Junior School News & Sport

Year 5 Kokoda Memorial Excursion

Junior School News
Learning Enrichment Notices
Highlights from the Junior Resource Centre
Opal Cards for 2019
Junior School Sport

PRAYER/REFLECTION

Give me life, O Lord, and I will do your commands — Psalm 118(119):53, 61, 134, 150, 155, 158.

‘Give me life, O Lord.’

When Jesus asked the blind man what he wanted of him, the answer came quickly: ‘Lord, that I may see.’ Sometimes our need of God’s help is urgent—in trial or sickness or anxiety. Then we know well what we would answer if Jesus asked us, ‘What do you want of me?’ But, at other times, what would be our answer? Teresa of Avila said that as she grew older her petitions to God became less particular. Her concerns seemed wider, more general. She prayed above all, ‘Thy will be done.’

As parents grow older, their prayers, even though they may be centred largely on their families, grow wider and more general.

The urgency of old gives place to something greater. Let us ask ourselves today what mode of petition we are making, here and now, to God.

FOUNDER'S DAY THIS FRIDAY AT OXFORD FALLS: The boys will be attending Founder’s Day Festival this Friday at Oxford Falls. It should prove to be a great whole College experience for all. The boys wear their sporting uniform and please remember a hat and don’t need to bring a school bag unless they are going to the 'Buddies' event at the end of the day. The boys will be supplied with recess, lunch and a drink. They were asked yesterday to inform Mr Casey about any special dietary requirements such as Vegetarian or Gluten Free.

They will hear from several speakers including cricketer Steve Smith, radio presenter Gus Worland and Caleb - an indigenous speaker - along with some country boarders from Riverview College who will speak about life on the land. The day will conclude with a concert and we should be finished by 2.20pm.

If you wish to pick your son up from Oxford Falls, OR to go home with another parent, you must write a note to your teacher. The boys being collected will be walked up to the ambulance entrance near the cricket nets. You can park outside on Dreadnought Road and collect your son from there. If you arrive early you are most welcome to come and enjoy the talent at the concert which will be in the Christian Brothers Centre (new gym).

The Walkathon money will be added to the money raised from Founder’s Day and it will go to our partners. This means that some of the money will go with our Year 10 immersion students who are visiting Walgett and Bowraville next week.

GROOMING: I am still having issues with incorrect haircuts so I have included the rule again. Please make sure your son is correctly groomed until 6 December and then he can experiment with hair designs if you so wish, as long as by the 30 January 2019 they once again comply. Remember the role modelling you are exhibiting if you allow a boy to have the incorrect haircut. You are telling them that the rules don’t matter and that may set a dangerous precedent for you in the future.

The following is an extract from the College diary:

‘Hair must be clean, tidy, gel-less, of natural colour, even grade and of a style and length unlikely to cause comment. Students who cannot respond will be sent home until they remedy the problem or may be asked to wear alternate collar and tie.’

At present we have a few boys who have undercuts, where the side is very short and extra long on top which is not an even grade. If your son is one of these boys could you please rectify this as soon as possible. In the first Junior School Newsletter this year I stated under grooming the following:

SPX rules are for the benefit of all; we are not a supermarket where you choose the rules you feel like following. We believe our selection of rules is fair and reasonable.

If your son needs his hair rectified could you please attend to this and thank you to all the parents whose sons follow the policy.

YEAR 5 KOKODA MEMORIAL EXCURSION: We were very fortunate with the weather which wasn’t too hot and the rain was almost non-existent. We were also blessed to have two 95 year old World War diggers show us around the Kokoda Memorial Walkway. The boys were very reverent and hopefully gained an insight into the hardships our predecessors went through so we can enjoy the freedom we have today.

The excursion began with a wreath laying ceremony and then a talk and short film before we walked along the memorial walkway and were informed about important events. The boys will only take in a certain amount but maybe they will participate in our Kokoda expedition to PNG when they are in Year 9. You have plenty of time to get into training!

YEAR 6 BAKERY EXCURSION: As part of our science unit on micro-organisms, Year 6 visited Brasserie Bread to watch the effect of yeast and to enjoy the fruits of their labours when they made a pizzetta and a cinnamon scroll. They were most likely devoured before they arrived home. By all reports the boys really enjoyed the experience.

YEAR 6 RETREAT - FRIDAY 30 NOVEMBER: The boys will be having a retreat at Oxford Falls to reflect on the future, things to be grateful for and to pray together. All students will travel by bus to Oxford Falls, leaving the College at 9am and returning at 3pm. Should you wish to collect your son or you wish your son to go home with another parent, please send a note in to your son’s teacher.

Boys are required to bring their morning tea, lunch and a drink. They are also required to wear their sports uniform for this retreat.

Parents and friends are invited to join us for the liturgy to conclude the day at 1:45pm in the gym.

PRIZE GIVING ARRANGEMENTS: Last day of school – Thursday 6 December: Please note that the Junior School Prize giving presentation will commence at 12 noon on Thursday 6 December in the gym at the CHATSWOOD CAMPUS. The boys will not have sport on this day so will wear their Summer uniform NOT their sporting uniform.

The day is structured with:

10.00am: End of Year Mass at Our Lady of Dolours Church
12 noon – until approx. 1.00pm: Junior School Sport Presentation
Approx. 1.00 pm until 1.30pm: Intermission (the boys need a break)
1.30pm until approx. 3.00pm: Junior School Academic Assembly.

If your son is receiving an award, I aim to send you an email on or before Friday 30 November when we have all the grades finalised. Many parents of athletics or swimming champions would know they are going to receive an award as their names were announced at the relevant carnivals.

UPCOMING EVENTS/ACTIVITIES IN THE NEXT WEEK

Friday 23 November: Founder's Day at Oxford Falls
Saturday 24 November: Year 5 Catch up
Sunday 25 November: Year 6 End of Year Party
Friday 30 November: Year 6 Retreat at Oxford Falls
Thursday 6 December: End of Year College Mass & Junior School Prizegiving

P&F NEWS & EVENTS: Please see the P&F page of this newsletter for all news and events, including those for Years 5 and 6. Don't miss the Junior School end of year activities!!

TERM 4 CALENDAR: The Term 4 Calendar is attached below and activities with a significant number of Junior School participants are highlighted in Red. I have left many other activities in the calendar as you may have an older son, or occasionally a Junior Boy is involved in a Senior activity. It also demonstrates the busy nature of the college.

JUNIOR SCHOOL CALENDAR.pdf

Thanking you for your support.

Mr T Long - Head of Junior S

Learning Enrichment Notices

IPSHA Speakers’ Challenge: Well done to Chris Mander (Year 6), Maxwell Forbes (Year 6) and Isaac Donlevy (Year 5) who represented St Pius X College at the IPSHA Speakers’ Challenge at Abbotsleigh Junior School last Thursday. They presented their individual speeches on the theme Missing.

There were over 38 schools on the day, with over 170 students speaking, from Sydney and country NSW. It was a great learning experience for the boys, presenting to a panel and then being given feedback on their speeches, as well listening to how their peers interpreted and delivered on the topic. All boys presented in Preliminary rounds and were confident and pleased with their speech presentation and content.

Special congratulations and well done to Chris Mander who was selected as a finalist on the day. He had to present his speech again to the entire crowd and final adjudication panel. In addition, as a chosen finalist, he had to prepare and present an impromptu speech on the theme If I had my Way.

Well done to all the boys for attending the training sessions leading up to the day and their outstanding performance and efforts on the day.

What a great day it was! #lovepublicspeaking

Holiday Program - GERRIC in 2019: GERRIC offers a range of school vacation programs for gifted and talented students from Years 3-10. This doesn’t mean you have to be a genius! Gifted and talented students are generally students who are capable of performing in the top 10-15% of their age-peers. Applications for 2019 January programs are open closing on 3 December - click on the link for details and more information: https://education.arts.unsw.edu.au/about-us/gerric/for-gifted-students/

Mrs Spanyik - Learning Enrichment Teacher

Highlights from the Junior Resource Centre

A big thank you to Year 5 who produced some amazing book snaps. #booksnaps#librarylife

Book snaps by Aidan Seifert and Euan Sproule:

Sizzling Summer reads @JRC

A few of my picks for this summer. More to come next week!

The Upside-Down History of Down Under by Alison Lloyd & Terry Denton
The Short & Curly Guide to Life by Matt Beard & Kyla Slaven & Simon Greiner
Bab Sharkey and the Animal Mummies: The Giant Moth Mummy by Andrew Hansen and Jessica Roberts
Sea Prayer by Khaled Hosseini
Total Quack Up edited by Sally Rippin, Adrian Beck; illustrated by James Foley

Mrs Martin’s Book Trail: Woo’s Wonderful World of Maths by Eddie Woo

‘Enthusiastic, energetic Eddie Woo explores mathematics in ways that reveal how human and beautiful it is’.

Nalini Joshi, mathematician, University of Sydney

Author Visit in the JRC on Tuesday 4 December

ANDREW HANSEN & JESSICA ROBERTS

When Andrew isn’t writing about Animal Mummies, he writes and performs comedy. Working with his friends in a group called The Chaser, he’s written funny newspapers and books. The Chaser have also made TV shows with silly names like Media Circus, The Hamster Wheel, The Chaser’s War On Everything, and even one called CNNNN which has more Ns in a row than any other show.

Jessica writes, draws and films stories. Originally from a little town called Kyneton, Jessica grew up surrounded by an odd collection of pets including dogs, quails, chickens, sheep, goats, rabbits and a donkey who’d bite holes in your clothes if you weren’t careful. During a trip to Egypt, Jessica got the idea for this story when she saw real mummified animals in a spooky museum.

An order form for The Weird Beard and The Giant Moth Mummy is below:

BETTER READ Andrew Hansen and Jess Roberts Order Form2.pdf

Happy Reading!

Mrs E Martin - Junior Librarian

Opal Cards for 2019

Students progressing to Year 7 do not need to re-apply if they:

are continuing at the same school
are residing at the same address
have not been sent an expiry notification from Transport for NSW.

Where a student meets the new distance eligibility for high school, the system will automatically update their entitlement. If they do not meet the new eligibility, they will receive an expiry notification. Students who have an entitlement approved under a medical condition which is due to expire will receive a notification advising them to re-apply. Term Bus Pass holders will receive a notification to re-apply.

If students need to update their information or re-apply, they should go online to https://apps.transport.nsw.gov.au/ssts/updateDetails

Applications need to be submitted before 31 December 2018 to ensure student entitlements are updated and their current entitlement/card is not cancelled. If their application is submitted after 31 December 2018, the system will automatically cancel a card and a new one will need to be issued.

Students in the Opal network applying for a SSTS or Term Bus Pass entitlement for the first time will receive their card at their nominated postal address. Cards will be mailed out during December 2018 and January 2019. For further information visit https://apps.transport.nsw.gov.au/ssts

Junior School Sport

Thursday Sport: Our aquatic program continues (see below). Please note the earlier pick up time (2.10pm) from Macquarie Uni Aquatic Centre (Year 5) and Dee Why Surf Club (Year 6).

Basketball:

JUNIOR BASKETBALL.pdf

Term 4 Swim Program: All students will take part in this program. It runs as per the schedule above in lieu of regular Thursday Sport. Year 5 attend Macquarie Uni Aquatic Centre for a pool based program and Year 6 attend Dee Why Beach for a surf skills program. Students are required to return the respective form issued last term – Macquarie Uni Grading Form (Year 5) and SEA Australia Waiver (Year 6 boys).

Mr G Virgona - Junior School Sportsmaster

RUGBY: FROM THE RUGBY CLUB

Inaugural SPX Rugby Supporters' Club Fundraising Golf Day at Roseville Golf Club from 1pm on Wednesday, 12 December - ‘Ambrose Shotgun Start’ – Tickets now on sale through TryBooking via this direct link https://www.trybooking.com/414231

$150 a ticket - includes lunch and drinks on arrival; golf fees; drinks cart circulating the course with complimentary drinks; BBQ dinner with complimentary drinks; discussion panel with Australian representative sporting personalities who will be playing on the day (including George Gregan, Rod Kafer, Royce Simmons, hopefully Michael Hooper, and others yet to be confirmed); and a chance to win a $65,000 Volvo XC60 in the 'hole in one' competition, - as well as lucky door, silent, and live auction prizes.

A limited number of golf carts will be available at an additional cost of $45 per cart. Lady golfers most welcome and encouraged to play. We are limited to 100 players on the day - so book now or you might miss out!

Paul O’Neill - President SPX Rugby Supporters’ Club

Tel: 0418-634750

Softball

Report Round 11: Last Saturday’s softball game was played at Strathfield Park. Our opponent was Trinity Summer Hill and they were on their game from the onset. St Pius was sent into bat first and unfortunately our first two batters were out. Jordan Moore, who hit a great fly ball, was very unlucky to be caught on the full. Aiden Tubman hit a difficult ball and put our first points onto the scoresheet. Our next two batsmen were out and at this stage we were 1-0. This did not upset St Pius as we had faced similar situations and were able to make a comeback.

In our second innings Max Lenton was our next runner to make it home. However Trinity was ahead and St Pius needed to keep their flyballs to a minimum because Trinity was catching every one of these fantastically hit balls. Then in the third innings Benjamin Bromby and Xavier Dwyer added 2 more runs on the board and the crowd was becoming hopeful that this innings was going to be a game changer. All our fielders were getting to the ball; however, they were finding it difficult to pick up the ball cleanly and accurately throw it swiftly to the bases.

After the third innings morale was low as the score was 18 – 4 with Trinity in the lead. The players - Dominic Mitchell, Ben Shoudra, Matthew Yee and Eliot Sanders - wanted to try and narrow the gap. Though we were unsuccessful, the outfielders stopped many balls on the pitch, preventing extra easy runs for the opposition. We suffered our first big loss but next week we are on our home ground ready to win our last game.

Next week the game is at normal time - 8.00am - at Oxford Falls.

Parents please remember to bring a chair.