Principal's Report

Welcome Back

A warm welcome back to all our students, families and staff following the mid-year holidays. I hope you had the opportunity to enjoy some quality time with family and friends and return feeling refreshed for what promises to be a busy and exciting term ahead.

Some of you may have noticed that I was absent from school during the first part of last week. Unfortunately, I spent time in hospital with a brief bout of pancreatitis brought on by a virus. Thankfully, I am now well on the road to recovery and grateful for the care and support I received.

On Thursday and Friday, I joined fellow principals at Kincumber for a retreat focused on finding our inner peace. As this year marks 800 years since the death of St Francis of Assisi, our time together centred on his life and teachings about peace. This fortnight, I have shared St Francis’ Prayer of Peace and reflected on the belief held by St Francis and so many saints before and after him: that true and lasting peace comes from the divine.

We are reminded of this each week at Mass in the words of Jesus: “My peace I give you; my peace I leave you.” In a world that can often feel busy, noisy and uncertain, these words offer both comfort and challenge. This fortnight, I encourage each of us to open our hearts and souls to Christ and make space for the gift of true peace in our lives.

We also have much to celebrate as a school community. Our students have achieved excellent NAPLAN results, with particularly strong growth and achievement evident in Year 5. 

We are delighted to see strong Kindergarten enrolments already for 2027, a wonderful sign of confidence in our school and community. 

Coupled with a calendar full of learning opportunities, celebrations and events, we have a fun-filled and productive term ahead.

Thank you, as always, for your ongoing support of St Margaret Mary’s. I look forward to sharing this exciting term with you all.

God bless,

Mrs O'Donnell