Frequently Asked Questions

No, we are a Catholic School but we simply ask that all students and families to support the Catholic ethos and values on which our community is built. 

While many of our students are brought up in a traditional Catholic family, many families simply enjoy having their children educated in an environment that strongly encourages the basic family values of kindness, respect and compassion. 

As a Catholic school, we pride ourselves on being inclusive of all cultural, religious and economic backgrounds as well as being supportive of the various family structures and situations within our community.

While education is our primary focus, ensuring the safety of all of our students is definitely our number one priority!

We have a number of procedures in place to try to reduce the risk to our students and to members of our community.

Here are some examples: 

• Police Clearances - It is a legal requirement that all of our staff, including our part-time, contract, relief workers and all support workers have met Australian police clearance levels to enable  them to work in our school. This includes any volunteers, consultants and workers who may come on to our site at a time when children may be present.
• With regards to the use of photographic/video images, at the start of every year, families are asked to complete a Privacy and Copyright Consent Form. We make every effort to ensure that only images featuring children with relevant consents are used for promotional purposes. This also includes our activity on social media.
• Child-safety online is another big area for us to we are constantly looking for ways that we can reinforce the safety messages with our students and their families. You will find a lot of resources on this website but students and parents will also be provided with opportunities to attend workshops or seminars on this subject.
• Each year, we are mindful of the need to keep parents and carers informed about our policies and procedures relating to Child Protection. Procedures from Families SA regarding reporting child abuse and neglect can be found on our website. Anyone can report suspicions of abuse or neglect, and the Children's Protection Act 1993 lists a range of people who are mandated notifiers, recognising the multiple contexts in which children participate and the varying roles of community members in children's lives.
• Bullying/harassment - We have policies in place to ensure that our students, staff and parents feel safe and protected in all dealings with our school. Our policies have been written to ensure that student/parent/staff well-being is protected, to deliver a consistent approach to management and to communicate clear expectations of behaviour on topics such as attendance, uniforms, homework and first aid. All forms of harassment and physical and emotional harm are not tolerated at our school and our expectations and management processes are outlined clearly in our Bullying and Harassment Policy.

We are excited to be able to offer two intakes per year for children starting Reception.

To find out exactly when your child can start at Saint David's, please use our simple Enrolment Calculator or have a read of the Enrolment Policy guidelines below.

The Enrolment Policy for reception students operates within the following parameters:

• The children starting in Reception in Term 3 will have a minimum of 6 terms in Reception.
• The criteria for starting Reception on the first day of school in Term 1 continues to be that the child will attain the age of 5 on or before 30 April in that year.
• The criteria for starting Reception on the first day of school in Term 3 is that the child will have attained the age of 5 on or before 31 October in that year.
• Children whose birthday falls between 1 November and 31 December are not eligible to commence school before the following year.

Yes, we have an excellent transition program called Bright Stars which helps young children cope with the transition from kindergarten to school.  The optional program runs for five weeks and finishes with a compulsory transition day in your child’s new classroom. 

For more information, visit our Bright Stars page.

No, we don't have a kindy or ELC on site at this stage but the good news is that there is one on the Master Plan for the future, although that will be a number of years away still.

We are fortunate to be surrounded by a number of excellent early learning centres and preschools. For the most up to date information and to see the quality ratings (assigned by the government) of local kindergarten and preschools please visit the starting blocks website and explore all their resources.

Your child will have priority access to Gleeson College, St Paul's College and Kildare College (providing enrolment policy conditions are met).

In addition, St Aloysius College, Rostrevor College, Our Lady of the Sacred Heart College, Christian Brothers College (CBC), Nazareth, Loreto College, Saint Ignatius College, Mary MacKillop College and Blackfriars Priory School will also prioritise your enrolment, in compliance with their enrolment criteria.

Since the beginning of 2019, Saint David's School has been offering offer Reception to Year 6 in line with other Catholic primary schools in South Australian and primary schools in other states.

Our school fees are listed on our Fees page, and we are committed to assisting families to access the best Catholic education for their child.

There is always an option for families who have difficulties with fees to speak to the School and apply for remission or School Card. We would encourage you to speak with us if you do need assistance.

All the information you will need about our Uniforms can be found in the About section of our site.

This is a really common question!

STEM stands for Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics. STEM is a really exciting and engaging area of learning because it is so relevant to every part of our lives.

Science can be found everywhere in the world around us. Technology is continuously changing and influencing the way that we live. Engineering is the use of mathematics and science in the design of structures, machines, tools and systems and Mathematics can be found across all aspects of life and all occupations from business and technology to sales and trades. By integrating STEM across our system as a core educational focus we are aiming to create a dynamic, hands-on and engaging learning environment which will ignite a passion in our students and increase employment opportunities in the future.

In 2018, we commenced our STEM program across all classes driven by our Director of STEM Education. Throughout 2019, the STEM program has grown to reach all of our classes and now includes a lunch-time STEM club!