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Frequently Asked Questions

Please find below, our frequently asked questions and answers to assist parents and carers, as well as our prospective families.

If you have any further questions, please don't hesitate to contact our school office.

Looking for more parent and carer resources to support your child through their Catholic education journey? Visit the CEDoW Parent & Carer Resources site.

Frequently Asked Questions

Enrolments are accepted all year round, but the best time to enrol your child is at the beginning of the year (Term 1) – the year before your child is due to commence school.

Enrolment interviews are held in May and June (Term 2). You will receive a letter, email or phone call prior, informing you of a time for you and your child to come in and meet with a member of the Senior Leadership Team. Written offers of placement will follow later in Term 2.

Our office opening hours are Monday to Friday, between 8:30am and 3:30pm.
 

Our school bell times are as follows:

Morning Bell

8:55am for 9am start

Lunch

11:00am – 11:40am

Recess

1:40pm – 2:10pm

Dismissal

3:00pm – School prayer
3.02pm – Siblings, walkers, and riders called
3.08pm – Gates open
3.10pm – Students are called for CatholicCare after school care
3.15pm – Bus lines are called

Morning:
Supervision begins at 8:30am each morning. No students are to be dropped at school before this time unless approved by Principal or Assistant Principal.

Afternoon:
The school day concludes at 3:10pm and parents are expected to collect their children as soon as possible after this time. Please note, no supervision is provided by staff after 3:30pm. If under exceptional circumstances, students cannot be collected by 3.30pm, please contact the school office.
  
Please see our Term Dates and Bell Times page for more information.

There are a variety of co-curricular activities on offer at St Justin's and students are encouraged to participate in some of the co-curricular programs!

The school has many school representative opportunities in sport, including: swimming, athletics, cross country, soccer, rugby league, basketball, netball and cricket. Children also have the opportunity to try out for diocesan representative teams and beyond in several different sports.

St Justin's also provides the chance to compete and excel in different areas of interest, including: coding, chess, robotics, public speaking, art competitions, environment club and the SPLICED program.

Find out more about the co-curricular activities available for students at our Co-Curricular Opportunities page.

The dignity of the human person is the foundation of all Catholic Social Teaching and inherent to the mission of our school. Essential to this is the creation and maintenance of a respectful, safe and supportive learning environment that promotes student wellbeing and enables school communities to engage an inclusive and diverse range of learners.

At St Justin's, we believe that all members of the community have the right to a learning and working environment free from intimidation, humiliation and harm. We all share a responsibility to create a culture of caring which will not tolerate bullying. We believe that bullying must be taken seriously and is not acceptable in any form. In witnessing Christian values we reject ideas, beliefs and behaviours, which marginalise or victimise people. 

Please refer to the Catholic Education Diocese of Wollongong's Pastoral Care and Wellbeing Policy here.

You can also find further anti-bullying, wellbeing and online safety resources at our Resources page here.

Transit Systems NSW operates the school bus services. 

Yes, we work in partnership with CatholicCare to offer quality organised on-site before school care, after school care, vacation care and school pupil free days (on demand).

CatholicCare's Out of School Hours Care (OSHC) services at St Justin's are staffed by a dedicated team of education professionals who are university trained early childhood teachers or TAFE trained Diploma educators who support and respect the uniqueness and individuality of children and their families.

Find out more information about our Out of School Hours Care (OSHC) services.

The school uniform can be purchased at Yeronga School Uniforms in Camden. Our uniforms can also be ordered online from Lowes.

Second-hand uniforms are also available through our school clothing pool at St Justin’s. The clothing pool opening hours are published in our newsletter.

Children are required to use the St Justin’s School Bag and Library Bag can only be purchased from Yeronga Uniform Shops

For more information on the St Justin's school uniform, visit our Uniform page.

Please see our Fees Information page for more information.

If you are experiencing financial hardship and are unable to pay fees, please discuss the situation with our principal. Your situation will be treated with care and confidentiality, and an appropriate arrangement may be made for you. No student will be refused enrolment because of a family’s genuine inability to pay fees.

We'd love to have you! St Justin's strives to be a connected and welcoming community and we value the engagement of parents and families in school life in any way they can.

This could be as simple as being interested and informed about school events and activities, supporting and/or participating in community events, school assemblies and school liturgies.

If you are able, we also welcome and value your involvement in school activities. Parents (and grandparents!) can participate and contribute by:

  • Supporting library assistants by repairing and covering books
  • Assistance on excursions when required
  • Assistance at sport carnivals and gala days
  • Helping out at and attending P&F functions

Please note: Given our commitment to safeguarding children, volunteers will first need to organise a Working With Children Check (WWCC) – information and forms can be found on the CEDoW website.

All parents and families are also invited to become involved with our Parents and Friends (P&F) Association, who work collaboratively with the school and parish about matters that affect your child at school, as well as general issues about school life including social events, fundraising and community building.

For more information, please visit our Parent Engagement page.

If you have a concern or would like to raise any issue regarding your child’s learning and wellbeing, our staff welcome the opportunity to speak with you about your child.

We ask that you contact your child’s classroom teacher in the first instance. The best way to do this is by:

  • phoning the school office and asking that your child's teacher return your call; or
  • contacting the teacher via email at info@sjopdow.catholic.edu.au to arrange a time to talk.

If the matter is urgent please contact the school office on (02) 4631 5200.

We ask for your patience in response to your request as schools are busy places and the main priority of staff is the education, safety and wellbeing of the students in their care during school hours. Requests by parents for information and meetings will be responded to within 48 to 72 hours.

If you need to speak to your child’s teacher, we ask that you do this by:

  • phoning the school office and asking that your child's teacher return your call; or
  • contacting the teacher via email at info@sjopdow.catholic.edu.au to arrange a time to talk.

If the matter is urgent please contact the school office on (02) 4631 5200.

We ask for your patience in response to your request as schools are busy places and the main priority of staff is the education, safety and wellbeing of the students in their care during school hours. Requests by parents for information and meetings will be responded to within 48 to 72 hours.

The Lighting the Way Together Parent-School Partnership Framework outlines for parents and the school, the principles and expectations of the partnership that is formed when a child is enrolled in a Catholic systemic school in the Diocese of Wollongong such as St Justin's. It will be introduced and implemented in schools throughout the school year.

Download a copy of the Parent-School Partnership Framework and read more about this important partnership at www.dow.catholic.edu.au/partnershipframework

The primary form of communication between Parents and Carers is via Compass School Manager App. Parents and carers can access the St Justin's Compass Parent Portal here and log in using their login details.

How do I access Compass?

Compass is accessible on any modern web browser (Internet Explorer, Firefox, Chrome, Safari) or by using the Compass iOS or Android apps. You can download the Compass School Manager App via Apple App Store or Google Play Store. To access the full Compass parent portal, you can go to St Justin’s website and click the Compass link on our homepage.

To log into Compass, you will require your unique family username and password for each Parent and Carer. These details will be provided to you once students have been enrolled at St Justin’s. Upon first login, you will be required to change your password and confirm your email address and mobile phone number. These details may be used by our school for SMS, password recovery and email communication throughout the year.

What is Compass used for by parents?

  • All absences must be logged via Compass App by 9am. Parents need to log absences on the day they occur by adding an Attendance note via the App or Parent Portal.
  • Download and view your child’s academic reports.
  • Consent for events and excursions online via Compass.
  • View school news feed for important App alerts.
  • View the Schools Newsletter.
  • Pay school fees via Compass Pay, view payments made and outstanding fee balances.
  • View School events Calendar.
  • Monitor your child’s attendance and enter any unexplained absences.
  • View Personal Plans when required.
  •  Update mobile phones and email details. (Address changes are still required to be emailed to the school info@sjopdow.catholic.edu.au)

For more information on using Compass, see the Compass Guide for Parents.
 
For further information or enquiries, please contact the school office.

Ready to Enrol?

Interested in enrolling at St Justin's? We'd love to welcome you to our school!