December 1st 2022

Acknowledgement of Country

Prayer

Second Sunday of Advent

John the Baptist cried out in 

the desert,

Prepare!

Prepare! Reshape your life!

Change your mind, change your heart!

The one is coming who is the very Spirit of God!

Jesus, we want to have all these.

Talk to our hearts.

Set us on fire

with flames

that are

your 

Spirit.

AMEN

A Note from our Principal

Ngata Families & Friends,

Our school was bathed in sunshine today,  coinciding with the official beginning of Summer. Whilst we are sure to see more cold weather before the end of the term, it is a reminder of the pleasures of the Christmas / New Year period that we are heading towards.

However, we are very busy before we reach these celebrations. Today we remind all families to kee a close eye on the upcoming dates for the end of the year. Of special note are our Learning Conversations and our Carols and Presentation Evening, which we hope will involve all families.

We will be celebrating our end of year school Mass on Friday December 9th at 10.00am. Whilst this time is aimed at student participation, we would love any family members who are able, to join us at the Church on this day also.

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/

Transition

Our transition toward 2023 has been occurring throughout this term, with organisation of class groupings and responsibilities for the new school year almost finalised. Our first Transition Experience will occur next Tuesday (December 6th) with our students being placed into their new classes for an extended afternoon. Our Yr 6s will be practising for their graduation ceremony the following Thursday.

This time of year brings about expectation and a little anxiety for students, and this is very normal. We thank families for their management of any excitement or worry that might be associated with the changes, but want to reassure you that the extended transition process at our school has been devised to give a long lead in, with multiple opportunities to begin relationship building with a new teacher and new classmates.

Robins Dance Concert

There were a number of St Pius X students performing in dance concerts across the last fortnight, with more in the coming days! Thanks to Amanda Seuren and Kate Harzmeyer for sharing shots of these talented dancers from  the Robins Concert Series last weekend. Shots include Sofie Seuren, Lilah Jacobs, Gia Everall, Skylar Leslie, Chloe Harzmeyer and Aubri Anderton. We’d love to see more photos from these great events if families would like to share them!

Congratulations Victoria, Renata and Maddy!

Last week we reported that Victoria Balash was celebrating her Baptism and Confirmation with our parish. As it turned out there were three St Pius X students taking part! We congratulate Victoria and also Renata and Maddy McKenzie who celebrated their sacraments with the St Pius X Church Community on Sunday.

Alyssa & Jonah Britten

Jonah and Alyssa Britten joined with their family to celebrate their dad’s wedding in South Australia last weekend, with Alyssa taking the important role of flower girl. We think they both look very smart in these pictures. 

Advent Liturgy

Tomorrow we will mark the second Sunday of Advent, which is this coming weekend.  Our 1/2 classes will lead the school in prayer with a liturgy which will be held at 3.00pm.

Please note this is not an assembly week.

Yr 6 Graduation

Yr 6 families should all now have returned 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.

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

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 tomorrow 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.

PAM update of email addresses.

Next year PAM (Parent Access Module) will move to each parent having a seperate PAM account rather than one account per family. All existing Parent PAM logins will be turned off on 16th January 2023. Between then and the new accounts being issued, parents will not be able to access PAM for students reports, etc.

https://spwarrnambool.schoolzineplus.com/survey/10 

St. Pius X Recipe Book

Our school recipe book is still 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.

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.

School Fees and Levies

With only 2 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.

Hot off the Prep Press!

Smokey update - A diary of his latest family visit!

Smokey had a movie night with us- we watched a Barbie movie.

Smokey was fed a healthy diet of Brussel sprouts, grapes, spinach, strawberries, blueberries, raspberries and banana.

Smokey was buckled into his seatbelt and went on an adventure to coles where he sat out on the bench with Luca and watched all the shoppers.

Smokey played little big snake on the laptop with Taden and also reads book with him in Taden's bed. 

Smokey learned how to play Minecraft on the Nintendo Switch.

Smokey explored the house and ate Nicole's favourite variegated peace lily.

Smokey spent the nights sleeping in Luca's room. 

Smokey got lots of snuggles and love. 

Smokey learned what a mini poodle is and decided he isn't a fan of happy dogs. 

Smokey had a look at his breakfast choices with the kids and wanted to try the weetbix. 

Smokey Raffle

The end of year is coming quicker than we realise. If there are any families that are interested in going in the raffle to win complete ownership of Smokey and to provide him with his forever home please let us know via email or drop us a note before Wednesday 14th December. Whoever the family is, they are very lucky to be getting this amazing bunny who has brought us so much joy throughout the term. 

Super Celebration Week

Well what a busy, fun, super and amazing week we have had celebrating our Prep year together. It has been jam packed with excursions here, there and everywhere. On Monday we went to Active Sportz to try a bit of soccer (Aussie, Aussie, Aussie!) and cricket. 

On Tuesday we headed to the brand new Library to take a tour and enjoy reading all of their beautiful books - something we have learnt to do this year. After that, we relaxed at the cinema and watched the Paw Patrol Movie. Everyone loved it, even the teachers.

On Wednesday we travelled to Cudgee to  Warrnambool Wildlife Encounters to share in the fun of animals and wildlife. We saw deers, wallabies, paddy melons, emus, Basil the wombat, cockatoos, Nala and Kimber the dingoes and a range of other animals. Some of us were even brave enough to hold or touch Bruce the python!! Then it was time for us to have some more fun, what better place than Lake Pertobe. We ran, jumped on trampolines, skipped, slid down slides, swung on swings, hung on monkey bars and played in the sand until our little hearts were content.

On Thursday, we brought our most treasured Teddies to school for a Teddy Bears Picnic. We hopped back on a bus, again, and went to the Botanical Gardens. We enjoyed the sunshine, played in the nature garden and had fun with our friends. 

Not only have we had the best week but we have had the best year learning and playing together! 

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Crisis Meals

Thanks to our meals volunteer this week: Bec Stebbins

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

Breakfast Club has served up well over 3000 meals this year for our students including cereal, yummy toast, juice, breakfast bars and even some chocolate milk! We would like to send a huge thankyou to Tracey Williams, with the support of Maddy McCosker & Kristen Sloane, for running the program and organising the breakfast food every week and donating your time every Wednesday morning. The final Breakfast Club will be next Wednesday 7th December with a surprise on the menu….PANCAKES! Please make sure you use your manners and thank our helpers for all their volunteering throughout the year! 

Before & After School Care

Out of the Wilderness

The photo above is a painful memory for us Essendon supporters!

1990 AFL Grand Final Day wasn’t supposed to end like that! After a successful year, we went into the final game of the season with justifiably high hopes.

But, we were never really in the match. It is too distressing for me to consult the internet to get the actual final scores and statistics, but I clearly remember  watching the game (with my dad and brothers) and feeling that destiny was slipping through our fingers.

For Collingwood supporters however, the feeling was pure joy. It wasn’t just a Grand Final win, it was the game’s ultimate success and vindication after 32 years of near misses and bad luck.

There was a sense that Collingwood had emerged from the wilderness.

This metaphor of the wilderness is especially powerful, it suggests a period of being directionless, lost and vulnerable. We frequently hear of people lost in the bush and being in peril from hunger and exposure to the elements.

As we begin the Second week of Advent, the Gospel of the day features John the Baptist, who literally lived in the wilderness. He urges the people to prepare for the coming of Jesus. 

All of us have times when we feel directionless, lost and vulnerable. During Advent, Christians are invited to heed John’s call to prepare, to refocus, to centre ourselves as Jesus is born at Christmas.

Perhaps we might also be prepared to point the way to others who find themselves in the wilderness.

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

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.