Junior School News

From the Head of the Junior School
Junior School Sport
Winter Sports Photos - Ordering
From the Junior Resource Centre

From the Head of the Junior School

PRAYER

Last Sunday was the last day of the liturgical year, The Feast of Christ the King. This Sunday is the first Sunday of Advent: the time in the church's year where we prepare for the coming of the Christ Child.

Advent

The Joy of Giving

Somehow, not only for Christmas

But all the year through,

The joy that you give to others

Is the joy that comes back to you;

And the more you spend in blessing

The poor the lonely and sad,

The more of your heart’s possessing

Returns to make you glad.

John Greenleaf Whittier

We have published authors and illustrators in the Junior School. Oliver Ibrahim and Toby Wilson were chosen for his artwork of a jumping spider and Hamish Sullivan and Ryan East for their stories. Last Thursday there was an online presentation where our four winners had pre-recorded a Reader's Theatre using Hamish’s story. This was played at the Awards Ceremony. On Friday, at our Merit Assembly they received their prizes from Willoughby Council. Thank you to Mr Carroll for organising the Reader's Theatre and Zoom. Congratulations gentlemen. When will we have the book signings?

Year 5 Mums’ Dinner

Thank you to the mothers of Year 5, who organised a belated meet-and-greet mums' dinner, which was held at Tarboosh Lebanese Restaurant, Crows Nest on Friday 19 November.

It was a huge success with 43 Year 5 Mums attending the night. They had a lovely time reminiscing over the year that was and how incredible St Pius X College handled the challenges of home schooling.

CONGRATULATIONS

I received an email from an organization called ‘Kids Giving Back.’ They sent a thank you to Jacob Laface.

‘Due to the Covid-19 lockdown we all experienced this year, many kids were unfortunately unable to attend the face-to-face programs they had booked which included Cook4Good and School Holiday Programs Instead, we ran many Online Programs where students connected with the elderly in aged facilities with conversation and a game of bingo, as well as made and donated wonderful animal toys and treats for abandoned animals.

I would like to recognise this student from your school who participated in these online programs during the September school holidays, and who, despite the isolation of lockdown, stepped forward to give back to others during such a difficult time.

Jacob Laface’

Well done Jacob on demonstrating that volunteer spirit.

UPCOMING

Tomorrow

The boys will have a full day at Oxford Falls tomorrow to celebrate Founder’s Day - Please pack recess, lunch and a water bottle. Three activities will focus on how the school has programs that help others. These are activities that the boys may wish to participate in as they move through the College: a good dinner table conversation starter.

Next Week

Thursday 2 December – The boys come to school in sports uniform. We will be staying at Chatswood but some teachers may take them to Beauchamp Park - weather permitting.

Thursday Evening – Thank you to the Year 6 Class mums who have organised a fun evening at Longueville Club to celebrate Year 6 completing their end of Primary Schooling.

Friday 3 December – The boys come in their normal school uniform (ie black shoe, tie etc) They will be bussed down to Oxford Falls for an end of year Liturgy, Sports Award Ceremony and an Academic Awards Ceremony.

You should have received an email with the following information:

"The Junior School will be having their Sports and Academic Awards presentations at Oxford Falls on the last day of the term, Friday 3 December. The boys will come to school in their full summer school uniform and we will bus them down to Oxford Falls. The day will start with an end of Year Paraliturgy led by our Senior Student Leaders. This is generous of our student leaders as they will be on holidays by then. The day will be live- streamed but parents will be allowed to attend. Anybody 16 years or older will need to show proof of being fully vaccinated and please don’t attend if you have any flu like symptoms. We will have to follow the current per square metre rule so you will need to sit apart unless from the same household. The plan is for all the parents of all the award recipients to be emailed once the awards are finalised, which we aim to achieve by Friday 26 November.

At the conclusion of the Academic Awards at approximately 2.00 pm, any parents who are at Oxford Falls are welcome to take their son home to begin the summer holidays. The remainder of the boys will be bussed back to school for a dismissal time similar to Thursdays (Approx 2.50 pm).

The live links for the day are:

Sports Awards @ 10.00 am: https://youtu.be/1lIDKDE5IxM

Academic Awards @ midday: https://youtu.be/iogrBu1qna4

The timetable for the day is

9.00 am - Depart Chatswood

9.40 am - Christmas Liturgy

10.00 am - Sports Awards - Live Streamed

11.00 am - Lunch

12.00 pm - Academic Awards - Live Streamed

2.15 pm - Depart Oxford Falls"

Christmas Appeal:

Thank you! The appeal is going really well. We will finish collecting in Week 9

It is a positive lesson in helping others and recognising that we are fortunate. It is part of the Edmund Rice Charism. To quote Blessed Edmund, ‘Give to the poor in handfuls.’

Items Needed

We will be starting our Christmas Appeal collections from Monday next week (Week 7), running until the end of Week 9. We will be making the snack packs as a class. If your son could bring in some of the following:-

Zip lock bags that are large enough to hold the items
1x popper juice
1x can of tuna OR cuppa soup/sachet soup OR noodles
Le Snak/Cheese Dippits;
Packet of chips;
Packet of sultanas;
Fruit cup;
Packet of biscuits (e.g. single serve Tiny Teddies);
Muesli bar (nut-free) Please note: muesli bars must be chewy e.g. Uncle Toby’s Choc Chip Bars.

The boys will then pack in their classrooms the following items: Please follow the instructions below for offsite snack-packing.

Each snack pack should have all 5 items in total in a zip lock bag.

This MUST include:

1x popper juice

1x can of tuna OR cuppa soup/sachet soup OR noodles

AND three of the following items:

Le Snak/Cheese Dippits;
Packet of chips;
Packet of sultanas;
Fruit cup;
Packet of biscuits (e.g. single serve Tiny Teddies);
Muesli bar (nut-free) Please note: muesli bars must be chewy e.g. Uncle Toby’s Choc Chip Bars.

Timetable for Junior School

We are running a different timetable to allow the Junior School to be out in the playground when the remainder of the school are in class and vice versa. It means that the boys will have three periods in a row in the morning with a crunch and sip time sometime in Periods 2 and 3. Please ensure you pack a snack that is easy for the boys to eat in class.

(No roast dinners allowed! It has to be quick and easy and preferable not messy.)

ADMINISTRATION: 8:42 am - 8:57 am

Allow a crunch and sip for 5 minutes in Period 2 or 3. Remember a water bottle for the classroom.

Period 1 8:57 am – 9:50 am

Period 2 9:50 am - 10:43 am

Period 3 10:43 am - 11:36 am

Recess 11:36 am - 11:56 am

Period 4 11:56 am – 12:49 pm

Period 5 12:49 pm - 1:42 pm

Lunch 1:42 pm - 2:22 pm

Period 6 2:22 pm - 3:00 pm

CONGRATULATIONS TO OUR MERIT AWARD WINNERS

Congratulations to the following boys for being awarded a Merit Award last Friday.

Sam Ford, Harry Thomas, Matthew Opie and Torryn Sargent, Finn Burton, Oliver Price, Luca Basso, Oliver Hartry, Emilio Righi-Clayton, Liam Sutherland, Jake Watt, Jackson Byak, Anthony Sawakid, Marcus Ulevik, Daniel Down, Hudson Savage, Liam Cooney, Eddie Stearn, Noah Beuchat , Oliver Reiner, Ethan Hartley, Brandon Setiawan Gow, Luke Morton, Harry Toms, Xavier D’Silva, Toby Markulan, Ryan Chung, Isaac Sharpe, Cameron Gartner, Cambell Loker, Harry Arnold, Tobias Wilson, Jake Yu and Callum Koruga.

Keep up the good work.

CONGRATULATIONS TO THIS WEEK'S CERTIFICATE OF ACHIEVEMENT WINNERS

A special congratulations to Jack Carruthers, Logan Van Katwyk, Mason Dabile, Daniel Down, Liam Cooney, Antonio Castorina, Ben Meares and Riley Patten who have achieved 5 Merit Awards and will be receiving a Certificate of Achievement.

MATHS DROP-IN

Junior School students are welcome to attend our Maths Drop-In sessions on Friday mornings from 7.40 am. It is held in the Diverse Learning Room of the Junior School - across the hall from Mrs Fileman's classroom.

This is the ideal place where students can come and feel comfortable to ask questions and nut out some challenging problems. Rewards are given, laughter is heard and words of encouragement are shared. Come along and be a part of the team.

A THOUGHT TO PONDER

"Christmas is not a time nor a season, but a state of mind.

To cherish peace and goodwill, to be plenteous in mercy,

is to have the real spirit of Christmas."

-- Calvin Coolidge

FOR FUN:

"I once bought my kids a set of batteries for Christmas

with a note on it saying, toys not included."

-- Bernard Manning

Thanking you for your support.

Mr Tim Long - Head of the Junior School

Junior School Sport

Thursday Sport:

Pick-up Information: For parents who wish to pick their son up from Oxford Falls pick-up will be at 2.10 pm via the car park as per usual.

NSTA Tennis

This weekend will be the last under this format. We will play doubles matches this weekend for 60 minutes. Please find a partner, pair to play and a timeslot. Please use your player number to book your time for this weekend on the booking sheet outside the gym.

Mr Benn McBrearty - Junior School Sports Coordinator

Winter Sports Photos - Ordering

As photos have been delayed this year due to COVID Melba have organised a new ordering system for the Winter Sport photos. You will need to order online with the following instructions:

Select School Orders

Password: Archer

Once ordered, the photos will be posted to your nominated address. The postage is capped at no more than $3.50 for A4 size photos.

If you have ordered Performing Arts and Other Group photos from Term 2 via an Order Form, these are currently being processed. Year Group/Individual photos are also currently being processed. If you missed ordering any photos throughout the year, all Co-curricular photos will be available to purchase.

If you have any problems with the ordering process please contact the College for further instructions.

Ms Leisa Proc - General Coordinator

From the Junior Resource Centre

This week's highlights:

Summer Reading 2021 – Coming soon!

Exams come to an end, excitement builds because we know what is coming ….IT’S TIME FOR SUMMER READING! The JRC has put together a brilliant selection of new releases, most popular titles and great authors for you to prepare for your summer holiday reading.

The anticipated list is here:

The Illustrated version of ‘The Happiest Man on Earth’ by Eddie Jaku.
Champions of Cricket by Adam Gilchrist.
Zombies vs the Illuminati by John Larkin.
Rabbit, Soldier, Angel, Thief by Katrina Nannestad.
The 143 Storey Treehouse by Andy Griffiths and Terry Denton
The Golden Tower by Belinda Murrell
When Stars are Scattered (Graphic Novel) By Victoria Jamieson and Omar Mohamed.
The First Scientists by Corey Tutt – with a focus on Science and our Indigenous Knowledge.
Kaleidoscope by Brian Selznick
Pony by R.J Palacio.

More to come next week. Watch this space!

Book Worms Guessing Competition

Always a popular activity in the JRC. Guess the number of book worms (lollies) in the jar. 50 cents a guess. All money raised will be donated to the St Pius X College Christmas Appeal.

A Budding Illustrator in the making

A passionate illustrator, Marcus is always drawing and creating in the library.

Mrs Martin’s Book Trail: Rabbit, Soldier, Angel, Thief by Katrina Nannestad.

We loved the award-winning novel ‘We are Wolves’. Her new book ‘Rabbit, Soldier, Angel, Thief’ is amazing! A book to watch out for and put on you summer reads list. No doubt it will win many awards in 2022.

‘It’s spring, 1942. The sky is blue, the air is warm and sweet with the scent of flowers.

And then everything is gone.

The flowers, the proud geese, the pretty wooden houses, the friendly neighbours. Only Sasha remains.

But one small boy, alone in war-torn Russia, cannot survive.

One small boy without a family cannot survive.

One small boy without his home cannot survive.

What the small boy needs is an army’.

#mrsmartinsbooktrail2020

Mrs Elena Martin – Teacher Librarian