Junior School News 

• From the Head of the Junior School 
• Junior School Sport
• From the Junior Resource Centre
• Junior Chess
• Maths Drop-In

From the Head of the Junior School

PRAYER

A Student's Prayer for a New School Year

 Lord Jesus, I ask for Your help as I begin this new school year. 

Allow me to experience Your presence 

in the many blessings You put before me. 

Open my eyes to the new challenges and exciting opportunities 

that this new school year brings. 

Open my heart and mind to new friends and new teachers. 

Give me a generous spirit to be enthusiastic with my studies 

and courage to accept new opportunities. 

Help me to be attentive to my teachers and 

let me experience Your presence in my new friends. 

Jesus, inspire me to do my best this year.

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DAY ONE | RETURN TO SCHOOL

It was wonderful to welcome back the Junior School students on Monday.  Finally, the empty hallways and classrooms were filled with the sound of boys learning, listening, laughing … magic.

More photos from our first morning can be found at this link:

Please Note:  the link will expire at the end of February.

STAFFING

The Junior School welcomes several new staff in 2022:  Mr Antonio Morris in 6 Green, Mrs Antonella Schiller in Learning Support and Enrichment, and Mrs Bridie Barrett as an Executive Release teacher in 6 Blue and 5 Red.  I thank all the teachers - old and new - for their hard work over the holidays, preparing classrooms and programs for their students.  I feel very fortunate to be working alongside such a dedicated, and professional team.

BABY NEWS

We congratulate Mr and Mrs Morris on the very special Christmas Eve birth of baby Samuel, little brother to Theodore.

COVID-SAFE MEASURES

Thank you for understanding our need to keep the number of adults on site to a minimum at drop-off and pick-up.  We appreciate you helping to keep the boys, our staff, and community, safe.

PERSONAL LEARNING DEVICES (PLDs) 

Students received their PLDs on Tuesday and were hopefully able to set them up at home before returning to school with them today (Wednesday).  The ICT team will be on hand on Wednesday morning to iron out any bugs.

Please ensure you have read, understood, and co-signed the ACCEPTABLE USE POLICY FOR STUDENTS AND TECHNOLOGY (p17 - 18) in the diary.  This might also be an opportunity to explain expectations around the use of the boys’ PLDs both at school, and at home. 

SPORT TRIALS | OXFORD FALLS

I am very much looking forward to two days of sporting action to round out a busy week at one of my favourite Sydney sporting venues:  the Treacy Education Complex and Sporting Fields at Oxford Falls.  Mr Carroll will have more details in Sport News below.

If you wish to collect your son from Oxford Falls, please do so by 2.20 pm, as that is when the rest of us will be heading back to school on the buses.  A reminder that you can’t take another person’s child from Oxford Falls unless we have a letter or email from that child’s parent or carer granting permission.  If you are going to be collecting your son from Oxford Falls each Thursday afternoon, please send a note to your classroom teacher.  If other parents/carers might be collecting your son, please indicate that on your note. For example, “Jim Smith in 5 Red will be collected from Oxford Falls by his Mum, Dad, or occasionally Mrs Jones (Ben Moon’s Mum).” 

To enable us to keep our boys, staff, and community safe, if you are collecting your son from Oxford Falls, please park in Dreadnought Rd and walk up to wait in the Principal/Sports Master’s car parking area - as seen in red below.

Just a reminder that boys who have not been collected by 2.20 pm will return to the College on the bus and will need to make their way home as usual from there.

PARENT INFORMATION NIGHT | MONDAY FEBRUARY 7 (WEEK 2) | Online

On Friday this week, you will receive Teams links for the Junior School Parent Information Night on Monday, February 7 commencing at 6.00 pm.  This is the perfect time to ask your son’s teacher any questions about the routines and events at school.  This is not, however, the time to ask questions specific to your own son.  Those discussions will take place during Parent/Teacher meetings in Week 4.

DATES FOR THE DIARY:

WEEK 1

Thursday 3 February     Junior School Sport Trials

Friday 4 February           Junior School Sport Trials

WEEK 2

Monday 7 February       6.00 pm - 7.00 pm Parent Information Night (via Teams)  

The link to the meeting will be sent to families on Friday 4 February.

WEEK 4

Monday 21 February     Parent/Teacher Meetings (6.30 pm – 8.30 pm)

Tuesday 22 February     Commencement Mass (Oxford Falls – Students only)

Tuesday 22 February     Cyberbullying Presentation

Friday 25 February         Swimming Carnival (Macquarie Aquatic Centre)

Saturday 26 February    P & F Commencement Mass and BBQ (5.30 pm O.L.D. Church)

Thank you to those who have already volunteered to be a Class Parent representative.  I am still looking for extra parent representatives in 5 Red, 6 Blue, 6 Gold, 6 Red and 6 Green to come forward.  No experience needed!  If you are new to the school, you are very welcome to volunteer, and we have some very experienced Class Parent representatives who can show you the ropes.  Please email me: jgreenwood@stpiusx.nsw.edu.au before 7 February.

COLLEGE THEME FOR 2022

Our College Theme for this year is "OPPORTUNITY AND GROWTH”, and I have challenged the boys to grab any opportunity that comes their way – to “Have a go!”

Thank you for your ongoing support of the Junior School.

Mrs Jill Greenwood - Head of the Junior School 

Junior School Sport

Welcome to Junior Sport for 2022. Please make sure you are across details in Woodchatta each week as well as The College app, where draws and team lists will be published as soon as they are finalised. Our Saturday Sport commitments will commence on 12 February.  More details will be available in next week’s issue of Woodchatta.

Thursday Sport: We will be having Sport Days on Thursday and Friday this week. Both days will be full days at Oxford Falls for trials and students are to wear their sports uniform.

Bus Protocol:

Whilst on chartered buses all boys MUST wear a face mask at all times. Please ensure your son has one to comply with this.

From the Junior Resource Centre

Welcome to the 2022 school year. School started on Monday for our incoming Year 5 and 6 students. We all look forward to a great year of reading and learning.

NEW PARENTS AND STUDENTS

Welcome!  The JRC is such a popular place at lunchtime that we are open for:

• Year 6   On Monday and Wednesday
• Year 5   On Tuesday and Friday
• Thursday - the library is closed as students are at Oxford Falls

We would appreciate students bring a library bag for their borrowed books.  A SPX Library bag is available from the Uniform Shop.

My 2022 wish for you is summarised within the words of Neil Gaiman:

“May your coming year be filled with

Magic and 

Dreams and

Good madness.

I hope you read

Some fine books and

Kiss someone who thinks

You’re wonderful, and

Don’t forget to make some art -

Write or draw or build or sing or live as only you can. And

I hope, somewhere in the next year, you surprise yourself.”

With the mercury continuing to rise outside. There are lots of students taking advantage of the library. What a welcome back! Is it really the heat or were they missing me? #loveourlibrary #welcometo2022

This year’s stimulating library program is designed to develop students’ digital and information literacies and general literacy. Much of this learning is connected to classroom studies.

Promoting recreational reading is a big part of our program. The Junior Resource Centre offers a range of opportunities for every student to enjoy reading and to develop their appreciation of literature. 

This Year’s reading is promoted in a number of ways:

• Weekly reading’s from “Book of the Term” and Mrs Martin’s Book Trail.
• The Premier’s Reading Challenge:  March to August.
• Virtual Author visits and promotions.
• Book Week celebrations – ‘Dreaming with Eyes Open’ with studies of short-listed contenders for the ‘Children’s Book of the Year’. 20-26 August 2022.
• A visit to our next-door neighbours, Willoughby Library, with memberships on offer and the chance for our students to borrow from this world class collection.
• Students will be able to join the State Library of New South Wales online. It is open everyday and has amazing resources online or visit in person. Nothing beats a day at the library! 

LIBRARY MONITORS

Year 6 Library monitors for 2022 are Marcus Ulevik, Hamish Sullivan, Jake Yu, Jackson Byak, Oscar Requin, Sam Ford and James Hocking. Welcome to the JRC team.

NEW BOOKS

We have been busy getting lots of new resources for students, including a host of fabulous new books.

We look forward to seeing students borrowing from our tower of new books and enjoying spending time in our space.

LIBRARY LOVERS’ MONTH 2022

February is Library Lovers’ Month. The theme for Library Lovers Day 2022 is ‘Show The Love’. Students are encouraged to remember that our libraries are a place where we can get lost in an idea we are following, find an adventure we are seeking in a book, discover more about an issue we feel passionate about or get help from someone about something we want to know. Let’s celebrate and re-engage with our library and 'show the love'. Lots of activities are happening in the JRC. Watch this space! #LibraryLoversDay2022 

Mrs Martin’s Book Trail 

‘The Wild Guide to Starting School’ by Laura Bunting and Philip Bunting is just hilarious and so on point. There is not a negative thing to say about this book. Familiar characters, all the essentials for starting school from getting ready, saying goodbye, making friends and getting to know your teacher and school are all there. This is certainly going to be read and loved by so many students. #MrsMartinsBooktrail2022 #backtoschool 2022

   Mrs Elena Martin – Teacher Librarian

Junior School Chess Club

The NSW Junior Chess Competition is pleased to invite the SPX Junior School to take part in the 2022 Primary Schools Chess Teams Competition. 

WHY CHESS? There are tremendous benefits for children involved in the competition – new outlook, new friends, intellectual stimulation, improved concentration, a new reason to develop self-esteem. Registration closes Monday 21 February 2022. Attached is a Chess Newsletter with all the relevant information if your son is interested, please complete the form, detach and hand it to Mrs Martin by Week 4, Monday 21 February, 2022. Training begins Week 8, Tuesday 22 March 2022 at 7.30 am in the Junior Resource Centre.

Mrs Elena Martin - Junior School Chess Convenor 

Maths Drop-In Years 5 - 6

Junior Maths Drop-In will launch on Friday 18 February. This session will run from 8.00 am - 8.40 am in The Learning Enrichment Room.

This will be an ideal place for extra revision or taking the time to get support if need. Come along and be part of the team.

Mrs Amanda Fileman - Year 6 Teacher