Dear Parents

Welcome to the 2025 school year. I hope that everyone enjoyed the Christmas holiday break. It is great to have the children back at school, they certainly add a lot of energy to the school environment. I am looking forward to another exciting year working with the children and families at St Pius X.

I would like to take this opportunity to welcome all of our new students and families to the St Pius X community. I have no doubt that you will enjoy being a part of our wonderful community and I hope that you have already been made to feel welcome. Please know that our staff are always available to support you if you have any questions or concerns.

Parent Information Night & Meet the Teacher:

Thank you to all of those parents who attended our Meet the teacher and Parent Information sessions. I hope you found these opportunities to be informative and beneficial. I know our staff really value meeting the parents and working in partnership with you. If you ever require any information about classroom procedures or if you have any concerns about any issues at school, then please don’t hesitate to reach out to your child’s class teacher.

Traffic Flow around the school:

As we begin a new year, I would like to take this opportunity to remind parents of the measures we have put in place to try and ensure the smoothest possible traffic flow around the school. I am fully aware that there is limited parking available in the car park and that the streets around the school are very narrow. There are over 500 children who attend the school and the combination of these factors do mean that we will at times inevitably have traffic delays during the peak drop off and pick up times. I think what is most important is that we all work together to make traffic around the school as safe as possible for our children and we exercise patience during these peak traffic periods.

As a school we have implemented the following measures to support parents with before and after school drop off in an attempt to alleviate traffic flow issues and provide extra time for parents to drop off and collect their children from school.

School Entry and Exit points:

There are 3 entry and exit points to the school. Children can enter through the front gate on Windsor Grove and we have traffic monitors on duty to support children crossing the road safely. Children can also enter through the Kiss & Drop or Pedestrian entrance on Hillburn Avenue or through the double gates on Acton Avenue. We hope that by offering 3 points of entry and exit, we can distribute the traffic more evenly around the school.

Before School: The school gates open at 8:20am and the yard is supervised from this time.

After School: The following arrangements are in place at the end of the school day:

1. The gates open at 2:45pm and parents are welcome to enter the site from this time to collect their children.
2. The Acton Avenue gate is open until 3:20pm and is supervised by a teacher. Children are able to wait inside the gate until they see their parents arrive and then can walk to their car (if parents permit and are comfortable with this).
3. Any children still waiting at Acton Avenue after 3:20pm will be sent over to the Kiss and Drop area on Hillburn Avenue.
4. The Kiss and Drop lane on Hillburn Avenue is open until 3:30pm. Children should be picked up by this time.
5. Any children not collected by this time will be walked across to the front office by the Kiss and Drop yard duty teacher.

In the interests of the safety of all of our children and families I am requesting the support of parents by adhering to the following directions:

1. Please do not use the staff carpark as a Kiss and Drop zone or park in spaces which are not designated for parking. We have had some instances where parents have parked and left their cars and staff and other parents have not been able to get out of the car park.
2. Please do not park in no standing zones – the streets around the school are very narrow and when cars park in spaces where they shouldn’t, this makes it very difficult for other drivers and can reduce the visibility for drivers and therefore safety for pedestrians. We have also had incidents where buses returning children from excursions have been unable to turn into Acton Avenue due to some people parking on the yellow line on the corner of Acton Avenue and Windsor Grove.
3. Please do not park in the disabled park without a valid permit. We have few community members with a disability who genuinely need this park when they collect children from school.
4. As a school we have tried to promote a one way flow of traffic around the school during drop off and pick up periods in order to make traffic flow safer and less frustrating for parents. We ask that parents travel in an anti clockwise direction around the school and only turn left when exiting the Kiss and Drop area. I have attached a diagram which indicates the flow of traffic requested. Please note that as a school we can not enforce this one way traffic directive, however we find that most parents follow this rule and if all drivers were to do the same it would help alleviate some of the stress for motorists.
5. Please respect the direction of our staff on duty if they ask you move on in order to improve traffic flow – ultimately, we are trying to ensure safety for all children and parents.
6. Please be patient – we want to work with parents on making sure the traffic flow around our school is safe. If you are held up in traffic, we will look after your children.

I thank you in anticipation of your support of the above measures.

Yard Expectations before and after school:

On Monday I met with all of the children in the hall to run them through the yard expectations for the year. In the morning a lot of children and parents are entering onto the site at one time. We have grandparents and younger siblings coming onto site and to ensure the safety of all of our community during this time we have reinforced with the children the following expectations:

1. The school gates open and the yard is supervised from 8:20am.
2. Children are not to enter the school grounds through the OSHC gate and wait in the yard unsupervised.
3. There are no large ball games in the morning (soccer, football, basketball etc).
4. Children are not permitted on the playground or Nature Play areas before school.
5. Chasey games down the Nature play end of the oval and handball games on the basketball court are permitted.
6. Children are not to enter the classroom areas until the bell goes (unless invited or requested to do so by their teacher).

There are some exceptions to these rules on Fun Friday, which we will reinforce with the children.

After School:

In order to support the traffic flow around the school and ensure that children who should be waiting for their parents to collect them are not distracted by playing, the following expectations have been implemented.

1. Children who are being picked up from Acton Avenue or from Kiss and Drop are asked to wait in the respective areas for their parents so they are ready to go when their parents arrive
2. There are no ball games permitted after school.
3. The playground is open until 3:15pm but only for children whose parents are onsite. Please note that once the OSHC come out to play at 3:15pm, all other children who are not in OSHC are asked to vacate the playground.

I would like to thank parents in advance for supporting us and reinforcing with these expectations with their children.

No Hat No Play

Just a reminder that in the interest of sun safety for all students we have a no hat no play policy at recess and lunch time in Term One due to high to extreme UV levels. Children who do not have a hat at a school need to sit under the pergola area which can limit their social interaction with peers. It is never pleasant asking children to sit under the shade for all of their play period and therefore can I please request that parents support us by ensuring that their child has access to a hat at school. The school hat is part of the school uniform and if children do not have a hat at school for an extended period of time, parents will be contacted and asked to purchase a hat for their child. Please ensure hats are clearly labelled with your child’s first name and surname so we can return hats to their rightful owner if they are misplaced. Thank you for your support with this.

School Developments and Buildings:

Over the holiday period most of our internal building works were completed. We are now in the very final stages of completing Stage 3 of our building project, with only a few minor touch ups to be completed. We have ordered the furniture for the new library and anticipate that this will arrive by the end of February. We should have a fully functioning School Library by later this term. I can’t wait to see the benefits that this space will provide for our students, and I look forward to inviting parents to come in for a tour of our re-developed spaces in the coming weeks.

Later this year, work will start on the development of a shade structure over the courts and the re-surfacing of the school’s basketball courts.

Joke of the Week

This year the children (and some staff) have been sharing some of their best “dad jokes” with me. I thought I would share a couple of these in each newsletter.

Dion from Year 4 shared the following:

I used to be afraid of doing hurdles:

But I got over it!

Cassandra from the front office shared the following joke:

5 Ants rented an apartment with another 5 ants. Now they’re tenants.

Thank you for your support in helping the children have a smooth start to the 2025 School Year. I look forward to working to what should be another exciting year.

God Bless

Ashley Keane

Welcome to the new school year. 

This year our school focus will be on the Year of Jubilee as appointed by the Pope every 25 years.  This year the theme is Pilgrims of Hope.

The word “jubilee” is derived from the Hebrew word yobel, which means “ram’s horn”; since it was precisely that horn which was used as a trumpet, whose sound indicated to everybody the beginning of the jubilee year. A "pilgrim" is a person who journeys to a sacred place for religious reasons. "Hope" is a feeling of trust or of expectation and desire for a particular thing to happen. So be prepared for new experience and learning under this theme and let's hope that our year is safe, healthy, successful and faith-filled.

Beginning of Year Mass

On Fri 7th Feb our community came together to celebrate the beginning of Year Mass focussing on our school patrons and the values of Strength and Kindness.   What were traditionally known as school sports teams have now been rebranded as Houses.  The children will become more aware of St Joseph, St Mary, St Pius  X and St Brigid as significant  role models of our school along with St Eugene De Mazenod.  Year 6 House Captains will have opportunities to lead their houses in prayer, activities, fundraising and to gather them for special occasions.  We look forward to supporting the leaders and the children in this new way.

Lent

This year Shrove Tuesday is acknowledged on March 4th with Ash Wednesday on March 5th.  Our school will provide pancake recess for the community on Tuesday with two school liturgies on Wednesday to distribute ashes to all. The Project Compasssion campaign also starts during Lent with boxes being distributed to families acknowledging this annual fundraising event under the theme of "Unite against Poverty"

Sacramental Program

This year the program will take on a new format as directed by our parish.  The Year 3 children will celebrate their Reconciliation in Term 2 and their Confirmation and First Holy Communion in  Term 3 with the Year 4 children.  The Information Night will be held on Wed 26th March at 6:30pm.  Another addition is that all three parish schools (including Kildare and St Paul's Colleges) will now prepare the liturgies and celebrate along with the parish children for a more community celebration.

Kind Regards

Rita Campbell

Finance

Early payment discount cut off Friday 21st February!

Please send direct debit forms to the office ASAP. 

Reporting Absences

If your child is absent from school please notify us through SZapp.  Use the 'Absences' tab.  If you notify your child's class teacher via Seesaw or email you are still required to notify the office. 

If your child/ren will be absent for 5 days or more please complete an Exemption from School Attendance ED175 Form C - https://stpiusx.schoolzineplus.com/form/389

Change of clothes

Please have spare pants and socks in your child's bag incase of wet or dirty clothes.  Junior primary parents please ensure there is always change of clothes in your child's bag. 

Labelling reminder

Lots of unnamed lost property is being handed into the office.

Please ensure ALL your children's belongings (uniforms, lunchboxes, drinkbottles, pencil cases etc.) are CLEARLY LABELLED with your child's name.

Labelled property can be easily returned to their owner.

Registered Volunteers

Would you like to help out on excursions or listen to reading in your child's/grandchild's class ? You need to be a registered volunteer. To become a registered volunteer please click here https://www.stpiusx.catholic.edu.au/community/volunteers or contact the school office on 8266 9400.

Sports Day

Shrove Tuesday - Pancake helpers needed - contact Cassandra cfigg@stpiusx.catholic.edu.au if you are able to help from 8:45am until 11:00am

Open Board Meeting

2025 School Board nominations are now OPEN - School Board Nomination 2025

Harmony Day - Friday, 21st March

more details to come

Auskick

Sessions start next Tuesday from 3:15-4:00pm on the school oval. Children must be accompanied by a parent/carer or be booked into OSHC.

There is still vacancies if you would like to register your child 

Registrations are OPEN click the link - https://www.playhq.com/afl/register/a7ff60

Swimming

Adelaide North East District SAPSASA Carnival will be held on Friday 7th March 2025 at The Norwood Pool, 32 Phillips St, Kensington. 

SAPSASA District Team will be announced Friday 21st February.

The Catholic Schools’ Swimming Carnival will be held at the Burnside Swimming Pool, Corner of Howard Terrace and Greenhill Road, Hazelwood Park on Tuesday 25^th March

Catholic Team will be announced (TBA)

2025 Basketball

We are needing to fill a few spots in a couple of our teams, if your child is interested please email Cassandra cfigg@stpiusx.catholic.eud.au or ring 8266 9400 (dial 4) to discuss.

2025 After School Sport 

Netball and Soccer Registrations for competitions for term 2 & 3 of 2025

will open Friday 28th February 2025.  Look out for the notification on SZapp! 

2025 Sport Carnivals 

Music Tuition 2025 Enrolments

There are some vacancies with some Music Tutors.

If you would like your child to learn an instrument please complete the enrolment form 

2025 Music Tuition Singing with Virginia

2025 Music Tuition Piano with Jen

2025 Music Tuition Piano with Lucy

2025 Music Tuition - Guitar with David

2025 Music Tuition with Julian

 2025 Tuition - Speech and Drama

P&F Meetings
Last Friday afternoon we held our first meeting of the year, it was lovely to see some new faces and welcome back some famiiar ones. We would like to invite everyone to our next P&F meeting which will be held towards the end of term in the evening at school, on Tuesday April 1st @ 7pm. It's a fantastic chance to meet other parents, share ideas, and see how you can get involved in supporting our students and the SPX community. We have some exciting events planned for 2025, and we need your help to make them happen! 

Want some great entertainment offers while supporting our school ?

Click here to sign up - https://subscribe.entertainment.com.au/fundraiser/162x804

Families are invited to attend our school assemblies.

Please find the latest edition of The Southern Cross - The Southern Cross February 2025