Filter Content
Harmony Day 2025 – Celebrating Kindness and Unity
As we journey through Lent, a time for reflection and growth, we embrace the spirit of Harmony Day on March 21st. This special day reminds us of the importance of kindness, inclusiveness and unity in our community. We invited all students and staff to wear a splash of orange, symbolising social communication and meaningful conversations. Let’s stand together in solidarity and reflect on how to show kindness and compassion to everyone around us. Hopefully, we can all take up the challenge to positively impact the lives of those around us through our words and actions. May we all look for the goodness in the people in our community.
Student Leadership Assembly
Today, as part of our morning assembly, we witnessed a significant moment in our school community as our student government group members received their leadership badges. This ceremony was even more special as the students in the opposition group presented these badges. Congratulations to all our Year Six Leaders!
We look forward to your positive impact on our school and to the inspiration you will inspire your peers.
Open Afternoon Success
Yesterday afternoon, we opened our doors to welcome many families into our school for our Open Afternoon. It was a fantastic opportunity to showcase the wonderful things happening at St Clare’s. Our Year Six tour guides did an outstanding job leading the tours, highlighting our school's attributes and the vibrant community spirit. A heartfelt thank you to these students, the choir members who stayed back to perform, our dedicated staff who set up and led various areas of the tour, and the community members who visited to see what St Clare’s is all about. Your support helps make our school a truly special place.
Year 6 Student Leadership Conference
Last week, Mr Birkbeck and I had the privilege of taking 16 Year Six students to a Student Leadership Conference in Sydney. This conference was an invaluable experience for our young leaders, providing them with new insights and skills to bring back to our school community. We are proud of their enthusiasm and commitment to leadership and look forward to seeing how they will apply what they have learned to benefit everyone at St Clare’s. Their passion and dedication are sure to inspire others.
Let’s continue celebrating kindness, unity, and leadership, fostering an environment where everyone feels welcomed and valued.
Yours in partnership,
Marg Foldes
Principal
Welcome BBQ
The annual welcome BBQ is fast approaching, please join us as a community on Monday 24 March from 4.30pm. Thank you to all those families who have replied.
School Photo Day
Our Annual School Photo Day will be held on Friday, 28 March. All students are asked to ensure that they are in full summer. For your reference the uniform policy is attached.
Any families that are interested in sibling photos, please email the school office at info@scnvdow.catholic.edu.au or collect a sibling photo envelope from the school office.
If your child is absent 28th March, a makeup day is scheduled for Monday, 7th April.
School Safety
While school-age children may appear independent, they still need guidance. Young children learn how to navigate the road safely from you, and the habits they develop will stay with them as they get older and start traveling on their own. Here is link to the NRMA school safety website, which offers valuable information to help parents ensure their children travel to and from school safely. It includes conversation starters and information on:
- Walking to and from school
- Driving to and from school
- Getting the bus
NAPLAN 2025
NAPLAN 2025 officially concludes on Monday 24 March. I wanted to congratulate all of the Year 3 and Year 5 students for their efforts and perseverance during this testing time. After speaking with students, I know that it can be very daunting at times, but I was astonished with how all the students supported each other. Thank you also to the parents.
Mr Joel Jarrett
Assistant Principal
St Clare's Prayer Box
Last year at St Clare's, we introduced a Family Prayer Box for families to use in their homes.
The box includes a white cloth, coloured ribbons, a flameless candle, a cross, prayers, and a workbook for personal reflections. To set it up, simply cover the box with the cloth, arrange the ribbons based on the Liturgical season, and add the candle, cross, and prayers. Feel free to include a family photo or flower to make it personal.
Praying together strengthens family bonds and deepens your relationship with God, supporting your child's spiritual growth and your connection to faith. Thank you to the beautiful families who have sent through some photos of the prayer space set up in our homes.
We would love to see your home prayer space set up! Please feel free to share a photo by sending it to info@scnvdow.catholic.edu.au so we can celebrate it with the wider community.
Kind regards,
Miss Ally Carter
Catholic Life & Mission
Fortnightly Focus
Each fortnight we focus on a particular area of our school expectations. Students and staff collaborate on ways to support each other in meeting these expectations. Thank you for supporting us in helping our students to be the best they can be. To begin our year in 2025, our fortnightly focus for Term 1 - Weeks 9, 10, 11 is 'I am a person of Compassion.' Please take some time to view the table below so that as parents, you have a full understanding of what is expected of students, teachers and parents this fortnight. When we all work together, we achieve great things.
|
2025 |
Any additional dates will be updated on the Compass parent calendar and future newsletters |
|
March |
|
|
Monday 17 |
St Patrick’s Feast Day |
|
Wednesday 19 |
St Joseph's Feast Day |
|
Thursday 20 |
National Closing the Gap Day Open afternoon for prospective 2026 enrolments (3 - 4.30 p.m.) |
|
Friday 21 |
Harmony Day |
|
Monday 24 |
Welcome BBQ for Kindergarten and new families |
|
Thursday 27 |
AFL Paul Kelly Cup 9 - 2.30 p.m. |
|
Friday 28 |
School Photographs |
|
Monday 31 |
VEX day at St Clare's |
|
April |
|
|
Friday 4 |
Principal’s awards in the hall at 1.45 p.m. |
|
Sunday 6 |
Daylight Saving ends |
|
Monday 7 |
School photographs back up morning |
|
Wednesday 9 |
School Lockdown drill |
|
Friday 11 |
Last day of term 1 |
|
Thursday 17 |
Appin Massacre Memorial |
|
Friday 18 |
Good Friday |
|
Saturday 19 Sunday 20 |
Easter Saturday/Easter Sunday |
|
Friday 25 |
Anzac Day March in Camden |
|
Monday 28 |
Staff Development Day - Berry Street Program (no school for students) |
|
Tuesday 29 |
Term 2 commences |
Congratulations to the following students who were awarded a Flame Award, presented to them by Ms Foldes on Fridays 7 and 14 March. These students were able to submit 5 Spark Awards.
| Ayla D 1B | Aoife C 1B | Andrea M 1B | Charlotte C 1B |
| Harrison H 1B | Ivy G 1B | Leonardo D 1B | Mia S 1B |
| Patrick McC 1B (x2) | Averyl A 1G | Emily B 1G | Lachlan M 1G |
| Stacey D C P 1G | Sophie S 1G | Violet P 1G | Zane S 1B |
| Fiadh D 1R | Jemma N-L 1R | Zoe A 1R | Eloise B 1W |
| Henry J 1W (x2) | Harper C 1W | Thomas W 1W | William R 1W |
| Zoe P 1W | Ethan T 2G | Sofia A 2G (x2) | Anastasia B 2W |
| Arizona O 2W | Eden G 2W | Lyla A 2W | Cruz S 3B |
| Emily C 3B | Lexi H 3B | Sofia C 3B | Jack L 3G (x2) |
| Nicole Z 3G | Jagger F 3G (x3) | Romeo S 3W | Charlie McC 4B (x2) |
| Nell R 4B | Keira K 4G | Lucy R 4G | Annabelle D 4W |
| Alyssa P 4W | Jacob B 4W | Pearla M 4W (x3) | Scarlett D C P 4W |
| Yanek F 4W | Zachariah A 4W (x2) | Valentina P 5B (x2) | Ella R 5B (x2) |
| Carlos C 5B | Elizabeth J 5B (x3) | Martin B 5B | Alexis N 5G |
| Aria V 5G | Zachary P 5W | Emilia P 5W | Jayden N 6B (x3) |
| Eva P 6B | Benjamin P 6B | Stella H 6B (x2) | Georgina N 6B |
| Oliver D 6B (x2) | Luke M 6G | Vanessa C-Z 6G | Hendrix F 6W (x4) |
| Mitchell R 6W (x2) | Ashton N 6W | Abel B 6W |
| Isla G 1B | Patrick M (x2) 1B | Ruby D 1G | Birdie G 1G |
| Noah I 1G | Ivy G 1B | Evie O 1R | Tobias S (x2) 1R |
| Chloe D 1W | Stella D 1W | Emily F 1W | Charbel B 2B |
| Clark D 2B | Eliza R 2B | Lukas W 2G | Max L 2W |
| Aston M 3B | Bear G (x2) 3B | David B 3B | Theodore S 3B |
| Gregory L (x3) 3G | Scout W 3G | Ivy B (x2) 3W | William B 3W |
| Cristian D 3W | Alethea A 4B | Maddison D 4B | Zakarhie D 4B |
| Charlie M 4B | Natalia F (x3) 4B | Charlie S 4G | Emilia P 4B |
| Isabella H 4W | Zander F (x3) 5B | Madeline V 5W | Darci S 5W |
| Sienna C 5W | Johns S 6B | Liana M (x3) 6B | Caitlin A 6G |
| Jude Z 6G | Layla W 6G | Isabella B 6G | Poppy E 6G |
| Michael L (x3) 6G | Michael O 6W | Chrislyn D KG |
SCHOOL PHOTOGRAPHS
Student envelopes have been sent home personalised with your child's name. Payment can be made on-line or cash (please send in prior to 28 March for easier processing). If your child has misplaced their envelope, additional blank ones are available from the school office.
If you require a sibing envelope, please email the school office (info@scnvdow.catholic.edu.au) or collect from the front counter or student foyer.
Should your child be absent on Friday 28 March, we will have a back up date on Monday 7 April.
|
ANZAC DAY MARCH -Friday 25 April
Once again our school will be participating in the Anzac Day March in Camden. Please be aware that this day is in the holidays. Details can be found below:
The Camden RSL Sub-branch ANZAC Day March will commence from Elizabeth Street, Camden at 10.30am sharp. The March will make its way down Argyle Street and conclude on Cawdor Road to the Camden Bicentennial Equestrian Park.
At the conclusion of the March, parents/carers of participating children are advised a pickup zone will be at Onslow Park. No parents/carers will be able to collect their children from Cawdor Road. If your child would like to partipate in the March, can you please email the office on info@scnvdow.catholic.edu.au to register their attendance. More information will be given closer to the date.
|
The accompanying link can be used to order uniforms, online, at Yeronga School Uniforms:
https://www.yerongauniforms.com/product-category/schools/st-clares-narellan-vale/
For extended absences (of more than 5 school days) due to travel, parents must submit the Notification of Extended Absence form along with relevant travel documentation. This documentation should include: Dates, locations of travel, purpose and reasons for travel outside school holidays.
Acknowledgement of Extended Absence
After considering the explanation for the extended absence the school will issue an Acknowledgement of Extended Absence to the parent, regardless of whether the
explanation for the absence is accepted or not accepted by the Principal. The acknowledgment may include agreed matters relating to the student’s learning and well-being. Accepted extended absences will be recorded as explained and unaccepted absences will be recorded as unjustified.
Extended absence fact sheet
• Communicating Attendance Concerns: Informing the school of any concerns they
have regarding their child’s attendance pattern.
• Partnering with the School: Collaborating with the school to develop and implement
strategies that support their child’s regular attendance.
• Explaining Absences: Providing an explanation to the school for any absence
within seven calendar days of the first day of the absence. The primary method by
which a parent may provide an explanation is through Compass. Emails and hand written letters are also accepted.
• Notifying Extended Absences: Giving the school reasonable advance notice of any
planned extended absence.
• Requesting Exemptions: Providing the school with reasonable advance notice
when requesting an exemption from enrolment or attendance.
• Providing Documentation: Promptly supplying any documentation requested
by the school related to their child’s attendance or enrolment.
CENTRALISATION OF PRIMARY SCHOOL FEE MANAGEMENT - ADVICE TO FAMILIES
From the commencement of the 2025 school year, the management of certain aspects relating to school fee accounts in Primary Schools has been transferred to the School Fees Liaison Office at the Catholic Education in Wollongong.
What does this mean for families:
- Your school’s administration office is your first place for enquiry regarding school fees. School staff will provide information regarding instalments, methods of payment, giving access to an Application for Fee Concession and attend to other general enquiries.
- If you are experiencing financial difficulty or need to make an arrangement for payment of your school fee account, please email sflo@dow.catholic.edu.au with your name and the school in which your children are enrolled. The School Fees Liaison Office will then contact you directly to offer assistance.
- Please note that each school has a dedicated School Fees Liaison Officer to provide a personalised service to individual families. This Officer will also have a close relationship with your school. Our school fee officer is Kyeen McPherson.
If you require further information about this initiative, please do not hesitate to contact your school’s administration office.
UPDATED MEDICAL PLANS
Please note that if your child has a healthcare plan (medical plan) e.g. Asthma, Anaphylaxis, Allergy, Emergency Medical these need to be updated annually. If you have an updated healthcare plan, can you please send a copy in to school so we can update our records as soon as possible. If your child requires medication at school e.g. Ventolin, you will automatically receive a notification via Compass when it has reached its expiry date.
VOLUNTEERS IN OUR SCHOOL
The Catholic Education Office has introduced a new onboarding system for volunteers and contractors supporting our school. If you are interested in volunteering in any capacity, we encourage you to complete the new process in advance. This will ensure you are ready to help whenever needed!
For more information or to begin the onboarding process, please refer to the instructions below. Once you have completed the onboarding process you need to follow the instructions also included below.
Thank you for your willingness to contribute to our school community!
SCHOOL STUDENT TRAVEL FOR 2025
BUS COMPANY & RELEVANT TRANSPORT INFORMATION
Transit Systems phone number is 02 9123 8620 if you have any inquiries.
OPAL CARDS
If you are applying for an Opal Card you need to add Transit Systems as your bus company.
A reminder from Transit Systems
Please help us supply appropriate bus services by reminding students to tap on and tap off with their School Opal cards.
I am writing on behalf of Transit Systems NSW, the bus operator that provides your school bus services, regarding student use of the School Opal card.
It is a condition of the use of a School Opal card that students must tap on at the beginning of a trip and tap off at the end of a trip at an Opal Card Reader, when they travel to and from school. Please refer to the Transport for NSW website for further details: https://transportnsw.info/school-pass-terms
Opal data gathered by tapping on and off is used to determine demand for bus services. If students fail to tap on and tap off, services for your school may be reduced or even cancelled due to the lack of recorded patronage.
With this in mind, we ask for your assistance in reminding your students that tapping on and off at the beginning and end of each trip is one of the conditions of using a School Opal card.
CURRENT TIMETABLE INFORMATION can be found below:
Swimming Selection Trials - Friday 7 March -Corrimal Pools
Congratulations to our St Clare’s Swimming team who again, performed exceptionally well. A further congratulations to the following students and relay team who will be progressing to compete at the MacKillop Swimming Trials on Wednesday April 2nd.
Isabella G — 11 Years 50m Breaststroke
Tyler J — 10 Years 50m Breaststroke
Emory M — 11 Years 50m Butterfly
Ava S — 10 Years
50m Freestyle
50m Backstroke
50m Butterfly
50m Breaststroke
Jr Girls relay team (Ava S, Charlee C, Mae C, Mae B)
Upcoming Carnival Dates
All primary sporting event information and dates can be found on the Sport Events - Primary website- https://www.dow.catholic.edu.au/student-experience/sport/primary-sport-events
|
Paul Kelly Cup AFL |
27 March |
|
West Region Football (soccer) selection Trials (Approved students only - no new nominations) |
28 March |
|
11s and 12s Rugby League Selection Trials (Approved students only - no new nominations) |
1 April |
|
NSW Combined Mackillop and Polding Softball Trials |
30 April |
|
Cross Country Championships in Nowra |
6 May |
|
St Clare’s Athletics Carnival |
20 June |
NSW Premier's Reading Challenge 2025
The NSW Premier’s Reading Challenge aims to encourage a love of reading for leisure and pleasure in students, and to enable them to experience quality literature. It is not a competition but a challenge and is available for all NSW students in Kindergarten to Year 9, in government, independent, Catholic and home schools.
The 2025 Premier's Reading Challenge has now begun. It closes on 22 August for students.
At St Clare’s, we participate in the Premiers Reading Challenge with Kindergarten, Year 1 and Year 2 as part of their Library Lessons.
For Students in Years 3-6 who wish to take part, they are responsible for logging on and recording the PRC books they have read themselves. Although I will give them a limited time at the end of each term to add books, it is not generally done with them at school.
Students in Years 3 - 6 have received their login details. Year 5 and 6 students know how to log in and add books to the Student Experience page which can be found here. Year 3 and 4 will be shown how to add books in next week’s lesson.
We ask parents to encourage your child to participate in the challenge and support them through it. Please take the time to visit the Challenge website https://online.education.nsw.gov.au/prc/home.html for more information.
Should you have any questions please contact Ann Madsen via the school email address info@scnvdow.catholic.edu.au.
Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander: Important dates
Our community has been invited to two important upcoming events.
Sunday April 13: Appin Massacre Memorial – see flyer
Wednesday May 21 – Sorry Day Service hosted by the Aboriginal Catholic
Ministry and Winga Myamly Reconciliation Group.
Where: Holy Trinity Church Minto
Time: 10:30am
Our school will be represented by two students and a staff member. Families are
welcome to attend.
Please contact Ann Madsen via the school email info@scnvdow.catholic.edu.au for
further details.
CLOTHING POOL
The clothing pool opening hours:
Monday: 8 a.m. to 9 a.m.
Thursday: 2 p.m. to 3 p.m.
Eftpos facilities are available
CLICK & COLLECT
FRESH START CANTEENS
Fresh Start Canteens run our school canteen. Details are included below.
Please ensure you have changed your child's class to their 2025 class, in Flexi Schools.