Dear Parents and Carers, 

It has been great to be back this week with the Rosary School Community.  

Thank you to the Rosary Executive Team for their wonderful effort undertaking higher duties whilst I have been on Long Service Leave for my overseas pilgrimage. Thank you to Mr O’Brien for his role as Acting Principal and Mrs Liz Higgins for her role as Acting Assistant Principal.  Thank you also to Mr Chris Evans for his role as Acting Religious Education Coordinator and Mrs Julie Godfrey for her ongoing role as Primary Coordinator.   

It has been a blessing to be able to take part in the pilgrimage but also a great comfort to know that the school has been going well and has been in good hands. 

Thank you all.  

My Return from Pathways of St Paul Pilgrimage 

As you may be aware, recently I was privileged to take part in a ‘Footsteps of St Paul’ Pilgrimage through Greece and Turkey. I was with a group of travellers from Australia, USA and New Zealand. It was a very humbling and uplifting experience as our group stepped back in time to explore/imagine First Century Europe and Asia Minor to learn about the life of St Paul and his evangelising missions.   

 Whilst the places we visited are ancient and mostly in ruins, it was possible through prayer, reflection, education and physically walking through key areas of Greece and Turkey to feel and sense St Paul undertaking his preaching over 2,000 years ago. Saul's personal conversion to follow Christ and become known as Paul is well documented but it struck me how difficult it was for Paul to follow his new vocation and preach about God and try to expand the Christian Church into new places. It was good to learn about the geography, political systems, lifestyles, laws, practices, economics and philosophies of the people in these lands at that time. St Paul faced many challenges but the late Pope Francis called him “a man who was always moving, bustling about.”  He was persistent and never really rested. He had great zeal and determination and was able to have a significant impact on beginning the Christian Church in Western Europe. St Paul and his close followers were prolific writers and documented many letters to the communities in which they visited and preached the word of God. 

 I was able to visit significant religious sites in Athens, Corinth, the spectacular monasteries of Meteora, Thessaloniki, Philippi, Kavala, the Holy Island of Patmos, as well as Ephesus and Istanbul in Turkey. Whilst on some extra leave at the end of the pilgrimage, I also visited Gallipoli, which was an interesting and moving experience.   

 I hope to be able to share more about my wonderful pilgrimage with the community in coming weeks.    

 Congratulations to Students who Received the Sacrament of Eucharist 

Last weekend a number of Rosary students and children in the parish received their First Eucharist, also known as First Communion. This is a very personal sacrament in that the candidates receive Jesus for the first time in the form of the host - Body of Christ (and in some cases the wine - Blood of Christ). 

 I hope this was a very special and moving moment that the candidates will remember for a long time and bring them closer to the unconditional relationship and love Jesus has for each of them and us. 

 Thank you to the parents and family members for supporting and guiding our candidates in their ongoing faith journey. Thank you to Fr Renoir,  Mr Chris Evans, Mrs Karen Green, Mrs Anna Millar, Mrs Emily Meagher and Mrs Janet Hanratty for preparing and supporting the students.         

Upcoming Staff Changes From Term 3

 I would like to inform you of some upcoming staffing changes for Yr 4 Washington.

Our Classroom Support Teacher, Mrs Meg Millband, has extended her leave for the remainder of the 2025 school year. During her absence, Mr Rob Read will continue in the role of Acting Learning Support Teacher. I wish Mr Read good luck in continuing his role.

 Additionally, the current Yr 4 Washington teachers, Mrs Emily Meagher and Mrs Janet Hanratty, will finish teaching the class at the end of this term. I sincerely thank them both for the excellent work they have done with the students and the positive contributions they have made. I am pleased to welcome Mrs Carlie Connochie to our Rosary staff, who will begin teaching the class from the start of Term 3 and continue for the rest of the school year. Mrs  Connochie (mum of Elsie in Kinder Nagoya) is currently working at Daramalan College and I look forward to her taking up this position; she brings a wealth of experience and enthusiasm to this new role and our community.

For Term 3, Miss Nicole Rich will be taking long service leave, and during this period, Miss Emily Meagher and Mrs Janet Hanratty will be teaching Kinder Nagoya. I am grateful to them for stepping into this role and ensuring a smooth transition for the students. I wish Miss Rich all the best for a well earned break.

Rosary Students in ‘Kids in Space’ Challenge ACT Final

All Year 6 students at Rosary School participated in the Kids in Space Challenge in 2025.  This was our second year in the challenge having participated in 2024. 

The Andy Thomas Space Foundation’s Kids in Space, delivered by Makers Empire, is a sponsored space education program for each Australian state and territory that offers industry links and real-world learning opportunities. 

Andy Thomas Space Foundation’s Kids in Space is designed to encourage younger students to engage with the nation’s growing space ecosystem, introduce them to space technology and different jobs within the space industry and spark their interest in a space career. 

Our Year 6 students worked on their Kids in Space projects with Mrs Kath Watson in their STEM classes. After presenting their projects, 4 teams from Rosary made the ACT Schools Final. This was held at the Science Centre at Chisholm High School. 

The students did very well overall, presenting their unique projects and models with great knowledge, understanding and enthusiasm.  We will be congratulating these students who represented Rosary in the final at a morning assembly.  Well done to all of them.    

 Rostrum Speaking Quarter Final

Congratulations to Year 6 student Eve Andonovski on representing Rosary in the quarter finals of the ACT Rostrum Speaking competition. Eve spoke last night at Ainslie Primary School along with the other finalists and she acquitted herself very well. Her speech was excellent and entertaining. Well done Eve.  

 Chess Tournament at St Mary’s Young

This week 25 Rosary students travelled to St Mary’s School in Young NSW to take part in a regional chess competition. The students performed very well in their individual matches and represented Rosary extremely well. St Mary’s Young are one of the regular schools that travel to Canberra to participate in our local ACT competitions so it was great for our students and staff to support this event and travel to this new competition to gain experience in chess. Thank you to Mrs Dawson who organises our school chess club and also went to the day in Young.  Thank you also to Mr Evans who accompanied our school group to Young.      

Indigenous Science Workshops

Thank you to Miss Rachel McKerrow, our Aboriginal Contact Teacher, who organised the indigenous education incursion this week in the school. All students in Kindergarten to Year 6 participated in a session exploring aboriginal culture, art and life through fist hand artifacts, photos, stories and experiences of our guest presenter. 

 I wish everyone a good weekend and a wonderful week ahead.  Next week is Week 10 and I am sure everyone is looking forward to the winter school holiday break. 

 God Bless 

Greg Walker

Principal