From the Principal 

Dear Parents and Carers,

When we had our first P & F meeting back in Term One it was almost a pipe dream to be planning a Mother’s/Special Friend’s Day breakfast in May. Due to lots of hard work behind the scenes and less restrictive Covid guidelines, our dream was surpassed and last Friday morning became a reality. It was wonderful to see so many families celebrate the occasion, with great weather, delicious food and good coffee. Prior to the morning each child had created a special gift, which together with a beautifully designed card ensured each mother/carer/special friend felt loved and adored on this special day. Many hands make light work and this was evident on Friday.

 At the risk of leaving someone out which I apologise for ahead of time, a huge thank you to: Lynn, Liz, Cath, Hannah, Catherine D, Khai loon, Anoushkha, Dinah, Jules, Kasia, Rian, Lynn, Liz, Grace, Dads selling raffle tickets, Di, Sam A, Sam (amazing photo wall) and Heinz our resident Dad photographer. In particular thank you to Rian and Sam A for leading this group of amazing people. Hopefully we can look forward to many more events like this. We hope that everyone had a good Sunday with their loved ones. A special mention and note of appreciation to Their Care for supporting Friday morning, with handmade tea towels amongst other items. 

Congratulations to our Year 3 and Year 5 students for their completion of Naplan this week. The teachers had them all well prepared and the students applied themselves to the best of their abilities. This data will give us whole school information as to how we are tracking at a systemic level and areas for celebration and future focus, as we plan for 2022 and beyond. For each student it gives a snap shot of their learning in; Reading, Writing, Language Conventions and Numeracy, with the results come out later in the year.

Cross Country tomorrow for our Year 3 to Year 6 students will be an excellent way to clear the cobwebs and have fun, whilst exercising. We wish all our students the very best as they represent our school on Friday.  Thank you to Mrs Angela Mason for her work and organisation as our newly appointed Sports Coordinator. Please make sure your children are dressed appropriately and even have a change of socks packed as the weather is looking a little damp.

The Year 4s will attend mass before leaving for Holt Cross Country tomorrow. I warmly invite our parents to join us, as we give witness to our faith and gather as a faith filled community. Before mass starts, Father Jerome always begins with an age appropriate discussion about the readings with our primary students and the year level attending from St Mary’s College. In these times of change within many parishes around Melbourne we are very fortunate and blessed to be working in partnership with Fr Jerome. The children are getting to know him as he visits classes and chats with them before mass. Please know that toddlers and grandparents/special friends are always welcome at these Masses. 

This year Melbourne Archdiocese Catholic Schools (MACS) celebrates 200 years of Catholic Education in Australia. Australia’s first Catholic school opened in Parramatta, in Sydney’s West in October 1820. Founded by Irish Priest, Fr John Therry, the school taught 31 students in its first year.  From those humble beginnings, Catholic schools in Australia now teach more than 750, 000 students with over 80,000 teachers and support staff. This year we celebrate the bicentenary of Catholic education as communities around the country celebrate 200 years since the opening of Australia’s first Catholic school. On Monday 24th May, Mrs Callery, myself and 8 of our Year 6 students will be representing St Mary’s at St Patrick’s Cathedral to celebrate our history. We look forward to sharing this with the community. 

Looking forward to the next fortnight Reconciliation Week is from 27th May to 3rd June. NRW (National Reconciliation Week) 2021: More than a word: Reconciliation takes action. 

"National Reconciliation Week is a time for all Australians to learn about shared histories, cultures, and achievements, and to explore how each of us can contribute to achieving reconciliation in Australia". https://nrw.reconciliation.org.au/

Finally we would like to congratulate Mrs Ruth Callery, her husband Matt and daughter Lila for their exciting news about a baby on the way, due early November. Ruth is beaming, and we wish them all the very best and look forward to sharing this exciting journey with them. We believe Lila is very excited to be a big sister soon!

Peace and Blessings,

Mrs Cathy Ferrari