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,

Ash Wednesday - 5th March

Next Wednesday we celebrate Ash Wednesday. Years 3 to 6 students will attend our

9:15 am Parish Mass and Years 1 and 2 will participate in a liturgy in their classrooms on this day. Due to our Prep students being away Wednesday, they will have their Liturgy for Ash Wednesday on Thursday.

Ash Wednesday marks the beginning of Lent, which lasts for six weeks. We call it Ash Wednesday because many, many Christians around the world receive a cross of ashes on their foreheads. Ashes are a sign of sorrow and repentance and Christians have used this sign for hundreds of years. This cross of ashes tells our friends and neighboursthat we are not perfect, and that we know we are not perfect.

It also reminds us that we are followers of Jesus and that we believe God is always with us. We can be hope-filled people who encourage, inspire and support others by being optimistic and cheerful whilst acknowledging that life is difficult for so many people in our country and in our world. May we shine out our hope for all to see.

At St Justin’s, during Lent, the teachers will refer to the Caritas Australia website. Information from the site will help the children gain a greater insight into how the Catholic Church is living out its Lenten season through the many charitable works that strive to bring about change for those living in unjust and impoverished situations.

Children are also encouraged to give up some of their pocket money or do jobs around the house for a small payment and put it in the Project Compassion boxes in each of the classrooms. Wouldn’t it be a wonderful gesture, if by the end of Lent, we had a healthy amount of money to donate to Caritas Australia? Please encourage your children to be generous and think of others less fortunate than themselves. Part of the nightly prayer before the family meal during Lent could be a quiet moment of reflection on this theme.

Lenten Prayer - Education in Faith page

Swimming Program

By all reports, our swimming program is going really well, mainly as a result of a great venue, amazing support from staff and parent volunteers, and a positive growth mindset from the students. None of this would be possible without the amazing coordination by Mrs Leanne Snell - her attention to detail is amazing.

Whilst we know the students will be tired, we still think the two week intensive program is the best way to go. I'm sure we'll all look forward to the weekend for a short break from swimming.

Parent Classroom Helpers

The Parent Helper’s Information Sessions will be conducted on Thursday 6th March from 9:00am - 9:30am and again from 3:00pm-3:30pm in the Staff Room for parents who are interested in helping in their child’s class. This session must be attended for you to be able to help in the classroom.

After completing this training session, parents will have the opportunity to assist and support student learning in the classroom, as directed by the classroom teacher when needed. Please refer to nforma notices for more details.

Just a reminder that all parent helpers must have a current Working With Children Check, be registered with St Justin’s school and have completed the Volunteer application process.

Please refer to nforma notices for more details.

School Photos – Thursday 13th March, 2025

Please note that our school photos will take place on Wednesday, 13th March. As always, please ensure that students are dressed in full school summer uniform, including school shoes and have well-groomed hair. Order forms were sent home this week and need to be returned to school on or before Wednesday.

Existing Families - Enrolment for 2026

We are in the process of preparing our enrolments for 2026

Application are now online. If any current school families require an enrolment application for 2026 click on the link below:

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

Click on "Apply Now"

We would like these applications completed by March 20th 2025 so we have an idea of our numbers for 2026 before we offer places to new families.

Open Day

Our Open Day is planned for Thursday 20th March, running from 9am-7:00pm. This is a great opportunity for new families looking for a school for their children for 2026 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 throughout the day to meet and greet and then some volunteer students from 3:30pm - 7:00pm to help with tours.

Working Bee on the Hill

Please refer to St Justin's Working Bee on the Hill.

We would love to see as many families as possible.

School Car Parking - School Gate

We continue to have parents using the car park to drop off and pick up students. Over the last few weeks we have had at least two close calls; one involving a child and the other involving two staff members. To drive into the staff / church car park is one thing, to drove up at a careless speed is another. Both are not permitted. Parents should not enter the school grounds unless prior arrangement has been made with the office. In the next few weeks, the gate will be closed from 8:30am - 9:00am and then again from 3:00pm - 3:45pm. Anyone needed to access the school grounds will need to ring the office. In the mean time, Fr Andrew and Mr torpey are exploring other ways to help keep our community safe. Thank you to all those who do cooporate and make choices, not necessarily the easiest choice, to keep our community safe.

School Saving Bonus

School Savings Bonus (SSB)

For non-Government Schools, the SSB is a $400 bonus for students receiving the means- tested Camps, Sports and Excursions Fund (CSEF) payment.

Eligibility for the CSEF payment is based on a PARENT of the child/children attending St Justin's having a current and valid Australian Services Health Care Card (HCC). We are required to sight and then check this via a specific Dept of Education portal which confirms whether the card is valid at the time of application for CSEF.

Unfortunately a HCC in your child's name is not accepted by the Portal as your child is not responsible for the payment of their fees, it is a parent responsibility.

SSB CAN ONLY be applied to the following:

Camps
Excursions
Outdoor Education Programs
Graduations
School uniforms (paid invoice to be provided to the school for reimbursement against fees and we advise that the uniform must have been purchased from Academy Uniforms)
Textbooks

SSB CANNOT be applied to curriculum or other tuition charges such as stationery, sacraments, social activities, classroom and homework materials.

Camps Sports and Excursions Fund

As always, thank you for your ongoing support.

All the best,

Pat

Mr Patrick Torpey

Principal