Welcome to week 11. With only a week until a well-earned break we still have so much going on. We just celebrated our first Parish Mass in the school hall. It was a lovely celebration and we are very happy to continue to build on our strong partnership with our Parish and school. A number of our 3-6 students will travel to Grenfell for the Brumbies Gala Day on Tuesday with Mrs Taylor and we thank Will Dean, Brent Morton, Edward Maslin and Lachlan Buttenshaw who have given up their time to prepare the students for the gala day. On Thursday, weather permitting, we will hold our Cross Country that was postponed last week. Apologies to those who didn’t receive the text message about its postponement. We are still looking for volunteers. If you can help, please contact the front office. Due to the end of term performance ‘Making Friends’ our assembly has changed to 12:30 on Friday. We will hand out Cross Country medals then. All are welcome.

Anzac Day falls during the holidays and is a great opportunity to show off our fabulous school. (Thursday Week 2) Students who are marching are to meet Mr Collins and Mrs Harland outside Thom Dick and Harry’s at 10:15am sharp. We look forward to an excellent turn up. Students are to wear their full winter uniform with their tie done up and top button done up.

Full winter uniform is to be worn from the 1st of June. During weeks 1-5 students can wear either summer or winter uniform. Not a mixture of both. Please remember to wear ties appropriately. If your child has chosen to wear a zipper tie encourage them to not play with the zipper. If you have chosen to wear an elastic tie, please encourage them to not stretch the elastic. Our uniform is what sets us apart and when worn appropriately and with pride looks very smart. Whilst on the topic of uniform, many students are wearing different colour socks with their sport uniform. White socks with their sports uniform is what is expected and is outlined in the school’s uniform policy. Many thanks for your co-operation.  

At the conclusion of Term 2 we will farewell Audrey Pritchard from 4 Trust. Audrey’s family have decided to make the move across Australia to Kalgoorlie. Together with the entire St Mary’s community I thank her for her contribution to the life of St Mary’s and wish her well for the future. May God’s blessings be with you. We also farewelled Tobias Sayring in Kindergarten. Despite only being at St Mary’s for a short period of time we thank him for his contribution to our school and wish him well.

The staffing jigsaw is finally coming to a conclusion. Mrs Emma Speedy and Mrs Lauren Manchur have committed to sharing Mrs Nickey Harland’s Monday and Tuesday teaching load to free her up to complete her Assistant Principal duties as well as overseeing the implementation of the school’s High Impact Teaching Strategies. She will continue to teach Year 6 Maths each morning and 5/6 Faith on a Wednesday. We also welcome Mrs Colleen Breust to the Leadership Team as the Religious Education Coordinator. I welcome her to the position and look forward to her sharing her wealth of experience. Colleen was the Religious Education Coordinator at St Mary’s back in 2017. Mr Mark Hughes has committed to teaching 3 Peace on a Thursday in Term 2 so Colleen can complete her Religious Education Coordinator duties. We also welcome Mark to the St Mary’s community and trust his time with us will be an enjoyable and fulfilling experience. Mrs Kate Dean will also join the team on a Friday, providing relief for our Early Career Teachers Mrs Tessa Turner and Miss Georgie McKelvie. We have also received some positive interest in the Canteen manager position. We look forward to organising this position before the end of the term.

Many thanks for everyone’s support during Term 1, 2024. Enjoy the break. If you are travelling, travel safe and I look forward to seeing everyone refreshed and ready for Term 2!

Remember my door is always open. 

Acting Principal

Damian Collins