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,

What a busy, wonderful term – one that we should all be proud of. There’s been many things on which help cater for the needs of all. It can only be made possible by us all working together, everyone sharing the responsibility. And for us all, that can look a little different - people contribute in all sorts of ways.

A number of highlights from Term 3 include:

Confirmation, including our Family Workshops, Retreat Day and Masses
Book Week
MACSSIS Survey
Interschool Sports
Student Led Conferences
Music Soiree
Father’s Day Stall / Morning
Hoop Time
Prep - 100 Days Celebrations
Trivia Night
Feast of the Assumption
Division Football
Division Soccer
District Athletics
Year 3/4 Camp
Special Lunches
Maths Olympiad Contest
Assemblies
Footy Day

We thank everyone for their contributions – staff, parents and most importantly, the students.

Have a safe and enjoyable holiday.

Principals' Pilgrimage ~ The Way of St James

I will be absent from school during the first week of Term 4 (7-11 October) as I am attending a special pilgrimage with 23 other Catholic principals from the Eastern Region of Melbourne. We will depart Melbourne on Sunday 29 September (following the AFL Grand Final) for Spain, and return to Melbourne on Saturday 12 October. Mrs Leanne Snell will be your point of contact during my absence - lsnell@sjwheelershill.catholic.edu.au

This pilgrimage follows in the footsteps of the Apostle, St James, in Northern Spain. It's an

ancient pilgrimage from medieval times, arriving at the Santiago de Compostela, where it is believed the remains of St James are buried. This particular pilgrimage is often referred to as the Camino de Santiago. The total distance of this Camino is 825km, however my colleagues and I will only be completing the final stage of this journey, from Sarria to Santiago, which is 115km.

As a team of leaders in Catholic schools, our goals during this pilgrimage will be to build on our collegiality as well as experience spiritual growth and cultural immersion. We have each been gifted a journal for our Camino, which has a range of reflections and prayers for meditation along the way. The Cathedral of Santiago de Compostela is situated in Galicia, in northwest Spain, which will be the final point of our pilgrimage where we will have the privilege of visiting the Tomb of St James, in a crypt beneath the main altar.

I'll carry with me a scallop shell. The shallop shell has become a symbol of the Camino, used as a marker to guide pilgrims on their journey. My shell will have the intitials SJWH written on the inside, as a symbol of the hopes, dreams and prayers of the St Justin's Community.

I am grateful for the opportunity to take part in this special pilgrimage and hope to bring my learnings and experiences back to share with you all.

District Athletics

In week 8 we had a team of 68 students from years 3-6 take part in the District Athletics Championships which was held this year at Ringwood Athletic Club.

Students were selected to participate in track and field events after trials were undertaken during a unit of work on Athletics in PE. Throughout the day we constantly had a lot to cheer about with each of our team members giving it their all in their selected events.

Overall it was a very successful day with 25 athletes of our team moving on to the division championships which will be held at the beginning of term 4.

The best news however came at the end of the day with the St Justin's being crowned district champions again for the third consecutive year! A truly magnificent performance from our athletes.

Thank you to Mrs Snell, Mrs Sullivan, Mrs Mulholland and Mrs Lacey for supporting on the day in various roles and all of our parent and family support that were there on the day!

Mr Johnson

Buddy Bench

On Tuesday members of the SRC put together our new Buddy Bench. The Buddy Bench was donated by the Lions Club of Wheelers Hill and was an initiative by our SRC Members. Whilst we already have a Buddy Bench behind the Outdoor Kitchen, the SRC members felt that students might benefit from another bench in the front playground. The purpose behind the Buddy Bench is that if at any stage and child (or Principal) feels that have no one to play with, they can sit on the bench until "a friend" comes to support. The Lions Club have also supplied us with a new sticker for our existing Buddy Bench. Our SRC will develop a promotional campaign soon.

Thanks to everyone involved, especially Ian and David from the Lions club, Wheelers Hill for their support.

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.

This is also a good time to check your Working with Children Checks - our data base indicates that some have already expired and others are close to expiring - we would hate you to be rushing to volunteer only to discover your WWCC in no longer valid. For more information, please visit WWCC. Please remember that all volunteers will require a WWCC.

Early next term, we will be calling for donations. These will include:

Blocks of chocolates for the Choc Toss
Lucky Jars (more information to follow)

Follow the link for more information.

https://signup.com/go/qgWZHsz

Fair on the Hill Bake Sale

Back by popular demand, our Cookies and Cupcakes are for sale!

PREORDER

To ensure you don’t miss out, place your pre-order online by:Monday 21st October 2024 by 6pm

By purchasing these treats, you will be supporting our fundraising efforts for the Fairon the Hill, helping to keep wristband prices affordable for St. Justin’s families.

TRY BOOKING

https://www.trybooking.com/CVMZC

Follow the link for more information.

St Justin's 40th Anniversary Celebrations

This year we celebrate our 40th Anniversary. Celebrations are being planned for October 27th 2024, commencing with a Mass at 10:30am. If anybody has any memorabilia, photos or stories they would like to share with us. You can contact the office or email office@sjwheelershill.catholic.edu.au.

We want to thank you for your support and look forward to celebrating such a significant milestone with our community.

Where’s Mr T?

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

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

All the best,

Pat

Mr Patrick Torpey

Principal

PMI

Primary Music Institute