Accreditation as a Catholic School in the Edmund Rice Tradition
I am pleased to advise that we recently received correspondence from Dr Michael Slattery, Chair of the EREA Council, advising that our accreditation is to be renewed until July 2030. Dr Slattery writes:
I acknowledge and celebrate the significant work that has been undertaken in the last five years to ensure that the Charter for Catholic Schools in the Edmund Rice Tradition, and particularly the Touchstones are being lived and experienced by the St Mary’s College community. Congratulations on this outcome and thank you for your faithful leadership and partnership as we strive to provide young people with an education that is authentically Catholic and a contemporary reflection of the charism and wisdom of Blessed Edmund Rice.
This follows the thorough School Renewal process that we undertook during Term 1 and is accompanied by a School Renewal Report that includes commendations and recommendations from the renewal panel. In the coming weeks we will dissect the report and include the recommendations in our strategic plan. We will share the findings in future editions of Lumina.
Thank you to all who participated in the School Renewal process earlier this year.
P&F Trivia Night Thanks
Thank you to members of the St Mary’s P&F for hosting our Trivia Night on Saturday. It was a very enjoyable night and, with some excellent donations up for auction, was profitable for our hardworking members. Thank you to all those who donated a product for the auction. Please look for opportunities to support our P&F as they are investing back in our College to improve the facilities for your young people.
Senior Subject Information Evening
In an outstanding testament to your commitment, Logue Hall was full on Tuesday evening as we gathered to learn more about the VCE, subjects on offer, and the subject selection process. In my brief address, I emphasised the opportunity that this moment offers for parents and carers to talk with their Year 10s about their own career journey. Our young people are worried that they will make a mistake. As adults, of course, we know that the pathway is rarely linear and that our lives take many strange and exciting turns as we learn more about ourselves and our talents. Thank you to all who helped make this a very worthwhile event. Should you have any questions, please contact Daniel Di Lisio, Director of Learning and Teaching.
Grade 4 visitors
Students from Our Lady of the Assumption School, Cheltenham, visited recently as we recommence our very popular “getting ready for secondary school” program. The students experienced Biology in our Science precinct and then made their own lunch in our Food Technology kitchen. Over coming weeks, we will be introducing other Grade 4s from our region to secondary schooling at St Mary’s. We hope that they enjoy the experience so much that they choose us as the destination secondary school. Last week we met Principals and Deputy Principals from three of our neighbouring Catholic Primary Schools. Each was taken on a tour and then listened to our leadership team discuss the vision for our school. My thanks to these busy people for giving their time. They certainly emboldened us in their feedback that our purpose is not only clear, but important, and our product is high quality. As parents and carers, I once again call upon you to promote St Mary’s to your relatives and friends as your recommendation is invaluable.
School Advisory Council
Our August Meeting was held on Monday night and we formally welcomed two new SAC members, Ms Jane Leroi and Dr Alexandra Wake. Jane has a long association as a parent and chairperson of the P&F. Alex is also a past parent and works as a professor in the Journalism department at RMIT. Amongst our regular agenda items, members of the SAC were keen to report on how much they had enjoyed Mamma Mia and commented on the high quality of the performances. As we are about to commence a new period of negotiations there was also some general discussion about industrial relations matters, especially as they relate to school budgeting. At the time of writing, the Victorian Catholic Education Authority (VCEA) and the Independent Education Unit (IEU) have not commenced enterprise bargaining.
I was able to share with the Advisory Council a recent presentation made to the new EREA Victorian Schools Ltd. (VSL) Board, in which St Mary’s unique characteristics were highlighted and celebrated. This is an excerpt:
We recognise that students today are navigating a different kind of complexity - including social pressure, mental health challenges, neurodiversity, and questions of gender identity. We want them to feel valued. Our response is grounded in relationships, care, and consistency. We meet students where they are and walk alongside them with empathy, respect, and a deep belief in their dignity.
Our approach to learning is relational and responsive. We create environments that build confidence, agency, and belonging - especially for students who may not have felt successful in more standardised or outcomes-driven school models. Our destinations data reflects this: students leave us for university, apprenticeships, traineeships, and the workforce. We’re not just preparing them for exams - we’re preparing them for life.
Japanese Visitors
The students visiting us from Osaka, Japan, departed last Wednesday and they greatly enjoyed their time in Melbourne at St Mary's. Thank you to our staff who put together the program, organised the safe transit of the students and the homestay arrangements. Thank you, especially, to our families who agreed to host a visiting student. The feedback from each student was that their visit to Melbourne had been wonderful and they were keen to return in the future. We intend to continue to plan for opportunities for school visits, including a reciprocal visit to Osaka for our students.
Ski Trips
Over recent weekends, senior students have been provided opportunities to ski at Mt Buller. The feedback has been that it was an amazing experience. Thank you to Ms Steward, Mr Baxas Ms Thaddeus and Mr Hall for making this experience possible.
End of an Era
The community of Christian Brothers who have resided next door to the College in Westbury St are in the process of moving to more suitable living arrangements. They have donated a marble statue of Blessed Edmund Rice to us that was dedicated to a past Principal of CBC, Brother Miller. We will look for a suitable location in our grounds for this valued statue which will serve as an ongoing reminder of our founding story.
