Mrs Ryan's Fortnightly Reflections

It has been a joy over the last weeks to spend time with new and existing families during enrolment interviews! The leadership team always finds great value and affirmation during this time of what the community is seeing and seeking from St Mary’s. Feedback we have received is that families value the level of competence and commitment to our learning and teaching program, the welcoming nature of the staff at the school, and the sense of community and belonging St Mary’s nurtures while being a larger school. We are continually reminded of the upstanding reputation we have in the local area, lots to be proud of! We look forward to these many families joining our community and enjoying the many strengths we offer in the coming months. 

Last week, I was lucky enough to spend the day with Father Novie reflecting on our ‘Shared Mission.’ A shared mission is the agreed partnership that St Mary’s has with the parish. The mission ensures we have a committed partnership both strategically and operationally between the school and the parish. St Mary’s is extremely fortunate to have the open and active relationship with Father Novie and the wider parish to ensure our Catholic story and social justice initiatives are a priority for both groups. 

St. Mary’s has welcomed many professional visitors over the past week, exploring our Magnify program. These opportunities allow myself and the staff to also showcase the amazing learning that is occurring throughout the whole school. Our Multilit, Ochre, and Science of Learning programs are impressive to see in action. Our learners are reaping the rewards, and we are seeing positive trajectories in our data, our learners' engagement, and increased productivity from staff in all learning environments. You have to see it to believe it! Next semester, we plan to offer structured learning walks where our current families can see, listen, and understand what is happening in all spaces! So much to celebrate. 

This weekend, we look forward to celebrating the 150-year anniversary of the St Mary’s parish. The weekend is filled with festivities and the return of members from this historic story. On Sunday, our school is open to all to come and celebrate in Mass with Bishop Shane, followed by food, entertainment, and fun for all! This event is free, and we would love to see many of you there! 

As we begin to experience cooler weather, we are noticing illness affecting our staff and learners. While staff absence is an unwanted reality of school, St Mary’s has, and continues to, make extreme efforts to ensure the consistency of learning and teaching programs remains a priority for our learners. At the beginning of our CESL Magnify journey, St Mary’s included all of our regular casual relief staff in the training of literacy and numeracy programs to ensure our teacher knowledge was current and able to carry on with our collective direction. We are definitely seeing the benefits of this investment and commitment. I would like our parents to know that if your child’s teacher is absent, the team is ensuring the CRT is well informed to keep all learning and teaching initiatives going. If a staff member takes extended leave, communication will be shared with families. 

Again, I hope to see many of you on Sunday for our parish celebrations.  

God Bless & Take Care,  

Jasmine Ryan 

Principal