Dear St Mary’s College Community,

A Year 12 student asked me what the highlight of my first term at St Marys College has been, and to be honest, there have been so many; seeing the Receptions arriving on their first day of school, the Merit Ceremony, Year 12 and 11 Retreat, Sports Day, Sounds of Music, Principal’s Tour, Formal, Year 7 Camp, Stations of the Cross and the Easter Raffle are just few that come to mind!

This week we welcomed back over 100 old scholars and past staff, a special afternoon of re-connection and shared stories. One story that captured my attention was a graduate of the class of 1963, who grew up at the Goodwood Orphanage and shared her experience of St Mary’s College being her family and the connections she made as a student, which she still has many today. She described her time here as one where she was connected and included, and the opportunities enabled her to grow into an empowered, strong woman. This experience is still very much part of our narrative today at St Mary’s, and in my short time here, I am feeling truly blessed and welcomed into this community by staff, students and the many parents and caregivers I have met. Thank you!

We wish the following staff all the best as they leave St Mary’s College and thank them for their many and varied contributions to our community. Thank you, Robert Napoli, Karen Vonderwall and Rex Parasiers.

Held annually in Term 2, Catholic Education Week is about celebrating the excellent teaching and learning across Catholic Education SA. It is a great opportunity for families to explore the benefits of a Catholic Education.

From 15 to 19 May, Week 3, St Mary's College will be holding the following events in celebrating of Catholic Ed Week:

Tuesday 16 May

• Reception to Year 10 Portraiture Exhibition, 5:30 - 7:30pm

Wednesday 17 May

• Reception Transition Visit
• Senior School Wellbeing Day
• Principal Tour Open Evening, 3:45 - 7:00pm

Friday 19 May

• Come and Try Day,  9:15am - 2:30pm

Hello St Mary’s College Community, 

As the 2023 Sport Coordinators, we want to express our gratitude and appreciation for the countless opportunities, positive memories, and fun experiences we are fortunate to have from our involvement in the St Mary’s College Sports Program.

Commitment to and involvement in College and community sports has given us the drive and motivation to take on these leadership roles. We aim to inspire, encourage and support all students from the College to become active members of the Sports Program. We wish to include others by promoting numerous social, physical, and mental benefits that participation in sports has. Sports participation also allows students to develop collaboration, leadership, personal responsibility, and problem-solving skills.

Throughout our sports experiences, we have had to overcome challenges, regulate our emotions and persist to achieve growth. It has taught us to be resilient and has positively shaped the morals and values we all hold important in our lives. As a leadership team, we have discussed new ideas and plans that we hope to implement into the Sports Program to increase enjoyment, be inclusive, and generate greater involvement from all students. These events include the House Cup, health hustle and year-level activities throughout the year, such as volleyball, netball, run club and other physically active events.

It has been a busy start to the year, with many students participating in various sporting activities. Reception through to Year 12 students have been given opportunities to learn new sports or compete at inter-school carnivals.

The Secondary Athletics squad competed at the SACSSGSA and School Sports SA Carnivals. Our athletes were enthusiastic and encouraging to each other and demonstrated good sportsmanship throughout the competitions. We finished fourth in B Grade at the School Sport SA Championships and third at the SACSSGSA Athletics Carnival. Our Under 16s are to be congratulated for being the overall winner in their age group at the SACSSGSA carnival. All athletes were competitive, whether they were in a running, jumping, or throwing event. This is a wonderful achievement in very tight competitions.

Selected Junior School students recently represented the College at the SACPSSA & North Adelaide District SAPSASA swimming carnivals. In a higher division this year, swimmers fought hard throughout their races and are to be commended on the way they represented St Mary’ s.  Congratulations to Rubie M on selection in the North Adelaide District SAPSASA team to compete at the State Championships on Thursday 4 May.

Secondary students have been competing weekly in various sports, including basketball, tennis, and volleyball, while Junior School students have had the opportunity to participate in the Mini Hoopsters Basketball Clinic.

Our Netball Academy Squads are training two mornings a week to prepare for the upcoming netball season. They have been attending gym/fitness sessions at Ellis Park once a week in conjunction with skills sessions at the College. We wish them well for the season.

Seeing so many students of varying abilities participating in many sporting activities has been fantastic.

Michelle Darby, Coordinator of Sport

On the SEQTA welcome page is the Susan Sullivan Library icon. I tell the students it’s their favourite icon on the page because of all the amazing resources, including online databases, encyclopedias, curated websites and many more!

The library has purchased hundreds of new books for the library and subscribed to two new magazines - Science Illustrated and  Healthy Food Guide, as well as a new digital subscription to NewsBank. All Australian newspapers and many international publications can be accessed anytime from our Library page.

Throughout the term, I have worked with teachers and their classes, instructing students on how to research and locate resources, take notes and create a bibliography.

Some of the exciting activities that have occurred in the library this term include:

• Breakfast Book Club
• Junior School Homework Club
• Two groups have been entered into the Shadow Judging program run by the Children’ s Book Council of Australia
• Classes from Reception to Year 9 visited the library regularly for book talks and story-sharing
• Students and teachers travelling to Cambodia are preparing resources to take with them to share with the Cambodia children
• Writing Competitions

We would like to welcome Mary Kelson to our Library team while Belinda Mitton is on long service leave. Mary’s wealth of educational experience and knowledge of libraries has enabled her to become a valued member of our library team quickly! Alana McGregor’s IT skills and reading breadth have also enriched our library services.

As a team, we are committed to providing quality resources and service to our school community. We are here to ensure our students are engaged and have positive learning experiences.

Eileen McCabe, Coordinator of Information Resources