From the Principal

St Justin’s Primary School acknowledges the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples as Australia's First People and Traditional Custodians of the land and waterways on which our school stands.

We pay our respects to the Bunurong people of the Kulin Nation, and their elders past and present, and emerging as we continue to proudly live and learn on their land.

Dear Families and Friends,  

Holy Week

This Sunday is Palm Sunday which commences out Holy Week journey. We come together this week as a school community to celebrate Holy Week. We pray and reflect on the events of Jesus’ last days and his glorious Resurrection. We think about how we can become more faithful followers of Jesus, willing to serve others just as he did. 

Palm Sunday: Matthew 21:6-9

The disciples left and did what Jesus had told them to do. They brought the donkey and its colt and laid some clothes on their backs. Then Jesus got on.

Many people spread clothes in the road, while others put down branches which they had cut from trees.  Some people walked ahead of Jesus and others followed behind. They were all shouting,

“Hooray for the Son of David! bless the one who comes in the name of the Lord.

Hooray for God  in heaven above!”

Holy Thursday - The Last Supper:  

During the Last Supper, Jesus washed the feet of his disciples

to show that we should be of service to others.

We are always being taught to be good to others,

to treat them as we would like to be treated.

Do we try to help or serve as Jesus asked us?

Let us think now of ways we could serve others.

Good Friday 

A reading from John’s Gospel:

• Jesus went out, carrying his cross, and came to “The Place of the Skull”.

• There they crucified him and two other men, one either side of Jesus.

• Pilate wrote a notice and had it put on the cross.

• “Jesus of Nazareth, King of the Jews,” is what he wrote.

• The chief priests said to Pilate, “Do not write “the King of the Jews,” but rather, 

“This man said, I am the King of the Jews”.

• Pilate answered, “What I have written stays written.”

Prayer:

God of love and forgiveness, 

we ask you to be with us as we journey with Jesus during his last hours on earth. 

We join ourselves with Jesus on the Cross. 

We listen in our heart to how we can be with Jesus at this time. 

God, help us now to listen to your word to us. 

We make our prayer through Christ our Lord. Amen.

VACPSP Conference

This week I've had the fortunate opportunity to attend the Victorian Association of Catholic Primary School Principals (VACPSP) Conference in Lorne. With the theme "Think, Engage, Lead with Strength", the conference provided the opportuinty to listen to some inspiring speakers, who humbly shared their stories, in the hope of inspiring others. Speakers included:

• Craig Foster - Former Socceroo, Broadcaster, Adjunct Professor - Sport & Social Responsibility, Author and Human Rights Activist
• Ashley Fell - a Social Researcher, Author, TEDx Speaker and Director of Advisory at the internationally recognised McCrindle.
• Mitch Tambo - Proud Gamilaraay man, Musician, Actor, Presenter, Performer.
• Theresa Ardler - Director of Gweagal Cultural Connections, Indigenous and Spiritual Educator
• Saroo Brierley - Best-selling Author, subject of the Academy Award nominated film, Lion
• Jelena Dokic - Former world number 4, Popular tennis commentator, Best-selling author

All speakers shared their personal stories, many sharing the battles they faced throughout their life. I'm sure many of you will know the story of Saroo (pictured with Mr T) who, as a 5 year old, battled on the streets of Kolkata before being adopted by a Tasmanian couple. 30 years later, Saroo returned to India to be reunited with his Mother and sister. 

Saroo spoke about the fact that our lives are often presented with ups and downs, and the down times are not a time to give up or surrender, but rather a time to explore other avenues, to try new ways, to be hopeful and to have faith. He reminded us that we all have these special gifts and talents: sometimes we need to be challenged before these gifts and talents surface.

Harmony Day

Today we celebrated Harmony Day. The theme for the day was “Everyone Belongs”. Our day started with a whole school assembly, where our Year 6 Leaders introduced Harmony Day and led us in prayer.

Let us pray.

Father in Heaven, you created an amazing world filled with different plants, animals, foods, places and people. How wonderful it is! 

Help us to recognise and celebrate the differences in all people. 

Help us to see that we can learn from others who are different from us. 

Help us to feel that we have something to offer others because we are different from them. 

We ask these prayers in Jesus’ name,

Amen.

Lord, you have told us that you “make all things new” and this includes giving us

opportunities to change our ways to be the best we can possibly be. 

Help us to show compassion towards others by putting ourselves in their shoes, showing kindness in words and actions and treating others with gentleness. 

Lord, hear us. 

ALL: Lord, hear our prayer.

Harmony Day is more than just another special day on our Australian calendar. It is about joy and love, about hope and peace. It is about bringing these things to others, no matter how different they are to us. It is about living in harmony together. 

H is for Happiness, harmony, hearts, helpful, healthy, hope filled.

A is for Agree, adore, affectionate, accomplish, awesome, accepted.

R is for Reassure, rebuild, reconciliation, relationships, respect, reunite.

M is for Marvellous, makers, meaningful, merciful, motivating.

O stands for Objective, obedient, optimistic, oneness, open-hearted, 

observant. 

N stands for Negotiate, neutral, noble, non-violent, notice, 

nourish.

Y is for Yes, yield, yahoo, youthful, yeah, yay! 

 

It was a great day. Thanks to Miss C for coordinating the day - much appreciated.

Kaboom Percussion Incursion

Today the students were fortunate enough to experience the great talent of the Kaboom Percussion Show. 

Their shows are designed – to be accessible, inclusive, inspiring, and most importantly, fun! 

​They featured an array of never-before-seen instruments, specially crafted by us. Students and staff were amazed by their tin can cimbalom, unique angled marimbas, and marching recycled drum kits, and witnessed how even the simplest objects can create extraordinary music.

Throughout the show, they demonstrated multiple aspects of the science of sound production in fun and engaging ways, while showing students how they can recycle and reuse everyday items to craft their own unique musical creations. The students enjoyed this interactive experience, exploring the captivating world of body percussion to creating rhythms and grooves throughout the show.

Chickens

After much deliberation we have decided that our old girls need to retire in a quiet and more free environment.  Mrs Stewart's friend has kindly offered to take our 4 girls who will retire with 30 plus rescue chickens and they will be happily exploring in the quiet back yard of a Koo Wee Rup farm. 

They will be loved, spoiled and free to roam as they please with the other retired chickens who live there.  

We will be getting a new group of chickens in term 2 sometime.

Chess for schools

Congratualtions to the following Chess Champions for Term 1. 

First Place: Best & Fairest - Joseph B

Second Place: Silver Grasshopper Badge - Grace C

Third Place: Bronze Grasshopper Badge - Thomas H

Thank you 

We would like to take this opportunity to thank Johnny Tran (St, Justin's Business Manager) and his family for the generous donation of 6 Chess Sets.  These Chess sets will be put to good use and are very much appreciated.

Enrolments 2025 

We are currently processing Prep enrolments for 2025 . To be considered for first round offers, we are asking all enrolment packs to be completed and returned to school by Tuesday 26th March (end of Term 1). This includes all existing families requiring a place for Prep 2025.

Parking

A reminder to all drivers to please be considerate when parking, ensuring that we park close to the curb and close to driveways, leaving enough room for others to park behind, if possible. We should never park over driveways – not only is it the law, but it is also disrespectful to our neighbours. Safety in and around the school is a responsibility we all share. If parking in the 2 minute zone, please stay with your vehicle – the 2 min zone was never designed for drivers to park and run down to the school. 

Collecting Students during the School Day

We have had many enquiries as to how to arrange collection of students during the course of the day for appointments. Our preference is that appointments are made outside of school hours as every hour out of school is less learning time.  We understand that there are some times where this is not always possible.  Please ensure that you notify your child’s classroom teacher via Audiri or via email to advise them the following:

• Pickup Time (Outside of Recess (11:05am- 11:45am) & Lunchtime (1:20pm – 2:00pm) as it is a challenge to get the students off the playground!
• Advise whether your child will be returning after their appointment or if they will need to take their school bag home with them.

Once you have arrived at school to collect your child/children, it is a legal requirement that you sign them out via the iPad at the office.  You do this by choosing “Sign Out” and then “Student”.

You must then wait for your child who can ONLY be collected from the Administration (Office) area.

Now on Instagram

SJ's Aerobics Team

Use of Photographs

Thanks to all the families who have completed the permission forms to use (or not to use) photos.  As many of our families have requested that photos not be used, especially on Social Media (which includes our newsletter which is published online) it will be very challenging to use group photos in the future.  Our newsletter may look a little different, but I'm sure it will still be a great read.

Please remember that if at any stage you take a group photo of students, it should not be published online unless permission has been granted.

Have a great weekend.

Take care,

Mr Patrick Torpey

Principal