Dear Parents,

Pope Francis emphasises the three and most important languages learned in school: “the language of the mind, the language of the heart, and the language of the hands.

As we come to the end of Term 2, we reflect on all we have been doing throughout the first half of this year.

All members of St Mary’s school community have committed to enacting this quote from Pope Francis, as they pursued excellence in all areas of education, continuing to ensure the growth of every child academically, spiritually and emotionally through the provision of rich learning experiences. The dedication of the staff across the school enabled every student to learn and grow in an environment rich in opportunity, care and inclusion. The St Mary’s School Learning focus is based on high quality teaching and learning through collaborative practice. 

As many of you are aware, the mid year school reports are coming out next week. These reports provide a summary of your child’s learning throughout the semester and is a celebration of this learning. Please celebrate this learning when reading your child’s Semester One report and remember that this is only a report of their understanding at one point in time on their long academic journey. In the instance of a child not moving in any subject area, we ask you to please understand that this does not reflect no learning having taken place. A progression point not moving simply indicates some skills missing from their understanding or recent assessments not reflecting this understanding. Parents are encouraged to reach out to their child’s classroom teacher should they have any concerns about reports, or alternately have a conversation with them at the parent teacher interviews scheduled for early Term 3.

Through our Whole School Approach to Positive Behaviour Support, St Mary’s community continues our commitment to promoting and living the BEST acronym,

Building Relationships

Expecting Excellence in Everything   

Staying Safe Everywhere

Take responsibility for Your Learning

Throughout the year, St Mary’s community engaged in a range of opportunities to develop skills, strategies and understanding regarding how, as a school community, we can continue to strive to be our BEST. As a team, the staff of St Mary’s exemplifies the BEST that St Mary’s has to offer our families as they strive to build students who are empowered, lifelong learners.

In Semester One, our students were given the opportunity to participate in a wide range of extra-curricular activities. These activities included school camps and swimming programs, a wide range of sporting days, from school based to district, regional and state level participation. With many activities still to come on our calendar, we have already celebrated so much such as Mother’s Day, St Mary’s Day, Colour Fun Run, Welcome BBQ, Working Bee, Sacraments and many other religious celebrations. At St Mary’s we have resumed our school choir, who practiced weekly and participated in school various celebrations, most recently singing beautifully at the St Mary’s Church during the Sacrament of Confirmation. 

To assist in the provision of a holistic learning experience for every child, we further engaged with Mindfull Aus’ mental health and wellbeing program, “Healthier Hearts and Lighter Minds”. All classes engaged in sessions of the Stage 2 program with the Mindfull Aus team, with the learning consolidated through the provision of lessons throughout the year. 

St Mary’s is committed to ensuring every child has the opportunity to reach their potential. We ensure this is achieved through our commitment to every Year 6 child being a school leader. This is a powerful way to instil in all children their ability to be a leader in life. It is a highly valued part of who we are at St Mary’s and encourages every child to strive to be all they can be. Our Year 6 leadership team run our school assemblies, create opportunities to support our student wellbeing and the environment, are our ICT leaders and sport leaders. These roles are complex and support the development of our Year 6 students as potential future leaders. 

We are also blessed to have wonderful volunteers at St Mary’s, and we are most grateful for their support and commitment to our school community. Our School Advisory Board, our Parents and Friends, our Craft Group and the many volunteers we have are integral to the success of our school. Without the support of these wonderful volunteers we would not be able to host and manage such a wonderful range of opportunities for our students, and for this we are forever grateful.

As part of our faith commitment, we have created opportunities to support our local and global communities through a range of special days where money raised supported Caritas, St Vincent de Paul and created food hampers for those in need. These opportunities enabled us to show our faith in action as we looked beyond the boundaries of our school to make a difference in our world.  I thank Fr Daniel PP (OMI) and Fr Vin (OMI) for their continued support in the faith life of our school. The St Marys’ school/home/parish partnership is important to our school community and enables us to provide a rich faith experience for every child.

My sincere thanks to the wonderful families of St Mary’s who entrust their children to our care and who share their child’s learning journey with us. I thank them for their willingness to participate fully in the life of our school. St Mary’s school community truly lives the belief that it takes a village to raise a child, and together we all create that village of support that enables the staff and students of St Mary’s to thrive and shine.

Lisa