Dear Parents,

2020 will be one of those years that will be remembered forever. Educationally, we have been challenged like never before. True to the school’s reputation, we all showed (students, parents and teachers) great resilience and an ability to adapt to the changing world. As a group we maintained our commitment to offer quality learning experiences for our students. We will never forget the morning teacher read aloud, the numerous online tasks through SeeSaw and the constant struggle to stay up-to-date with marking and responding to student questions. 

Of all the challenges we have faced with COVID-19, one of the greatest to overcome was the absence of our parent community. St Mary’s has a wonderful culture of welcoming our parents into the school at every opportunity. Not having our parents on site has been a difficult adjustment to make. We look towards 2021 to re-establish the wonderful relationship we have with our parent community.

2020 will also be remembered for the year of the renovation. On top of a world pandemic, we were presented with a major renovation. Like all renovations, it has had its up and downs. While we still have a way to go, the potential of what our school will look and feel like in the future is extremely promising and we are all patiently waiting for the final product to arrive. Some exciting additions that were not part of the original plan include the new colourbond roof, the revamped drainage and storm water system and the replacement of the slab between the main building and the canteen block.

At this point I would like to thank the staff at St Mary’s for meeting the challenges that we faced this year head on and for staying focused on the reason we are here, for the students of our school. To our wonderful teachers, the hard working office staff, the dependable exec staff and our ever reliable cleaner and groundsman. Thank you to all the tremendous people that make St Mary’s what it is.

We wish Mrs Natalie Mangelsdorf and Mrs Robyn Akehurst all the best for 2021 and beyond. The school is forever indebted for their services and I personally thank them for their commitment to our fantastic school. Mrs Emma McGee will be taking a year’s leave to welcome her new baby into her family and we wish her the best of luck with the weeks and months ahead.

St Mary’s hopes you all enjoy a well deserved break over the festive season and we all look forward to a new year in 2021.

Phil Nielsen

Principal

Thank you to all our families who donated to the St Vincent de Paul Christmas appeal.  On our last day at school our Year 5/6 students delivered the donations to Lyn Anderson at Vinnies.

Oliver Brown, Jackson Downey, Lyn Anderson, Grace Kellahan and Scarlett Connellan