Mrs Ryan's Fortnightly Reflections

What a term it has been! Hugely successful on all accounts, and a long ten week stint with no interruption to our schooling! I can definitely see the fatigue in our students and staff for the immense effort they have all given this term! Today our Terrific Kid assembly celebrated our amazing term, connected our community and set us off for a well deserved break. 

Easter is a time of reflection and renewal as we await the resurrection of Jesus. It is a time to reconnect with our faith and spirituality and be reminded of our efforts to be like Jesus. I do hope that all families use this time to reflect and reset, spending quality time with one another. 

Thank you to all of our families and parents for your continued commitment to your partnership with St Mary’s. Thank you for attending our many events, assemblies, mass and liturgies as well as our Community BBQ last night. It was great to see so many parents there, relaxing, chatting and spending time together. Thank you to all families for supporting our terms learning with reading at home, ensuring a good night's sleep and keeping up with the busy school routine. 

This term we have sought parent voice around our uniform, our Catholic Identity, canteen and P&F support. I recognise that this takes time and I am so grateful for your input. St Mary’s is and will continue to make changes in these areas to ensure we are meeting the needs of our community and working together for the best for all in our school. 

This term we conclude our uniform service with Lord’s Fashion who have supplied our school uniform for over a decade. We thank Craig and the Lord’s team for all that they have done and wish them well in the future. From the start of next term St Mary’s uniform can be purchased from Hip Pocket. Changes to our uniform have been based on community consultation and have prioritised comfort, cost, convenience and style. Details of our uniform changes are noted in this newsletter. There will continue to be a twelve month roll over period for our old to new so that families have ample time to commit to the change also. 

Our Compass platform use and understanding continues to evolve from internal to external use within our community. Thank you all for your willingness to learn something new also and explore this communication tool. This week we have released the Medical form. This form in the past would be sent for review and updating annually. Over the break can I ask that all families please complete your child(rens) medical details. St Mary’s has been using our past SIMON files to ensure we meet needs however as we start term 2, we will be using Compass solely to access this information. 

As we progress into the year, we are striving to keep our communication as current, accessible and clear as possible. Parents can expect the school day to day running information to be found on Compass. Teachers will regularly communicate via Compass and emails - often from the year level team or as an individual. Key dates for the year are available on our website and information to celebrate our school is often posted on our socials. Our newsletter also aims to communicate what is occurring in our fortnightly block. I do hope that you all feel well informed with what is happening at St Mary’s. 

Just a reminder that we start term 2 on Wednesday 26th April. Our first day will include Anzac Day to commemorate the fallen and celebrate our service men and women. 

Again, thank you everyone for a sensational first term! It is so rewarding to look back and see all that we have done, achieved and experienced in such a short time. On behalf of the whole community I would like to thank our teachers for their efforts and dedication and making a difference everyday! I wish all of our families a well deserved break, enjoy the cooler weather, outdoor fires and Easter break together.

I look forward to seeing everyone return safe and well and ready for all that Term 2 brings. 

Happy Easter and God Bless, 

Jasmine Ryan

Principal