Mrs Ryan's Fortnightly Reflections

Week 9 has seen the festive season begin with the first week of Advent. We are all living and waiting in hope for the coming of Jesus. A time to reflect on what we have and be hopeful of what lies ahead. 

This week, as a staff, we have been busy preparing for the final weeks of the school year and the return in 2026. We have some families and learners leaving us as graduates, staff moving on, and new staff and families joining us. This time of the school year is a time of hope, excitement, and waiting for all. 

Classes for 2026 are finalised, and teaching teams have been assigned. Our learners, staff, and leadership have spent a great deal of time ensuring learner voice, learner data, and considering individual needs to create classes that are optimal for teaching and learning. St Mary’s uses a data platform to support the creation of these classes while considering many important elements. On Monday, in readiness for Community Step Up Day, our learners will be reminded of the process, the peers they selected, and that our classrooms are environments for learning. We know our parents, as partners in education with us, will support this understanding and recognise the complexities. All teaching staff, assigned classrooms, and specialist teaching areas will be shared with all families on Tuesday afternoon via Compass. 

2026 will see very minimal staff leaving. St Mary’s is proud of the minimal staff turnover, the commitment and loyalty of the team, and their willingness to give their all to the many evidence-based programs we are implementing. St Mary’s will continue next year to lead and learn in alignment with CESL Magnify, and we look forward to welcoming new initiatives such as Ochre Science, Spellex, further assessment to target learning, and additional intervention for mathematics. 

A further directive from CESL is to align our class structure and class sizes with our CEMEA 2022 Agreement. This typically sees class sizes in Foundation to Year 2 with 26 learners, and Years 3–10 with 29. St Mary’s continues to have structures that hold ratios below these expectations and is competitive with neighbouring schools in our community. 

St Mary’s class structure, and approximate sizes are below;  

St Mary’s has set its schedule of fees for the 2026 school year. This will be shared with all families on Compass next week. St Mary’s remains committed to minimal increases in line with the annual CPI. Our overall increase has remained just below 3%, always aiming to support our families' capabilities in meeting fee commitments. A reminder to families who hold a health care card that, with a direct debit commitment, substantial fee relief is available. If any parent or carer has financial concerns, please do not hesitate to arrange a meeting with me to discuss supportive options. 

In Week 11, we will conclude our year with our famous Terrific Kid! We have much to celebrate and recognise, and with our Year 6 final dances and Lap of Honour, it will be a well-attended event. We will be starting promptly at 12:30 pm on this day to ensure we cover all the celebrations. We will also hold our end-of-year second-hand uniform stall, just outside the entry, for any parents wishing to make a purchase. I hope to see many of you there. 

This year, on Christmas Eve, St Mary’s will be hosting St Mary’s Parish Mass. There is great preparation occurring behind the scenes, and I am hopeful that many of our families can attend. This week, I will be seeking interest from our staff and learners who might be able to attend and participate in the choir, readings, or additional hosting roles that will make for a magical celebration. Please see the invitation from the parish on our Catholic Identity page. 

There are many community connection opportunities over the final eight days of the year! We have our Guardian Angels BBQ, where Year 5 learners and families will mingle with Foundation 2026 learners and families. We have Community Step Up Day, where our learners will meet their new teachers and spend some time with new learning peers. On Wednesday, we will celebrate the festive season with our first-ever Christmas Carols, Family Picnic, and Festive Fashion! We will end next week with our Year 6 Graduation, which is always a bittersweet celebration. Our Year 6 team has been preparing diligently for this occasion. In the final week of term, we will conclude with Terrific Kid, recognising the commitment, passion, and teamwork of everyone at St Mary’s. No wonder we all love this time of year! 

I truly hope to see many of you over the last days! 

Have a wonderful weekend. 

Take care, and God Bless.  

Jasmine Ryan  

Principal