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 back to Term 4! We hope everyone had a wonderful break and is feeling refreshed and ready for an exciting term ahead! 

 Division Athletics Carnival

Congratulations to the 23 St Justin’s students who represented our school at the Division Athletics Carnival on Wednesday. Our students competed with tremendous sportsmanship, determination and stamina, proudly representing St Justin’s throughout the day. They encouraged one another, celebrated each other’s achievements and showed great resilience across their events.

We are especially excited to congratulate the following students who have progressed through to the Regional Finals:

• Willow – Long Jump
• Jackson – Long Jump
• Charlotte – 200m
• Jude – 800m

Important Dates

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

• Monday 12th - Tuesday 13th October  - Year 5 Camp - Peninsula Outdoor Camp
• Wednesday 14th October-  No school for Year 5 students only
• Wednesday 14th October - Fair On The Hill Meeting 7:00pm
• Friday 16th October  - P&F Monster Fun Run (Please send your child with a towel to help cover the colourful powder on the way home)

• Friday 16th October - P&F Justchella Festival and Lunch 

   

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

St Justin’s Art Show

We are very excited to invite our St Justin’s community to our 2026 Art Show, celebrating the creativity, imagination and wonderful work of our students!

Please join us for our Opening Night on Wednesday 21st October, with the official opening and ribbon cutting taking place at 5:00pm. Families can enjoy a sausage sizzle, sweet treats and drinks available to purchase while exploring the amazing artwork created by our students.

If you can’t make it on Wednesday, the Art Show will also be open for families to visit on Thursday 22nd October from 3:30pm–5:00pm.

We will also have something extra special available to purchase this year! St Justin’s Art Show Tea Towels will feature an original piece of artwork from every child in the school, making them a wonderful keepsake of our school community. More information about the tea towels, including pricing, will follow shortly.

We can’t wait to welcome our families and celebrate the incredible creativity of our St Justin’s students. We hope to see you there!

School Pick up

A friendly reminder to all families about our school pick-up procedures. If a parent or nominated person is running late, students are to go directly to the school office if the person collecting them is not there as expected. While we appreciate that other parents may be trying to help, making alternative arrangements without the school’s knowledge can compromise our duty of care and student safety.

Please take a moment to discuss school pick-up procedures with your child and remind them that if their parent or expected collector is not there at pick-up time, they must come straight to the office for assistance.

Thank you for your cooperation and support in keeping all our students safe.

Second Hand Uniform Donations

Do you have any old school uniforms tucked away in the back of your cupboard that you would like to donate? We would greatly appreciate your support!

A donation box is located outside the staffroom. Please see the photos below for its exact location.

With your generous donations, we will be holding a second-hand uniform sale, with all proceeds going towards supporting our school. Donations of smaller sizes are especially welcome to help our new Prep families prepare for the school year ahead.

Thank you in advance for your generosity and support of our school community!

Parents & Friends Team

Grandparents’ Day

Please note that Grandparents’ Day will be held on Thursday, 22nd October, from 9:00 am to 10:00 am. We look forward to welcoming our grandparents and special visitors to celebrate this special occasion with us!

Playgroup returning in Term 4

St Justin's Playgroup provides a great opportunity for pre-schoolers (and their parents) to come together for social interaction and play. The St Justins Playgroup is free and commences at 2:30pm on Thursdays (during the school term). The Downunder Room faces Whalley Drive so to access it you go down the path that runs parallel with Whalley Drive - you can enter via the Parish House Car Park.

Footy Colours Day

 A huge thank you to everyone who supported our Footy Colours Day this year! Together, we raised an incredible $1,729 to support kids and families affected by cancer. Thank you to all the staff who helped make the day such a success and joined in the fun! A massive thank you to Belinda Slonim for organising and putting together all of the activities. The kids absolutely loved them, and your hard work helped make the day extra special!

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). Please refer to the Fair on the Hill page for more details.

Families will have received information packs inviting families to contribute in various ways. The information packs will include:

•  Lucky Jar & Choc toss donation/free dress day
• Cake stall donation details
• Family Sponsorship opportunity
• Invitation to Volunteer (the more the merrier)

As always, we are extremely grateful for the amazing amount of work which has already gone into organising this community every - much appreciated. We would love everyone to get behind our volunteers and support them when and where we can.

Planning for 2027

Planning for 2027 is well underway. If you do not require a place for your child in 2027 (except Year 6), please email the office as soon as possible: office@sjwheelershill.catholic.edu.au

2027 Prep Transition 

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 & Parent School Readiness Session in the PAC)

• Thurs 12th November 2026 - 9:15am - 10:15am - Transition Session 2 

  (Students & Parent Mathematics and Literacy Session)

• 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 (Parents only)

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. 

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. Any student who forgets their hat will be asked to play in an under covered area. 

Transition to Summer Uniform

In case you haven't noticed, the weather in Melbourne can change very quickly. As we have seen this week, we had beautiful weather on the weekend only to have cold, wet, windy weather during the week. During these extreme weather conditions, students may wear the uniform that suits the environment, but we do ask that it please be the school uniform and not a combination of casual clothes worn under summer uniform. The correct school uniform should always be worn to school, unless directed elsewise for special events.

Privacy policy, students and parent updated

Our First Aid Policy has changed.  

The updated documents are available on the St Justin's Website. 

All the best

Patrick Torpey

Principal