Student/Parent/Old Boys Matters
- From the Head of Student Services:
Year 7 Touchstone Induction Day
Pastoral Care and Wellbeing Programs
Connectedness (including Attendance information)
Special Commendation: Ben Ferguson Year 8
Supervising a Learner Driver - Free Workshop
Old Boys vs Students Gala Day
Old Boys Events: AGM & 80th Anniversary Dinner
- Chess as an Extracurricular Option for Years 7-12
- College Portal - Procedure for Lost Passwords for Parents
From the Head of Student Services
YEAR 7 TOUCHSTONE INDUCTION DAY
Well done to Year 7 2017 (Year 12 2022) who overcame the Summer conditions last Friday at Oxford Falls to enhance their cohesion as a cohort well prepared for the challenges of developing and upholding the values of the College and Edmund Rice education over the coming years.
On their behalf I thank:
- our inspirational School Counsellor Mr Rick Russo and Wellbeing Coordinator Mr Joe Lynch who led the MindMatters Wellbeing and Belonging session;
- Br Carl Sherrin our College Archivist, ex-student circa 1950, and former Principal and teacher of numerous Edmund Rice Colleges, who led the Edmund Rice orientation session;
- Mr Adrian Brannan, Ms Frances Doyle and Ms Sophie Allington who facilitated our Indigenous Awareness and Social Justice Outreach session;
- Ms Veronica Kugananthan, Mr Benn McBrearty and our Year 10 MindMatters Team representatives - Nicholas McKenzie, Nicholas McLachlan, Thomas Wong, Dominic Fromager, Declan Howle, Oliver Tysoe, Joshua Foley, Ky Simpson, Daniel Scipioni, Matthew Crotty, John Mckinnon and Lachlan Donlevy - who performed a sterling job in ensuring our Year 7 students were given every opportunity to engage with one another and develop the connections, positive mindset and resilience skills which will help them into the future.
Please click below to see a selection of photos taken on the day.
Students are now working on drafts of their Edmund Rice Education Beyond Borders letters explaining a little bit about themselves, the school, the Touchstones and how St Pius X College upholds the values of Edmund Rice Education to Year 7 students in Edmund Rice Schools in England, Ireland, USA, Canada, Uruguay, Peru, Argentina and New Zealand.
PASTORAL CARE AND WELLBEING PROGRAMS
Years 7, 8 and 9 commenced their rounds of Pastoral Care programs last Thursday with cohort meetings in The Leary Learning Centre, Sarto Centre and Senior Resource Centre respectively. Under the guidance of their Year Coordinators Mr Yue, Mr Stollery and Mr Ticli, and Wellbeing Coordinators Ms Foord and Mr Lynch, looking to engage and empower our students in their leadership of learning in Pastoral Care and Wellbeing.
Peer Support begins this Wednesday Period 3 with Year 11 students engaging their Year 7 and Year 5 counterparts in their respective transitions to St Pius X College and High School respectively. We were all there once, so we wish our students all the best in supporting each other positively through these important stages of their development.
Mr Russo’s Peer Mentoring Program is gaining momentum for the year with a large number of sudents in Years 5-7 realising the benefits of the mentoring guidance offered by their Senior mentors. It is a great initiative from both perspectives with each boy is asked to dedicate a small amount of time weekly to meeting up with their mentor / mentee to offer advice, company, and insights to enhance their pathway to wellbeing and self-fulfilment at St Pius X College.
CONNECTEDNESS
Research informs us that one of the best ways to achieve success in any organisation is to maximise the time and connections with the organisation and people within it. To this end all students are encouraged to plan their curricular, extra curricular and service activities for the year.
It is important that students attend school and classes routinely on time and develop the habits and skills of being an organised student working productively to learn with their peers and teachers at all times.
If ever attendance is not possible due to sickness or other events, parents / guardians are able to indicate this via:
- a phone call to the Students Attendance Office (9411 4733 – 1)
- email Student Management studentmanagement@stpiusx.nsw.edu.au
- use the Portal to register the absence, or
- send in the traditional note.
Communication must include Name, Homeroom, Dates and Reasons for Absence as well as the name of the parent / guardian and some form of verifiable signature.
SPECIAL COMMENDATION
Special commendation to Ben Ferguson in Year 8 who has competed in the Northern Beaches Branch Surf Life Savings Championships over the last couple of weekends. He finished 1st in the Ironman, 1st in the 2k Beach Run, 2nd in the Surf Swim, 2nd in the Board Race and 3rd In the All Age Beach Relay in which Sam Ferguson (Year 7) competed as well. Ben also represents the College in rugby, athletics, basketball and swimming. Congratulations to a very fit young athlete.
SUPERVISING A LEARNER DRIVER - FREE WORKSHOP
Teaching your son to drive can be a happy experience! Please click on the flyer below for information regarding a free two-hour workshop in either Lane Cover or Chatswood.
Old Boys vs Students Gala Day: Twilight Saturday 25th February
At the conclusion of 1st V Basketball and 1st XI Cricket home matches at Oxford Falls on Saturday the 25th February approx. 4-7.30pm we plan to conduct this Annual Gala day as a twilight event with sessions and contact links as follows.
- Touch Football / Rugby skills session - Contact: Nathaniel Panozzo / Mr Joe Lynch
- Basketball Old Boys vs Students V - Contact: Anthony Maras / Mr S Brannan
- Football Old Boys vs 1st XI: Contact: Alec Vinci / Sam John / Mr Steve Quilty
All matches will be friendly and hopefully competitive as well with the opportunity to connect our current Senior Students with recent, and not so recent, Old Boys, for their mutual benefit socially, communally and professionally. Contact Mr Brannan or the contact people above, at the College on 94114733 for more details.
SPX Old Boys AGM
The SPX Old Boys Association would like to inform the College Community that its annual AGM will be held on Thursday 2nd March at 6.30pm in the Sarto Centre, Cnr Daisy and Anderson St, Chatswood. All Old Boys and interested parties are welcome to attend.
SPX Old Boys 80th Anniversary Dinner
SAVE THE DATE: 1st September 2017
A timely reminder that in this the 80th Anniversary of the College we plan to host the Annual Old Boys Dinner on the first Friday in September.
Festivities are planned to commence with an afternoon tour of the College followed by a Mass in Our Lady of Dolours Church and then transport to Oxford Falls for a look at the facilities there before dinner. Stay tuned to the SPX Old Boys communication and website for more details and advance bookings.
Mr S Brannan - Head of student Services
Chess as an Extracurricular Option for Years 7-12
Chess is a powerful educational tool which can enhance concentration and help develop your ability to solve problems! Please consider Chess as your extracurricular sport for Terms 1 & 2. All students in Years 7-12 are welcome regardless of ability/experience.
- When: Monday afternoon 3.30-4.30 beginning 20th February
- Where: D1 and D2
- Cost: Free trial for two weeks from 20th February
Should your son choose Chess they will receive further information and a permission note at the free trial training sessions.
Ms Ramsey and Ms Dempsey - Coordinators of Chess
College Portal
Forgotten your password and username for the College Portal?
Forgotten your username and password for the College Portal? You may be able to retrieve these by yourself - see attachment below - if your email registered in the College system is correct (i.e. the same as the email where you receive other notifications).
You should receive an automatic email notification from the Portal (Check spam files if not in Inbox). If you do not receive the email or are still having problems logging in contact lmillar@stpiusx.nsw.edu.au