Dear Parents/Carers,

Welcome to Week 10. One day to go!!! This year has flown by it is hard to believe there is less than 10 sleeps until we celebrate Christmas.

What a performance on Thursday evening. A special thanks to Nickey Harland for coordinating, to the staff for giving up their time and most of all, the stars of the show, our students. It was a lovely evening and a fabulous atmosphere. Congratulations to our award winners and thank you to the members of the community who gave up their time to present these awards.

Last night we formally farewelled our Year 6 class of seven students. Thank you to Bree Taylor for organising a lovely evening and particularly for the time she spent creating a lovely memento of the student’s time at St Mary’s. Another thank you goes to Colleen Breust for preparing our Year 6 students for a lovely graduation Mass which was celebrated yesterday.

At mass on Sunday, we celebrated the third Sunday of Advent when the pink candle, the candle of joy, was lit. The school celebrated this occasion yesterday morning at assembly. We also farewelled Fr Dominic Byrne, our parish priest, at a special assembly today. We thank him for everything he has contributed to our school and the community. St Mary’s wish him well for the future.

The staffing at St Mary’s for 2025 has a welcome addition. Miss Brydi Holmes will join the team and will teach 2025’s Year 1 class. Miss Holmes is currently working at Mallawa Public School near Moree. We welcome her to St Mary’s and the community and trust she will enjoy her time with us.  

We will celebrate the end of another year at St Mary’s with a whole school disco tomorrow. Students are invited to come to school wearing Christmas mufti clothes. The disco will run from the end of lunch until the end of the day. The Community Council will put on a free barbecue for all students for lunch.  Students will be able to purchase some canteen items during the disco.

Our “Thank you!” morning tea will be held tomorrow at 11am for all those who have given up their time to support St Mary's. This event is a very important occasion and anyone who has helped at St Mary's with anything big or small is invited to attend!! Please note the change of venue to the St Mary’s staffroom. 

Remember my door is always open.

Principal

Damian Collins