Dear Parents and Carers

Welcome to Term 2! I’m sure holidays came at the right time for families to take some much-needed time for yourself after the busyness and challenges presented in Term 1.

We begin the term in prayer, mourning the passing of Pope Francis - a humble and courageous shepherd of the Church. We give thanks for his inspiring witness of faith, compassion, and commitment to the people. Archbishop Prowse shared a powerful image of Pope Francis—his hand extended from the window of his modest white car, blessing and waving to those he passed. This simple gesture reflected a Church grounded in humility and closeness to others. It’s an image that resonates with me and speaks directly to our mission as Catholic educators: to lead with compassion and serve others with humility. We will gather together as a school community in prayer for Pope Francis. 

STAFFING UPDATE
I’d like to begin by extending a thank you to Mrs Durnan for stepping into the Acting AP role last term, and to Mrs Afflick for increasing her days and stepping into the REC role—your leadership and support were very much appreciated.

We will farewell Fr George on Friday 16 May with morning tea to thank him for his support over the past five and a half years. Fr George’s final mass will be on the weekend 17 May. All families are invited to attend.

Congratulations once again to Mrs White on her appointment as Classroom Support Coordinator.

It was lovely to welcome Mrs Heffernan back from leave this week. The staff and students have very much enjoyed your presence in the classrooms. A warm welcome to Mrs Alves, who is joining our Classroom Support Team next week.

We welcome Fr Joshua Scott to St Mary’s on Friday 4 July. With a background in education, Fr Josh is keen to support the implementation of the RE Curriculum and provide resourcing where needed. We will organise a time for Fr Josh to be introduced to our school community.

CURRICULUM
As the students have settled back into school, there is a renewed focus on teaching and learning as we deliver explicit instruction. Every teacher is committed to teaching with a low variance curriculum to ensure we have no gaps. Teachers have an excellent understanding of what needs to be taught and when. We are committed to continuously investing in the delivery of excellent teaching and learning experiences. We will do this by focusing on three key areas:

1. Improving the quality of curriculum resources available to teachers
2. Delivering high quality professional learning for all teachers
3. Implementing high quality assessment protocols

This week I engaged in learning walks across the classrooms. I saw students highly engaged in their learning and high impact teaching practices visible in all rooms.

To ensure our teachers are kept up to date with the latest in teaching and learning, St Mary’s Primary School will hold professional learning days throughout the year including on the first day of Terms 1, 2 and 3, without students. This week we focused on reading instruction. All professional learning aligns with our Annual Improvement Plan and is always set with our goal to improve student outcomes.

Enrolment 2026

St Mary's welcomes all who are wishing to enrol their child for 2026. Application forms for enrolment are available through our school website https://www.stmarysmoruya.nsw.edu.au/how-to-enrol Parents are asked to complete a web-based application. Parents wishing to enrol their child for Kindergarten for 2026 are encouraged to apply during the advertised period each year, 5 May – 30 May (late enrolments are accepted subject to places being available). All new families applying for enrolment are Interviewed by the Principal or Assistant Principal. Interviews for Kindergarten enrolments are conducted in Term 2 and Term 3 and parents are advised if a place is available. To be eligible for enrolment in kindergarten a child must turn 5 on or before the 30 July in the year of admission.

Our wonderful St Mary’s choir will be singing on Open Day on Tuesday 6 May. We are looking forward to welcoming new and existing families as they prepare for their child to start Kindergarten in 2025. Open Day begins at 9.30am with morning tea.

Next week we are celebrating Catholic Schools’ Week. From 5-9 May, St Mary’s will join with Catholic schools across NSW and the ACT to celebrate the annual Catholic Schools Week (CSW). We are immensely proud of our Catholic heritage and are committed to celebrating and showcasing the achievements of our students. Catholic Schools Week is about forging and strengthening relationships between everyone who has a stake in our schools – students, staff, families, priests, parishioners, and members of the wider community – by showcasing our activities and actions.

During Catholic Schools Week, we take the opportunity to highlight not only the best of what we do, but also what happens in our schools every day.

During Catholic Schools’ Week, our students will be involved in the following:

• Year 7 Information Night at Carroll College: Monday 5 May
• St Mary’s Open Day for Kindergarten 2026: Tuesday 6 May
• Feast of the Ascension Thursday 8 May
• Year 5 & 6 visit Carroll College on Friday 9 May to celebrate Carroll Day
• Mother’s Day Breakfast and Liturgy; Friday 9 May

MOTHER’S DAY
St Mary’s would like to warmly invite all mothers, guardians, and grandmothers to attend school between 7.45am and 8.40am on Friday 9 May. This year we are inviting parents and special guests to come and enjoy breakfast in the Hall. Fruit cups and muffins will be available for adults and cereal for our students. Following breakfast, Year 2 will be leading us in a special liturgy at 9.00am in the Hall.

ELECTION INFORMATION
I have included some information from the National Catholic Education Commission on the 2025 Federal Election for your perusal.

St Mary’s Facebook Page
Are you following the St Mary’s Facebook Page? It is a great avenue for sharing the wonderful things that are happening in our school on a day-to-day basis and a positive way to promote our school to prospective families. Our focus is to celebrate student and staff achievement, classroom learning and school events.

Thank you to our Staff, Parents and Students who were able to attend the ANZAC Day March. St Mary’s was well represented, and I was very proud to be leading with our students. ANZAC Day is a significant event, and it was wonderful to see so many of our students participating and showing their support.

It was lovely to be back with the students this week. Please know my door is always open and I look forward to the term ahead.

Blessings on the week ahead.

Kind regards

Jo

Mrs Johanna Wain
Principal