Dear St Anne's Community,

This week is bookended by two Sunday’s where we celebrate and remember two important women in the history of the Church. Last Sunday we celebrated the Feast Day for Australia’s first Saint, Mary Mackillop of the Cross and this Sunday, we celebrate the Feast of the Assumption and the occasion of the Virgin Mary's bodily ascent to heaven at the end of her life.

St Mary Mackillop devoted her life to ensuring that even the poorest of children had access to an education with her first school, St Joseph’s at Penola in South Australia opening in 1866. Many who are not Catholic, but who chose to send their children to Catholic schools, name one of the main reasons for choosing a Catholic school as being how welcoming we are and our sense of community. As humans we are drawn to be in community, to connect to others and to be known by others. When Mary Mackillop started the Sisters of St Joseph, and opened up her first school, she created a community where even the poorest in society felt a sense of belonging.

COVID Update

Please check the most recent email that we sent from Director Ross Fox. We thank you for following the COVID guidelines for our school. We hope our community can remain COVID free so we can keep on working and have children attending school regularly.  We know that remote learning can be done; however, face to face learning works more effectively. In the event of a switch to Remote Learning, Staff and students will use Microsoft Teams as the platform for video conferences. 

School Registration Feedback

At the end of Term 1 we went through the school registration process. Here are some of the comments we received in the official report:

• The panel commends St Anne's Central School for the distinct Catholic ethos evidenced through the hospitality shown to the Registration Panel and embedding of the St Anne's Identity Statement.
• The panel recognises that the leadership team have worked collaboratively to develop and articulate a shared vision of school improvement.
• The staff are to be commended for their generosity of spirit and genuine concern for the welfare of their students and each other. The implementation of weekly, wellbeing case management meetings, ensures students are the focus of all endeavours.
• The panel acknowledges the students for the passion and pride expressed about their school and the genuine warmth of their welcome.

Staffing

This week we farewell Mrs Kristy Wallace and Mrs Georgina Breust. Both teachers will be starting their maternity leave next week. On behalf of the school, I wish both Kristy and Georgina all the best for the exciting times ahead. Secondary students farewelled both teachers at a quick assembly on Wednesday afternoon. I thank Miss Jamieson for organising such a thoughtful assembly and the students for their input into the farewell. Mrs Nikki Taylor and Dr Lynne Vey will be replacing Kristy and Georgina while they are on leave.

We welcomed back Mrs Liz Barrett from her leave last week and I thank Marna Crawford, Kerissa Reardon and Danielle Haigh for filling in while Liz was on leave. 

Handball Courts

Thank you to Mr John Goode for the time and effort that he has put into marking out and spraying the new handball courts. John's attention to detail and workmanship is appreciated and evident around the school.

Feedback

When I enrol new families, I ask for some feedback about why they chose St Anne's. Often, it is because of the positive comments that our parents have made about our school. I thank you for your support. If you know of any families that are still undecided about their child's school for 2022, please encourage them to come in for an obligation free interview and tour. 

Take care,

Grant Haigh