Final Assembly
Our community gathered for the last time with our Year 12s today to acknowledge that they are approaching the culmination of their secondary schooling and to celebrate their contribution to St Mary’s College. As our graduating class processed into Logue Hall, they were welcomed and applauded. Our College Captains, Matilda and Jude, addressed the school community for the last time and reflected on their time at St Mary’s. The last day of regular schooling is normally tinged with mixed emotions. While there is celebration that a new chapter of life is about to commence, with expectations of newfound freedom, it’s often accompanied with some trepidation that the familiar pattern of life that symbolises a school day is over. We hope our Year 12s have fond memories of their time at St Mary’s College and wish them every success in their upcoming exams. There will be time for reflection and thanksgiving at the Graduation Mass and Dinner on November 20th.
Year 7 Information Evening
Our Year 7 families of 2026 gathered on Tuesday evening to commence their orientation program in preparation for next year. Many of those in attendance have their oldest child commencing secondary school and it is important that we demystify the transition process as much as possible by explaining the structures of St Mary’s. You may recall the transition period from primary to secondary and the questions that you wanted answered as you helped prepare your young person to move to this next stage. Hosted skilfully by our 2026 College Captains, Stella and Hugo, in their maiden performance, pastoral and wellbeing leaders spoke to those in attendance. On the night a few commented on the volume of information that was presented and expressed gratitude that the opportunity was presented to gather. We still have a few places at Year 7 for 2026 and would appreciate if you could promote our school to friends or family who may be looking at secondary school options and are still undecided. Orientation Day for our new cohort occurs on December 9th.
VCE Exams
I want to share just how impressed I was by the application of our students to their trial exams during the holidays. It hasn’t always been my experience that students take these as seriously as we would hope, yet last holidays I saw our young people keen to put in effort and make the best use of the opportunity.
The official exam period for our VCE Unit 3 & 4 students commences next week, and we wish everyone who is undertaking these assessments every success. It is important to note that many of our graduating class will be seeking an ATAR (Australian Tertiary Admission Rank), but others will be pursuing other pathways. The ATAR is an important measure for those who desire to undertake tertiary studies that require this rank, and it is the culmination of many hours of work. There will also be graduates who proceed to apprenticeships, or work, and we celebrate with these young people on having exciting post-school pathways and a clear sense of purpose as well.
Senior Staff Replacement
Mr Shaun Lancashire returns from pilgrimage with EREA next week and I wish to express my thanks to Mr Paul Quinn, Ms Annie Driver, Mr Brendan Tollit and Mr Daniel Di Lisio who have each taken on additional responsibility in Mr Lancashire’s and Ms Howard’s absence. We look forward to the return of Ms Howard in a couple of weeks.
P&F at Bunnings
Our P&F is conducting the sausage sizzle on Sunday 26th October at Bunnings in Port Melbourne as a fund raiser. Last year it proved to be an excellent fundraiser, and I know that the P&F would appreciate your support. Thank you to the P&F co-ordinators of this event and those who can volunteer their time to ensure the success of this fundraiser.
School Closure Day
Advance notice that Monday 3rd November is a school closure day ahead of the Melbourne Cup public holiday for all except students scheduled to sit VCE exams on this date. School resumes on Wednesday 5th November. I also offer notice of a Student Free Day on Friday, 21st November for teachers to complete assessment and reporting duties. Thank you for your ongoing support.
