Mrs Ryan's Fortnightly Reflections

It has been a busy fortnight! Thank you to the many families who attended learning conversations. It was great to see, hear, and feel the connection and community in our Brigidine Centre last week. Teachers shared that the conversations with families were extremely positive, supportive, and strategic in setting goals for your child(ren) for the year ahead. Please know that if families want to discuss anything throughout the year, you are welcome to contact your child’s teacher to arrange a time. We truly value the positive partnership we have with our families. 

This week, we are releasing Kudos! St Mary’s is engaging with Kudos in line with our school improvement plan to further partner with our families. St Mary’s has been in a trial phase of Kudos for approximately twelve months, with over half of our classes already engaged with the platform. We are very grateful for the parental attendance at our many learning events; however, we recognize that this is not always possible for all family members. Kudos is a way we hope to facilitate learning conversations between your child and home. Teachers and learners will share one post a week of a learning sample, experience, or achievement for families to see, celebrate, and discuss! All families can use the attached information in the ‘School Information’ section of this newsletter to create a personal account, enabling you to engage with your child's learning. We look forward to hearing how this supports your connection with the classroom! 

This coming week, our Year 3 and Year 5 learners will participate in NAPLAN. NAPLAN is a standardized test that provides valuable academic data, highlights school strengths and growth areas, and offers an overall view of how the school is progressing collectively. St Mary’s recognizes that NAPLAN is important, and we use the data to set benchmarks and triangulate learner capability. To date, St Mary’s performs very well in NAPLAN, particularly within our local community. We know that our Year 3 and 5 learners are ready to take this test, and we have been strategic in preparing our learners for test conditions by providing a settled and calm learning environment. We are confident that all these learners will do their best. Families can expect to receive the results around July this year. 

This year, you will notice that Catholic Education Sandhurst will roll out their collective enrolment campaign earlier than usual. St Mary’s will operate in alignment with this, and you may see on our social media that we are also promoting enrolment regularly. Thank you to the many families who have already informed the school of siblings who will be attending in 2027. If these families are happy to complete Stage 1 of our enrolment process via our website, this will help us prepare for the upcoming school year and allow us ample time to complete administrative arrangements. I can already share that we have very healthy numbers for the 2027 school year! 

I am on long service leave from Week 7 to Week 9, inclusive. In my absence, Bec Lloyd and Liz Chapman will act as Principal and support the community in any necessary way. Please feel free to contact either Bec or Liz if the matter is pressing. I look forward to seeing you all towards the end of the term! 

In faith, trust & love, 

Jasmine Ryan  

Principal