Junior School News 

• From the Head of the Junior School 
• Junior School Sport
• From the Junior Resource Centre
• Junior Debating
• Junior Chess

From the Head of the Junior School 

PRAYER

“Do not forget the things your eyes have seen, nor let them slip from your heart all the days of your life; rather, tell them to your children and your children’s children.”

 Deuteronomy 4:9

Today’s reading presents Moses urging the people of Israel to remember God’s presence and law. For Moses, that meant the Exodus: the dramatic liberation from slavery in Egypt. For us, it means the life and teaching of Jesus, who embodies the law of God.  

The principle is the same – we must hold on to God’s faithfulness and love, especially amidst the challenges and difficulties that life can hold. 

Moses reminds God’s people of their responsibility to future generations: they are to tell them to their children and their children’s children. If we share Moses' hope that generations to come will have abundant life, then we must look at the world we are building today.  

As Pope Francis asks in Laudato Si’, “What kind of world do we want to leave to those who come after us, to children who are now growing up?” 

Abba Tesfalem of northern Ethiopia struggles each day to provide for his family, due to lack of water. He longs for a better life for his children. “I want them to be fruitful,” he says, “I want them to do good things and to succeed.”  

We each have a role to play in creating a world where all people can flourish, a world that offers a better future for our children. We can do this through caring for the earth, our common home, and caring for our neighbours across the world. 

Faithful God, give me the spirit to 

remember you at all times and to work 

so that future generations across the world 

may have abundant life. Amen.  

Act   

Spend time with your children thinking about how we can create a world where all can flourish. 

 Source: CAFOD

BIBLE LITURGY

Yesterday all the boys who are new this year received a Bible in a lovely liturgy.  We had beautiful music but unfortunately we couldn’t sing due to COVID regulations.  Mr Mulheron instead took the opportunity to explain the hymn ‘Ancient Words’ and how the words of the Bible would have also been read by Blessed Edmund Rice.  The boys all looked up the Parable of the Good Samaritan which fits in well with our push for respectful relations.

The final quote in Mrs Fileman's reflection speech to the boys at the Bible liturgy:

“Let me finish with Isaiah 43:1-3….”Do not fear …I have called you by name, you are mine. When you pass through the waters, I will be with you. For I am the Lord your God, The Holy One of Israel, your saviour”. Remember God is always with you….always listens to you…..and always loves you. “

CYBER SAFETY

I recommend this website https://www.esafety.gov.au/parents

There are many great ideas and small videos which supply information.  Please remember that your child’s digital footprint is important especially as they grow older.

MESSAGE FROM MONDAY ASSEMBLY LAST WEEK – RESPECTFUL RELATIONSHIPS

On Monday, International Women’s Day, we had a very powerful Assembly where the focus was on respectful relations. On Tuesday I spoke to the boys about respectful relations and how we should always treat others the way we want to be treated.

MERIT AWARD WINNERS

Congratulations to our Merit Award Winners from Friday's Assembly!  Well done gentlemen.

LUNCHTIME LEGO CLUB

The boys had a great time last Tuesday in the lunchtime Lego Club.  A picture tells 1000 words so here is a few thousand words.

CAMPS

Year 6 is ready to go. As of yesterday we still required 26 people to register their son.  I sent an email yesterday so please enrol your son if you haven’t done so by now.

Hopefully, you have all the gear already but if your require to buy some gear we have been offered a discount deal for a limited time with Kathmandu.

Due to the fact we have 2 camps over 2 weeks we have been offered 2 x 1 week deals at Kathmandu. 

Please find attached the invite letter for your students to print and bring into one of our Warringah, Chatswood, Hornsby or our CBD Stores Kent Street, Pitt Street, Central Park and The Rocks stores

Under 12 Cross Country

Last Thursday, the Under 12 boys ran the cross country.  It was pleasing to see the effort the boys put in with the winner, Anthony, straining his hamstring but still soldiering on to the finish line.  A great effort by many boys but of note is Graham who ran the 3 kilometres non stop with a cast on his arm.  A great fitness and resilience building exercise for all.  Well done to all the boys who didn’t stop.

Reminder : AFTER SCHOOL STUDY

All Year 5 - 11 students are invited to After School Study from 3:30 pm – 4:30 pm in the enrichment classroom in the Junior School (the one at the end of the corridor- opposite 6 red). During Term 1 this opportunity is available on a Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday and concludes on Thursday 25 March. Students must sign in on arrival and have sufficient work or reading material for an hour. Students are not permitted mobile phones or food in the study space. Individual guidance with tasks is provided by Mrs Gunns.

Reminder : MATHS DROP IN EVERY FRIDAY MORNING FROM 8.00 AM

With assessments coming up, a reminder that Maths Drop In is available for any boy in Years 5 or 6 who has a question, needs assistance or guidance with studying for maths.

All students are welcome at attend.

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THE UPCOMING WEEK 

Thursday 11 March – Sport

Saturday 13 March - Sport - Check Woodchatta for any late changes.

Tuesday 16 March – Staff Meeting- no detention held this afternoon

Wednesday 17 March - Year 6 Camp - Staffing: Mrs Doheny, Mrs Barrett, Mrs Spanyik, Mrs Iwatani, Mrs Fileman, Mr Simpson, Mr Ure and Mr Long/ 5 Peer Support -Period 5

A THOUGHT TO PONDER

From the government cyber safety site for parents: https://www.esafety.gov.au/parents

No parental control tool is 100%  effective. Helping your child build good online safety habits is just as important.  

Thanking you for your support.

Mr Tim Long - Head of the Junior School 

Junior School Sport

Thursday Sport: Saturday fixtures for this weekend are listed below.

Summer Sports Photos:

On Tuesday March 16, the College will be taking their Summer Sport Photos during Periods 1 – 2. The Sports involved are Swimming, Squash, Tennis, Touch Football, Basketball and Cricket. All students must wear their school uniform to school and get changed before their photo. Year 7 students can wear their PE uniform to school and bring their photo uniform to school and change before their photo. 

Uniforms required:

• Squash – squash shirt
• Swimming – School uniform
• Softball – Softball uniform
• Touch Football – Touch uniform
• Basketball – Basketball shorts and shirt
• Cricket – Cricket whites and sports shoes
• 1st and 2nd XI Cricket – Cricket Cap and College Blazer over their whites.

A running order has been attached. All students must bring their ID cards to each photo.

Bus Protocol:

Whilst on Chartered buses all boys MUST always wear a face mask. Please ensure your son has one to comply with this.

Oxford Falls Pick-up between 2.10 pm - 2.20 pm:

• Location: Outside the Caretakers House as you pull into the car park on the left-hand side. Please join the queue or if first one here please stop outside and start a queue.
• Please remain in your car at all times.
• As you approach the front of the queue, the teacher on duty will identify you and your son will be dismissed.
• Any boy not picked up by 2.20 pm will be available for collection from Chatswood at 3.00 pm.

Basketball:

Cross Country:

Congratulations to all who participated in the 12’s age group Cross-country at Oxford Falls last week. 

Congratulations to the following boys who finished in the top 6 and have made the Squad to compete at IPSHA Cross Country on 27 March.

12’s: 

1. Harry Arnold
2. Antonio Calcarao
3. Noah Beuchat
4. Hamish Mullen
5. Samuel Rowe
6. Zachary Rapa

Cross Country Training:

Join our Senior leaders and top athletes, Matthew North and Dominic Panozzo, alongside our distance coach, Izzy Thornton-Bott for fun, varied and challenging sessions.

Beauchamp Park, Chatswood from 7.30 am – 8.15 am on Monday, Wednesday and Thursday mornings.

Meet at the Grandstand in comfortable running gear and with a water bottle. You don’t have to aspire to run in the IPSHA Carnival - all students and abilities welcome.

Rugby:

With the Rugby season just around the corner there is a 2 day Holiday Clinic being run in the upcoming school holidays.  Please use the link below to sign up for the clinic (no need to register for the season, just sign up to the holiday clinic).

Touch Football: 

 Mr Benn McBrearty - Junior School Sports Master

Softball

Last Saturday we played against Grammar, St Ives. The team arrived on time and ready for a warm up. At the commencement of the game we went into bat and the following 9 runners were able to put runs on the scoresheet; Michael Yee, Luca Della Franca, Aidan Floridia, Aaron Klarich, Lachlan McGrath, Benjamin Meares, Logan Van Katwyk, Marc Floridia and Owen Gleeson.

The opposition were short on players and Liam Spatola, Alex Arena and Christopher Yastreboff were just some of the players who fielded for Grammar. They chased every ball that Pius offered. Well done boys, you displayed great sportsmanship helping out Grammar.

Marc Floridia caught a brilliant flyball which received great applause. Aaron Klarich and Owen Gleeson ran hard with determination to score their first run for the season. Well done Aaron and Owen!

The game was enjoyable, and St Pius showed great spirit towards the opposition. I was so proud of the A team. 

Thank you to Mr Meares for keeping score. 

All Players please remember to bring:  helmet, school hat, water bottle, mouth guard, shin pads and to eat breakfast before arriving.

Parents, please bring a chair as many venues do not have seating.

Mrs Jennifer Williams - Softball Convenor

NSTA Tennis

It was perfect weather for playing tennis on Saturday. We were so lucky to have the help of the Senior boys again coming early and helping out at the 8.00 am games: Richard Gauci, Nick Arena, Aiden Parsons, Alex Vaccher and Jamie Leong. I cannot say enough how helpful these boys are on the courts, especially for our green ball players. Thanks also to Mrs Keighery who travelled to Northbridge courts to support our two teams who were playing there today due to no spare court space at Talus Street. Sam Lodge and Jonathon Webster (SPX 19) proved to be a strong team winning all 3 sets to Redlands 26. Freddie Allert and Ethan Li (SPX 14) also had a great morning in their games against Redlands 19 also winning all 3 sets. 

The roll over into the 10.00 am games was a smooth one. Well done to Boston Bannister and Jake Yu (SPX 9) two Junior boys who faced two Year 11 boys from Cammeraygal and won their match to secure a place in the final for their team. Jarred Lam and Ryan Fong (SPX 4) played Izaac Tan, Antony Autore and James Higgins (SPX 5) and despite Izaac taking his singles 6-4, SPX 4 took 2 sets to steal the win. Lucas Youngman and Aiden Seifert (SPX 6) were out for the win against Adrian Yip and Zach Fourie (SPX 8) winning all 3 sets. 

Next week all players will be involved in the finals and play-offs, it is going to be a great day! Please keep and eye out on Xpoint for the draw for next weekend. 

https://www.xpointsports.com/region/325/currentEvents

Mrs Samantha Iwatani - NSTA Convenor

From the Junior Resource Centre

International Women’s Day 2021

‘From challenge comes change, so let’s all choose to challenge’.

Our brilliant Library Monitors have put together a great display of books with great female protagonists to celebrate International Women’s Day 2021 and a #ChooseToChallenge for our students. We were inspired by how many awesome female characters there are to choose from!

NEW BOOKS ALERT!

Sooooo I might have hit up Booktopia last week to fulfill a few (okay a lot) of student requests for the Bone Series. Bone is an independently published American comic book series, written and illustrated by Jeff Smith. The JRC has books 1 to 9, and they are all out. Pop into the JRC and reserve your copy.

Lunch Time Activities - UNO

Year 5 are enjoying UNO, the fun and easy game to play at lunch times. Don't forget to say Uno when you are down to your last card! #BetterTogether

Mrs Martin’s Book Trail – A spotlight on the French author Timothee de Fombelle (Toby Alone), and his second book Toby and the Secrets of the Tree. Why should you read them?

1. The style of writing is beautiful, some moments of description are like music. 

2. The characters - especially Toby (who is only one and a half millimetres tall!) – show true determination and grit in the face of adversity. 

3. The themes of friendship, heroism and survival are woven throughout a story which concerns a powerful environmental message. I recommend this duology to young readers who are after an adventure where (literally!) the little guy triumphs over the big guy! #MrsMartinsBooktrail2021#juniorresourcecentre

Mrs Elena Martin – Teacher Librarian

IPSHA JUNIOR SCHOOL DEBATING

Selection Trials

Boys in the Junior School have the opportunity to become involved in Debating. The College enters two teams in the IPSHA Junior Debating Competition. Twelve boys from the Junior School form the two teams and these are selected to compete. The teams debate fortnightly on a Friday afternoon (during school hours Periods 4-6) during Terms 2, 3 and 4 on a rotational basis. The emphasis is on learning the skills of debating and workshops will be held during lunchtimes leading up to the competitions. Training begins every Wednesday and Friday lunchtimes beginning Week 10 Term 1.

Boys are invited to present a short two minute speech to assist in selection of these teams. These speeches are to be presented during the set trial sessions on Wednesday and Friday lunchtimes:

The topic for the speech is WHICH IS BETTER TELEVISION OR BOOKS?  Further details will be given to the boys at the Junior School Assembly. 

Mrs Bettina Spanyik - Learning Enrichment Teacher

JUNIOR SCHOOL CHESS CLUB

Junior School Chess training begins Tuesday 16 March 2021 at 7:30 am, in the Junior Resource Centre. 

Mrs Elena Martin - Junior School Chess Convenor