November 24th 2022

Acknowledgement of Country

Prayer

First Sunday of Advent

In Advent the Christmas stalls and statuettes are taken out of the cupboard, but ...

Lord, our world sometimes seems like a stable full of donkeys and oxen, a

mess of power and ambition,

greed and intolerance.

Lord, our hearts sometimes seems like a stable full of conflicting feelings,

a mess of complexities,

with a crib that is completely filled with our own sweet "me".

Lord, give us the courage to fatten out our stable

and make room for you.

Give us the power to be human for others.

AMEN

A Note from our Principal

Ngata Families & Friends,

From the beginning of next week there are only three weeks of school to go, but what busy weeks they are! Assessment and reporting, transition activities, graduation, Carols & Presentation Evening and fun activities, its all ahead of us!
In all of the busyness of the end of the school year its also worth remembering that the end of year, brings endings and new beginnings which bring anxiety, as well as fatigue. While we are moving into a time of celebration, it is also an emotional time. I encourage parents to look for signs of this in children as a signal to look for the opportunity to slow down as we approach the end of the year.
Many of the upcoming events are detailed further in the newsletter. I look forward to seeing you at events scheduled over the closing weeks of the school year.

Joe Ewing

Principal

Bethany Giving Appeal

Christmas decorations have gone up early in the administration area this year - for good reason. Our school is supporting the Bethany Christmas Appeal. Bethany in collaboration with Barwon Child, Youth & Family and the Sexual Assault & Family Violence Centre are inviting members of our community to make a donation. These donations will be converted to gift cards, so that families can purchase food and gifts this Christmas. Donations can be made online at https://www.bethany.org.au/campaigns/bethany-christmas-appeal/

Congratulations Victoria!

This weekend Victoria Balash will be formally welcomed as a member of the St Pius X Parish when she is baptised and confirmed at 10.00am Mass. We look forward to publishing a photo from Victoria’s celebration in next week’s newsletter. 

Advent Liturgy

This coming Sunday is the First Sunday of Advent and tomorrow our Yr 3/4 classes will lead us in prayer before our assembly. Families are invited to join us in the church at 2.45pm.

Reconciliation Action Plan

We thank all families for the opportunity of our Pupil Free Day last week in order for staff to look at the steps forward to creating a Reconciliation Action Plan. Our day began by being welcomed to Country by Billy Briggs of the Eastern Maar Aboriginal Corporation. Billy spoke passionately about the need for Reconciliation and greater equity for First Nations Peoples across Australia. Staff then engaged in a number of activities including media analysis of recent news issues that affect Aboriginal Australians, the data from our recent Reconciliation survey and what are the prescribed first steps that would be included in our Reconciliation Action Plan. We were fortunate to be assisted on the day by Jeanette Morris, the advisor for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Education with the Catholic Education Office. 

Our next steps will include forming a RAP advisory group to finalise our inaugural document, with the plan that this would be launched at the end of Term 1 in 2023.

Yr 6 Graduation

Yr 6 families should all now have received the formal invitation to our graduation ceremony which will be held on Thursday December 8th. Families will firstly join us in our parish church for the formal ceremony (5.30pm), before graduates and parents gather at Brother Fox (6.30pm Deakin University) for refreshments.

The cost of graduate tickets is covered by our Parents and Friends Association. We ask that the payment of parent tickets is made by tomorrow, November 25th so that final numbers can be determined for catering.

Thanks to Janine Lyons, mum to Anna, for her organisation of this special event.

P&F / SAC Social Gathering

This coming Wednesday evening (Nov 30), the members of our P&F and SAC have been invited to a social gathering to say thankyou for the ongoing support across 2022. Each committee member should have received an invitation via email. Please RSVP before the end of school tomorrow so that numbers can be finalised.

Carols & Presentation Evening

All families are invited to our annual Carols and Presentation Evening will be held in our parish church on Thursday December 15th at 7.00pm. This will be the first time since 2019 that this event will have been run in person, so we look forward to the opportunity to be together for this important event. Our students will share some Christmas music with us, and we will say farewell and thank community members who will be leaving St Pius X.

Student Reports & Learning Conversations

Student reports will be distributed to families on Friday, December 2nd ahead of Learning Conversations which will be spread over the following two weeks. Learning Conversations are scheduled for December 7th, 12th & 14th. Families will have the opportunity to make bookings for these next week. The Learning Conversation is an integral part of the reporting process and families are strongly encouraged to take part in these.

Dennington Carols

The Dennnington community will be holding their annual Carols by the Merri on December 2nd. The organisers have invited our school choir to perform on this night. The event will be held on the Payne Reserve (near the playground and BBQ), with food available from 5.30pm. Music begins at 6.30pm. Families will be advised of the St Pius X choir timeslot.

St. Pius X Recipe Book

Our school recipe book is available to purchase from the school office. Make sure you get your copy of this great collection contributed by families of our school.    The books are priced at $10 ea.

This would make a great Xmas stocking filler!

Jungle Book Kids DVDs

Families wishing to purchase a DVD of our school production The Jungle Book Kids may do so from our administration office.      DVDs are $15 each.

Walk to School Month!

For the month of November we are running Walk to School Month.  Students are encouraged to walk, ride or scoot to school to earn points for a whole school competition with the house team with the most healthy movers to win a free sausage at a sausage sizzle next week.  Yum!  Remember students can be dropped off a block from the school and walk from there which will count towards the competition.  There are some other prizes such as drink bottles, stickers and badges that can be won throughout the month so lets get moving!!

Opening the Doors Foundation Grant 2023

Opening The Doors Foundation provides grants to families to assist with the extra costs of schooling of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander students.  If this is your child’s first application with Opening The Doors Foundation you will need to provide/submit a Confirmation of Aboriginality Certificate with your application.  If this is not able to be obtained I can provide a phone number to call.  I am more than happy to assist families with this process should you qualify.

Rates are Foundation - $750 and Yr. 1-6 $600, Year 7 $1,200 and Yr. 8 - 12 $1,000.  All applicants must be enrolled in a Catholic or Independent educational institution located within the State boundaries of Victoria.  Please contact me (Anne)  on 5562 2506 for further information.

Hot off the Prep Press!

Smokey update

Last weekend Smokey had a long weekend visit to the Brisbane family in Mepunga. Evie was extremely excited about taking care of him. She spent lots of time cuddling him, feeding him and playing with him around the house. Smokey came back to school very content. He keeps growing and getting bigger every day. We watched a rabbit report which showed us that we are the best pet owners ever because all the behaviours that Smokey shows us indicate that he is one very happy bunny.

Pastoral Care Day

Last Thursday everyone in our school participated in a Pastoral Care Day beginning with a liturgy in our Church. We have been so good at using our safety plans at school to help us get back into the green zone that we thought it would be a great idea to make one that we can use at home. From all reports we know there are some safety plans living in bedrooms, on fridges and in places where they can be easily seen by everyone in the family. Check out Lachie, Leo, Maddison and Olivia’s safety plans - their smiling faces tell us that they are in the green zone, especially when they are at school having fun learning and playing with their friends.

Living in Jerusalem

On Wednesday the Prep children immersed themselves in the life and times of Jesus. We read the story of the First Christmas and then Ms Osborne led us through a Godly Play using her wooden Nativity set. We illustrated and retold the story in our own words with a friend. After that we dressed up as Romans and Jews and put on our thongs and sandals and went for long walks with our friends. We shared some unleavened bread with grapes, dates, hummus and olives. We played games outside like Jesus played with his friends and family and we ended the day watching an old traditional Disney clip called ‘The Small One’. What a great day!

School Magazine

School Magazine

Congratulations to Jessica Kent for winning the vote for the 2022 St.Pius X Files! 

School Fees and Levies

With only 3 weeks of the 2022 school year remaining it would be greatly appreciated if school fees and levies could be finalised as soon as possible. For families who have committed to regular instalments, please continue with your payment plan as per your arrangements.

Ringing families as a reminder to pay fees is not only embarrassing and uncomfortable to you but also to the admin staff. Please contact the school office to organise a payment plan should you wish to set up a payment plan.  Thank you.

Crisis Meals

Thanks to our meals volunteer this week: Paula Fleming

Each week a volunteer has been rostered to provide a freezable meal to our school to be distributed to a family experiencing hardship, grief or unforeseen circumstances. These meals have been regularly distributed and the families receiving them have been most grateful.

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 leader Tracey Williams.

Before & After School Care

Stay Awake!

It was not until I became a parent that I realised the importance of sleep. The unsettling feeling of being awoken by a crying baby, or having to delay going to bed because someone is sick demonstrates how sleep deprivation can be effective torture!

On the other hand, I’m sure we’ve all had the experience of being ‘wired’, or so hyped up that we can’t sleep. I remember coming home from a concert one evening (fairly exciting) and then watching Australia win their first World Cup match (ultra exciting). There was no chance of sleep!

This Sunday is the first week of Advent. The theme is ‘Stay Awake’. 

While this is of course a metaphor, it does remind us that Advent is a time of expectation, when we need to be alert to opportunities to get ready.

Advent encourages us to be prepared for Christmas, not simply in a material sense but in a spiritual one as well. 

For some of us that will include prayer or giving, for others it may be making a special effort with a family member who is difficult to engage with at this time of year.

When we consider these kinds of relationships as part of this preparation, we can see it can be hard work, - just like that 3am wake up!

Parish Contact

Sunday Mass 10.00 @ 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/ 

School Canteen Roster

Our Diocesan Community

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

Upcoming Dates

Nov 28 Yr 5/6 beach safety commences

Nov 30 SAC & P&F social evening

Dec 6 Transition experience 1

Dec 7 Learning Conversations 1

Dec 8 Transition experience 2

Dec 8 Yr 6 Graduation 5.30pm

Dec 9 End of Year Mass (daytime)

Dec 12 Learning Conversations 2

Dec 13 Transition experience 3

Dec 14 Learning Conversations 3

Dec 15 Carols and Presentation Evening 7.00pm

Dec 16 Final day of school classes for 2022. (Final bell at 3.30pm)

COVID 19 Arrangements

All famililes are asked to familiarise thesmselves with the updated COVID 19 regulations.