Dear Parents and Carers,

Welcome back to Term 2 as we arrive towards the middle of the year. This is my first newsletter entry of the term as our family went on holiday to the Gold Coast in week 2. After the busyness of building our house and starting as principal last year, it was a welcomed opportunity to get away for a little while and spend some quality family time.

We of course visited Dream World. Hendrix is an animal enthusiast so he was very interested in the Tiger show and we made good use of the quieter attendance to get on as many rides as we could. We visited Currumbin zoo which was a beautifully landscaped animal haven; the amazing bird show was the highlight of the experience. We also headed up to the hinterlands and did some rainforest walks. The greenery in that part of the world is absolutely stunning with many trees dating back thousands of years, it was a little bit like stepping into the land before time. We also had some great beach and pool days, all in all, a wonderful opportunity to rest before what is and will continue to be a busy term.

Thank you and farewell to Carlie Rake

We sadly bid farewell to Carlie Rake, our Wellbeing and Learning Diversity Leader. Carlie has tirelessly served the community of St Mary’s for the last 9 years, first as classroom teacher and then as Wellbeing and Learning Diversity Leader.

Throughout her time at St Mary’s Carlie has helped countless students and families through a myriad of challenges and opportunities. Personally, she was a tremendous help to me when I began in the role as principal, standing in as Deputy Principal, before she had the chance to get to know me.

On behalf of St Mary’s, I wish to sincerely thank Carlie for her many years of diligent service to the school community. Carlie returns home to NSW to be closer to family as she begins the next chapter of her life. Go well Carlie.

Be Ready 2024

My example of Be Ready for today’s newsletter is from our grade 6 students. They have been undertaking some great work in preparation for their Confirmation. Confirmation is a very important Sacrament in our faith tradition. It is the opportunity for our children to stand up and renew the Baptismal promises that were made for them by their parents and Godparents, however, this time it is the children themselves who are making the commitment.

As part of their preparation, students have chosen a Saint and have studied their lives in order to better understand what it means to walk in Jesus’ footsteps and contribute to the world in a positive way. They have learnt about the gifts and fruits of the Holy Spirit, which they are about to receive and have investigated how they can go out and use these gifts for the betterment of others.

Confirmation

On Saturday, our grade 6 students will celebrate the Sacrament of Confirmation. We look forward to celebrating this special occasion and holy Sacrament with these students and their families.

I offer a prayer for our Confirmation candidates:

Dear Lord,

We pray for all the children who are preparing for the Sacrament of Confirmation.

May your Holy Spirit help them to grow in faith, hope and love and

may they come to know you as God who loves them without limit.

May their hearts welcome you gladly;

May their ears hear your voice in the scriptures;

May their eyes see you in all things;

And may they be inspired through the Holy Spirit to help others,

as they walk in the ways of Jesus Christ,

Amen.

Grade 6 Camp

I had the privilege of accompanying the grade 6 students on camp in Canberra last week for their learning experience. It was a wonderful opportunity to spend time with the students and further develop my relationships with the leaders of our school.

I could not have been more impressed with the way they conducted themselves and represented St Mary’s in our nation’s capital. Before we left I gave them a challenge that I wanted the staff at the places we visited to come up to me afterwards and have positive feedback about our students. The students answered this challenge and showed exceptional courtesy, manners and respect on our visits.

Students were given the opportunity to participate in a variety of educational programs with a focus on Australia’s history, culture, heritage, and democracy. The Australian Government recognises the importance of all young Australians being able to visit the national capital as part of their Civics and Citizenship education. The Australian Government is contributing funding to our school in the amount of $45 per student under the Parliament and Civics Education Rebate program towards those costs. The rebate is paid directly to the school upon completion of the excursion, this is used to subsidise costs of the camp.

A highlight of our trip was an audience with Federal Member Bill Shorten who came down and spent quite a while with our students and staff. Bill is a local to the area so he was quite interested in spending time with “his people.”

A huge thank you to all of the staff who worked tirelessly on the camp to ensure our students had a fantastic experience. Even in the face of a flight cancellation and subsequent delay!

Master Plan at SMAV - Consultation

Earlier this week we began consultation with Smith and Tracey architects on our SMAV Master Plan. Adrian and Elvis from the firm came down and ran some terrific consultation sessions with our students from our SRC group, our staff and our School Advisory Council parent group. I was very pleased with the engagement of our students in this process. For me as principal, it is very important to have student input and voice in our key decision making processes.

We were able to get some great insight into what our community loves about St Mary’s and what they would love to see at St Mary’s in the future. Smith and Tracey are busy collating and refining the feedback and will start putting together some proposals in response. We will invite wider community feedback in the near future and look forward to refreshing our physical environment for our students in the not too distant future.

Building repair works update

I have had subsequent meetings with various contractors in the planning for long-term rectifying the building faults of the main building along Roseberry St. While the building has been made safe and secure for occupancy, there needs to be significant works undertaken to ensure the long term sustainability of the building.

I hope to have a clear picture of the works and their associated costs next week so we can begin to plan for the commencement of the works with minimal disruption to our students.

Happy Mother’s Day

Mother’s are the heart of our families, they are there for us when we need them the most and work tirelessly and selflessly to provide for their families. This Sunday we have the opportunity to pause, acknowledge and celebrate the amazing care and love our mother’s show for their families.

A very happy mother’s day to all of the mothers, grandmothers, great grandmothers and mother figures in the St Mary’s community. We thank you for all that you do.

Heavenly Father,

we thank You for the gift of motherhood.

Today, we celebrate the loving sacrifice of mothers and mother figures, who nurture and guide us through life.

Bless them with joy, strength, and love to continue their selfless devotion.

May they feel deeply appreciated and honoured not just today, but every day.

Amen.

Stay safe, stay healthy, stay connected,

Denis Johnstone

Principal

Sport

SMAV Athletics Day