Principal's News
Dear families,
What a terrific start to the term we had on Wednesday at our St. Mary's Athletics Carnival, bringing together our Athletic Trials (Year 3-6) for Interschool Athletics with relay and novelty events for all students from Prep-Year Six into one whole-school event. Congratulations to all students for their participation, effort and sportsmanship. Yet again, I was struck by how well the students of St Mary's participated in the day with enthusiasm and with a real sense of teamwork. It was a real joy to see children supporting each other and doing their best, making it a fun day for everyone. And how lucky were we with the weather! Thank you to Sam Sullivan our incredible Sports Coordinator for organising and running such a wonderful day at which our whole school community was able to cheer each other on. Thank you also to all the staff who worked tirelessly throughout the day and to the many parent volunteers, without whom the day would not have been possible.
Congratulations to team Nagle for achieving the most points on the day and to teams Coakley, O'Brien and Awburn, for what was an all-round awesome effort.
Dendy District Cross Country
We wish our team of approximately 60 students all the best for the interschool cross country next Friday. Thank you to our parent and staff volunteers who have assisted with the running club over the past few months. Our team is well and truly prepped after our last running club this morning!
Autism Awareness Month
With April being Autism Awareness Month, our staff and students 'Hoodied up for Autism' today as part of the Amaze campaign to show understanding, acceptance and solidarity with the autism community, celebrating the diversity autism brings to our world. Some Autistic people experience sensory sensitivities and can become overloaded by stimuli in their environment. Wearing their hoodie up means they can block out bright lights and busy environments which helps calm them. The meaning behind the hoodie is that some people with autism experience sensory sensitivities and can become overloaded by stimuli in their environment; wearing hoodies up represents creating a soothing, calm environment that can help block out overstimulation.
School Closure Days and School Review
There will be two School Closure Days on Thursday 11th and Friday 12th May, to enable staff to commence our preparation for our School Review in Term Four.
Every four years, Catholic schools in the Archdiocese of Melbourne undertake a School Review which is used to support the ongoing development of best practice and monitoring of improvement. St Mary's last undertook its School Review in 2019, from which we developed our four-year School Improvement Plan 2020-2023.
School Review supports schools and the wider system to foster improvement in an ongoing and continuous way, as well as ensuring schools continue to meet external legislative and regulatory requirements.
The self-assessment and reflection that staff will undertake using data and evidence will be provided to an external accredited reviewer who will then undertake a review process in October. The reviewer will engage with members of the school community over two days and the evidence and self-assessment undertaken by the school to establish clear improvement directions for the school. These observations, insights and recommendations will then be used by the school to inform future planning and priorities for the next four years, forming the basis of our School Improvement Plan 2024-2027.
Matthew Sweeney
Principal
principal@smhampton.catholic.edu.au
