Principal's Report
Dear Parents and Carers
This week, we marked the beginning of the new school year with a special Opening School Liturgy celebrated by Deacon Justin, as Father Michael was unwell. As a Catholic school, gathering for the Eucharist with our wider parish community is deeply significant. It allows us to seek God’s blessings for the year ahead and to express our gratitude for the many blessings we receive, particularly the peace and support of our community.
During the liturgy, we had the privilege of presenting our 2025 student leaders with their badges. We celebrated the achievements of our School and Vice Captains, House Captains, and members of the School Representative Council (SRC). These students will work together in teams to ensure that every student’s voice is heard while balancing the responsibilities and privileges of their leadership roles. Over the next few weeks, they will be honing and developing their leadership skills, setting the stage for a year of growth, collaboration, and service to our school community.
Our current Parents and Friends Association (P & F) has done an outstanding job in gathering the community and raising funds. Just to name a few initiatives they’ve been responsible for: the canteen, Colour Fun Run, Gingerbread House Night, Easter Raffle, Mothers' and Fathers' Day stalls, and supporting our kitchen garden. The P & F plays a vital role in fundraising for facilities and resources for our students, as well as representing and giving a voice to our parents and community in the school.
The AGM for the P & F will be held on Monday, 24th February at 5:30 pm, and we’re asking our parents to step in and help. Many hands make light work, our team is made up of very welcoming and collaborative individuals. Research shows that the more involved you are with your child’s school, the greater the social and academic outcomes for your own child. We look forward to seeing you there!
A few reminders as we start the school year:
Every school day counts, there is a very strong relationship between consistent school attendance and high academic achievement from the very early years of education. Please make sure your child is at school each day, even being regularly late has an impact on learning. Our Attendance Guidelines have changed this year, and as a result, I am unable to give approved leave for family holidays or sporting events during school hours.
Consider these interesting statistics.
Student phones are not permitted at school, if your child requires a phone for contact out of school hours they must bring the phone to the Office for safekeeping and collect it before going home. All smartwatches must be locked during school hours, if the device is active it will be held in the Office for the day, and regarded as a device.
If you wish to contact teachers you can reach them through the following:
- Phone call to the Office
- All emails to the school Office at info@sosmdow.catholic.edu.au
- Please do not contact staff via personal email or messaging
- Please allow 48 hours for a response to emails
Social Media
- Be mindful of the right for privacy for all students, please only post photos of your own child on social media platforms
- Always contact the Office if you have a query, please avoid using social media platforms for school-related matters
Morning/ Afternoon Drop Off and Pick Up
To keep everyone safe, Duty Teachers are on the playground in the mornings at 8.45 am, please ensure your child is dropped off after 8.30 am. Students must remain seated until 8.45 pm when the morning teacher starts duty. If you are just dropping your children off, pull into the area in front of the main gate, this is our Stop and Drop Zone. In this zone you must remain in or next to your car. If you would like to come into the school or the Office please park near the oval on Cork’s Lane. When picking students up in the afternoon please park and enter the school grounds, do not park and call students to cars during the after-school busyness.
Kindergarten will be picked up with our other students at standard school dismissal at 3:20 pm next week.
Walkers and Bike Riders
We are currently investigating the possibility of escorting bike riders and walking students through the carpark to the new development on Cork’s Lane instead of down the busy highway route. We ask parents to complete the following survey to provide feedback on this suggestion.
I look forward to seeing you around our school next week,
Yours in partnership,
Laurinda Nelson
Is your child starting Kindergarten in 2026?We are now taking enrolment applications!