St Justin’s Primary School Newsletter

From the Principal

Mr Torpey

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,

Fair on the Hill

Our Annual St Justin's Fair on the Hill is fast approaching with an amazing amount of work already done. Remember it is being held on Saturday 9th November 2024 from 11:00am-4:00pm. 

 

We now call on all parents to help with our Fair on the Hill - an hour or two can make a big difference. Please visit the link below to see where you can help. 

 

Follow this link for more information about the Fair on the Hill. 

Visit this line to sign up https://signup.com/go/qgWZHsz 

St Justin's 40th Anniversary Celebrations

Last Sunday 27th October we celebrated our 40th Anniversary. Our celebrations started with our 10:00 am Mass, with Bishop Terry Curtin here to help. We then made our way to the PAC for devenoshire tea before touring the school, which incorporated a magnificent photo display capturing the 40 year history of St Justin's.

 

It was also nice to have Bishop Terry with us. Bishop Terry also took the opportunity to bless a memorial plaque for his good friend, Fr Michael Wheeler. Bishop Terry and Fr Mick were roommates in the seminary. Fr Mick was Parish Preist here for 30 years before retiring in 2015. In time, Fr Mick's plaque will be displayed in a rose garden outside the 

St Justin’s Church.   

 

A huge thank you to all those involved, especailly Mrs Cedro and staff for the magnificent photo display. For anyone who is interested, the photos are on display in the corridors just past the foye

Camino de Santiago

A number of weeks ago I returned from a pilgrimage, walking the Camino Frances in the north of Spain. With 22 other Catholic Principals (and many other pilgrims from all over the world), we walked the 117.3 km Camino from Sarria to Santiago. Please follow the link for a full report.

Welcome Prep 2025

Tuesday night we held our first Prep Information session for parents of Preps, 2025. It was lovely to see so many new faces as well as many existing parents, and also lovely to see them begin to connect with parents with whom they will go through school for the next seven years. 

 

The 2025 Prep students had their first transition session today. We believe that the Prep Transition sessions provide a wonderful opportunity for the children to become more familiar with the school, its resources and staff. 

 

The Prep Orientation Sessions will provide an opportunity for the children to meet their classroom teacher and to experience the classroom environment and school facilities.  There will be tea/coffee provided for all new Prep parents in the Performing Arts Centre at each session.  

We would love to see you all there!    

  • Friday 15th November: Prep Transition Session 2 (9:15am – 10:15am)
  • Thursday 21st November: Prep Transition 3 (9:15am – 10:15am)
  • Friday 29th November: Prep 2025 Orientation morning (9:15am – 12:00pm)   

Auburn South Primary School

There's no doubt you would have heard of the recent tragic accident at the Auburn South Priamry School on Tuesday afternoon. Our heartfelt condolences go out to all those associated with the School on the loss of one of their beloved students. As parents, I know we all felt and shared in the pain of Jack's parents and those of the other injured students. Needless to say, this will be a tremendously difficult time for the Principal, staff, parents and students of Auburn South Primary. 

 

This tragic event is a reminder of the constant care and vigilance we must all observe and respect when behind the wheel near our school and any other for that matter. Despite this recent tragic accident, I've had recent reports of:

  • a parent making a U Turn in front of the school, despite the fact that there's a No U-Turn sign - apparently it's more convenient to make a turn there and it happens on a reglar basis
  • parents dropping their child off in the staff carpark - because it was raining
  • a parent dropping off in the Church carpark because the hill was too steep
  • another driver speeding up the driveway because they were running late
  • another driver driving onto the netball court and performing a U-Turn
  • a driver forcing a student to "jump" out of the way of  their speeding car in the staff car park

These incidents are not committed by thoughtful, considerate drivers. We plead with you all to take care and consider others when driving. Safety is everyone's responsibility - if you have arranged someone else to drop off or pick up, please also ensure that they are aware of the rules and expectations around schools.

Poppy Appeal

The Poppy Appeal is on again and we will have some of our stduent leaders visiting classrooms for children to purchase Poppies.  The items range in price between $1 and $20.

Thank you for your support of our Armed Services.

School Closure Day

A friendly reminder of the following dates:

  • Monday 4th November Professional Learning Day (School Closure Day)
  • Tuesday 5th November Melbourne Cup Day         (School Closure Day - Public Holiday)

Enjoy the extra-long weekend!

All Saints Day

Today we celebrated All Saints Day. On All Saints Day we remember all the people who have become Saints. On our Education in Faith page, we have an extract from our All Saints Day Liturgy, prepared by Mrs Snell and shared in each class. 

Mathematics: Problem Solving

Go to the Learning and Teaching page try and slove some maths problems!

Good luck

St Justin's Working Bee

Please see the following information regarding the St Justin's Working Bee on the Hill. We would love to see as many families as possible and you can always bring the kids along too! 

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

Grandparents Day 

 

Social Media Age Limits Survey 

An online survey will give parents, teachers, young people and the general public   the opportunity to share their experiences and concerns about social media use. 

Groups can also participate through self-guided discussions, using an online guide. 

 

Please click on this link to read more and complete the survey

 

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

 

All the best,

 

Pat

 

Mr Patrick Torpey

Principal