Dear Parents

Welcome to the 2024 school year. I hope that everyone enjoyed the Christmas holiday break. I am looking forward to another exciting year working with the children and families at St Pius X School. The children have settled in well to the first week of school and everything appears to be running smoothly.

I would like to take this opportunity to welcome all 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.

Thank you to all the parents and students who were able to attend the meet the teacher meetings on Thursday 25^th January. I know that the teachers found these meetings very beneficial and enjoyed getting to know you and your child more closely.

Parent Information Night
Next Tuesday 13^th February, we will be hosting a parent information night. This night is different to meet the teacher as your child’s class teacher will be providing some more formal information about the classroom routines, curriculum expectations, homework, parent – teacher communication and providing parents with an opportunity to ask any questions about the school year. There are two timeslots for these sessions and parents are invited to attend ONE of these sessions. The first session will be at 5:45pm and the second session will be at 6:30pm. Our Admin and Leadership staff will be out in the main courtyard from 5:30pm to help you in anyway and we will also have a small cool treat to share with you. We look forward to seeing all who can attend at one of these sessions next Tuesday.

Yard Expectations before and After School
On Monday I met with all the children in the hall to run them through the yard expectations for before and after school. 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 so to ensure the safety of our community during this time we have reinforced with the children the following expectations:

1. There are no large ball games in the morning (soccer, football, basketball etc).
2. Children are not permitted on the playground or Nature Play areas before school.
3. Chasey games down the Nature Play end of the oval and handball games on the basketball court are permitted.
4. Children are not to enter the classroom areas until the bell goes (unless invited or requested to do so by their teacher).

After School
Towards the end of last year, we opened the playground for children to use for 15 minutes after school. What we noticed is that some children who were meant to be waiting at the Kiss and Drop or at Acton Avenue were either playing ball games or playing on the playground. As a result they were not ready or easily visible when their parents came to collect them. This led to delays in the Kiss and Drop line and with traffic as well as some inconvenience for parents. For these reasons we have implemented the following expectations in 2024.

1. The playground is open until 3:15pm but only for children whose parents are onsite.
2. 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.
3. There are no ball games permitted after school.

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 1 due to high to extreme UV levels. Children who do not have a hat at 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 time and therefore can I please request that parents support us by ensuring that their child has a school hat at school. 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.

Children Arriving at School on Time in the Morning
Just a reminder to parents that the school bell will sound at 8:42am in the morning and classes commence at 8:45am. The gate on Acton Avenue and the gates near Kiss and Drop on Hilburn Avenue will be locked shortly at 8:45am for the safety of our children. If parents are still on site after this time, then they can leave through the gate at the front of the school or through the front office. Children arriving after the gates are locked are required to enter through the front office.

School Developments and Buildings
Another year – another building project. You may have noticed that our grass area in our courtyard is now open and during the holiday period we also had some paving work completed around the school.

We have just commenced Stage 3 of our Building Project which will include a complete refurbishment of the 5 classroom spaces and office spaces on the top storey above our front admin area. This will create a new Library, Italian Room, Inclusive Education Centre and multipurpose meeting and SHIP room. On the bottom storey of the building, will be the staff room extended to include more space for our growing staff and extra work areas as well as a complete refurbishment of our staff toilets, which are now looking very old and tired.

We expect this work to be completed by the later stages of this year. In the interim there may be some disruptions to our Admin operations as they demolish the top storey and internal staircase. We may be required to move our admin operations over to the space where the Mid-Year Reception classes were last year which is just opposite the current Admin building. We will keep you posted about when these changes need to occur.

We have also started the planning for Stage 3A of the building works which is going to include the re-surfacing and re-positioning of the basketball court and the construction of a large shelter area over the court to provide more protection from the weather. This work is scheduled to start in late 2024.

Building Works Traffic Management
Whilst the stage 3 building works are in progress, the builders will be using the OSHC entrance as their main entry in and out of the school. Can parents please refrain from parking too close to the area and ensure that they are obeying the signs and markers that are put out by the builders as they will need space to get trucks and equipment in and out of this space.

During this time the pedestrian gate near the double kiss and drop exit gate is available for entrance into OSHC. This gate has a spring loaded latch on it and a lever for parents to open. This gate is locked during school times but is open and accessible everyday up until 8:45am and during all other OSHC opening hours.

Can you help with cooking some Pancakes?
Next Tuesday 13^th February is Shrove Tuesday. On this day we will be cooking pancakes for all the children in our school. If you have some spare time between 8:30am and 11:00am we would love your support. Please contact Rita Campbell or Cassandra Figg at school if you can help.

I look forward to another wonderful year working with the St Pius X School Community.

God bless,

Ashley Keane