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.

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

Dear Families and Friends,

Welcome to the 2025 school year. I hope that you were able to spend quality time with loved ones over the Christmas break. A special welcome to you all.

Welcome new families

We warmly welcome all new families to our school. The Preps seem to have settled in really well and hopefully feel at home. They have quickly adapted to their new learning spaces and seem to be enjoying the playground.

Beginning Of The Year Mass

Next Friday 7th February we will celebrate our Beginning of School Year Mass in the church at 9.15am. At this Mass, our Year 6 School Captains and Leaders, and Year 3 to 5 SRC Leaders, will be presented with their school badges. Parents are very welcome to attend.

Parent Information Night

Please note the dates for each level's Parent Information Night are in Dates Ahead.

Jubilee 2025 - Pilgrims Of Hope

Pope Francis has decided that 2025 will be a year of Jubilee in the Catholic Church. something which happens every 25 years. A Jubilee Year is celebrated every 25 years as a time to reflect on our faith and focus on our spiritual life. This year, we have been invited by Pope Francis to become ‘Pilgrims of Hope,” - to embark on a journey filled with hope that is felt by us, recognised by others and spreads throughout our world. The theme is “Pilgrims of Hope”, and is a year of hope for a world suffering the impacts of war, the ongoing effects of COVID-19 pandemic, and a climate crisis. We look forward working together in 2025 and embracing the theme of hope for our St Justin's Community.

School Fees and Year 6 Camp Levy

School Fees will be issued to all families within the next fortnight. Please refer to Fees and Levies and Year 6 families please note that the $450 Camp Levy on your fees must be paid prior to your child attending Camp at Portsea.

Student Absences

We take the opportunity to remind all families that student absences should be reported to school by 8:30am by phoning the office prior to school commencing.

The “Mark Student Absent” module in nForma has been disabled. This is being worked on and we will inform you when it has been tested and is operational. Audiri is no longer available to record absentees.

In the interim, Student Absences are to be reported in the following way:

Leave a message via Student Absence on 9561 7644

We appreciate your support with this advice.

Attendance

Daily school attendance is important for all students to succeed in education and to ensure they don't fall behind both socially and developmentally. There is a direct link between school attendance and achievement later in life and students who regularly attend school and complete Year 12 or an equivalent qualification have better health outcomes, better employment outcomes, and higher incomes across their lives. It is important that students develop habits of regular attendance at an early age. Poor patterns in attendance in the early years lead to poor patterns in attendance throughout the school year. It also makes it difficult for students to form positive relationships with their peers.

Students are expected to attend the school in which they are enrolled, during normal school hours every day of each term. On a daily basis, absences tend to be short (less than 1 hour) or for the whole day. It is worth noting that regularly missing out on part of the school day can add up quickly.

How many mornings or afternoons/days/weeks has your child missed this year?

0-6 days: This is within the normal range. A child with this attendance rate is able to take full advantage of the teaching and learning opportunities available to them.
7-10 days: This attendance rate is below average. A child with this attendance rate could miss over 1 year of schooling between Prep and Year 10.
11-20 days: This is a poor attendance rate. A child with this attendance rate could miss out on up to 2 years of schooling between Prep and Year 10.
20+ days: This is a very poor attendance rate. A child with this attendance rate could miss out on up to 2.5 years of schooling between Prep and Year 10.

Families choosing to holiday during term time should plan wisely, as schoolwork will not be provided by class teachers for these periods of absence.

Morning Arrival

Developing independence and responsibility in a child at a young age helps them develop lifelong problem solving strategies for the future. Being independent and responsible for their own things helps them approach challenging situations with greater confidence. Often as a parent, we want to do as much for our children as possible, because it’s too hard for them, we don’t have enough time, we are afraid of what others might think or we are afraid that they might get hurt. However, doing too much for our children can deny them the opportunity to learn valuable problem solving skills and resilience for the future.

Can we please ask that all students carry their own bag to and from school each day? This will assist our students in developing a greater sense of responsibility, ownership and confidence in tackling challenging situations, not only in the classroom, but on the playground as well.

We also ask that students take full responsibility for their own things. In the morning we ask students to enter the classroom, greet their teacher and unpack their bag ready for the commencement of the school day. They are then free to make their way outside to play with their friends.

Drop Off and Pick Up

In the morning, there are at least two teachers on yard duty in the school grounds from 8:40am. If you wish to drop your child off before 8:40 am, please use the Before School Care service provided by MACSEYE- we would hate for your child to arrive at school and no one be here to care for them. Whilst there is usually someone here from 8:00am, it’s important to remember that staff are busy preparing for the day ahead or involved in meetings.

After school, a teacher is on playground duty until 3:45 pm (3:30pm on Monday). After this time students who are yet to be picked up will be taken to the office. We will attempt to ring their parents to make sure everything is ok. If for any reason, you are running late, just give the office a ring and let us know.

Please note that students should not be dropped off or picked up in the staff car park. In the morning and at the end of the day, the car park becomes a busy place with people walking in all directions.

Please ensure you follow all parking restrictions, including the 2 minute parking zones. We also ask that those families entering the school from Whalley Drive, use the pedestrian paths provided, we really want all pedestrians off the roads.

Camps Sports and Excursions Fund

Uniform

A uniform is a powerful symbol that helps connect us together, a symbol that we belong. Wearing the uniform correctly and proudly in any organisation is important. Likewise, our school uniform at St Justin’s is compulsory and all requirements are available from Academy Uniforms. Whilst students have a Summer uniform (Term 1 and 4) and a Winter uniform (Term 2 and 3), Melbourne’s weather doesn’t always fit nicely into the seasons and/or terms - it may be necessary to wear a summer or winter uniform outside of the assigned times. Students also wear a sports uniform on the day that is designated as their classroom sports day.

Summer:

Option 1: blue short sleeve shirt, grey shorts, grey socks, black shoes, school bomber, jacket, school hat

Option 2: school dress, white socks, black shoes, school bomber jacket, school hat

Winter:

Option 1: grey pants, school jumper, bomber jacket, grey socks, blue shirt (long

sleeve or short sleeve), black shoes

Option 2: winter tunic / grey pants, blue shirt (L/S or S/S), school jumper, bomber

jacket, grey socks/grey tights, black shoes

P.E. Uniform

St Justin’s polo, St Justin’s sport shorts / track pants, white sports socks, runners

Optional: Bomber Jacket / School Jumper / Rugby Top

Hair ties are to be in school colours of maroon, light blue or white. All long hair must be tied back. Nail polish is not permitted.

Uniform Shop

Uniforms are supplied by Academy Uniforms located at 2/810-818 Princes Highway, Springvale. Their hours of operation are Tuesday to Thursday 9.00am-5.00pm and Saturday 9.00am-12.00pm.

Parents can visit the store and buy directly from Academy Uniforms or parents can order uniform items online:

Go to www.academyuniforms.com.au
Select ‘order online’
Choose St Justin’s from the drop down list
Enter the password ‘Wheelers Hill’

Uniforms ordered online can be delivered directly to your home which will incur a delivery fee, collected directly from the store, or delivered directly to the school (free of charge) on a Thursday and these uniform items will be sent home using the classroom bucket system.

If at any stage your child can not be in full school uniform, please don’t hesitate to send a note to the classroom teacher.

As always, thank you for your ongoing support.

Sun Smart

A reminder that St Justin’s Primary School is a Sun Smart School and as a result, all students are to wear their school hat that protects the face, neck and ears during breaks or lessons, throughout September to the end of April. Sun screen should also be applied at home before coming to school.

Over exposure to the sun presents a serious health risk. Students must, therefore, be educated regarding healthy UV exposure balance to help with Vitamin D and suitable sun protection, in order to be protected from overexposure to the sun whilst at school.

Students and teachers are encouraged to protect themselves from the harmful effects of the sun through strategies which use a combination of sun protection measures whenever UV Index levels reach 3 and above.

Sun protection should be used whenever UV levels are 3 or higher, especially between the months of mid-August to the end of April. During this time, parents should send appropriate sun screen to school and ensure that their child has a suitable hat.

Please refer to our website for more information.

2025 - Student Information

Once again we ask that all families please consider if you have any new or updated changes in your personal details - phone numbers, address, emergency contact, medications for students etc. Please take the time to update these details on nForma so that we always have the most up to date information for your child. All students also received a Students Information Checklist, can we please as these be completed and returned to the office by the end of the school year. We also ask that you have all Medical forms and Medical Authority forms filled out and up to date . This is especially needed in cases of emergency. Thank you!

As always, thank you for your ongoing support.

All the best,

Pat

Mr Patrick Torpey

Principal