Assistant Principal

May - The Month of Mary

In the Catholic tradition, the month of May is dedicated to Mary, the mother of Jesus. Throughout this month, families, schools, and parishes take time to honour her through prayer, reflection, and simple acts of devotion. Mother’s Day also takes place in the month. 

For families, May is a beautiful opportunity to slow down and create small moments of faith together. Lighting a candle, saying a Hail Mary, or offering a simple act of kindness can help children connect with Mary’s example. These gentle practices remind us that honouring Mary isn’t only about rituals; it’s about living with love, compassion, and openness each day.

Creative Arts @ STMM

At STMM, we have recently changed our whole school timetable in order to be able to provide our students with more time to access the Creative Arts Syllabus with Ms Tralyen. While Ms Traylen has taught Visual Arts here, she is now also teaching aspects of Dance and Drama in addition to this.

Visual arts and drama aren’t just “enjoyable parts of the school week” (even though our students love them)  — they play a vital role in how children learn and grow. When students engage in visual art and drama education, they develop confidence, creativity, and the ability to express themselves in ways that traditional subjects can’t always offer.

Art helps children explore ideas, understand emotions, and build fine‑motor and visual thinking skills. It gives them a safe space to experiment, take risks and communicate feelings they may not yet have the words for. Drama strengthens communication, empathy and teamwork. By stepping into different roles, children learn to understand others, speak clearly, listen closely and adapt to new situations.

Together, these subjects enrich academic learning by making concepts more meaningful and memorable. They help children become flexible thinkers and confident problem‑solvers — skills that support success far beyond the classroom.

Want to bring this to life at home with a game? Pick three random objects from around the house. Make up a short story that uses all three objects. Act it out together. You can take turns choosing the objects, deciding the characters, or performing the scene. Keep it silly, fast and fun — the goal is imagination, not perfection.