October 16th, 2025

Acknowledgement of Country

A Prayer for World Food Day

Loving God,

We give thanks for the gift of food and the hands that grow and share it.

Open our hearts to notice those who hunger, near and far.

Inspire us to live justly, care for creation, and work together for a fairer world.

May our choices reflect your love and nourish hope in others.

Amen

Thursday 16th October is World Food Day

A Note from our Principal

Ngata families, 

What a wonderful week it has been at St Pius X! Our school has been filled with energy, excitement and a real sense of community spirit.

Our Year 3/4 students have just completed a sensational Bike Education program and what an achievement it has been. The week culminated in The Big Ride on Wednesday, where students and staff rode together to the Botanic Gardens and back. The enthusiasm, teamwork and perseverance shown by all was truly inspiring. A huge congratulations to our students for their effort and positive attitude and a big thank you to the staff who guided and supported them throughout the program. It’s wonderful to see our students growing in confidence and responsibility as they learn new life skills.

This week we have also had the joy of welcoming some of our Foundation students for 2026 and their families as they came in for their Foundation interviews. It has been such a delight to meet these bright, friendly young learners and see their excitement as they begin their journey with us here at St. Pius X. We are blessed to be part of their first steps in formal learning and we look forward to the years of growth, faith and discovery that lie ahead.

Moments like these remind us of the vibrancy of our school community and the joy that comes from learning, connecting and growing together in faith.

Kind regards,

Nick Murrell

Principal

Class Groupings for 2026

In the coming weeks our staff will be drafting class lists for the 2026 school year.  If parents/guardians have information that relates to their child's learning needs and will assist in the placement of their child, they are encouraged to forward this information as soon as possible. 

All submissions must be in writing. 

Either email: 

principal@spwarrnambool.catholic.edu.au 

or address a letter marked confidential to "The Principal". 

Parents/Guardians are asked to submit this information before Friday, 31st October. 

St. Pius X Raffle

The Parents & Friends committee of St. Pius X School is responsible for raising valuable funds for our school and this year they have organised an exciting Christmas Raffle for everyone to participate in.

This Major raffle will have three prizes:

·      1st Prize - $1,200 Coles Group & Myer Gift Card

·      2nd - $500 Coles Group & Myer Gift Card

·     3rd -  $300 Coles Group & Myer Gift Card 

In addition to the above prizes, there will be a ticket seller draw. There will be one winner drawn and this lucky school family will get their 2026 Family Fee credited against their school fee account (or for those in grade 6 it will go to the secondary school they are attending in 2026.)

All the eldest in families have received these tickets. We would appreciate all tickets sold with the money to be returned to the school by the 3rd of December. All unsold tickets can be returned anytime so they can be redistributed for sale which will ensure the best possible outcome for this fundraiser.   

The raffle will be drawn on the 5th of December 2025 at 3pm.

Save the Date - Movie Night!

🎬 SCHOOL MOVIE NIGHT! 🎬

We’re excited to announce our School Movie Night on Friday, October 24th, starting at 6:30pm.

There will be two separate movies showing at the same time — one for Foundation–Year 2 students and another for Years 3–6.
Our SRC is currently running a voting process to decide which movies will be shown. The chosen titles will be announced soon!

Entry: $5 per person
This includes movie entry and a snack pack for each child.
Payment can be made via CDF Pay, where you will also be asked to list the names of the children attending.

What to bring and wear:

• Pyjamas or casual clothes
  
  
• A drink bottle
  
  
• Optional: something comfy to sit or lie on (pillow, blanket, or beanbag)
  
  

Behaviour expectations:
Students are expected to behave respectfully throughout the evening.
Any student displaying anti-social or disruptive behaviour will have their parents/carers contacted to collect them immediately. (Last year’s event was affected by excessive noise, so we appreciate your support in ensuring everyone enjoys the movie!)

Supervision:
Supervision will be provided by members of the Parents and Friends of St Pius X (all with valid Working With Children Checks) and Mr Murrell.
Please note that parents/carers/grandparents will not be able to stay and watch the movies.

What not to bring:

• Food
  
  
• Extra lollies
  
  
• Mobile devices
  
  

If a mobile device must be brought, it must be handed to Mr Murrell upon arrival. Any devices not handed in will be confiscated and returned to a parent or adult at the end of the night.

Arrival and collection:
All children must be signed in on arrival and signed out upon collection.

We can’t wait for a fun and relaxed evening together!

Grade 1/2 News......

Dear Grade 1/2 Parents and Carers,

SWPBS Term Focus

This term, our Grade 1 and 2 Pod is focusing on two very important expectations:
 Use your Safety Plan
 Keep your hands and feet to yourself

We’re learning what it means to make safe choices, use our Safety Plans when things feel tricky, and show care and respect for others by keeping our hands and feet to ourselves.

Teachers will be on the lookout for students showing these positive behaviours and will be rewarding them with tokens throughout the term!

Whether we’re moving inside or outside the Pod, going to play, specialists, incursions, excursions, or assemblies, we’ll be reminding everyone to make safe, kind choices — remind, remind, remind!

Let’s keep up the great work, Grade 1s and 2s, and show everyone how safe, respectful and ready to learn we can be! 

Science Unit

As part of our current Science unit on Forces, we are exploring how objects move and the effects of push, pull and gravity. To support our hands-on investigations, we kindly ask for donations of clean, empty containers, such as:

Margarine or butter containers.

Yoghurt tubs.

Small to medium-sized ice cream containers.

These items will be used to build a boat on Monday 10th November.

If you are able to send any of these items in with your child, it would be greatly appreciated.

Thank you for your support and for helping to make our learning interactive and engaging!

Warm regards,
Kate, Clare and Rachel

Musica Viva!

On Tuesday we welcomed 3 very talented musicians from the Musica Viva group - El Camino, to our school. We have been learning about their music in the Arts. The music of El Camino features traditional melodies and instruments from South America and the Andes mountains. Over several weeks we have learnt about their music, language, and the culture of their ancestors.  They had us tapping rhythms, singing along and building hamburgers with music. It was such a treat to hear such unique sounds echoing through our school. 

The Foundation Files

Pastoral Care Day - we are learning how to Bounce Back!

We had so much fun on Pastoral Day Care! The day began with a Ride or Walk to School event. We had to be a little bit brave because it was NOT the best weather to start off the fun. Charlotte got wet riding her bike and some of us made sure we had our coats on to keep us warm.

We had fun playing musical cushions and it was terrible when we lost and couldn’t keep playing. Murishe was too good and was the class winner! Then we had to make paper towers in teams and it was tricky. Lots of towers came toppling over but we didn’t give up and we kept on building. Pastoral Care Day helps us to build resilience and to Bounce Back!

Grandparents Day!

The Foundation room was bursting at the seams - we needed an extension!!

There were so many Grandparents, Parents, Aunties, Uncles and other special friends who came along to see how we learn and play at school.

We had a list of little games to teach them, we gave them a little interview and we even had to crack a mystery code with them. 

We thank everyone for taking the time to come and see us at St Pius X!!

Gathering Data

We are learning all about the word ‘data’. It is information that we gather and organise to tell us something about an important question.

Question 1 - Do you have a pet? There were 26 people that did and 7 that didn’t. 

We collected the data on the floor of our room and then we made a data chart on the whiteboard. We could make a statement about the data we collected - ‘More students have pets at home’.

Question 2 - Do you like Pizza? There was only one person that didn’t so we collected the data on the floor and made another chart on the whiteboard. We could make a statement about the data - ‘Only 1 student did NOT like pizza.’

Gathering data is easy and lots of fun.

School Fees

Dear Families,

It has been noted that there are still a large amount of school fees that haven't been paid or had a payment plan set up.  Just a reminder that it is an expectation that all fees will be paid in full by the end of the year unless a payment plan is set up and ongoing.  Please call Bec Lawlor if you have any questions or have any concerns over being able to meet your financial obligations.  Bec is more than happy to help with different options that will work for your families needs.

Warrnambool College Information Session

Catholic Development Fund

St. Pius Beanies For Sale!!

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.

Important Dates.

Monday, 20th October:        1/2 Swimming

                                                       Parents & Friends Meeting at 7.30pm.

Tuesday, 21st October:         1/2 Swimming                                                 

Thursday, 23rd October:     Interschool Cricket

                                                       1/2 Swimming

Friday, 24th October:            Movie Night.   

                                                       1/2 Swimming

                                                       Assembly in the Church - 3pm

Remaining School Closure Days 2025

Fri 7th November  – Religious Education 

Canteen Roster for Week 1, Term 4

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