December 8th 2022
- Acknowledgement of Country
- Prayer
- A Note from our Principal
- Transition to 2023
- Congratulations Nat & Ollie.
- Yr 6 Graduation
- End of Year Mass
- Carols & Presentation Evening
- Learning Conversations
- Attention: Gr 4s - Chromebook Payments
- School Fees and Levies
- PAM update of email addresses.
- Dennington Carols
- Congratulations Zarli!
- St. Pius X Recipe Book
- Jungle Book Kids DVDs
- Library Books
- Hot off the Prep Press!
- Breakfast Club - See You in 2023!
- Before & After School Care
- Pointing the Way to Something Bigger
- Parish Contact
- School Canteen Roster
- Our Diocesan Community
- Upcoming Dates
- COVID 19 Arrangements
Acknowledgement of Country
The St Pius X Parish School Community acknowledges the Gunditjmara / Marr Nation people who have educated children on these lands for thousands of years.
Prayer
Third Sunday of Advent
During the Third Week of Advent we light the rose coloured candle on the Advent wreath.
This is sometimes called 'The Shepherd's Candle' in memory of the shepherds who heard the songs of angels and came to see the newborn Jesus.
We pray that we might seek out goodness and wonderment during the coming Christmas season.
AMEN
A Note from our Principal
Ngata Families & Friends,
The end of the year is upon us, but we are working hard to be transitioning to the new school year at the same time. Learning Conversations and transition experiences are intertwined this year and students and staff are becoming acquainted with new classes and also classrooms. We are looking forward to our graduation ceremony this evening and also our Carols and Presentation Evening next Thursday. The countdown is on!
Joe Ewing
Principal
Transition to 2023
On Tuesday and today, all students moved to their new class groupings for 2023. There is always a mixture of excitement and anxiety for students, but also for our teachers and learning support officers on these days. It's important to point out that these feelings are normal. We work so hard to build relationships with those in our classes over the course of the year, and the transition days are restarting this process for the new year. Our final transition experience is this coming Tuesday, which is the district transition day involving all schools and students.
Below our 2023 class teachers and learning support officers are listed:
2023 Class Teachers
Prep: Jenna Osborne & Lucy Lane
Yr 1/2: Nicole Moulden (JP3), Kate Harzmeyer(JP4) & Samantha O’Keefe (JP5)
Yr 3/4 : Kate Sewell (MP1), Jane O’Donnell / David White (MP2) & Jake Bacon (MP3)
Yr 5/6 : Gerard Blythe (SP1), Rebecca Parkinson / Lisa Gardner (SP3) & Sara Graham (SP4)
2023 LSOs
Prep: Louise Brown & Cloe Pulling
Yr 1/2 : Ava Matheson, Rebecca Stebbins, Paddy Bermingham,
Yr 3/4 : Liz Niddrie, Paula Fleming, Shay Halouvas, Katie O’Kane
Yr 5/6 : Xavier Mills, Jan Nolan, Louise Crispe
2023 Intervention
Yr 1/2 : Rachel Brown
Yr 3/4 : Michael Sully
Yr 5/6 : Clare Green
Congratulations Nat & Ollie.
We congratulate Natalie Ryan who recently accepted employment with St John’s School in Dennington. We also bid a sad farewell to Ollie Bidmade who first joined our school as a trainee, and has stayed on as an LSO during his tertiary study. Ollie has accepted a job at Our Lady Help of Chriustians in East Warrnambool. While we are sad to see these well loved staff members leave us, we are pleased they will still feature in our local Catholic School Network.
Yr 6 Graduation
As mentioned above, our Yr 6 students will officially graduate from our school this evening in a ceremony that will be held in our parish church at 5.30pm this afternoon. Anyone in our school community is welcome to join us for the ceremony, a separate celebration will be held afterwards for Yr 6s and their parents only.
With COVID cases again on the rise, we encourage mask wearing if you believe you may have had contact with positive cases.
End of Year Mass
Tomorrow we will mark the end of the school year with a special Mass led by Fr Bill at 10.00am in our church. All families are welcome to join us for this celebration. Our Prep students will take a special role in the liturgy of the Word, highlighting the third Sunday of Advent. We will also bless students and staff who are leaving our school.
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.
With COVID cases again on the rise, we encourage mask wearing if you believe you may have had contact with positive cases.
Learning Conversations
Thanks to those families who already attended Learning Conversations this week. Next week there are time slots available on Monday and Wednesday and we strongly encourage all families to make appointments as these conversations complete the reporting process.
Attention: Gr 4s - Chromebook Payments
Could families of current grade four students please ensure that the $252 invoice for their chromebooks is paid before the end of the year. Students will not receive their chromebooks until payment is made. Thank You.
School Fees and Levies
There is currently $100,000 owing in outstanding fees and levies. With only 1 week of the 2022 school year remaining it would be greatly appreciated if fees could be finalised before the end of the year. 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.
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.
Dennington Carols
A big thank you to our school choir who performed last Friday night at the Carols by the Merri in Dennington. On a beautiful night by the river, our choir sang several carols, bringing Christmas cheer to all. Well done to everyone involved.
Congratulations Zarli!
Congratulations to Zarli Best from MP2 who competed in the Warrnambool Gift last Saturday and came 2nd in her event.
Then on Sunday she competed in the Western Region Relay Championships in 3 events, and won 1st place gold medals in 4x100m / 4x200m and Medley Relay 100m, 200m, 300m, 400m. Zarli and her team mates have worked really hard in training to achieve this fantastic result. Well Done!
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.
Library Books
It's that time of year again when we ask for your help to return all the library books to the library. If you have any bags of contacted books can they also be brought back to school. Thank you!
Hot off the Prep Press!
WE NEED YOUR HELP!!
The Preps are on the hunt for a Santa suit to fit a child. If you or someone you know is able to help us we would be forever grateful. If you do have one then if you could pop it into the Prep room at your earliest convenience then that would be great! Thanks so much!!
SMOKEY UPDATE
Last weekend Smokey had the best weekend at the Harzmeyer house. He was able to roam free and he definitely made himself feel right at home. Smokey got himself into a little bit of mischief when he decided he wanted to turn on the lights on the Christmas tree but instead of them turning on he ate through the wires and now they won’t turn on at all!! He can be one very cheeky bunny!! He has one weekend left of visiting one of the Prep’s homes before he finds his forever home. Check out some of the gorgeous photos from his weekend with Chloe and the Harzmeyer family.
Breakfast Club - See You in 2023!
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 their time every Wednesday morning.
Before & After School Care
We remind everyone about TheirCare, our outside school hours care provider. Bookings can be made at https://theircare.com.au/
Please select St Pius X Warrnambool as the booking location.
Pointing the Way to Something Bigger
I hate hook turns. If you drive in Melbourne regularly, you might share my loathing. I do them if necessary, but don’t do them enough to feel highly confident.
As I drive along the city streets I’m scanning for hook turn signs - in order to avoid them!
The sign itself points to a greater reality - that is me potentially being the object of road rage. In a sense that’s the job of any sign - they point to something greater.
In the Gospels of Advent, John the Baptist serves as a road sign - he is getting people ready for Jesus. His presence in the story points towards Jesus.
While we are all from diverse backgrounds, it is interesting to consider that we can all be road signs pointing towards greater realities, ideals and values.
At this time of year there are always many campaigns that provide us with the opportunity to help those in need, one example was the recent Bethany appeal that our school supported. Organisations such as Bethany are signposts to a safer and more just city for all of us.
As we prepare for Christmas, maybe we could all consider what our own actions and attitudes point towards.
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
| Tuesday, 13th December | Wednesday,14th December | Thursday, 15th December | Friday, 9th December |
| Bec Stebbins | Hayley Keane | Nikkyta Bull | Hayley Keane |
Our Diocesan Community
The link below opens the quarterly diocesan magazine that features news from across the Ballarat Diocese.
Upcoming Dates
Tonight 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.
Managing a suspected or confirmed case of COVID-19
- Students or staff who are symptomatic should be tested via RAT or PCR.
- Positive student cases must be reported to the school administration office:
- Phone: 55622506
- Email: principal@spwarrnambool.catholic.edu.au
- Staff or students who are positive are strongly recommended to stay home and isolate for a minimum of five days.
- Symptomatic students or staff should not attend school, even if failing to test positive on a RAT or PCR.
Communication
There is no longer a requirement for schools to inform their communities of positive cases. All health information is held in accordance with the school’s privacy policy.
Masks
Staff and students who wish to wear a mask will continue to be supported to do so. Masks are available from the administration office for anyone wishing to obtain one.
Any staff or students who are close contacts are recommended to wear a mask indoors.
Any staff or students returning from isolation are recommended to wear a mask for 7 days after returning to school.
RAT Kits
Staff and students should only be tested with a RAT kit when symptomatic or when testing daily as a close contact over the 7 day quarantine period. RAT kits will be available from the school upon request until the end of Term 4.
Vaccination
St Pius X strongly supports vaccination for all in our community who are eligible. There is no requirement for adults entering the school to declare their vaccination status.
All community adults are reminded of the child safety requirement to sign in when attending the school between 9.00am and 3.00pm
Transport
Parents who have tested positive to COVID 19 are permitted to drive children to and from school during their 7 day isolation period. They are required to return home immediately afterwards and not attend other locations.
Medically At Risk Students
Students who have chronic health conditions, especially affecting the respiratory system ie Asthma, must have up to date health support plans. Families who are unsure about the status of their child’s plan should make contact with teh school administration office.
