Mrs Ryan's Fortnightly Reflections

Wow it is incredible to think that we are approaching the halfway mark of the term! The past five weeks have flown by with a great start to the school year and learning foundations which will nurture great progress, fun and achievement ahead. 

This week we begin Lent, a time of prayer, fasting and almsgiving. Our school community came together in liturgy to celebrate the beginning of our 40 days as we learn, live and think about the resurrection of Jesus. All present were blessed with the ashes to remind us, “For you are dust and to dust you shall return.” Genesis 3:19.  Our students will learn the historical traditions and rituals to the time during lent as we lead up to Easter. Children are not expected to fast during lent as a healthy diet is fundamental to their development. 

As everyone has been settling into the year with new teachers, new environments and new school initiatives, much has been unfolding behind the scenes. As part of my recent leadership journey at St Mary’s, I was advised of areas of the school which would need reviewing and evaluating. These areas included; our priorities for our school lunch orders, our uniform and community support and engagement. This newsletter has several points where we are seeking community input to ensure we are planning for the future with your thoughts, ideas and opinions in mind. I appreciate any contribution you can make to ensure our actions and decisions moving forward represent our community. 

The new school year has seen the staff and students explore expected behaviours, restorative practices and put in place protocols to problem solve and resolve conflict. Similarly our families also have expected and shared behaviors which on enrolment we commit to to allow us to sustain respectful partnerships. These expected behaviours have been provided in the newsletter to allow families to familiarise themselves with these expectations. 

St Mary’s Shared Behaviours / Expectations - Code of Conduct

The school gates' opening times have been altered by five minutes in the morning. Our school expects that teachers be in learning spaces and staff on playground yard duties ready to supervise students at 8:20am. I apologise if this change of time has caused an inconvenience to families however the teaching profession operates under the VCEMEA award with agreed conditions. At this point in time teachers are required to be in classrooms from 8:20am, thus only allowing us adequate staffing to supervise from this time in the day. The students will be in our duty of care from 8:20am. I ask that families do not leave unattended children waiting on footpaths outside school gates prior to 

8:20am. If families are requiring further support in the morning, Schools Out; Before School Care, operates from Twin Rivers, the neighbouring school and details can be obtained from the office. I would like to take this opportunity to inform the community that the Victorian Catholic Education Multi Enterprise Agreement is currently under review and further changes to our operating times may be pending. 

St Mary’s staff and students have been fully invested in our new initiatives of Restorative Teaching, Restorative Practices. Staff have been embedding practices, mindset, language and conduct in our daily interactions. It has already seen great conflict resolution, student voice and agency as well as staff building collective resilience among our students. This is the practice that St Mary’s will embed into how we nurture positive relationships and connection with all in our community. On the 20th of March we will be hosting a parent information session to share in this initiative, its value and ability to nurture life long skills and dispositions that grow our children's social emotional capabilities. Please check our socials and calendar for the event's details. 

Unfortunately last week we canceled our Parent information and family BBQ night. We did this as a result of hot weather and winds, not making the conditions optimal for our evening outdoors together. We were disappointed to do this so have rescheduled our gathering for Wednesday 5th April from 5:15pm. We will still have our BBQ, music and entertainment. We hope to have a visit from the Easter bunny and finish the term off as a community. Please put this date on the family calendar - we hope to see many there! 

Jasmine Ryan

Principal