Principal's Message

In 2024 Watch us Soar!

Greeting the students on the first day of school in the yard and watching them embrace each other and reconnect after a long summer holiday was such a pleasure to watch. I heard stories of holiday adventures including trips to Bali, travelling to India and lazy days at home playing cricket in the backyard and playing with friends. 

There has been a genuine buzz of excitement all week and once again it reminded me of what a special place we belong to here at SMDP. 

Our Prep theme this year is ‘Watch us Soar in 2024', and I'm looking forward to observing every student at SMDP reach new heights in their learning. 

Our new preps started last Tuesday full of enthusiasm and excitement. 

To our new prep parents, a very warm welcome, and to all our other parents, it is great to see you back ready for a new year ahead. Our Preps have only been here for a few days and already they are getting into the swing of things. Thanks parents! 

It is very obvious that you have 'talked up' school because beyond a little tear or two, the children are very settled.  They are quickly picking up school routines, they are listening to bells and getting themselves to the right place at the right time and they are finding friends in our playground.  It's early days but the signs are very promising. 

Now it is up to us to continue your work and get the best out of each and every one of them, to allow them to soar. 

SMDP is not just about high academia, it is about creating positive and happy lifetime memories for your child/ren by nurturing social, emotional, and spiritual growth, tailored to each of their needs. We look forward to working in partnership with you in educating your precious children. 

Introducing our 2024 Staff Structures

Once again I would like to introduce our enthusiastic and hardworking staff of 2024.

 Our 2024 Specialist Programs

Other Roles

Our Leadership Team

Exciting News

It is with great pleasure we announce that Caoimhe and Jason are expecting their first child in mid May. This confirms the whispers in the school-yard and carpark! 

We welcome Mhairi Connolly who will be taking over 1/2C in Term 2. Mhairi will join us from Week 6 this term to get to know our students. 

Traffic Management at SMDP

As we continue to grow as a school, students safety continues to be paramount. 

Our school is different from many other schools as so many of our students arrive and leave each day by car. Very few students walk or ride home. 

Therefore, it is vital to follow our traffic management rules, especially at pick up time, to keep our students safe.

Our staff are not employed to be traffic wardens. It is our responsibility, as adults, to follow our safety rules and model good behaviour to our students.

Please take the time to click on the link and watch the video to understand and follow our traffic management system. 

Parents in Partnership (PIP) Group

Our Parents and Friends committee at SMDP is called PIP - Parents in Partnership. The purpose of our PIP is to

• fundraise for our school
• build school community

It is a small group of active parents that work hard to achieve fun and memorable school events. Some of these included our Easter Egg Raffle and our Mother’s and Father’s Day Stall. These meetings are either face to face or online throughout the year.  

The first meeting for 2024 will be held on Wednesday 28th February at 6:30pm in the staffroom. 

I invite any mum, dad, guardian or grandparent who are interested to come along- we are always after some new faces. It will only go for an hour and toddlers and students are welcome if you have no babysitting options.  

Start of Year School BBQ and Picnic

One of the highlights of the year is our welcoming school BBQ and Picnic. This year it is on Thursday 7th March. You can bring your own picnic or there are beef/chicken sausages and veggie burgers available for sale. 

The BBQ and Picnic will start at 5:30pm and finish at 7:00pm.

Come and catch up with old friends or make some new ones. Make sure you bring gold coins to purchase the BBQ food.

Everyone is warmly welcome and we look forward to celebrating the beginning of the school year as a school community.

Dan Ryan

Principal

St Martin de Porres Primary School is committed to creating an environment where the safety, well-being, and participation of all children within our care is paramount. 

IMPORTANT 2024 CHANGE OF END OF DAY TIME

During mid 2023, the new Enterprise Bargaining Agreement (EBA) was introduced into all Catholic Schools in Victoria. 

One of the outcomes was addressing teacher work hours, face to face teaching, and class focus time in the 38 hour week. To make this work at SMDP and manage these time changes we have to change the time our school day finishes. 

In 2024, our students will be dismissed at 3:15pm instead of 3:20pm. 

Our end of day system will be in place. Parents will collect their children at 3:15pm from the yard or our pick up drive through area. Please do not wait for your child outside their classroom as this causes congestion and becomes safety issue.

2024 - School Closure Days

Listed below are our school closure days for 2024. These are student-free days. Staff use these days to develop their learning further and keep informed with current practices and procedures. 

NOTE: These dates may be subject to change that may be outside of our control.