Welcome to Week 10.  What a whirlwind term. We have so much to celebrate at St Mary’s. On Wednesday we welcomed Catholic Education Performance Improvement Leader Philippa Brearley to St Mary’s. She was very impressed with the school’s facilities and was extremely complimentary about how welcome she felt at St Mary’s from both staff and students.

Thursday was another fabulous day where we again showed off the beautiful surrounds and facilities St Mary’s has to offer. The 2025 kinder parents took part in a tour of the school and engaged in an information session led by the school leadership team. Thank you to all who were involved. The kinder parents for 2025 were very impressed with what St Mary’s has to offer their child.

The end of term marks a sad day for the school, as the Hart family made the difficult decision to move on. We will miss both Nixon (2 Mercy) and Harper (1 Joy) and wish them well in the future and thank them for their contribution to the life at St Mary’s. While we say farewell to one family, we welcome another. Last week Aris KC began his educational journey with us in 3 Peace. We trust he will enjoy his time with us.

On Thursday, our last day of school, students will be permitted to wear casual clothes. All students will join together for MJR/BCR groups after lunch and will be involved in team building and cooperative learning activities led by their BCR/MJR teacher.

Students will finish on Thursday while teachers engage in professional development on Friday. The staff will reflect on school wide processes, procedures and routines whilst preparing their class for the upcoming term.

Term 3 will see the implementation of our NIEP program (Numeracy Intervention Extension Program). This will be implemented by our Learning Support Team and will provide an opportunity for select students to engage in numeracy development or extension. The students who will engage in this program will be selected from results attained in Progressive Achievement Tests (PAT), NAPLAN tests, Mastery Tests and teacher recommendations.   

On Friday, students’ reports became available via compass. If you cannot access these or are having trouble, please contact the front office. Parents were also given the opportunity to book time to meet with teachers to discuss their child’s report. If you have not taken up this opportunity, please do so. If you have any difficulty in booking a conference time, please contact the front office at your earliest convenience.

Next term will begin for students on Tuesday the 23^rd of July. The staff will be involved in a Spirituality Formation day led by Catholic Education Canberra Goulburn. This important spiritual experience to be held at the chapel at Bolo on Monday the 22^nd, will include staff from St Joseph’s, Grenfell and St Francis Xavier, Lake Cargelligo.

This week’s newsletter will feature our awesome staff!!

Remember my door is always open.

Acting Principal

Damian Collins