Dear Parents and Carers

I hope you found the Meet the Teacher conferences which were held on Monday and Tuesday evening to be valuable. This is a model which is quite unique to St Matthew’s which provides parents with an opportunity to not only meet their child’s teacher but also provide some background as to the areas of strength and need of their child. The teachers were delighted with the excellent response and look forward to working closely with you.

Parking at St Matthew’s
Our afternoon and morning carparking have become busier in the last week as parents wrestle with the drop off and collection of their child each day.

Can I remind parents that the drop off in the Layby each morning is meant to be a Kiss and Drop zone. If your child requires assistance to leave the car, please park rather than risk the impatience of those in the line who are rushing to meet their morning deadline. Last year at the Kindergarten Orientation Evening I described the zone as a Bathurst Car Race Pit Stop. Whist we certainly don’t want to encourage reckless driving, please be mindful of those behind you.

The arrangements surrounding the afternoon collection of children are also important. Please do not park in the No Stopping Zone towards the lower end of the Junior Playground (see sign below).  Cars parked in this area block Stutchbury Street and place buses, passing cars and oncoming traffic in danger of having a head on collision. As an alternative, park on our basketball courts and collect your child from the gate.

Professional Learning
You might have noticed that our staff carpark was a little fuller on Wednesday morning. Several of our teachers have commenced a Professional Learning course entitled The Writing Revolution. The course, which is presented live from the USA commences at 7.30am!

Despite the time, this is an exciting opportunity for our teachers as we aim to improve the quality of our Teaching of (Story) Writing.

I thank those teachers who have committed to this course and fully understand if they look a little weary this week.

May God bless you and your families.

Graham Pollard

Principal