Junior School News
- From the Head of the Junior School
- Junior School Sport
- From the Junior Resource Centre
- Junior Chess
From the Head of the Junior School
TEACHING AND LEARNING
Year 5 has continued to build upon their knowledge of persuasive texts. They have also begun to explore how to incorporate a hook to capture the reader’s attention and to help introduce the topic. They have been looking at PEEL (Point, Evidence, Elaboration, Link) paragraphs, a technique used in writing to help structure paragraphs in a way that presents a clear and focused argument, which links back to the whole piece of writing.
In Mathematics, Year 5 have started to explore fractions, looking at thirds, sixths, and twelfths. The boys gained a better understanding of the concepts of numerator and denominator with some groups using hands-on materials to help with their understanding while others went on to simplify some of these fractions.
Students investigated facts about the Sun and the ensuing discussions about how hot it is on the surface and centre of the Sun were matched with the scorching weather experienced on the day.
Year 6 have been stretching their brains while investigating elasticity and tension. Some engaging activities were completed in class to explore these concepts. The boys also researched medical devices that use elasticity. The students then took on the challenge to see if they could create a device of their own that uses elasticity to help someone in need.
In Mathematics, students in Year 6 have been learning about improper fractions and mixed numbers.
ST PIUS X OPEN DAY | SATURDAY 18 MARCH
Junior School students are warmly invited to be part of our upcoming College Open Day. This is a special day when we showcase St Pius X to the wider community and demonstrate all the wonderful things that happen here every day. The Junior School students have a unique perspective on what makes St Pius great. They will have the opportunity to share their experiences with visitors, give tours of the school, and even participate in demonstrations and activities. This is a great opportunity for your son to develop his leadership and communication skills, as well as to showcase his pride in his school.
If your son is interested in participating, please complete the permission note that was given to your son last week or complete the registration on Canvas or in Woodchatta. Alternatively, please email Mrs Jennings at cjennings@stpiusx.nsw.edu.au.
YEAR 5 CAMP AND YEAR 6 CANBERRA TOUR
As you are reading this, the Year 5 students will be watching the sun start to set over the beautiful Hawkesbury River surrounding Milson Island while the Year 6 boys will be enjoying their last event of the day in Canberra. Mrs Iwatani (Year 5 Camp) and I (Year 6 Canberra Tour) will endeavour to send nightly updates once everyone is tucked up and safe and sound for the night. (Note: This is easier said than done on Milson Island – the reception is intermittent, at best!).
JUNIOR SCHOOL BIBLE LITURGY
Next Tuesday 14 March you are invited to join the Junior School in the Our Lady of Dolours Church at 10.15 am to celebrate our annual Bible Liturgy. Our new Year 5 and Year 6 students will be presented with their own Holy Bible in a special liturgy prepared by Mr Mulheron. We are all looking forward to hearing the story of when Mr Morris received his first Holy Bible.
NOTIFICATION OF STUDENT ABSENCE
Just a reminder to please advise your son’s absence from school by emailing studentmanagement@stpiusx.nsw.edu.au and copying your son’s teacher (you do not need to copy me). It is most helpful if you can remember to do this before 9.00 am.
DATES FOR THE DIARY
Tuesday 14 March | Junior School Bible Liturgy at 10.15 am at Our Lady of Dolours Church
Wednesday 15 March | NAPLAN testing period begins
Saturday 18 March | College Open Day
Thank you for your ongoing support of the Junior School.
Mrs Jill Greenwood - Head of the Junior School
da Vinci Decathlon
St Pius X College has been a regular participant of the Da Vinci Decathlon hosted by Knox Grammar. This is an academic competition that challenges students ability to think critically, creatively, and collaboratively across 10 different disciplines. Participating in this competition has provided students with a unique opportunity to showcase their talents and develop a diverse range of skills.
The 10 different disciplines are
- Art and Poetry
- Cartography
- Code Breaking
- Creative Producers – Drama
- Engineering
- English
- Ideation – generating developing and creating new ideas
- Legacy – General Knowledge
- Maths
- Science
The competition is held in Week 3 of Term 3.
This year the College is committed to ensuring that our participants are well prepared for this engaging and fulfilling event. Therefore, preparation will commence after school on Monday 20 March - Week 8 of this term. Each training session will begin at 3:30 pm and finish at 4:30 pm.
All students are welcome to attend an information session so they can be aware of the commitment required.
Suitable candidates will enjoy high level problem solving, critical and creative thinking, and must be able to work collaboratively in a team environment. Final team selection will take all these factors into account.
More information about the event can be found here. https://www.davincidecathlon.com/
If you feel your son may be suitable for this programme, please encourage him to register his interest at St Pius X College da Vinci Decathlon 2023 Nomination Form
If you have any further questions, please do not hesitate to contact me at the college
Mr Paul Cummins - Diverse Learning Teacher
Junior School Sport
ARMIDALE RUGBY
Thank you to those families who have expressed an interest in their son attending the Rugby Carnival from Friday 21 April to Sunday 23 April. It is a fabulous event with great history and tradition behind it. The carnival is a perfect opportunity for boys and their families to connect, bond, and enjoy all that Rugby has to offer. There is still time to express interest via the following link. In Week 7 a meeting will take place for those boys interested in attending.
IPSHA SWIMMING
Last week the College was represented at the IPSHA Swimming Carnival at the Sydney Olympic Park Aquatic Centre (SOPAC). Following a very early start and a warm-up in the pool, several boys were straight into the water for their first few events. Whilst there is plenty of time in between races, as is often the case with these bigger meets, it was a great opportunity for the team to soak up the atmosphere and support their mates competing. I was very proud of all swimmers who took part; they represented the College with distinction, with many achieving top four placings within their heats. Thank you to Mrs Greenwood and Mr Morris for their support throughout the day and acting as officials. Thank you also to the parents/carers who attended to support their son as I am sure they valued your presence. Whilst no boy progressed to the next round, Ben Crichton (6 Blue) was 15th ranked swimmer out of 49 boys who competed in the 50m backstroke. We congratulate the following boys for their commitment on the day:
Ben Costain, Brandon Abram, Aidan Kristianto, Patrick Butler, Max Sunjaya, Patrick Connell, Ben Crichton, Kye Ausling, Dominik Playle, Ryan Volpato, Jack Treder, Luka Hilton, Edward Harkin, Simon Kay, Aidan Burke.
IPSHA Cross Country
A reminder that the IPSHA Cross-Country Carnival is on 1 April at The King’s School, Pennant Hills Road, North Parramatta, commencing at 7:30 am until 12:30 pm. Boys who are in with a chance of competing at this event have been informed. A final squad will be announced next week.
Cross-Country Training:
When: Monday, Wednesday and Thursday mornings. Join our coaches Matthew North and Dominic Panozzo for fun, varied and challenging sessions.
Where: Beauchamp Park, Chatswood
Time: 7.15 am – 8.15 am
Who: All Senior and Junior School students in Yrs 5 - 12
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.
These sessions serve as a good opportunity to build up endurance. However, you don’t have to aspire to run in the IPSHA Carnival - all students and abilities are welcome.
And Around the Grounds...
Basketball:
*Please note the change of venue for the A to F teams versus St Augustine's
Touch Football:
Softball:
Players remember to bring, hat, water bottle, mouth guard, shin pads and to eat breakfast. Parents remember to bring a chair as many venues do not have seating.
Thursday Sport
There is no Thursday sport tomorrow due to the camp programs taking place. Thursday Sport will resume on 16 March. A reminder that we will be changing our focus on Thursday 23 March to winter sports. Now would be a good time to start arranging mouth guards and dusting off the football boots etc.
Mr Ben Ryan - Junior School Sports Coordinator
NSTA Tennis
The clouds disappeared for another amazing day of tennis today. Joseph Wilson, Henry Auer and Tyson Liu, SPX 28 as well as Micah Chan, Alex Zhang and Isaac Cheng, SPX 30 all had a great start to their weekends with both teams willing all games 18-7. Aiden Chan played a very close match against his opponent from Barker, just pipping him at the post winning 6-5, forming part of an overall win from SPX 23. The match of the morning had to be Jayden Meguerditchian vs Henry Burke. Both players were determined to win and it looked like Henry had the match in the bag until Jayden fought back to win 6-5. Well done to both boys! Thank you to our umpires for this week, Boston Bannister, Jake Yu and Adrian Yip. Although these boys are only in Years 7 and 8, they provided invaluable mentoring and help to the players on the courts today.
The 10:00 am matches went off without a hitch. They always seem a lot quieter and a lot more serious than the 8:00 am matches where we hear the excited banter of the Junior boys. Cooper and Spencer Anderson, SPX 8, dominated their games winning all 3 sets. Lucas Korth and Lachlan Yu, SPX 12 a team that was only formed this term, continued their winning streak, winning 18 games to 1. Ryan Fong, SPX 2 and Jake Yu, SPX 3 fought it out in their singles with Jake winning the tie break 7 games to 3. Thank you and well done to Alex Dal Molin who played up in division 3 and won his singles in a close match 6-5.
Just a quick reminder that everyone needs to arrive at least 15 mins before the start of play so that they can warm up. Also, don’t forget to write your first and last names on the score sheet to help the convenors when entering the scores.
Mrs Sam Iwatani - NSTA Convenor
Rugby Registration NOW OPEN
All Year 5 - 12 students wishing to play rugby are required to be registered to be included in a team, allowing the school rugby administrators & coaches to best prepare for the coming season, plus allow your P&F Rugby Club to best support and communicate with you! There are no trials or grading days, all students of different shapes, sizes and abilities can find a home within the SPX Rugby Program.
You have three options when registering:
- 2023 Rugby Season Registration + Two Day April School Holiday Clinic: $280 (cost includes season registration & access to rugby specific physio during the season + specialist coaching, transport and lunch at the April Holiday clinic held on 19 and 20 April).
- 2023 Rugby Season Registration Only: $180 (cost includes season registration & access to rugby specific physio during the season)
- Clinic only - The third option for holiday clinic only is for junior school students.
To register simply follow the trybooking link below: https://www.trybooking.com/1017694
Term 1 Rugby Dates for the Diary:
- Training starts Tuesday 14 March – Rugby Training Commences at Oxford Falls for all students Year 7-12
- Training days are Tuesday and Thursday
- Friday 24 March – Sunday 26 March - Opens Rugby Camp and TRIAL VS CCGS – Central Coast.
- Saturday 1 April – SPX vs ST ALOYISIUS – HOME- TBC
- Wednesday 19 & Thursday 20 April - School Holiday Clinic – Oxford Falls – TRYTIME RUGBY
Mr Martin Gillogly - Rugby Convenor
Rugby Club 2023 Golf Day
For Bookings please use the QR Code attached or go to:
Contact St Pius X Rugby Supporters' Committee:
From the Junior Resource Centre
International Women's Day
March is Women’s History Month with International Women’s Day celebrated on 8 March (today).
#EmbraceEquity is the 2023 theme for International Women’s Day. Pop into the JRC for IWD reading recommendations.
The Premier's Reading Challenge
Opened on Monday 27 February. Your son's username and password have been emailed to him.
Mrs Martin’s Book Trail – Secret Agent Mole – Book 1 Goldfish Finger by James Foley.
A brand-new graphic novel series by the amazing author and illustrator James Foley. Meet Max Mole, Helena Hippo and June Bug – three secret agents in training, ready to take on any task, no matter how difficult, or dangerous. Can they stop criminal mastermind, Goldfinger, from stealing a prized art piece from the New York Met – want to find out more? Pop into the JRC and borrow a copy.
#MrsMartinsBooktrail2023
Ms Elena Martin - Teacher Librarian
Junior Chess
Thank you to all the students who have expressed an interest in joining NSW Junior Chess Competition for 2023.
Registration has closed. Training begins Week 8, Tuesday 21 March at 7.30 am in the Junior Resource Centre.
Mrs Elena Martin - Junior School Chess Convenor