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 40 years of Catholic Education

Dear Families and Friends,

Advent

Last Sunday we celebrated the first Sunday of Advent, lighting the first candle, the candle of Hope. For many, Advent is a time of waiting for Christmas. But if Advent is a time of pointless waiting for Christmas then we’ve somehow missed the message. Rather than just waiting, Advent is about reminding ourselves that we have a job to do: working together to help create God’s kingdom here on earth. What does this mean for each of us?

This Sunday we will light the second candle to represent the hope of Christ coming to the world. This second candle is the ‘Peace’ candle. Christmas is about celebrating the arrival, the birthday, of the Prince of Peace. The attached prayer of peace has been attributed to St. Frances of Assisi. It’s possibly more relevant now than it was when it was written about 800 years ago. There is so much hatred, injury, doubt, despair, darkness and sadness. That’s where we come in - it’s up to us to be instruments of justice that lead to peace.

Prayer of St. Francis

Lord, make me an instrument of your peace.

Where there is hatred, let me sow love;

Where there is injury, pardon;

Where there is doubt, faith;

Where there is despair, hope;

Where there is darkness, light;

Where there is sadness, joy.

O, Divine Master, grant that I may not so much seek to be consoled as to console;

To be understood as to understand;

To be loved as to love;

For it is in giving that we receive;

It is in pardoning that we are pardoned;

It is in dying that we are born again to eternal life.

Grandparents Day

Thanks to all who were able to support our Grandparents Day today. It was great to see so many here - it did exceeded our expectations. A huge thank you to Mrs Wegmann for coordinating the day, Mrs Stewart for helping organise the activities, Mrs Snell for our beautiful prayer and to all the staff for setting up the activities and creating such a welcoming environment.

Christmas Concert

A huge thank you to Mrs Christy Riddiford, our Performing Arts Teacher, for her amazing organisation and preparing the students so well for our Christmas Concert yesterday. Thank you also Mr Albert Axiaq and the Guitar Ensemble (beautifully supported by Eva C), all our staff and students on a wonderful evening last night. Thanks also to our Arts Leaders, Georgia, Alica and Heidi, who so confidently hosted our wonderful event and the Parents and Friends for the suasage sizzle and drinks - very handy at that time of the evening. A special thank you also to Gerard for assisting us with the sound system. Gerard is one of our parishioners who often sings and plays the guitar at Sunday Masses and helps out with our Fair on the Hill. Gerard didn't hestiate when asked if he could help out with our school event - much appreciated.

St Vincent de Paul Christmas Donations

Our Mini Vinnies Team was involved in assisting the St Vincent de Paul Society in organising donations for their Christmas Appeal. Noel from the SVDP Conference was overwhelmed by the generosity once again by the St Justin's Community. He said our donations has made it possible to help more people in need this Christmas. The items we donated will be used to make up hampers and delivered to many families. Please clink the link to view Noel's letter of appreciation.

It is really rewarding to know we can help make a difference in the lives of others!

Well Done St Justin's Community!

Reminder - Altar Server lunch with Father Andrew

Just a reminder to all students who have assisted Father Andrew with Altar Serving this year to return your permission form by Monday December 9th for a lunch on Thursday 12th December. All forms were given out to students last Friday. Extra forms are available at the office.

Celebration of Community

On Wednesday 11th December we invite all members of the School Advisory Council, Parents and Friends (P&F) and Fair on the Hill committee to come together and celebrate our achievments throughout the year. This will be a great opportunity to hear about the great achievements throughout the year by all parties - please join us in the staffroom.

Beginning 2025 school year

In 2025, staff will officially commence the year on Tuesday 28h January. As we have organised in the past, the first two "student days" will be set aside for Teacher Assessment and Teacher Meets. These two days will be:

Wednesday 29th January 2025
Thursday 30th January 2025

On one of these days, each student will have an allocated time for a 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 in the coming weeks.

Friday 31st January 2025 - First day of school for all Prep to year 6 students!

Planning for 2025

Planning for 2025 is well underway. If you do not require a place for your child in 2025 (except Year 6), please email the office as soon as possible: office@sjwheelershill.catholic.edu.au.

For more information regarding 2025, please follow the link to Plans for 2025.

Getting Ready for 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.

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.

Help care for our chickens!!

We are seeking help from our community to volunteer time during the holiday break to come up to school and help care for our chickens and water the vegetable garden. This requires a minimum of 30 mins and it is also a great way to entertain the kids for free during the holidays. For those of you who have helped before and are available and willing to help out again, please email me with time periods you are free.

For anyone new willing to give it a go but would like more information, please email Lisa Stewart by Thursday 12th December 2024. If you would like to` ` come up multiple days, that would be great.

Please include your email and mobile number so I can add it to the list.

lstewart@sjwheelershill.catholic.edu.au

The dates requiring volunteers include from:

Saturday 21st December through to Monday 27th January 2025.

Please consider offering to help - it is very easy and fun for the kids.

Thank you all in advance.

Pat Torpey, Lisa Stewart and the Sustainability Team.

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.

Have a great weekend and we look forward to seeing you all next week.

All the best,

Pat

Mr Patrick Torpey

Principal