Principal's Message: 13th March 2026

Dear families,

There is never a week when schools are not busy places, but this week has been a flurry of extra activities around the place.

The students from Emmanuel College were onsite on Tuesday and Friday this week, landscaping our brand new ninja playground. It will be ready for our Middle and Senior students from next week.

We celebrated our annual Buddy night, with our Preps and their Year 6 buddy families gathering for a shared dinner and some fun games, organised by our house captains. Plan B was executed when the wind and rain showed up just on time for commencement, so our picnic was moved to the hall. The place was abuzz with parents getting to know each other and children enjoying spending time together. The weather eventually allowed us to move outside for games. It was a lovely, social night.

Last night our Junior students had an extended session at school for their ‘camp’.  They had the opportunity to participate in some great activities provided by an external company. The giggles certainly reflected the enjoyment of the evening. The night finished with individual pizzas for a shared dinner. Thanks to the Junior team for their organisation.

NAPLAN also started for our Year 3 and 5 students this week. You will have heard of the difficulties that were experienced Australia-wide on Tuesday. Thankfully, our students were able to complete their writing tasks on the day. NAPLAN, including any make-up sessions for students who were absent, will continue next week. 

You may have read our recent updates regarding our uniform policy over the past few weeks. I understand that some students are disappointed to learn that the skort is not to be worn outside of their allocated sports days. While we all have our own preferences, I ask for your support in upholding the school’s uniform policy.  To assist families, we will extend the transition period to allow parents time to purchase any replacement items during the Term 1 holidays. From the beginning of Term 2, we will expect all students to wear the uniform in line with the current policy.

It was heartening to see that so many parents have already voted for their preferred St Mary’s values. If you have not already done so, please find the voting link in your nForma notices. Voting closes Tuesday. After our new values have been finalised, the next body of work for staff is to identify the expected behaviours that embody each value. These behaviours will then be presented in a matrix and we will begin to devise lessons that teach each of these explicitly.  

We are currently hosting school tours for Prep 2027. If you know anyone with a child starting Prep in 2027, please encourage them to book a school tour. If you have your own child starting prep next year, you can start the enrolment process now by completing their enrolment form here.

Have a great weekend,

Respect • Responsibility • Resilience • Courage