Junior School News & Sport
Book Week Parade
- Junior School News and Information
- Year 6 Chinese Market Shopping Experience
- Debating
- Highlights from the Junior Resource Centre
- Junior School Sport
PRAYER: Today - 21 August - is the Feast Day for St Pius X. We will be celebrating this event on Monday 2 September with a holiday and the College will be closed, so please ensure you have planned for this day. St Pius X (Giuseppe Sarto) lowered the age when people could receive communion to 7, so that children could also receive communion. And so we pray:
Ever present God, We look to our patron saint, Pope Pius X,
to help us “Restore all things in Christ”.
May Your Holy Spirit inspire us to honour the sacred in all creation.
Unite us, as we build a community founded on respect
and strengthened by diversity.
Inspire us to serve You, through our service to others.
Challenge us to strive for excellence so that we may face the future
with courage and hope.
We ask this through Jesus Christ, Our Lord.
Amen.
CONGRATULATIONS!
Congratulations to Sam Doherty for being selected in the Sydney Swans Academy. Well done.
Congratulations to Isaac Donlevy who received a Principal's Award from Mr Couani. He is the first boy this year to receive such an award.
BOOK WEEK: Matt Lin, an illustrator, visited the boys on Tuesday and according to all accounts they really enjoyed themselves.
This morning we held the Book Week Parade. Batman (Mr Simpson) compered the event and Br Carl and Mrs Andrena Brewer were our esteemed judges. Thank you to all the parents for their assistance in preparing the boys for this fun event and well done to the staff who dressed up! The theme was Reading is my secret power. Thank you to Mrs Martin for organising this event, to Mr Stephen Cummins for being 'Mr Music' and to Mrs Bradley for taking the photos and creating the link below. I think it was the best book week parade we have held. Please read more details in the Junior Resource section below.
Link to all Book Week Parade photos:
https://drive.google.com/open?id=1RN4gyL_LeE1W50jgwrLtAp8JDmfpwXCX
SPORT: This week is the Walkathon so please encourage the boys to collect sponsors on their sheets. The boys have until next week to start bringing in their sponsorship money with their Sponsor Form. Thank you for your support of this endeavour. Next week is the Grandfather, Father and Son sporting afternoon.
JUNIOR SCHOOL FATHER AND SON SPORTING AFTERNOON: Next week's sport on Thursday 29 August will be the Father and Sons sporting afternoon. Grandfathers are fathers and are most welcome to attend, or in some case it may be a significant uncle that can attend. They can be involved or spectate and enjoy a sausage sizzle at the conclusion.
Gentlemen - start stretching and make sure you have the ice ready for after the event. If your body is bit battered, we do have table tennis.
Thank you to the mothers who have emailed me offering to assist with the barbeque. If you didn’t receive the push notification from Mr Virgona via the College App, please follow the link in the attached letter.
FATHER'S DAY BREAKFAST: A St Pius X College tradition, the Father's Day breakfast is always well attended and a lot of fun for all boys and dads. The P&F asks for a $7 contribution per family to cover the costs of bacon and egg rolls, muffins, juice and coffee. Details can be found on the invitation below.
RSVP via www.trybooking.com/FLVW
Volunteer to come along and assist with set up and serving for the Father’s Day Breakfast via:
https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/13fEW6Tmoxd28ZldB7mNpZbkrSLPEOjBiGI4ejHBCAfo/edit?usp=sharing
TRIVIA NIGHT: It was great to see so many parents attending the Trivia night. Thank you for your support. All the money raised goes back to your children through the respective clubs. This is our only fund raising activity for the school each year and I hope you all enjoyed yourselves. The ‘Bogan’ table won the night which is a bit of a worry, and the outfits people wore were very interesting. I now know what your 'Sunday best' looks like!
SCIENCE WEEK AT SPX: Next week is Science Week and there will be various activities that your son can get involved in at lunchtimes from Monday to Wednesday. All students are encouraged to visit the Science Department to celebrate SPX Science Week. Please see the flyer below to see what activities are on offer each day.
PRESENTATION NIGHTS: Please note the starting time is 5.30 pm (not 6 pm as in previous years)
Please note that the presentation nights for the Junior School will commence at 5.30 pm in the Sarto Centre which is the old church on the corner of Daisy Street and Anderson Street in Chatswood, just north of the College. The 5.30pm start will allow parents with boys in the Senior School to attend the Senior School presentation at 7.00pm in the Chatswood campus gymnasium. Parking is available in the school playground but please be aware senior school parents will also be parking in the playground and may block your exit. The dates for the Presentation nights can be found below.
TERM 3 DATES:
- Monday 19 August - Book Week begins
- Monday 26 August - Science Week begins
- Tuesday 27 August – Rugby Presentation Night: Junior School begins 5.30pm/Senior School 7pm
- Wednesday 28th August – Year 5 Taroonga Zoo excursion
- Thursday 29 August - Junior School Father & Son Day at Oxford Falls starts at 11.45am and concludes at 2.15pm. Dads and Grandads - keep the day free. Mums and Grandmothers are needed to assist Mr Long to cook a lot of sausages!
- Monday 2 September: SPX Feast Day Holiday - COLLEGE CLOSED
- Tuesday 3 September: Canteen will be closed and no orders taken due to Year 10 Market Day.
- Wednes
Year 6 Chinese Market Shopping Experience
Year 6 are currently undertaking a unit of work on “Shopping for My Favourite Foods”. During Mandarin lessons, the boys had the opportunity to put their new Mandarin language skills into practice by mimicking a Chinese Market scenario. Year 6 boys had to put on their thinking caps in order to earn the most money as a ‘Store Owner’, and to buy the most items at the cheapest price as a ‘Customer’ on a budget.
Prior to this experience, the boys had learned some shopping vocabulary such as fruits and vegetables, number and weight of items, and asking and responding to questions about the cost of items.
On completion of the weekly homework tasks, the boys built the resources needs for creating their shop, such as the items sold and their shop sign.
Some comments from Year 6 boys:
- “I enjoyed it because I got to have fun with my friends and learn how to shop in Chinese. This included learning how to say fruits and the currency name.” – Jordan Papastamatis
- “I enjoyed the experience because we got to have fun shopping and got to learn the language better.” – Liam Gallagher
- “I enjoyed it because it made me think I was in a real life situation in China ordering some fruits.” – Fergus Humphreys
- “I liked the shopping because we learnt to communicate in a Chinese shopping situation and got to use our brains to set good prices.” – Daniel Hawkins.
- “The Chinese shopping lesson was a fun lesson teaching us how to speak Chinese in a fun exciting and realistic manner. 5/5 stars.” – John Badger-Rahme
Here are photos of the boys’ ongoing hard work. Well done Year 6!
Ms Leanne Ho – Language Teacher
Junior Debating
We witnessed another captivating round of competent debating on Friday 16 August. The debate was held at St Pius, and we welcomed eight young ladies and their teacher, Ms Crewe, from John Colet School, Belrose to argue That parents should not give pocket money to their children.
Our Affirmative Team consisting of James Thomson, Adam Fitrzyk and Anthony Parissis argued convincingly that pocket money should not be given to children because of the negative impact the value of money has on a child. We were pleased to have won. Congratulations St Pius!
Isaac Donlevy, Robert Oner and Luke Mortimer represented the Negative Team. These boys brought forward many appropriate reasons why children should have pocket money … that it teaches many life skills. However, the Affirmative Team from John Colet argued well and managed a win for themselves. Congratulations girls!
Round 7 Debate will take place at Oxford Falls Grammar School on Friday 30 August. Parents are welcome to attend.
Ms Antonella Schiller
Highlights from the Junior Resource Centre
CBCA Book Week 17 -23 August 2019: Book Week 2019 celebrations began with all classes participating in Matthew Lin’s drawing workshops. The boys learnt how to draw Manga from a pro! Illustrator and graphic designer. Matthew Lin shared his tips and tricks with his easy step-by-step instructions in his drawing workshops.
Congratulations to the winners (and Honour Book and Short – List) of this year’s CBCA children’s books for 2019! It’s been a big year!
A new activity that the boys are really into before school and at lunch time … building a house of CARDS.
Guessing Competition Winners: Congratulations to our first five winners of the guessing competition: Luka Senicic, Oliver Butler, Joshua Paul, Hugo Godfrey and Liam Godfrey.
- Answer: Ada Lovelace – The Trailblazer who wrote the first COMPUTER code.
How she changed the world: Ada Lovelace not only wrote the first computer program, she also got people thinking about the kinds of things computers could do. “That brain of mine is something more than merely mortal, as time will show.” – Ada Lovelace
HAPPY BOOK WEEK! Book Week Character Parade
Book Week is a great opportunity for parents to connect their children with whatever it is that they enjoy reading. What a fantastic way to honour Book Week as students, parents, teachers and Principals put together amazing costumes and shared their inspirational book and character. Many thanks to Mrs Andrena Brewer and Br Carl Sherrin for being Judges at the Book Week Parade and to Mr Stephen Cummins for the music.
Happy Reading from “The Enchantress of Numbers” ... Ada Lovelace.
Book Week Parade photos are available via:
https://drive.google.com/open?id=1RN4gyL_LeE1W50jgwrLtAp8JDmfpwXCX
Mrs Martin’s Book Trail: His Name Was Walterby Emiily Rodda PRC 582769
‘Once upon a time, in a dark city far away, there lived a boy called Walter, who had nothing but his name to call his own ….’
The hand written book, with its vivid illustrations, has been hidden in the deserted mansion for a long, long time. Tonight, an ill-assorted group of kids and their teacher will find it. As the night closes in, the haunting story of Walter and the mysterious, tragic girl called Sparrow will be read – right to the very end … at last. High fantasy, magical reality and a mystery to be solved, my three great loves!! #MrsMartinsbooktrail.
Premier’s Reading Challenge 2019: A reminder that the PRC finishes at midnight on Friday 31 August 2019.
Happy Reading!
Mrs Elena Martin - Junior Librarian
Junior Sport
Thursday Sport: at Oxford Falls. Our Charity Walkathon takes place and so no other structured sport this week.
Father and Son Sports Day: On Thursday 29 August we will hold our annual Father and Son Sports Day at Oxford Falls. We look forward to welcoming dads, grand-dads and male relations to this fantastic wider school community event. Arrival is 11.30am for an 11.45am start time. A BBQ lunch will follow at 1.15pm.
Students require normal PE clothes and will be active, irrespective of their father’s participation. We also require mums/non-participants to assist with feeding such a large, ravenous horde. To register as an attending Father/Grandfather or helping mum please click on this link and complete the relevant form here.
Athletics: There were some great individual and team performances at our first two carnivals. Our season continues with the Barker Carnival this Saturday, followed by the IPSHA selection Carnival next Monday 26 August. All relevant information is on the College App and also the Senior Sports page. Good luck to all athletes.
Cricket: All players wishing to play for the College this summer must register online by clicking here. Thursday training resumes on 5 September. Players can bring their own gear and at the least should have a protector. The school does provide most items for training if required.
Rugby Presentation Evening: takes place for all players on Tuesday 27 August from 5.30pm – 6.45pm (allowing parents to attend the Senior Presentation in the Gym from 7.00pm). It will be held in the Sarto Centre and boys will be required to wear school uniform. All players will be acknowledged on stage for their season’s efforts and major award winners will be presented.
Mr Greg Virgona - Junior School Sportsmaster
NSTA Tennis: Applications for Term 4 NSTA have now officially closed. The teams are currently being decided and once the Junior School trials have been completed a draft team list should be available.
Term 4 games will begin on the first Saturday - 19 October - and finish on 23 November 2019.
Mrs Sam Iwatani - Convenor