Tournamnet of Minds

Last Sunday I was thrilled to observe our ‘Tournament of Minds’ Team perform their solution to their challenge at Flinders University. You may remember that I explained what the Tournament is after our Team was selected in April. It provides an opportunity for a group of 7 students to use their creative problem solving and group skills to solve a complex task over a period of 5 weeks, write and learn their script and perform in front of 3 judges in competition with many other SA schools.

This was our first attempt at TOM and our school has already learnt so much from our pioneers. Today they performed in front of our Year 4 and 5 students as these cohorts will be invited to join a team in 2019.

I know that the parents of our 2018 Tournament of Minds team were amazed and very proud as they watched as members of the audience on Sunday - congratulations and thank you to Mia, Lerisa, Owen, Naishvi, Joseph, Josh, Diandra.

Catholic Schools Music Festival

Tomorrow night I am so looking forward to our Catholic Schools’ Music Festival. We have a large choir performing and I know how hard they have been rehearsing. You’ll hear more about this over the next week and it is such a thrill to see the gifts and talents of our children being nourished and supported.

Cybersafety for our School

As I have previously reported we are obtaining extensive support for our parents, children and staff early next term in helping us look at all of the issues around cybersafety and keeping ourselves safe online. For parents this includes a choice between 2 information sessions (morning and evening) that everyone is invited to attend. All parent/caregivers of 2019 Year 5 and 6 students will be required to attend if they wish their child to have a school owned take home device next year. The Workshop 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.

Parent Voice Survey 

Your feelings, impressions and experiences as a St Pius X parent/caregiver continues to be of vital importance to us. Last year I introduced Parent, Student and Staff surveys as a means of giving direct feedback from you to employees here at the School. This year I am working with Deakin University who have developed a very effective tool for measuring ‘school climate’. This tool also tracks progress over time.

The Survey invites you to give us feedback. It will be confidential and individual responses will not be reported back to us. There are no ‘right or wrong’ answers, just your impressions. These will be collated and a Report will come to me for us to analyse and consider as we plan for 2019 and beyond.

I’m aware of the number of surveys that we have requested and thank you for the great responses to these.  As an added incentive to participate in this survey, parents who complete the survey (and return the reply slip at the bottom of the hard copy of this letter distributed to all families today), will grant their child entry into the draw to be ‘Principal for a Day’.  S/he will get my desk, solve a few student issues and choose how the day runs for the school. I will draw the winner in Week 1 of Term 4 and we will negotiate a suitable day. The ‘Principal for a Day’ often likes to select a couple of friends to act as Deputy Principals.   Please refer to the attached sheet for details of how to enter the Survey - the link and code are in the green box on top of the page.

Thank you in anticipation and I look forward to informing you of the results of the Survey, proposals and goals for 2019.  

Parent and Caregiver Survey - Information.pdf

Sacrament of Reconciliation

This coming Thursday, our Year 3 students will celebrate the Sacrament of Reconciliation for the first time. This is an important step along their journey of faith and we ask that you keep these children in your prayers over the coming days and weeks. I thank Mr Terminello and Mrs Opperman for preparing the students so thoroughly at school and parents for preparing their children at home. The students who will be receiving this Sacrament are: 

Catholic Charities Appeal 

Last week you would have received a letter from me with an envelope for the Catholic Charities Appeal. Traditionally, September is the month when we raise funds for local Catholic agencies who support the most vulnerable in our community, such as: 

• Catherine House
• Mercy House of Welcome
• Our Lady of La Vang School
• St Patrick’s Special School
• SA Catholic Deaf Community
• Calvary Ain Karim
• Aboriginal Catholic Ministry

I urge you to read the information in the envelope package and consider donating to this worthwhile cause. If you wish to donate, please use the reply-paid envelopeor donate online at www.adelaide.catholic.org.au and click on the “Catholic Charities” link. Donations of $2 or more are tax deductable.

I leave you with a beautiful blessing prayer for the week ahead:

Bless the week ahead.
May its challenges
not overwhelm us, 
circumstances
not discourage us,
and in all things
may we remember
you are with us
in our journeying,
your love our fuel,
your word our guide,
today and always.

Pope Francis’ encyclical “Laudato Si” is a message to “Care for our Common Home”. At St Pius X we are celebrating World Environment Day on 21^st September to encourage awareness and action for the protection of our environment and care for our common home. Leadership and working together for a better world is our theme for the day and coincides with World Peace Day.  We will begin with a liturgy at 9.15am in the DeMazenod Hall and everyone is most welcome to attend.

Throughout the day there will be a variety of outdoor activities for students which will be fun and ‘messy’ and will include mud play and loose parts or ‘junk’ play for  Reception and Year 1 students.  Other activities include cubby building, whittling and nature craft for older students.  There will also be opportunities for team building and problem solving and reflective and mindfulness activities to build a sense of wellbeing.  Our student leaders and senior students will take a leadership role to support our younger student activities.

Students are asked to dress appropriately in casual clothes that are 'fine' to get dirty and allow for movement and are encouraged to be creative and wear something recycled.  The student leaders will be judging the ‘best recycled costume’. 

The Year 3-5 student leaders will be hosting a Nude Food Lunch and students are asked to bring food in reusable containers, however, lunch orders will be available from the canteen.  

A Parent Workshop, run by KESAB, will be offered on “Making Beeswax Wraps” at 9.40am in the OSHC kitchen in the Activity Room. If you are interested in attending please email me at jbuhagiar@stpiusx.catholic.edu.au.  Please see the attachment for Workshop details.

Registered Volunteers are most welcome to assist with activities during the day.

Students are asked to bring a gold coin donation to help support the day.

Tomorrow, 12^th September, 38 members St Pius X Choir will perform at the Entertainment Centre Theatre at The Catholic Schools’ Music Festival. They are sounding great and we have been busily squeezing in last minute rehearsals before the big day. We were honoured to have been given the Front Row for Wednesday Night. While only 33 students can fit across the stage in one line, our 5 extras will be singing in row 2 and 4 completing those schools’ rows.

We sincereley congratulate Hannah P (6/7A) and Mia F (6/7A) for being chosen to sing solos in two of the songs on Wednesday Night. Hannah will sing the opening section of “That’s Amore” while Mia will sing the opening section of the “Titanic Medley.”  (Both girls have also been invited to perform on Monday Night of the Festival. Well done! Tickets are still available through ticketek.

Anabelle D (6/7A) will be representing our school at the start of the show singing the National Anthem at the front of the stage with all other representatives from the schools singing on Wednesday Night. A well- deserved honour Anabelle.

Thank you also to all 52 students who recorded our school song plus 2 others at the recording session with Andrew Chinn 3 weeks ago. Thank you to James Lloyd and Caitlin McManus who assisited me in supervising the students from 3-6 pm that night. Caitlin and I will be helping out with supervision at the Catholic Schools’ Music Festival on Monday night and will hear Mia and Hannah sing. Thank you Caitlin for being willing to keep me company.

Congratulations to all the students on a wonderful 3 terms’ work.

Looking forward to seeing many of you tomorrow night.

I would like to thank all our team coaches and volunteers who helped make the 2018 season such a great success!  

Saturday morning sport depends on parental help and committment and it was fantastic to see, week after week, the faces of the families who battled the weather and elements to support their children and our Teams, especially with the bitter cold over the last month.

Would you please ensure that soccer tops are returned, washed and in a bag with your child’s name clearly labelled on the bag, no later than this Friday, 14th September.