April 28th, 2022

Acknowledgement of Country

Prayer

A Note from our Principal

Ngata Families & Friends,

Welcome back to Term 2!

I trust everyone had an enjoyable holiday, especially over the Easter break. Through conversations I know many families made the most of this special time by camping and catching up with family and friends - we don’t take this for granted any more do we?

This new term is sure to fly, being only 9 weeks long - however there is a lot to fit in! With a number of special events and public holidays we need to be careful to not run ourselves ragged! There is certainly a desire to get life back to normal, but we all need to return to routines in small steps and be aware that many are still suffering a fatigue that seems to follow COVID.

As you will have read, heard or viewed in the media, we have returned to eased COVID regulations, meaning masks are no longer mandated for staff and students, and important changes have been made to the requirements for close contacts. I ask all families to read over these changes that are explained later in this newsletter.

Of course this easing makes our life more comfortable, but does not mean that the spread of COVID has ended. It is still important that we remain vigilant to ensure that we monitor our own health to prevent unnecessary spread. Families with questions are always welcome to contact me to clarify what needs to happen in the case of confirmed cases or close contacts.

Joe Ewing

Principal

ANZAC Day

Thanks to students and families who were able to join in observance of ANZAC Day on Monday either as a part of the community service at 6:30am or the laying of our school wreath at 1.00pm. This annual event began as a commemoration of loss in one battle but has become a reminder of the sacrifice made by our armed services in all wars and conflicts.

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School Enrolments for 2023

All schools in the Warrnambool Catholic Schools Network are beginning the process of enrolling preps for the 2023 school year. In May we will be inviting new families into our school for formal tours and information sessions on:

May 25th: 10.00am & 6.30pm

May 26th: 10.00am

Prior to receiving any outside enrolments we would like to ensure we have enrolments for any intended Preps of current families.

If your family has a child beginning Prep in 2023 we would like to receive their enrolment form as soon as possible. Hard copies of the form are available from the school office or can be downloaded from the school website:

Please note, the download can be filled in digitally and returned via email, or alternatively can be printed out and filled in by hand. 

Welcome!

Two new students began Term 2 with us. Welcome to Edie Hudson who has joined JP3 and Nate Reed who has joined the JP4 classroom.

With a number of staff needing to take leave presently, we have this week welcomed a number of visiting teachers across the school. In Prep Ronnie White has stepped in as a familiar face and has been joined by Kathleen Georgiou (sister to Ms O’Donnell).

In 5/6 our Prep teachers being on leave currently, we have again welcomed Lisa Quattrocchi & Georgina Wilson.

Confirmation

Tonight,  preparation for the Sacrament of Confirmation begins. This Sacrament is usually celebrated by baptised Yr 2 students, but is open to students of any age who are baptised Catholics.

A family meeting for the children and parents of St Pius X will be held on Thursday evening at 7pm in the St Pius X Church. At this meeting we will be learning a little about the Sacrament and organising groups for preparation.

The actual celebration of Confirmation will be held on Monday June 6th at 7.00pm.

Families with a child who will be confirmed are asked to register using the link below.

Families with questions are invited to contact the school office (55622506). Some queries may be redirected to the parish office (55622231)

Easter Liturgy

Tomorrow afternoon we will be led in prayer by SP4 to celebrate the Easter season! This is not an assembly week, but parents and other family members are welcome to join us in the church for this liturgy at 2.30pm.

RAT Kits

RAT kits were given out to families at the end of last term, which should be enough to see families through to the beginning of the third week of term. More kits will be distributed soon to enable this testing to continue until the end of the fourth week of term.

Any families who missed receiving a kit at the end of last term can contact the office to ensure they receive their supply.

Online Behaviour

We again remind all families to be vigilant around student use of social media in the home.. Most social media has age limits of 13 and above, outside the age of primary school students. While there are some apps that have protection features that allow for parent intervention - all social media use by children should be monitored carefully.

Snap Chat is one particular app that can be used to communicate negatively and offensively.

Basketball Star

During the school holidays, Yr 5 Max Green participated in a basketball tournament in South Australia. Max got to play against  players from around Australia. At the conclusion of the tournament, Max also participated in a basketball camp run by Josh Giddey. Josh plays for Oklahoma City Thunder in the NBA. At the end of the camp Max received recognition from the coaches  and was awarded a pair of LeBron basketball shoes signed by Josh Giddey.

School Cross Country

Our annual school cross country events will be held next Wednesday (May 4th). Our 3-6 students will compete at Deakin University in the morning. These students require consent to travel by bus and we ask all parents of Yr 3-6 children to use PAM to give this permission.

Our Prep, Yr 1 and Yr 2 students will race on the school oval in the afternoon. Please see below for times. Spectators are welcome at both Deakin in the morning and the school in the afternoon.

Deakin University (Park at the football oval)

9.40am 12 YO Girls

9.55am 12 YO Boys

10.30am 11 YO Girls

10.45am 11 YO Boys

11.20am 10 YO Girls

11.35am 10 YO Boys

12.10am 9 YO Girls

12.25am 9 YO Boys

St Pius X Oval

2.40 pm

Yr 2 Girls

Yr2 Boys

Yr1 Girls

Yr 1 Boys

Prep Girls

Prep Boys

Junior race spectators are asked to be in position from 2.40pm.

Skoolbag to Schoolzine

Since the beginning of 2022 St Pius X has been transitioning from Skoolbag to Schoolzine as our communication platform. Our newsletter and website have already made this transition, and next will be our school app. In the coming week our Schoolzine app will be turned on and school messaging will migrate to this app. Newsletters and other instant messaging will be delivered through the Schoolzine app.

As a first step, we ask families to locate and download the Schoolzine app (free) from either Google Play or the App Store. More information will follow in next week's newsletter.

Parents & Friends

Mother's Day

May 8th is Mother’s Day. We would like to invite any mums, grandmothers and special women to a morning Mass on May 9th at 9.30am to give thanks for these special women. After Mass, we would love these mums, grandmothers and special women to visit our classrooms.

Crisis Meals

It's been some time since we have been able to ask for crisis meals, but we would like to reboot our frozen meal bank to share with families and community members as needs arise. If your family would like to participate, please use the form below to register your interest.

A roster will be created with a reminder each week for the rostered family. Ideally meals should be easy to freeze & serve, and should be labelled so that the type meal can be easily identified.

Winter Uniform Term 2

Amother reminder that all students should be wearing their full Winter uniform as we begin Term 2. Please see the link below for further details.

Grade 1/2 Excursions Term 2.

Our Yr 1/2 classes will attend an excursion at the Twelve Apostles tomorrow. We ask the families of these children to ensure that consent has been given on PAM. The busses will depart at 9.10am and return to school at approximately 3.00pm.

Race Day Public Holiday

A reminder that next Thursday (May 5th) is designated as a public holiday by the Warrnambool City Council. Schools are closed to allow families the opportunity to attend the races.

Breakfast Club

Breakfast Club is back up and running for 2022!

Every Wednesday from 8:15 breakfast will be available in the function room for any students that would like to have some breakfast before the school day starts! Everyone is more than welcome to come along, even if they have already had breakfast at home. It is a great initiative supported by FoodShare who provide fruit, yoghurt, cereal and yummy toast. 

Thanks again to our parent volunteers Maddy and Tracey for running the program!

The Arts News

EASTER ART DISPLAY

Over the holidays our Prep students were part of a wonderful Easter Art display at Gateway plaza.  I was lucky enough to visit the exhibition twice and it was lovely to see people stopping in to have a look at our fabulous artwork. 

We also had some students enter a colouring competition at the Direct Chemist Outlet in the Target complex.  This work was displayed in store for all to see.  On a visit to the store I was very happy to see a blue ribbon attached to one of our entries.  A big congratulations to Patrick Cain (Prep) for winning a prize for his beautiful colouring. Congratulations to everyone who entered. 

MINI VINNIES REPORT

Welcome to our St Pius X Mini Vinnies group for 2022.    Mini Vinnies is a group of primary school young people who get together to help those in need within their school community. It introduces children to social justice issues, to the St Vincent de Paul Society and to living faith through action. 

What does a Mini Vinnies group do? Mini Vinnies is about doing good works in the community, but it is also about young people meeting to talk and share ideas and concerns, to have fun and to support each other. 

We will aim to meet every second Thursday. 

Top Row: Casey Bertrand, Charlea McLeod, Kate Martin, Mrs Keeley,

Middle Row: William Carey, Fynn McInnes, Charlotte Van de Camp, Mia Kent

Bottom Row:  Quinton Lack, Benji Miller and Freya Keane.

Footy Tipping

Theo Darmanin had a sad look on his face arriving at school on Tuesday after the ANZAC clash between Essendon and Collingwood. Hopefully your team is travelling better than the Bombers!

Currently Bluesfan17, Pete van de Camp and MarkMac1 are enjoying joint leadership of the table helped along by some joker rounds. Further down the table the Merediths and the Lyons families are biding their time, ready to strike with their jokers later in the year - its a long season.

A huge list of top tipping for Round 6. Tippers with 8 correct tips included: Pete van de Camp, Paddy van de Camp, Mezzle, Holcombes, World Class Woodwards, Williamson Family, Izzy van de Camp, Jamiew3, Anne Kerr, espn25590726, Merediths, Dandelyons, MoverDemons, Sarah O'Shannassy, Jo vdCamp, Rebecca, Brad Everall & The Lack Attack.

Thanks to our generous sponsors:

Bojangles Pizzeria Restaurant

61 Liebig St

Warrnambool

5562 0666

Parish Contact

Sunday Mass 10.30 @ St Pius X Church. School families are always welcome.

The Parish office can be contacted on 5562 2231

Other information and contact details can be found on the Star of the Sea South West Coast website: https://www.ballarat.catholic.org.au/parish/southwestcoast/ 

Second Hand Uniforms

Families seeking low cost uniform items are welcome to contact Angela Verspay (mum to Dylan and Finn) who has stock of many donated uniform items. Ph: 0477660119.

Student Medical Details

At the end of last year we asked parents to use the Parent Access Module (PAM) to add and adjust medical details. This information is vital to the wellbeing of our students and we ask parents to prioritise the maintenance of this information.

Upcoming Dates

Tonight Confirmation information meeting 7.00pm

Apr 29 Yr 1/2 excursion to the Twelve Apostles

May 2 Parents & Friends

May 4 School cross country

May 5 Warrnambool Races public holiday

May 8 Mother’s Day

May 10 NAPLAN assessments begin

May 12 District cross country

May 16 Yr 1/2 excursion: Warrnambool

May 20 Catholic Education Week begins

May 25 Prep enrolment tours: 10am & 6.30pm

May 26 Prep enrolment tour: 10am

May 30 Pupil Free Day (Teacher professional training)

Jun 6 Sacrament of Confirmation 7.00pm

Jun 13 Queen’s Birthday public holiday

Jun 21 Learning Conversations

Jun 22 Learning Conversations

Jun 23 Learning conversations

Jun 24 Final day of Term 2

School Canteen Roster

Easter Re-Creation

The photo above was not taken this Easter, but over the Easter holidays more than 20 years ago. I was with my wife’s family fishing on the Murray River. I’m not much of a fisherman and was relying on the advice of my father & brother in-law. After spending most of the day contending with Carp, I finished the day with the biggest catch when I bagged this enormous Murray Cod.

I look back on this photo with fond memories: of the fishing, of being with family and enjoying leisure time. 

In this Sunday’s Gospel, we hear another Easter fishing story, with the disciples meeting the risen Jesus at the Sea of Galilee. Many of the disciples were professional fishermen before being called to follow Jesus, and in the story they seem to have returned to their old way of life. They spend the night out on the water, but catch nothing. In the morning, when they see Jesus, he advises them to cast their nets out from the opposite side of the boat. Suddenly the boat is inundated with fish.

The story is a mirror image of the story we heard earlier in the year when Jesus originally called them to leave their nets and follow him. Sunday’s story suggests that the disciples are again being called, but they will now follow him in a different way.

This story appeals to me because the disciples have chosen to escape the reality of Jesus' death by returning to nature. It echoes the way we choose to get back to nature over the Easter holidays, to escape the routine of school and work.

Easter is a time when we are invited to share Jesus’ new life. Just as the disciples encountered the risen Jesus, for many of us, the ritual of recreation is the special way in which we experience the joy of this new life of Easter. It brings the special sacredness of family, nature, stillness, joy and feasting!

I hope your family had a lovely Easter.

COVID 19 Arrangements

The following settings were communicated with families earlier this week:

Vaccination 

Triple vaccination status will continue to be a requirement for all staff onsite with students and will be required for any volunteers and visiting workers. This will include:

• Parents assisting in classrooms
• Canteen volunteers
• Parents performing tasks on behalf of the Parents and Friends.
• Visiting medical and allied health professionals.
• Visiting speakers, presenters and performers.
• Student teachers.

Parents visiting the school to attend school events (ie sports, performances, classroom visits) will not be required to declare their vaccination status.

Rapid Antigen Tests

Staff and students are invited to continue RATs twice a week, on Monday and Wednesday mornings before attending school. Staff or students who have previously had a positive COVID test are not required to test for 12 weeks after their initial positive result.

Managing a suspected or confirmed case of COVID-19 

As soon as a staff member or student becomes aware of being a suspected case - that is symptomatic (fever, cough, shortness of breath, sore throat, loss of smell or taste:

1. The suspected case is required to leave the school site, or be isolated on-site until they are able to leave.
2. The suspected case is required to be tested with a rapid antigen test. A positive test result must be reported to the Department of Health
3. Positive cases must be isolated for 7 days, testing again on day 6.

In the event that school receives notification that a staff member or student was infectious while onsite:

1. All staff must use a rapid antigen test if they have symptoms.
2. All students must use a rapid antigen test if they have symptoms.
3. Staff and students will be strongly encouraged to use rapid antigen tests for the following 5 days if they don’t have symptoms.

Where a positive case is recorded from a staff member or student who has been on site, the school community will be notified. Personal information will not be released in this communication.

If a staff member or student tests positive with a rapid antigen test but does not have symptoms or has not been in contact with a positive case, a PCR test is recommended. If a subsequent PCR shows a negative result the staff member or student can return to school.

Close Contacts

A close contact (a person who has spent more than four hours with someone who has COVID 19 inside a house, accommodation or care facility) is no longer required to quarantine, as long as they follow the additional safety measures:

• Notify the school if returning within the 7 day period.
• Undertake RAT testing on school days within the 7 day period (unless the 12 week exemption applies)
• Wear a mask indoors if an adult or a student Yr 3-6.
• Not visit hospitals or care facilities.
• Avoid contact with people at higher risk of infection.
• If symptomatic take a RAT or PCR test.

Masks

Masks are no longer required to be worn by students, staff or visitors. However the wearing of masks continues to be a recommended practice which will still be required in certain circumstances including bus travel or a period of high levels of prolonged transmission.

Any staff of students who are identified as close contacts must wear a mask indoors.

Warrnambool Table Tennis Association

Invitation for any students and parents to have training / fun time at the Warrnambool Table Tennis Centre on Wednesday afternoons from 5.30pm - 6.30pm.

The invitation is open to all, the cost is free, but for regular attendees we would expect you to join the club as a social member to cover insurance costs.

For more information contact Pat Nicholson 0418 173 854.