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School concludes for 2019 today, Wednesday 11th December at 3:00pm
Book Collection and Book a Chat Day is Wednesday 22nd January 2020 - 8:30am-4:30pm
School commences for 2020 on Tuesday, 28th January at 8:45am
From the Principal - Greg Parker
Book a Chat - 22nd January 2020 - 8:30am-4:30pm
Over the past few weeks we have been promoting the opportunity for parents/caregivers to meet their child’s new teacher(s) on Wednesday, January 22nd. This 15 minute chat will take place in your child’s new classroom. It is designed to be a conversation between the adults, so if your child is with you a member of the Leadership Team will be in the school yard to supervise them.
Our Literacy/Inclusive Education coordinator, Anna Worden, Music teacher and instrumental programme coordinator, Basia Jedrzejczak and Italian teacher, Connie Sepe will also be available if you would like to meet with them.
You can book a meeting time via the School Interviews site - please visit www.schoolinterviews.com.au and follow these instructions -
- Enter the code tbkwm and press "Go"
- Enter your details
- Select the teachers you wish to see
- Select the appointment times that suit your family best
When you click FINISH, your interview timetable will be emailed to you automatically. If you do not receive your email immediately – check your junk mail folder and make sure you have spelled your email address correctly. You can return to www.schoolinterviews.com.au at any time and change your appointment(s) - until bookings close on Friday 17th January 2020 at 4:00pm.
We have a healthy number of bookings so far, so thankyou for this.
Please note that if your child is in 5R next year Annette Rowe will be on leave that week and is committed to catching up with parents at a convenient time promptly on her return.
New Uniform
Two of the most favoured style options, based on the results of the community poll, were presented to the School Board who chose the new uniform for St Pius X School. The ‘Summer’ version was presented at Assembly last week and a flyer and an updated price list has been distributed to families today. This Summer uniform will be complemented by a quality 'boss' top, an attractive jacket and longer-wearing active-wear track pants for winter. I thank all those involved in the process of creating a new active wear uniform for our school. We will have an official launch next year and the opportunity to thank personally all those involved.
Year 6 Graduation
Last Monday we held our inaugural Graduation Dinner at the Croatian Club. Parents, grandparents, siblings and staff joined in prayer wishing this wonderful group of children every blessing as they move to new horizons. May I take this opportunity to thank all of those who worked together to support these children become the beautiful young people they are. May I also say a special thanks to the parents and families who have been a part of this community for many years, some for generations, who are formally finishing their connection with St Pius X. May you know that the school will continue to welcome you and keep you connected into the future. I especially would love to see you all when we open the new buildings. Please keep your Facebook connection with us and watch out for invitations and news updates.
New Building Update
Finally, thankyou so much for your continued support this year. There is much to celebrate, the inspirational liturgical celebrations, community events, the compelling evidence of accelerated literacy growth of our children due to the new programs, the State awards in Mathematics, fabulous Music celebrations, STEM Showcase….. I dare not say more as I will no doubt leave something out. I believe the 2019 Year Book will be a testament to this fabulous year. The Year Book will be available early in Term 1 and forwarded by mail to those families who have left our community this year.
May God truly bless you and you family over Christmas, may the celebration of the birth of Christ give renewed inspiration to your faith, your relationships, your life. May God’s Spirit continue to be with you and bless your family
School Board Report - Anthony Pryzibilla
The School Board recently held their final meeting for 2019 and discussed a variety of topics including:
a number of staff movements for next year including the resignation of Paula Maroney who has had an association with the school for over 30 years!
- reviewed construction milestones and timelines for the first stage of the school development which are all on track, including the completion of the new carpark which adds an additional 20 carparks and will assist with reducing congestion around the school
- reviewed the schools financial position in light of the future construction requirements and endorsed a very modest and considered increase in school fees (1%) together with next years school budget
- approved some minor changes to the OHSC program including supporting an earlier opening time and endorsing next years budget
- determined that the school will replace it's current 'Annual Improvement Plan' (our strategic plan for the school) with a program that utilises a 'Balanced Scorecard' approach. This will allow us to track progress against our own targets and compare our school against similar schools to aim for constant improvement and growth
- reviewed the results of the recent 'School Climate Survey' which collated feedback from staff, students and the community. The results will be further analysed next year and will contribute to components of our new improvement plans
- made final decisions regarding the new uniform changes including determining direction for the transition plan over the next 3 years
On reflection it has been a very busy year for the school and has included some significant changes. With change comes uncertainty and the Board has recognised that an increase in clear communication is paramount to ensure questions are answered and the community is engaged in critical decision making. This will be a constant focus area for us throughout next year.
Some key and significant achievements this year have included:
- Our review of and decision to change the existing uniform, completion of planning for and initiation of the first stages of the school Masterplan, purchase of additional adjacent properties to enable growth of the school, successful new initiatives from the P&F committee including the first Twilight Carols evening.
- The school has been intensively tracking student progress in literacy over 2 years and with this year's intervention programs and whole class phonemic focus, our Assessments in November 2020 showed outstanding growth. We look forward to these successful strategies continuing in 2021.
- This year the school launched the 'Kids Matter' program focusing on student well being, involvement in Tournament of the Minds as part of the SHIP program (Students of High Intellectual Property), successful STEM showcase evening and great results at the Primary Schools Maths Challenge.
Overall we can be extremely proud of St Pius X and the progress the students have made. Thank you to the dedicated teachers and support staff who ensure the best interests of our kids are considered every day.
On behalf of the School Board I hope you all enjoy the Summer holidays and look forward to an exciting 2020.
2020 Cybersafety Parent Information Sessions
We continue to look at the issues around cybersafety and keeping our children and ourselves safe online and have again obtained extensive support by engaging Cybersafe Families to hold parent information sessions next year. The sessions will assist you in setting up safety measures, protocols and parent controls on your network at home as well as provide essential information about children and the Web.
All parents are invited to attend one of the sessions which will be held on Wednesday 5th February at 9:00am and Thursday 6th February at 6:00pm for approximately one hour each.
Our Out of School Care service will be providing a creche for those families requiring care for their children during the sessions.
Students in Years 5 and 6 next year will have access to a school owned MacBook to take home at night, weekends and during school holidays and our School Board feels that parent/guardian attendance at one of these sessions is vital and therefore the ‘take home’ option of a MacBook will only be offered to families where a parent has attended one.
Bookings for the sessions and the creche may be made by visiting -
https://www.schoolinterviews.com.au/code?code=3p756
We look forward to your participation in a Cybersafe Families Parent Information Session next February.