Mrs Ryan's Fortnightly Reflections

Congratulations on such a successful term everyone, nine weeks of dedicated schooling, fun and learning! We are all definitely ready for a well deserved rest. It is hard to believe that we are halfway through the year and have all grown and achieved so much. Well done to every St Mary’s student who has received their Semester One report on Compass this term. Such progression and improvement from all. I do hope our families and students together have reflected on their achievements so far this year. As a school community if we look back over the term it has been busy and hugely successful. We celebrated and took part in; Anzac Day as a community, Life’s Relationships, Catholic Education week, 2024 New Enrolments, St Mary’s Spirituality Day, Camps and Excursions, Reconciliation, and the King’s Birthday.  

This week as a staff we reflected on the many changes and progressions we too have experienced at St Mary’s as educators! It is so affirming to look back and acknowledge the collective efforts of staff and how much we are striving to achieve for school improvement. At our School Improvement meetings our staff shared and celebrated their teamwork, their willingness to commit to whole school direction and openness to trialing new practices within their classrooms. We heard from a variety of teaching teams who have all experienced growth and progression from their students. Teachers shared using explicit data to be able to deeply analyse a student's next point of need in a particular curriculum area. Others shared the inclusion of student voice being used to empower and grow student progression and significant growth is evident in particular cohorts. Another team has used data to collaborate as a teaching team and move and meet student needs as a cohort. This change to practice has also observed exceptional growth and shared accountability of students from the staff. Our final team shared using exemplar learning examples for students to be able to self assess and direct where to next with their learning.  

Our Restorative practices journey so far has seen exceptional growth of our students' emotional intelligence and literacy. Across the school we have seen an openness to communicate and problem solve, with our students growing in empathy and understanding. Our practices and communications have seen greater relationships from our staff with the students and allowed improved understanding of who the student is as a person. Our students welcome the many restorative circles we use to support wellbeing, learning and dealing with conflict. Some of our students can now be observed to use the strategies and approaches without teacher support which is phenomenal. This is an indication that our practices are working and making a difference. Staff have become expert at using these strategies in all interactions with our students. In the coming term we will continue to depth our learning, knowledge and skills. In collaboration with Real Schools we will also document and personalise our approach which will be available to all in our community. 

As of today we temporarily farewell some staff. Mrs Angela Hayden and Liz Chapman will take maternity leave to have their second babies. We thank both Liz and Ang for their dedication, care and commitment to their students, teams and leadership within St Mary’s. We wish Ang, Liz and their families every health and happiness with their pending births. We look forward to sharing this beautiful news with our community and look forward to their return in the future.  In place of these maternity leaves, Mrs Candice Thorp will teach and lead the Year One classroom and Mrs Simone Mitchell will teach in the Year Two room. I know these students and families will make both educators very welcome. I would also like to take this opportunity to thank Miss Lily who has been in and around many learning spaces in our school this term. Miss Lily has been extremely flexible and quick to build rapport with many of our students and we wish her well on her travels up North. 

Today is also the final day that Molloy’s will provide a lunch service to St Mary’s. I would like to sincerely thank Molloy’s for their dedicated service and collaboration with St Mary’s for such a long time. Molloy’s are exploring different directions as of the end of the year and I wish Helen and the team every success and happiness moving forward. As of Term 3, Fit Foodie Lunches will provide St Mary’s with lunch service on Monday, Wednesday and Friday. The menu and new App details are included in this newsletter. Please familiarise yourself with the new menu and process in readiness for term 3. 

This week all Catholic Educators in the Melbourne, Ballarat and Sandhurst Diocese completed the final vote for the 2022 CEMEA Agreement. This essentially is the Award as to which outlines our working conditions and expectations. Throughout the term I have strived to communicate gradual changes with the community. Key conditions of change that our families need to be aware of are; teaching daily work hours, leave entitlements, professional practice time for teachers. Explicit details and change will be shared with you all next term. Thank you for your understanding of these changes. 

Next term we will still return to the typically colder days and increased illness of staff and families. It is a current reality of schools in Victoria that we are experiencing a teaching shortage. St Mary’s is proactive in nurturing relationships with our Casual Relief Teachers and making connections with employment agencies. Regardless of these efforts at times our school has to be creative in its attempts to cover classrooms. Collaborative teaching and learning often supports class splits and leaders are regularly in classrooms also. I recognise this is not ideal but a challenge we currently have to navigate. I thank our families and students for their understanding also. 

We are now half way through our school year and our teachers are well aware of the students that they teach and lead. On behalf of the community I would like to recognise each and every one of them and thank them for their daily efforts to go above and beyond! It does not go unnoticed and we are so lucky to have such dedicated staff among our children. I wish them all a well deserved break to refresh and reset - ready for the final six months of the year! 

Thank you to our families and students for all you bring to our school. The willingness to be active members of our community participating actively in all that we can. I do hope that you all have a well deserved rest, do something exciting but most importantly stay safe and well. I look forward to seeing many of you today at our Terrific Kid Assembly or again in Term 3. 

School Returns: Monday 10th July 

School Closure Days Term 3: Tuesday 8th August & Friday 15th September 

Take Care & God Bless, 

Jasmine Ryan

Principal