Dear St Mary’s College

As parents/caregivers and educators, we want all young people in our care to feel happy, safe, loved and supported. A child safe environment means every child and young person feels safe physically, mentally, emotionally, spiritually, and intellectually. 

The National Catholic Safeguarding Standards provide all Catholic schools, parishes, and organisations with well-defined standards to ensure the safety of all children and adults at risk. 

At St Mary's College, we have implemented a range of policies and practices so all staff and volunteers, as well as guest presenters, have at the forefront of their minds providing a child-safe environment. Part of our practice includes referee checks, a formal induction process (involving Protective Practices, Workplace Health & Safety requirements, and an awareness of our Child Safety Code of Conduct), undertaking training in responding to abuse and neglect, and ensuring all personnel have carried out a Working With Children Check (WWCC). 

Coupled with this is the educative work we undertake with students. This is carried out through several different avenues, including the delivery of the Keeping Them Safe: Child Protection Curriculum; our social and emotional education program taught through WRAP on Wednesday afternoons; the wrap-around support we provide to students who are facing difficulties; as well as the restorative work we undertake with students through our Grievance and Building Respectful Relationships Policies. 

The College has also established a Safeguarding Committee, involving parents and staff, which meets once per term to reflect on the different ways we can continue to provide a child-safe environment. If you are interested in joining this committee, please contact me directly at school on lorna.starrs@stmarys.sa.edu.au 

A copy of the Child Safety Code of Conduct can be found at the following link  Child Safety Code of Conduct which is on the SEQTA parent portal.  

Book Week is fast approaching, and we have planned many activities to explore the theme, “Dreaming With Eyes Open”. 

Darug woman Jasmin Seymour won the CBCA New Illustrator award in 2020 and has designed the artwork for this year’s theme.  As Jasmin suggests, “The theme is about ... stepping into your own story, listening to country as the first storyteller, and learning from friends as they help you on your way.” 

There are several beautiful First Nations people’s stories and books short-listed this year. Please see the link to see the complete list. 

https://cbca.org.au/shortlist-2022 

The Children’s Book Council of Australia has introduced a Shadow Judging opportunity to encourage young people to connect with literature. Our school was successful in receiving a grant to take part in this program for 2022. We have entered two groups to judge the Younger and Older Reader categories. 

Last Monday, our judges had a visit from children’s author, Phil Cummings who shared with them the processes involved in writing a successful book and what to look for when they are judging a book. 

On Monday 8 August, Jane Godwin came to see the students from Reception to Year 8 to talk about her beautiful books. Jane inspired the students to write suggesting they draw upon; Experience, Observation and Imagination. 

This is most evident in her own work! 

There will be a whole school dress-up day on Tuesday 23 August.  All students and staff and welcome to come dressed as a book character for the day. 

If you have any queries about Book Week, please feel free to contact me. Eileen.mccabe@stmarys.sa.edu.au 

Thank you, 

Eileen McCabe 

We believe our students can go a long way with a St Mary’s education. In the case of old scholar, Madison, this has very literally been the case. Madison’s post school ventures have taken her all the way to Todmorden Station, 82 km north west of Oodnadatta. Todmorden is a pastoral lease that operates as a cattle station in remote South Australia. 

After graduating in 2021, Madison knew she was not ready to continue with study at university, but exactly what life post-school would bring was feeling very uncertain. In a quite extraordinary string of chance conversations and encounters, her dad was present when someone asked, “Does anyone know someone who might be interested in being a remote governess?” He immediately sensed that he knew just the person, and Madison found herself saying yes to the opportunity to be a governess on a cattle station a very long way from anywhere familiar. The process involved three interviews with the station owners and the family, to gauge her suitability for the role and her capacity to cope with isolation. On January 20 this year, she left Adelaide for her new home. Madison supports the care and learning of two children aged 6 ad 9. She has loved building a relationship with the children and the family. There is a strong feeling of mutual support. Living in such remote circumstances leads to close knit connections because it is a long way from other people, and even internet contact is limited.