March 9th 2023

Acknowledgement of Country

Prayer

International Women's Day

Living God, Today we gather in and among Your Presence.
With women throughout the world,
We, raise our voices in global petition
for your promise of wholeness –fullness of life–
to be realised in all our world, in our nations and in our lives. 
This we pray in Your Name.

Amen.

Adaptation of Miriam Therese Winter’s “Valiant Women” by Cathy O’Keefe.
Found at https://www.sistersofmercy.org/resource/prayer-for-international-womens-day/

A Note from our Principal.

Ngata Families and Friends,

Dear Families,

It's certainly been another busy week at St Pius X! Thanks for your support of the Bike Ed and the Swimming Program. There are many things coming up as we move towards Easter. 

Our school open night will be held on Monday 27th March. Please save the date. More details to follow.  Your support of our annual Easter Raffle, as well as the Footy Tipping competition would also be appreciated. 

Thanks to everyone who has reinforced the message around Pokemon cards. Whilst it can be fun to swap cards, no money is to change hands at school. 

Enjoy the long weekend, whatever you have planned, and please remember that there is no school for students on Tuesday. 

Kind regards, 

Stacey Atkins 

No school Monday or Tuesday

A reminder that there is no school on Monday (Public Holiday) and that there is no school on Tuesday as we have our second school closure day for the year. 

On this day staff will be focusing on strategies for teaching reading.

Project Compassion

With money raised through Project Compassion, Caritas Australia is involved in providing access to water in many places. It seems such a basic thing. One we mostly take for granted. But once a community has access to water, it grows in every possible way. People have more time for health care and education. People find energy to build their future. This week’s scripture readings have a strong sense of a hope-filled future. May we too, in our time, be sources of hope For All Future Generations. 

School Advisory Council

The School Advisory Council (SAC) is a vital link between our school staff and the parents of our school. The SAC is asked to assist with stewardship of the Catholic vision, ethos and culture of the school, to regularly review the school’s vision and mission and to offer ongoing advice around the alignment of the school vision with the school’s  plans for improvement and growth.

The SAC is asked to fairly represent the views and needs of the school community, which means that memebers need to be available to listen to and represent the suggestions and concerns of members of  the school community as well as advocating for those in need.

Currently, our SAC members are Stephen Ryan, Justin Harzmeyer, Jane Kelly, Jun Meredith, Sharna Westley and Mel Steffensen. Richard Verspay is the PnF representative and Rachel Brown is the staff representative. Myself and Anne Kerr also attend. 

Our meetings consist of a Principal's report, staff report, finance report as well as an opportunity to provide feedback and consultation around a number of key initiatives. Last week we discussed the purporse of the SAC, our upcoming open night and the carpark. 

SAC members are open to speaking directly with parents or please feel free to email them at spxsac@spwarrnambool.catholic.edu.au

A big thank you to our SAC members. They play a vital role in our school and their commitment and passion is very much appreciated. 

Easter Raffle: Donations needed

Footy Tipping 2023

During the coming AFL men’s season our P&F will again be running another footy tipping competition.

Everyone is invited to join! 

The cost of entry is $10 for an individual entry or $20 for a family (multi entry with up to three individual family members). Entry fees need to be paid at the administration office. There will be a fantastic prize for first place, and we would love to hear from any other potential sponsors too.

To register, just click on the link!

https://www.footytips.com.au/comps/StPiusX

Car park safety

Car park safety is something that we are all responsible for. Please follow the golden rules. 

We also remind people that when Gerard, the crossing guard, has his stop sign up that everyone stops. This includes turning into the pick up lane. 

DOGS

Families are also asked to be mindful that some people are not comfortable with dogs. Please ensure that dogs do not come into crowds of people at pick up time. 

Sacrament of Reconciliation Candidates

Last Wednesday evening, in conjunction with St John’s Primary School, we held a formation meeting for the children who are preparing to receive the Sacrament of Reconciliation towards the end of this term.  This Sacrament hasn’t been celebrated in our Parish since 2019, and was previously celebrated in year 3.  By offering this sacrament in year 6, it is now consistent throughout all primary schools in the Parish. 

We ask you to remember the 2023 Reconciliation candidates in your prayers as they prepare to receive the Sacrament.  These children will have their photos displayed in the church starting this weekend.   Any families who wish to participate in the preparation for the sacrament this term are encouraged to contact Sara Graham as soon as possible.

2023 Reconciliation Candidates:

Isaac Green

Layla Van Dijk

Will Reilly

Luke Reilly

Freya Corbett

Maya Anderton

Naomi Kishinaka 

Lewis Haberfield

Andrew Mugavin

Jarrah Vickery

Senior School Swimming

In the senior pod this week we have enjoyed swimming at the Splash Factory.  The 3 classes rotated through a daily program with each class swimming each day.  It’s been challenging adding this to our already busy schedule but worth watching the children enjoy the alternate learning space and refined their bombing technique!

Parents and Friends Update

On Monday night the Parents and Friends held their first meeting for the year. A list of events were discussed. 

Term 1 Events

* Athletics carnival canteen March 28th

Opportunity for involvement- rostered on during the day, buying and transporting goods for sale, setting up and cleaning up.

* Easter Raffle

Opportunity for involvement: supplying goods for the raffle, buying tickets. 

Term 2 Events

* Mother's Day Celebration- Monday 15th May

Details to be determined

* Movie Night Friday June 2nd

Opportunity for involvement: supervising children on the night, sourcing snacks.

St. Vincent De Paul Lenten Appeal.

The customary Lenten Appeal organised by the St Pius X Conference will commence on the First Sunday of Lent.  Those who wish to donate are asked to contribute goods which correspond to these weekends in Lent.  Please leave at the school Office or take with you to Mass each weekend.

11-12 March - Tinned fruit.

18-19 March  Pasta/pasta sauce.

25-26 March  Tea/coffee.

1-2 April Tinned soup.

District and Regional Swimming Championships.

Last Thursday we were represented by four students at the Warrnambool and District Swimming Championships. Maggie Corbett, Freya Corbett, James Turner and Maya Anderton competed in a number of events and all did an incredible job. They represented St Pius in true competitive spirit! Congratulations to you all.

James and Maya have qualified to progress through to the Regional Championships next Tuesday in Horsham which is an amazing achievement. Lets get behind these two students and wish them all the best.

Hot off the Prep Press!

Baby Will

On Monday we had a very special visit from Laura Thompson and her beautiful baby boy, Will. (Laura is a friend of Ms Osborne’s). We are learning about how we grow and change and have been trying to guess the baby photo’s in our room. Will came to visit us so that we could compare ourselves to him. Will needed help from his mum in so many ways. She feeds him, changes his nappy, dresses him, holds him, cuddles him and so much more. We are so much bigger and stronger and we can do all those things by ourselves (well…most of them anyway!) Will was the best baby ever and we all got lots of smiles! 

Healthy Lunchboxes

We are moving some of our learning focus to all things ‘Healthy’. This week we have been on the lookout for some healthy eaters who have healthy lunchboxes and we would like to congratulate  Ethan Jacobs and Evie Terrington. It’s great to see a combination of colours from our healthy food guide. Lots of fresh fruits and vegetables as well as some dairy foods or grains and breads. These lunch boxes are also extremely good for our environment as there is NO rubbish at school either.

Next week we would also love the children to bring along some ‘healthy’ toys or games for Show and Tell.

Ripper Readers

We are heading towards the end of our first Term at school and Ms Osborne and Ms Lane have noticed that there are so many Prep’s doing some reading homework every night. They are taking home at least 2 or 3 little readers and they are practising their word lists, too. Congratulations to Carter Searle and Roneet Singh. Your teachers are so proud of you!

Oops….we forgot to add last week’s photos. Look at us having fun at sport with Mrs McDonald and some of our great Smart Spelling on our whiteboards!!! We love SCHOOL!

Head Lice

There has been a reported case of head lice within the junior school.  Could you please check your childs hair over the coming days and treat if necessary.

Survey for Parents

Parents are invited to participate in the ECSI Survey which will assist us in better understanding how our Catholic identity is expressed in work and practice here at St Pius X. A letter outlining the survey and instructions are attached. 

Each survey response helps us to build an accurate picture of our school and therefore, helps us to keep improving. 

Lost and Found

We have a large number of school jumpers in lost property which are either not named or the  writing is not clear.  If you are missing a jumper, please enquire at the office.

A special message........

Wishing these students are very Happy Birthday for this coming week..................

Pham Le, Indi-Rose Meyer and Levi Williamson.

Canteen Roster

Roster for next week:

Important Dates

Monday 13th March           Public Holiday

Tuesday 14th March          School Closure (Literacy)

Monday 20th March          PnF Meeting, 7.30pm

Thursday 23rd March        SAC Meeting, 7.30pm

Monday 27th March            School Open Night

Tuesday 28th March           School Athletics

Friday 31st March                 School Photos

Monday 3rd April                  Track and Field District Sports

Tuesday 4th April                  School Cross Country

Thursday 6th April                Holy Thursday

                                                         Last Day of Term 1, 2.30pm finish

Monday 24th April                  Term 1 begins

Before & After School Care

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.

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/ 

Marriage Encounter Weekend.

FOR SALE!     Personalised Zooper Dooper holders made by William Carey.   They are $5.00 each and come in a range of colours.  Please phone Jodie on 0459 115 004 for more information.

COVID 19 Arrangements

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