Dear Families,
Welcome back to Term 2! I am very much looking forward to the final presentation tomorrow from year 5BL as the completion of the Easter Story: The Resurrection of Our Lord. This is our great moment of celebration in our Church as we of faith gain strength, conviction and hope for new life. In looking at the events circling our world at the moment, there is no doubt that humanity is indeed in great need of such hope that the risen Jesus offers us. Let us start in our family life, our school community by being people of hope and optimism, seeking truth and spreading Good News, particularly inspired by the Easter Season in the coming four weeks.

Our Pupil Free day was one of great hope and optimism.  We launched our ‘Be you’ project which will focus us on building positive mental health culture at the school in the years ahead. St. Pius X is one of the early adopters of this Federal initiative bringing together the Commonwealth Government, Beyond Blue, Kidsmatter, Mindmatters and Headspace under one umbrella strategically to address the mental health and well being of our community. We know that in order for our learners to maximise their capacity as ’learners’, this is key.

On Monday we commenced our focus on you, our community and commenced with our commitment to you.

Our Statement of Commitment
We are committed to supporting the children, young people, staff and families within our learning community achieve their best possible mental health. Through our focus on continuous improvement and our policies and practices, we work towards building and maintaining a positive, inclusive and resilient learning community for all.

As a staff, we have already discussed some initiatives and we will be announcing these in coming months. However, to ensure that our project has the voice of our community, I am seeking parent and student engagement on our Action Team. Anyone with an interest or experience in the area in Mental Health would be most welcome. The Action Team would meet twice per term before school, eg as Tuesday at 7:45am. I will send out an invitation to join this group but you may want to contact me prior if you have any thoughts.

I mentioned in last newsletter that our Building Plans have been submitted. Council have come back with some clarification and we have been able to address these comprehensively. The proposed works have now gone to community consultation so we are a further step towards our dream of a new, vibrant learning and play environment here at St. Pius X. Meanwhile, our enrolments continue to grow. To meet demand, we have offered an extra Reception class for 2020 and this class is now ‘full’. In a few months we will be interviewing for 2021 Receptions. If you have a child turning five in 2021, please ensure that you have submitted an enrolment form or indeed pass on the word to friends that they need to attend to this promptly to assure a position here.

I look very much forward to the term ahead. Our Easter presentation, Mother’s Day, St. Eugene De Mazenod Day, Catholic Education Week, Quiz Night, Sporting Carnivals, Confirmation and First Eucharist celebrations will indeed be a highlight. Please keep an eye on our Calendar to keep informed, and I urge all those not already using the Schoolzine app (SZAPP) to download this to your mobile device as a key method of updates and reminders.

God Bless 

Please note that as promoted last term, NAPLAN (assessment of children in Literacy and Numeracy) will take place commencing Week 3 for Year 3 and 5 students. If you wish to exempt your child from some or all of these tests, please contact Susan Trimboli for an exemption form and complete and return by next Wednesday 8th May. If you wish to discuss an exemption, please do so with Greg Parker or Anna Worden (Inclusive Ed coordinator). This year the tests will be on-line as discussed earlier. 

Many people ask why governments fund non-government schools - including parents who send their children to Catholic and other non-government schools.

There are many good reasons why commonwealth, state and territory governments fund non-government schools to some degree. They include:

1. AFFORDABLE CHOICE: A school education costs more than $11,000 per primary student and more than $14,000 per secondary student each year, regardless of sector. Most Australian families could not afford this cost, especially if they have two or more children. There is no real ‘school choice’ in Australia if only wealthy families can afford to choose.
2. IT’S FAIR: All families pay taxes and therefore deserve some taxpayer support of their children’s education. A fairly funded non-government school sector ensures families can afford a school that reflects their values and beliefs – an important feature of a pluralist society.
3. IT SHARES THE LOAD: One-third of Australia’s 3.9 million students attend a non-government school. Government schools are already stretched in many areas. Without non-government schools, taxpayers would need to build (or buy) and staff enough schools to accommodate an extra 1.3 million students.
4. HEALTHY COMPETITION: Given that schooling is compulsory, it is sensible to have a network of affordable schools to provide healthy competition and improve all schools.
5. TAXPAYERS SAVE: On average, Catholic school communities pay almost 30 per cent of the annual cost of their children’s education and almost 90 per cent of capital works. In 2017, our schools raised $3.6 billion in fees and $1.27 billion in capital costs – a huge saving to taxpayers.
6. TAXPAYERS FUND NON-GOVERNMENT ACTIVITIES: Governments also fund other private sector activities that have social benefits and high underlying costs such as GP visits, medicines, hospitals, aged care, child care and private bus services. All schools are a public good and deserve taxpayer support.

Mother's Day Raffle

Books will be distributed this week and will contain 5 tickets and at a cost of $1.00 a ticket.   Tckets will also be available for sale at school. 

Prizes include-

• Jurlique gift box and $30.00 Bras'n'Things voucher
• $50 voucher for Anthony's Cucina
• $50 itunes voucher
• $50 Endota Spa voucher
• $50 Event Cinema's voucher

We would like to thank the following families for their generous donations.

• The Fowler family for Jurlique gift box
• The Grasso family (Kleena Cleaners) for their generous $200.00 cash donation
• The Troncone family (Anthony's Cucina) for their generous gift vouchers

We are very thankful for our families support.  Good luck and I hope you purchase the winning tickets!

A reminder of events for Mother's Day on Friday 10th of May 

9am-10.30am - Reception to Year 2 classes would love to pamper their mums and special female role models

9am-10.30am Our Year 6 Mums and special female role models are invited to join us for a High Tea (please come dressed for this special occassion).

The Mothers Day Raffle will be drawn at the High Tea.

As we begin a new term, we are conscious that during the holidays, Christians throughout the world celebrated Easter. We journeyed with Jesus through his suffering and death on the cross and rejoiced in his resurrection on Easter Sunday. The Passion of Jesus musical which was presented to our community on the final day of Term 1 was a wonderful way to experience Easter. For many of our younger students, this may have been the first time that the Easter story was brought to life through music and song. You are warmly welcome to attend the final chapter of this musical on Thursday at 11:30am in the Hall.

Whilst the resurrection of Jesus brings joy to Christians everywhere, this year, Easter was tinged with sadness for many, particularly those who were killed or injured in the Sri Lanka bombings. We struggle to comprehend the scale of such tragedies, and words can never ease the heartache and pain of those affected. May the Risen Lord comfort the families of those who have died, offer healing to those who are injured and welcome those who have died into an eternal home of peace and joy. Our prayers go out to the Sri Lankan community at this time of sadness.

Likewise, we are mindful of the people of Paris as they grieve the loss of their spiritual centre – Notre Dame. Having visited Notre Dame several years ago, I could not help feeling a sense of loss as I watched the footage of the fire ravaged building. Thankfully no lives were lost in this fire, and many of the religious treasures were salvaged.

Throughout this term, our Year Four students will celebrate the sacraments of Confirmation and First Eucharist. Please continue to keep these children and families in your prayers in the coming weeks.

Welcome back to Term 2!

A reminder that everyone is welcome to the Forum which will be held next Tuesday at 6:30pm in the Staff Room.  You will have the opportunity to register your interest in joining the Uniform Committee.

You are also welcome to stay on after the Forum for the P&F Committee meeting, meet the current members and share your fund and friend raising ideas.

Banking will commence for Term 2 next Friday, 10th May.  If you are interested in volunterring your time to assist with the weekly process please contact our Reception staff.