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,

Week 5 Lent - Sunday 22nd March

This Sunday 22nd March, we celebrate the fifth week of Lent.

We are nearly at the end of Lent and soon we will be celebrating Holy Week and Easter.

This is the time to continue to reflect on how we live our lives

and how we can be better followers of Jesus.

We especially think about how easy it is to judge others

and how slow we are to admit that we are wrong and to forgive them.

Lenten Prayer

Loving and faithful God,

You call us to be understanding and forgiving.

Help us to be welcoming, accepting and friendly to all those we meet.

May we try to walk in another’s footsteps,

be slow to judge others and be quick to offer comfort, support and kindness.

We ask this in Jesus’ name.

Amen.

Harmony Day - Everyone Belongs

Today we gathered to celebrate Harmony Day. It is a time to celebrate the many cultures, languages, traditions, and stories that make our country such a wonderful place to live.

In our school and in our community, people come from many different backgrounds. Some people were born here, and others came from different parts of the world. Each person brings something special to share.

Our 2026 theme is “Culture Connects Us All.” Culture includes the way we live, the food we eat, the stories we tell, the music we enjoy, and the traditions we celebrate. When we share our cultures and listen to one another, we learn, we grow, and we build friendships. This helps everyone feel safe, respected, and included.

As a Catholic community, we believe that all people are made in God’s image and are deeply loved by God. Today we remember our Harmony Day message. Everyone belongs!

Our day started with prayer, where our Year 6 Leaders went around to all classrooms to lead us in prayer. Students were also involved in activites around harmony Day in their classrooms.

Students were invited to dress with a touch of orange for Harmony Day. Orange is chosen as the color for Harmony Day because it relates to open communication, fostering two-way conversations, and encouraging the development of new ideas. By wearing orange, people show their support for cultural diversity and an inclusive Australia, celebrating the various cultures that make up the country.

Year 6 Students Harmony Day Report

Today our school came together to celebrate Harmony Day, and what a wonderful day it was! We were so happy to see everyone united and showing a strong sense of community.In the morning, there was a fantastic turnout as students arrived at school, many riding bikes and scooters, while others walked up the hill. By the time the bell rang, there were around 150 bikes and scooters!

It was great to see such enthusiasm, and we were also lucky to have police officers visit and hand out certificates to recognise students’ efforts. Throughout the day, classrooms were filled with fun and engaging activities that brought everyone together.

Some Year 6 students also visited other classes for morning prayer, sharing messages of love and joy as we celebrated the importance of harmony. One of the highlights was seeing so many students wearing a touch of orange, the colour of Harmony Day.

It was inspiring to see everyone showing kindness, inclusion, and respect for one another.

Thank you to everyone for making Harmony Day such a terrific and memorable experience!

Harmony Day Prayer
Creator God, the God who made us all in His likeness and who wants us to be happy, this day is about recognising, and spreading, joy and love amongst your people.

Help us to see that we can make a change and bring harmony to our world.
This day is about recognising, and spreading, hope and peace through our words and actions as we dialogue with others.

Help us to feel that we are making a change and bringing harmony to our world.
Just as the colours of the rainbow are many and varied and come together as a reminder of your promise and a sign of hope,
so, too, may the many colours of our different cultures, beliefs, thoughts,
and understandings come together to bring about harmony through
respect, inclusion and belonging.

This we ask through Christ our Lord.
Amen

Catholic Education Week

This week we celebrate Catholic Education Week (CEW). This annual event is held to promote the special ethos of Catholic schools and to highlight the great things that take place in Catholic schools every day.

Catholic education strives to make a difference in the lives of those in our schools and in the wider community by challenging young people to live out the message of Jesus and walk the way of the gospel to reach their full potential as compassionate, contributing, life-giving members of society.

Today Mr Torpey, Mrs Rodricks (Mila's mum), Oliver, Anahera, Mila, Patrick, Xavier and Adele travelled in the St Patrick catherdal for the annual St Patrick Day Mass and Concert in the Park. It was a wonderful celebration.

There are 331 Catholic schools in the Archdiocese of Melbourne that educate around 115,000 students and employ more than 16,000 teachers and staff, and most will celebrate Catholic Education Week in some way.

As a Catholic system, we have much to celebrate and be proud of.

Project Compassion

Caritas Australia is an organisation that has been working alongside some of the world’s most vulnerable communities for over 55 years. Through their work, they partner with communities to help them achieve their development goals and build a better future.

The community of St Justin’s can support this important work by donating to the Project Compassion Lenten Appeal. Each class has their own Project Compassion box where students can donate a small amount of money. Students are encouraged to help out at home and, in return, receive a small donation to place in their class box.

Some classes have already been doing an amazing job supporting the appeal.

We still have two weeks remaining to contribute, so let’s keep the donations coming and see how much money the St Justin’s community can raise to support those most in need.

Thank you to our Mini Vinnies Leaders who are eagerly helping Mrs Snell promote this iniative at school.

Important Dates

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

Saturday 21st March - School Working Bee
Thursday 26th March - St Justin's OPEN DAY
Friday 27th March - P&F Hot lunch Day - Sasuage Sizzle
Friday 27th March - Casual Clothes Day - Easter Raffle Donations

Please refer to Dates Ahead for a full list of important dates in Term 1

Open Day

Our Open Day is planned for Thursday 26th March, running from 9am-7:00pm. This is a great opportunity for new families looking for a school for their children for 2027 to come along and see what St Justin's has to offer. We would love some volunteers, parents and students, to help run this day - we require at least two parents all throughout the day to meet and greet and then some volunteer students from 3:30pm - 7:00pm to help with tours.

Please send an email to the office or register via the link below if you can help out: office@sjwheelershill.catholic.edu.au

https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1Cl7o6TK_U7yuKIYVFNEB5Hb8SLcy9bPu/edit?gid=1455325126#gid=1455325126

Parents and Friends

The Parents and Friends (which is all of us) have been busy organising a number of events and activities. As always, some of these events and activities are organised to raise funds, others are simple organise to bring our community together and celebrate friendship, learning, togetherness, connectedness and much more. Some events include:

Working Bee: Saturday 21st March (1:30pm - 4:30pm)
Sasuage Sizzle Hot Lunch - Friday 27th March (orders need to be in by Friday 20th March)
Easter Bonnet Parade: Thursday 2nd April - students are asked to make their own simple bonnets to help celebrate Easter and our creativity. Our Visual Arts Captains presented some examples to student this week.
Hot Cross Bun Morning Tea: Thursday 2nd April (orders in by Monday 30th March)
Easter Egg Raffle: Thursday 2nd April (casual dress day on Friday 27th for Easter Egg donations)
Morning with Mum: Friday 8th May (more details to follow)
Trivia Night: Saturday 30th May (more details to follow)
Kiosk Friday: Every Friday in the Undercover Area

For more information, access the Parents and Friends page in this newsletter.

It certainly is a busy time but as always, it's great to see so much happening. If at any stage you would like to help out, please reach out to the Parents and Friends or come to the meetings. Please remember, all volunteers need to be a registered with the school - once you have your Working With Children Check / VIT, just call the office and make a time to meet with Mr T. Once registerd, please sin in at the office and get a lanyard when volunteering.

Working Bee

Our first official working bee will be held on Saturday 21st March 2026 from 1:30pm-4:30pm. The main objective is to have the school looking spick & span before our Open Day which is on the following Thursday. Jobs include:

New Softfall into the Senior Adventure Playground (it wouldn't be a working bee if we didn't do this job).
Dusting cobwebs.
Tidying the garden beds (especially at the front of the school).
Adding sand to the sandpit.
Staining the timber chairs around the Wheeler Wing.
Paint yellow lines.
Planting plants - including the vegetable garden.
Install a watering system in the hot house - (a plumber would be handy).
Plan for future projects including the installation of a new fence and replacement of front retaining wall and cubby playhouses out front.
If anyone can weld, we have a small welding job to do (small gauge)
And much more.

As always, our working bee will finish with a sausage sizzle and drink. Everyone welcome.

Mr T is happy to conduct Volunteer Interviews on the day - just bring your completed paper work along (Volunteer application forms are available from the office).

Please register your interest via the link in the nforma app notice

Existing Families - Enrolment for 2027 closes today

We are in the process of preparing our enrolments for 2027

Application are now online. If any current school families require an enrolment application for 2027 click on the link below:

https://www.sjwheelershill.catholic.edu.au/enrolments

Click on "Apply Now"

We respectfully request that these applications are completed by midnight today (March 20th 2026) before we offer places to new families.

I can . . .

It's great to see almost ever student now carrying their own bag into the corridor in the morning. By now they should be able to carry their own bag into the classroom and unpack their own bag.

Keep up the great work

Visitor Toilet

There may be times when parents or grandparents need to use the toilet while visiting our school. To ensure the safety of all of our community, we ask that visiting adults use the toilet located near the office - please do not use the student toilets. This can then ensure the safety of everyone.

Sacrament Dates 2026

Please refer to Education in Faith for 2026 Sacrament Dates.

As always, thank you for your ongoing support.

All the best,

Pat

Mr Patrick Torpey

Principal

Wellbeing News