Mrs Ryan's Fortnightly Reflections

Welcome to week 7 which has seen the end to a hugely successful Reconciliation Week 2023. Thank you to all of the staff and students who actively took part this year. Thank you to Candice Thorpe and Grace Atkinson for leading our community in continued learning, justice and healing. The theme, “Be a voice for justice,”  was so eloquently shared by our local Elder, Uncle Col who led our whole school in a smoking ceremony to re-energise and recognise our existing and new Fire Carriers. Uncle Col is a true story teller who shared with our community his hope as an Elder not to walk alone but to walk with us. St Mary’s attended the local reconciliation walk and welcomed our parents to our Fire Carrier ceremony. A clear take away for our school was that we have an active part to play daily in an ongoing commitment to reconciliation and healing with our First Nations people. 

At this point in the term it has been wonderful to observe the level of engagement and excitement about learning in our classrooms. Our students are empowered by choice and voice and experiencing deep learning in integrated inquiry experiences. Collaborative teaching and learning can be seen in our communities and our learning spaces mirroring our journeys. It is refreshing as an educator to observe students so engrossed by new content and experiences. I know that our families will enjoy this term's learning expo in the coming weeks. 

St Mary’s strives to be effective in all communication with its families, hopeful of being approachable, solution driven and offer a variety of modes to ensure families feel connected with their child’s many educators. At  St Mary’s we value our partnerships with all parents. We are privileged to play a role in the lives of every child who attends St Mary’s and who are entrusted in our care. We recognise that parents are the first and most influential educators of their child and we strive to work respectfully and purposefully with all families to nurture the progression of your child’s social, emotional and academic needs. Whilst we strive to have positive and open lines of communication, in the past weeks I have been disappointed to learn that some parent behaviours and interactions have left our staff feeling attacked and deflated.

At times within this partnership concerns, questions and constructive feedback are tabled around the teaching and learning,  and the social and emotional wellbeing of your child. This is an expected and normal part of the primary school journey and our teachers welcome the opportunity to work alongside parents to approach every experience as a learning opportunity. Our staff are also open to constructive feedback and reasonable information that allows us to best meet the needs of your child. Our teachers are continuously receiving professional development that is focused on the many needs a primary aged student has during their school years and are well skilled in offering families support. 

We understand that parents are the greatest advocates for their children and when tabling these concerns this can be an emotional experience. St Mary’s wants to actively listen and understand your perspective to best support any next steps in your child’s learning and we ask that when a concern is being raised that it is done so in a scheduled meeting and in person. St Mary’s staff will make it a priority to schedule a mutually agreed time and book a meeting space within the school to ensure privacy and uninterrupted attention. 

In collaboration with this partnership I ask that our parents familiarize themselves and adhere to our Communication procedures and Complaints & Grievance policy which can be found on our website. These are the expected practices and processes that both staff and families are expected to adhere to at St Mary’s. Inappropriate emails, abusive phone calls and confronting accusations of St Mary’s staff are not effective or acceptable modes of communication in our school community. I ask our families to remember that our staff are in their place of work and have the right to feel safe all of the time. They too want the very best for your child. 

Our new uniform continues to be worn and loved by our many students. Our new rugby jumpers have arrived and look warm, smart and snug. Families have until Semester One in 2024 to be rolled over to the new and existing uniform. Whilst we roll over into the new items, I ask that non St Mary’s uniform refrain from being worn. St Mary’s does not have leggings on our uniform list and I ask that parents please dress their child in navy tights or a desired school pant. All uniforms are available at Hip Pocket and Amanda and Jack welcome any feedback our families have. 

At the end of this Term we farewell Molloy’s Take Away who have been servicing our school lunches for approximately the past ten years. Helen and the team have been incredibly helpful, accommodating and always striving to offer our families a high level of food and service. Molloy’s as a business will cease at the end of 2023 and St Mary’s has explored our options for the future. St Mary’s as of Semester 2 will be working in conjunction with Fit Foodie School Canteens supplier, managed and owned by Jenni Burgess. Jenni currently services several schools in the area and we look forward to being one of them. In our final newsletter for the term, we will share the menu, ordering and delivering operations. Again, I would like to thank and recognise Helen and her team's commitment to St Mary’s. 

This weekend we will all enjoy our first, King’s Birthday - Public Holiday on Monday. I do hope that this is a time of rejuvenation for you all, ready to finish our term well! I hope all families enjoy it. 

Take Care & God Bless, 

Jasmine Ryan

Principal