From the Principal
From Mr Torpey
We acknowledge the Traditional Owners of the land on which our school stands,
the Wurundjeri people of the Kulin Nation.
Dear Families and Friends,
Confirmation
On Tuesday night our Year 6 candidates continued with their preparation for Confirmation by attending our Confirmation Family Workshop. Yesterday our Year 6 students, including others from within the Parish, attended a Confirmation Retreat Day at Don Bosco Retreat Centre in Lysterfield. Both the workshop and retreat provided a greater insight into the sacrament and the significance of Confirmation in our lives. For more information, head to the Education in Faith page.
Celebrating 100 Days
On Monday we will have a special assembly to celebrate our Preps being with us for 100 days. Our assembly will be held on the top basketball court (weather permitting) followed by a "cuppa" for our parents in the PAC. Everyone welcome.
Arrival Times
As you would be aware, we are experiencing high levels of absenteeism at the moment for various reasons. To help with the attendance recording procedure, we ask that:
- any student arriving after the bell to please make their way to the office to receive a late pass. The pass will then be handed to the teacher, who will mark the roll accordingly.
- If, for any reason, your child will be absent from school, can you please notify the office before 8:45am via:
- the Skoolbag App,
- phoning the office (9561 7644) or
- emailing the office office@sjwheelershill.catholic.edu.au
Whilst you are also welcome to email your child's teacher, letting the office know directly will ensure that your child's absenteeism is record in a timely and accurate manner. For more information please refer to the Attendance Policy on our website.
Professional Learning Days
You may have noticed in the dates ahead that we have two Professional Learning Days scheduled for this term. Melbourne Archdiocese Catholic Schools (MACS), our governing body, has authorised an extra day to accommodate for lost professional learning over the last few years. The days we have chosen for our Professional Learning are:
- Wednesday 17th August 2022 - focus on Inquiry and the 2 Year Plan.
- Thursday 1st September 2022 - focus on Religious Education Planning and Catholic Social Teaching
Ongoing professional learning is essential for St Justin's to keep abreast of the latest in education. Please note there will be no school on these days.
Riding Bikes
It's great to see students riding their bikes to school. It helps promote a healthy lifestyle, independence and safety. However we do remind all students that when riding their bikes inside the school grounds, that they dismount at the yellow bollards near the PAC and push their bikes from there. All bikes are stored behind the Wheeler Wing.
Volunteers
Please note that all volunteers at St Justin's must have a Working With Children Check:
If you don't have a WWCC, please follow the link to apply
Emergency Preparedness
On a regular basis, we conduct Emergency Management Responses (Evacuation Drills and Lock-downs). In case of a lock-down, all students, staff and visitors would be asked to remain in their rooms (if safe to do so) and await further instructions. In the case of an emergency evacuation, students, staff and visitors would evacuate either to the back assembly point (back oval) or the front assembly point (top basketball court) and wait for further instructions. There may be times however (hopefully not), when the school/parish site is considered unsafe and there is a need to move off the school grounds. Our two external evacuation points would be:
- Columbia Park, Jells Road, Wheelers Hill or
- Mulgrave Reserve, Garnett Road, Wheelers Hill.
Next week, you will receive an Operoo notice from us to seek your permission to conduct an Evacuation Drill off site to one of the above locations. No date will be issued on this form as this will allow us to conduct a drill at a time deemed suitable. Parents will be notified when the drill is about to commence, via Skoolbag.
Thank you for your cooperation.
Have a great weekend.
Take care and stay safe.
Pat
Mr Patrick Torpey
Principal