Principal's Message

Holy family is a small school with a big heart. Holy Family School has been providing an education for the children of Doveton and surrounding area for 60 years.

There is a famous saying from the theme song of the TV Show 'Cheers', "Where everybody knows your name", which is is what our small school provides. The level of personal service is focused on the students holistic growth. We meet the children where they are at and then focus on their next steps. We want to focus on the students strengths, building their academic and personal and social capabilities.  Everything that we do is based upon rigorous educational research. We use explicit teaching, as well as developing students to take ownership of their learning to maximise growth. 

We are a proud Catholic school. The students will learn about Jesus and how he taught us to live, which is as relevant today as it was over 2000 years ago. We want them to know the love of God, while accepting people from all backgrounds and beliefs. We have children from many faith backgrounds attending the school. This gives the children an opportunity to learn about the experiences and backgrounds of their peers. Our Harmony Day celebrations focus on over 30 different cultures we have represented and makes our school the wonderful place it is. It is not just Harmony Day that celebrates this, with everyday being a celebration of how our differences can actually unite us. 

Students come first at Holy Family. Wellbeing at Holy Family is the foundation on which academic performance is built. When you come into our school you see and feel the welcoming and calm place of learning that it is. We know that for children to participate fully at school they need to feel safe and know that the teachers care about them. Our HEART values (HONESTY, EMPATHY, ACCEPTANCE, RESPECT AND TRUST) guide interactions between everyone in our school community. In the Well Being part of our website you can see how our HEART values flow through our well-being and guide how our children interact with each other and school staff.

Our staff aspire to excellence. They really care and want to see the children succeed. They embrace individual differences and set about trying to achieve the best outcome for all students. They work collegially and share their own talents, to authentically demonstrate we are all learners 

Families are integral to our success. For the children at Holy Family to reach their full potential there needs to be an authentic partnership between families and the school with the child at the centre. We all have a joint responsibility to ensure each child’s learning is optimal. We strive to provide a happy, supportive and secure learning environment, where each child feels safe to try new things, knows that making errors is part of the learning process and believes in the power of yet.

We are a diverse community and everyone is welcome. At Holy Family we have a large number of children whose first language is not English. It is very important for us to be able to give these children the support they need to experience growth and progress while making sure that the child and their family understand the importance of their first language. We have many bilingual children and that is something to be proud of.

I would love the opportunity to take you on a school tour. Please call the school office and arrange a time for a personalised tour. I also welcome the opportunity to speak to any existing parents, because the best results come from a true partnership. 

Paul Sharp (Principal)