Principal's Message
SHOUT OUT TO OUR PARENTS
It has been a wonderful start to the year, with many opportunities for parents to come into the school and to meet other families. We have had our Year 7 Family BBQ, and are meeting each week with year level families to give parents an opportunity to meet each other and to also get to know your child’s teachers outside of the structure of the parent information evenings and interviews. A big thank you to those families who have made it so far, and we look forward to seeing parents at the next few nights. Thursday 6pm in the function room at the Railway Hotel. Thank you to Mrs Monique Hannaford for arranging the events.
SCHOOL ADVISORY COUNCIL
In 2022, the St Mary’s College School Advisory Council community members had served their terms and resigned from their positions. We thank our previous School Advisory Council members for their service to our community.
The Diocese of Armidale School Advisory Council Constitution required the number of members from the parents and community shall be at least equal to the number of staff and ex-officio members.
I invited community members last year and received a nomination from one parent in our community.
The St Mary’s College School Advisory Council requires at least one other parent/community member to commence their work in 2023 and for an AGM to be held.
If you are interested in advising myself and Fr Abmar in our endeavour to promote and build our Catholic Education, please email your expression of interest to:
We hope to hold our first meeting of the year before the end of the term.
P&F
A shout out to our wonderful Combined P&F who are tirelessly fundraising and engaged in our schools at both St Xavier’s and St Mary’s College. It is a wonderful opportunity to support our students and meet other like minded parents who are interested in giving opportunities to our students’ and their learning.
There is always room for new parents to join the group. If you are interested in helping out, we would love to see more secondary school parents represented at meetings. It would be great to have our parents’ input into ways in which our P&F can support our kids.
Please see our Facebook page and Compass updates for the next meeting opportunity.
ATTENDANCE
It is clear from the research into the benefits of attending school regularly that there is a benchmark for positive outcomes for our students.
90% attendance is the critical point of successful learning, positive social engagement, heightened wellbeing, sense of belonging, and a strong identity.
In 2022, there were a total of 194 school days. To reach 90% attendance, a student needed to be in attendance for 174.6 days.
In 2022, 38% of our students achieved 90% attendance or above.
One of our core areas of improvement in 2023 is attendance. Mrs Jody Law, Leader of Academic Care - Student Wellbeing, will be leading us in this impact cycle and will inform us of what it looks like to be successful in attendance.
WRITING
It is wonderful to celebrate success, and there is one area of significant growth to celebrate. Our Writing data from 2016-2018 has now been surpassed and we are well above prior outcomes. We are not only on par with similar schools in the state, we are pushing beyond them.
In 2023 we are focusing on writing in all curriculum areas and in our staff Professional Learning Teams. Literacy is the backbone of learning success. Mrs Kate Walshe, Leader of Pedagogy and Literacy Coach, is leading this impact cycle and will keep us informed of our progress.
Ask your child about their targeted literacy activities in their classes.
Finally…
Congratulations to all our swimmers on Wednesday 1st March. Bravo to all our participants who cheered our age champions and team members on.
This Lent, open your hearts to the Lord for transformation as we prepare for the resurrection of Christ.
Blessings
Bern Feldman