This is St Martin's

Thank you for making St Martin’s the school of your choice for your child’s primary school Catholic education. Choosing a school that will assist in your primary role of educating your child for life is a serious responsibility. I encourage you to continue the process you have begun in familiarising yourself with our school.

St Martin's has a much deserved reputation for excellence in Catholic education - indoors and outdoors!

St Martin's primary school is an important part of Our Lady of Graces Parish community serving Carina, Carindale and surrounding areas. This is a parish that has been served for all of its 50 year history by the order of Dominican priests and brothers. St Martin's itself was founded in 1954 by the Dominican sisters and despite the fact that there are no Dominican sisters presently working on our staff, we maintain and foster the Dominican values of Catholic education:

Being Dominican is loving to learn.

Being Dominican is being prayerful.

Being Dominican means being fair and just to all.

Being Dominican is being yourself - an individual.

Being Dominican means being a protector of our environment.

Being Dominican is being a veritas or truthful person.

St Martin's is a very busy and alive community in which there are numerous activities designed to achieve what the Dominican spirit encourages us to do. In recent years, St Martin's, like so many other schools in Queensland, has undertaken a comprehensive process of curriculum renewal that will continue in the years to come. Working through nine Key Learning Areas [known as Foundation Learning Areas in the Pre-school], we are endeavouring to work towards educational outcomes that better reflect the needs and aspirations of contemporary Australians.

Every three years, our school community refines our direction by continuing to develop a School Renewal Plan, in line with Brisbane Catholic Education Strategic Renewal Framework. This enables us to work in partnership for excellence in education that will better prepare our children for the future. Over the years we have looked to the future in our planning, with the provision for the arts with a designated Music Centre, adding to the existing Art Centre and Multi Purpose Learning Centre, and a new Technology Centre, giving greater access to technologies that are now becoming an accepted part of life. Also, additions to our buildings and made way for the wider scope of services (e.g. Guidance Counselling & Teacher Preparation Rooms) that modern Catholic primary schools provide.

Part of the challenge facing our school - all schools - is to maintain and develop a sense of strong community involving a partnership with parents. You will find numerous opportunities exist [and continue to be created!] to foster this partnership. Let me single out one of those opportunities - The Parent Participation Plan - more commonly referred to as the PPP. Over the past decade or so we have developed this idea of partnership to include a list as long as your arm of ways for parents and extended families to be involved in the life of the school. Our aim was not only to get assistance for events like fetes and working bees, but more importantly to provide constructive, interesting and fun ways to bring our community together. When you see our impressive grounds, the large number of interest and service groups, the regular stream of parents working daily in the school and the huge interest we have in helping with excursions and camps, you begin to get some idea of how extensive that partnership is.

As new parents we invite you to take the initial step in response to these opportunities, so that you and your family can become part of this very warm welcoming family called St Martin's. You will find that we have a number of ways to promote regular communication. There is our weekly newsletter - The St Martin's Messenger - that comes your way every Thursday. We also have a Diary system where every child has a St Martin's diary which has several purposes, including providing a means for parents to communicate with staff and staff to communicate with you. Then there are Parent Teacher meetings planned early in the school year. You will also receive the Parent Survival Kit, a package containing the dates, events and people you'll need to know to stay informed.

As you read on about St Martin's, let me close by encouraging you to take an active part in the life of St Martin's for you will find, as I have, this is a wonderful community.

God bless you and your families,

Rhonda Thornton

Principal