Principal's Message
Dear Community,
What a busy and exciting time we are continuing to have at St Mary’s!
Week 5 was filled with many wonderful events across our school community. We welcomed some prospective families during our Open Mornings, giving visitors the opportunity to experience the vibrant learning environment that makes St Mary’s so special.
A major highlight was the opening of our new playground. Students have thoroughly enjoyed exploring the new space, and it has already become a valued part of playtime and social connection for our students.
We also extend our sincere thanks to our amazing P&F Association for organising the special BBQ lunch for a gold coin donation. The day was greatly enjoyed by all and was another wonderful example of the strong community spirit at St Mary’s.
Thursday saw students dressed proudly in their winter school uniform for School Photo Day, and we thank families for their support in ensuring students were presented so beautifully for the occasion. This year, our whole school photo was taken on the new playground - a very exciting moment for all!
We are also incredibly proud of the students representing St Mary’s at the Division Cross Country on Friday. Their commitment, determination and sportsmanship are to be commended, and we wish them every success.
As we move into Week 6, we look forward to another busy and engaging week of learning and community events. This week, we acknowledge National Reconciliation Week, an important time for all Australians to reflect on our shared histories, cultures and achievements, and to consider how we can contribute to reconciliation in Australia.
We are also excited to participate in National Simultaneous Storytime, a nation-wide event that celebrates the joy of reading and literacy by sharing the same story simultaneously across schools, libraries and communities throughout Australia. Events such as these help foster a lifelong love of books and storytelling in our students.
Our Foundation to Grade 4 students will enjoy a visit to the Castlemaine Library this week, providing another wonderful opportunity to encourage reading, curiosity and engagement with our local community resources.
We warmly invite families to join us for our school assembly on Friday afternoon at 2:45pm in the school library. This week’s assembly will be led by our Grade 5/6 students, and we look forward to celebrating the many achievements and activities taking place across the school.
Finally, we would like to extend a very special thank you to Bill Sikora for his generous donation of a beautifully presented historical frame, which will be installed in our reception foyer. The frame highlights important aspects of St Mary’s history, particularly recognising the significant contribution of the nuns as the earliest educators at our school. We are incredibly grateful to Bill for helping preserve and honour this important part of our school story.
Here are the upcoming dates - these dates are correct at the time of publishing and may change.
Thank you, as always, for your continued support of our wonderful school community.
Warm regards,
Shannon Betham
Acting Principal