April 6 2023
- Acknowledgement of Country
- Prayer
- A Note from our Principal.
- Easter Celebrations
- Farewell Tom and Linda!
- Easter Hat Parade
- Safety at St Pius X
- PnF Raffle
- Footy Tipping 2023
- Lions Eye Health Program
- Hot off the Prep Press!
- Mini Vinnies Money Lines
- School Cross Country - Thursday, 27th April.
- Junior Sports Carnival Update
- Library News
- Anzac Day Badges
- A special message........
- Canteen Roster
- Important Dates
- Second Hand Uniforms
- Before & After School Care
- Parish Contact
- 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
Lord Jesus,
We praise you in this Easter season. Change our lives, change our hearts to be messengers of Easter joy and hope.
We make our prayer through Jesus Christ, our risen Lord forever.
Amen
A Note from our Principal.
Ngata Families and Friends,
Dear Families,
Today is the final day of term 1. When I take a moment to think about all that has happened there is a long list of things that have been achieved this term. Camps, excursions, swimming lessons, moving classrooms, athletics and amongst that, lots of learning and fun at school. Thank you to everyone for your support and a big thank you to our staff who work with passion and commitment every day.
Last night a number of children celebrated the reconciliation for the first time. Thank you to Sara Graham and Fr Bill for their leadership.
Thank you to everyone who has supported our Easter Raffle. A special thank you to Kimberley Lack for her organisation. We'll have a final figure early next term.
Best wishes for Easter and the remainder of the school holidays. May it be a time to reconnect, rest and celebrate with a couple of chocolate eggs!
Kind regards,
Stacey Atkins
Easter Celebrations
Congratulations to Brenda Balash who will be confirmed as a Catholic during the Easter celebrations.
The following Easter ceremonies will be taking place at St Pius X.
- Holy Thursday 7pm
- Good Friday 3pm
- Easter Vigil 6.30pm
Easter Sunday 8.30am and 10.30am at St Joseph's or 9am at Our Lady Help of Christians. No mass at St Pius X.
Farewell Tom and Linda!
Today marks the last day at St Pius X for Tom and Linda Cao. We wish them and their parents, Anderson and Victoria, all the best with their move to Wodonga. We will certainly miss their big smiles and joyous approach to life here at St Pius.
Easter Hat Parade
Some wonderful creations were on display in our Easter hat parade today .............
Safety at St Pius X
Thanks to the Student Representative Council who have been working hard on a Safety statement for all of the classrooms. They've done a great job.
PnF Raffle
The PnF have secured a very generous donation from Rafferty's- so we're having a bonus raffle to finish the term. Tickets can be bought at the office.
Footy Tipping 2023
Did anyone hear Mr Ewing crying from his new job as the Saints beat the Bombers? Another great week for the Saints, but another tough one for the tippers.
Congratulations to Refuse Rodent and White's Family for tipping 10 and Upthebaggers2023 for tipping 8 (all with a joker). The best non joker assisted tippers could only manage 6. Congratulations to Thomas e Short, Letty Parkinson, JoeWeing, ESPNfan and the Seurens.
Let's hope that the Easter break improves everyone's tipping! The average was only 4.2!
Our Top 5
- Refuse Rodent
- White's Family
- Upthebaggers2023
- Letting Parkinson
- Richo800
Don't forget to put your tips in over the holidays.
We're still on the hunt for a naming rights sponsor for our competition. If you're interested, please contact the school.
Lions Eye Health Program
A big thank you to the Lions Eye Health team who came in and screened a number of children on Monday and Wednesday. This service is invaluable in picking up any issues that parents may not be aware of. We really appreciate the efforts of Sue and her team.
Hot off the Prep Press!
Healthy Habits Excursion
On Monday, the Preps had their first taste of an excursion and what a great time we had. First, we went to meet our friend Louise at the Hoddle Street crossing to learn about how we can cross the road safely. Louise told us where we need to stand, which way we need to look and what things we need to listen for. We all had a turn at crossing the road safely. After that we went to the Big Hall to see Ava where we participated in a dance lesson. It was time to get our body moving and Ava had us all leaping, jumping, shaking and twisting. Then we went to the Function Hall to Breakfast Club where we had some yummy toast, crunchy fruit and delicious cereal. The Breakfast Club is on every Wednesday morning before school and we can’t wait to have another turn in Term 2 with the rest of the students at our school. Finally we used our road safety knowledge to walk to the Pecten Avenue Playground to have fun in the sun with each other. We had the best day learning about all the things that keep us safe, healthy and happy! Here are some of our happy snaps!!
Happy Easter!!
We have been busy little bunnies in the Prep room getting ready to celebrate Easter with our families. This week we have made an Easter Bunny Door Hanger to show the Easter Bunny where he needs to stop to leave some yummy treats. We have also created an indigenous ‘dilly-bag’ to collect our easter eggs in. A ‘dilly-bag’ was important to the indigenous people as it was the main way they carried food such as eggs and fruits from one place to another. Check out Ethan, Davey, Carter and Oliver’s wonderful creations!!
Hippity Hoppity Hat Parade!!
Today we finished our term off with an Easter Hat Parade and wow, there were some AMAZING creations! We could definitely tell that families had been very busy at home designing, cutting, glueing, sticking and colouring. From easter eggs and chicks to Jesus on the Cross we had all the designs covered and each design was very unique. We know the judges had a very tough task on their hands. We would like to say a BIG thank you to all the Prep families who welcomed the challenge of creating their masterpieces with their children. The children were so proud of what they had produced and wore their hats with a big smile. Also thanks to Ms Sam O’Keefe who was the coordinator of our parade and made it all come together. What a lovely way to finish the term. Here are some great photos of some of the magnificent works of art!
Mini Vinnies Money Lines
Today the Mini Vinnies Crew created a Project Compassion money line for each class in the school, to demonstrate how much money their class raised for Caritas Australia.
Together St Pius X raised an amazing $637.95. An extraordinary amount for our school.
A big shout out to everyone for their generosity.
This year as incentive, Mini Vinnies decided to reward the class who raised the most money with an icy pole each and an hour's free time early in term 2.
The class who raised the most money with a whopping $123.40 was MP2.
Congratulations to Ms O’Donnell, Mr White and all the fabulous students and families who contributed. I’m sure many people will benefit from your generosity.
School Cross Country - Thursday, 27th April.
All students from Prep to Year 6 will this year participate in the School Cross Country on Thursday 27th April in their age groups.
Year 3-6 students will travel by bus to Deakin University and participate over varying distances.
Year 5 and 6 students will depart from school at 9.15am for their events. Year 3 and 4 students will depart from school at approximately 10.00am for their events.
Students in the Junior School will participate in the Cross Country on the school grounds, also on Thursday 27th April commencing at 2.30pm.
As the weather can be quite unpredictable at this time of year, please bring an extra pair of shoes and socks, as well as a rain jacket.
Spectators are welcome.
Junior Sports Carnival Update
Due to the Junior School missing out on their Athletics Carnival, we have decided to postpone this until Term 4 when the weather is kinder.
Further details in regards to this will be distributed then.
Library News
Anzac Day Badges
Looking forward to our first day back after holidays (Monday, 24th April), please remember that we will have ANZAC Day badges for sale. They will be available from the office, but will also be taken around the classrooms. The items, which include badges, wrist bands, key rings and pens range in cost from $1 for a small badge to $5 for the pens.
A special message........
Wishing the following students a very happy birthday during the Easter Holidays.................
Maya Anderton, Oscar Howe-Betts, Flynn Sloper, Lennox Schrama-Willmot, Ruby Williams, Raymond Nguyen, Charlee Best and Ollie Miller.
Canteen Roster
Tuesday, 25th April - ANZAC DAY
Wednesday, 26th April - Sue Coulson
Thursday, 27th April - Sarah Searle
Friday, 28th April - Hayley Keane
Important Dates
Monday 24th April Term 1 begins
Tuesday 25th April Anzac Day
Thursday 27th April Cross Country (3-6 at Deakin, P-2 at school)
Friday 28th April Assembly and Liturgy
Thursday 5th May May Race Day Public Holiday
Friday 6th May School Closure (ReLATE PD for staff)
Thursday 11th May Grade 1/2 Excursion to Werribee Zoo
Friday 12th May District Cross Country
Wednesday 17th May Foundation Excursion Flagstaff Hill
Advance notice: Term 4 closure date Friday November 3rd
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.
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.
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/
About Saver Plus:
Saver Plus is a free community program where you can get up to $500 in matched funding for education costs.
The program was developed by Brotherhood of St Laurence and ANZ in 2003. It is funded by the Australian Government Department of Social Services and ANZ.
There are three parts to the program:
- SAVING – ANZ bank will match what participants save up to $50 a month to a total of $500 over 10 months
- WORKSHOPS - fun workshops where participants build on their money management skills and we share lots of resources. These are held on Zoom and have never been more flexible to attend.
- CLAIMING - On the 11th month of the program participants claim their matched funding.
In the information session we will discuss how the program works, eligibility criteria and how participants can get up to $500 as matched savings for education costs. Also take up questions about the program.
Register for their March’23 or April’23 information sessions by clicking on this link https://forms.office.com/r/N8isUYmGfC
Zoom link: https://bsl.zoom.us/j/68016074995?pwd=K2d4dWI4WjRMbGRlRng0NGhoVVVVZz09
Meeting id: 680 1607 4995
Passcode: 027166
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.
Managing a suspected or confirmed case of COVID-19
- It is recommended that rapid antigen tests (RATs) are used by students and staff if they:
- have symptoms of COVID-19 infection, no matter how mild
- are a household or close contact of someone who has COVID-19
- are a social contact of someone who has COVID-19.
- The Department of Health recommends that all Victorians report their positive RAT result via the online form or by calling 1800 675 398.
- Principals are no longer required to inform their school community of a positive case associated with the school.
- 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
RATs are available for all Victorians from council sites. Individuals can obtain two free packs (10 tests) for themselves and two free packs (10 tests) for each household member. People with disability and their carers can get up to four free packs (20 tests) in line with existing RAT distribution for people with disability.
The RATs are available at the Civic Centre (25 Liebig Street) and the Archie Graham Community Centre (118 Timor Street).
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.