Principal's Update
Dear Parents and Carers,
I hope all our mothers, grandmothers, aunties and other special people in the lives of our children were spoilt last Sunday and enjoyed a memorable day with their families. After speaking to many of our mums it seems they were all very pleased with their gifts. A big thank you again to our mothers who prepared these for our children.
Next week we celebrate Catholic Education Week. As we celebrate Catholic Education Week with over 18,000 students, over 12,000 families and around 2,500 staff in 64 school communities across the Ballarat Diocese, we are thankful that the lives of every one of these partners – and many more – are enhanced because of their engagement in the important work of Catholic education.
Lord,
Join with us in celebration of our Catholic schools. Be with us as we praise you for blessing us with the gift of being able to learn in an environment that reflects our Sacramental values and the life of Jesus. Let us celebrate this week by taking the time to share with each other the good news of Catholic education.
ReLATE
This year our school will be in its 3rd year of the ReLATE initiative. ReLATE is a model that supports a school or system in creating the preconditions for improved teaching, learning and wellbeing. ReLATE looks through a trauma-informed lens, providing schools with practical strategies to embed in their daily practice. This helps to create a safe, supportive, predictable environment that nurtures curiosity and innovation, and enhances teacher practice and student learning outcomes.
On Monday staff participated in Day 4 of our professional development. It was a very insightful and productive day exploring growth mindsets, collective efficacy (collective action that can positively influence student outcomes) and stress management. We are looking forward to embedding these into our everyday practices at St. Mary’s.
Prep Enrolments for 2024
I would like to have enrolments for next year finalised by the middle of next term if possible. Therefore, if you have any extended family or friends intending on enrolling their child next year, it would be greatly appreciated if you could pass this information on to them, so they can arrange for a meeting and a tour of the school. I have conducted quite a few tours over the past month and enrolment forms are starting to be submitted. I request all existing families that have a child starting in Prep next year, submit their enrolment form as soon as possible.
Staff Changes
Last week we farewelled our Gr 4 LSO, Nicole McLaren who is taking on a new role in Warrnambool. This week we will farewell our Gr 1 LSO, Caitlin Janssen, who has decided on a career change in another field. We thank both Nicole and Caitlin for all their wonderful contributions to our school.
In the coming fortnight we will welcome Hannah Callahan, Tanya Gibbs and Rachael Cahill who will take up LSO positions. We look forward to them joining our school community.
Enjoy the rest of your week.
Michael Mahoney
(Principal)