Mrs Ryan's Fortnightly Reflections

Dear Parents and Carers, 

Welcome to week 11 of what has been a sensational second term. The learning, the events, the camps, the excursions, the challenges and achievements are always well worth the effort and commitment in the end. I would like to thank you all for your support of our school community this term, and your unwavering commitment to work with all educators at St Mary’s to bring out the best in the children. An eleven week term often pushes many boundaries and I know that everyone will enjoy the break from the school routine and structures over the coming fortnight. 

This week I completed my first principal appraisal at St Mary’s. This is a process that has involved the whole community; families, staff, learners and colleagues. I would like to thank the many of you who completed the parent survey or made yourself available to speak at length with the panel. It is a daunting process, however one of immense value to me as the leader of this community. I will receive a formal report early next semester where I will share some actions of future improvements with you all. 

This term we have farewelled a few staff members who have taken maternity leave. As we conclude our day tomorrow we will also farewell Mrs Holly Morris and Mr Cooper Barber. I would like to thank them both for their positive contribution to our community and their commitment to the learners in their classrooms. I would particularly like to thank Holly for her many years of service at St Mary’s and her leadership in the Catholic Identity space. Our school is extremely proud of its rich catholic story and Holly has been pivotal in prioritising its importance. Cooper is heading away to travel and Holly will transfer her love and skills of liturgy and mass to St Joseph’s College. I wish them both every success and happiness. 

At the end of our school day tomorrow, your child’s Semester One report will be released on your family Compass account. All teachers have committed professionally to the assessment and reporting process to provide you with a current and informed account of the progress your child has made at school this semester. I would like families to please re-read the correspondence which was shared with the community regarding the changes to the VCCA achievement standards and assessment of Mathematics. There have been changes to the curriculum that may impact your child’s progression whilst the roll over occurs. Learning conversations will be held in Week 4 of next term and we welcome continued partnership of learning then. 

Over the past fortnight it has been a joy to see many of you in our learning spaces observing and celebrating learning at many year level expo’s. The number of parents attending has been overwhelmingly positive. I thank you all for taking the time to attend, support and encourage your child! It is such a small window where our children thrive on having parents attend learning events and I sincerely appreciate the efforts. The generous attendance is also a sign that our learners are highly engaged, committed and proud of their learning this term and that that is possibly being shared at home. I would like to celebrate the staff’s efforts to provide such stimulating and relevant learning to our community also. 

Tomorrow we conclude our term with our Terrific Kid assembly. Our assembly will take place in the Brigidine Centre at 12:30pm. This assembly will be an exciting event as we have our Terrific Kid awards, our Celebrate award and the presentation of our Learning Leader badges. I thank the families that can attend, and will strive to have it run as efficiently as possible. 

And finally I would again like to acknowledge the staff for their efforts over the term. It is a long term, but one where learning stamina and progression does occur. Staff absence has been a challenge in the cooler months and teams have gone to incredible lengths to support one another to ensure we are providing consistently high educational standards at all times. I know they will enjoy the rest over the next fortnight, recharge the batteries in readiness for term three. 

A reminder for families we have two scheduled term closure days for professional learning; 

• 16th August - Real Schools: Restorative Practices & Pedagogy 
• 6th September - Effective Feedback & Assessment 

Thank you all for your ongoing support of St Mary’s and I wish every family a happy, safe and well earned break from school. 

I look forward to seeing you all on Monday 15th July to start Term Three. 

God Bless You All, 

Jasmine Ryan 

Principal