Page 2 - St Marys Memory Book

Dear boys and girls,

It's hard to believe that your primary school education has
come to an end. It's a shame that this year was interrupted by
the Covid-19 pandemic and that you could not enjoy the usual
end of year activities in your final year in St. Mary's.

Some of you have been in St. Mary's for the full eight years,
and some more of you have joined along the way. All of you
have contributed to life in St. Mary's in some way through
becoming involved in sports teams, choirs, the Green
Committee, the Students' Council and many other activities. As
Principal, I have the utmost admiration for the way you have
acted together as a unified class, and that the colour of your
skin, your faith, or your cultural background did not matter to
the friendships you formed along the way or the way you
acted as a class.

You have learnt a lot from your parents/guardians and in St. Mary's. Apart from your academic learning
in which many of you excel and where you have all striven to achieve your potential, I believe that you
have learnt the greatest and most important life skills such as honesty and truth, justice and fairness,
tolerance and forgiveness of others, supporting those who are less able or less fortunate, and many
other such skills. These character traits are also the foundation stones of Christianity and Islam, and I
hope that you all continue to practise your faith when you have moved on in life.

You are now entering a new chapter in your life, apart from ending this chapter. Secondary school
presents a wonderful opportunity for you and it is vital that you grasp that opportunity with both hands.
You will have six years in secondary school and those six years will determine the next phase of your life.
Do not let these years slip by, do not say at the age of thirty “if only I had worked harder in secondary
school.” To have regrets like that would be very disappointing.

You are also entering your teenage years. You probably think that you are invulnerable and that nothing
can go wrong. But please be aware of all the temptations that are out there to send you down the wrong
path. Think of life as a straight road until you come to a fork. One fork leads you to a good and happy life,
but the other fork brings you onto a road littered with all the bad things in life. I implore you to take the
correct fork, and please listen to your parents and guardians as they try to point you in the right
direction.

To conclude, I would like to thank all the staff of St. Mary's who have provided you academic, social,
artistic, spiritual and physical education and have helped your parents/guardians to make you the
wonderful people you are today. A special thanks to Mr. Davis for his work with you over the past two
years.

Remember, you are always welcome in St. Mary's and I hope you will always have fond memories
of your years in our school.

Fergus Lyons