Principal's Message

This is the final newsletter for 2018 and I hope that you are finding some peace and quiet amid the rush, to sit with your Advent thoughts. We need to make time for ourselves as we move towards Christmas to think about the real reason why we have this wonderful festival. What is the meaning of the Christmas story? For me, it is a story about generosity and giving.  

As the end of the year gets closer I would like to thank various people and groups for the generosity that they have given throughout 2018. Firstly thank you to our school community. Thank you to all who have supported the school this year. Many of you volunteer your time and energy but all of you support us by sending your children here each day, ready to learn in so many ways. Your support is what makes this a great place to be. Our thanks for every action, big or small, you have all helped to build our community. I would also like to thank you for welcoming me so warmly into your community.

We wish all our wonderful staff a very Happy Christmas and `Good Fortune’ and thank them for their generosity in their roles every day. We say goodbye to Carmela and Seamus, and wish them luck in their new adventures. We also say goodbye to Taryn who has accepted a position at St Oliver Plunkett, Pascoe Vale and Janice who is moving to St Francis of Assisi, Tarneit and thank them for their time at SMDP.

Farewell to all our Gr 6 students and for those who have no siblings following them, we wish their families all the very best for the future and hope you always hold a special place in your hearts for St Martin de Porres. It has been a pleasure to get to know each of them this year.

To the students who are not in Gr 6, but are moving schools, we also send our good wishes.

Finally, a genuine thank you to all our students, as they are the reason we are here. We thank them for making St Martin de Porres a special place and ask God to bless them and keep them safe over these holidays and we look forward to seeing them refreshed and re-energized for the start of 2019.

As our school continues to grow, we will have an extra grade in 2019. This will be one straight Grade 3. The Gr 3 class will work with the Gr 3/4 team. We welcome Lucas Mangani and Anna O’Donovan to our staff as classroom teachers. We also welcome Elise Coghlan who will lead literacy and numeracy and Andrea Wellberger who will be our new Learning Diversity Leader. Alison Hanna will also join our SMDP team and a Learning Support Officer.

Introducing our 2019 Staff Structures

Prep - Aoife Tierney  (PA), Sophie Burke (PS) 

One - Karen O’Driscoll (1K), Lucas Mangani (1L)

Two - Alyssa Faleni-Quedley (2A), Jessica Vella (2J)

Three - Anna O’Donovan (3A)

Three/Four - Margaret Cronin (3/4M), Simon Taylor (3/4S)

Five/Six - Lisa Featherstone (5/6L), Evelina Varju (5/6E)

Our 2019 Specialist Programs

Visual Arts - Jan-Maree Farrugia

Physical Education - Lynette Soto & Jordan Harper

LOTE (Italian) & Performing Arts/Music - Lizy Di Lorenzo  

Reading Recovery &

Levelled Literacy Intervention - Anne Sexton

Numeracy Intervention - Andrea Fernandes

Learning Support Officers - Denise Tutie

                                                   Natalie Debono

                                                   Alison Hannah

Office Staff - Anita Zarkov

                         Debbie Di Genova

                         Rexi Ninan

Next year our leadership positions will be made up of:

Dan Ryan                          Principal

Denise Kelly                     Deputy Principal / Learning &

                                           Teaching Leader

Marg Cronin                    Religious Education Leader

Elise Coghlan                   Literacy & Numeracy Leader

Simon Taylor                   Digital Technology Leader

Andrea Wellberger        Student Diversity Leader

Alyssa Faleni-Quedley   Visible Learning Leader

Fees and Levy 2019

As we move towards the end of this year we are now in a position to inform you of the Fees and Levies for the 2019 school year.

Schools are for educational purposes but the reality is that we are also a not for profit business that has many bills to pay or the services we conduct, contract and use in the process of educating your children.

As you would be aware, and has been explained to new and existing families, our school funding is comprised of Federal, State and Private funding.  The Private component of the funding is the contribution made by families in the form of school fees.  This PRIVATE component  is to make up for the shortfall in funding from Federal and State governments.  Collection of all fees from our Private income source is absolutely essential to the continued operation of the school.  A failure to receive all our private income (fees) hampers us in being able to provide quality schooling.  Therefore all families, regardless of their financial situation are obliged to fulfill their commitment to paying fees.  

Our fees are set to assist families to access quality catholic education, to provide and maintain existing physical and human resources and to provide for future growth.  Even though Catholic Education Melbourne (CEM) advises all schools to increase fees and levies greater than the 3.14% per year - (Consumer Price Index - CPI). In 2019 we have decided to keep our fees and levies the same.  However, we have decided to include a $100 per family Capital Building Fee to contribute to the cost of our current school refurbishment works.

Family Fee (per family regardless of the number of children) $1200.00

The Family fee supports capital loan repayments, business administration costs, building and grounds maintenance and upgrades, power and services costs and additional staffing needs.

Other School charges:

Curriculum Levy per child $  500.00

The Curriculum Levy provides for all student books, stationery, classroom supplies, library books and Specialist supplies - e.g. PE Equipment; IT Software; Apps and Licences - offsite/onsite.

Please note that the cost of Camps and Sacraments applicable to certain grade levels will apply as they are not part of the Curriculum Levy.

Capital Building Fee per family $100.00

Technology Levy per child $  95.00

Parish Contribution per family $250.00

St Martin de Porres Primary School, along with Queen of Peace Altona Meadows, Lumen Christi Point Cook West , Stella Maris Point Cook and St Mary of the Cross Point Cook South, belong to the Parish of Laverton.  The Parish owns the land and facilities including the school and is responsible for all rates, council charges and maintenance of the church and Joseph’s Corner Community Building.

It is an expectation that families who send their children to St Martin de Porres Laverton contribute to the upkeep of the parish facilities provided here on the premises.

Please note that this payment is billed separately and is not included in the school fees.

Payment by Instalment

St Martin de Porres Primary School strongly encourages families to use a payment plan to complete their fee obligations.

Fees can be paid through:

Direct Debit

Credit card/Debit card at school via Eftpos

Cheque

Cash

Details of these methods are attached for 2019.

If the increase places a financial strain on your family, now or in the future, please do not hesitate to contact the school or Fr John Healy to discuss how we can support you to meet your commitments.  We are here to ensure that your child/ren receive a Catholic Education, however, you must help us to help you by contacting the school if you require assistance. A confidential appointment will be made for you.

Have a safe and peaceful Christmas. Once again thank you for your generosity, I hope time with friends and families brings joy and your homes are full of love and laughter. Please note the Christmas Mass times on Community News Page.

Wish you Merry Christmas and Happy New Year 2019.

Dan Ryan

Principal