Dear Parents, Caregivers and Friends of St Mary’s School,

As you read this hopefully I will be skiing on a beautiful sunny day down the slopes of the Remarkables ski area. Mrs Stevens will be the acting Principal in my absence.

The weather that we have been experiencing recently has been to say the least, variable. Going from mild temperate to frigid arctic.

But they say that variety is the spice of life and certainly in Education this is the case. At primary school we aim to keep the curriculum as broad as possible for as long as possible so that our pupils are given every opportunity to specialize at a later stage knowing that they do so having been exposed to a range of possibilities.

Subjects that foster creatively are the way of the future. We now have devices that can spell and punctuate for us, they can even correct our grammar or suggest different vocabulary but they can’t be creative. They are a tool like a hammer or a fork—a good tool, a smart tool but a tool non the less. People use tools to construct things. People are creative, so we encourage our pupils both at school and extra-murally to become involved in the creative arts. But also in outdoor activities that encourage problem solving in a real setting or situation e.g. should I ski down that slope? What may happen? What most likely will happen? No I’m not an experienced enough skier I’ll stick to the cat track!

Have a great week

—Mike Brosnahan






Haddon