Principal's Message

Last Thursday, I had the pleasure to attend the District Swimming Competition with our Year 3 - 6 Swimming Squad. Not only was it a successful day with every student returning to school with a ribbon, it was equally rewarding to watch the students support, encourage, and cheer each other on. 

Our school motto at SMDP is ‘Love and Service for All’. At this sports day, our students displayed this motto through their words and actions. They showed everyone attending that day, the St Martin de Porres way. 

SMDP is not just about high academia. It is about creating positive and happy experiences for all our students. It is developing the whole child by nurturing social, emotional, and spiritual growth. It is providing them opportunities to feel success.

We should be very proud of our swimming squad. A special mention to Freya in Yr 5 for winning Girls District Champion. What an achievement!  

Change of End of Day Dismissal Time 

A reminder that our school day now finishes at 3:15pm. Under the new Education Multi Agreement 2022, staff are only required to supervise students after 15 minutes at the end of the school day finishing time. Rexi is not a qualified teacher and can not be responsible for supervising late students in the office. 

As a consequence, any students who are not picked up after 3:30 must attend Quantin Binnah Afterschool Program. 

Please CLICK for more information. 

Obviously, with the challenge of local traffic and family commitments there are times you may be running late. A phone call to Rexi at the office would be appreciated so that we are aware.

However, any parents who are consistently arriving late after 3:30pm must book their child into QB Aftercare as staff cannot supervise students. These parents will be receiving a letter from me, to inform them of their continued lateness and how to register for QB. 

Thanks for your understanding in this matter.  

Important Traffic Management

Please keep our students safe by watching this important Traffic Management Video presented by Mary and Finlay.

Some Important traffic management reminders:

• No right hand turns in or out of the school.
• School Car Park - Only park in the spaces provided. Do not park in unlined areas. If the car park is full you must park in Pearce or Campbell streets. 
• The staff car park (to the left on entry) is a no parking zone for parents and carers between 8am and 4pm to ensure student safety and effective traffic management. 
• Do not use the car exit and entrances for foot traffic. The pedestrian gates at each end of the carpark is the much safer option to walk your children out. 
• Do not park in the ‘no standing’ areas opposite our school, as this significantly disrupts the flow of traffic. 

Thanks to the parents who follow our traffic management system every day. Just because other parents are not doing the right thing, is not an excuse for you to do the same. You are the role models to your children and to others that we value student safety and value our school. 

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.

God Bless.

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.