From the Principal 

Dear Families 

A big welcome back to our travelling families and staff members. It is great to hear about your travels and experiences whilst away. We hope you can keep that relaxed holiday feel, whilst re-entering into an action packed St Mary’s Term 3. I would also like to take this opportunity to thank those gracious Saints supporters in regards to the Dees loss a few weeks ago. It is great to see them riding the excitement of wins, two weeks in a row. On Monday, I was most surprised to see one of our ardent Year 6 Pies supporters donning a Lions scarf for the duration of the day. I believe Mrs Mason even let him take it across to Art!  Chatting with many of you before and after school on gate duty is a highlight of each day and with the pointy end of the 2025 AFL season upon us, I look forward to what the next few weeks will bring us. 

A huge thank you to our P & F team led by Jeremy, Mel and Holly for our delicious morning tea on Grandparents and Specials Friends morning a fortnight ago. This is always so well attended and Father Jerome always ensures that our Mass and homily speaks to our hearts. To celebrate Mass with the parish and school speaks to our strong faith filled community at St Mary’s. We are always looking at ways to improve our practice and if you have any ideas regarding this special morning, please email me or Mr Millane. 

On Tuesday Mr Millane and I attended a MACS Southern Region Spirituality Workshop focusing on Pope Leo XIV. Our morning included exploring the direction we are likely to be heading into under his leadership, whilst learning more about his story. As leaders of our respective schools, leaning into Leo’s experience in education and how to find grace within our roles, gave us food for thought. We also learnt about the Augustine order, the wisdom of St Augustine and the role of this within Leo’s formation. Pope Leo’s prayer intention for August resonated with us all, as the world navigates some very complex issues. 

Pope Leo XIV’s prayer intention for August is ‘For mutual coexistence’: Let us pray that societies where coexistence seems more difficult might not succumb to the temptation of confrontation for ethnic, political, religious or ideological reasons. 

You can find the full prayer on the Education in Faith section of the newsletter. 

Next Monday, our beautiful Preps celebrate 100 Days of Prep. We are so fortunate that at St Mary’s we all join in the celebrations. Mrs Borgese and Mrs Perri, supported by Emma (Rocky’s Mum) have an exciting day planned with a delicious celebration afternoon tea. This year's theme is What I want to be when I grow up. I am still deciding on what I want to be when I grow up, how about you?  I am sure the Preps will amaze us with their ideas. Please join us for the parade at 9:00-9:30am. 

Last Friday our Year 6 Community Leaders offered their first Kahoot Club to our Year 3 and 4 students. It was a sell out, with lots of fun had by all. Their challenging questions ranged from facts about various countries' flags, general world knowledge, to details about our school norms, the buddy bench and guessing songs from Imaginarium. Next week they will offer Kahoot Club to our Junior students. 

I had the pleasure of being an audience for some of our Prep’s written responses to Wombat Stew. To see the growth of all of our Prep students in two Terms is extraordinary. 

2025 School Review

We thank so many of you for participating in this year’s School Review, which is undertaken every four years. I am delighted to report that we have completed our review and all of the compliancy components. On Monday afternoon we shared the Review feedback with the staff, as we celebrated our last four years with each of them, alongside each of you who have played an important role in getting us to where we are now. When we reflect upon our achievements over the last four years, our achievements are many. Please see our strengths below and our future direction. Yesterday our Leadership Team consisting of Jame Millane, Catherine Le Hunt, Angela Mason and Daniela Borgese worked alongside Leadership Teams from other schools led by teams from MACS and designed our School Improvement Plan for 2026-2030. This is an exciting time to build upon what we have in place and make our school even better. Thank you to each of you for giving feedback to the reviewer and working with us in all that we have achieved. Mr Millane is currently in the process of sending out the MACSSIS surveys. If I could ask you to complete them as this data along with the student and staff responses give us the data needed to plan. Exciting times ahead at St Marys! 

School Review 

Some comments from our reviewer:

…The strong Catholic identity of the school and the warm relationship with the parish are factors that support and strengthen student agency. This is promoted through the many opportunities for participation in liturgical celebrations, paraliturgies, prayer and the Sacramental program…

Over the review cycle, St Mary’s School was industrious in aligning curriculum and developing a whole school approach. This is demonstrated through comprehensive documentation of planning and implementation such as yearly overviews, scope and sequence guides, weekly programs, moderation, assessment and data use..

…St Mary’s School community is composed of many cultures and the school celebrates and embraces that diversity through its actions and welcoming environment. Families hold the school in high regard and a strong sense of community is evident. Staff form close connections with families and acknowledge parents as partners in the education of their children.…

Strengths: 

• The welcoming, inclusive culture encourages and supports families to be involved in school life, the learning of their children and the celebration of Catholic faith. As a result, the community embraces the school and there is a strong bond with the parish.

• Leadership has a strong vision for the school’s future and is strategic in planning and accessing community partnerships and connections to achieve improvement.

• The approach to student wellbeing is very comprehensive and uses a framework of positive psychology supported by systems, data and solid practices. Staff know the students and put them at the centre.

• Both teaching and non-teaching staff are skilled practitioners and committed to working together to achieve best outcomes for students. The specialist team adds value not only through their own rich programs, but also by partnering with classroom teachers through intervention or allowing for learning leaders time release.

• The Learning and Teaching Hub on the school’s intranet is a valuable resource that contributes to efficient processes and organisational structures, role clarity, positive school climate and a deeper understanding of school improvement goals.

Where to next:

Continuing to build student agency and voice in ways that promote problem-solving and action through the vehicle of Catholic social teaching, particularly through projects that care for the environment or support those in need.

Continuing to empower students as learners with greater agency through the development of refined understandings of metacognition, reflective practice and goal setting.

Please join us for our Vision for Instruction on the afternoon  of 12th August 3:45pm - 4:30pm  and on the evening 19th August 6:00pm - 6:45pm to learn and experience how our students learn at St Mary’s. 

As our days become lighter in the mornings and the chirping of birds can be heard, please enjoy our garden in the Zen Zone. Enjoying the beauty of God’s nature fills the heart. I invite you to take a moment and sit on the bench and enjoy our beautiful Happy Wander vines. 

Take care and wishing God's blessings and peace upon each of you. 

Mrs Cathy Ferrari