God grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change,
the courage to change the things I can,
and the wisdom to know the difference.
Reinhold Niebuhr
Dear Parents and Friends,
Change is part of life. When St Mary’s opened it’s doors on 26th February 1888, North Sydney was a working class area. The two-roomed school was surrounded by bush on one side and paddocks on the other. By 1913 enrolments had reached 300 boys. The year of 1956 saw the demolition of many nearby homes to build the Warringah Freeway, subsequently enrolments started to drop, to a low of 69 in 1978. From 1980 enrolments started to increase once again, the school growing in size to cater for all those who desire a Catholic education for their child. We currently have 373 students enrolled with three more classes planned by the end of 2020.
Our building project is progressing well now and we are looking forward to our ten new learning spaces, library, canteen and playground areas. Over the coming weeks staff, students and parents will have an opportunity to collaborate on how we utilise these new learning spaces for excellence in student learning.
This week I have been involved in a review of education in Sydney Catholic Schools as a panel member looking specifically at the quality of teaching and learning in our systemic schools and the opportunities for student engagement across the primary school curriculum. It has been encouraging to see many outstanding examples of dedicated teachers and leaders in our primary schools and the positive impact they are having on student learning,
Thank you to the Year 2 parents, led by class mums Joan Larkin, Nicci Rowe, Tara Egger and Genevieve Costelloe for the wonderful Mother’s Day breakfast. Indeed it was very special to savour the many delights! Thank you also to all those who were part of the very special liturgy that followed.
May I also take this opportunity to personally thank the parents who were involved in my recent contract renewal process. Your encouragement was greatly appreciated as we work closely together in the development of our school community over the next few years.
A school calendar update was sent out earlier this week. There are many upcoming events of which you are kindly invited to take part.
Best wishes
God bless
Beverly Coffey