Principal Welcome

Dear Community,

It has been a great couple days welcoming students back to school to begin the 2026 school year. I have been able to meet some parents at drop off and pick up which has been lovely. I’d like to thank you for your warm welcome to St Mary’s and I look forward to getting to know you all more.

We continue to pray for and support those impacted by the recent bushfires. Today, I was able to touch base with those families living in Harcourt to check in and see if we can be of any support at this challenging time. If there is anyone I wasn't able to speak to, I'd love to chat so please give me a callWelcoming families back on site this week has been great and provided an opportunity to resume a regular routine in a safe and familiar environment. 

Our F/1 students demonstrated some fantastic independence in the first two days of school this week - it’s like they have been doing this forever! What fantastic role models our Year 1s were for our incredibly brave Foundation students on their very first day of primary school. Our Year 2/3/4 students were extremely respectful and even showed me around the school at break times! The Years 5/6 students have already demonstrated some fantastic leadership skills, looking out for their Foundation buddies and offering me some insight on what makes St Mary’s a great school and what we can do even better. I am very impressed with the kindness and responsibility I have seen so far from all of our students. 

On Friday 6th February, we will have our first school mass at 9:15am in the church. We warmly welcome parents and carers to attend if they are available to.

Each week, there will be a newsletter posted to this platform reflecting on the week that has been and what we are looking forward to in the weeks to come.

Attached are the Term 1 Key dates - please not the dates are correct at the time of publishing and there may be minor changes (these will be communicated if so).

I am looking forward to a fantastic year of learning and growth for all!

Kind regards,

Shannon Betham

Acting Principal