Principal's Message

Ian Margetts

Acting Principal

Dear St Mary’s Community

With the recent COVID lockdown and resultant restrictions, it has certainly been quite a ‘rollercoaster ride’ since I last wrote.

We were fortunate to be able to hold the Assembly of Excellence which provided an opportunity to acknowledge and celebrate the wonderful achievements, commitment, and contributions of students during Semester 1.  It celebrated students that had taken their opportunities and worked hard toward personal excellence.  The College clearly provides a wonderful academic and vocational curriculum, along with many co-curricular opportunities for students to pursue their interest in academia, sport, the arts, and leadership.

Year 7 Camp was another significant event. This was at a new venue, Echo Creek Adventure Camp.  This venue allowed the entire cohort to experience camp together and to build relationships between themselves and staff.  The three days consisted of many fantastic activities that challenged the students individually and whilst working together.

As soon as our ‘campers’ had returned the three day lockdown for Cairns and Yarrabah LGA’s impacted significantly on schools, students, and families.  The College was able to shift into Remote Learning mode quickly and successfully with lessons commencing on the Tuesday.  Particularly pleasing was the speed with which staff were able to implement this change, the reliability of the processes and platforms built on last year’s experiences, the quality of the Remote Learning, and the engagement of students in this form of learning.

The quick and efficient shift to remote learning reflects a strong learning community.  If we reflect on the events of the last 18 months, the growth in resilience and adaptability has been commendable.  ‘Resilience is not something we are born with, it is built over time as experiences we have interact with our unique, individual genetic makeup’ (www.developingchild.harvard.edu).  During this time, the College community has tried to balance the negative outcomes (e.g. closed schools, job loss, physical distancing, uncertainty) with positive outcomes (e.g. remote learning, fee concessions, ZOOM conferencing, positive feedback) which in turn help us all build up strength and resilience.

Thank you to the significant number of parents who provided feedback to the college on the remote learning experience – this is resilience building for our staff.  Thank you also to those who have connected to discuss financial hardship.  We understand that many families are facing financial challenges and will continue to do so into 2022.  We also acknowledge that talking about finances can be difficult, but the College does not want any family to not seek enrolment or have a student withdrawn due to family financial reasons.  Our accounts team always treats this information sensitively and with the utmost confidentiality.

There have been a number of postponed events, but we are pleased to advise that St Mary’s Day, the Year 10 Retreat and the Arts Evening will each proceed with alternate dates.  Thank you to all of our staff for taking the time and effort to reschedule these important events.

God bless