Dear Parents and Carers

This week we celebrated the feast of All Saints and All Souls, in our Catholic tradition these days are a special day of prayer and remembrance for the great people who have made a difference in the lives of many. At the liturgy on Wednesday, we celebrated and remembered people who have died. Some famous and written about in books and movies, some known only to those that were close enough to recognise the holiness of a life lived simply with great love and kindness. It reminds me that we need to make everyday a day lived to the full with gratitude. 

This is the season of change in schools, this week we have had our second Orientation session for our new 2024 Kindergarten students. They have settled into big school so well under the careful guidance of Mrs Jodie Lee and Mrs Karynne Treweek welcoming and guiding these children and parents with such care and expertise. Our Year 6’s are beginning their orientation to High School, which brings  excitement and sadness in equal measures. We will keep them all in our thoughts and prayers. 

You will have received an invitation to the Official Blessing and Opening of the Outdoor Learning and Healing Space, we are hoping all of our families can join us on Thursday 16 November at 9.30am. This is a great celebration for our school community with this project transforming our playground after the great grief associated with the devastating fires of 2019. We were so fortunate to receive a Black Summer Federal Government Grant, combined with the hard work of our P&F, and generous donations from the broader community, we have a beautiful space that has transformed our learning environment. On the day of the opening we will have Bishop Brian Mascord, Peter Hill -Director of Schools CEDoW as well as lots of the people in our community who have made this project possible. This event will be catered by our wonderful and talented Stephanie Alexander Kitchen Team under the careful eye of Jodi Donnelly in the kitchen. Please join us on the day. 

One of the features of our Playground is the beautiful story poles telling the local story of ‘Balgan’ more commonly known as Pigeon House Mountain. We have been so blessed to have Uncle Phil Butler telling this precious story in a video filmed by Jamie Lepre (Lily’s dad). This story will stay with the poles into the future through a QR code. You can preview this video starring some of our Year 3 students on the St Mary’s School Website.  Enormous thanks to Uncle Phil and Jamie for ensuring this story stays with the poles for future generations in our community. 

Please join us for our first Working Bee in a long time at St Mary’s being held on Saturday 11 November. This is to prepare our grounds for the Opening and Blessing, many hands make light work. We need your help!

Have a lovely weekend,
Yours in partnership
Lindy Nelson