9 March

Dear Parents, Caregivers and Friends of St Mary’s School,
Much has been written recently about the new ‘National Standards’ and the possible implications that these will have on our education system.
It is at times like this that having a strong vision of where we are going and what we want to achieve is very important.
The first word on our school’s vision is confident, we want all pupils on leaving our school to be confident young adults.
Confident in their abilities to meet challenges that life puts before them, confident to speak their minds, confident to move between groups of people in a variety of settings.
It is vital to remember that success or being successful is important but a confident person can accept when things have not gone their way and then reflect and set a new set of goals.
As Rudyard Kipling said in his poem “If”
‘If you can talk with crowds and keep your virtue, or walk with kings - nor lose the common touch, neither foe nor loving friends can hurt you, if all men count with you, but none to much, … you’ll be a man my son, (or woman my daughter).
To be confident means to look the world in the eye to always give your best and to accept all results and then to move on and accept life's next challenge.
Have a great week.
Regards, Mike Brosnahan