From the Principal

We acknowledge the Traditional Owners of the land on which our school stands, 

the Wurundjeri people of the Kulin Nation.

Dear Families and Friends,

I hope you are all well.

Third Sunday of Advent

This Sunday is the Third Sunday of Advent. The rose candle will be lit this Sunday, (Gaudete Sunday,) when Father Andrew will also wear rose vestments at Mass. It symbolises a day of rejoicing because the faithful have arrived at the midpoint of Advent and anticipate Christmas.

This Sunday’s Scripture reminds us that God has not held back one thing in His love for us. By becoming one with us in our flesh, God has done everything He can to assure us of His saving love. He has shown us how to live lives of sacrifice, justice and love to transform our world.

In the Gospel, the disciples want to know what they can do to earn God's love. Through prayer, we know we can communicate our needs, confident that God has heard our words and so sent love itself in Jesus Christ.

Welcome New Principal, Vice Principal and Official Bell Ringer

Today we welcomed a New Principal, Vice Principal and Official Bell Ringer for the day. As you might be aware, raffle prizes for the Fair on the Hill included:

• Principal for a Day - Thomas H (Yr 1WM)
• Vice Principal for a Day - Arabella D (Yr 4SD)
• Bell Ringer for the Day - Massimo T (Prep LI)

Not ones to mess around, Tom and Arabella were quick to "take control" and organised a Casual Dress Day, Free Frozen Fruit Stick / Zooper Dooper, Mornng Tea for the Staff, and an Assembly, where they also announced an extra 30 min free play outside. It wasn't all fun and games - Tom and Arabella had to deal with some tricky situations including staff who wanted to negotiate a pay rise and extra holidays and a blocked toilet (luckily they were able to engage someone else to handle this situation). Massimo was a very efficient bell ringer ensuring that all bells were rang on time, and even managed to play some music over the PA during our breaks.

It's nice to know that if we are ever away in the future, the school would be in good hands. (hopefully we'll get our jobs back next week)

From Arabella and Tom:

When we woke up this morning we were very exited about our day. We had to have a think about what to wear. When we arrived at school we got our lanyards then helped Mrs.Herbison and Mr.Torpey with their duties - we were looking after all the children on the playground. We put out some snacks, a card and flowers in the staff room as a little treat for their hard work. Then we went into Mrs Herbison's office and Tom made a card and Arabella wrote some of the newsletter. At recess we had morning tea with the staff; they loved the biscuits and chocolates we got them. We got to make announcements and watched Massimo ring the school bell. After lunch we helped lead assembly and announced to everyone they had 30 minutes extra play and a free icypole. They all cheered! We had a fun day!

Prep Orientation 2023

Yesterday we had our final Prep 2023 Orientation Day. The three hour session provided a wonderful opportunity for our “almost Preppies” to experience the kind, caring nature of Mrs Lucy D’Angelo, Mrs Lisa Braybrook (Year Prep DB), Miss Laura Leung, Mrs Deb Rowlings (Year Prep LR) and Mrs Joelle Lake - Year Prep J. A special thank you to many other members of staff who also helped out with the program – very much appreciated. I’m sure our 2023 Preps will hit the ground running.

Another special thank you to our Year 4 students who helped create such a caring and supportive environment for our new families and students at St Justin’s. I’m sure our Year 4 students will be outstanding buddies for the next 2 years. 

Plans for 2023

As announced last week, plans for 2023 are well and truly underway. In 2023, we will have 15 classes: 

• Year Prep x 3 – located in Rooms 1, 2 and 4
• Year 1 x 2 – located in Rooms 5 and 6
• Year 2 x 2 – located in Rooms 3 and 4
• Year 3 x 2 – located in Rooms 9 and 10
• Year 4 x 2 – located in Rooms 22 and 23
• Year 5 x 2 – located in Rooms 16 and 17
• Year 6 x 2 – located in Rooms 20 and 19 

This structure allows for growth and student movement and provides opportunities for teachers to work in teams. Students and teachers will work closely, sharing spaces and strengths when appropriate. It is important to remember that all teachers have other administration duties alongside their classroom responsibilities, which may require them to be released on an ongoing basis. A great deal of thought and planning also goes into the placement of each teacher. Often a classroom teacher can be considered “The Prep Teacher” or “The Year 5/6 Teacher”. However, this is not the case. Staff at St Justin’s have the training, and more importantly the passion, to teach students at a variety of levels. 

A great deal of thought is also given to the placement of each child – a decision that is not taken lightly. We endeavour to provide each child with the opportunity to be part of a class that will allow him or her the best opportunity to learn. Consideration is given to each child’s social and emotional needs, ability, behaviour, friendship groups, etc. Individual needs and a whole school perspective must be considered. 

However, having said that, with our connecting classrooms accessed via doors or sliding doors, our students are more able to engage and interact with students and teachers from other classes. 

We are a community of learners and we learn for, from and with each other. This includes us all and not just a selection. It is exposure to a variety of personalities and qualities that help us develop as a whole person. In some schools, students are asked to nominate 5 or so ‘friends’ that they would like to be with in the following year. However, some schools have found that this has created a great deal of anxiety for students and it can send the wrong message that “I can only learn if I am with my friends”. Likewise, some schools have asked parents to make any formal requests in writing. Again, this has created a great deal of anxiety with parents, some who feel the need to write something, simply because there has been an invitation. We believe that with our ongoing communication and open door policy, staff are in a position to make an informed decision. Life is sometimes, not about being in the perfect situation, but making the most of the situation we are in. 

With many goals still to be achieved until the end of the school year, we will continue with our plans for 2023.

Staffing for 2023

STAFF 2023

Fr Andrew Madry - Parish Priest      

LEADERSHIP                                                  

Mr Patrick Torpey - Principal                                                                     

Mrs Leanne Snell - Deputy Principal .9 / Religious Education Leader    

Miss Laura Leung - Deputy Principal .1 / Numeracy/Literacy Leader

TEACHING          

Mrs Lucy D’Angelo - Year Prep DB (Mon-Wed)

Mrs Lisa Braybrook - Year Prep DB (Thurs-Fri) 

Miss Laura Leung - Year Prep LR (Mon-Tues and every 2nd Wed), Literacy / Numeracy Leader (Thurs-Fri), DP .1 every 2nd Wed

Mrs Deb Rowlings -Year Prep LR (Thurs-Fri and every 2nd Wed)

Mrs Joelle Lake - Year Prep J

Mrs Samantha Lutgens -Year 1L

Ms Meg McCallum Year -1M 

Miss Belinda Dalach Year - 2 D              

Mrs Angelique Loadman Year - 2 L  

Mrs Deb Wood - Year 3 WM (Mon, Tues, Thurs, Fri)

Mrs Jen McGrath - Year 3 WM  (Wed), STEAM Teacher (Tues) TBC

Miss Genevieve Jones - Year 3J         

Mrs Carmel Pitt - Year 4 PD (Mon, Tues, Wed)

Mrs Rachel De La Haye - Year 4 SD (Thur - Fri)

Mr Nicholas Mosele - Year 4M          

Mr Chris Giosis - Year 5G

Miss Lisa Chiappalone - Year 5 CI (Mon-Wed) Student Wellbeing Leader (Thurs)

Mrs Helen Interligi - Year CI (Thurs-Fri)  

Mrs Belinda Slonim - Year 6B 

Mr Trevor Snelling - Year 6T

 ADMIN

Ms Donna Coelho - Administration (Mon - Fri)

Mrs Belinda Rubino - Administration (Mon, every second Tues, Thurs - Fri) 

Mr Johnny Tran - Business Manager (Thursday)

SPECIALIST

Miss Anne Livera - Learning Diversity Leader (Mon, Tues, Thurs, Fri)

Mrs Louise Skues - Reading Recovery / Literacy Learning Intervention (LLI) (Mon-Thurs)

Mrs Anne Deegan - Sustainability / Kitchen Garden (Tues, Thurs)

Mrs Christy Riddiford - Performing Arts (Tues - Thurs), Choir and Drumming Beats

Mrs Laura Wegmann - STEAM Teacher & Information Resource Centre (Tues - Wed), Digital Technologies (Thurs)

Mr Clinton Johnson - Physical Education and Health (Mon - Fri)

Mrs Silvana Cetrola - LOTE - Italian (Tues - Thurs)

LEARNING SUPPORT

Mrs Carmel Sullivan - Learning Support Officer (Mon, Thurs, Fri)

Mrs Milena De Lillo -Learning Support Officer (Mon - Thurs)

Mrs Mary Cedro - Learning Support Officer (Mon-Thurs)

Mrs Lisa Stewart - Learning Support Officer (Mon - Wed, Fri)

Mrs Sandra Pascuzzi - Learning Support Officer (Tues - Fri)

Mrs Christina Patti - Learning Support Officer (Mon & Fri)

Miss Lisa Phillips - Learning Support Officer (Wed-Thurs)

Miss Michaela Torpey - Learning Support Officer (Mon, Tues, Fri)

SCHOOL SUPPORT

Mr Tony Di Iorio - Maintenance / Gardener

Mrs Gina Cristiano - School Support

Mr Albert Axaiq - School Support - Music

2023  School Fees and Levies

This week a letter went home to all families advising of the school fees for 2023.

Please see below fee schedule.

Semester 2 Student Reports

It was anticipated that Semester 2 student reports would be ready and released TODAY, however we require one more business day to finalise these, so they will be made available to families onMonday 12th December.  Just a reminder, if you have begun to use a new email since June this year, please update the office with your new email address so that you are able to access your child's reports through your new email, via the Nforma website. 

On Monday, you will receive an email from Nforma (please check your SPAM and TRASH folders too!) You can use the same password as you have in the past, or you may wish to change your password. 

FORGOTTEN PASSWORDS:If you have forgotten your password, please follow the 'forgotten password' link. Please note that your new password needs to be at least 7 characters long and must include at least one non alpha-numeric character, e.g. *, - / or similar. If you have requested a password reset and the email does not appear, please look in your junk/spam folder for an email from no-reply@nforma.com.au.

If you still have trouble accessing your child’s report you are encouraged to contact Mrs Annie Herbison in the school office via email on aherbison@sjwheelershill.catholic.edu.au 

Crossing not covered for next week

Due to an ongoing shortage of School Crossing Supervisors, there will be no supervisor available to cover  the following dates & times:

12/12/2022  08:20-09:00 - Grandview Road & Whalley Drive Wheelers Hill

12/12/2022 15:10-15:50 - Grandview Road & Whalley Drive Wheelers Hill

12/12/2022 15:20-16:00  - Corner Jells Road & Grandview Road Wheelers Hill

13/12/2022  08:20-09:00 - Grandview Road & Whalley Drive Wheelers Hill

13/12/2022 15:10-15:50 - Grandview Road & Whalley Drive Wheelers Hill 

13/12/2022 15:20-16:00 - Corner Jells Road & Grandview Road Wheelers Hill

14/12/2022 15:20-16:00 - Corner Jells Road & Grandview Road Wheelers Hill

Beginning 2023 school year

In 2023, staff will officially commence the year on Friday 27th January. As we have organised in the past, the first two "student days" will be set aside for Teacher-Student Meets. These two days will be:

1. MONDAY 30TH JANUARY - 
2. TUESDAY 31ST JANUARY

On one of these days, each student will have an allocated time for a 30-minute one-on-one session with their classroom teacher. This allows classroom teachers to undertake some individual assessments with each student and additionally provides an opportunity for each student to "check in" with his or her teacher before the school year begins. This enables connection to start between the student and their teacher.

Details for booking your student in for a session on one of these two days will be made available through an email to you next week.

Christmas Cheer

Christmas has always been a time of sharing and our children certainly enter into the spirit. It’s not unusual for students at St Justin’s to hand out Christmas cards, not just to their friends, but to all class members. Often attached to the envelopes and/or cards, are candy canes, a simple but effective way of wishing friends a “Merry Christmas”. Unfortunately, many candy canes contain traces of food colouring and/or nuts that many of our children are highly allergic too. Whilst we don’t want to be considered the “Christmas Grouch”, with the safety of all students at our school on our mind, we ask you to consider an alternative “gift”. We ask that Christmas canes be eaten at home.

Time to get ‘Sun Smart’

A reminder that St Justin’s is a 'Sun Smart School' and as a result, throughout October to the end of April, students are required to wear a sun protective school hat that protects the face, neck and ears. Please make sure that your child’s hat is clean, in good condition and clearly labelled. New hats can be purchased from Academy Uniforms. Students will also be encouraged to wear broad-spectrum water resistant sunscreen (SPF 30 or higher) and to be responsible for its reapplication throughout the day. Students are welcome to bring their own sunscreen (not to share) or apply in the mornings before coming to school. As always, students are also encouraged to have a drink bottle.

Getting ready for 2023  OPEROO - Medical Information

We ask that you have all medical forms and Medical Authority forms filled out, up to date and uploaded to Operoo. This is especially needed in cases of emergency. Thank you!

As always, thank you for your ongoing support.

Have a great weekend.

Take care,

Mr Torpey