From the Principal
Dear Parents, Students, Staff and Friends of Nativity School,
Thank you to all of you who joined us for Sports Day last Friday, once again this was a great Campus community event. Congratulations to Eyre for winning the Championship Shield, Murray for winning the Spirit Shield and to all the students who showed great sportsmanship and tried their best in the events. Special thanks also to Brett Middleton and Ethan Wildman for their organisation of Sports day and the Cedar College students who assisted with the events.
This week our year 3 and 5 students are participating in NAPLAN. NAPLAN assesses the literacy and numeracy skills that students are learning through the school curriculum and allows parents to see how their child is progressing against national standards and over time. Please remember that NAPLAN is just one aspect of Nativity’s assessment and reporting process and that it doesn’t replace ongoing assessments made by teachers about student performance. This year there will be a change to the way in which NAPLAN results are reported to parents with the introduction of proficiency standards – exceeding; strong; developing; and needs additional support. The Proficiency strands set a higher level of achievement than the National Minimum Standard. More information for parents will follow when the results are ready for release to help you understand your child’s report.
There are 2 special days of Religious significance for Catholics this week.
Friday 17th March is St Patrick’s Day. St. Patrick was a missionary to Ireland and he became an adored figure for Irish Catholics. He is well known for picking a shamrock and showing that its three leaves were on only one stem that there are three beings who make up one divine God: the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit.
Sunday 19th March is St Joseph’s Day. Saint Joseph was the husband of the Blessed Virgin Mary and the foster-father of Jesus. Through his love and care for Jesus and Mary, Saint Joseph showed his love for God. Because he trusted God, Saint Joseph allowed Him to work in his life. Sometimes Trusting God in our lives can be difficult, especially when we cannot see how our story will end or why God is asking us to do something, but we can pray to Saint Joseph to help us trust God just as he did.
Next week the Nativity Student Leaders have organised a celebration for Harmony Day on Friday 24th March. Harmony Day is a celebration of all the different cultures that make up our community and the value that diversity brings to us all. This year’s theme is “Everyone belongs” students are invited to wear an item of orange clothing/accessory with their school uniform – a sign of unity and social respect for one another. Please keep watch for the Harmony Day information sent home.
Finally, a reminder that students in Reception to year 2 will complete the Premiere’s Reading Challenge in class, for students in year 3-6 the Premiere’s Reading Challenge is a student and family led activity. If your child would like to participate, please collect a form from their teacher or online at Premier’s Reading Challenge A reminder that for the 20th Anniversary of the Premiere’s Reading Challenge students are invited to read 20 books for which they will receive an additional certificate.
God Bless,
Erika