Principal's Message

Mr Wayne Wood

College Principal

To our St Mary’s community,

As the term ends, we reflect on the many positives of Term 1. It has certainly been a busy yet very successful start to the year. As a community, we have had to navigate the delayed start to the school year, remote learning, mask wearing, cancellations, postponements, construction disruptions, and rising cases of COVID-19. Despite all these challenges, we saw our classrooms become places where good learning takes place. I take this opportunity to extend my sincere thanks to the staff and students of St Mary’s for their hard work and commitment to each other. I also thank our families for your continued support and encouragement.  

As we reset for Term 2, I seek your support in the following areas that impact our students’ safety and learning:

1. Unexplained Absences – Parents generally notify the College when their child is away. However, it is concerning to see the number of instances where the College is not notified of a child’s absence. Whilst the College follows each “unexplained absence” with a text message to parents, we still have little assurance that the child is safe or at home unless the parent responds. In many cases, we do not receive any response. It is critical that every absence is reported to the College prior to the start of the day. A staff member will now contact parents to follow up on every “unexplained absence”.
    
2. Parent Student Teacher Conversations – Term 1 reports are available on our Parent Portal. ‘Parent Students Teacher Conversations’ will be held from 2:00pm to 6:30pm on Thursday 21st of April (Week 1, Term 2). As our interview evening is a formal occasion for purposeful conversation between parents, students, and teachers, it is an expectation that your child attends. 
   
   We strongly recommend you refer to your student’s interim report and prioritise appointments for teachers who have requested an interview. St Mary’s values strong partnerships between parents, students, and teachers and see this as critical to the educational success of every child. As such, there is an expectation that parents will respond to teachers’ requests to meet. 

I thank you in advance for your support in these matters.

As we continue our Lenten journey towards Easter Sunday, I wish you all a happy and holy Easter. May you and your family find time for rest and renewal over this period. 

God Bless

Wayne Wood