This years production is nearly upon us! The energy and enthusiasm of the students, staff and parents has been extraordinary and as the final touches are made there is a very real sense of anticipation. I am sure that you will wish them all well for the first performance on Wednesday afternoon. I hope you will be able to join myself and the rest of the community on Thursday, Friday or Saturday evening to watch this fantastic production.

The images here capture moments from the dress rehearsal on Sunday 29th January.

Students queued  early this morning to collect tickets for this years school production of ‘Holes’! It is always rewarding to see the full support the community give to the school productions. This year the performances start on  Wednesday 1st February with a matinee performance for Charlton House. Public performances start on Thursday 2nd February and continue until Saturday the 4th. Tickets are available through the school office from 8.30 am. Don’t miss out!

The lighting crew are a very dedicated bunch. For the last two evenings they have worked until 7pm under the close supervision of Dr Kowalewski and Alex Matthews to erect the lighting rigs and stage lights. All of them need to be tested and positioned to ensure they work on the night.

The play rehearsal on Thursday brought together the entire cast, with the sound technicians able for the first time to co-ordinate music and sound effects for the play. With stage and lighting crews now working at full pace the production is beginning to feel more imminent. With only two weeks till the opening night ( Thursday Feb. 2nd) there is a real buzz of excitement and anticipation amongst staff and students.

The Sound  and Lighting crews discuss technical details!

St Mary’s has always had a long tradition of individual wooden desks, both for storage and as a place of work for the students.But sadly many of the current desks are now showing signs of wear and tear and although some have a long and well ‘documented’ history they are no longer fit for purpose. Students continue to favour this style of desk and locker systems have often been rejected in discussion!

Due to the file size and upload limitations to the blog it has been split into 6 sections of approximately 20 MB each.

Madagascar St Marys Section 1

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Excitement builds as Mrs Ingram makes adjustment to the costumes during the first fittings.

Pictured below: back stage crew ( Ansel and Matthew) start to construct the stage extension, while Mr Falvey employs the artistic talents of students to help paint the main back drop.

Please find attahed the minutes of the January Parents Association meeting:

January minutes

St Mary’s College has a long and fascinating history. Mr Tom Olding, former teacher at the College, continues to maintain and add to the College’s extensive archive. The images and documents attached give a fantastic insight into the early years.

The Brothers moved into the College in 1911. The images depict those early days when the Brothers began to extend and take ownership of the White House and the diary translation provides a wonderful description what greeted the novitiates as they arrived from their temporary home in Taunton. The census document for 1911 also highlights the clear origins of the order in France and the purpose with which this site was to be used.

1911 Echo des Missions January Article[1]

1911 Census St Mary’s College