August 3rd 2023
- Acknowledgement of Country
- Prayer
- A Note from our Principal.
- School Closure Day
- Second Hand Uniforms-New Coordinator Needed
- Carpark Safety
- 5/6 Roses Gap Camp
- Movie Night August 4th
- Congratulations Zarli!
- School Fees and Levies.
- Hot off the Prep Press
- Arts News
- Grade 6 Hoodies for Sale
- Twilight Fair: Friday October 27th
- A special message........
- Breakfast Club
- Footy Tipping 2023
- Canteen Roster
- Important Dates
- 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
God of the Prophets
You gifted Mary MacKillop with vision and courage.
In her, we see one who was not afraid to speak fearlessly, Your gospel of love.
We pray for the sensitivity and imagination to read the signs of our times, and to articulate new possibilities for our own day.
Like Mary, may we learn to confront all that is oppressive and unjust, and empower others towards true freedom and integrity.
Spirit of Wisdom, be with us as we face new horizons.
Amen
Trustees of the Sisters of St Joseph of the Sacred Heart.
Mary MacKillop - An Inspiration for Today
Next Tuesday, 8th August, is the feast day of Australia’s only canonised saint.
A Note from our Principal.
Ngata Families and Friends,
This week I have started having Annual Review Meetings with teaching staff. What a joy for me to listen to our wonderful staff talk about their joy of working with your children and how they strive each day to be the most effective teacher they can be.
Our School Advisory Council aslo work hard to support our school. Our next meeting is next Thursday night at 7.30pm.
A reminder that tomorrow night we are having a movie night in the function room. Helpers are welcome, but will require a Working with Children Card.
Kind Regards,
Stacey
School Closure Day
Last Friday teaching staff met to engage in professional learning in the area of Mathematics. Mick Sully, our Maths Leader, prepared and led the day. School Closure days are an important opportunity to engage in professional learning, which creates more opportunities for our students.
Second Hand Uniforms-New Coordinator Needed
We are currently looking for a new coordinator for our second hand uniforms. This is a vital service for our school. We are extremely grateful to Angela Verspay for fulfilling this role over a number of years.
Angela (0477660119) is happy to discuss this role with anyone who is interested or contact Stacey at school .
Carpark Safety
This week there was a near miss in the carpark.
A Prep child was walking to her car across the carpark when another car went to back out.
The children have all been reminded that they must be accompanied by an adult when they are moving through the carpark. Adults are asked to collect children and then walk them to their cars.
Thanks for your help in keeping children safe.
5/6 Roses Gap Camp
The year 5 and 6 camp is a much anticipated event on the senior school calendar and this year is no exception. This year will be our first year attending Roses Gap Camp on September 13th, 14th and 15th 2023 (the final three days of term 3). All information regarding this camp and parental consent is on PAM. We ask that consent is completed by Friday 11th August so we can finalise our booking with Roses Gap Camp. If you have any queries please feel free to contact your child's teacher.
Movie Night August 4th
Our term 2 movie night will be held tomorrow night. The students have voted and we will be showing The Lorax.
Parents are reminded that they will need to sign their children in and out. Any parent helpers who hold a Working with Children's Check are welcome to stay and assist with supervision.
Cost is a gold coin donation and BYO snacks and a drink bottle.
Please RSVP to help with preparations via the link below.
Congratulations Zarli!
Last weekend Zarli Best ran at the regional cross country carnival which was held in Casterton. Zarli participated in the U/11 Girls Western Country team in the 2km event where she placed 4th overall in her age group.
Well done Zarli.
School Fees and Levies.
As we are will into the third term, it is timely that you please review your school fees and levies.
Yesterday Statements were emailed to all families and I thank those who had a query for their contact.
At this stage the total owing on Fees and Levies is $248,727.49. This amount places the school budget in an awkward position.
Children have obtained their Chromebooks in Yr. 5 and 6, others have been on camp and excursions and all stationery supplies have been provided to your child. IT equipment has also been provided to all classes along with sporting equipment and cleaning and maintenance of all facilities.
Just like your accounts our gas and electricity costs have increased significantly.
The school has covered all these costs and we would greatly appreciate payment of your fees as soon as possible.
If you are on a Payment Plan please continue as agreed, ensuring that your account will be finalized by the end of the year. For families who have finalized their fees already we are very grateful of your support.
Again, I wish to advise you that if you have any concerns or require further clarification contact me.
Anne Kerr
Business Manager
5562 2506
Hot off the Prep Press
Our WONDERful World
Our Wonder Unit is off to a WONDERful start as we have been exploring all the beautiful and wondrous things in our world. This week we have been comparing and contrasting the things in our world that are God made and Man Made. We have been discussing why we think they have or have not been part of God’s creation. We have been able to use our knowledge of the creation story to make our choices. There are so many beautiful things that God made such as the sky, birds, trees, oceans, animals and mountains.
We can make arrays in different ways!
We have taken our array making to a whole new level this week by making them with fruit loops. It was very tempting not to eat our fruit loops and keep them as our learning tools. We were able to make arrays using 9, 12, 15 and 20 fruit loops and it was so interesting to see how many different arrays we could make. We know that an array must have equal rows and columns. Once we had finished our learning we were able to snack on our fruit loops as a little treat for working hard and learning together. C
Counting Fun
We love practising our counting skills every day at school. We are learning how to count forwards and backwards by 1’s as well as skip counting by 2’s, 5’s and 10’s. Some of us are even trying counting by 10’s from a number different to 0. One of our most favourite activities is to count using a calculator. Sometimes we find it tricky to know which counting code to put into the calculator but we are improving all the time. We enjoy counting on our own and with our friends.
Arts News
This term in the Arts we are excited to be raising money for the Indigenous Literacy Foundation by taking part in the Busking For Change fundraising event.
The idea is that all of our St Pius X students (led by our Mini Vinnies team and school Choir) will learn the song, with the chorus sung in an Aboriginal First Language-Kriol. The song is called ‘Words Make the World Go Around’ and we will be performing it for you on September the 6th at 3pm in the Function Room. Please put that date on your calendar and join us.
We just ask that you make a small gold coin donation at the door. Alternatively you can log into our busking for change site here and make a small donation to support this worthy cause. Our goal is to raise $250.
We also ask that your child brings a gold coin donation to school on the day of our busking.
Many thanks for your support and we look forward to busking for you.
REMINDER
Mini Vinnies are still collecting toys and books for our Book stall in Week 6. We are hoping to raise money for a refugee family that is coming to Warrnambool to live. Please have a look at home for any books or toys that you no longer need, and deliver them to JP6 as soon as possible. We would love to pay the love forward.
Grade 6 Hoodies for Sale
We have surplus stock of 2023 Grade 6 Hoodies which are available to purchase from the office if you would like a spare.
There is 1 x size 14 and 6 x size adult XS and they are $15.00 ea.
Twilight Fair: Friday October 27th
Save the date!
The PnF are currently seeking volunteers for the different stalls that we have. If you would like to coordinate a stall (perhaps with a friend) please email Stacey. Prizes for the raffle and any other suggestions would also be appreciated.
principal@spwarrnambool.catholic.edu.au
A special message........
Wishing the following students a very Happy Birthday for the coming week.............................
Jyotis Rahul, Aiden Yao, Isali Hendahewa, Skylar Leslie.
Breakfast Club
Breakfast Club continues to be a hit during these cold Wednesday mornings! If you arrive at school before 8:50am, head down to the function room for some yummy toast, cereal, fruit, milo and lots more!
Helpers are always welcome, even if it is for a morning, every little bit helps! If you’d like to volunteer please contact the office!
Footy Tipping 2023
Well, that was crazy! 5 was the best that could be managed last weekend By ESPNfan. Our other top tippers were people who played their joker, which probably seemed like a good idea at the time. There's not long left to play your joker, so make sure you play them. It's getting tight at the top and last week showed that anything can happen!
Our top 5 tippers are:
- Fynn20- 147
- Letty Parkinson-146
- World Class Woodwards-146
- Richo800-146
- Brad Everall-143
Canteen Roster
Tuesday, 8th August: Tammy Karnajaya
Wednesday, 9th August: Sue Coulson
Thursday, 10th August: Sarah Searle
Friday, 11th August: Hayley Keane
Important Dates
Friday 4th August: Movie Night, Function Room, 7pm
Thursday 10th August: SAC meeting, 7.30pm
Monday 14th August: 3/4 Hooptime
Tuesday 15th August: Feast of the Assumption (Mass 10am)
Friday 18th August: Book Week Celebration Day (Dress Up)
Monday 21st August: St Pius X Feast Day
September 13th-15th: 5/6 Camp
Friday October 27th Twilight Fair
Advance notice:
Term 4 school closure date/ pupil free day Friday November 3rd
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/
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.