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Queen's Birthday Public Holiday - Monday 13th June 2022
School 60th Anniverary Gala Dinner - Saturday 27th August 2022
It is hard to believe that we are at the half way mark of Term Two. It is great to see that school life is starting to return to some sense of normality.
Feast of St Eugene de Mazenod – Our first whole school gathering for 2022. On Monday 19th May all the children and staff in the school gathered together to celebrate the feast day of St Eugene de Mazenod, who is the founder of the order of the oblate priests who together with the Brigidine sisters established St Pius X School. The oblate order of priests still run the St Pius X Parish at Dernancourt, which is our school’s Parish.
The celebration consisted of a small liturgy which was prepared by James Lloyd and some singing which was led by Basia Jedrzejcak. It was a simple but beautiful celebration and I would like to thank both James and Basia for their efforts in coordinating this liturgy.
It was wonderful to finally be able to have all of the children and teachers gathered together in the one room. This has been the first time that both myself and Jamie have had the opportunity to see all of students and staff together in the one room since we have arrived at the school. I now look forward to many more whole school gatherings.
Presentation of Student Leaders for 2022
At our whole school gathering on Thursday 19th May we had the opportunity to present our Year 6 Sport Captains with their leadership badges for 2022. Congratulations to the following students who have been elected as captain for 2022:
St Mary – Blue
Captains Riley & Maria Claire; Vice Captains; Eva-Marie & Tayla
St Brigid – Green
Captains: Faith & Flora; Vice Captains; Tahlia & Zac
St Pius – Gold
Captains: Caitlin & Anthony ; Vice Captains; Ali & Rafael
St Joseph – Red
Captains: Yvy & Alex; Vice Captains; Tanishka and Henry
Presentation of new sign for our Nature Playground
Over the last 12 months, Tokuyo Sneddon has been working with a group of children from Year 5 & 6 on developing a sign which will be displayed in our Nature Play area. The sign is a ceramic mosaic which displays the word “Serendipity”.
The reason this sign was created, was because the site of our current Nature Playground was once a house that was owned by an elderly couple who lived next door to the school. This couple named their house “Serendipity” which means finding pleasurable things or events by chance. The couple were very attached to their house and when they sold it to the school, their hope was that the children would get the same joy from the nature playground that they had got from their time living in the house. Greg Parker told the couple that the school would recognise the name “Serendipity” and display this word somewhere within the Nature Playground. The construction of this sign honours this promise to our former neighbours. I believe that the word Serendipity is a perfect word to be displayed in our Nature Playground as quite often children find pleasurable things by chance when they are interacting with nature. Well done to all of the children involved in the construction of this sign. It looks fantastic.
Traffic flow around the school
I would like to make a request in regards to supporting traffic flow around our school during the drop off periods in the both the morning and afternoon. St Pius X School is on a relatively small block of land and both Hillburn and Acton Avenues are very narrow streets which struggle with two way traffic in the mornings and afternoons. In order to support traffic flow and reduce the chances of accidents occurring, can I please request that traffic flows around the school in an anticlockwise direction, so that people enter Acton Avenue off of Windsor Grove and travel in a Northerly direction down Acton Avenue. If travelling down Hillburn Avenue, can families please enter from Cookes Road and travel in southerly direction down Hillburn Avenue (so you are travelling in the same direction as the Kiss and Drop flow). If all motorists adhere to these guidelines between the timeframes of 8:20am-8:50am & 2:45pm– 3:30pm on school days, this would significantly support traffic flow. I have attached a diagram which shows the traffic flow I am suggesting. I make this request in the interest of the safety and well being of all children and parents at St Pius X School.
Please note that even though I make this request, the school can not enforce this traffic flow as both Hillburn and Acton Avenue are not one way streets and therefore we are relying parents to work together to ensure that traffic frustrations during these peak times are kept to minimum.
I would like to take this opportunity to thank the vast majority of our parents who are very patient and careful when driving around the school during morning drop off and pick up times.
Please keep Saturday 27th August free in your diary as we will be hosting our 60th Anniversary Gala dinner on this night. Further information about this event will be coming out shortly.
Pentecost
This coming Sunday, the Church celebrates the great feast of Pentecost. The Holy Spirit came down on the Apostles of Jesus and other disciples and marks the beginning of the Church’s mission to the world. In a world facing the real prospect of prolonged war, pandemic and abuses of power, we call on the Holy Spirit to guide our world in ways of peace.
Vinnies Winter Appeal
As I sat and listened to the heavy rain on Sunday night, I was very thankful that I was inside, warm and dry. Whilst water is life giving and cleansing, those who do not have access to shelter and warmth find this time of year particularly trying.
Next week, we will launch our Vinnies Winter Appeal here at St Pius X School. This year, Vinnies are focusing their Winter Appeal around domestic violence and the assistance they offer women and children who are forced to flee unsafe and violent home situations. Every week, our local Vinnies Conference assists dozens of families, some of whom are in search of a safe place to live. To make the move to a place of safety, families need food, assistance with paying bills, clothing and people they can trust to help them.
If you are in a position to donate some non-perishable food items and/or toiletries for Vinnies to distribute to those in need in our community, please send these along to school by Friday 24th June in a plastic shopping bag.
If you would prefer to donate a voucher or money for Vinnies to purchase necessary items from a supermarket, these can also be sent to the front office in a sealed envelope.
Of course, we understand if current circumstances prevent you from donating at this time.
Donations can be sent to your child’s classroom, and we will arrange for these to be collected from there.
Suggested food donations are:
- Canned food (Soup, baked beans, spaghetti)
- Long life milk
- Pasta and pasta sauce
- Breakfast cereals
- Rice
Thank you for your ongoing support of the wonderful work that Vinnies does in our community.
Confirmation and First Holy Communion
A reminder that the rite of Confirmation will take place on Wednesday 15th June at 7pm in the Church.
First Holy Communion will take place two weeks later, on Wednesday 29th June at 6:30pm in the Church.
More information will be sent home to families, closer to the date.
Installment 2 Tuition Fees were due & payable by Friday 13th May 2022. 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 were unable to meet this deadline, please do not hesitate to contact me and part time arrangements can be made. For parent’s convenience, EFT, BPay, QKR, Visa and Mastercard are available.
If you are unsure of the amount due, please contact me and I can discuss this with you. Reminder statements were posted last Friday. Please pay the overdue amount promptly.
If you wish to pay your fees with internet banking, please ensure that you use the new BPAY ID number which can be found at the bottom of your statement. If paying by Direct Transfer of Funds then please use the Account Number at the top of your statement.
If you are holders of a Health Care Card you may be eligible for School Card and therefore Fee Remission.
Please see me if you feel you meet any of these criteria or have any queries relating to fees.
Thank you.
A key objective at St Pius X School is to build confident mathematical learners. How adults talk about maths to children is crucial to creating a positive disposition to maths.
The following extract is from Maths expert and parent, Associate Professor Janette Bob (from the University of Sydney). The message is: to have a positive attitude to maths and talk about it positively.
'Many parents are scared of maths or think they just can't do it, but it's the worst thing you can tell your child,' says Janette.
'Parents are just so crucial as role models,' she says.
'When parents tell their children that they themselves can't do it, it means they're communicating messages that it's OK not to be good at maths, which can carry all the way through high school.'
Maths is everywhere. Talking to children about how maths is important in their everyday life makes it relevant and real.
Mathematics is the science of patterns, rules and relationships, so look for and identify patterns in your environment, such as a sequence of number or beads in a necklace or the arrangement of brick pavers.
Playing games that involve cards or dice provides valuable opportunities to show that maths matters and helps them to become better mathematicians, Janette says. Recognising the arrangement of dots on dice and symbols on cards without counting is called subitising. It develops counting skills and supports their ability to work on more complex number problems in the future.
Encourage children to work things out in their head. Share the strategies you use when you are calculating and ask them how they are working out problems in their head. There are many ways to get one answer!
This article is based on information sourced from the Primary Mathematics Association of South Australia and the NSW Government Education website. To view the NSW Government Education website use this link: https://education.nsw.gov.au/parents-and-carers/learning/maths/maths-tips/helping-your-child-feel-good-about-maths#At0
Please find the latest edition of The Southern Cross - The Southern Cross May 2022
