The 2022 return to school has been a happy one at St Mary’s but we remain cognisant of the threat of the Covid-19 pandemic. Nevertheless, it is our intention to embrace school life this year and enjoy greater liberties.

The core function of a school is learning and teaching, and St Mary’s is a vibrant, rigorous, and supportive learning environment. In this spirit we believe that our co-curricular activities support healthy development and provide a balance to the girls’ daily lives. The impact of a holistic programme has been evident in the happy demeanour of the girls in the past weeks. This is a reminder of the importance of well-being - physical, spiritual, emotional and mental.

It was during the pandemic that well-being was highlighted as being threatened. An important aspect of well-being is balance. The lockdowns of 2020 and 2021 demanded that we become agile and flexible in approach, but these circumstances also allowed us to collapse the boundaries of home and work and school. These boundaries must now be reinstated if we and our children are to thrive. In recent meetings I have stressed the importance to teachers of adhering to routine when interacting on email and messaging platforms with their pupils. Teachers need to spend evenings and weekends with their families and friends in order to be energised in the classroom. I believe the same is true for our pupils.

For these reasons, I request that communication with teachers will, as far as possible, be limited to the period between 06h00 and 18h00 on weekdays. I request that all our families support this approach as we work together to create a healthy and flourishing community.

DEANNE KING
HEAD OF SCHOOL