Welcome to Week 5. I’m sure it will come as no surprise that we have another big week ahead at St Mary’s. On Friday, students will help support the ‘Fight MND’ cause by holding our very own St Mary’s Little Freeze!!! MND is a Motor Neurone Disease and is the name given to a group of diseases in which the nerve cells (neurones) controlling the muscles that enable us to move, speak, swallow and breathe are affected. St Mary’s is proud to support this cause that is so close to Mrs Breust’s heart. Many will know of her brother Neale Daniher, a famous ex AFL player, who suffers from this disease while being the founder of the fight MND charity. She has coordinated some activities that the students will take part in with their MJR groups on Friday. Students will be asked to wear blue for the day and bring in a gold coin donation towards the fight to find a cure.

We will also change our morning ‘shout outs’ that are a lovely way to start the day to shouting out the things we are grateful for. This notion of focusing on and being grateful for the good things in life reminds me of the story of the road to Emmaus. In Luke’s Gospel he recounts how Jesus’ disciples, not long after his crucifixion were walking along the road to Emmaus and were focusing on and discussing the sad events that led to Jesus’ crucifixion. They were then joined by what they thought was a stranger. By focusing on the negative they were unable to see that they were in fact walking with God’s only Son, Jesus. I look forward to a week where we focus on how lucky we are and not focusing on the negative.

This will be our final week of summer/winter uniforms. At the beginning of next week all students are asked to wear full winter uniforms. Although the days begin with cold weather we often experience warmer temperatures by the afternoon and students may decide to take off their jumpers. Please ensure your child’s uniform is clearly labelled to ensure there are no lost articles of clothing.

Last week we farewelled Bridget Lashbrook in the canteen. Her official last day will not be until Friday, however, last Friday was her final day in the canteen. Casey Judd will take over from Bridget on the 3^rd of June. We will hold our Athletics carnival on the 7^th and look forward to welcoming Casey to St Mary’s then. I will take this opportunity to thank Bridget for her service and commitment to St Mary’s ensuring our students never went hungry!!!!  

This week’s newsletter will feature our awesome Year 1 students!!

Remember my door is always open.

Acting Principal

Damian Collins