Mrs Ryan's Fortnightly Reflections
“Give your child an education that stands the test of time - A Catholic Education.” Unknown
Welcome to Catholic education week 2024 everyone! What a joy filled week we have had already. As the leader of St Mary’s and now having been in Catholic education for over two decades, I must say it is always one of my favourite weeks in the school year. It is always a time where I reflect on the great people I work with, the community and families, the staff and of course the ever inspiring learners. Daily, I am blessed to lead with Jesus as my model and motivated to use such lessons and learnings to nurture the growth of others. There are not many jobs where one is expected to be better, do better and give more graciously of themselves to others everyday.
The week started with our Foundation learners leading the way with their exceptional assembly, sharing their learning, action packed prayer and robust singing! PJ Day saw a nice vibe of calm within the school, with many matching PJ’s and cute cuddles in calm corners, even our older learners enjoyed being able to attend school in such warm comforts! Wednesday we opened our doors to the community, our tours and open evening welcomed over one hundred people through our gates. Our tours were led by our well prepared Year 6 leaders, and not one secret door or detail was overlooked! Our open evening was a great success where the leadership team shared their expert area and spoke with passion and dedication of what we do and can offer at St Mary’s…I was truly proud.
Today we centred ourselves and connect with our faith at our whole school liturgy with Father Novie. Thank you to Mrs Morris and all who participated today to celebrate our school and Catholic Identity; Faith, Trust and Love. Tomorrow we finish off the week with Crazy Hair day and welcome our neighbouring Hub schools Year 5 and 6 Learners. Tomorrow’s annual Learner Leadership conference focuses on the theme of kindness with Kath Koschel the founder of the Kindness Factory, an inspirational story and keynote speaker. What a week! Thank you to all families who could attend and support one of our events, or simply being prepared for the altered routine! It is a week of huge celebration and excitement and I thank you for your efforts.
Over the recent weeks we have observed an increased use and presence at school of wifi devices that allow contact with family members. St Mary’s is a primary school where phones, smart watches and wifi ipads are not allowed nor needed. If your child is needing a parent in any way, our office staff are more than willing to contact you with their request. We understand and support all learners when they forget how they are getting home, leave the swimming bag or need the bag for sport after school. If your child is unwell, we have invested in the skills and expertise of resident nurses to ensure we have the highest quality of care. Parents are also welcome to email teachers with brief and operational messages for your child or contact the office. Like the majority of educational institutes today, the use of the mobile device is not required during the school day. If your child is seen to contact you on a device or the device is visible at any time during the day, it will be confiscated and parents will be asked to come and collect it at a later stage. I do thank the parents who support us in this space consistently.
This year, I enter my third year as Principal of St Mary’s. In line with Catholic Education Sandhurst, I am required to take part in a Formative appraisal process. This process allows professional reflection and planning and welcomes the staff, families and learners to provide me with feedback on key areas of my leadership. I am hopeful that many in our community will be open to completing this to allow me to gain the greater perspective of our community and next steps as the leader of St Mary’s Echuca. In the school information section in this newsletter is further information. The survey link and explicit details will be shared via Compass before the end of this week. I do thank you in advance for supporting my growth at this time.
2025 Enrolment is officially open! Our enrolment phase does take place predominantly in Term 2, officially opening in Catholic Education week each year! The enrolment phase and process is applicable to both new and existing families. All of our enrolment documentation is housed on our website. To initially enrol, please complete Stage 1 enrolment and book a family interview. All families are required to have an interview. Following all family interviews, letters of acceptance, inclusive of Stage 2 enrolment documentation will be released on 7th June. We have created snapshot movie files to assist you all in accurately finding the online forms you require. If at any time you have a challenge or question, please do not hesitate to contact the office.
I do look forward to spending some quality time with existing and prospective families in the coming weeks.
Thank you again to all of the families for their energy, enthusiasm this week…if it were only Catholic Education week every week!
God Bless You All,
Jasmine Ryan
Principal