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From the Principal - Ashley Keane
Dear Parents
Wow! It is Week 8 already and it is hard to believe that I am writing my last newsletter article for the term.
Harmony Week:
This week our school has been celebrating Harmony Week, to coincide with Harmony Day which was held on March 21st. Harmony week celebrates Australia’s cultural diversity. It is about inclusiveness, respect and a sense of belonging for everyone. At St Pius X school we truly value our cultural diversity and the richness it brings to our school community. This week we started Harmony Week with children drawing their messages of love and harmony on the courts with coloured chalk. On Tuesday we gathered for a Harmony Day Liturgy, followed by our “taste of Harmony Day”. The children were able to purchase and taste a variety of foods from different cultures. The Vietnamese Cold Rolls, Portuguese Tarts, Greek Spanakopita and Italian Gelato were all huge hits. The children also had the opportunity to play together in the yard for an extended lunch period. On Wednesday children came to school dressed in either orange (the colour which represents Harmony Day) or in their traditional cultural clothing. It was great to see so many children dressed in their traditional cultural clothing. We also welcomed an African Drummer, Bortier Okoe who performed for the children. His performance was very entertaining and he called a number of students up to dance with him and play the drums. I think the highlight for the children was when he called all of the staff on stage to dance. I am sure there is hidden video footage of this performance which the staff would love you to see! Not only was Bortier entertaining, but he also shared a message of love and highlighted the value of treating everyone as family. On Thursday the Year 3 classes ran our first Assembly for the year with the theme being Harmony Day. Finally on Friday, the children will have the opportunity to listen to Martin Pascoe who is a staff member from our school speak about harmony and the Indigenous culture. Martin himself is a member of the stolen generation and is very well liked and respected by the children and staff at our school.
I would like to thank Ashlee Stanley and Grace Armfield for their organisation and coordination of the Harmony Week activities. They have both done an amazing job in organising what is very special celebration for St Pius X School.
School Board
On Monday we had an open School Board meeting. I would like to take this opportunity to thank all who attended the meeting. Those present had the opportunity to view the building plans and hear about future school directions. At this meeting we farewelled and thanked Fiona Bottroff for her commitment to the School Board over the last few years and also acknowledged the work of our departing Chair Person, Anthony Pryzibilla. Four new members were elected to the St Pius X School Board bringing our total number of parent representatives to 10. I would like to thank all parents who displayed an interest in being part of our School Board. It is great to know that we have so many people willing to serve our school community. Following the open meeting, our office bearers for the 2023 School Board were elected. I would like take this opportunity to present our 2023 School Board to the community.
Chairperson: Jason Alford
Deputy Chairperson Guinevere Flavel
Chair of Finance: Beata Kucaba
Principal: Ashley Keane
Deputy Principal: Jamie Deverson
School Bursar Julie Parsons
Minutes Secretary Susan Trimboli
Staff Representative TBA
Other Parent Representatives
Kosta Safos
Shane McMillan
Shani Wallace-Groves
Kajal Kothari
Felicity Crowther
Kelly Preston
Maggie Li
Building Update:
You may have seen that our new building is coming along quite nicely. We expect that this will be completed by the end of Term 2, for our Reception classes to enjoy from the beginning of Term 3. The top level of the building will be a new Music learning space which all children will be able to enjoy in the second half of this year. We also have a new Junior Primary toilet block as part of this building, which will ease the burden on our current toilets.
In Term Three we are looking to commence the 3rd stage of our building project. This will include a redevelopment of the top level of our existing building above the administration area to include a new Italian Room, a new Library, an Inclusive Education centre, a multipurpose meeting room and learning space for our SHIP program. In early 2024 we will be re-developing the administration and office spaces, along with the staffroom area.
We are also in the process of planning an upgrade to our external spaces to include a large shelter over the Basketball courts along with the resurfacing of these courts and new outdoor learning spaces with an upgraded playground. These plans were presented at our School Board meeting and we will find a space in the school to display these plans for families to view.
Enrolments for 2024 and 2025
We are about to finalise our enrolments for Reception in 2024 and we are also starting to receive an influx of enrolment applications for 2025 & 2026. If you have a child who is due to commence in 2024 and you have not yet enrolled them, please ensure that you contact the school ASAP. Also, if you have a child who is due to start in either Term 3, 2024 or Term One 2025, I strongly encourage you to lodge your enrolment application in the near future. We want to guarantee the enrolment of all siblings of our current families, however we need families to ensure that they have completed an enrolment application. We are receiving very strong interest in enrolments at St Pius X and I would hate to see any siblings miss out on a place. Any siblings due to start in Term 1, 2024 will need to ensure that they have enrolled before the end of this month in order to guarantee their place. Please contact Susan Trimboli in the front office if you need any further information about enrolling your child.
Welcome to Reception Picnic
On Thursday the 9th of March our Reception teachers hosted a welcome to Reception picnic on the school oval. It was a wonderful celebration and a great way for families to gather and meet some of their children’s friends and other parents. It was so heart warming to see the children playing together and having so much fun in a relaxed and casual atmosphere. It was a colourful celebration with the teachers organising face painting, bubbles, snacks and we also had the donut and coffee van in attendance. I would like to thank the Reception teachers - Nicolina DiGiovanni, Rosalia DiGiovanni, Brittany Honner, Adriana Scaffidi-Muta & Holli Caputo for their tireless efforts in organising such a wonderful celebration for the Reception families. I would also like to thank all staff who stayed to support the Reception team in running this event. I think this is great way to introduce our families to the school and something we will definitely continue into the future.
Sports Day:
Just a reminder about our School Sports Day which will be held on Thursday the 13th of April at Bridgestone Athletics Centre at Salisbury. Information about this event can be found on the SZapp - Excursion and Events Permission forms tile. Please ensure that you have marked this date in your diary and if your child needs transport either to or from the Sports Day venue, that you have completed the Sports Day Bus Booking form.
Also a reminder that lunch orders for the Sports Day are due by the 4th of April.
We look forward to this wonderful community event.
Save the Date:
We will be having a community farewell celebration for James Lloyd on Wednesday the 12th of April from approximately 9:15am – 10:30am. Community members will be invited to this celebration. More details will be sent out in the coming days.
End of Term One and Beginning of Term Two:
Term 1 concludes on Friday the 14th of April at 3pm and Term 2 commences on Monday the 1st of May. There will be no pupil free days in Term 2.
I would like to take this opportunity to thank all parents for their support this term.
God Bless
Ashley Keane
Over the past few days, we have experienced the joys of Harmony Week. We have gathered as a whole school community to celebrate prayer, food, music and culture. As I stood in the yard before school yesterday and watched a sea of orange coloured t-shirts, head bands, socks and hats, it was a wonderful reminder of our commitment to ‘getting along’ with others and living harmoniously. Traditionally, the colour orange relates to social communication, and helps with the development of new ideas, freeing the spirit of its limitations, allowing us the freedom to be ourselves. It also encourages self-respect and respectful relationships.
On Tuesday evening, families of our Year 4 Sacrament candidates gathered for a parent information evening where important details about the program were discussed. We thank Fr Mathew for being available to speak at this gathering. For those families who did not attend, an information pack has been sent home to you via your child. Please check bags to make sure it arrives safely!
As we continue our journey towards Easter, Holy Week is not far away. Palm Sunday will be on Sunday 2nd April, and families are invited to attend Masses at St Pius X Church, Avoca Street, Dernancourt on Saturday 1st April at 6:30pm, Sunday 2nd April at 9:30am or 5:30pm to receive blessed palm branches. Many families keep these branches all year and have them in a special place at home.
Holy Week Mass times at St Pius X Church are:
Holy Thursday 7pm
Good Friday – Stations of the Cross at 9:30am
Good Friday – Passion of the Lord at 3pm
Easter Saturday – Easter Vigil at 6:30pm
Easter Sunday – Mass at 9:30am (no evening Mass)
As you have heard by now, after 20 years at St Pius X School, I will be leaving at the end of this term. Friday of Week 11 is my last day before I move to a new position in the Archdiocese. I hope to speak to many of you at the gate before I leave and say goodbye in person.
Have a blessed week.
James
Friendly Reminders from The Front Office
Reporting Absences
If your child will be absent from school please notify this through SZapp - Absences tab, as well as notifying your child's class teacher.
Uniform
Get into the Uniform Shop now for Winter Uniform items. Blue leggings or tights under skorts are not part of the uniform. If students are cold they are to wear school track suit pants.
School monogrammed hats must be worn by all children in Terms 1 & 4. Please ensure your childs hat is clearly labelled. School hats can be purchased from the Front Office, via QKR or from the Uniform Shop - Uniform Shop Online
All students must be wearing full school uniform including predominantly white sport shoes.
Parking
Parking is not permitted in the bus zone outside the Kiss'n'Drop on Hillburn Avenue. Police and Council officers regularly patrol this area and issue fines. Staff will ask drivers to move on if they stop in this space.
Thank you for keeping our children safe.
To enrol or make a booking please go to the OSHC Family Portal - https://stpiusxoshc.fullybookedccms.com.au/family/login
Swimming Squad
Our Catholic Schools Swimming squad will be competing next Tuesday March 28th at Burnside Swimming Centre.
Our District SAPSASA Swimming squad will be competing next Thursday March 30th at Norwood Swimming Centre.
Congratulations to all our swimmers who made the team and good luck at both of these competitions.
Soccer
Soccer registrations are now closed. Players will be notified of their team/coach in the coming days.
AFL
We did not receive enough registrations to fill an AFL school team.
Volleyball Registrations
Volleyball registrations are closing at the end of next week for children in Years 5-6. Please register your child for the upcoming season on the SZapp under the Sports tab. Or click here - Volleyball 2023 Registration
SAPSASA Trials
SAPSASA Trial information has been sent out to parents/caregivers of Year 5 and 6 Students - keep a look out for it.
Our Kytons Fundraiser is currently OPEN. To place your order head to the QKR! app. Click St Pius School Kytons Fundraiser - Orders close March 29th and your goodies will come home with your child on April 5th.
We will be holding our annual Mother's Day Stall on Friday 12th May at school. We will be putting a call out for volunteers in the next few weeks. Stall helpers need to be a registered volunteer - if you would like to become a registered volunteer please contat Susan Trimboli in the school office on 8266 9400.
to contact us email pandf@stpiusx.catholic.edu.au