Principal's Report

Dear all

It has been an exceptional two week period since I last wrote to you.  In that time, we celebrated the feast of the Assumption and this year's Musical Production 'Xanadu'.

Feast of The Assumption

On Tuesday 15 August, we celebrated the exceptional feast of a remarkable lady by the name of Mary.  She was the chosen one, the mother of Jesus – wise, forgiving, loving and so nurturing – traits which we associate with motherhood.  She was seen as an extremely successful person.  Consequently, she was given the privilege of giving birth to Jesus.

Musical Production 'Xanadu'

Following on from this, Nazareth College held its Dress Rehearsal of its annual Musical Production 'Xanadu' whereby primary students from Silverton, St Elizabeth's, St Simon's and St Gerard's attended (approximately 400 students).

The performance was outstanding and appreciated by the young audience along with their respective teaching staff.

The following three evenings saw over 900 people fill the Auditorium and be thoroughly entertained.

The 50+ students in the cast, together with the other 12 who made up the back stage, spot lighters and musicians, excelled.  They had the courage to put up their hands and give something a go.  They were outstanding ambassadors for the Nazareth Community.  So many people were in awe of their confidence and ability to perform in front of large crowds.  They are, in my eyes, a huge part of the success that the Performing Arts Program instils in our young Nazarenes.

The Nazareth Community is extremely proud of these students and also the rest of the crew who allowed this event to be showcased.

Congratulations in particular to:

1.         Mr Julian Ashton – Director / Designer

2.         Ms Tatiana Vega – Musical Director

3.         Ms Kathleen Taura – Choreographer

4.         Mr Nick Fitter – Producer

5.         Mr Jason Kam – Stage Manager

These five sensational people gave so much of themselves to ensure that the students were well versed and ready to give their best...and they did!!

The support staff also assisted in ensuring that the props, costumes, sound, lighting etc were all so professional. I thank the teams of staff who assisted in building the props and staging, the VCAL students for painting the props and floor, the multitude of parents and students who volunteered their time for makeup, sewing, advertising, ticketing, ushering and also to the Nazareth College Parents' Association.

The NCPA was responsible for providing the students and staff with a hot cooked lunch over the last month of Sunday rehearsals.  Also the food, drink and refreshments were provided by them during Intermission.  This type of involvement and dedication is priceless and a school could not function without their support.

Generally, I thank everyone for the fantastic team effort.  It is amazing what one can achieve when students, parents and staff work in union with each other.

City Experience

Learning doesn't just happen at school.  The Year 9 students attended their two day City Experience activity and soon discovered that life in the busy Central Business District is completely different to their everyday life at Nazareth.

Taking public transport and the responsibility of travel and being in places at a particular time is somewhat stressful.  Trains and trams can be overcrowded and, at times, you have to know how to be forthcoming in order to survive.  These types of skills are life skills that one learns by experience.  Hence, the Year 9 students had to make numerous decisions that they would normally take for granted.

I thank Ms Donna Watts and Mrs Vicky Lazaridis for their organisational work in preparation for the Year 9 City Experience activity.

They were well supported by a large number of staff who gave up their normal programs to give the students this opportunity:

Michelle Calleja

Chuck Chan

Rodney Diaz

Lisa Douglass

Maria Hatzis

Shyla James

Amy Kane

Mish Mackay

Brendan McAleer

Peter Nathan

Insight SRC Surveys

Each year, school communities are invited to participate in School Improvement Surveys.  All parties with a vested interest are invited to participate.  It gives us (Nazareth College) a good understanding of what we do well and areas where we can improve.

Over the next couple of weeks, staff, students and parents will be invited to participate.

I invite any parent who would like a survey to be sent home to please indicate this either by phoning the College on 9795 8100 and asking for Mrs Barbara Hluchanic or emailing

enquiry@nazareth.vic.edu.au and in the 'subject line' please state SRC Survey.

We have requested 10 Vietnamese and 10 Mandarin surveys to be completed to allow families to respond in their native language.  It is imperative that our families have a say, so please request a survey.  I thank you in anticipation.

SIS Activities

In concluding this week, I want to also acknowledge the students who represented the College in the annual Southern Independent Schools (SIS) competition.

Nazareth presented a team of 4 in the SIS Teen Chef Challenge:

• Georgia Reynolds
• Heidi Ware
• Isabella Muratore
• Mason Howell

who received a Bronze Medal with a score of 73.5 in this year's competition.

I thank Christine Vaughan for preparing the students for their competition.

Also, Nazareth had a group of students partaking in the 'Book in a Day' competition.  Ms Mish Mackay led a group of students away from school and they were secluded for a day to produce and illustrate a book.  This is an exciting challenge for our students who thrive on writing and illustrating.  The competition was against other SIS schools and our students did exceptionally well.

Finally, I congratulate Sydney Go for representing Victoria in forthcoming Badminton championships.

It is so wonderful to see so many of our students utilising their talents in so many different ways.

God bless.

Mr Sam Cosentino

Principal