April 3rd, 2025

Acknowledgement of Country

Prayer

Fifth Week of Lent

We pray that all women may be respected and encouraged to take their rightful place in society.

We pray also that all people will have access to clean water and safe housing.

May we Unite Against Poverty as we act for justice in concrete ways, such as through Project Compassion.

Amen

A Note from our Principal

Ngata families, 

As we wrap up a fantastic first term, I’d like to celebrate the many wonderful events and achievements that have shaped this busy start to the year. From our School Open Night, where we welcomed new families, to the Year 3/4 camp, filled with adventure and teamwork, it has been an action-packed term.

Our Lenten liturgies and Reconciliation services were powerful moments of reflection and our Sports Days provided opportunities for students to showcase their athletic talents and school spirit. Pastoral Care Day reminded us of the importance of kindness and looking out for each other, while The Hare that Cares initiative encouraged compassion and community engagement.

Other highlights included the Breakfast Club, Meals on Wheels and Lions Eye Health Testing, which emphasized the importance of wellbeing and health. Shrove Tuesday and Ash Wednesday were special moments of spiritual reflection, while Walk to School Day was a fun and healthy initiative that encouraged physical activity.

The Foundation and Year 6 Buddy Picnic was a heartwarming occasion, fostering friendships across year levels.

I’d like to wish everyone a safe and happy Easter, filled with time spent with loved ones. See you in Term 2!

Kind regards,

Nick Murrell

Principal

LAST DAY OF TERM 2.30PM FINISH

Way of the Cross

Thank you to the Grade 5/6 who have been preparing the Way of the Cross Liturgy to conclude our Lenten liturgies. 

This will take place tomorrow, Friday at 9.30am in the St Pius X Church. All welcome. 

After the holidays, are Grade 3/4s will be leading us in an Easter liturgy. This will take place on Wednesday 23rd April at 3pm in the St Pius X Church.

Short Week to Start Term 2 - Public Holidays and Staff Professional Development

The first week of Term 2 includes two public holidays Easter Monday and ANZAC Day (Friday). In addition to this Thursday, April 24th will be a DOBCEL determined school closure day. 

Please see below for a break down of Week 1 Term 2:

• Monday April 21st: Easter Monday (No school)
  
• Tuesday April 22nd: First day of Term 2
• Wednesday April 23rd: Normal school day (All students F-6)
  
• Thursday, April 24th: School Closure Day (No school) - Presentation of the DOBCEL Strategy 2035, titled "Pursuing Fullness of Life for All." This comprehensive plan aims to enhance the performance of Catholic schools in the Diocese of Ballarat over the next decade. The strategy will be presented to all staff members of DOBCEL schools by Executive Director, Tom Sexton, throughout Term 2. All schools in the Southern Zone will gather at St Joseph's Primary School, Warrnambool, on April 24th to ensure everyone in the Zone has a clear understanding of this strategy and its vision. This day will be a School Closure Day for all schools in the Southern Zone. The full Executive Summary of the DOBCEL 2035 Strategy is available on the DOBCEL website or hard copies can be obtained from the school office. 
• Friday, April 25th: ANZAC Day (No school)

Sacrament of Reconciliation

TONIGHT, Grade 6 students from St. Pius X, St. John's Dennington, and St. Patrick's Koroit will come together to celebrate the Sacrament of Reconciliation for the first time.

📍 Where: St. Pius X Church
📅 When: Thursday, April 3rd, 6:00 PM

We extend our congratulations to the students who have been preparing for this important milestone and will soon take part in this sacrament.

• Darcy O'Shnnassy
• Liam Norton
• Lincoln Steffensen
• Blake Harzmeyer
• Emily Bertrand
• Rosie Kelly
• Lennox Schrama-Willmot
• Massie Corbet
• Josie Foard
• Thomas Nguyen

Sacrament of Confirmation

Next term we turn our focus to the Sacrament of Confirmation for Grade 3 students. 

Those children in our community who are baptised Catholic are supported through our school, the Star of the Sea Parish and the wider network of Warrnambool and District Catholic schools to prepare for and celebrate the sacraments of Confirmation. The preparation is very gentle and child centered.

Our parent information night coming up after the holidays so please fill in the google form linked below if your child will be participating. If your child is older than Grade 3 and has missed out on this sacrament they are welcome to join in this time. 

The key dates for this sacraments in 2025 are: 

Confirmation (Grade 3)

• April 29th- Parent information meeting, 7pm at St Joseph's Church. 
• May 11th- Presentation of candidates at Mass.
• May 12th- Confrimation Formation Day at St John's Primary School (school supported)
• May 27th- Confirmation celebration 6pm

School Photo Day 29th April!

Our school photo day will be held on Tuesday, 29th April.   Following is a flyer from Leading Image which explains how you can place orders using an access key. This access key can be used for all student and family orders.   (Note: Photo's can only be ordered via this online booking system) 

Please remember that the family/sibling orders MUST be ordered by 4.30pm on the day before photo day which is Monday, 28th April.    Once this time passes, parents will no longer be able to order a family photo online.

Any and all late orders will not be able to be ordered until photos are returned back to the school and second chance bookmarks are distributed. Late orders are at an increased price and will be subject to a postage fee.

To order - Click the link below, then enter the access code: V2VP6X3K

https://orders.leadingimage.com.au/ordering/access 

Foundation File

Picnic and Play

Last Friday and Monday, we helped Mrs Dowling by being leaders of our school. We got to play and welcome a few little Kinder groups to our playground. This is a great way to showcase our school community to others. We knew that we would have to teach them a few of our school rules but the most important rule was for us all to have some fun! It was a great way to sneak in an extra few minutes of play!!

Learn and Play

Yesterday we got to come to school on a Wednesday. But it wasn’t to use our whiteboards and learn our sounds or numbers. We got to come along with some of our parents and we learnt about using the pedestrian crossings safely with Louise the lollipop lady. We then went down to the function hall and went to the breakfast club for the very first time. We had to sign in and then say a little prayer and then we got to line up and choose what to have to eat. It was heaps of fun and we cannot wait to be able to use it on a Wednesday in Term 2.  We then went for a walk to the Pecten Avenue playground as we practised our pedestrian safety skills and walked together as a group. Finally we had so much fun playing with our friends while our parents all had a chat. It was a great way to fill in our very last Wednesday!

Happy Easter

We would like to wish everyone a wonderful break for the holidays. Thanks for all the hard work and support that has been shown to us all - students, teachers, buddies, parents, grandparents, Kaz, Jack, Layla and Olivia. Our Foundation family for 2025 have hit the ground running!! We have had a wonderful Term 1 and can’t wait to get ready to learn and grow more next term. We also wish you all a very happy Easter and hope that you can enjoy lots of family time and time to relax and eat chocolate!!!

Term 1 Wrap Up!!
We began the school year on Wednesday 29th January. Here’s what some of us remember.
I remember getting my photo taken in front of the colourful balloons. Tessa
I get to come to school with Dad everyday but Mum got to come on the very first day. Bernie

We have been able to use these school things to help us learn. Here’s what we love. 
I love using the whiteboards and I get my very own marker and a duster. Stella
I love using the crayons to draw pictures. Ezra

We have explored so many different parts of our school. Here’s where we love to go.
I love to play in the playground on the monkey bars. Hailey
I love going on the slide. I have to remember to go down the slide and not up it!!! West

And after just 10 weeks here’s what we know!!!!
I want to learn how to write my uppercase letters because I know how to write my lowercase ones already. Charlotte
I want to keep practising my colouring so I don’t go out of the lines. Tommy

Mini Vinnies News

The Hare that Cares

Congratulations to everyone who participated in 'The Hare that Cares' challenges this week.  It was truly wonderful to see the large number of people who participated. 

This week the challenges were:

-To sit next to someone new at lunch time and get to know them

-To smile and say hello to 3 different people in the yard, and-to do some mindfulness colouring of 'The Hare That Cares' in the Art room at lunch time. 

It was a super fun and interactive way to encourage kindness, generosity, and community spirit in our amazing school.Here are some pictures of the students getting involved.

Project Compassion

This Lent, each class has been collecting money for Caritas Australia's Project Compassion.  Project compassion calls us to Unite Against Poverty and take action to make a lasting difference. This year the total amount of money raised at St Pius was over $500. On the Project Compassion box it tells us that $500 can provide hygiene training for a whole community in Samoa.  This is an awesome effort by everyone.

The class who raised the most money this year was MP2.  Next term Mini Vinnies will organise an excursion to Pecten Ave and a free Super Dooper for everyone in Mr White's class.

Congratulations to everyone for your charitable donations.

Easter Raffle

The Easter Raffle will be drawn TOMORROW AT 2.15PM in the courtyard.

Don't forget to get your raffle tickets back to school as soon as possible.  Thank you to all those who have returned their tickets and money already.  If anyone would like extra books please ask at the office.

Thank you also to those families who have kindly donated Easter items or who have given cash donations via the CDF  Pay App.  Your generosity is very much appreciated.     

A big thank you to Kimberley Lack who has made up the prize baskets today, they look fantastic!  

Alternative Programs

What a busy and productive term it has been!

Hands on Learning groups successfully ran a café for SP3 and SP1, gaining valuable experience in hospitality. They also earned their licenses for using a hammer, drill, saw, wheelbarrow, and gardening equipment. In addition, they planted the veggie garden and hosted two groups from Archie Graham, leading engaging Easter activities.

Mini Hands on Learning groups got creative in the kitchen, baking and decorating cupcakes, and also built mini wooden insect hotels.

Students attending the Men’s Shed constructed sliding pencil boxes and their own personal toolboxes. Along the way, they formed wonderful connections with the Men’s Shed members and wrapped up the term with a shared lunch.

The Alternate Afternoon Group enjoyed a jam-packed term filled with extra physical education, cooking, and hands-on construction projects in the shed. They also took great care in keeping the veggie garden well-watered.

Well done to all involved for a fantastic term of learning and achievement!

Little Free Library

Liam Coles has completed a big construction project with LSO, Xavier Mills. Together they have planned and collaborated to build a Little Free Library, which will now sit in the front of the school. Well done Liam, lots of people can now borrow a book for free or add a book to the library for others to read.

Expressions of Interest - P&F Initiative FINAL CALL

Please click on the link below if you can help out.  This is the final callout for volunteers!

Our wonderful Parents and Friends have been offered an opportunity to raise much needed funds for the school. The Pickleball community has reached out to see if we would be interested in running a canteen for a tournament they are hosting at the Arc on the long weekend in June. (6th-8th of June).  This would entail parents volunteering and giving up their time to fill some shifts. 

The tournament will run over the three days Fri, Sat, Sun from 10am-3.30pm so we envisage the shifts would be 3 hours in duration -  9.30-12-30 and 12-30-3.30.  Before we commit to this we are sending out an Expression of Interest Google Form to gauge whether we will have enough volunteers to run the canteen.

We understand that everyone's time is precious and that this isn't something everyone can do, however, any support would be greatly appreciated. 

Google Form: https://forms.gle/K29Tva321TMeUena6

Mothers/Special Person's Breakfast - Save the Date!

The CDF Pay App is now open to take orders and payments.

The cost for breakfast is $5.00 per person (including students).

If you are having any issues with accessing or using the CDF PAY App please call Bec in the office.

School Closure Days 2025

Thurs 24th April – Southern Zone Collaboration Day (DOBCEL determined date)

Fri 30th May – School Review 

Mon 2nd June – School Review 

Fri 29th August – School-Wide Positive Behaviour Support (SWPBS)

Mon 6th October – Structured Literacy 

Fri 7th November  – Religious Education 

Breakfast Club - Back in Week 2, 30th April

There will be NO BREAKFAST CLUB the first week back due to the short week. 

We look forward to seeing everyone back, including our Foundation students, in week 2 of term. 

Breakfast club is open from 8:20am - 8:55am

A special message just to say.............

The following students are celebrating their birthdays over the coming week and in the school holidays:

Lennoz Schrama-Wilmot, Flynn Sloper, Mason Halloran, Charlee Best, Sophie Meade, Chloe Harzmeyer, Oscar Howe-Betts, Carter Seabrook, Sol McInerney, Owen Grimley, Tommy Brown, Ashveer Singh, Joanne George, Amelia Dunkley

Mullets for Mental Health

Please see a message from one of our Year 5 students Arlie Edwards. 

I'm growing my mullet this April for Black Dog Institute's Mullets for Mental Health.

9 people in Australia die by suicide every day. Over 75% of mental health problems occur before the age of 25. 

My mullet and funds raised will help us drive real change and fund ground-breaking mental health research. This will put digital services and education into the hands of people who need it the most.

It would mean a lot to me if you donated to support my mullet.

Together, we can create better mental health for all Australians.

Canteen Roster for next week.

Toy Donations Required!

Before & After School Care.

Lost and Found - Phone

We have had a phone handed into the office earlier this week.  It has a passcode locked screen and a BuzzTech hard black cover. Please contact the office if this belongs to you.

Important Dates.

Friday 4th April - Last Day of Term 1, 2.30pm finish

Friday 4th April - Assembly

Monday 21st April -Easter Monday Public Holiday

Tuesday 22nd April - First Day Term 2

Thursday 24th April - Closure Day - Southern Zone Collaboration Day (DOBCEL determined date)

Friday 25th April - ANZAC Day Public Holiday

Monday 28th April - Confirmation Parent Meeting (7pm St Joseph's church)

Tuesday 29th April - School Photo Day

Wednesday 30th April - Cross Country

Thursday 1st May - May Races Public Holiday

Free Uniforms!

If you are looking for some good quality second hand uniforms, we currently have a display set up in the foyer area near the office.  You are welcome to come in anytime and have a look through what we have.   Items include summer dresses, shorts, pants, shirts etc. in various sizes.  All items are FREE to take.

School Uniform

Parish Contact.

Sunday Mass 9.00am @ 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/ 

West Warrnambool Neighbourhood House - Calendar of Events