From Mr. Quinn

I hope the first two weeks of school have seen a smooth transition for your child/children back into their school learning. What a lovely school you have here at St Mary's. As you know my name is Mr. Chris Quinn and I am the acting principal of the school until the end of Term 4. I live in the hamlet of Morpeth which is just outside Maitland. I accepted this role after recently retiring from the Assistant Director role in the Maitland/Newcastle Diocese. I held this position for fourteen years and was a school principal for twenty four years previously.

I am looking forward to meeting parents as well as to get to know your children. I have been impressed and grateful for the welcome of so many and the daily 'Good mornings I receive from the children at St Mary's. I thoroughly enjoy interacting with students and will be on the playground and in classrooms each day. 

We pray this term for Mrs. Burton during her ongoing treatment and look forward to her returning fully recovered at the commencement of the 2026 school year.

I have been impressed by your dedicated staff since I arrived. They have both helped me to settle in and shown me, in this short time,  professional and pastoral attitudes towards their students. Their positive ways with the children show immediately that they care about their students and the way they learn. It is indicative of a Christian environment.

Learning priorities during Term 4

During the term the staff will continue to work in all areas of the 2025 Annual School Improvement Plan and during this time will be reviewing the evidence of impact in each of its areas. This will form the basis for future planning. This year the areas of Prayer Life and Building strong Teams using the methodology found in Professional Learning Communities  to enhance Learning and Teaching, are key components. To this end strategies have been implemented and data collated to inform next years plan.

The building of teaching teams here is well developed and a continual process. Weekly Professional Learning Team (PLT) meetings are evident at which time teachers are given input and discuss their principles and practices. They discuss the progress of individual students and how best they may help to 'bump up' their learning. As well as building learning this process also builds good contemporary teaching. Mrs. Stephen leads this process very well in her role as the Leader of Pedagogy and is ably assisted by the staff.

Studies have found very positive results when parents are involved in the process. Five easy questions that you can use with your children are:

1. What did you learn today?
2. How do you go?
3. What did you do if your didn't understand?
4. How can you improve on your learning?
5. What are you most proud of?

Parents both in Australia and overseas who use these questions regularly reported they created opportunities for informative conversations with their children that heightened their understanding of  their learning. It also gave them conversation points to include when next they speak with their children's teachers. Start slowly but why not give it a go this term?

Well done to our Mini Vinnies group for the terrific organisation they displayed to organise so well our 'Dance-a-thon' today. I have been told by Miss O'Brien that this enthusiastic group are a pleasure to work with and have lots of great ideas to share with each other. The monies from the dance a thon will be providing for the less advantaged in our community. This is great work and great learning for all of our students. The Catholic Mission representative will be invited in the near future to receive our proceeds from the event.

Finally, thank you to those hard working members of the Fete committee who are at present putting the finishing touches to the school fete to be held on Saturday 15 November. So much has obviously gone into this event already. Well done and if you can help now or on the day please make contact.

Transition Dates for Kindergarten 2026

We are excited to welcome our new 2026 Kindergarten students! Their Transition Program will begin in Week 3 of Term 4 and run for five weeks, finishing in Week 7.

P & F 

FETE Save the Date Saturday 15 November - St Mary's Fete

Next Fete Meeting is 29th October at 5:30pm in the Staff Room. 

Wear Your Summer Uniform during Term 4!

Wearing our Uniform with Pride

Thank you parents for ensuring your children wear the correct uniform.  It is very evident that we take pride in our presentation. 

Maintaining a high uniform standards is an important part of our school's identity and plays a significant role in fostering a sense of pride and respect for our school.

Our uniform identifies St Mary's School within the community and develops a sense of school spirit and belonging within the student body.  Some specific uniform requirements, such as shoes, hats, hair and jewellery, are directly related to student safety. The wearing of the correct school uniform is compulsory, and students are expected to arrive wearing it daily, ready to learn. Families are asked to ensure that each item of clothing is clearly labelled.

We thank you for your partnership in this important aspect of school life.