From the Assistant Principal, Cocurricular
Fixtures 2 March
Basketball
Cricket
Cross Country
Football
Public Speaking and Debating
Rugby
Senior Chess
Squash
NSTA Tennis

From the Assistant Principal, Cocurricular

Combined Christian Brothers Swimming Carnival

My thanks to everybody who assisted with the running of the Combined Christian Brothers Swimming Carnival last Saturday evening. It truly was a team effort and all who attended were hugely impressed with our Year 11 students who worked so hard on the night to make sure the carnival ran smoothly.

A full report can be found below.

Winter Cocurricular Convenors and Coaches

Please find below the current listing of our winter cocurricular convenors and coaches. The college thanks these convenors and coaches for the enrichment of the college through their contribution to the winter season.

Mr Matt Stearn - Assistant Principal, Cocurricular

Fixtures 2 March

Basketball

Round 10 Results

Our final round of ISA games saw an exciting day of basketball down at Oxford Falls. Our B, E and F teams fought hard to come away with a couple of wins and unfortunately some heartbreaking losses. Our D teams had success at Oakhill with wins for our 13D, 14D, 15D and 4ths. Our A and C teams struggled against strong Oakhill opponents, including the firsts who were unable to save their season against the top seeded Oakhill side. Congratulations to all seniors, most of who have now played their final game of basketball for the College, and good luck to everyone competing in semi-finals and grand finals over the coming weeks.

Semi-Finals and Finals

A particular congratulations to the 15Cs and 14Es who finished in first place and will move directly to grand finals on the 9th of March. The 17A, 17B, 14B, 14C, 15D, 14D, 13D, Fifths, 15E, 15F, 14F and 17F have locked in a top 3 spot and will all compete in semifinals this weekend. Good luck to these teams who will travel to Penrith Valley Regional Sports Centre and St Paul’s Grammar School for their fixtures.

Any teams that win their semi-final this weekend will train at the same times as this week, as per the same schedule, to prepare for their Grand Final. All training will be in the SPX College Gym. Any teams that do not make the Grand Final do not need to train.

Year 7 2024 Basketball

The ISA Year 7 Challenge commences this weekend with all fixtures being held at Northern Beaches PCYC in Dee Why. Please take careful note of your assigned team and scheduled game time. Game fixtures are in the Fixtures table both in Woodchatta and in your clipboard calendar. Also be aware that some changes will be made to teams week to week, so you will need to recheck your assigned team. On Friday morning, all players will be provided a singlet to wear for these games, which will need to be returned after the third round of play.

Mr Danny Garrett - Basketball Convenor &

Mrs Joanne Schuster - Assistant Basketball Convenor

Cricket

Training

Monday – ISA (1st and 2nd XI) Squad.

Tuesday – U13 (Senior School) and U14.

Wednesday – ISA (1st and 2nd XI) Squad. Thursday – Junior School during sport. U15 and U17.

Bus departs OLD Church at 3:20 pm and returns to Anderson Street at approximately 5:30 pm. Players are to be attired in correct sport/cricket uniform. Training is compulsory and part of a cocurricular commitment.

All training is facilitated by Cricket Appeal.

ISA Teams into the Semi-finals! This weekend both ISA teams will fight to challenge for the ISA title in semi-finals v St Patricks’ College.

1st XI Semi-final v St Patrick’s College @ Strathfield.

2nd XI Semi-final v Oxley College @ Oxford Falls #1.

ISA Round 10 – 1st XI v Central Coast Grammar School at Oxford Falls #1

1st XI 9-205 (Lachlan Jurcevic 62 not out, Luke Austin 38, Tom Lough 28, Ollie Freeman 21, Toby Moran 20) defeated Central Coast Grammar School 127 (Darcy Aylmer 4-15, Luke Austin 3-21, Lucas Gleeson 2-34).

In the final round of the ISA competition, the 1st XI were determined to have a convincing win before the semi-final series begins next week. A rain delay reduced the match to 46 overs each at Oxford Falls. The grounds staff worked hard during the weeks between the showers and storms to produce another superb pitch. The 1st XI was sent into bat and after the loss of two wickets, Ollie Freeman and Toby Moran batted soundly before Tom Lough (3 fours) and Luke Austin (2 sixes) put on an important 37 run stand. Luke and Lachlan Jurcevic then produced some sparkling strokes in a 62-run partnership. Lachlan reached his half century at better than a run a ball with six boundaries and he received strong support from Flynn Mansbridge in a 44-run stand.

After an early wicket to Jared Fernades, the captain Darcy Aylmer led from the front with the ball 3-13 of 10 overs and took three fine catches as quick wickets were sought. The victory was delayed frustratingly by some resolute opposition batting, but Lucas Gleeson and Luke Austin helped clean up the innings with support from catches in the field by Toby Moran, Pat Frost, Flynn Mansbridge, and wicket keeper Ollie Freeman.

ISA Round 10 – 2nd XI v Chevalier College at Bowral

2nd XI 10/116 (Thomas Roche 37, Alessio Spillane 18) defeated by Chevalier College 10/143 (Max Lynn 5-17, Dan Carroll 3-8)

The 2nd XI travelled to Bowral again to play Chevalier College. Winning the toss and electing to bowl, Chevalier put on a long 101-run opening stand in wet conditions. The stand was eventually broken by Alex Burke (1-40) and this caused a collapse of 10-42, including 4 wickets falling for 0 runs. Wickets went to Dan Carrol (3-8), Charlie Chippendale (1-10) and a brilliant spell from Max Lynn to clean up the tail, finishing with figures of 5-17 from 8 overs with 1 maiden, to have Chevalier all bowled out for 143.

After a good start, wickets began to fall regularly. Alessio Spillane scored 18 and Tom Roche put on 37 with wickets falling around him until he was also unluckily dismissed. Chris Mander (11*) and Jack English (10) put on a valiant last wicket stand but in the end the 2nd XI went down by 27 runs.

Alessio Spillane

SPX Black SPX Black 8/100 (Ben Costain 25*, Eddie Harkin 15) def. Seaforth Sea Lions 8/80 (Freddie Gosling 5/13). On a cold, wet morning, reminiscent of an English summer's day, we batted first on a ground that was miraculously playable despite the rain. Ben Costain & Luke Steptoe got us off to a good start, putting on 35 for the first wicket. It was tough going, with a couple of rain delays and a slow outfield, but we fought to 2/51 at the halfway point. Cameron Cheah & Eddie Harkin, then Eddie & Felix Keeler put on partnerships of c.20 runs, but we couldn’t push on. It was left to Ben Costain to come back in at the end to get us to exactly 100.Seaforth came out with a lot of intent, but our boys were on. Tight bowling and exceptional fielding kept them in check, with Riley Silver getting a good run out, and after 6 overs they were 2/29. Freddie Gosling then came onto bowl at a crucial time, and with the last ball of his first over he tempted the batsman into a big pull that went straight to deep square leg, where Luka Hilton took a great catch to get the boys up and about. During his next 3 overs, Freddie completely bamboozled Seaforth's batsmen to collect 5/13, while we kept the pressure on with excellent fielding. At that stage Seaforth was 7/58. Their last pair dug in and made life difficult for us, but we stuck to our task and bowled them out for 80.It was an exceptional team performance and our best win for the season, beating top of the table. Special mention to the boys for our best fielding of the season, and thanks to the parents for braving the conditions!

Mr David Reay - Cricket Convenor

Cross Country

Cross Country training continues this week. Join us for fun, varied and challenging sessions.

When: Monday, Wednesday and Thursday mornings

Where: Beauchamp Park, Chatswood

Time: 7:15 am – 8:15 am

Who: All Senior and Junior School students welcome

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. All students are encouraged to join training, whether it is to prepare for the IPSHA Cross Country Competition in April, the ISA Cross Country competition in Term 2 or to simply improve your general well-being. Please email Mr Scott Steinman ssteinman@stpiusx.nsw.edu.au or Ms Leanne Lee llee@stpiusx.nsw.edu.au to sign up or simply turn up in the morning.

Cross Country Captain

On Friday, 23 February, we proudly presented Jacob Magner as Cross-Country Captain for 2024. His talent and dedication to distance running will be a positive asset to our team. We look forward to his leadership and efforts in guiding us.

2024 Fun Runs

Our Pius Cross Country team is looking at joining fun runs again this year, they are a great way to practice for the ISA or simply motivation to get fit. So far, we plan to go ahead with three events - 5k Run2Cure, 5k Sydney10 and the 14k City2Surf!

Starting with Run2Cure, this is held on Sunday, 7 April at the Domain, we will all join the Team 'SPX Runners', we have the code: SCHOOL24 for 20% off registration fee. Mr Steinman and Ms Lee will be there to supervise, though students will need to organise with parents to make their own way there and back. More details on meeting times will be announced closer to date.

If you are interested in this run, please have a parent email Ms Lee at llee@stpiusx.nsw.edu.au as an expession of interest with your full name and D.O.B by Wednesday, 13 March. I'll be happy to sign you up to our team. We will then set up a Clipboard activity for you to register and pay. I will reply to your parent's email to confirm. If applying through Ms Lee, bib collection will be free of charge and delivered to our school.

Registration link: https://register.run2cure.org.au/register/domain-24/schoolLinks to an external site.

Other runs available to all, for individual interests include:

1. Willoughby Park Run Every Saturday Morning 7:00 am

https://www.parkrun.com.au/willoughby/

Locations also in Curl Curl, Parramatta, Rhodes, St Ives, North Sydney - every Saturday.

All Park Runs are Free

2. Manly Fun Run - 13 April

https://www.manlyfunrun.org/

3. Lindfield Fun Run - 19 May

https://www.lindfieldfunrun.org.au/

Ms Leanne Lee - Cross Country and Athletics Convenor

Football

Teams have been put up in your son’s Year area at school. We have just had an update from the ISA that we are able to enter a 15C side, so our Year 9 development players will be playing in the competition. Preseason training for all teams will commence on Monday 25 March after school and will continue each Monday and Wednesday at Oxford Falls. These training days will continue in Term 2 and 3. All students will be transported to and from Oxford Falls by private buses which will depart outside OLD Church at 3:20 pm and return to the College approximately 5:30 pm. There will be one trail game against St Aloysius College on Saturday 6 April with the ISA season commencing on Saturday 4 May.

COERVER Football Camps

In preparation for the Football season, the College is offering a St Pius X student only COERVER Camps.

ST PIUS X APRIL HOLIDAY CAMPS

Monday 15 - Thursday 18 April

9:00 am - 12:00 noon each day.

Age : 9 - 16

Coerver Coaching holiday camps offer a fun filled soccer experience for children aged 9-16 years. Each day will include Coerver® SKILLS competitions and challenges, Ball Mastery, Coaching sessions focusing on developing effective use of skill, small sided Coerver® Games, and mini Coerver Cup Tournament to keep players active.

TECHNIQUE

The cornerstone of our curriculum is technical development. We utilize the Coerver® Method of ball mastery and graduated pressure to build technical competence and play carefully selected games to build functional success.

PLAYER CONFIDENCE

We foster creativity by providing the players technical building blocks & encouraging creative actions in developmentally appropriate games. Our games are designed to be fun, challenging and to reward success and risk-taking.

TEAMWORK

Small group tactics and principles of play are taught in attack and defence by utilizing the structure of the many small sided games, which have made the Coerver® Curriculum so unique and recognised as the world’s leading technical football program.

SPORTSMANSHIP

We value winning but not more than character and effort. We encourage paying respect to players, parents, coaches and referees. Sportsmanship is emphasized to develop the whole person and not just the player.

With 2, 3 and 4 day options available, this is the perfect pre and early season preparation for St Pius X students looking towards a successful season. It is also a huge amount of footballing fun!

Bookings can be made using the following link: Coerver course | Coerver Coaching

Mr Simon Yue, Senior Football Convenor

Senior Chess

Chess training continues on Mondays in D Block from 3:30 pm - 4:30 pm.

All students in Year 7 - 12 are welcome.

Term 1 – Training Monday afternoons with chess coaches

Term 2 – Training Monday afternoons and interschool competition Friday afternoons

The Clipboard function for Chess has been reopened for the next two weeks only.

Here are some other benefits of learning chess:

Improves cognitive skills (including concentration, pattern recognition, decision making, algebraic and geometric thinking, problem-solving, spatial reasoning, and critical thinking)
Improves self-confidence and self-worth
Increases attention span
Increases memory capacity
Offers a logical pattern and critical-thinking system
Provides competition, fostering interest and promoting mental alertness
Teaches good sportsmanship

Ms Janelle Dempsey & Ms Denise Ramsey - Senior Chess Convenors

Public Speaking and Debating

CSDA Public Speaking

The CSDA Public Speaking Competition begins THIS FRIDAY at St Pius X and runs on the following Friday evenings:

1 March Public Speaking Round 1

8 March Public Speaking Zone Finals

15 March Public Speaking Finals

Registrations have now closed. Public Speakers have been given the topics and speaking times. Round 1 will be hosted by St Pius X but we are still waiting to hear about following venues. We need as many students to assist this Friday night, so if you would like to volunteer please email me at lzervakos@stpiusx.nsw.edu.au.

CSDA Debating Competition

Registrations have now closed and should have been completed via Clipboard. The CSDA Debating Competition runs through Term 2 and 3. There will be training sessions for the 2024 Debating season on the following dates:

Week 7 – training Friday 15 March 3:30 pm - 5:30 pm

Week 8 – training Friday 22 March 3:30 pm - 5:30 pm

Week 10 – training Friday 5 April 3:30 pm - 5:00 pm

Debating competition dates:

For those involved in debating it is essential that you meet at the clock after our Sports Assembly every Friday, attend all training and the first six rounds. If your team makes it through to the Elimination round (and beyond) you also need to keep the above dates free.

Parents and students also need to complete the yellow registration form AND sign the CSDA ‘Code of Conduct’ form on the back of that sheet and return it to the Student Reception Office. Students can collect a copy of the form from the Student Reception Office.

Mrs Leigha Zervakos - Debating and Public Speaking Convenor

Rugby

Rugby Registration will continue to be OPEN.

All Year 5-12 students wishing to play rugby are required to be registered. This allows the school rugby administrators & coaches to best prepare for the coming season, plus allows your P&F Rugby Club to best support and communicate with you! There are no trials or grading days, all students are encouraged to get involved.

Year 7 Rugby Taster Program

The College, along with Mike Cross and the Rugby Committee, are offering 4 free fun coaching sessions before the rugby season starts. If you are interested, please inform your son to catch the bus leaving from Archer Street before 3:20 pm commencing on Tuesday 5 March.

Term 1 Rugby Dates for the Diary:

Tuesday 5 & Thursday 7 March - Year 7 Rugby Taster & Opens Training at Oxford Falls
Sunday 10 March - Old Boys Gala Day – Oxford Fall (9.30 am kick off for a game of touch)
Tuesday 12 & Thursday 14 March - Year 7 Rugby Taster & Opens Training at Oxford Falls
Tuesday 19 March - No Training
Thursday 21 March - Rugby Training Commences at Oxford Falls for all students Year 7-12
Saturday 6 April - SPX vs ST ALOYISIUS – AWAY- TBC

SPX Rugby Club – Gala Dinner 2024

Save the Date. The date and the venue are now locked in! Mark your calendar for Saturday, 27 July at the Kirribilli Club. The Rugby Committee are excited to once again be hosting a fun filled evening.

Stay tuned for further details, and if you have any questions, feel free to reach out to spxrugby@gmail.com.

Mr Justin Gates - Rugby Convenor

Squash

It was Pius vs Pius on Saturday with SPX 3 beating SPX 2 decisively and SPX 1 coming up with the goods with a fiercely fought victory over St Andrew's winning 4 matches to 3.

Mr Joseph Madani - Squash Convenor

Swimming

The Combined Christian Brothers Swimming Carnival, Saturday 24 February, Ryde Aquatic Centre

Participating EREA Schools:

Christian Brothers High School, Lewisham
St Patrick’s College, Strathfield
St Mary’s Cathedral College, Sydney
St Pius X College, Chatswood
Waverley College, Waverley

The College swim team raced hard in each and every event. Nick Gladen, our swim captain led by example; he was the first to arrive and the last to leave.

The tone was set early in the team warm up. Our team was the first in the pool to warm up. In the stands, Pius had the largest team, with the largest group of parent supporters.

Having a number of swimmers away due to other sporting commitments, the remaining members of the team stepped into those vacant positions including some swimmers who were asked to swim up age groups and to swim events in which they do not specialise. They did themselves proud. After 74 events in two-and-a-half hours, each and every swimmer was exhausted and swam their hearts out.

Although we didn’t win the carnival – we finished third to Waverley, our seniors finished a close second and our intermediates (U15’s and U16’s) and juniors (U13’s and 14’s) finished third – we won on another level: team spirit, self-realisation and growth in individual and collective confidence. There is a culture of friendship and hard work in our team.

Our next Carnival is the ISA Swimming Championships on Wednesday 13 March, 9:30 am - 2:30 pm at SOPAC, Homebush. There may be some disappointed swimmers in the team who may not swim at ISA or may not race their favourite events, however I am confident that those swimmers will support their mates and the team. Our College team is only as strong as the swimmer on the bench. After the amazing efforts I saw on Saturday night, our College swim team will also leave its mark at Homebush at the ISA Carnival.

Please see the results listing attached.

Fide et labore

Mr Wayne Wheatley - for Ms Leisa Proc

Swimming Team Convenor

NSTA Tennis

Under overcast skies the 8am matches got underway at Talus St. It was great to see Ethan Heng and Jeremy Gu, SPX 28 played a great doubles match beating Redlands 6 games to 2. Henry Auer and Micah Chan also played some great volleys to win against Redlands 21, 3 games to 6. It was also lovely to hear the encouraging word shared between both teams.

Thanks to Will Scaiff, Antony Autore, Aiden Siefert and Lucas Youngman who braved the rain to umpire for us this morning.

A special congratulations should also go to Boston Bannister SPX 1 who entered and won the NSTA U14 Championship last Sunday 6-4 6-3. Boston is an amazing player who always shows great sportsmanship and talent whenever he plays.

Mrs Samantha Iwatani - NSTA Convenor

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