St Pius X College Newsletter

Mission and Identity

  • Launching the 2024 St Pius X College Christmas Appeal
  • Remembrance Day
  • New College Crucifix
  • New Parish Community Garden - A Laudito Si Project
  • Matthew 25:40 Year 10 Immersion Project

Launching the 2024 St Pius X College Christmas Appeal

As published last week, we are excited to announce the launch of our 2024 Christmas Appeal. Through this Appeal, we aim to stand in solidarity with our neighbours experiencing hardship by providing them with much-needed support. Each year group has been assigned a specific community or organisation in need, with each group’s requested items reflecting real needs in our local and broader communities.

The communities and organisations we will be supporting this year include:

  • Years 5 and 6 supporting the St Vincent de Paul Society in Woy Woy, with donations of non-perishable snack items in zip lock bags containing three snack items and a can of tuna, soup sachet, or packet of noodles.
  • Year 7 supporting St Mary’s Primary School in Bowraville, with donations of new casual clothing items, sporting items, and primary-aged toys.
  • Year 8 and 9 supporting Mary Mac’s Place, Woy Woy, with donations of non-perishable snack and food items, and toiletries.
  • Year 10 supporting Centacare, with each homeroom creating Christmas present hampers based on specific hobbies for each Centacare employee.
  • Year 11 supporting St Michael’s Meals, with donations of non-perishable snack and food items and toiletries.

The Appeal will run from Week 5 to Week 7, culminating in delivery during Week 8 as part of the Matthew 25:40 Immersion Program, ensuring these items reach the communities and families who will benefit most.

On Tuesdays, Wednesdays, and Thursdays during the appeal period, homeroom representatives will collect donations and deliver them to the Edmund Rice Society packing team in the College Foyer.

By participating in the St Pius X College Christmas Appeal, we are offered the gift of a generous heart - a gift that grows when we sacrifice for others. Together, we can embody the spirit of St Peter’s words, responding with courage, faith, and love to serve as the hands and heart of Christ in our world.

We look forward to journeying with you in this season of hope, as we respond to the call of Advent through acts of service that light up the lives of others.

Remembrance Day

Lest We Forget. The College commemorated Remembrance Day on Monday through prayer and ritual, as we honoured the sacrifice of generations past and present. Our student leaders equally called forth a generation of peacemakers, as the bagpiper and senior concert band honoured the laying of wreaths. May the echoes of the past inspire renewed wisdom for the present, as we seek to avoid conflict and instead embrace dialogue and understanding. Loving Father, make us instruments of Your peace.

New College Crucifix

The results from the recent survey have been analysed and the following six elements have been voted for inclusion in our new crucifix design by our parents, staff and students:

  • A reference to the Eucharist
  • A reference to Mary
  • A reference to St Pius X himself
  • A reference to ‘Live Jesus in our Hearts’
  • A reference to the Touchstones
  • A reference to the Cammeraygal people/land

These have been identified as integral to telling our story through the new crucifix designs. Our newly elected Mission and Identity Prefects worked diligently on Thursday to develop two new designs that incorporate the above elements. These have now been sent to a graphic designer who will render a 3D model for each. When complete, these will then be published to the community to vote on their preferred design.

New Parish Community Garden - A Laudato Si Project

Pope Francis has called all Catholic institutions to engage with his encyclical on ecology and the sacredness of Creation by commencing a project that seeks to further our environmental journey towards sustainability. 

It has been a joy this week to witness students from the Year 12 Studies in Catholic Thought Class as they put their faith into action in support of the community garden being established on the parish grounds of Our Lady of Dolours. Students began by stripping away the timber from the discarded pews, and ‘upcycled’ them as materials for building new garden beds for the community garden. The students are to be commended for the professionalism of their designs and workmanship. 

Matthew 25:40 Year 10 Immersion Program

We are pleased to announce that 96 immersion interviews have taken place which marks a record number of applicants for the College. Thank you to all students for your time and applications. The Mission Team are now discerning the results of the interviews and will be issuing placement offers for either the immersion preference or the reserve preference by Monday next week.

Mr Daniel Petrie - Assistant Principal, Mission and Identity