Principal's Message
There was much excitement in our household this week with my youngest son, Ned, securing a part time job at our local, small supermarket. He is working three nights a week packing shelves. It has been so good for him to get out of the house and have some social interaction with boys his own age. He also enjoyed his first pay cheque!
One of my learnings through these challenging times is to celebrate the ‘small things’. As our lives slow down the small things in our household keep us connected. UberEats Friday, walking the dog, Saturday family movie night and now the conversations about Ned's new job become the highlights of the week.
As parents during these unprecedented times, I believe one of our greatest challenges is the social and emotional wellbeing of our children. As I keep reminding you, when school life returns to ‘normal’ at SMDP, we will work twice as hard to ensure our students succeed, grow and catch up academically. Therefore, the emotional and social growth of your child should be your first priority during these times of uncertainty.
I do get concerned at the number of children I speak to, who know far too much and have seen far too much in relation to the pandemic. The facts and images are becoming commonplace but I urge you to filter the stories and images that are being presented to your family via the media. I don’t think it is necessary for young children to be exposed to the nightly news at the moment. I strongly believe it is up to adults to learn about the virus and make decisions to keep family members safe, but also to protect children from horrific scenes that are presently happening in either aged care or other countries. Please try and match the right amount of information to the age of your child.
Use this time of remote and flexible learning with your child to enjoy the small things. You are not bound by a classroom or by a timetable. I encourage you to reconnect with your child and get to know them as a learner and as a person. You are in charge at home. You are the boss. If you are having a difficult learning day with your child, watch a movie instead. If you get two solid hours of learning from your child, that can be your day's achievement. When you are experiencing one of those ‘ah ha’ moments when your child finally grasps a new idea, make sure you celebrate. It will be the small things that are remembered when we get through this.
As well as belonging to a specific class at SMDP, students and families are all part of a community enterprise which has at its core, connecting, supporting and building a welcoming and supportive community.
Our next 4 weeks will focus on whole school opportunities. Once again these are not huge events, but small ways to keep our students connected and engaged.
From Monday we are adding the SMDP FunHouse and SMDP Community Centrebuttons to our Remote and Flexible Learning landing page.
In the SMDP FunHouse, we will offer a range of team/house colour competitions for students to enter or participate in, including a virtual 10 day sports carnival, a photo competition, a lego masters competition to name a few. All points scored will go to a student's house colour - red, blue, yellow or green team.
Students will earn house colour points for participation in all the FunHouse activities and Lucas has set up a rolling points tally that will be on the landing page all the time. This will enable students to know how many points their house has and which team is in the lead!
Student's house colours were listed on Seesaw this week. If your child's house colour is missing, please check Seesaw or message their teacher. In the Community Centre we will offer whole school prayer MEETs, craft activities, discos, family trivia competitions and a whole lot more.
Of course everything on offer is optional. Let us celebrate these small things together.
Finally, we have a number of parents in our school community who work tirelessly in hospitals, health care facilities and in aged care. We are so grateful and are in awe of the work you do and we will keep you in our prayers.
Wishing everyone a safe and happy weekend and Ned’s paying for his own UberEats this Friday night!
Warm Regards,
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.
2020 School Closure Days
Listed below are our school closure days for 2020. Please note these are student free days. Staff use these days to further develop their learning.
- Friday 28th August - Visible Learning
- Friday 18th September - Catholic Identity
- Monday 2nd November - Report Writing
These dates may be subject to change due to circumstances outside of our control.