Confirmation and Communion at St Pius X Church, Dernancourt

On Tuesday 30^th May, 28 children from St Pius X School received the Sacrament of Confirmation.  Father Dean Marin, the Vicar General of the Archdiocese of Adelaide conferred the sacrament and was supported by our new Parish Priest, Father John Sebastian. The Sacrament of Confirmation can be traced back to the early Church, when the apostles of Jesus would lay their hands on newly baptised believers, praying that they receive the Holy Spirit. The Sacrament of Confirmation symbolises a conscious decision made by the individual being confirmed to strengthen their faith as well as to renew and commit to the promises that were made on their behalf of their parents when they were baptised.

The Sacrament of Confirmation was a wonderful celebration, and I would like to congratulate all the children who showed commitment to receiving this important sacrament.

I would also like to thank Rita Campbell for her oversight of the Confirmation ceremony and for the support of the Year 4 teachers in preparing the children for the sacrament.

Next Tuesday, 27^th  June, the children will be receiving the Sacrament of First Holy Communion at St Pius X Church at Dernancourt at 7:00pm. All are invited to come along and celebrate with these children as they signify an important step in their faith journey.

Enrolments for 2025 and beyond

We are currently experiencing an influx of enrolment enquiries for Reception 2025. At this rate it is looking likely that our Reception places may fill up before the end of this year.

If you have child who is due to commence Reception in either Term 3, 2024 or at the beginning of 2025 it is imperative that you submit your enrolment application as soon as possible.

We will guarantee the siblings of our current families enrolment at St Pius X School, however, the onus is still on parents to enrol their child in a timely manner to ensure that we may honour this guarantee.

If you know any family members or friends who are considering enrolment at St Pius X School for mid-year 2024 or the beginning of 2025, please encourage them to contact us to avoid disappointment.  

Cyber Safety Sessions

On Monday 5^th and Wednesday 7^th June, Cybersafe families held cyber safety sessions for our Year 4-6 students.  Sessions were also offered to our parents, and we thank those who were able to attend, the feedback was very positive. Some of the key take aways from the sessions that I believe that all parents should be aware of include:

1. Technology and social media are now part of our everyday lives and rather than preventing children from using technology, we need to teach them how to use them responsibly and develop healthy online habits (which includes not allowing them too much screen time).  Studies have shown that online addiction has a detrimental impact on their healthy brain development.
2. Parent supervision online is vital. Parents should not allow children to use devices unsupervised in their bedrooms, rather devices should be used in a public setting within the house where parents can see what children are doing online. Cyber bullying and social media are major contributors to the poor mental health of our children. Parents should watch for signs of distress or withdrawal after children have been online and develop open communication channels for them to discuss these issues. Children should be encouraged to take screen shots of any cyber bullying as evidence.
3. Children should never interact with someone they do not physically know online, including online games. Unfortunately, there are people who use the online world as way to connect with children and try to entice them to engage in activities which are not age appropriate and some children find themselves in situations where they are blackmailed and abused online.
4. Be aware of the apps and games that your child is engaging with online. Many games have hidden risks which are not obvious. The website Common Sense Media provides parents with a great guide to the safety of the different games and apps that the children may ask you to use online. Spend some time playing the games with your children so you know what they are seeing online.
5. Know where to get help. Should your child experience problems online then the esafety commission website gov.au is a good tool for parents and children to seek advice from.

The school can also support you with actions you can take.  The online safety of children is a joint responsibility, and we all need to play our part. Parents play a crucial role in protecting their children online as most online abuse occurs in the home environment.

End of Term Two and beginning of Term Three

Just a reminder that school finishes for Term 2 on Friday 7^th July at 3:00pm. School resumes for Term 3 on Tuesday 25^th July. Staff will be engaged in professional learning on Monday 24^th July which is a pupil free day – OSHC will be available for those families requiring care.

I would like to take this opportunity to wish all our families an enjoyable mid-year break.

God Bless

Ashley Keane

I would like an abundance of peace. I would like full vessels of charity.  I would like rich treasures of mercy.  I would like cheerfulness to preside overall. (St Brigid 453 – 523)

Sacramental Program

The 28 candidates are preparing to receive the Sacrament of the Eucharist next week.  Now they are confirmed in the Catholic faith, they are ready to receive the Body and Blood of Christ. The Sacrament of Confirmation can only be received once whereas the Sacrament of the Eucharist can be received daily. 

There is a scaredness about gathering with family and friends and sharing a meal together.  Stories are told, memories are shared, the food is appreciated and more often than not, there’s a drink to accompany a meal.  Treating such occasions with gratitude – as blessed moments of grace – is living out the eucharistic reality of welcoming Jesus into our lives and seeking to be more like him. You are welcome to join us for Mass on Tuesday 27^th June at 7pm at

St Pius X church, Dernancourt

Vinnies Winter Appeal – last call

Vinnies is still in need of pasta, soup, long life milk, breakfast cereals and rice to distribute to our local conference.  When you complete your next shop, please buy an extra item, and help make dinner for another family in our community.  All donations can be left in the front office.

Twelfth Sunday of Ordinary Time – June 25^th

Now that the Liturgical Season has moved to ordinary time, all the priest’s vestments and Mass cloths are green.  Green is meant to represent the anticipation and hope in the resurrection of Christ. It symbolizes the hope and life of each new day.

Gospel: Mark 10: 26-33

In this week’s reading Jesus continues to prepare his most trusted disciples for their ministry. His tells them, three times, not to be afraid. The twelve are not to fear the darkness nor death, because God is all powerful and values the faithful. The twelve are to be the light in the darkness for others. How can we be light for others?

 Laudato Si – Praise be to You, my Lord!

In the words of this beautiful canticle, Saint Francis of Assisi reminds us that our common home is like a sister with whom we share our life and a beautiful mother who opens her arms to embrace us. Pope Francis used this title for his encyclical written in 2015.  This has also been the added inspiration for                St Pius X school, to continue with our sustainability initiatives and to focus on changes we can make to protect our earth from over-use of resources.

The World Environment Team will be attending an Environmental Bus tour to Blair Athol and Athelstone Primary Schools next week to learn more about what other schools do to care for the earth.

Instalment 2 of Tuition Fees were due & payable on Friday 12th May 2023.  If you have entered into a part-time agreement to pay your fees over the whole year, this due date does not apply. Reminder statements were posted last week.  Please pay the instalment amount promptly.

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.  

If you wish to pay your fees with internet banking, please ensure that you use the BPAY ID number which can be found at the bottom of your statement.  If paying by EFT, please use the Account Number at the top of your statement.  Bank account details are listed at the bottom of the statement.

If you hold a Health Care Card you may be eligible for School Card support and therefore Fee Remission. 

Please see me if you feel you meet any of these criteria or have any queries relating to the payment of school fees.

For parents convenience receipting can now be processed at the reception desk. If you have any queries please don't hesitate to contact me in the finance office.

Thank you.

JULIE PARSONS

FINANCE MANAGER

Reporting Absences

If your child is absent from school please notify us through SZapp.  Use the 'Absences' tab.  Additionally, you may like to notify your child's class teacher via Seesaw or email.

Change of clothes

Due to the current wet weather please have spare pants and socks in your child's bag incase of slips in the yard. This is for all children as we have noticed a renewed interest in the nature play space.  JP parents please ensure there is always change of clothes in your child's bag. 

Labelling reminder

Please ensure ALL your children's belongings (uniforms, lunchboxes, drinkbottles, pencil cases etc.) are CLEARLY LABELLED with your child's name.

Labelled property can be easily returned to their owner.

Payment receipting 

For parents convenience payment receipting can now be done at reception.

SZapp Update

There is a new version of SZapp available for Android and IOS Devices. Please ensure that you have updated this version on your device. If you experience any difficulties with completing this process, please reach out to Schoolzine using support@schoolzine.com. To assist with your query, they ask that you provide a description of the issue you are facing, the email address you are using when facing this issue and a screenshot of the issue.

Due to many uniform donations and a small number of unlabelled lost items we have secondhand uniform items available for sale.

The proceeds of the items sold will be donated to the Krupka Foundation - established by a past staff member to provide financial support for our families.  

If you would like to purchase a secondhand uniform item please complete the following link - Secondhand Uniform Request

You will be notified by email or phone if the item is available and how to make a payment. (DO NOT PAY UNTIL ADVISED THE ITEM IS AVAILABLE)

Once payment is received your purchase will be sent home with your child. Please wash all items before wearing.

For other secondhand uniform opportunities please head to the facebook link -

Listed below are events for the remainder of 2023.

Cross Country – Catholic Schools – Thursday 10th August at Park 15, Adelaide Parklands

(This carnival is open to all students in Year 3 to Year 6)

Athletics – SAPSASA District – Thursday 17th August at Bridgestone Stadium, Salisbury

(This carnival is open to all children born from 2010 to 2013).

Athletics – State Metro Championships – Tuesday 19th September at Mile End Stadium

(This carnival is for children that win their event in the above district carnival).

Athletics – Catholic Schools – Friday 3rd November at Mile End Stadium

(This carnival is open to all students in Year 3 to Year 6)

Our next P & F meeting will be held TOMORROW, Friday August 4th at 2pm in the school staffroom. All welcome. Please come along to meet other parents and share ideas. 

Are you available to help at any of our events? You need to be a registered volunteer. To become a registered volunteer please contact Susan Trimboli at the school office on 8266 9400.

to contact us email pandf@stpiusx.catholic.edu.au

Please see the latest edition of The Southern Cross.

Is there anyone you know on page 17 ?