Mrs Ryan's Fortnightly Reflections

Welcome to St Mary’s Fete Day, everyone. For those of you who it is your first time attending, I am sure you will be impressed with its organisation, magnitude, and overall cohesion of the event. I would like to formally thank the fete team, Alex Daly, and Tammy McGillivray for the months of meetings, preparations, and organisation that brought us to this event today. Thank you to all the staff and parents who have committed to stalls and activities this afternoon to ensure the young people in our community have an amazing time! Without community support and active parent and staff participation, these events cannot happen. It will be fabulous to see the turnout expected today! 

Alongside our fete, so much is happening behind the scenes. Testing and assessment have been occurring across the school, with results and targets far exceeding our expectations. Yesterday, I was at a CESL Leadership meeting where, collectively across our diocese, the Magnify learning and teaching initiatives are showing results that are all on an upward trajectory. The interest nationally in the program our school is fortunate to have is a true gift, and I am so pleased that our teachers are instructing with such expertise. 

Next week, we welcome our 2026 Foundation learners and families. We will be welcoming 60 new learners into our school, and our staff are ready to transition these learners and families into school life. Over the coming weeks, ongoing staffing, class placements, and future teaching and learning plans will be gradually shared with our community. The leadership team, in alignment with CESL expectations and guidelines, will continue to plan and prepare for continued success in the 2026 school year. I look forward to sharing these plans incrementally over the coming weeks. 

In the upcoming weeks, staff and leaders will analyse our ORIMA data, which was collected through consultations with families, students, and staff. This survey allows everyone to share their perspectives and opinions on what St Mary’s does well and what areas we can focus on for improvement. From an initial review, we believe we have made collective progress in many areas and are far exceeding the diocesan average across the board. This data, along with our annual action plan reflection, will be shared with you in detail in upcoming newsletters. I am sure many of you will be pleased with the progress and future goals. 

I hope all families enjoyed our recent long weekend. It was a great mini recharge before the Christmas season takes flight. With approximately 30 days remaining in the school year, we look forward to many upcoming events, celebrations, and acknowledgements of the hugely successful year we have had! 

I will see many of you at the fete today!  

Take care, and God Bless.  

Jasmine Ryan  

Principal