Dear Parents and Carers

This week we walk the path of Holy Week, inspired by our Gospel and enacted by the our wonderful students. Tomorrow is Good Friday and the Gospel tells us one of the last statements Jesus made on the Cross was: “Father, forgive them for they know not what they do.” This ultimate act of forgiveness towards the ones who ultimately killed him, inspires us to do the same with those who have caused us hurt. Living authentically with in a spirit of forgiveness and peace, pose is the greatest gift that we can offer each other. The first words that the Resurrected Jesus offers the disciples are ‘Peace be with you’ In a society where division and self-centredness are becoming more prevalent, may we be the force of forgiveness and healing allowing peace to flow through our families and friends this Easter, may our faith give us the courage to bring real connection and care to those who need it most in our community. 

Yesterday was a wonderful day of joy and celebration at St Mary’s with the annual Cross Country Carnival held at school. Everyone made an enormous effort to do their best in their races, especially Kindergarten who were feeling very nervous about their first Cross Country event. It was great to see so many parents joining us for a lovely day of fun, a big thanks to our Canteen volunteers for a lovely lunch. Particular thanks goes to Mrs Katy Reid for her great organisation of the day which ran really smoothly. 

During the holidays, we are excited to have our school indigenous story walk painted by Uncle Phil Butler and Melissa Henry. The poles have been placed along the figure of Bumbi the eel connecting the mountains to the sea in the local story explaining the creation of Balgan (Pigeon House Mountain).This story tells us who we are, how we should live, how we should have respect and how we should treat each other equally.  We are so blessed to have Uncle Phil and Melissa, (who worked at St Mary’s for many years) working so closely again with our school community. The staff will have the opportunity on the Pupil Free day to go out ‘on country’ with Uncle Phil to gain a deeper knowledge of and appreciation for local indigenous culture and our responsibility to care for the earth. 

Our Indigenous Education Teacher, Ms Hayley Bassett has recently stepped down from her position at St Mary’s. Hayley has been an integral part of our cultural journey over the last two years and has brought a passion and dedication to furthering knowledge of and celebrating Indigenous culture in our school and wider community. We wish Hayley every success in the future as she pursues further study and thank her for all she has contributed to our St Mary’s community. 

During the holidays preparations will be underway for getting our Stephanie Alexander Kitchen Garden Program underway. This program will be lead by Anna Sim, Anneliese Robinson and Jodi Donnelly who are working as a team to get the garden, greenhouse and kitchen ready for our students to have the experience of growing and preparing their own food. This is a fantastic opportunity for our students and we thank our team for their passion and dedication to this important initiative.   

Please join us for two school community events in the holidays; the Stations of the Cross in Milton at 10am on Good Friday. The children gather to walk the story of Jesus for the parish and visitors, this is always a special and sacred liturgy set on the hill outside the church. On Anzac Day St Mary’s will continue the tradition of marching in the ANZAC March to the Milton War Memorial, the March begins at 10:30am, we will gather as a school near Church St at 10:10am. 

Please have a happy and holy Easter with family and friends,

Yours in partnership 

Laurinda Nelson