NAZARETH SCHOOL PRAYER

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 and Carers,

Instilling a love of reading in children is a wonderful gift. 

As we celebrate BOOK WEEK 2023, I would like to share some tips for promoting a love of reading with your children at home.

1. Be a reading role model: Let your children see you reading books, magazines, or newspapers. Children often imitate their parents' behaviour, so your enthusiasm for reading can inspire them. 

2. Create a reading-friendly environment: Set up a cosy reading nook with comfortable seating, good lighting, and a variety of age-appropriate books. Make sure books are easily accessible and displayed attractively. 

3. Read aloud together: Dedicate regular time for shared reading. Pick books that align with your child's interests and read aloud to them. This can create positive associations with reading. 

4. Visit the library or bookstore: Take your children to the library or bookstore and let them explore different genres and authors. Allow them to choose books that capture their attention. We have commenced grade visits to Shellharbour City Library, and I know that many of the children were very excited to see the huge range of books available to borrow. 

5. Encourage book discussions: Engage in conversations about the books your child reads. Ask questions, discuss characters, and share your thoughts. This can enhance their understanding and make reading more enjoyable. 

6. Set aside daily reading time: Establish a daily reading routine where your child reads independently for a certain amount of time. Gradually increase the reading time as they develop a habit. 

7. Explore different formats: Introduce your child to various reading formats, such as e-books, audiobooks, or graphic novels. This can make reading more engaging and cater to different learning styles. 

8. Celebrate reading milestones: Recognize and celebrate your child's reading achievements. This can include completing a book, reaching a reading goal, or trying a new genre. Remember, fostering a love of reading is a gradual process. By making reading enjoyable, accessible, and a part of your child's everyday life, you can help cultivate a lifelong love of reading.

Parent Feedback Survey

Thank you to the parents from the following grades who completed our survey:

Kindergarten – 30%

Years 1 and 2 – 39%

Years 3 and 4 – 41%

Years 5 and 6 – 28%

96% of the respondents agree that Nazareth helps their child to develop a knowledge and understanding about Catholic faith. 88% of the respondents agree that they have an understanding of the faith, learning and wellbeing at Nazareth.

At the end of this term, I am taking a period of long service leave to travel to France with my husband. My leave will commence from Monday 18th September and I will return to Nazareth on Monday 23rd October. During this time, Mr Danny Sykes will fulfill the role of Acting Principal. I’m sure that you will all make Danny feel very welcome during his time at Nazareth. 

This Saturday, 26th August, Bishop Brian Mascord is celebrating mass at 11am to celebrate the 30th anniversary of Fr Joe’s ordination to the priesthood. You are warmly invited to attend this lovely occasion in our Parish.

I would like to address an important matter that concerns the smooth functioning of our school - the usage of the staff car park and the bus bay. Recently, I have noticed an increase in parents using the staff car park and bus bay for dropping off or picking up their children. While I understand that finding parking can be challenging at times, it is crucial to remember that the staff car park is designated solely for the use of our staff members and that it is against traffic regulations to stop in a bus bay. When parents use the staff car park and bus bay, it creates unnecessary congestion, potential safety hazards, and inconvenience for our staff members who may have difficulty either finding a parking spot, or leaving the site each afternoon.

To maintain a safe and efficient traffic flow within the school premises, I request that you refrain from using the staff car park for dropping off or picking up your child. Instead, I encourage you to utilise the designated parent drop-off and pick-up areas, which have been created with your convenience and safety in mind:

Feast of the Annunciation

Thank you to all of the family and friends who came to our whole school mass to celebrate the Feast of the Annunciation last Tuesday.  It is so great to see the families participating in the religious life of the school and modelling the importance to the children.

Wednesday Mass and Faith & Learning visits

This week Year 6 attended 9am mass on Wednesday. Next week Kindergarten and Year 5 will be attending 9am mass and Year 5 will have their learning visit to the classroom with parents.  Families of both Kindergarten and Year 5 students are warmly welcome to attend mass with their children.  We love to see as many families as possible.

Save the Date - Year 3 First Holy Communion

If your child is in Year 3 or older, there will be an information and name recording session for names of students wishing to celebrate the sacrament of First Holy Communion on Thursday 7th September at 7.00pm at the Parish Hall.  Enrolment will be at the weekend masses on 9 and 10 September. Celebration of the Sacrament of First Holy Communion will be held on Sunday 26 November 2023 at 11am  & 2pm.

If your child has not made their Sacrament of Reconciliation, please let the parish office know as they will be able to complete their Sacrament of Reconciliation prior to receiving the Sacrament of First Holy Communion.  This can be done at the same time.

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 KN, we have been learning about God’s Creation. We have explored the wonder and beauty of God’s creation. We love the Bible story of Noah and the Ark as it tells of the renewal of creation and God’s promise of continued blessing on the whole of creation throughout time. 

Addison - Noah built the ark to save his family and the animals.

Jaxx - God told Noah to make the ark.

Freddy - God sent a flood to kill the bad people who were unkind.

Lily - God sent a rainbow as a promise not to flood the whole world ever again.

In 5B over the past two weeks we have been challenged with Fractions and Decimals. We have learnt that fractions can be proper, improper and mixed.  The numerator is the top number of the fraction and the bottom number is called a denominator. We know how to order decimals to two decimal places on a number line. Our parents should be careful because we can add decimals that include money!!!  Finally, we now know how to add and subtract decimals. Learning this has been challenging but has really gotten our minds thinking.

This week is Book Week!  Thank you to all who have visited and supported our school Book Fair, it has been a huge success! This week classes across the school have celebrated Book Week and our love of reading.

We have been enjoying reading many of the CBCA nominated books and students have contributed to our library displays, colouring in competitions and Stage 3 have been busy planning for their Book Week Bake Off.

On Friday we will conclude our Book Week celebrations with our Character Parade. Students are invited to come to school dressed up as their favourite book character. We will have a character parade at 8:45am in the school playground and parents and families are welcome to join us for this wonderful celebration. 

Fruit & Veg Month 2023

Our school will be participating in Fruit & Veg Month 2023.

This year’s theme is: Fruit & Vegie STEMs!

We encourage you to have open conversations with your children about the benefits of nourishing our bodies with fruit and vegetables.

Fruit & Veg Month 2023 runs from Monday 28 August to Friday 22 September.

Wollongong Diocese Athletics Selection Trials

On Tuesday 15th August, a group of students represented Nazareth at the Athletics selection trials.

A big congratulations to the following students who tried their best and achieved some excellent results;

Iyla.H, Alexa.T, Airlie.B, Aria. P - 8th Junior Girls relay

Ziggy.E - 4th 100m and 4th 200m

Aubrey.P - 5th Discus and 7th 100m

Iylah.F - 3rd 100m and 6th 200m

Morrison.C - 3rd Shot Put and 7th Discus

Nate.R - 4th Discus

Olivia.S - 5th Long Jump

Matilda.M - 1st Shot put

Congratulations and good luck to Matilda.M who will represent the Diocese of Wollongong at the Mackillop Athletics Carnival in September.

Upcoming Gala Days: Please note that children express their interest for these gala days by signing up on a sign up sheet that is placed near their classrooms or facilitated by the classroom teacher for the younger years. 

Basketball Gala Day - for boys and girls in years 3. 4, 5 & 6. 

This gala day will be held at Croome Road Sporting Complex over 2 days. Junior boys and girls (years 3 and 4) will be held on Thursday September 14th with the senior boys and girls (year 5 and 6) held the following day on Friday September 15. Transportation will need to be arranged by parents and carers. Information regarding this event will be sent out on Compass in the coming week.

Cricket Gala Day - for boys and girls in years 5 & 6.

This gala day will be held at Thomas Dalton Park on Thursday October 12th. Transportation will need to be arranged by parents and carers. Information regarding this event will be sent out on Compass in the coming weeks.

MERIT AWARDS

Ivy Brunero, Rennan Rey, Romeo De Ornelas, Lucas Cartwright, Danielle Gonzales, Isaiah Carrasco, Zoe Cockayne, Molly Bronish, Hugo Sewell, Alexander Popovski, Gabriella Campos, Ruby Evans, Cristian Banovic, Lilijana Tivey, Jacob Sekulovski, Saxon Rogers.

As part of PB4L we are focussing on peer to peer respect. Each class will examine what it looks, feels and sounds like to be a good friend. To achieve this we will have a focus each week on a specific friendship quality using FRIENDS as an acronym.

In Week 6 we have been looking at F - Find something in common. 

In Week 7 we will look at R - Respect other students’ space, property and ideas.

Students will receive playground tokens when they are seen to be displaying these qualities on the playground at recess and lunch.

The P&F are excited to hit the term off with Fathers Day celebrations. We will be having a Father’s Day Stall on Tuesday 29th August, all children will have the opportunity to come and purchase a little something for that special person. We are also hosting the Father’s Day Breakfast on Friday, 1st September at 7:45am (notes will be handed out with RSVP details please ensure they are returned for catering purposes) We will be busy cooking egg and bacon rolls and will also provide cereal for the children. Raffle tickets will be available and a great prize is on offer so don’t forgot some coins!

We are also happy to share that the P&F were happy to support a contribution for new Kindy reading books, $1460 was contributed by the P&F for this.

The pizza day was great fun! The children seemed to all enjoy the yummy pizzas and drinks!! This will take part at the end of term 3 so keep a look out for notices. This generated $454.46.

The hot cross bun fundraiser raised $1344. Thank you to all the families and friends that participated!

The disco in term 2 was a hit!! Lots of fun and a great social gathering for the children! The disco made a net contribution of $475 to the P&F fund for future initiatives.

A date will be announced for our Term 4 disco in the coming weeks.

Thank you to all the helpers on the evening, such events can not take place without the support of volunteers!

The next P&F meeting will be held on Wednesday 13th September at 6pm we would love to see you there!

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/