Dear Parents

Last night we celebrated as a school community with a Welcome BBQ. What a great turn out we had. It was wonderful to see so many families coming together to get to know each other in a fun and friendly atmosphere. The children had a fantastic time playing together, and, despite the fact that we have had to postpone this event and daylight savings has ended, we still had children playing and parents chatting until darkness descended. I thank all of our families who joined us last night and I especially thank our amazing staff who made the night possible. We are so fortunate to have such a supportive and dynamic staff who continue to go above and beyond their role to ensure our school is meeting the needs of our children and families.

As we finish this term, we are reminded that we are entering Easter time when Jesus suffered, died and rose to eternal life. The season of Easter reminds us that we will go through challenging times in our lives and, while we struggle at times, we know that our faith is always there to comfort us, sustain us and to support us to move forward. Yesterday we had a beautiful Stations of the Cross ceremony, lead so powerfully by our Year 6 students. The children were so respectful and engaged in the ceremony, which provided a wonderful led in to Easter time.

Last week many of our Year 3 children made their First Reconciliation sacrament. It was such a wonderful evening, celebrating the richness and beauty of our faith. Fr Daniel and Fr Vin led the ceremony with such warmth and understanding, which made the children feel supported and excited to make this important step in their faith journey. Some children were so excited to make the sacrament that they raced their parents to get to Fr Daniel or Fr Vin and began before their parents could even introduce them! Such is the value of preparation and rehearsal! Again, I thank our wonderful staff for their support during both the preparation of the sacrament and on the night of the Sacrament of Reconciliation.

As this term draws to a close, I stood out in the playground on morning duty this morning, as I do each morning, and reflected on the way our families enter the school, chatting, engaging with each other, laughing and clearly enjoying the warmth and welcome that is created by our school community. The families who began their journey at St Mary’s one term ago, clearly feel at home within our school community, as do your children. These reflections are a powerful reminder of the importance of our role as we welcome families into the school each day.
I wish you all a wonderful Easter and a well-earned, relaxing holiday time with your families. We look forward to the term ahead and all it holds for us.

Kind regards
Lisa