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, as we continue to proudly live and learn on their land.

Dear Families and Friends,  

As we continue on our Lenten journey, we can take inspiration from Pope Francis . . . 

Swimming

Today was the final day for our intensive Swimming Program. By all reports, the students not only had a great time, but more importantly, developed their confidence when in and around water. However, a few swimming lessons over two weeks can never be enough and we as parents and carers, still need to ensure the education process continues, especially when we are around pools, rivers and lakes and at the beach.

A huge thank you to all our volunteers who helped throughout the two weeks - very much appreciated. A very big thank you also to the staff, especially Mrs Snell who spends a gret deal of time planning our swimming program, which includes: booking the venue, organsing buses, arranging class timetables and yard duty rosters and coordinating volunteers - so much work to ensure the two week program runs smoothly.

Prep BBQ

Last night we conducted our Prep 2024 Family BBQ. It was a beautiful evening, not just because of the weather, but more importantly because it was a great chance for our families to come together. Thanks to Tony Di Iorio for setting up and cooking, representatives from the School Advisory Council and Parents and Friends and to Miss Lea, Mrs Loadman, Mrs Snell and Fr Andrew for their wonderful support. I'm sure there will be many more enjoyable gatherings over the years.

School Safety

Today we had some minor works completed around the school, including line marking in the car parks and repairs to the asphalt. We also had three new flag poles installed on the hill opposite the church - I'm sure the flags will fly prouldy on special occasions. These projects were funded by money raised through our annual Fair on the Hill.

Literacy Helpers Course

Thank you to the parents who attended The Parent Helper’s Session which was held last Friday. These parents will have the opportunity to assist and support student learning in the classroom. For our Literacy program to be successful, we need the support of families to support students in a range of learning experiences, and volunteering time to support Literacy development is greatly appreciated by both the teachers and students. 

Managing Big Feelings

As a follow up to our Starting School presentation with Carley in 2023, we are now pleased to present the Managing Big Feelings webinar. The content is tailored to parents/carers with lower primary school-aged children. For more information, please refer to the page in our newsletter.

School Photos – Wednesday 13th March, 2024

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.

Open Day - ENROLMENTS 2025

We are in the process of organising our Open Day, scheduled for the 7th March from 9:00am - 3pm. This is a great opportunity for new families looking for a school for their children for 2025 to come along and see what St Justin's has to offer. At that time they can also collect an enrolment form.

We would love a few helpers who could help with the meeting and greeting side of things throughout the day. It's always nice for prospective families to have the opportunity to talk to exisitng families. We will send out a volunteer form in the next few weeks.

If any current school families require an enrolment form for 2025, please contact the office as enrolment packs are now available. We would like these forms returned by March 18th March 2024 so we have an idea of our numbers for 2025 before we offer places to new families.

 Car Parking Tips

When parking in Grantchester Road (and surround streets for that matter), park closer to the car in front, leaving more room behind for other cars to park.

• Drivers stay with their car when parking in the 2 minute parking zone - these zones were never designed for drivers to park and then quickly run down to collect their child. In the mornings, the 2 minute zone should only be used as a kiss and drop. If waiting in the 2 min zone and your child is late, we ask that you move to a longer park as one becomes available.
• Never double park or wait for long periods of time with your indicator on – this further creates congestion and encourages students onto the road if they arrive before a park is found. Often there are parks available further along the road or by the time you go around the block, it is likely that there will be park on your return. 
• Please never park in neighbours’ driveways.
• Remain patient and respectful at all times. “Losing your cool” will not help, sets a bad example for our students and creates an unpleasant feeling within our community.
• Encourage your child to walk or ride to school. 
• Park further away and walk together as a family
• Wait 5 minutes and inform your child that you’ll pick them up at 3:35pm along Grantchester Road - this is a practise already adopted by many families in our community.

Running Club

Just a reminder that Running Club takes place every Wednesday at 8:10am – meet on the top basketball court. 

This year the year 3 - 6 students will again be invited to participate in the 

St Justin’s Running Club.  If your participating student has a sibling in Year 2 who would like to join that is more than fine. 

Unfortunately any students younger than that makes things a little unsafe and therefore will not be able to register this year. 

Now on Instagram

SJs Aerobics Team

Use of Photographs

Thanks to all the families who have completed the permision forms to use (or not to use) photos. As many of our families have requested that photos not be used, especially on Social Media (which includes our newsletter which is published online) it will be very challenging to use group photos in the future. Our newsletter may look a little different, but I'm sure it will still be a great read.

Camps Sports and Excursions Fund

Where's  Mr T

Can you find Mr T? He's hiding somewhere in the newsletter.

Have a great weekend.

Take care,

Mr Patrick Torpey

Principal