From the Principal

As we move towards the end of our first semester, it has been fantastic to see the community engagement and continuation of partnership between school and families.  This has been particularly evident in our planning for subject selection in the Senior School. Our Year 10 and 11 students are preparing to select their subjects for 2024 and Year 8 and 9 students are discovering new subject choices. 

At the recent Parent Information Evenings held at the College, there were many in-depth conversations held around what our students saw as possible pathways for their future. The best part of these evenings, and the conversations had, is that a student can do anything. Our focus will be on ensuring our students continue to develop a deep love of learning and guiding them to a mindset that will help them realise they can do whatever they put their minds to. 

This partnership will continue on the first day back of Term 3 with our Kinder to Year 12 Parent/Student/Teacher Conferences which will be a discussion following the release of our Semester 1 report in the coming weeks. I encourage you, in both the Junior and Senior Schools, to book a time to meet with the teachers and to set goals for our students' continued improvement. We look forward to seeing you soon. Pease book via the link provided in your report.

I take this opportunity to wish the whole St Mary’s College community a wonderful break and thank the staff who will continue to work during the holiday break to improve the College for our students return in Term 3.

Kinder Mud Play 

Today I had the privilege of attending the International Day of Mud with our Kindergarten classes. We were fortunate to have a wonderful day and our students let their hair down and had a lot of fun, as you can see from the photos included here. A big thank you to our staff, and the staff of St Virgil's College, for making this opportunity possible. 

Cocurricular 

It has been a privilege to see so many of our students enjoying themselves and participating in our cocurricular program this term. Across our College, from Kinder to Year 12, it has been fantastic that so many of our students have taken up these opportunities. The best part for me has been the varied opportunities that have been embraced in the arts, music, drama, social justice and sport. The opportunities will continue in Term 3, and I encourage all our students to get involved in something that interests them.

Update on Murphy's Café

You will have noticed the footings have been completed for the Murphy's Café extension and we look forward to the steel work being erected during the Term 2 holidays. Once this stage has been completed, you will see rapid progress with the plan for the project to be finalised by the end of the school year. It is a very exciting time for the College.

Reminder | Updated email security 

I wish to remind parents and carers of the importance of checking junk email folders regularly. As communicated in previous editions of The Fountain, a number of email platforms have updated their authentication security measures, resulting in a larger volume of emails from many organisations, including St Mary’s College, landing in junk email folders. Once again, I apologise if this has caused you any inconvenience and I ask that you continue to monitor your junk folder to ensure you are not missing any emails from the College.

Meet the Principal tours 

Meet the Principal tours continue with our next tour being held on Friday 28 July at 9.00am for a 9.15am start.  The session commences with a meeting and presentation from me, followed by a student leader College tour. Parents and carers have the opportunity to speak to students and staff, and see what we do during a day at St Mary’s College. Please note this tour is fully booked, our next tour dates are listed below. Registrations can be made on our website here.

• Friday 15 September at 9.00am for 9.15am start
• Friday 3 November at 9.00am for 9.15am start

Events (Upcoming)

Year 11 and 12 Retreats – 29 – 30 June 2023

Festival of Voices Concert – 4 July 2023 

Damian Messer

Principal