November 28th, 2024

Acknowledgement of Country

A Note from our Principal

Ngata families, 

Staffing Announcement for the 2025 School Year

As we approach the end of the 2024 school year, we have some important staffing updates to share with our school community.

Firstly, we bid a fond farewell to Ms. Emily Brough, who will be leaving St Pius X at the end of this year. Emily has played a vital role during her time with us, both as a classroom teacher and as our Japanese specialist teacher. Emily will be moving to St Joseph's, where she will take up a position as Japanese teacher. We thank Emily for her dedication to our students and wish her all the best as she embarks on this exciting new chapter in her career.

We also say goodbye to Miss Georgia O'Keefe, who has worked with us as both a Learning Support Officer (LSO) and classroom teacher. Georgia will be joining St Patrick's Koroit next year as a classroom teacher. We are grateful for her hard work and commitment to our students and wish her every success in her new role.

I would also like to announce that Ms. Stacey Atkins will be resuming her role as Deputy Principal in 2025. Many students have already enjoyed welcoming Stacey back to the school during her recent visits and we are thrilled to have her back with us full time. Welcome back, Stacey!

We wish Emily and Georgia all the best in their new positions and look forward to the continued success of our St Pius X community with Stacey as part of our leadership team. 

Learning Conversations (Next week)

Bookings for 3 way conversations are now available in PAM. At this time of year our learning conversations are a celebration of student achievements, providing a platform to showcase their hard work and progress. The learning conversations are more than just meetings; they are vital opportunities to set future goals and ensure that every family is actively engaged in their child's educational journey. By involving parents and guardians, we strengthen the home-school partnership, creating a supportive environment for our students to thrive. We are proud of our students' accomplishments and grateful for the continued collaboration with our families. 

Together, we are laying the foundation for future successes and fostering a community where every student can reach their full potential. We encourage families to log in and make an appointment to celebrate your child/ren’s success. 

Kind regards,

Nick Murrell

Principal

DOBCEL board visit

Yesterday we were lucky enough to host 3 of our DOBCEL board members. Holly and Vonal, our school captains, led a tour for our visitors. They highlighted 4 new things at St Pius X this year. Our Sensory room, Playground, Middle pod and the very popular Gaga pit! We thank Terry, Anne and Fr. John for visiting.

Christmas Raffle

We are thrilled at the positive feedback and response we have received so far regarding our 2024 major raffle that is supporting our school community! Here's everything you need to know:

• Ticket Seller Prize: There will be one lucky ticket seller who receives their family school fee credited in 2025—a fantastic incentive to get involved!
• Please Return Sold Tickets: If you have sold tickets, please ensure you return them by 6th December so we can process the entries.
• Unable to Sell Tickets?: If you are unable to sell the tickets, please return them to the school ASAP so we can reallocate them to others.
• Want to Sell More Tickets?: If you would like to help sell additional tickets, please reach out to the school office—we’d be happy to provide more.
• Raffle Draw Date: The raffle draw will take place on 11th December.

Thank you for supporting this exciting initiative!

Mini Golf

This week, the students of St Pius X commenced a mini golf competition. All students will participate in a round robin type event for the next couple of weeks, with the winning student progressing on to a school final (hopefully we will have some teacher representation as well).

The Foundation Files

Active Sportz

On Monday we were ready to kick off our Foundation Fun Week and the first place on our list was Active Sportz. When we arrived, Raff met us and told us all the important rules we needed to follow so that we could all have fun. We played lots of games and did lots of running and jumping. Our favourite things were the parachute and cones and balls. By the end of the session we were very puffed and some of us had very red cheeks. 

Movies & Gardens

On Tuesday we packed our bags and went to the Warrnambool Cinema. We were so excited to be going to the movies. The first thing we could smell was the popcorn but we walked past the counter and went upstairs where we had the theatre to ourselves. We got comfortable and settled in to watch Paddington in Peru. 

Lilly - my best part of the movie was when Paddington found his Aunt Lucy  in the jungle. 

Georgia - my best part of the movie was when Paddington found the orange orchard in El Dorado and roared out to find his Auntie. 

Bodhi - my best part of the movie was when Paddington used his bracelet to open up the stone entrance to El Dorado. 

After the movies we got back on the bus and went to the Gardens. The sun was shining and the ducks were waddling. We had the nature playground all to ourselves. We had the best play ever. Mrs Walsh even came to visit us for a play and so did Zola’s mum, too. 

Library Time & Ten Pin Bowling

On Wednesday we packed our bags again. The Library is so much fun. We had reading time to ourselves and then we listened to Rosie read us a Christmas story. We then got to decorate a tree and all its baubles. Rosie sang Jingle Bells with us and made us smile. This was our 3rd library visit and once again, we had fun!!! After the Library we walked to Ten Pin Bowling. On the way we stopped at the Civic Green to have our first lunch and a play on the grass. When we got to Bowling we had to change our shoes and get ready in our lanes. We even got to bowl with the lights off and the music on, it was like a disco. Sometimes we had to push the HELP button if the ball or pins got stuck. Our bowling champions were Hayley, Carter, Georgia, Theo, Jaxon and Alice. 

We have had a great year learning together and have all made so many wonderful friendships. What a super fun week we have had as we get ready to finish our Foundation year together!!

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Fee statements

Fee statements are sent out to families via email every month.  If you have not been receiving this email or have recently changed your contact details, please notify the office.  Thank You.

Free Uniforms!

If you are looking for some good quality second hand uniforms, we currently have a display set up in the foyer area near the office.  You are welcome to come in anytime and have a look through what we have.   Items include summer dresses, shorts, pants, shirts etc. in various sizes.  All items are FREE to take. 

Bunnings BBQ on Saturday, 7th Dec.

Don't forget that our PnF Bunnings BBQ is coming up on Saturday 7th December!  Be sure to head out on this day, buy a snag and support our wonderful school.  If you still wish to donate any goods to the fundraiser (bread, sauce or soft drinks) or know of any business that would like to donate, please let the front office know by November 29. 

Food bank support - Thank You!

We have had a great response to the launch of our weekly community food bank to support families within our school. Thank you to everyone who has volunteered  to help with this great initiative. 

Please text Lara on 0423 453 334 if you wish to participate or need more information. Thank you for your continued support and generosity.

Text Lara on 0423 453 334

Breakfast Club - Wednesdays

A friendly reminder that Breakfast Club is running on Wednesday mornings from 8:20am. It is open to ALL students before school to enjoy some yummy toast, yogurt, cereal or a piece of fruit and take part in a morning conversation with others. We look forward to seeing everybody there!

Again, a big thankyou to Foodshare for providing us with breakfast items and Woolies Dennington for providing the fruit! Of course, this wouldn't take place without our amazing parent helpers, so a big thank you to Sarah & Virginia as well!

A special message just to say.............

The following students will be celebrating their birthday over the coming week......

Harriet Dufty, Elkie McLean, Amrith Moothezhath, Knox Gee & Brax Alford.

Canteen Roster for next week.

Important Dates.

Friday, 29th November - Advent Liturgy 3pm church

Monday, 2nd December - Learning Conversations 2.30-5.30pm

Tuesday, 3rd December - Learning Conversations 2.30-5.30pm

Wednesday, 4th December - Learning Conversations 2.30-5.30pm

Friday, 6th December - Assembly, 3pm in church

Saturday, 7th December - P&F Bunnings BBQ from 9am to 5pm

Thursday, 12th December - Gr 6 Graduation

Tuesday, 17th December - Carols and Presentation evening 6pm

Wednesday, 18th December - Final day for students

Before & After School Care.

Parish Contact.

Sunday Mass 9.00am @ 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/