Dear Parents

Welcome to Week 4 of Term. As you would be aware, Phil Nielsen is currently on leave and I have come from the Catholic Education Office to support the school for a few weeks.

My current role is as a Performance Improvement Leader and I support 14 Catholic Schools in our Archdiocese, some in Canberra but the majority are in NSW. Prior to this role, I was a principal in 4 schools, so hopefully come with some experience to assist the team here for the next few weeks. I am married to a school teacher and have 3 adult children who work in Sydney or are living overseas.

I am a frequent visitor to St Mary’s and it is one of my favourite schools. The staff are amazing, the buildings refreshed, the grounds look incredible, and the students are so polite and friendly!

Last week external teaching and learning coaches came to the school to observe the staff and model lessons as part of Catholic Education’s Catalyst program. Both coaches commented to me on how advanced the teaching and learning is at St Mary’s and how the school is one of the leading direct and explicit instruction schools in our Archdiocese. Well done!

I look forward to meeting and getting to know all of you. Please do not hesitate to come and meet me.

Cheers

Brad

Catholic Education