Acting Principal's Message

Welcome back to an action packed Term 3.

Last night we gathered at Queen of Peace Church with some of our Year Six students who celebrated the Sacrament of Confirmation. It was both a reverent and meaningful experience made even more prayerful by the contribution of the St. Martin de Porres school choir and band under the guidance of Jane Padden. 

Well done to Lucas (Religious Education Leader) and Kathryn, Seamus and Louise (Year 5/ 6 class teachers) for their preparation and support of these young people as they grow in faith and in their full membership to the Catholic church. Thank you to the families and sponsors who pledged their support of the students' faith lives.

Prep Enrolments 2023 - Current Families

A final reminder that places are filling fast for Prep classes in 2023.

If any current family has a child eligible to start school in Prep next year and has not yet enrolled, please be aware that you will not be guaranteed a place in a prep class in 2023.

Contact Rexi in the office ASAP if this situation relates to you.

Staffing News

It is with mixed feelings that we will farewell Andrea Wilberger in the middle of this term. Andrea has been our Learning Diversity Leader since 2019 and has made a significant contribution to the processes, inclusion and quality teaching practices for students who have a variety of learning needs. She has always been a proactive advocate for students and their families.

Andrea is acting on her leadership ambitions and is taking on a Deputy Principal/ Wellbeing/Learning Diversity role at St Monica's in Footscray. She will take many skills and experiences of leadership gained and grown here at St. Martin's to her new school.

Although we are very sad to see her go and her expertise, knowledge and loyalty will be very much missed, we are also quietly proud that we have grown another leader for our Catholic school system.

We will farewell Andrea closer to her finish date, Friday August 12th.

We welcome back Jessica Schembri after a year of maternity leave where she has moved from novice mum of twins to expert mum of almost one year olds! 

Jess is teaching Sustainability, as a specialist subject, to all classes on Wednesdays and Thursdays and we are looking forward to again having her expertise and passion grace our classrooms.

Lana (Year 1/2L) shared some exciting news with her class earlier in the week. There were squeals of delight when she told the students that she was having a baby. It is an exciting time for Lana and Peter who are preparing to welcome baby Oreto-Shine into their love and lives early in Term 4.

When the time comes for Lana to go on maternity leave, Andrea Jensen will replace her in Year 1/2L.  Andrea is well known to the students as she has spent a lot of time in classrooms as a replacement teacher this year. We are very lucky to have one expert teacher ready to replace another.

Staff Illness and Absence

Just like you in many of your work places and home lives, we remain challenged to secure and replace staff. We have been very fortunate up until now that our teachers have been flexible and solution focussed, prepared to change and improvise, often at the last minute.

Despite our best efforts and advertising several times and in a variety of ways for a Physical Education teacher to replace David, who moved to another school at the end of Term 1, we have not been successful in employing a second PE teacher to work alongside Phil.

Our creative solution has been to introduce Sustainability as a specialist subject. Sustainability is a prominent part of today’s society. It can act to guide both everyday activities and overall lifestyle choices. Sustainability education is a central way of developing awareness of sustainability practices and implementing its practical applications.

Class teachers will take additional lessons in PE and sport for their own grades. This may involve a change in the day they are required to wear their sports uniform. These changes, if relevant, will be communicated to you via Seesaw.

When staff are absent, we follow a consistent process. It is described here so you are aware of what will happen,  and of our best efforts to manage staff shortages and keep our school open.

We move  through a sequence of solutions. Our first option is to engage a Casual Relief Teacher if one can be sourced. If this is unsuccessful, our SMDP Intervention/Enhancement staff will replace a classroom teacher. The next option for classes from Years 3-6 without a teacher, is for students to be split across other classes throughout the school. If a class from Year Prep/1/2 is without a teacher, school leaders will share the teaching of the class and if a Specialist teacher (Wednesday/Thursday) is absent, leaders will be timetabled if available. If not, class teachers will cover that specialist lesson for their class.

Our goal is always to provide consistent high quality teaching and learning. This may look different depending on the circumstances of a given day. 

School Closure Day

At the end of Term 3, MACS (Melbourne Archdiocese of Catholic School) Executive Leadership Team approved an additional pupil free day for MACS primary schools in Term 3.

An additional school closure day was allocated to all schools in a bid to enable us to fulfil our Award conditions and provide Professional Practice time for teachers. Professional Practice time remains significant to delivering improved educational outcomes and maintaining staff engagement.

We have added this to the day already on the calendar to make two consecutive days. 

Additional school closure day - Thursday August 18th.

Existing school closure day - Friday August 19th. 

The first day, all staff will complete a First Aid course as well as update their knowledge and skill in the management of Asthma and Anaphylaxis. The second day, will involve staff learning more about Visible  Learning.

If your child/ren require care on these days, Quantin Binnah will offer an onsite program if a minimum number of participants is met. Contact them directly to register your interest.

Finally this term we will be preparing for our 50th Birthday celebration. It will be held on Sunday November 6th. Lots of exciting things are planned.

If you have any stories, photos, contacts or artefacts from the early days of St Martin De Porres school, we would love to hear from you. 

Have a great week.

Regards,

Denise Kelly

Acting Principal | Teaching & Learning Leader

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.