May 25th 2023
- Acknowledgement of Country
- Prayer
- A Note from our Principal.
- Catholic Education Week
- Movie Night June 2nd, 7pm
- 2024 Enrolments now open
- Enrolments for 2024 now open
- Healthy Moves Walk to School!
- Digital Technology News
- Hot off the Prep Press!
- Art News - National Sorry Day
- St. Pius Book Club
- Australian Dental Health Visit
- Are you wearing the correct winter school uniform?
- Parents and Friends Raffle
- A special message........
- Footy Tipping 2023
- 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
Catholic Education Week
Lord Jesus, you sow your word in our hearts and our lives.
May the words we speak, always be filled with grace.
May our lives and our world be places where your word is heard.
May we live as people of faith, walk as people of hope and grow as people of love.
Amen
A Note from our Principal.
Ngata Families and Friends,
Dear Families,
It was great to welcome some new families into our school today as we begin the enrolment process for 2024. Thank you to our SAC members Mel, Jane and Cherie for their support of this process. It was also great to see some existing families attend.
A reminder to SAC members that our next meeting will be Thursday 1st June at 7.30pm.
Next week many of our senior students will be competing in the Warrnambool Eisteddfod. We wish them luck and are looking forward to the choral speaking results!
Thank you to everyone who has been using the carpark correctly. A reminder that there is no space next to the yellow walkway next to the hall. This ensures that children can cross the carpark safely.
Kind regards,
Stacey
Catholic Education Week
At Mass on Monday we acknowledged 3 staff members who have reached a 'zero' in their service to our Warrnambool network of Catholic schools. We often acknowledge staff as they move in and out of our schools, however, our network also recognises that it is important to recognise those people who have been with us for an extended period of time.
Both Rachel Brown and Sara Graham have been part of our network for 10 years.
Rachel has been the stalwart of our junior pod during her time at St Pius X. Many of the systems we have in place at St Pius X to support those children with medical needs are the result of Rachel’s hard work and her ability to implement a system. We are grateful for all that she has brought to her roles. Sara has held a wide variety of roles at St Pius X, approaching each with an inquiring mind and desire to provide high quality educational experiences for the students of our school. Currently Sara is our Religious Education Leader and we are particularly grateful for her work in this role.
Mick Sully has been working as an educator for our network for 40 years. We all know that Mr Sully has a passion for Maths. His desire to find the best way to help children understand maths and to improve the capacity of our teachers to teach it has made a huge impact on countless people. Mick’s commitment to Catholic education, his ability to see the big picture, his willingness to ask challenging questions and inability to say no when something is asked of him have been a couple of qualities that I admire in him as a colleague.
We are grateful for these educators who embody our school vision of living lives inspired by the love, justice and compassion of Jesus.
Movie Night June 2nd, 7pm
The St Pius X Movie night is back. All children welcome.
When: Friday June 2nd, 7pm
Where: The Function Room
What: A movie and snacks
Cost: $5
Wear your PJs and bring your favourite pillow or bean bag.
Helpers welcome (Please note that a Working With Children Card is required)
Please RSVP for catering purposes via the linked form.
2024 Enrolments now open
Our enrolment period has officially begun and closes on Friday 16th June.
Enrolments for 2024 now open
We now invite all 2024 enrolments to login via our school website to complete the enrolment form for any 2024 Foundation students. Enrolments for all other Foundation families will open on May 22, 2023.
Online enrolments are now available and can be completed and submitted electronically.
For this process go to our school website and select the Enrolment tab. Complete the Enrolment Enquiry to add your details for reminders and updates.
Under the Enrolment Tab you will also notice an Online Enrolment Form - select this and away you go. A tip with this one is do not use a phone or ipad to complete the form, any laptop or desktop computer will work fine.
You will also need to make sure you have your child's documentation (birth, immunisation, baptism certificates and any specialist reports) loaded onto your device, either by taking a photo or scanning and uploading as you will be able to upload all of that as well.
Healthy Moves Walk to School!
Well done to all our students who have been walking, riding, scooting or busing to school in this chilly weather! A reminder that any students who come to school in a healthy way, will go into the running to win a prize each Friday for the next few weeks so let's get moving!
Digital Technology News
The Warrnambool Library is offering a ‘Beginner Code Club for Kids’ on Tuesdays at 4:00 – 4:45 for FREE. It is suitable for ages 8-14 and requires parents/carers to book for each session. For interested students, please head to the ‘Warrnambool Library’ website and click ‘Events’ in the top-right hand of the screen.
Hot off the Prep Press!
Frozen - The Musical
On Wednesday we went to Frozen Jnr - The Musical at The Stage at Emmanuel College. We were amazed by the costumes, sets, lighting, music and acting. We loved seeing Elsa, Ana, Prince Hans and of course Olaf. We sang our little hearts out to ‘Do you want to build a snowman?’ and our all time favourite ‘Let It Go’. We thought our singing voices were just as good as the actors! At the end of the performance we were so excited to get a group photo with some of the case and even got to meet Elsa and Ana. A big thank you to Megan Davies and Emmanuel College for having us - we loved every minute!
A Special Visitor …. Ngata Mel
We have been learning about and sharing lots of different stories with each other as part of our Integrated and RE units. This week we were lucky enough to welcome a very special and familiar friend of ours into the Prep room…Mel Steffensen. A lot of us already knew Mel as she would visit us at our Kinders last year. We invited Mel to school so she could share her favourite dreamtime stories with us. We listened to How the Birds Got Their Colours and learnt lots about the meaning of the story but also how to say colour names using Peek Wurrong language. A big thank you to Mel for sharing her knowledge and enthusiasm with us - we had lots of fun learning with you!
A new arrival…
We have had some exciting news in the Prep room! Emmy Ramage and her family, Natasha and Craig, have welcomed a new baby girl into their lives… little Sienna! Emmy is a doting big sister and we know she will be a big help. Emmy has shared that Sienna is a good baby who sometimes cries and sometimes sleeps. We hope she is sleeping more than crying! Congratulations and we can’t wait to meet Baby Sienna!
Art News - National Sorry Day
Head along to the Warrnambool Library this week to see the beautiful display put together by Mel Steffensen and volunteers for National Sorry Day. Students from St Pius X have been working hard in the art room to contribute to this stunning exhibit. We have been learning about the symbolism of the purple native hibiscus flower. The native hibiscus was chosen to represent resilience and the scattering of the Stolen Generation and the purple colour symbolises compassion and spiritual healing. People from all around Warrnambool have contributed to this beautiful visual display. Go along, reflect, absorb and enjoy.
St. Pius Book Club
Issue 4 of Scholastic Book Club is currently available ONLINE. Parents/Carers are able to order and pay for their Scholastic Book Club via the LOOP portal only (no cash based orders are available on this issue). If parents/carers wish to order, please follow the link below or alternatively, Google search ‘Scholastic LOOP orders’
Website: https://www.scholastic.com.au/book-club/book-club-parents/book-club/
Australian Dental Health Visit
The Australian Dental Health van will be visiting St. Pius X the week beginning 17th July. This is a program funded by the Australian Dental Health and Child Dental Benefits schedule where students can receive a full check up, preventative and general dental care at school. Medicare covers these costs for eligible students via bulk billing, however if your child is not eligible, the ADHV will still do a free dental health screen. If your child needs further treatment, you will be called for consent. Forms have been sent home and if you would like your child to participate, could you please return the completed forms to school as soon as possible.
Are you wearing the correct winter school uniform?
A friendly reminder that sports uniform is to only be worn on sports days.
The following items are part of the uniform and can be purchased from school.
- burgundy windcheater (with logo)
- navy tunic or navy gabardine pants/shorts
- white polo top (with logo) or white skivvy
- navy tights or navy socks
- black shoes
Parents and Friends Raffle
The PnF have secured a very generous donation from Rafferty's- so we're having a bonus raffle this term. Tickets have been seen home last week, with more available at the office.
A special message........
Wishing the following students a very Happy Birthday for the coming week...........
Maniah Roads, Connie Schrama, Aubri Anderton, Hamish O'Grady, Levi Delaney, Kaylee Mapperson, Charlotte Van De Camp, Jessica Kent.
Footy Tipping 2023
Not bad tippers, but room for improvement. Congratulations to Fynn20 who was our top tipper with 16 (a joker of course) and to Brad Everall, Joe Ewing and Letty Parkinson for tipping 8. Letty is in great form! I wonder if she has a brains trust?
Our top 5 tippers are:
- Debra Redpath
- Seurens
- Fynn20
- Letty Parkinson
- Richo800
It is close and the jokers make all the difference. When will you play yours?
PS In the spirit of even reporting, Dad is beating me this week so I better acknowledge that!
Canteen Roster
Tuesday, 30th May - Merryn Payne
Wednesday, 31st May- Anna Reilly
Thursday, 1st June - Sarah Searle
Friday, 2nd June- Hayley Keane
Important Dates
Friday 26th May: Enrolment Tour 10am
Friday 26th May: Year 6 Network Excursion to Frozen the Musical
Monday 30th May: Reconciliation Week begins
Monday 30th May: Eisteddfod begins
Wednesday 31st May: Prep Excursion to Warrnambool Library
Wednesday 31st May: Let the Music Move You Performance
Thursday 1st June: SAC Meeting, 7.30pm
Friday 2nd June: P&F Movie Night
Monday 12th June: King's Birthday Long Weekend
Friday 16th June: Enrolments Close
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/
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.