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.

St Justin's Primary School - Celebrating over 40 years of Catholic Education

Dear Families and Friends,

We thank you for another busy and rewarding term. I wish to thank all staff for their commitment and tireless efforts on behalf of your children. I’d also like to thank all those who do so much to help our community to thrive – very much appreciated. We wish you all an enjoyable and relaxing break with your families. Stay safe!

First Eucharist

We would like to offer our warmest congratulations to the Year 4 students who celebrated their First Eucharist last weekend. This is a very special milestone in your faith journey, and we are so proud of the reverence, joy, and commitment they showed during this important celebration.

Thank you to Mrs Snell for preparing our Year 4 students and the staff who attended the Eucharist Masses. We would also like to thank the families, and parish community who supported the students in preparing for this sacrament.

May this be the beginning of a lifelong relationship with Jesus through the Eucharist.

Congratulations Year 4!

Important Dates

Whilst we have most dates in the calendar, some dates include:

Friday 26th June - P&F Toy Story 5 - Movie Night (Village) 4:30pm
Monday 13th July - Term 3 Commences
Wednesday 15th July - Fair On The Hill Meeting 7:00 – 8:00pm

Please refer to Dates Ahead for more dates. Please note that dates do change from time to time.

Student Wellbeing

Throughout their childhood, children experience a variety of illnesses, bugs and viruses. Whilst it is impossible to protect our children from them all, there are certain things we can do to help:

Make regular checks and take appropriate action for ‘nasties’ – headlice, coughs and colds, worms, etc.
Inform the school if any ‘nasties’ are found
Talk to your child about good hygienic practices.

The holidays can be a good time to check on these things.

Pickleball

Over the past four weeks, our students have been enjoying the exciting game of pickleball, thanks to the generous donation of equipment from the Waverley Little Athletics Club. What started as a brand-new sport for many students has quickly become a popular PE activity.

In the first sessions, students were learning the basics of the game and becoming familiar with the rules. Fast forward a few weeks, and it has been fantastic to hear students confidently calling out things like, “No, that’s the kitchen area!”, “Remember the 2-bounce rule!”, and “You can’t volley off a serve!” Their knowledge, understanding and sportsmanship have grown tremendously.

Students have developed their serving, rallying, volleying and teamwork skills while enjoying friendly competition and plenty of laughs along the way. It has been wonderful to watch their confidence increase as they learned the strategies that make pickleball such a fun and fast-paced game.

To finish the unit, our Year 5/6 students put their skills to the test in a pickleball tournament. The competition was fierce, with students demonstrating impressive rallies, accurate serves and excellent court awareness. After a series of exciting matches, champions were crowned as the Pickleball Court Champions!

A huge thank you to the Waverley Little Athletics Club for their generous donation. The equipment has provided our students with a fantastic opportunity to learn a new sport, stay active and have fun together.

Mobile Phone and Smart Device Policy

St Justin’s Primary School discourages students bringing personal mobile phones to school.

For the purpose of our policy, ‘mobile phone’ refers to mobile phones and any device that may connect to or has a similar functionality to a mobile phone such as smart watches.

It does; however, acknowledge that some students may bring a personal mobile phone to school, particularly if they are travelling independently to and from school.

Policy:

Mobile phones are not permitted for use at St Justin’s Primary School during school hours:

Students who choose to bring personal mobile phones to school must switch them off and hand them to their classroom teacher or store them in their bag, prior to the commencement of the school day.
Exceptions to this policy may be applied if certain conditions are met (see exemptions)
When emergencies occur, parents or carers should reach their child by calling the school’s office.

Exemptions:

Exemptions to this policy may be applied during school hours where certain conditions are met. There are three categories for exemption:

Learning related exemptions;
Health and wellbeing-related exceptions;
Exceptions related to managing risk when students are offsite.

Exemptions may only be granted by the principal, or their nominee upon a formal request from a student’s parent or carer.

Please refer to the Student Mobile Phone usage Policy on our school website for more details.

2027 Prep Enrolments

If you have a child starting Prep in 2027, please be sure to continue to check your emails for updated information and for any outstanding items that may need to be sent to the office.

We are looking forward to seeing all the children and their parents as part of our Prep Transition program throughout Term 4.

Dates for these are as follows:

Thurs 22nd October 2026 - 7:30pm - 9:30pm - Information Evening (Parents only)
Thurs 5th November 2026 - 9:15am – 10:45am - Transition Session 1 (Students)
Thurs 12th November 2026 - 9:15am - 10:15am - Transition Session 2 (Students)
Friday 27th November 2026 - 9:15am-10:15am - Transition Session 3 (Students)
Friday 4th December 2026 - 9:15am-12:00 noon - Prep 2027 Students Orientation
Tuesday 2nd March 2027 - 7:30pm - 8:30pm - Managing Big Feelings Webinar

Chickens

Thanks to all those who have offered to help look after the chickens during the school holidays - your support is greatly appreciated.

Our chickens are very much looking forward to everyone's visits and your love and care.

School Fees

A friendly reminder that MACS Accounts Receivable are following up school fees. We understand that managing school fees can sometimes be challenging, and we are committed to supporting our families with compassion and understanding.

If your account has not been serviced in the past 30 days, and there is no direct debit plan in place a member of the MACS School Fees Team, Natalie, will be in contact with you shortly to discuss your account and assist with suitable payment options. Natalie can also be reached on 03 9267 0436 or via email at ntiu@macs.vic.edu.au should you wish to contact her directly.

If you are currently experiencing financial difficulties, we encourage you to speak with the school principal so that we can work together to find a suitable arrangement.

School Closure Day

Ongoing professional learning is essential for St Justin's to keep abreast of the latest in education. Please note there will be no school for students

Tuesday 28th July - School Closure Day

Please note that these days are not taken lightly - they are essential for us to continue supporting our students at St Justin's.

P&F Thank you

Thanks to the P&F for their support with the Hot Dog Lunch Day on Wednesday. It was a wonderful day! Your help and support is greatly appreciated!

Mum's Night Out

Parents & Friends invite you to a Mum's Night Out

Book via the link below by Friday 17th July:

P&F Mum's Night out Link

Fair on the Hill

Our Fair on the Hill will be held on Saturday 7th November 2026 (the weekend after the Melbourne Cup - lock it in).

Over the holidays, you might like to:

clean out and/or collect any books or toys
keep an eye out for blocks of chocoloates
get ready for the lucky jar donation

We are also on the lookout for acts to perform on stage at our fair. Possibilities might include dancing, calisthenics, martial arts demonstrations or any of the outside groups that our community are part of. We also have a few parents who are keen to present 405 songs, but they need support - if you or anyone you know is interested, please let Mr T know. Solo acts welcome.

For all expressions of interest, please contact Mr Torpey / Fr Andrew

As always, thank you for your ongoing support.

All the best for the school holidays - stay safe.

Pat

Mr Patrick Torpey

Principal

Student Wellbeing News MHiPs- Mental Health in Primary Schools