Principal's Message

Over the past two weeks I have been interviewing our new prep families who are very keen to join our school community in 2023.

What a big decision we make when we choose a school to provide the best education and best opportunities for our children. 

Our children are so precious to us and bring so much happiness to our lives. To find the right place for them to continue their formal learning is a task that parents rightly put a lot of thought into these days. 

It wasn’t always so. 

My parents sent me to the closest primary school because I could ride my bike from day one in prep, as mum and dad had to milk the cows at drop off and pick up times. That was the basis of their selection process.

In the past 20 years, we have changed our understanding of the importance of making the right choice for schooling. Parents these days are looking for schools with a particular set of values, beliefs and traditions, as well as access to resources and a vision of what they think their children will need in order to live in an unpredictable world. 

They are looking for a school that will ensure their child not only learns to read, write and count, but can also take their place in the world, confident that they have the skills, knowledge and understandings to be successful on many levels. 

There are many paths to success and they are not all academic. However, parents are looking for a school where they can trust that their child will be getting not only an academic education but an education that will also build resilience, promote the ability to seek learning independently of others and will inspire a child to follow their dreams. 

This is a tough call. How does a parent know that a school can provide an education that offers all these things?

The staff at St Martin de Porres dream big for our students and aim to make their dreams real. 

They want to create an environment where resilience, creativity, academic and social and emotional growth are part of the program. We also dream that our students will develop spiritually. That is what makes us different from government schools. We strive to support the faith growth of all our children by teaching and nurturing their inner spiritual life. Although we are proudly Catholic, we delight in the fact that people of many faiths learn together and we are all the richer for learning about their beliefs and practices.

So, we will welcome all the new families and their children to St Martin de Porres in 2023. 

We will work alongside them in partnership, aware that as parents, they are the first educators of their children. 

I will also continue to promote to the rest of the parent community that you have wisely chosen the best school for your child. As a learning community we need to be proud of our school and celebrate its successes and work through the challenges as we continue to strive for high standards. 

This week we say goodbye to Andrea Wilberger as she begins her new role of Deputy Principal/Learning Diversity Leader at St Monicas in Footscray. 

Andrea has made a significant impact during her time at SMDP. I describe Andrea as a 'master of her trade'. She has modelled to all of us how to work with students who need just a little extra support or care, how to make authentic connections and be an empathic leader. 

We wish Andrea all the success in her new role. St Monica's are lucky to be gaining such an expert and we will miss her. 

We will be advertising her position in the next few weeks to find a high quality applicant to fill the role in 2023. In the interim, the leadership team will share her responsibilities.

Have a great week.

Dan Ryan

Principal

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

2022 School Closure Days

Listed below are our school closure days for 2022. These are student free days. Staff use these days to further develop their learning and keep informed with current practice and procedures. 

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