Tuesday, September 23, 2014




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

What a busy couple of weeks the last two weeks have been, with a major focus being of the Arts. Last week we saw our Kapahaka group put on an excellent performance that had them acknowledged by the audience who replied to their Haka.

This week the focus has shifted to our musical, ‘The Amazing Race". A huge thank you to all of the pupils and teachers who have worked so very hard on it. A special thank you to Mr and Mrs Baines for the above and beyond work that they have put in.

The arts is often an overlooked part of our curriculum and yet it is so important. The major athletes of

ancient Greece are long forgotten but their artwork lives on. Few people remember the sportsmen of the Renaissance but the Artists live on.

A balanced society caters for all aspects of the human being, and we support and I applaud all of those who make lasting contributions to our society.

Singing, drama and dance will all be highlighted in our performance. I am sure that you will enjoy it.

Have a great holiday

—Mike Brosnahan






 

Tuesday, September 16, 2014




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

What a lovely Mass we all enjoyed on Sunday. It was the celebration of the feast of the Exaltation of the Cross, but it was also the celebration of the first Eucharist for a number of our pupils.

I would like to thank Father Michael and Mrs Dillon for all of their hard work. Also thank you to all of the children and their families who supported them during this important occasion.

Father spoke in his homily about how the cross once a symbol of cruelty and death, had now become a symbol of love and peace. A paradox we have in our world is the situation where people who profess to be followers of Christ, Christians, have as a part of their life an aspect that leads to the suffering of others.

The ninth commandment "Thou shalt nor bear false witness against thy neighbour", like all of the other ten is a corner stone of our legal and moral code.

Yet it is one that is broken with impunity. Libel, slander and defamation of character are all crimes that punish people who write or speak untruths about others. Yet gossip magazines thrive.

Remembering the symbol of the cross and its message of hope coming from pain, good coming from evil. We need to model for our children that it is best to only speak good of others.

Pope Francis’s quote that I have put down as a thought for the week best sums it up. Why cause pain when we don’t need to.

Remember the famous quote from Socrates "strong minds discuss ideas, average minds discuss events, weak minds discuss people".

Have a great week

—Mike Brosnahan






First

Wednesday, September 10, 2014




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

Here we are on a nice sunny morning well into week eight of the term already. The weather is very spring like and the first flush of spring growth is upon us.

The next two and a half weeks will be a busy time at St Mary’s.

Next week the Kapa Haka group will be performing at ‘Polyfest’ - this is always a highlight. Having watched the amount of effort that has gone into this performance I know that it will be a success.

In week ten we will be performing our annual musical. This also will be a real highlight. With the ultra busy schedule it is a challenge to balance the myriad of new ideas that is presented to us along side the

important traditional events. The benefit that they have to the over all education of our pupils is the key criteria that we measure all events against. While the basic core skills are important (obviously) the crit-era of values and attitudes that our pupils learn along the way are also very important.

I watched my daughter in a national hockey final over the past week. Her team were 0-2 down with 12 minutes to go. They had achieved their primary goal of qualifying for the top flight tournament for 2015. There was a feeling amongst some of the parents that they had already exceeded their expectations of the week. But the girls especially the nine who played the whole game, never gave in, they never argued or criticized each other, they stayed positive and supportive. They maintained their self belief. They played because they wanted to win not because they feared losing. In the remaining time they scored three unanswered goals and won. Sport or other experiences that teach: self belief, how to maintain

positive relationships, resilience, tenacity and focus, lead to young people achieving a happy and

successful life.

Have a great week

—Mike Brosnahan






 



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

As we countdown to the Parliamentary Elections the issues that people are commenting on or are

promoting become more confused. I think this is a reason why voting rates are so low, many people are simply unsure of who to vote for because everything is so confusing. Last night my wife and I went on a website where you answer a series of question about what policies you see as being important and then when you enter this information it shows the party that would best represent you. The results, to say the least are interesting.

This week on Wednesday and Thursday afternoons we will be holding our final round of school interviews for the year. Please ensure that you make a booking and attend an interview with your child's teacher. To ensure that we get the best results for your children we need to work as a team. To do this communication is vital. Interviews are the best way to do this as they are a two way process, where questions can be asked and answers given.

Car park safety, please read the notice about the schools car park and road safety attached further on. We want all of our pupils to arrive and leave safely from school, and with your help we can achieve this.

Have a great week

—Mike Brosnahan