August 28th 2025

Acknowledgement of Country

Social Justice Sunday

Loving God,
We pray for leaders who care for people in need.
We pray for those who are homeless or unwell,
that they may find safety, friendship and hope.
Help us to be kind and caring,
and to make the world a better place.

Amen.

This weekend is Social Justice Sunday, where Australia’s Bishops invite us to seriously consider our Christian responsibility to those who are in homelessness and mental ill-health. Like Jesus, we are to “offer service…to our sisters and brothers created in the image of God.”

A Note from our Principal

Ngata families, 

Last Sunday was a very special occasion for our school and parish community as a number of our students celebrated their First Eucharist. It was a joy-filled celebration where the children took another important step in their faith journey. We congratulate each of them and thank their families, teachers and Fr. Matt for the guidance and support that made the day so meaningful.

I would also like to thank our Grade 1/2 parents for your understanding with the postponement of the Werribee Zoo excursion. While it was disappointing to delay such a much-anticipated day, the health and safety of our students and staff must always come first. We are grateful for your patience and look forward to rescheduling this wonderful learning opportunity soon.

This week we also welcomed back Teeth on Wheels and once again it was a great success. Many of our students were able to access dental check-ups in a friendly and supportive environment. It is such a valuable program for our community, promoting health and wellbeing right here at school.

Finally, a reminder that our Father’s Day Breakfast is coming up on Friday 5th September. It is one of the highlights of the year and a special chance to gather and celebrate the dads, grandfathers and special people in our children’s lives. We hope to see many of you there.

Thank you, as always, for your ongoing support of our school and the many ways you contribute to the life of our community.

Kind regards,

Nick Murrell

Principal

No School Tomorrow!

A reminder that tomorrow is a pupil free day as our staff undertake training in the area of School-Wide Positive Behaviour Support (SWPBS).   

We appreciate your support and understanding regarding this school closure day.

St. Pius Beanies For Sale!!

Father's Day / Special Person's Day Breakfast- Friday, 5th September.

WE ARE NOW TAKING ORDERS FOR BREAKFAST!

PLEASE PLACE ORDERS ONLINE USING THE CDF PAY APP (VIA FLEXISCHOOLS) 

Can you help us with Father's Day Breakfast??

Footy Tipping Winners

Congratulations to Edward Coverdale who is the winner of the St. Pius X Football Tipping Competition for 2025.  It was a tight race to the finish with the 2nd, 3rd and 4th placegetters all on 172 and separated only by percentage. (Bad Luck Tip Rat!)

1st:  Edward Coverdale on 173

2nd: Joe Cuolahan on 172 (591)

3rd: Nick Murrell on 172 (624)

Winners will be contacted.  Thank you to everyone who participated this year.  

Indigenous Literacy Foundation - Casual Clothes Day on Wednesday, 3rd September.

On Wednesday September 3rd, Mini Vinnies will be holding a red, yellow and black casual clothes day to raise money for the Indigenous Literacy Foundation.  Students are encouraged to wear any or all of these colours and bring a gold coin donation.  If they don't have any clothes in those colours at home they can wear their school uniform and we’ll have some ribbons available at the office for anyone who wishes to show their support. 

This money will be forwarded to the ILF. The ILF is a fantastic charity that supports Communities to access books and have their stories published in languages they speak at home.

The Junior school have been learning a song about Indigenous seasons which they would love to share with you at 3:10pm just before school pick up. So, come along to the playground area and join us for Busking for Change.

The Arts

This week Mrs Keeley visited the Warrnambool Art Gallery to check out our amazing grade 5/6 entries in the 2025 Young Portrait Prize. This exhibition is open to the public and is a wonderful event worth checking out. If you intend to visit, our artwork is up high just past the window on the left hand side of the room.  There is a map at reception if you have trouble finding it. Here is a taste of the masterpieces you will find. 

Foundation Files

Measuring in different ways

Over the past couple of weeks we have been learning about measurement and how things have different attributes depending on their size. We know the meanings of the words length, height, mass and capacity. We have been able to find things in our environment that are long, short, tall, heavy light, hold more and hold less. Part of our learning has been that we need to compare different things, make predictions and then test to see if our predictions are correct. We have used string, hefting, balance scales and containers of all different sizes to measure. It has been lots of fun learning through exploring and discovery. Here is just some of the activities we have done. 

We can work together

Each morning, in our community meeting, we state a goal that we are going to be a ‘good friend’ and over the year we have learnt that this is not just for the playground, we can be a good friend in the classroom too. This week during counting we worked with a friend to count together and we had to make sure we took turns of the counter but that we were both counting together as a team. We had to count forwards and backwards from 0-100 and then some people even had to count to the whole class. We love learning and playing together. 

What does we mean when we say ‘Daily Review’?

Every morning we participate in Daily Review where we go over all the sounds and letter names that we have learnt throughout the year. We read and write the spellings for each sound, we read and write the spellings in words and we look at words that have tricky parts in them. We get to tick our work if it is right or fix it if we have made a little mistake. We love seeing how much we have learnt since the beginning of the year - we blow our socks (and our teachers) off every morning!

Lost and Found

We have quite a large quantity of school jumpers that have been handed in to the office without names or names which are illegible.  If your child is missing a jumper, please ask them to enquire at the office.  Jumpers that have not been claimed by the end of next week will be put into the donation pile.  Thank You.

2026 Enrolments

Do you know someone looking for a great school in 2026? Word of mouth is the best way to let people know about our wonderful school. Please encourage anyone who might be interested to contact the school for a private tour. 

REMINDER: Parent/Guardian/Carers Code of Conduct to be signed ASAP

As a DOBCEL school, we are required to have all Parents/Guardians/Carers sign a Code of Conduct as part of the Enrolment Agreement.  This Code of Conduct is a guide to the expected conduct and behaviour of all Parents/Guardians/Carers while in all school environments, engaging in school-related activities or representing the school.   This document has been written in the context of new enrolments, but is to be utilised for all current enrolments as well. 

A copy of this document was sent out electronically through PAM to all Parents/Guardians/Carers.  Please take the time to read and acknowledge your acceptance of the terms and conditions listed. 

Thank you to those who have already signed their Codes of Conduct.   It is an important part of our school's Compliance regulations that this document is read and signed by all Parents/Carers.  It would be appreciated if this could be attended to as soon as possible.  Please contact the office if you are unable to access the document in PAM.  Thank you for your assistance.

Breakfast Club - Wednesday

Students, please join us for some yummy toast, fruit and cereal each Wednesday morning at Breakfast Club.

Breakfast club is open from 8:20am - 8:55am in the Function Room.

With thanks to our sponsors Western District Foodshare and Woolworths and to our fantastic parent helpers.  

Class Awards

Important Dates.

Tomorrow Friday, 29th August:         SCHOOL CLOSURE DAY

Wednesday, 3rd September:       Casual Clothes Day - Indigenous Literacy Foundation (Gold Coin Donation)

Thursday, 4th September:    SAC Meeting 7.30pm

Friday, 5th September:      Fathers Day / Special Person's Breakfast 7.45am to 8.45am

Monday, 8th September:    District Volleyball

Tuesday, 9th September:      P&F Meeting 7.30pm

Friday, 12th September:      District Table Tennis

Monday, 15th September to Wednesday, 17th September:     5/6 Roses Gap Camp

Friday, 19th September:    Last day of Term 3 - 2.30pm Finish

Remaining School Closure Days 2025

Mon 6th October – Structured Literacy 

Fri 7th November  – Religious Education 

Canteen Roster for Week 5

Seaside Community Kitchen

Before & After School Care.

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.

School Uniform Prices

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/ 

POWER SAVING BONUS

Do you or someone you know need some help to apply for the Victorian Government’s $100 Power Saving Bonus ?

Your local Neighbourhood House can help with the online application.

Please contact Jill for an appointment 0418 944 276

This round of savings is for concession card holders only and will run until March 2026.

West Warrnambool Neighbourhood House - Calendar of Events