About Us

Principal’s Message

WELCOME TO ST MARY’S SCHOOL

I welcome you to our school website and trust you will enjoy viewing our school, its curriculum and facilities.

Our Catholic School offers our families the opportunity to grow in their understanding of themselves and our faith. Being part of a Catholic School enables our children to develop their talents and share their gifts in a faith environment where each and every person is valued and respected.

We are able to offer rich and deep learning experiences that enable our families to work collaboratively within a supportive environment. Together we achieve many great things.

We strive to integrate our environment into our learning so that our students come to know, respect and love the wonders that surround them.

Our staff provide our children with the best possible learning experiences and have high expectations for the children in their learning and in their relationships with one another.

As a Catholic School we place great importance on the welfare of our families and the school community.

I invite you to view our school and I look forward to perhaps one day taking you on a tour of our school.

Mrs Kathryn Stuart
Principal

School Profile

OUR VISION

“At St Mary’s school we encourage an inclusive, learning community that values safety, love and faith.”

St. Mary’s Catholic Primary School, Alexandra, offers the richness of Catholic Education and tradition to the growing child in an environment where its example is the centre of all learning.

We hope that members of our St. Mary’s School Community experience and promote the gospel values of love, empathy, trust, respect, honesty and fairness. Our aim is to develop the whole child spiritually, socially, emotionally, physically and intellectually. Whilst Religious Education lessons are held throughout the week, the person of Jesus and gospel values – fairness, honesty, care and compassion – are promoted and modelled across all aspects of school life.

At St. Mary’s, our principles for learning design are:

learning through meaningful partnerships, encompassing the local and wider communities
learning is ongoing, personalised, innovative and reflective; fiving all stakeholders voice and choice
we value a contemporary learning environment that is rich and engaging, personalised, safe and inclusive
wellbeing is integral to learning and student motivation and success
assessment is pivotal in the journey of learning and is evidence based, driven by data and a strong knowledge of pedagogy to support student outcomes

42HISTORY OF ST. MARY’S CATHOLIC SCHOOL

It was in 1953 that the older part of our present school was completed and blessed by Archbishop Simonds. Sisters Leo, Clement and Bernadette opened the school with an enrolment of 85 children. Eventually, school numbers climbed to 150 from Prep to Form 4. After Form 1 – 4 were discontinued, numbers were steady for awhile until 1981, when the numbers were 69. Since then, there has been a steady increase, with enrolments now between 130 to 160 most years. At the commencement of 2023 our enrolment was 142.

As we develop and grow, our goals remain the same. St. Mary’s Catholic School:

will integrate Christian faith and life
will be a school where everyone is passionate and motivated about learning
will be a school where students feel valued and safe
will work together as an effective team for the benefit of the whole school community
will work together as a community in positive partnership

These goals can only be achieved with the support and encouragement of the whole community – the parents, children, teachers, the Parents’ Auxiliary, the School Advisory Board, the Catholic Church and the community of Alexandra.

Our Team – Staff and Student Leaders

LEADERSHIP TEAM

Principal
Kathryn Stuart

Parish Priest
Fr. Jose

Deputy Principal / NCCD Leader
Christina Irwin

Student Wellbeing Leader
Jo Brewer

Religious Education Leader
Jo Brewer

Juniour Leader
Kim Williams

Seniour Leader
Jo Brewer

Digital Technologies Leader
Shannon Carnes

TEACHING STAFF

Foundation Team
Kim Williams and Kerry Losa

Year 1/2 Team
Shannon Carnes and Georgia Smith

Year 3/4 Team
Cassie O’Connell and Louise Cummins

Year 5/6 Team
Jo Brewer, Molly Dean, Aleesha Kerr and Sally Hill

SPECIALIST TEACHING STAFF

Physical Education
Rebecca Lyttle

Art
Amy Hedger

Music / Choir / School Band
Jack Mithen

Japanese
Anthony Mitrow

Learning Intervention
Kerry Losa

ADMINISTRATION OFFICERS

Administration
Colleen Thorneycroft

Reception
Emily Thorneycroft
Olivia Turner

LEARNING SUPPORT OFFICERS

Jan Halligan
Jenny Simcocks
Anthony Mitrow
Lizzie Butcher
Maggie Rigby
Olivia Turner
Fiona Stephens
Rebecca Cresswell

STUDENT SCHOOL LEADERS

School Captains: Chase and Sienna

House Captains
Tenison – Josh and Eli
Sebastian – Mia
MacKillop – Bella and Charlie

Student Representative Committee: Hamish and April

Enrolments

We encourage prospective families to call and book a guided tour of St Mary’s with one of our staff members. We also offer scheduled school tours for prospective families throughout June – July. Dates will be posted here on our website and advertised in the local paper, the Alexandra Standard. Alternatively, please call the school on 03 5772 1500 for further information regarding tour dates and times.

Enrolment Applications

Enrolment Form

Annual Report and School Policies

Our Annual Report and our school policies are available for our school community to access here. Our policies are regularly reviewed in consultation with staff and the School Advisory Board.