Term 2 Week 4 - Friday 10th May 2024

Dear families, 

This morning we celebrated all the women connected with St Mary’s who ‘mother’. What a blessing it was to be with so many mothers, step-mothers, grandmothers, aunties and special women who have loved and mothered the children in our community. The students in Jo Price’s Junior Learning Community led us beautifully in prayer and the students reflected on our own experiences of motherhood and Jesus’ relationship with his mother, Mary. 

We know that each mother is, whether she knows it or not, one of the greatest, strongest and most lasting teachers her children will have. Motherhood is a gift and a privilege – the most awesome responsibility a woman can have.

I wish all of those who mother, for mothers gone before us, for those who could never mother and for those who long to mother a very blessed day on Sunday.  

Last week, we celebrated Catholic Education Week, acknowledging 150 years of the Catholic Diocese of Ballarat, with combined school activities at St Patrick’s Primary School, Stawell and Marian College, Ararat. The theme was ‘Be joyful in hope, patient in affliction and faithful in prayer’ (Romans 12:12) The students engaged in a range of activities that promoted relationship building, collaboration and creativity. During Catholic Education Week we recalled the story of Catholic Schooling that has been taking place since 1849 in the region we know as The Diocese of Ballarat. This has been a collaborative project from the very beginning with lay people, clergy and religious orders who have worked tirelessly, establishing what we have today. 

Thanks to Jo Price for her leadership that enabled our students to engage in an enjoyable day in partnership with our neighboring catholic schools.  

Every blessing for the week ahead. 

Roxanne 

State Budget: Catholic school families miss out on blatantly unfair support package

The Allan Labor Government has excluded the vast majority of Catholic school families from the $400 School Savings Bonus announced in today’s State Budget in a move described by Diocese of Ballarat Catholic Education as blatantly unfair.

Executive Director Tom Sexton says it is deeply disappointing that 87% of families across its 63 Catholic schools with 18,500 (1 in 5) students will miss out on the much-needed support, while 100% of government school families will benefit from the program.

‘Our Catholic school families are feeling cost-of-living pressures too, yet only those who are healthcare card holders (around 13%) are eligible for the program.

‘Like government schools, the vast majority of our Catholic school families are in the low and middle-income brackets.

‘They are taxpayers too yet have been excluded from this program.

‘We want to work with government to ensure students across all sectors receive the support they need to get the best education possible, but this policy is blatantly unfair.

‘We believe the payment should apply to all students or should be means-tested for all students. It should not be based on which school you attend,’ Tom Sexton said.

Mr Sexton said there will be thousands of parents across regional Victoria wondering why the State Government is refusing to help them with their cost-of-living pressures, while handing out money to families in Melbourne’s wealthiest suburbs.

‘Our sector will be seeking to meet with the government urgently, to better understand why they are treating families in Catholic schools like second-class citizens,’ he said. 

HAPPY BIRTHDAY
to the following students for this week:

Oscar F & Josh H

TERM 2

WEEK 5
Monday 13th May - Friday 17th May
JLC - Indoor Swimming Program

WEEK 6
Monday 20th May - Friday 24th May
MLC - Indoor Swimming Program

WEEK 7
Monday 27th May - Friday 31st May
SLC - Indoor Swimming Program

WEEK 9
Monday 10th June
King's Birthday

WEEK 11
Friday 28th June
Last Day of Term 2

Term 3 Dates
WEEK 1
Monday 15th July
Students Return

Tuesday 16th July
Student Free Day