Mrs Ryan's Fortnightly Reflections

Welcome to the halfway point in the term everyone! I do not know if it is just me, but the days at St Mary’s are flying by! The community has been busy focusing on learning, testing and assessment, preparing for production and welcoming our new Preps for 2023 to become familiar with their new school environment! It is no wonder the term is flying by! 

My apologies for being absent over the past week, however my family fell to the covid curse which kept me away for the week! I appreciate the continued lengths families are going to, keeping unwell children at home, encouraging mask wearing if we have household contacts and in generally ensuring the health and wellness of all at St Mary’s. 

Thank you to every parent who committed to a Learning Conversation this week. I have heard nothing but positive feedback and gratitude from the staff. We know that the purpose of these conversations are to discuss your child(rens) learning but on the flip side it allows our parents to share the successes and happiness that many of our students share around their school! It is just as celebratory and affirming for our teachers! 

Behind the scenes at St Mary’s we are very much future facing! We have begun the Strategic plan process which will facilitate some explicit direction and planning for the next three to four years around learning and teaching, leadership and improved resources and facilities. 

Parallel to our Strategic plan we have started the very exciting process of a Master Plan. The master plan will be facilitated by the very reputable Gray and Puksland who will work with St Mary’s Master plan team and engage various stakeholders in our community. The master plan is a fluid plan that will direct our resources and facility progression over the next ten years. At the heart of the plan is always student outcomes, engagement, safety and happiness. We look forward to sharing this in the coming months. 

Elements of our uniform are currently under review. We recognise that the jacket is not as warm as what we need and we have been informed that this is being discontinued from the manufacturer. In the near future I will meet with our supplier to discuss alternatives and seek our student input and then share with our parent community. I realise uniform is always a personal preference and we will do our best to seek community consultation. 

I have had a few requests around clarifying the end of year dates. Officially, our students' last day will be Wednesday 14th December, the end of day time to be confirmed. The staff’s last day for the year will be Friday 16th December. I have updated our school Google Calendar, the website and SIMON to note these dates.  

God Bless & Stay Well

Jasmine Ryan 

Principal