Dear Parents and Carers

This week we will be celebrating our Feast day, of our patron saint, St Mary Star of the Sea. Also know as ‘Stella Maris’ this particular iteration of Mary the mother of Jesus is used widely in sea faring communities such as ours.  Mary, Star of the Sea, has been a beloved title for those who make a living by or on the sea, as she is the calmer of storms and a guiding light. Before the time of GPS technology, Sailors solely relied on key stars to help them navigate where they were going. During the Middle Ages, the North Star actually went by the name “Stella Maris”. Sailors can always rely on the North Star to lead them, as it remains fixed in the same location throughout the night. Similarly, Mary remains firm and constant in heaven helping to guide us in our lives and offering her protection. The celebration of feast days is a special ritual in Catholic Schools, we will mark this day with mass and a day of fun for all. 

At the end of Term 3, we were so excited to share our production of Pirates versus Mermaids with our school community and in particular with our grandparents and friends on Grandparents’ Day. I know some of our school community missed out on this spectacular event so I am pleased to share a link to the recording of the play. You may like to share this with friends and family, please respect the privacy of our students by not sharing on social media. Congratulations to our staff, our students and our film crew! 

Pirates Versus Mermaids

Next week we are welcoming our 2023 Kindergarten students to Transition to School Playgroup on Wednesday from 9:30-10:30 am and Thursday from 2:00-3:00pm.  It is hard to believe that our current Kindergarten are almost ready for Year 1. 

Stage Three Canberra Excursion will also finally happen next Monday, this is such an important milestone event in the life of Stage Three students. We hope the rain stays away and the staff and students attending enjoy this special time together. I’m looking forward to joining the team in Canberra on Monday night.  I’m sure there will be many tired children returning home on Wednesday afternoon at 3:30pm. A big thanks to Mrs Wilson and Mr Harding for their organisation  and preparation that has made this event finally possible. 

Our playground construction is in full swing, it has been really wonderful to be able to watch the new areas appearing before our eyes. Please come in and have a look over the fence at the amazing work of Derek and his team. 

I hope to see you around the school during the week,

Yours in partnership,

Laurinda Nelson

Brigum D (Year 6) shared first place at Wednesday nights Lions Club Compassion Art Awards for his Peace Poster. Congratulations Brigum, this is a wonderful achievement and everyone here at St Mary's is very proud of you. Brigum has presented our school with 10 new books for the Library.

Kinder enjoying some reading time with their year five buddies.

Enjoying the sun shine and their tennis lesson with Kevin Murphy  from Ulladulla Tennis Academy.

Students are developing their place value skills in maths