Welcome

As we commence Term 3 here, I’d like to welcome back Kelly Spencer who is teaching our Transition class (Term 3 Reception). Kelly has had a wonderful experience so far this year as APRIM at St Monica’s but we are thrilled to have her back at St Pius X. I would also like to welcome Tori Gray as an Education Support Officer and Jiashin Huang and Lauren Gordon who are completing their Social Work Degrees and are undertaking work placement with us for the rest of the year. We also welcome back Connie Sepe and Tracy Misfud from leave.

Most importantly we welcome our new students to our school. May God bless all of these children and may St Pius X School extend its love, welcome and support to all of our new families. 

Our new look Newsletter

Welcome to a new look, responsive Newsletter. There are many new features including full view accessibility on phone, real time calendar and an option to ‘add an event’ to your calendar. The product that we will be using provides a solution for quality communication with parents as it enables email, text, social communication along with a colour coded calendar, intuitive form creation, form reply tracking, parent teacher interview scheduling. It also has ‘groups’ so we can communicate directly with the soccer team, or choir and so on.

I’d like to promote a new section of the Newsletter that enables our community to hear about any successes or celebrations that may have occurred beyond the school day. This could be an achievement of your child across a range of external activities. You will see our section today on Matthew and Olivia Brown. Please forward to us any news that you may have about existing or former St Pius X students.

Optional Parent/Teacher Interviews

We offer optional interviews for parents wishing to discuss their child’s progress and the Semester 1 Student Report. Your child’s teacher will be communicating with you regarding times and opportunities to meet next week (Week 2).

Pupil Free Day

Thankyou for your support of our Pupil Free Day on Monday. We know that these days sometimes pose extra challenges for families but the benefits to our school, staff and children are enormous. Our APRIM, James Lloyd, led the day as we participated in a Retreat, with a theme of exploring God’s creation, our environment and developing a stronger sense of the well-being of ourselves, our students and our community. As you are aware, well-being will become a major thrust for our school including a 3 year project in ‘Kidsmatter’ which will give us the opportunity to develop a comprehensive community based program that will bring together community consultation, student voice, a comprehensive social skills program and developing links to external support and providers.  Please see this link for details https://www.kidsmatter.edu.au

Holiday News

I have caught up with a few parents and children who have asked ‘How was your trip to the Simpson Desert?’ Let’s just say it was an experience. We travelled in 4 vehicles across all 430kms and 1200 sand dunes. We became stuck on several occasions, but worked our way through these. My wife Kelly and the kids were at home enjoying the comforts, so no, it was not a family outing. However, through it all I gained an even greater respect for our magnificent country, its astounding beauty, its solitude and sense of archaeological history and landmarks that outdates all other continents and.... I learned how to navigate a 4 wheel drive over a 30 metre sand dune!

Look forward to catching up with you,

God bless.

Welcome back to Term Three.

On Monday, our staff participated in a reflection day at The Monastery. We explored various aspects of our faith as a Catholic Community and in particular, Pope Francis’ Encyclical, Laudato Si. This document calls us to care for our Earth through practical ways. For some time, we have placed great importance on the need for environmental sustainability at St Pius X. Ms Buhagiar has been instrumental in leading us in developing sustainable practices at our site. There is so much each of us can do to care for creation, beginning with recycling and reducing waste. Have a chat with your child to see if there are ways you can reduce waste at home!

Next Thursday, the families who are beginning their Sacramental Programme journey with Reconciliation will meet at 6:30pm in St Pius X Church for an information session. If your child will be celebrating this Sacrament for the first time, please attend this session.

I trust that your first few days back in school routine have been smooth!

Term 3 Tuition Fees are due and payable by Friday 3rd August 2018.  If you have entered into a part time agreement to pay your fees over the whole year this due date does not apply.  If you are unable to meet this deadline, please do not hesitate to contact me and part time arrangements can be made. 

Thank you to those parents who have paid promptly.  Reminder statements will be posted home for parents who do not meet the due date.

Some parents have omitted to pay the Building Levy so this will need to be paid in the last installment.  Statements will be sent home to notify these parents of the balance due and this payment is required within 14 days of receipt of statement.

For parent’s convenience, EFT, BPay, Visa and Mastercard are available. If you wish to pay your fees via BPAY, please ensure that the full reference number is entered so funds can be applied to the correct family. 

If you are holders of a Health Care Card you may be eligible for School Card and therefore Fee Remission, which is granted by the school.  Please see me if you feel you may meet the criteria or have any queries relating to fees.

Thank you.

We have some very exciting news to share!  I have just been informed that our school Choir will be performing at the Catholic Schools’ Music Festival at the Entertainment Centre Theatre, on Wednesday 12^thSeptember 2018, 7.30-9.30pm. We will be part of a massed choir consisting of 450 students from Catholic Schools around South Australia. There will be 4 performances over 4 nights, Monday 10^th to Thursday 13^th September and…… we have been allocated the front row!!!!  Congratulations to our 39 beautiful children who sang their best at the school hub assessments late last term. Also, a hearty congratulations to the 3 students who auditioned for solos at the Festival. They have all been invited to call back auditions in Week 3. Well done Mia F, Hannah P and Anabelle D all from 6/7A. We wish you all the best for the call backs.

If you would like to attend a wonderful evening of entertainment which will include brilliant support acts from various Catholic Primary and Secondary Schools in Adelaide who will perform in between the Choir song brackets, please see the information below.  

Ticket Sales

The Music Festival will be held at the Adelaide Entertainment Centre Theatre from 7:30–9:30pm and St Pius X School will perform on Wednesday 13^thSeptember. Tickets go on sale for the Choir families prior to public release. Parents are able to organise their own groups and will book directly through Ticketek.

Pre-release tickets are available to Catholic school community families from July 30^that 9:00am – August 13^that 9:00am - 2 weeks prior to public release.  Families buy directly from Ticketek through a dedicated link available through all sales channels - call 13 28 49 or visit www.ticketek.com.au     

A Reserve: $35.00, B Reserve: $30.00, School Card: any seating at B Reserve prices (service and handling fees and delivery fees may apply / No exchanges or refunds on purchased tickets).

For groups larger than 10 please book through Ticketek’s dedicated groups department: 1300 364 001 or groupbookings@ticketek.com.au or visit an agency.

For special needs bookings please contact Ticketek’s Mobility Restricted line on 1300 665 915 or visit an agency.