and educators. We are on this journey together in support of the students at Nazareth.
In fact, the name chosen for our school – Nazareth – was chosen because Jesus was nurtured and educated in the village of Nazareth. Our school community aims to be as nurturing for all our students as it was for Jesus.
In light of this, I invite you to avail yourself of the many opportunities to engage with your child’s faith education and academic education as often as you can. The following list outlines some of the opportunities this year:
- Attending Faith and Learning visits
- Attending Celebration of Learning Assemblies
- Attend weekend Mass at All Saints Church with your child
- Attend Sacramental preparation sessions with your child
- Attending Information sessions
- Reading See-Saw posts from class teachers
- Attending weekend Masses at All Saints Parish Church
- Attending P&F Meetings and P&F activities (volunteers are always appreciated)
- Reading all newsletter articles
- Taking an interest in the work on student iPads (in Year 5 and Year 6)
- Following our Social Media – follow us on Instagram and FaceBook
- Reading the Curriculum Outlines (sent home each term)
- Looking through Student workbooks (a subject or two will be sent home each term)
- Volunteering as a Reading Helper (in Year 1 and Year 2)
- Attending and assisting at Sporting Carnivals and Gala Days
- Attending Parent/Teacher interviews (offered in conjunction with school reports)
- Attending Parent/Teacher meetings – arranged as needed by either the parent or the teacher
In Faith and Learning
Lisa Tyson
Reconciliation
For all students preparing for the Sacrament of Reconciliation, workshops begin this week, Tuesday, 21 February and continue for four weeks. This is the time for you and your child to come together to have a conversation about the topics in the workbooks and to ask any questions that you may have. Please be on time to the workshops and remember to bring the workbooks with you that you were given out at mass.
Shrove Tuesday
Shrove Tuesday is the traditional feast day before the start of Lent on Ash Wednesday. Lent – the 40 days leading up to Easter – was traditionally a time of fasting. The name Shrove Tuesday comes from the old word ‘shriving’, which means to listen to someone’s sins and forgive them. Typically, Christians would go to church on Shrove Tuesday to confess their sins and clean their soul. In other words, they would be ‘shriven’. Shrove Tuesday has another name… Pancake Day! Traditionally during Lent, Christians would give up rich, tasty foods such as butter, eggs, sugar and fat (some Christians continue to do so, in fact). Shrove Tuesday was the last chance to eat them – and what better way to do so than with a delicious pancake!
For a gold coin donation, Year 6 cooked up yummy pancakes on Tuesday for the entire school. Thank you so much to Raina Lewis (past parent of Katie and Jessica) who came armed with ingredients for batter, bowls and all kitchen essentials needed to make pancakes and whipped up a massive 900 pancakes. Thank you also to Shelly Moreira for giving up her precious time to supervise the students. It also could not have happened without Mrs Howard, Ms Crinnion and Ms Brown who worked so hard with the students. Students in Year 6 were outstanding, cooking and serving over 370 students.
Thank you to the generous families who donated on the day, raising a whopping $491.45 to go to the victims of the earthquake in Turkey. Your continued generosity at times like this is overwhelming.
Ash Wednesday Mass and Ordinary Wednesday Masses
This week Years 1-6 attended mass on Wednesday mass at 11:30am for Ash Wednesday. Next Wednesday Year 5 will be attending Wednesday mass at 9am. We warmly invite all parents, family members or friends who wish to join their children at any of the Wednesday masses. We love to see as many families there as possible.
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
6R have been learning about the teachings of Jesus’ in his Sermon on the Mount. These teachings are called the Beatitudes. In the task, each pupil was asked to draw a scene or symbol demonstrating a particular Beatitude. They then wrote an explanation on how their drawing represented their chosen Beatitude.
KN have been at school for 11 days now. We are learning about the Nazareth rules and all the routines of Kindergarten. It has been a very busy 11 days. We are doing so well at learning how to be at school. We are making lots of new friends and we love being at school. Here are some photos of what we have been up to so far.
NAPLAN 2023
The National Assessment Program – Literacy and Numeracy (NAPLAN) is a point in time assessment of literacy and numeracy skills that are essential for every child to progress through school and life. Students in Years 3, 5, 7 and 9 participate in the annual NAPLAN tests in writing, reading, conventions of language (spelling, grammar and punctuation) and numeracy. All NSW schools will sit NAPLAN online in 2023.
The test window for NAPLAN is between 15th and 27th March 2023 (Weeks 8-10 this term). Exact dates for each of the 4 tests will be shared with parents in the coming weeks.
Please view the 'Information for parents and carers' sheet for more general information. The public demonstration site is also an excellent tool to see some of the different types of test questions for each of the tests. It can be accessed through the following website: www.nap.edu.au/default.aspx?
If you have any questions or concerns, please contact Mr Edwards through the office.
Stage One parent reading helpers’ sessions
Parents or guardians who are interested in assisting Stage One (Year 1 and Year 2) with reading of a morning are invited to join us for one of the Stage One parent reading helpers’ sessions on Tuesday 28th February. The sessions will be held at 8:25am-9am and will be repeated again at 2:10pm-2:40pm in the school library.
Parents and guardians will be able to nominate the days that you are available to read with Stage One at the end of the reading workshops.
Premiers Reading Challenge
The Premiers Reading Challenge (PRC) has begun for another year. Kindergarten, Year 1 and Year 2 will complete the PRC at school, reading books as a class. The K-2 teachers will complete their reading challenge logs.
Students in Years 3, 4 5 and 6 are invited to participate in the PRC individually, with the goal of reading a total of 20 books. (10 of these books need to be nominated PRC books and the other 10 books may be of personal choice). Students in Years 3-6 can access and log their reading on their own PRC forms that are stored in class folders in the library.
eSafety Commission Parent and Carer Webinars
Swimming Carnival
Thank you to everyone who came to our competitors only swimming carnival in week 4. It was great to see so many swimmers competing in our events and trying their best. A huge thank you to the parents, carers and family members who attended on the day and were able to help out. Our carnivals would not be able to run without the help of our wonderful school community.
We are looking forward to sending our Nazareth Swimming Team to the South Coast Swimming Carnival at Corrimal Pool on the 7th of March. Please check Compass for all relevant details and information regarding this event. Our school team will need to have 2 volunteers to assist at the carnival on the day. If you are attending the South Coast Swimming Carnival with your child and you wish to help on the day, please provide this information in the Compass Event.
Last Wednesday, Nate Ryan from Year 6 travelled to Yass to compete as part of the Wollongong diocesan team at the MacKillop Touch Football Trials. Nate competed against around 60 other boys from other dioceses for a spot in the MacKillop team, and although he missed out on making the team, he is to be commended for competing well in very hot and tough conditions. We are all very proud of Nate's efforts.We have a number of students taking part in Diocesan sports trials in the coming weeks. If your child is attending one or more of these trials please note the dates on your calendars:
- Friday March 3rd - Hockey Selection Trials (Boys)
- Friday March 3rd - Rugby League 11s & 12s Selection Trials
- Wednesday March 8th - Football (Soccer) Boys Selection Trials
- Friday April 28th - Rugby Union Selection Trials
Term 1
Week 5
24th February – 1:55pm Celebration of Learning – 5B
Week 6
28th February - Stage 1 (Years 1 & 2) Parent reading helpers’ session (repeated: 8:25 – 9:00am and 2:10 – 2:40pm)
1st March - Year 5 Grade Mass 9am (Faith and Learning Visit)
3rd March - 1:55pm Celebration of Learning – 4A
3rd March - Diocesan Hockey selection trials (boys)
- Diocesan Rugby League 11s & 12s selection trials
Week 7
8th March - Year 3 Grade Mass 9am (Faith and Learning Visit)
8th March - Diocesan Football (Soccer) boys selection trials
10th March - 1:55pm Celebration of Learning – 3H
Week 8
15th March - NAPLAN commences (Year 3 and Year 5)
15th March - Year 1 Grade Mass 9am (Faith and Learning Visit)
17th March - St Patrick’s Day
17th March - 1:55pm Celebration of Learning – 2L
Week 9
22nd March - Year 2 Grade Mass 9am (Faith and Learning Visit)
24th March - Celebrations for Nazareth school Feast Day – Feast of the Annunciation
24th March - 1:55pm Celebration of Learning – 1H
Week 10
29th March - Year 5 and Kindergarten Grade Mass 9am (+ Faith and Learning Visit)
31st March - 1:55pm Celebration of Learning – KN (POSTPONED)
- Cross Country Carnival (to be held in the school grounds). More information to follow.
Week 11 - Holy Week
5th April - Year 6 Grade Mass 9am (Faith and Learning Visit)
MERIT AWARDS
| CLASS |
Week 5 - Collaboration |
Week 6 - Justice |
| KN | Madison Sangiuliano | Jayla Zizic |
| KN | Nixon Allison | Rafael Nguyen |
| KS | Benicio Gaudio Da Silveira | Aston Dukleski |
| KS | Harvey Mann | Everlyn Butler |
| 1S | Ariana Gigliotti | Isaac Ezquerro |
| 1S | Arthur Keelan | Michaela Saveski |
| 1H | Christian Ioannou | Aditya Panda |
| 1H | Willow Ross | Isla Telfer |
| 2E | Dylan Clapham | Georgia Hannaford |
| 2E | Lilijana Tivey | Jason Miller |
| 2L | Reevie Rey | Oliver Sandona |
| 2L | Travis Borg | Taj Scofield |
| 3L | Siena Pacheco | Adam Glavevski |
| 3L | Cohen Garbayo Vergan | Mason Moreira |
| 3H | Alyssa Ryan | Saxon Rogers |
| 3H | Milla Fullagar | Aubrey Pepper |
| 4A | Sebastian Maksovic | Hannah Calvert |
| 4A | Ruby Capelo | Rennan Rey |
| 4R | Alexa Trencevski | Brody Jolliffe |
| 4R | Mia Honey | Oliver Hopgood |
| 5B | Ella Moreira | Matthew Bell |
| 5B | Sofia Rivera Marin | Kalani Morgan |
| 5O | Liam Maksovic | Alessandra Barrass |
| 5O | Tori Marden | Jacob Bugg |
| 6U | Anton De Jesus | Alani Jovanovski |
| 6U | Marnie Walsh | Daniel Bell |
| 6R | Daniel Dimovski | Mason Maruca |
| 6R | Amelia Hopley | Harry Tompkin |
Samuel Benavente, Cohen Garbayo Vergan, Bonnie Scofield, Ariana Gigliotti, Sebastian Maksovic, Sonny Cocksedge, Bowdi Begley
This week our PB4L focus is on what the children need to do when they arrive at school in the mornings. Teachers will revise with their class the following expectations:
On Arrival:
- The children walk to place their bag in their class’ designated area;
- If your child arrives before 8:10, they then return straight away to the steps in front of the KC classroom;
- The children then sit on the steps with their friends or siblings;
- The teacher on duty dismisses the children to play and the children walk to an area on the concrete to play.
During Morning Play:
- The children can only play only on the concrete in Area B (Kindergarten Area A);
- Walking only, no games of tip;
- Handball can be played with tennis balls (not rubber balls);
- Talk or play hand games with friends on the steps or on the seats under the trees.
When the music plays
- The children stop playing and walk safely to their lines;
- The children then sit in their lines with 5Ls ready to listen to the teacher on the microphone.
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/