Principal’s Corner

Greetings from the students and staff of St. Mary’s School! We are delighted to be back as we begin an exciting new school year. We trust that all of you had an enjoyable summer blessed by the warmth of the sun and that you took advantage of many wonderful activities with family and friends. The time for routine, schedules, and consistent work habits for our students now begins.

This new year brings with it many new and exciting opportunities. We mark this time of year with a new enthusiasm and positive outlook. This year the Huron Perth Catholic District School Board will be sustaining the “Community of Caring” initiative in all our schools. Faith is at the core of the program and the five values of caring, respect, responsibility, family and trust are integrated into every aspect of school life. Our faith calls us to be Christ-like allowing the Holy Spirit to guide us in our knowledge and love of God and teach us to grow in love for one another. The program promotes social inclusion of all children, encourages civic responsibility and emphasizes the teaching of the core values in all aspects of life. We are blessed to be part of a community that has already taken great steps towards promoting character. North Perth has been “Cultivating Character” for some time now under the leadership of the North Perth Community of Caring Facilitation Team. At St.Mary’s we have extended the theme of community of caring to include being “stewards of our creation” as we plan to be a more eco-conscious school. We have begun by limiting the mass production of newsletters. Instead we offer our newsletters and calendars online. Many of our parent community have welcomed this change. Through the months of September and October we are focusing on being thankful for the gift if life and of each other as we move to the feast of Thanksgiving.

It did not take long to get back into the “swing of things”. Currently, we are establishing routines and assessing our students diagnostically helping to shape our instruction in order to meet the needs of all our students.  Our area of focus for the coming term is writing in particular writing conventions. We are actively preparing for soccer and cross-country events while kicking off our intramural program with foot hockey for our junior and intermediate grades.

 Once again we are blessed for the opportunity to learn and grow together. We look forward to another enjoyable and productive school year!

 

Peacefully,

Dave Cassone, Principal

St.Mary’s School