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,

Confirmation Medal Mass

As part of their preparation for the Sacrament of Confirmation, our Year 6 Confirmation candidates will attend one of the parish Masses this weekend to receive their Confirmation medal. This medal will be worn on their stole and marks an important step in their faith journey.

The Sacrament of Confirmation being held on Thursday 20th August at Good Shepherd Church (only students from St Justin's) 5.30pm.

Please keep our candidates in your prayers as they continue on their faith journey.

Please refer to the Education in Faith page for all dates in relation to Confirmation.

St Mary MacKillop Feast Day - 8th August

Today we celebrated the Feast Day of Saint Mary of the Cross with a Whole School Mass. Mary MacKillop is the first Australian to be recognised by the Church as a Saint. She was a hard worker who put the needs of others before herself. She exhibited something of the larrikin spirit: constantly in dispute with authority but pressing on, regardless. She used the strengths of others but also didn’t tolerate those who were not genuine. Her commitment to the schooling of children from poor and rural communities established a model of Catholic education that continues to today.

St Mary of the Cross’ motto was “Never see a need without doing something about it”.

Prayer:

Loving and gracious God,

you loved and cared for your servant, Mary.

Help us to follow her example and live with faith and hope.

May we always be confident that we can always trust in you

and be assured of your constant love and protection.

We ask this prayer in Jesus’ name.

All: Amen.

Important Dates

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

Monday 10th August - Year 2DW Assembly 2:40 – 3:00pm
Wednesday 12th August - Music Soiree 7:00pm
Friday 14th August - School Disco
Saturday 15th August - Feast Of The Assumption

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

Jeans for Genes Day

Thanks to the wonderful generosity of our staff and school community, an incredible $564 was raised to support vital funds for the Children's Medical Research Institute (CMRI) to help find treatments and cures for genetic diseases and birth defects affecting 1 in 20. The generosity of our school community is always appreciated.

Thank you

Thank you to Tony and all the parents who generously gave up their time to support our School Sausage Sizzle. As a school we couldn’t hold these kind of event without your support and look forward to our next P&F event!!

Book Week Parade – Friday 28th August

We are looking forward to celebrating Book Week 2026 with this year's theme, A Symphony of Stories.

Students are invited to come dressed as their favourite book character for our annual Book Week Parade, which will begin at 9:00 am on Friday 28th August.

This year's theme celebrates the wonderful variety of stories that inspire us, so we encourage students to get creative with their costume choices. Whether they choose a classic storybook character, a magical hero, a curious explorer or a much-loved favourite, we can't wait to see their imagination on display!

Costumes do not need to be expensive or elaborate, homemade costumes are often the most creative. We also encourage families to think beyond sporting uniforms such as soccer, football or netball outfits, unless they represent a character from a book. Book Week is a wonderful opportunity for students to celebrate their love of reading and showcase the incredible characters found in literature.

Parents and carers are warmly invited to join us for the parade and celebrate this special event with our students.

We look forward to another fantastic Book Week filled with creativity, imagination and a shared love of books!

St Justin's Playgroup

Yesterday we held our first St Justin's Playgroup, which provided 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) in the Downunder Room (the room under the Parish House - enter via the Parish House Car Park). Thanks Sam and Sandra for coordinating - for more information, go to the SJWH Playgroup page in our newsletter.

Cough and Colds

As the wintery conditions continue, so do the reports of coughs, colds, flu and Covid. Can we please encourage parents to keep their children at home whenever they display the symptoms of being unwell.

Thank you for your cooperation.

Mazenod College Year 7 2028 Applications

This is a gentle reminder that applications for Year 7 2028 at Mazenod College will close on Friday, 14 August 2026. Please ensure that families are aware of this important deadline. Applications can be submitted online via our website:

Mazenod College: https://www.mazenod.vic.edu.au/

Click "Apply Now" to begin the application process.

Late arrivals

We take the opportunity to remind all families that if arriving after 08:55am - you MUST come to the office with your child, sign them in and wait for someone from the office to take them to class if they are Prep - Year 2. Otherwise children can go straight to the classroom after being signed in.

Thank you for your cooperation.

2027 Prep Enrolments

If you have a child starting Prep in 2027, please be sure to continue to check your emails for updated information and for any outstanding items that may need to be sent to the office.

We are looking forward to seeing all the children and their parents as part of our Prep Transition program throughout Term 4.

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)
Thurs 12th November 2026 - 9:15am - 10:15am - Transition Session 2 (Students)
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

Privacy policy, students and parent updated

Our Anaphylaxis Management Policy has changed.

The updated documents are available on the MACS policies webpage in the ‘Governance’ tab.

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).

You might like to:

clean out and/or collect any books or toys
keep an eye out for blocks of chocoloates
get ready for the lucky jar donation

We are also on the lookout for:

acts to perform on stage at our fair. Possibilities might include dancing, calisthenics, martial arts demonstrations or any of the outside groups that our community are part of. We also have a few parents who are keen to present 4 to 5 songs, but they need support - if you or anyone you know is interested, please let Mr T know. Solo acts welcome.
someone to coordinate the bar (RSA required)

For all expressions of interest, please contact Mr Torpey / Fr Andrew

As always, thank you for your ongoing support.

All the best

Pat

Mr Patrick Torpey

Principal