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,
Ash Wednesday
On Wednesday we celebrated Ash Wednesday. Our Years 4 and 5 students attended our 9:15am Parish Mass and Years 1, 2 and 3 students participated in class liturgies. Our Year 6 students also participated in a liturgy whilst on camp at Portsea and our Foundation students had their Ash Wednesday Liturgy on Thursday, as they were not as school on Wednesday. On this day, when we receive the ashes, it is a reminder for all on how we can follow in Jesus’ footprints. Ash Wednesday is the first day of Lent where we reflect and engage in the Christian tradition of changing ourselves and thinking of others during these 40 days.
Week 1 Lent
This Sunday 22nd February is the first week of Lent.
Lent is a special time in the Church year when we slow down, listen to God, and practice being more like Jesus, kinder, braver, more loving, and more forgiving.
During Lent, our students are inquiring and learning about the wonderful work of Caritas Australia. Our children are learning how they can partake in social justice initiatives and are gaining 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.
Project Compassion boxes are available for our students in each of the classrooms, where our children are able to donate money to support those in need. This is a great example of how our students can demonstrate they are following in Jesus’ footsteps.
Lenten Prayer
Loving God,
help us to remember your promise to be with us always,
to guide us in our lives and bring us closer to you.
In this special time of Lent,
we pray that you strengthen us in our desert times,
and trust in you with all our hearts.
We ask this prayer through Jesus, your Son.
All: Amen.
Swimming
We are pleased to announce that our Swimming Program will commence on Monday 23rd February for all students in Prep to Year 4 at Paul Sadler Swimland - Paratea Drive Rowville.
- All information for our Swimming Program was sent out via nforma notices.
- Please make sure you read all information carefully with what to bring, swimming times and parent helper information.
Year 6 Camp
This week our Year 6 students, along with 6 staff members ventured down to The Portsea Camp for their annual School Camp. The camp provided a variety of exciting activities which help students build confidence, independance and teamwork. It was a great camp with all students trying different activities, while supporting and encouraging each other. It was nice to hear the camp coordinator talk highly of our students, congratulating them on their enthusiasm and suport for each other. He said he has over 150 groups through the camp each year and identified St Justin's students (and staff) as one of the best groups he's ever had.
A special thank you to Mrs Slonim for organising the camp - a lot of work goes into organsing a three day camp. Thanks also to Mrs Lacey, Mrs Braybrook, Mrs D’Angelo, Mr Torpey and
Mr Snell. Thanks to the Year 5s for taking on the leadership roles and responsibilities in the absence of the Year 6s. Your support is much appreciated. Finally, thanks to the staff back at school who needed to make changes to accomodate those on camp - a real team effort!
Year 5/6 Guest Speaker: Carina Garland MP
Carina Garland, Federal Member for Chisholm, visited our Year 5/6 students today. She shared valuable insights into her role in Parliament, explaining how laws are created and discussing key issues affecting the Chisholm electorate. Students were highly engaged and asked thoughtful, insightful questions about government, leadership and community representation. It was a fantastic opportunity for them to connect their classroom learning to real-world civic responsibility.
Carina Garland’s visit to St Justins
On the 20 of February, 2026, the Year 5’s and 6’s of St Justins had a special visit from a Member of Parliament, Dr Carina Garland. Carina Garland is the Member of Chisholm, which is the area that St Justin's is in. As she arrived, the School Captains escorted her to 6SL, where everyone was meeting, waiting for her. She loved looking around our school, and as she arrived at 6SL, she was very impressed with how calm and well-behaved we were.
During her visit, we all enjoyed asking questions about life in Parliament. She remarked on how detailed and unique our queries were. Carina later said, when asked, that her favourite part about her job as the Member for Chisholm was that she got to go around asking people in our community their opinions, but especially visiting schools and educating the students about life as a member of Parliament. She told us that she wished we had longer together. The way we asked questions and patiently waited made it easier for her to explain. Some questions asked were about laws and bills, like if she wanted to change one, what would it be? Other questions were focused on key aspects of her job, such as her part-time role of the neutral Speaker, who keeps order. She enjoyed answering them, and asked us a few questions ourselves.
As she left, Carina clearly had enjoyed her time with us, and we thanked her for educating us about Parliament and what goes on inside. The reason she loved seeing schools was, as she told us, that we are the future of Australia, and our values should be discussed and seen just as much as adults. We are the people who will maybe be members of Parliament ourselves one day, and Carina Garland wanted to hear our thoughts.
By the end of our time with her, Dr Carina Garland was very happy. She promised that if we had more questions, to send them into Parliament and she’d get back to us. The next time she has to go to Canberra is in two weeks, and she wants to include our opinions! We were thrilled to have her here at St Justin’s, and we look forward to learning more about Parliament.
Written by Anahera P and Oliver C
Important Dates
Whilst we have most dates in the calendar, some dates include:
- Mon 23rd Feb - Fri 6th March - Year Prep to Year 4 Swimming
- Wednesday 25th February - No School For Foundation Students
- Friday 27th February - Year 5/6 Summer Sport Day 1
Please refer to Dates Ahead for a full list of important dates in Term 1
School Photos – Thursday 12th March, 2026
Please note that our school photos will take place on Thursday, 12th 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 last week and need to be returned to school on or before Wednesday.
Existing Families - Enrolment for 2027
We are in the process of preparing our enrolments for 2027
Application are nowonline. If any current school families require an enrolment application for 2027 click on the link below:
https://www.sjwheelershill.catholic.edu.au/enrolments
Click on "Apply Now"
We would like these applications completed by Friday, March 20th 2026 so we have an idea of our numbers for 2027 before we offer places to new families
Second Hand Uniform Donations
Do you have any old uniforms in the back of your cupboard you would like to donate?
There is a donation box outside the staffroom; please see photos below for the exact location.
With your generous donations we will be holding a second-hand uniform sale alongside Kiosk Fridays and the first one will be held on Friday 13th March.
All proceeds will go towards the school and we thank you in advance for your participation.
Parents & Friends Team
Parent Volunteers Needed – Help Support Our Young Readers
A special thank you to our parent helpers from this week:
Joe S, Jackie C, Shu C and Anisha C.
We are looking for parent volunteers to assist with copying, laminating and sorting books for our junior students to take home. This is a large job, and we would truly appreciate as much help as possible — even an hour here and there will make a meaningful difference.
Your support will help ensure our youngest readers get the best possible start and continuity in their reading journey. Having these materials prepared and organised is essential, and we would be very grateful for any time you can offer.
Volunteer days: Wednesday and Thursday (or please email if you would like to help on a different day and we can coordinate this) Preferred times: Mornings would be ideal so we can have a group working together, however any time during these days will be extremely helpful.
If you are able to assist, please click on the link and write your name under the day and date you are available, and include the time you can attend. It’s always more fun when you have someone to chat to, so please encourage each other to come along!
Parent Volunteer Link:
https://docs.google.com/document/d/1vM_GYgI8Cl8LBT7bl5SQeTIOusn7C0n_gNKCuIvnF_g/edit?usp=sharing
Thank you in advance for your support — it genuinely makes a difference for our students and our reading program.
Mrs Jess Wickens
Shrove Tuesday Thank you
Earlier this week we celebrated Shrove Tuesday with smiles, laughter and delicious pancakes!
A special thank you to Talar and Sandra for organising this event and to our parent volunteers for helping serve these in the classrooms; we appreciate your time and effort.
For more information on the Parents and Friends, please follow the link.
Kiosk Friday
Kiosk Friday is back for 2026!
Volunteering
Thanks for all those who continue to offer their services as volunteers at St Justin's. As we outlined last week in our newsltter, volunteering is not just about helping and been a good role model for your child / children. Volunteering significantly boosts mental health by reducing stress, anxiety, and depression while increasing life satisfaction, self-esteem, and happiness. It fosters social connections that combat loneliness and provides a sense of purpose. The "helper's high" effect releases feel-good brain chemicals like dopamine and endorphins.
A reminder to "look" for opportunities to volunteer - sometimes the call will come from the newsletter, the WhatsApp group or word of mouth. Other times, people will see a need and offer their services without even being asked.
All volunteers must sign in on arrival and wear a lanyard from the office while volunteering.
School Car Parking - School Gates
Thanks to everyone's cooperation and understanding with us closing the gate in the morings and afternoons. Please remember, if at any stage you need to drive into the school grounds with good reason, just ring and someone will open the gate (it can take a few seconds). Out intention is to enhance safety, not lock people out. A reminder that when you are driving into the school grounds, the speed limit is 5km per hour (walking pace).
We are looking at extending the black fence from the flagpoles (bottom oval) up to the top basketball court - if you think you might be able to help, please let Mr T know. We would like to replace the two sleeper retaining wall at the same time, which we would look at achieving during a working bee (or two).
School Fees
School Fees will be issued to all families within the next fortnight, this is due to a delay and waiting on some support from our centralised support team before issuing fee statements to families. You are still able to make payments as the fees in the system are correct, it is just being able to produce the statements themselves that is the issue so please reach out to setup a Direct Debit with the office. Thank you for your understanding.
Please refer to Fees and Levies.
Sacrament Dates 2026
Please refer to Education in Faith for 2026 Sacrament Dates.
Camps Sports and Excursions Fund
As always, thank you for your ongoing support.
All the best,
Pat
Mr Patrick Torpey
Principal