June 16th, 2022

Acknowledgement of Country

Prayer

A Note from our Principal

Ngata Families & Friends,

Our school has been a hive of activity in the past week. We sincerely thank Mr Bacon for his work to organise our pastoral care day on Friday and also Mrs Keeley and the Mini Vinnies Group who organised our Wacky clothes and cereal drive. See the photos below. This week our teachers have been putting the finishing touches on their work to report on the learning growth of students across Semester 1. As explained below we ask all families to ensure that Learning Conversations are booked for next week.

As we approach the final week of the Term, our upcoming dates for major events have been updated for Term 3. Please make sure you consider these and note the details of the events with relevance to your family.

Finally a reminder that the final day of the Term is Friday June 24th. Classes will finish at 2.30pm.

Joe Ewing

Principal

School Reports & Assessment

All students will bring home their Semester 1 reports tomorrow afternoon. (If there are any report folders still at home, could you please ensure that they are returned to school tomorrow morning). The documents consist of a summary sheet of students' achievement across each curriculum area for Terms 1 & 2. Also included are summaries of learning in specialist learning areas of Physical Education, Digital Technology, Art and Japanese. 

It is important to stress that this document is only the first part of the report process. The second part is the Learning Conversation which will be held next week. The Learning Conversation is an opportunity for teachers to take parents through the progress made by each child, illustrated by work samples and classroom observations.

We urge all families to ensure that a booking is made for each child for these conversations to be held on Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday of next week. These bookings can be made through PAM (Parent Access Module), which can be accessed through the Schoolzine app.

Please note that families who usually access a translator for these meetings will have their Learning Conversation scheduled at the beginning of Term 3.

The Jungle Book Kids is Coming!

Canteen News

As we come to the end of term there are some important points to share about our canteen:

New menu / price list

Below is a link to our canteen menu for term 3. Because of a change in suppliers and sourcing, some of our products have been replaced. The replacement products are of similar dietary value maintaining healthy options and portions. One of the changes is the removal of Zooper Doopers. An icy pole on a wooden stick has replaced these, meaning that our school can cut down on the amount of plastic going into our bins. This also cuts down on the labour required on hot days to serve these items to our students.   The tubs of Frozen Bulla Yoghurt will also be replaced with a smaller version on a stick.

Canteen Clean

Next Thursday (June 23) there will be a deep clean of the canteen facilities, one of our P&F's termly tasks. Anyone who would be able to volunteer some time would be welcome to assist in this clean which will be led by Kimberley Lack.  All volunteers are required to be triple vaccinated and need to sign in at the office upon arrival.

Canteen Closed on the Final Day of School Term

Friday June 24th is the final day of the school term and our canteen will be closed to allow for organisation for Term 3. Please ensure that there are no lunch orders on this day.

Girls' Football

On Thursday, our Year 3-6 students represent St Pius at Girl's Football. 
Under wet and windy conditions, they had a great day and worked really well as a team. They challenged themselves and made it through to the Grand Final. 
We would like to thank all of the students who represented St Pius for a great day, they made us proud. 

SRC Safety Briefing

Last Friday our SRC representatives planned and presented a safety briefing at different areas around our school. They spoke to all grades about the importance of being safe on play equipment and also demonstrated how to play particular games fairly and safely. 

School Enrolments for 2023

Our main enrolment period is now drawing to a close. While it is likely we will be able to continue to accept enrolments, offers will be made to new families next week. For current families with a new Prep for 2023, we urge you to ensure that your enrolment application is in tomorrow, so that your child is counted in our numbers for the new year.

Assembly -2.30pm Tomorrow

Our fortnightly assembly will be held tomorrow afternoon in our parish church at 2.30pm.

All families are welcome to attend.

Parents & Friends

A full meeting of the P&F was not possible due to low attendance on Monday night. However regular attendees are invited to look over the notes made on the agenda (linked below) in regards to projected fundraising activities, canteen management and social gatherings.

ReLATE Student Survey

Our school is currently implementing the ReFraming Learning and Teaching Environments model. This model is being evaluated by Monash University in partnership with its provider - the MacKillop Institute. As part of this process, Monash university is inviting you to complete a survey with your Yr 4-6 child(ren). It is completely anonymous and voluntary.

There are 21 questions about safety, school environment and the teaching relationships that your child(ren) experiences. Our school will receive a report based on the findings that will be distributed.

Please use the link below with your child if they fall into the Yr 4-6 age range.

First Eucharist

Early next term the opportunity will be open to students who are ready to receive their First Eucharist.  For the St Pius X community this is usually (but not limited to) Year 4 students who have been Baptised & Confirmed.  A family formation evening will be held on the evening of July 20th for all children and parents who will be taking part.

The dates for Eucharist are as follows:

July 20th Formation Meeting 7.00pm

July 25th Family Group 1

July 31st Children presented at Mass 10.00am

August 1st Family Group 2

August 7th Children’s pictures displayed in the Church

August 8th Family Group 3

August 14th Prayer scrolls distributed at Mass

August 15th Family Group 4

August 21st Sacrament of Eucharist 10.00am

All families who intend to participate in this preparation are required to register their child using the enrolment form which can be accessed using the link below.

Hot Off the Prep Press!

Pastoral Care Day

Last Friday was a huge big day of fun and learning. We loved wearing wacky clothes and there was a huge variety of creativity.  There was blue hair, crazy socks, unusual headbands, wonderful T-shirts, tulle skirts and even some odd shoes. What was more important was that we raised lots of money for charity.  Well done for supporting such a good cause.

On this day we also made some stress balls (some may have popped before making it home!!) and after that we had an audit of our safety plans.  All the Preps know a lot about what zones they are in and ways that they can regulate their feelings to get back into the Green Zone and ready to learn. Patrick knows that he can count to 10, Chloe likes to take deep breaths, Braxton goes off to have a drink of water and Brooklynn also loves to count to calm herself down.

“You guys are amazing!” This is a compliment Ms Osborne and Ms Lane would like to give to our parents and all our wonderful Preps. In the afternoon, we learnt all about compliments. What they are, when we should give them and how they make us feel.  The room was full of positivity and all of this week we have continued to hear lots more of them everyday. “Ms Lane is sooo cool!”

Check out all our great photos from just one fabulous day of fun at St Pius X.  Thanks to Mr Bacon for helping us to enjoy all these wonderful moments and for giving us time to learn about how we treat ourselves and our friends and our teachers with love and kindness.

Wacky Clothes Day

Safety Plans

A Little Compliment goes a long way......

Mini Vinnies

Wacky Clothes

As part of our pastoral care day on Friday, our Mini Vinnies invited all of our staff and students to wear wacky clothes to school and donate a gold coin. Our generous families raised $250 which was be used to buy cereal for Food Share.

Wacky Clothes Gallery

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Cereal Dominos

The second opportunity for generosity from our school community has been the cereal drive. Today the cereal that had been donated was lined up like dominos. 

All donated cereal will be passed on to Food Share.

Annual Report to the School Community

Each year all schools are required to produce a report that notes its goals from the previous school year and explains the actions undertaken to meet these goals. This report is freely available to our community by clicking on the link below.

This document will also be available on our school website.

School Fees & Levies

Last week statements were posted to all families who may have an outstanding balance.  The statements are a means of letting you know your balance should you be making regular payments.  They also serve as a reminder to families who have yet to make a start on their fees.

It is an expectation that all fees and levies will be addressed by the beginning of November.

Remember, as always should you wish to discuss your account or make alternate arrangements, please do not hesitate to contact Anne at the office.

Traffic Update

As you will know we have increased the number of speed signs that are visible in our car park. some feedback has alerted us to an extra sign being required for visibility. Thanks to our School Advisory Council for their attention to this important safety issue.

Check your speedo as you enter the carpark - you might be going faster than you realise!

Children in Cars

One of the difficult parts of pick-up for our families is having a small baby in the car while trying to supervise school age children safely across the carpark. If this is ever an issue for families, please remain in your car and call the office. A staff member will gladly walk the older children to the car.

E-Safety Webinar: Safer Online Gaming

Help your kids stay safe by learning about the benefits and risks of online gaming.  This webinar run by e Safety  is designed for parents and carers of young people aged 8 to 13 years of age.

It will cover:

• the games young people are using and how they are engaging with them
• the benefits of gaming and how to mitigate the risks
• practical strategies to use at home and where to find help and support if things go wrong.

Term 2 dates (Australian Eastern Standard Time)

• Thursday 9 June 12.30 - 1.30 pm
• Friday 17 June 12.30 – 1.30 pm
• Tuesday 21 June 7.30 – 8.30 pm

You can register here.- There are also other webinars upcoming for parents and carers here. There is also a link to a list of safe Apps for children here.

Crisis Meals

Each week a volunteers has been rostered to provide a freezable meal to our school to be distributed to a family experiencing hardship, grief or unforeseen circumstances.

The volunteer for this week is Alana Gleeson.

The upcoming roster is below. More volunteers are always welcome!

Ideally meals should be easy to freeze & serve, and should be labelled so that the type meal can be easily identified. Any other families wishing to volunteer can now do so by calling the office directly. Meals can be dropped to the office.

Recycling

We would like to bring you up-to-date on initiatives which you may not be aware of regarding recycling.

St Pius X and The Civic Centre(WCC)  has a Collection Counter whereby you may leave a variety of recyclables.

 In the front foyer we have containers that you can drop off:

• Batteries 
• Oral Hygiene Products 
• This box ‘accepts’ toothpaste tubes, toothbrushes and plastic dental floss containers. 
• Writing Instruments 
• This box ‘accepts’ pens, biros, pencils, textas and highlighters. 
• Mobile Phones

 Lids4Kids

The WCC has a large blue container in which you may place small plastic lids.  The Lids4Kids program – which is co-ordinated by dedicated volunteers – accepts tiny plastic lids from milk containers, milk bottles, water bottles and the like.  These lids are then collected, cleaned and sorted into colour before being returned to WCC where the Waste Management team mails the boxed lids to a recycling station in South Australia.  The shredding, melting and moulding proceeds to produce such items as park benches, fence posts, planter pots, bollards and homewares.  This inspiring initiative may be investigated via info@lids4kids.org.au.

Plastic Bread-Tags

Further, there is also a smaller yellow container (both at WCC and St Pius X foyer) where plastic bread-tags may be left.  Many bakeries are now using biodegradable cardboard tags, however if you have plastic bread-tags you would like to recycle, they may be deposited in that container.  The bread-tags are then recycled to fund wheelchairs in South Africa, and you may learn more of this initiative via https://ozbreadtagsforwheelchairs.org.au/. 

 If you have any queries regarding these recycling updates, or if you would like someone from the Waste Management team to visit your school to answer questions and/or help you to establish a collection counter, do not hesitate to contact me.

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.

Recently we have had a call on  second hand uniforms.  We are desperately in need of larger sizes to replenish our stock.  If you have any school uniform clothing in reasonable condition we would very much appreciate your support.  Please contact Angela if you are in a position to assist.

Breakfast Club

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  to our parent volunteers Maddy and Tracey.

Footy Tipping

Bluesfan17's slender lead has been maintained this week. The plan seems to be to wait for the right time to play the last joker. Down the order there are plenty of spare jokers yet to play from Anne Kerr and Naomi Kishinaka and a long way back in the pack Brad Everall is looking supsiciously like he's going to pull a rabbit out of the tipping hat soon.

The Collingwood loving White's picked 6 winners, as did Verspay's Tigers, mattrylance and The Martins Warrnambool. Very good tipping or just very good luck - you be the judge!

Thanks to our generous sponsor:

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/ 

Upcoming Dates

Jun 17 Assembly at 2.30pm - All Welcome

Jun 21 Learning Conversations

Jun 22 Learning Conversations

Jun 23 Learning conversations

Jun 24 Final day of Term 2

Jul 11 Term 3 begins

Jul 13 Year 5/6 camp to Melbourne

Jul 18 Dental van visit

Parents & Friends Meeting 7.30pm

Jul 20 Eucharist Family Meeting

Jul 27 Musica Viva performance

Jul 28 School Advisory Council meeting 7.30pm

Aug 8 Feast of St Mary MacKillop

Aug 19 St Pius X feast celebration

Aug 21 St Pius X feast day

Aug 25 School Advisory Council meeting 7.30pm

Aug 29 Parents & Friends meeting 7.30pm

Sep 8 Pupil Free Day: Staff Professional Learning

Sep 14 School Production: The Jungle Book Kids

School Canteen Roster

Part of Something Big

My family and I visited Sydney a number of years ago. After a morning of visiting the Sydney Opera House, we decided we would walk across the Sydney Harbour Bridge. Before crossing it, we read a plaque that commemorated the Walk for Reconciliation that occured in 2000, when thousands of people moved as one to highlight the need for a national apology, and greater inclusion for First Nations Australians in the national conversation. 

We were crossing the bridge 15 years later, but we felt some connection to this amazing event as we followed in the footsteps of the crowd.

This weekend our Church celebrates the Feast of the Body of Christ. In a sense the ‘Walk’ illustrates what this feast is all about. 

The Body of Christ is more than just one person, it is a movement of people who walk as one and live their lives nourished by the Eucharist inspired by the life and words of Jesus. This is not limited to those who consciously identify as Christians - but all who strive to be at one with love, justice and compassion.

Our Diocesan Community

The link below opens the quarterly diocesan magazine that features news from across the Ballarat Diocese.

COVID 19 Arrangements

RAT Kits

Staff and students should only be tested with a RAT kit when symptomatic or when testing as a close contact over the 7 day quarantine period.

The school will continue to supply these kits periodcally for the remainder of Term 2.

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.

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.

Trash Test Dummies Circus

Thank you for your ongoing support of our work.  We look forward to seeing you online. 
Chris and the I CAN team