Dear Parents,

Our community garden and natural landscape next door is almost finished and ready for our students to use. We have a bike/ running track, a labyrinth, wetlands, fruit trees and many other landscaped areas providing a beautiful natural environment for our students to grow and shine in. We will officially open the space on Friday 5th May but drop in and have a look at any time. Students will commence using this space at break times and for learning soon.

Congratulations to our Foundation learning community on such a wonderful family night on Tuesday 7th March. All of our Foundation families gathered to make moments matter, sharing a meal, being entertained by Lachlan the magician and spending time ensuring every student and family feels a strong sense of belonging. A special thanks to Matt for cooking for on the night and to all staff who attended.

The Womenjeka festival will be held this Saturday 25th March at Emu Plains Balnarring. Please try to come along and support this wonderful festival.. It is such a great day facilitated by Balnarring Preschool in partnership with local schools, day care centres and local organisations. What a wonderful way to celebrate, respect and honour our first nations people. St Mary’s has a stall and we ask if anyone can volunteer to help on the day we would appreciate your support.

Community underpins all that we do in our beautiful school. By immersing students in a school that has a strong community at the base we can ensure the environment students learn in is enriched and learning is deepened by the connections we make with each other.

From the school families to staff to Parish to local and global communities each person we connect with partners with us and creates a village around our students. It is a privilege to have the opportunity to co-create the environment in our school where every person has a strong sense of who they are and where belonging and connectedness are paramount.

I would like to thank all of our community for their thanks and support. I am very humbled to receive a community award from the Victorian Catholic Principal association and look forward to attending the ball this Friday with my wonderful leadership team.

Our Catholic schools are wonderful landscapes where together we support each individual to achieve success in all they set out to do. We do this together, reaching out and partnering with others in our community to ensure connection for every person.

Community leadership comes from all in our community. Our staff as community leaders providing so many opportunities for our students to work with and partner with community.

Our parents as leaders being involved in so many ways such as helping in the classroom, fundraising or attending events. Examples such as Family Fun Friday provide opportunities for our parents to partner with us in our community.

Our Parish as leaders connecting with our school assisting our families and supporting in any way they can and our local and global communities connecting with our school to share expertise and learning deepening our students' understanding of the world.

Catholic schools are communal - they are wonderful landscapes where students are immersed in positive, contemporary faith filled environments where above all the human being is most important and the school community is there to ensure every individual can grow and shine grounded in the life of Jesus.

I am proud to be Principal of this wonderful school and thank you for all working in partnership with me to ensure we provide every student with a community they can flourish in.

Yours in Partnership,

Gab

Key dates for the remainder of the term are outlined below:

Saturday 25th March	Womenjeka Festival
Tuesday 28th March	School advisory meeting 7pm
Wednesday 5th April	Holy Week Student Led Liturgy 2pm
Thursday 6th April	End of Term 1 Students finish at 1pm
Monday 24th April	Curriculum Day (Pupil free day)
Tuesday 25th April	Anzac Day public holiday (No school)
Wednesday 26th April	Students commence for Term 2

2023 Easter Raffle