Friday 28th May - Term 3 Reception Transition
Friday 4th June - Term 3 Reception Transition
Tuesday 1st June - P&F Meeting
Friday 11th June - Pupil Free Day - OSHC will be available for those families needing care
Monday 14th June - Queen's Birthday Public Holiday

This week, our Year 4 Sacrament Program Candidates receive the Sacraments of Confirmation and First Eucharist. Over the past months, these children have prepared at home and at school and are now ready to receive Jesus in a special way. We continue to hold these children and their families in our prayers as they continue their faith journey. Confirmation and First Eucharist Masses will be on Tuesday and Wednesday evenings at Saint Pius X Church, Dernancourt.

A Prayer for our Confirmation Candidates

Lord, You send out Your Spirit to touch the hearts of all people, so that they may believe in You and in Jesus whom You sent.

Look kindly on all candidates for Confirmation as they listen to Your voice. Open their hearts to Your Spirit and bring to fulfilment the good work that You have begun in them.

As we prepare these children for Confirmation, make each of us an instrument of Your love. Teach us to appreciate what is holy in others, and to be patient with what we do not understand.

Deepen our faith in the Gospel and help us to pass it on by our example. We pray that You will continue to guide us and sustain us.

Through Christ our Lord, Amen.

On Monday, representatives from Catholic Schools throughout South Australia gathered at Saint Francis Xavier’s Cathedral for a Mass to celebrate 200 years of Catholic Education in Australia. A few weeks ago, your child would have brought home a prayer card, commemorating this significant achievement. I encourage you to pray this prayer with your family in the coming days.

Monday was also a significant day in the life of the Church in Australia. We celebrated the Feast of Our Lady Help of Christians – the patroness of Australia.

Very soon, we will be inviting families to contribute to the Annual Vinnies Winter Appeal. More information will be sent home in due course. The work that our local Vinnies conference does in reaching out the most vulnerable in our community is truly inspirational. Please stay tuned!

Blessings for the week ahead.

Unfortunately the Parent Meeting scheduled for Monday 31st May has had to be postponed - we will let you know the new date ASAP.

If you have a child born between 1st November 2017 and 31st October 2018 and you would like them to attend Reception at St Pius X School in 2023 please submit an Application for Enrolment as soon as possible.

Interviews for Reception 2023 will be offered in August.

Parking
As part of our continual review of traffic safety and the parking around the school, we have contacted a Traffic Management Consultant. This consultant will advise us on traffic management and parking in order to solve some of the short term and the long-term issues regarding the movement of traffic around the school. We will let you know the Traffic Management Consultant’s suggestions once we receive them.

 Pedestrians at Kiss and Drop

When the gates open at 3pm, please enter the school grounds to collect your children. It becomes extremely congested and unsafe when children are exiting the gates and looking for parents. 

As part of our regular review of Work Health and Safety, the movement of children through the Kiss and Drop gate has been identified as a hazard (cars and students moving through gateway), therefore we are required to make attempts to alleviate the hazard. This is why we are trialling following changes. The Kiss and Drop gate is a high traffic area and is not safe for children or adults to be walking through. You are asked to exit via the Acton Avenue gate or the OSHC gate, a little further down. Please do not exit through the Kiss and Drop gate.

Please do not ask your child to come through the OSHC gates. This is for parents and children who have come in through the Kiss and Drop gate.

You are also reminded that a teacher is on duty in the Kiss and Drop area until 3.30pm every afternoon. You may like to arrive a little later (eg 3.15-3.20) when the area is less busy and you do not need to queue in your cars for so long.

Parents and carers may access the school through the Kiss and Drop gates and Acton Street gates from 3.00pm. The front gates on Windsor Ave are open once a teacher goes on duty. There are benches near the Windsor Ave gates should you like to wait there.

If you come into a building you are required by SA Health to use the QR codes that are displayed around each building. You are not required to use the QR codes if you stay within the yard.

Please remember that all we do is for the safety of the children in our care. These processes are constantly being reviewed.

We thank you for your cooperation.