A message from Denis

Dear Parents and Carers,

With the impending changing of the seasons we have had some wild weather to accompany it, I hope you and the family have managed to navigate it ok.  I’m hopeful that this is the advent of Spring and that the weather will settle down as we enter the warmer months.  In the interim we keep a close eye on the weather app and ensure that we send students out to play in safe weather conditions.

Last Saturday Hendrix celebrated his First Eucharist with his peers.  It was a beautiful mass and Jess and I were proud parents seeing Hendrix take the Eucharist for the first time and reading Prayers of the Faithful to the community.  We celebrated back at our house with friends and family afterwards, marking the special occasion.  This is a significant milestone in Hendrix’s life and we look forward to him continuing to grow and learn on his faith journey.

We also recently had Snickers groomed for the first time.  Strangely, the change has made me like him more as it reminds me that he is still a puppy with much to learn about the world and being a pet in the Johnstone family.  It’s funny how perception can shape reality and the way we see things. He's the same cheeky dog, but now he looks like a young puppy and it reminds me to have more patience with him.  The kids feel like they have a different, better behaved dog!  We’ll see how long that lasts……

Book Week @ St Mary’s

What a great time we had at St Mary’s for Book Week celebrations.  It is always such a fun time of the year, with explorations of different books, authors and illustrators; all aimed at promoting the love of reading and books.  There were many special learning opportunities throughout the week including workshop sessions with Leigh Hobbs author and illustrator and guest presenting from illustrator Allison Colpoys.

A special thank you to our English Leader Laura Cardillo for all of her work in organising and facilitating a great week for our students and to our staff who inspire a love of books and reading in our students each day.

Catholic Leadership Day - Synodality

Last week, Gen Trevaskis (Religious Education Leader) and I had the opportunity to attend the MACS Catholic Mission and Identity day on Synodality and experienced inspiring key notes; Synodality as a Model for Catholic Education Leadership by Sr Nathalie Becquart, xmcj and Leading 2,500 Institutions: Lessons from the Vatican Congregation for Education by Fr Friedrich Bechina.  

The day was inspiring and informative, outlining the church’s mission in bringing together its communities around the world in a communal and participatory way.  We unpacked the concept of Synodality and how as a Catholic community we can better listen and involve our people.

Vision for Engagement @ St Mary’s

At St Mary’s we have been focusing on MACS’ Vision for Instruction over the last year; the pedagogical approach being rolled out to great results across the Melbourne Catholic schooling system.  Recently we have been looking at MACS’ Vision for Engagement, looking at how we can keep students engaged and focused on tasks, and improve behaviour across the school to allow for quality teaching and learning to occur uninterrupted.  To this end, at a staff meeting this week, we further unpacked our behaviour expectations for the classroom at St Mary’s.  We identified behaviours that disrupt classroom teacher instruction and students' learning and have prioritised teacher practice to try and minimise these interruptions.  

As we journey through the halfway point of Term 3, we have asked our teachers to tighten up behaviour expectations in their classrooms so we can have a productive run of learning to the end of the year.  To summarise, students will have 3 reminders in class to have them resettle and focus on their learning.  If they need to be reminded 3 times, they will be required to reset outside of the classroom.  This is usually with support of a member of Leadership who will assist in reteaching the appropriate behaviour for the student during either a part of recess or lunchtime.  If this occurs, parents will be notified and we will work in partnership with you to support the student to improve their behaviour in class.

Battle of the Saints

We look forward to another great family fun day at this year’s Battle of the Saints on Saturday.  There might even be a few St Mary’s staff members joining the game this year.  We hope you can make it down to support our school and community as we seek to regain the Paul Hogan Cup, in memory of our late principal.  The day promises to be lots of fun with a petting zoo, food and live bands into the evening.

Grade 3 First Reconciliation

This week I had the pleasure of attending our grade 3 students’ First Reconciliation.  The liturgies for both classes were wonderful celebrations of the next step in our students’ Sacramental journeys.  Thank you to Gen Trevaskis for her preparation, organisation and planning for the day.  Thank you to Lauren Silvestro, Marisa Testa, Kellie Ward and Michele Lafauchi for your preparation of the children.  Thank you to the parents who came along to be part of the Sacrament and presented their children to our priests.  Thank you to our grade 3 children who celebrated the Sacrament of Reconciliation with such purpose and reverence.

Reconciliation is an important Sacrament as it is when our children acknowledge their own missteps before God for the first time.  Importantly, it is about owning one's behavior and focusing on how it can be improved.  Congratulations to all of our students who completed their First Reconciliation.

Be The Light

My example of Be The Light this week comes from the aforementioned Reconciliation liturgies.  Throughout both classes celebrations, there were numerous shining examples of our community Being the Light.  From our staff members who gently and reassuringly supported an anxious and reluctant student to complete their reconciliation, to the student who kindly helped others to remember to pray after their time with the priests, even kneeling down with them to help, to the families that comforted their child when things became a bit overwhelming and the staff who reassured them afterwards; the St Mary’s church was shining with Light from all of the love and support in the space.  It truly is a privilege to be principal of our school, especially at times like these.  Thank you to all in our community who continue to shine their light for others when it is needed most.

Stay safe, Stay Healthy, Stay Connected,

Denis Johnstone

Principal