Dear Parents

I take this opportunity to thank you all for the way you have engaged in the unprecedented rate at which this lockdown and remote learning was undertaken. You have enabled us, as a staff, to continue to engage with you, supporting your children and maintaining connections, rich learning opportunities and the extensive assistance required to ensure we are all able to engage in remote learning with minimal stress. We do understand the challenges involved with remote learning and appreciate the time and dedication you are providing for your children to enable them to participate and cope with all life is throwing at you and at them at the moment. We understand that returning to school is the ideal way for children to learn, however we need to do whatever we can to ensure the safety and wellbeing of our staff and students, so at this stage, staying home and doing your best with the learning is so important. We are excited at the understanding that we will all be back together on Wednesday, July 28 and hope and pray that this becomes our reality. Please don’t hesitate to let me know, and to contact your child’s teacher, if we can provide any further support to you and/or your child as we are committed to providing any assistance you need.

We are so grateful that we were able to engage in so many extra curricula activities in the first half of this year. This has enabled us to minimise the disruption to our children’s ability to take part in camps, excursions, incursions, sacraments and other important aspects of school life. At this stage, we are unsure as to how this will go in the coming weeks and months, however we are maintaining the hope that the activities we have planned will go ahead. We will let you know if this changes and will do our best to reschedule any activities we can.

When we resume onsite learning next week, we are still unable to have visitors into the school, which means we cannot have school tours at this stage. If you know anyone who has a child who will begin their primary school journey next year, and they are considering coming to St Mary’s, please get them to contact us so that we can work out a way to engage with them. We really need all enrolment forms for next year to be handed in as soon as possible so that we can begin to plan for next year.

I share with you some thoughts that may lift your spirits and support you during this challenging time:

When this is over, may we never again take for granted a handshake with a stranger or a hug with a friend or loved one
Full shelves at the supermarket, conversations with neighbours
Friday night out or the taste of communion, a routine check-up, the school rush each morning
Coffee with a friend, a morning gym session or a stadium roaring
Life itself

When this ends, may we find that we have become more like the people we wanted to be…we were called to be…we hoped to be…and may we stay that way—better for each other…because of the worst.

Remember, you are part of a community who cares. We are always here for you, ready to provide support, an encouraging word and a helping hand. We are all in this together and will stay in this with you until it becomes a memory that we look back on and realise the importance we were to each other as a community.

I will continue to keep in touch, ensuring that we all have the same understanding and are hearing  the same message.

Kind regards

Lisa Broeren

Principal