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

Last week I attended an evening for the ‘locals’ at Otago University. The ‘locals’ is a group formed to give the local (Dunedin/Mosgiel) students the same opportunities as the students who live in one of the

Colleges (Halls of Residence).

One of the leaders of the locals, a group far larger the any of the colleges was an ex St Mary’s pupil.

I was very proud to see Mel Warhurst up front talking to a group of about 100 parents and prospective students, then circulating and ‘working the room’. This highlighted to me what we strive to achieve at St Mary’s—namely to give our pupils the best start possible to ensure that when they finish their secondary schooling they have all of the attributes; academic, social, physical, emotional and spiritual required to ensure that they are able to achieve what they want in life.

Mel is studying for a B.com focusing on human resources and her next step is to complete an internship with the Highlanders.

An American educational researcher Malcolm Gladwell has made the assertion that success breeds

success, nothing new there. But he goes on to say that it is far better to be a big fish in a small pond and enjoy success than to be a small fish in a big pond, even if the big pond is one that everyone thinks is a really good pond. What he talks about is based on research at high school and university level in the United States where students who where the top of small schools did far better in exams and indeed in life than average pupils at a big school.

I have seen this over a number of years, our leaders (big fish in a small pond) go on to do great things in the big pond of high school because they are used to success.

Have a great week

—Mike Brosnahan






 

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

Welcome back to everyone for term four. As you will have noticed there have been some changes during the holidays. The senior block is now the same colour as the rest of the school and it is looking very smart. And Room 3 is now full of pupils. We have had such a rapid growth in the junior part of our school that a new class was required to keep the number in the rooms at a level that was optimum for teaching and learning.

To help with planning for next year, if you know of any enrolments for 2015 please let me know as soon as possible. We already have 17 enrolments for next year which is excellent but it helps with planning to know our projected numbers.

The annual school musical was held in the last week of last term and it was a major success, a number of people told me the best ever. I would like to thank all of the staff and parents who helped out and of course the brilliant pupils. A special thank you to the Baines family for the visual effects which took the show to a new level.

This term is looking to be a very busy one with: athletics, senior swimming, beach education and the end of the year functions (to mention a little of what is going to happen). It is great to see the term starting out with such brilliant weather, hopefully we will have weather like this on our outing days.

Have a great term.

—Mike Brosnahan






School

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






 

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

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






 

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

Last week I was lucky enough to accompany the senior class on their annual camp. This year it was a winter camp with winter alpine activities a major focus.

As always it is a real privilege to watch the development of our pupils over the week attempting and
succeeding at challenges which at first overawed them.

It is the real nature of outdoor education that makes it so important in our pupils overall education. Too much of what young people do now days is done in a virtual or contrived sense. Reality shows are not real they are stage managed to appeal to popular myths and conceptions. There is nothing contrived in tramping or luging or sailing. In skiing if you don’t have the correct technique and skill then you fall and you hit the ground. If you are faced with getting from point A to point B without falling then you problem solve, you improvise, you use what skills and equipment you have to reach the desired outcome.

Technology is a tool albeit a powerful one, but a tool none the less. Tools require a person using them who: knows what he is trying to achieve, how to use the tool and which type of tool is best. Michelangelo didn’t use a screwdriver to carve David, he used the appropriate tools, he obviously had great skill and he knew what he was trying to achieve.

One of the key factors for success in life is resilience; that is getting up when you are knocked down.

People who succeed in any field know that they wont always win. Sometimes you lose or aren’t selected. Some people at this stage quit or move on but winners refocus and re evaluate. Set new goals and move forward. I have mentioned before about my daughter Grace and her success in hockey and she has achieved a lot for someone so young. But the thing I am most proud about are the two major times that things have not gone her way. The two times she wasn’t selected in teams. She put the obvious disappointment behind her said I’m in the development team and I’m going to do the best for that team. She did and proved her doubters wrong. But more importantly she showed resilience and proved to herself that she was able to overcome adversity.

Have a great week

—Mike