Junior School News
From the Head of the Junior School
WOODCHAT | For busy families who just want the facts, fast!
- My Mind Check – to allow your son to participate in our digital wellbeing survey, please complete this form by tomorrow (Friday 28 March): My Mind Check consent form - Formstack
- Planetarium experience photos: Planetarium
- Open Day – thank you to our volunteer students
- NAPLAN is finished for Year 5
- Year 5 students were gifted their own Bible on Tuesday
WOODCHATTA
MY MIND CHECK SURVEY
As part of our commitment to student wellbeing, the College is implementing My Mind Check for Years 5-12. A letter was sent to parents on Monday. This digital tool helps assess students' mental health and wellbeing through quick online check-ins conducted during school hours. The check-ins provide early identification of students who may need additional support, ensuring timely intervention. Participation requires parental consent, and parents are encouraged to complete the online permission form by tomorrow.
The link to the online permission form is:
For further details on privacy and data handling, visit mymindcheck.org.au. If you have any questions, please contact Ms Joe McCarthy, Coordinator of Counselling Services, at jmccarthy@stpiusx.nsw.edu.au or 9414 4344.
EXPLORING THE UNIVERSE WITH STARR'S PLANETARIUM
Last Friday, Year 5 students embarked on an incredible journey through space, all without leaving the campus! Starr's Planetarium brought its awe-inspiring 4K Earth & Space science experience to complement our Science unit on Space. This immersive learning opportunity took students on a breathtaking voyage through the Solar System and beyond, offering a unique perspective on our universe.
Photos: Planetarium
OPEN DAY
Last Saturday, the Junior School welcomed a variety of families to explore our new facilities. Prospective families interested in enrolling their sons at St Pius X, current families eager to see our new building, and former Junior School families excited to visit the Waterford Learning Centre were all in attendance. We were proud to showcase our amazing new learning space and to share with potential families the many opportunities St Pius X offers. A huge thank you to our Junior and Senior students who served as tour guides on Saturday. Visitors were keen to share how impressed they were with your knowledge and enthusiasm, and the positive way you spoke about St Pius X and your teachers. You made us all very proud!
Earlier this week, NAPLAN testing wrapped up for our students, and we are pleased to share that the process went smoothly. The results of these tests are valuable tools that help our teachers gain a clearer understanding of each student’s progress across Numeracy and Literacy. They provide insight into strengths and areas for improvement, which allows us to offer targeted support where needed. The results will be used to inform teaching practices, ensuring that we continue to provide the best possible learning experience for all our students. We are proud our students’ efforts during this time and look forward to using these results to guide their continued growth.
JUNIOR SCHOOL BIBLE LITURGY
Tuesday’s Bible Liturgy was a meaningful event where students were gifted a Bible from the college. The ceremony, filled with reflection and community, emphasised the importance of faith and scripture. Each student received their own Bible, a lasting gift to support their spiritual journey. It was a memorable occasion that will inspire students as they grow in faith.
FLOATING AND SINKING WITH BUOYANCY
In their exciting Science unit on Forces, the students of 6 Green eagerly explored the concept of buoyancy through a hands-on experiment. Tasked with designing and constructing boats using a selection of materials, students worked creatively to tackle the design challenge: How many marbles can your boat hold before it sinks? With teamwork, problem-solving, and a bit of trial and error, students engineered a variety of boat designs. Some boats impressively held over 200 marbles while remaining afloat!
This engaging experiment deepened the students’ understanding of buoyant forces, material properties, and the principles that allow ships to float.
6 Green thoroughly enjoyed the challenge, and their enthusiasm was evident in their discussions and innovative designs. Who knows? We may have some future naval engineers in the making!
SYDNEY SWANS PLAYERS VISITING THE JUNIOR SCHOOL !
Players from the Sydney Swans AFL Club will be visiting St Pius X on Monday! They will be taking students to Beauchamp Oval for a fun kick-around session from 9:30 am to 10:30 am. Students can dress in their sports uniform and will need to bring their own recess (no canteen for recess) as we will stay at the park for Recess.
This is a fantastic opportunity for students to meet professional players and enjoy an active morning outdoors.
If you have any questions, please contact Mr Bourke at jbourke@stpiusx.nsw.edu.au.
Thank you for your ongoing support of the Junior School
Mrs Jill Greenwood - Head of Junior School
Junior School Sport
Thursday Sport
IPSHA Winter Season – Commitment & Attendance
The IPSHA Winter Sport season begins next term, and students are committing to a full season of competition. To ensure each game is competitive and that all teams are well-supported, we kindly ask families to avoid booking holidays on the following game dates:
Season Dates:
- Round 1: 3 May
- Round 2: 10 May
- Round 3: 17 May
- Round 4: 24 May
- Round 5: 31 May
- Round 6: 14 June
- Round 7: 21 June
- Round 8: 26 July
- Round 9: 2 August
- Round 10: 9 August
Once teams are finalised information will appear on Clipboard in a draft format. Game times and venues will be confirmed by the Thursday prior to the Saturday fixture.
If a student is unable to attend a game due to injury or illness, this must be logged in Clipboard, and an email sent to Mr Bourke. For any other absences, families must submit a request as early as possible to ensure we have sufficient numbers each week. This will help us avoid the player shortages experienced during the summer season and ensure a competitive and enjoyable experience for all teams.
Thank you for your support in making this a great season for our students!
Winter Sports Uniform Requirements:To ensure students are ready for the season, families are encouraged to arrange the purchase of the required Winter Sports Uniform from the College Shop:
Football – SPX jersey, SPX shorts, football socks
Rugby – SPX jersey, SPX shorts, rugby socks
AFL – The College provides a loaned uniform (singlet and shorts), but students will need to purchase football socks
Additional Requirements:
- Mouthguards are compulsory for both Rugby and AFL.
- Players should also check that they have appropriate footwear (football boots).
Sydney Swans Visit – Monday, 31st March
We are excited to welcome the Sydney Swans to St Pius X next Monday, 31st March, during our Period 2 lesson. This is a fantastic opportunity for our Junior School students to learn from elite-level athletes and coaches as they continue to develop their AFL skills.
To ensure a smooth and enjoyable experience:
- All students are to wear their PE uniform on the day.
- Recess will be held at Beauchamp Park – students must bring their own food and drink.
The visit will include skills sessions and a Q&A with Swans players, making for an inspiring and action-packed morning! If wet weather occurs, an alternative schedule will be arranged at school.
Cross Country
Best of luck to all our Junior Squad Cross Country runners who will be competing in the IPSHA Carnival next Tuesday 2 April. Thank you to all families that have confirmed their son’s attendance. Results will be shared in next week’s Woodchatta.
Training Squad
All IPSHA Squad members will now see the sessions in their Clipboard.
When: Monday, Wednesday and Thursday mornings
Where: Beauchamp Park, Chatswood
Time: 7:15 am – 8:15 am
Who: All Senior and Junior School students are welcome
Note : Meet at the Beauchamp Oval Grandstand in comfortable running gear and with a water bottle. Bring your school uniform to change into afterwards back at The College.
You don’t have to aspire to run in the IPSHA Carnival - all students and abilities are welcome.
If you son plans to join the sessions, please send me an email.
Accessing Fixture Information via Clipboard
To stay up-to-date with training schedules and game fixtures, please ensure you regularly check the Clipboard app. Training and fixtures are accessible directly within the app, and any changes will be updated there as well.
Important Reminder:
To receive timely updates and notifications regarding changes to fixtures or training sessions, please ensure:
Notifications are enabled both within the Clipboard app settings and on your mobile device. The have the option to receive push notifications and/or email prompts.
Please regularly review the app for any schedule updates.
Fixtures will be initially entered as UNCONFIRMED, by Thursday each week they will be CONFIRMED by opposition schools and a notification will be sent to families.
Please check clipboard regularly for any changes to the schedule.
Some fixtures are subject to weather, on occasion this can lead to cancellations. This will occur via the Clipboard app, you should receive a notification if a fixture is cancelled, but please check the app on the morning before leave to ensure you are up to date with any changes.
Logging an Absence
If your son is unable to attend a Saturday fixture due to sickness or injury, you can log his absence directly through Clipboard by following these steps:
Log in to Clipboard using your parent account.
Navigate to the Calendar page.
Click on 'Log an Absence' and follow the prompts to submit.
As a courtesy, please email Mr Bourke at Jbourke@stpiusx.nsw.edu.au prior to the fixture, if possible, by Thursday. For all other absences a request needs to be sent to Mr Bourke for approval.
For normal school day absences, please continue to follow the standard school process.
SPX App
If you haven’t already, please download and familiarise yourself with the SPX App.
SPX Football Season Launch – Save the Date!
We are excited to kick off the 2025 SPX Football Season with a Pre-Season Social Event on Saturday, 6 April, from 3:00 pm – 6:00 pm.
This will be a fantastic opportunity for players, families, and supporters to come together, connect, and celebrate the start of the season in a relaxed and enjoyable atmosphere. With plenty of space to kick a ball around, it’s the perfect afternoon for both players and parents to get into the football spirit.
A special highlight of the event will be the 1st XI jersey presentation, a proud and memorable moment for our senior players as they receive their Firsts jerseys. See below the flyer for booking details.
Holiday Football Clinic
ST PIUS X APRIL HOLIDAY CAMPS – THE PERFECT PRE-SEASON PREPARATION!
Looking to sharpen your skills before the season kicks off? The St Pius X April Holiday Camps, in partnership with Coerver Coaching, offer an exciting and structured program designed to develop technical ability, confidence, teamwork, and sportsmanship—all while having a blast!
📅 Dates: Monday 14 – Thursday 17 April⏰ Time: 9:00 am – 12:00 noon daily
🎟️ Options: 2, 3, or 4-day participation⚽ New Feature: 5v5 Tournament running each day!
Who can attend?
Students from Year 3 to Year 10.
Transport:
A bus is available for the first 60 players registered, departing from Chatswood Campus at 8:30 am and returning at 12:40 pm.
What to Expect:
✅ Technical Skill Development – Using the Coerver® Method to enhance ball mastery and tactical play.
✅ Confidence Building – Encouraging creativity, risk-taking, and success in a fun, challenging environment.
✅ Teamwork & Sportsmanship – Learning key principles of attack and defense while fostering respect and effort.
✅ Loads of Footballing Fun!
This is the perfect opportunity to fine-tune your skills before the season, meet new teammates, and enjoy fast-paced football action. Don’t miss out!
🔗 For more details and to register, click here: Coerver course | Coerver Coaching
Holiday Rugby Clinic
Get Ready for the SPX Rugby Season at Our Easter Holiday Rugby Clinic
Give your son the best start to the rugby season with our April School Holiday Rugby Clinic! This is the perfect opportunity for players to sharpen their skills, boost their confidence, and get game-ready for ISA season.
When: Wednesday 16 and Thursday 17 April
Where: Oxford Falls Campus - 1 Dreadnought Rd, Oxford Falls
Why Sign Up?
✅ Expert coaching from Trytime coaches & special guest coaches
✅ Position-specific training + team play development
✅ A great way to build confidence & prepare for the season
✅ Trial Games on Thursday Afternoon! (from 12:00 noon)👉 Face off against Redfield College in Years 5, 6, 7, 8 & Opens
Don’t miss out on this exciting pre-season opportunity! Register now via Clipboard:
🔗 https://portal.clipboard.app/stpiusx
Secure your spot today and get ready to hit the ground running!
Basketball
What an incredible Junior School Basketball season it has been! From the first tip-off to the final buzzer, our players have shown tremendous growth in skill, teamwork, and resilience. It has been fantastic to see their confidence build with each game, learning to read the play, execute set plays, and support their teammates both on and off the court. A huge thank you to our dedicated parents for their ongoing support, whether it was early morning drop offs for training and games, cheering from the sidelines, or helping with game logistics on the bench, your efforts have been invaluable. Well done to all the players for their commitment and enthusiasm throughout the season!
Mr James Bourke - Basketball Convenor
Touch Football
This season of Junior School Touch Football has been nothing short of exciting, with our players demonstrating speed, strategy, and outstanding teamwork. The boys developed a strong understanding of the game, improving their passing accuracy, defensive positioning, and ability to create space on the field. Beyond the skills, it was great to see their sportsmanship and camaraderie shine through in every match. A big thank you to our parents for their support and encouragement throughout the season, it truly makes a difference. Congratulations to all the players for their hard work and determination!
A quote which sums up the season is as follows: 'Success is not bestowed; it is earned through dedication and hard work.'
Mr Callum Montgomerie - Touch Football Coach
Softball
It was an evenly matched game against Grammar St Ives. Both teams were hungry for a win as it was the final game for this season. St Pius X were batting first and there was some outstanding play from our batting line up. They were strong and implored some strategies practised at training. As the game progressed both teams were evenly matched and using various techniques to out manoeuvre their opponents. At the end of the final innings both teams displayed excellent sportsmanship and accepted the score as fair. St Pius X is looking forward to the continuation of the season in Term 4 to further hone their skills and garner more wins.
Mrs Jenny Williams - Softball Coach
Mr James Bourke - Junior School Sport Coordinator
NSTA Tennis
There was a buzz in the air last Saturday as all players were facing off in either the finals or the play-offs. It has been an absolute pleasure convening the NSTA tennis once again, the young men of St Pius X have consistently shown great sportsmanship and enthusiasm for the game. It was great to see 7 of our teams make the finals and 4 of those winning their divisions. Congratulations goes to all players though for another great season.
Thank you to the parents, relatives and friends who came and supported the boys in their matches. Also, a big thank you to Mrs Keighery, Mrs Fileman, Mr Chen and Mrs Waterson who have helped lead the teams this season, without their help this would have been a difficult competition to run by myself!
Finally, I would like to wish our Year 12 students all the best for their future endeavours. It is always sad to say good-bye to these students, some of whom have been playing in the NSTA competition with me since Year 5.
Best of luck to Aiden Chan, Lucas Halim, Yuri Kim, Max Lei, Brendan Marr and Will Scaiff.
NSTA FINALS AND PLAY-OFFS RESULTS
FINALS
PLAY-OFFS
NSTA TRAINING TEAMS
We are very lucky to have had a second venue to run our NSTA Training Competition once again. This has seen St Pius X summer tennis grow to over 110 players altogether. The players in this competition were lucky to have the coaches at the matches each week to help them develop their skills on the court and with their scoring.
Congratulations to all students, but especially to the finalists and runners-up in each division. In Division 1 it was a very close competition, with Team 3 taking out the win with 0.5 of a point! Each week I have seen the players improve their serves, returns and there have been some excellent rallies. There was always a lot of friendly chatter around the place, as well as laughs and smiles, the games were always fun.
Thank you to the parents who were always at the venue in great numbers to support their sons and cheer them on. Thanks also to Mrs Hodges for running the competition on Saturdays.
Mrs Samantha Iwatani - NSTA Covenor
From the Junior Resource Centre
This week’s Highlights are:
CBCA Book Of the Year Awards 2025
It’s a big week for awards and short listings. Below are Aussie children’s book titles that have been shortlisted as children’s books of the year as part of the @cbcaustralia Awards. Congratulations to all - and congratulations to the brilliant publishers who have brought to life so many brilliant stories!
The Legend of Spud Murphy by Eoin Colfer
This term Year 5 have been reading The Legend of Spud Murphy …Can the Year 5 boys survive the legendary librarian and her gas-powered spud-gun?
PRC = 12454
Year 6 – Author Study Alan Gratz
Welcome to the world of Alan Gratz! How much did I love Refugee? It’s got everything - solid writing, a tear-jerker ending, cliffhangers, action and danger, little-known historical events, strong but fallible characters, international mindedness. I had to share this awesome author with Year 6. His new book HEROES, is a story of Pearl Harbour! Students are reading it already!
Mrs Martin’s Book Trail: Oscar Piastri by Maurice Hamilton; illustrated by Cat Sims.
OSCAR PIASTRI WIIIIINS!!! YESSSS!!! AUSSIE AUSSIE AUSSIE!!! Discover how Oscar Piastri became a racing legend in this book! Read about his wins, losses and find out about the history of Formula One. Following in the footsteps of the greats Jack Brabham and Alan Jones, Oscar Piastri is the next great Australian Formula 1 racing driver.
This series by Maurice Hamilton, illustrated by Cat Sims is exceptionally well presented and ideal reading for expanding vocabulary and knowledge.
Readers aged 7+ will be amazed to read the stats, loads of fun facts about this remarkable young driver and what he has achieved.
#MrsMartinsBooktrail2025
Ms Elena Martin – Teacher Librarian
Junior School Chess
Thank you to all the students who attended chess training on Tuesday 23 March in the JRC. Training and trials continue next Tuesday 1 April 2025 at 7:30 am in the JRC.
CHECKMATE! MASON WINS CHESS SCHOLARSHIP
We are excited to announce that Mason has been awarded a partial chess scholarship from the prestigious Sydney Academy of Chess!
After a competitive selection process, Mason was recognised for his outstanding potential and dedication to the game.
As part of the scholarship, Mason will receive a range of exciting benefits to support his chess development, including regular mentoring sessions with top coaches, free entry to ACF and FIDE-rated tournaments, and access to group coaching both online and in-person.
Additionally, Mason will be invited to attend holiday clinics for intensive training, receive valuable chess books and software, and get tournament mentoring to help him excel in competitions.
The Sydney Academy of Chess has a strong track record of nurturing talented players, and we are thrilled that Mason will have the opportunity to take his skills to the next level with their expert guidance.
Congratulations to Mason on this fantastic achievement! We look forward to seeing his growth and success in the world of chess.
Holiday Coaching Programs
Here are a few holiday coaching programs that could be of interest.
16/04/2025 Holiday Coaching Clinic by NSW Junior Chess League
Fees: $40 for the first child, $30 for each additional sibling
Link: https://www.nswjcl.org.au/ComingEvents/2025/Autumn/HolidayCoachingClinic.htm
Sydney Academy of Chess Online Workshops
- They offer different levels of coaching at very reasonable prices
- Link: https://sydneyacademyofchess.com.au/online-workshops-autumn
Ms Elena Martin - Junior Chess Convenor
PACER
Students from our school recently undertook an educational tour of the national capital. Students were given the opportunity to participate in a variety of educational programs with a focus on Australia’s history, culture, heritage, and democracy. The Australian Government recognises the importance of all young Australians being able to visit the national capital as part of their Civics and Citizenship education. To assist families in meeting the cost of the excursion the Australian Government is contributing funding to our school in the amount of $30.00 per student under the Parliament and Civics Education Rebate program towards those costs. The rebate is paid directly to the school upon completion of the excursion.