Friday 2nd July - Term 2 concludes at 3:00pm
Monday 19th July - Student Free Day - OSHC will be available for those families needing care
Tuesday 20th July - Term 3 commences 
Tuesday 3rd August - P&F Meeting

Dear Families
Last week Catholic Education SA made the announcement that I have decided to retire at the end of this year. I had hoped to complete Stage 2 of the building project but the timeline for this is pushing out, so I decided to complete Stage 1D (current build) as my final project. I had very mixed feelings about the decision as you would know how much I’ve loved working here, I will miss especially your children and the joy they bring to St Pius X. However, once I had made the decision, I felt ‘at peace’ and ready to be more of a ‘home Dad.’

Students, staff and families have expressed surprise and, may I say, thanks for the well wishes!  I look forward to helping out at home more and also being a grandfather. My wife, Kelly, is Principal at St Margaret Mary’s and she has been a great support to my leadership - it's now time to offer back. This year will mark my 63^rd birthday and 38 years of teaching and leading in Catholic schools so I really feel it is time.

The process of selection and appointment of a new Principal will start promptly. This includes consultation with students, parents and staff about the qualities you feel the new Principal should demonstrate and the school priorities going forward. A job description will be created and applications and interviews will occur next term. This is about a five week turnaround so the announcement would likely to be later Term 3. My plan is to complete the year and have a good ‘handover’ with the new Principal. I told the Year Six students yesterday that we will be ‘exiting’ together and there should be plenty of opportunity for celebrations.

One goal I have for the community is to help reconnect our families post COVID-19. I would like to meet with as many of you as I can to hear how we might achieve this and other goals that you have for the school. In order to achieve this, I’m proposing a late afternoon/evening Disco for the children (three sessions for three age groups)  with the opportunity to meet with me in the Activity Room whilst the children are dancing. I'm not sure how much can be achieved, but it will be a chance to catch up with you!

Last week, members of the Dernancourt Vinnies conference collected our donations of food and gift vouchers. We have uploaded some photos on our school Facebook page, so please have a look! Thank you for your generous support.

As we near the end of Term 2, it is a wonderful time to give thanks for the many blessings we have received during the past ten weeks. As we celebrated our ‘End of Term 2 Prayer Service’ yesterday, I couldn’t help but reflect on how blessed we are to gather together. As our country grapples with new lockdowns, we pray for health workers, leaders and those responsible for decision making, that the Holy Spirit will guide them in their work and give them courage in the days ahead.

I pray that the upcoming holidays offer you the chance to reflect on the term that was. Whilst many of our travel plans are put on hold for now, enjoy some ‘sleep-ins’ and quality family time. 

End of Term Prayer

We thank you for the many blessings we have received this term.

We voice our gratitude for the good things you have done in us,

 and we praise you for all who have shared in the work of our school.

We ask you to bless all our learners, their families and our staff.

Give them refreshment and peace during these holidays. Amen.

Dear St Pius X Community

As our placement comes to an end we wanted to say thank you and goodbye.

Thank you everyone at St Pius X for the welcoming and supportive environment you have provided us with during our placement.  We have had the pleasure of experiencing so many wonderful learning opportunities and will greatly miss being a part of the community at St Pius X. We want to wish both staff and students the best for their future.

Kindest regards,

Tsedeye and Kathy

Thank you to the many members of our school community who safely navigate their vehicles around our school at drop off and pick up each day.

Sadly, vehicles are still stopping on the yellow lines near the crossing on Windsor Grove and in the bus zone on Hillburn Avenue.

This morning, several parents/caregivers stopped their vehicles on yellow lines, very close to the crossing and dropped children off. Please do not stop your vehicle on yellow lines anywhere around the school. Staff on duty will ask you to move on. This is extremely unsafe and puts us all in danger.

Port Adelaide-Enfield Council regularly patrol the roads around our school. This morning, inspectors were present and drivers who were in breach of road rules will no doubt,  be issued fines through the post.

Please drive safely when dropping off and picking up your children each day. You may need to park and walk for a minute or two, but we cannot put a price on the safety of our children.

Congratulations to the following Speech and Drama students who sat for AMEB exams on June 19:
Voice and Communication 
Preliminary Grade - Grace G - Honours
First Grade - Isabelle G and Siena G - Honours
Speech and Performance         
First Grade - Lily M - Credit

Exams require extra commitment and we are so proud of these students! 

Speech and Drama students are now working on their annual plays to be performed at a free public performances on Drama Day, Saturday, October 30th at the Walkerville Primary School Theatre.  Watch this space for further details - all welcome!