Mrs Ryan's Fortnightly Reflections

Welcome back everyone to Semester 2, with Term 3 only consisting of 9 weeks of learning! We have a great deal on, and it will go by quickly. I do hope that all families had the opportunity to reset and refresh over the break and are happy with the return to school. It has been as delightful as always to see the many smiling faces filling our learning spaces, sharing their holiday adventures, and looking genuinely happy to be back at school.   

We are a week into our behaviour curriculum, which has seen a focus placed on entry and exit routines, along with a cue to start. These expectations and structures are allowing all learners at St Mary’s to have known and predictable routines in all learning spaces with all staff. This initiative is part of our Sandhurst Magnify journey, and it is exciting to be on board. Our learners and staff already have high expectations of routines, expectations, and learning, and this allows a refined and unified process across the school.   

A reminder to all families of our school times, including gates and supervision in our yards. Our local buses begin to arrive at 8:20 am, when our gates and Brigidine Centre are open for seated supervision. All gates and classrooms open from 8:30 am for the majority of our school to come in, unpack, have a play, and get ready for the day. Teachers are on active duty in the yard, with one staff member per community shared area. All learners are expected in classrooms and ready to learn by 8:45 am. Please know that these times and duties adhere to our multi-enterprise agreement, and our staff’s work terms and spaces, and gates will not be open until these times.   

St Mary’s prides itself on its level of communication and is here to support families as best we can. As we continue to optimize learning and minimize disruption in our spaces, please note that when parents call or drop in items, delivery to classrooms will only be made during eating times, unless in the case of an emergency. This is to minimize disruption to the teachers and children’s learning in their spaces.   

This week, our NAPLAN results have been shared with our Year 3 and Year 5 families. Please take the time to read and interpret the results information prior to reading your child’s results. St Mary’s has been tracking our NAPLAN data closely, and it is affirming to see the upward trajectory of improvement across all areas. Prior to the end of term, I will share with you our trends and continued focus areas moving forward. If you have any questions regarding your child’s NAPLAN results, learning conversations will be held in Week 3, and staff will be happy to discuss these with you.   

On Monday, we will celebrate our Foundation learners having participated in 100 days of school! They have been busy recognizing this milestone with their families and creating one hundred themed projects! It will be exciting to see the creative dress-ups and celebrations at assembly on Monday.   

One final reminder to families: St Mary’s will have a school closure day on Wednesday, 13th August, for spiritual growth. We thank families for making alternate arrangements on this day.   

Looking forward to a great term ahead with our learners and families.   

Take care & God bless.   

Jasmine Ryan   

Principal