St Mary's College Connect

Principal's Message

Wayne Wood

Principal

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

To our St Mary’s community,

 

‘Through FAITH, HOPE and LOVE we make a difference in the world’

 (St Mary’s Mission Statement)

 

It is fair to say that the delayed start to the school year has not stifled the energy and enthusiasm that comes with a new school year. It really has been a positive start for students and staff. During these past few weeks, I have enjoyed moving through our school grounds and seeing students and staff engaging in learning and getting to know each other. It is pleasing to especially see our new Year 7 students settling in well to school life. I hope that all those new to our college feel welcome and are confident in themselves as members of St Mary’s. 

 

I take this opportunity to thank parents for their support in these initial weeks. It is wonderful to see students arriving each day prepared to learn, looking great in their uniforms, greeting staff and others, and getting stuck into their learning. This does not happen by chance. We know that parent engagement and support are critical to a child’s learning. Thank you!

 

Our Purpose 

 

Staff and students are well and truly busy in their work of learning. Whilst this is pleasing to see, there is a danger that our work becomes just about the busy stuff, and we lose sight of what matters most. 

 

The term “you can’t see the forest for the trees” comes to mind here. 

 

Rarely do we allow ourselves the moment to step back and “zoom out” so that we can appreciate the big picture. Therefore, as I pen my first newsletter article for the year, allow me to take this moment to share with you what we see as our “big picture”. 

 

To put it simply, St Mary’s exists to make a positive difference in our world. We educate not to simply pass tests or achieve rankings. We educate students to have the qualities and skills to make their world a better place. We want our students to go out into the world and do well, but more importantly, we want them to go out and do good.

 

At St Mary’s, we grow to be:

  1. Discerning believers
  2. Reflective and creative thinkers
  3. Effective communicators
  4. Self-directed and life-long learners
  5. Collaborative contributors
  6. Caring family members
  7. Responsible citizens

When it comes to “growing good people”, parents do most of the heavy lifting. Our college looks to work in close partnership with parents to nurture students’ values, beliefs, and behaviours. As such, good communication between home and school is vital for our young people. 

 

Communication 

 

I trust you are already receiving emails from your child’s teachers. Staff are encouraged to maintain strong communication with families, and I encourage you to do the same with our staff. A strong partnership between home and school can be an accelerating factor in a child’s development. 

 

There are many forms of communication that are accessible to our community. Our newsletter is issued quarterly each Term and each week we send a Pastoral and Sport Bulletin via email. Our Parent Portal is fast becoming a dominant resource for parents. We also use our Facebook Page, Instagram as well.  Parents and carers can always contact our staff by email, phone or by meeting in person.

 

Attendance

 

I begin this year appealing to all St Mary’s parents. Please make attendance a priority! Quite frankly, this is an area of our community we do not do well. 

 

I do not need to tell you that attendance is critical to academic success. We consistently see a strong correlation between high attendance and high academic performance. 

 

If we, as parents believe something is important and valuable, our children pick up on that. Just as they do the opposite. Every single day at school is valuable! I thank you in advance for your support in making your child’s attendance a priority this year.  

 

Important Policies and Procedures

 

Please find a link to important policies and procedures, including our Grievance Procedure, Student Protection Policy, Mobile Phone Policy, Responding to Unacceptable Student Behaviour Guideline, and more. 

 

Drop-Off and Pick-Up

 

The safety of our students, staff and visitors is paramount. As such, it is important that all families observe the College processes for parking and student drop-off and pick-up:

  • Students should not be dropped off or picked up inside College grounds.
  • Students are to be dropped off and picked up in the stop-drop-and-go zone directly in front of St Mary’s and St Gerard Majella School.
  • Students must enter or exit the vehicle only when the car has stopped in the stop-drop-and-go zone (and not in front of the ‘Tee Pee’).
  • Parents are requested not to drive into the College grounds during the hours of 7:30am-9am and 2:30pm-4:00pm.
  • Parents having business with the College (i.e. school fees, interview, uniform shop etc) during those hours are welcome to enter the College grounds and park in the Staff Car Park.  
  • Should a student be physically incapacitated or require special need, an application can be made to the Principal for a drop-off and pick-up permit.

On behalf on the College Leadership Team, I take this opportunity to wish each of you the very best for the year ahead. We are always here to support you and look forward to working with you throughout 2022.

 

God Bless

 

Wayne Wood

Principal