Dear Parents and Caregivers

Welcome back to the College for 2024. We hope that you have all had a happy and safe holiday period. It is a delight to have our students back on campus.

As Proprietor, St Mary’s College Wellington Ltd (BoP) owns the College. For those of you that are new to our whānau, the College is, of course, a state integrated school. The Proprietor, as owner, is responsible for the major maintenance and capital development of our College and has responsibility for upholding our Special Character. We are a Catholic and Mercy college.

The Foundress of the Sisters of Mercy, Catherine McAuley, lived in Dublin and founded the Sisters of Mercy in 1831 in response to the critical need for education for the poor, for women, and support for the sick. Today St Mary’s is part of Whānau Mercy Ministries in Aotearoa New Zealand and that whānau includes our four sister colleges in Auckland, Wellington and Christchurch, Mercy Hospice in Auckland, Mercy Hospital in Dunedin, Te Waipuna Puawai in Auckland (a community support agency) and two low-rental housing communities in Upper Hutt and Dunedin. So, the works of Mercy continue in Aotearoa New Zealand today, not identically to the way they did in Dublin of 1831 or even when the Sisters of Mercy came here in 1850. Rather, we work within the needs of our communities and world today; we do what Catherine and her sisters would have done had they been here today.

We are deeply proud of our College and hope that your whānau experience all the opportunities that our broad education offers.

At the end of last year, following on from the many classrooms that we have refurbished in Carlow, the redesign of the major hallways and breakout spaces in McAuley, the new bathrooms and the refurbishment of the administration entrance, the BoP was delighted to be able to refurbish our first science lab. It was a major job and the first time upgrade works have been undertaken on these spaces since the buildings were first opened. The lab was completed after senior students left at the end of 2023. We know our students will benefit greatly from this beautiful and modern space.

The work of the BoP is undertaken by a small board of directors. It is critical that our parent community is heavily represented on our board, as we operate your college in support of your students. Some directors, like myself, are neither parents nor former students but, rather, have some broader connection to Mercy. I was educated in my final years of school at our sister-college, Villa Maria, in Christchurch. But first and foremost the board must have a strong parent representation.

We are currently looking for new directors. In particular, we are looking for directors with good financial, property, legal or broader business skills, but we welcome expressions of interest from any interested parent. The Board meets monthly for two hours. Please contact me to explore your interest. We need your assistance and it is your student who will benefit from our work! To make contact with me, please email via the Principal’s Executive Assistant: ea@stmw.school.nz

We look forward to a successful 2024.

E te Atua Atawhai, God of Mercy,

We ask your blessing on our St Mary’s students, and all those who serve them through their contribution to the college community.

Help them to walk the path of Mercy and become more faithful disciples of your son, Jesus.

May they care for others and for creation in all their actions.

We ask this through Christ our Lord.
Amen.

Catherine Fyfe

Chair

St Mary’s College Wellington Ltd