Pastoral Care and Old Boys' News
- Rotary Youth Driver Awareness Course
- Study Skills
- GPs in Schools
- Red Dirt Expedition Immersion
- Vale Anthony Mustaca OAM
In a busy week across our College’s Pastoral Care programs I am pleased to report on our young men’s positive engagement and learning within the contexts of:
RYDA Workshop
The Year 11 cohort attended the RYDA (Rotary Youth Driver Awareness) Workshop last Thursday at the Honda (HART) training centre in St Ives. An informative and engaging course, the excursion outlined our responsibility as road citizens and the need to take action in maintaining the safety of our roads as both drivers and passengers. The course included the confronting statistics of road accidents, the habits that drivers and passengers should develop in maximising safety, as well as personal experiences of car incidents presented by Senior Constable Lynda Hart. Overall, the RYDA workshop was an eye-opening and memorable program.
Fergus Fung (Year 11)
Year 12 You Choose
In a similarly hard hitting but timely intervention before the holidays, on Monday Year 12 participated a You Choose presentation in the Sarto Centre, which focused on the choices on the road and elsewhere in our lives which can have lasting ramifications for our families and friends.
Year 7-12 Study Skills with Dr Prue Salter of Enhanced Learning
This week Dr Prue Salter from Enhanced Learning Educational Services (www.enhanced-learning.net) ran a study skills evening with Year 7 parents and students. The evening helped families assess what changes could be made to help students move towards achieving their personal best efficiently and effectively.
Families examined the following areas: home study environment, the way they organise and manage their resources, how to work effectively at home and deal with distractions and how to manage the workload in high school. Families also have access to a video how the steps to studying in high school: making study notes, learning the notes by testing yourself, and doing as much practise as possible.
Parents are encouraged to review the slides and handout from the session with students and discuss the main areas identified where changes need to be made. www.enhanced-learning.net - click on Parents and Students - Click on 7. Download Slides. Scroll to the bottom of the page for the links to the slides and other resources referred to during the presentation. Password for slides: achieve
Parents can also find extra study skills tips on the following website: http://studyskillstoptipsparents.com/. All secondary students at our school also have access to a great study skills website to help students develop their skills. Go to www.studyskillshandbook.com.au and enter the username: spx and the password: 25success and start improving your results today!
Please see Mr Brannan if you would like an additional copy of Dr Salter’s Enhanced Learning Educational Services “Tools for Success" booklet.
GPs in Schools
Meanwhile our Year 10 students on Tuesday were fortunate to have privileged access to the Sydney North Health Network “GPs in Schools” program when no less than 10 GPs and health professionals shared their wealth of knowledge and answered the small group (10 - 12 students) questions on contemporary health issues and access to health care and advice throughout their lives. This again is an invaluable program which is highly valued by our students and community. I thank long term leader and advocate Mrs Jenni Curtis, and facilitator Izzy Barquin, who knows our students well having attended OLGC and Mercy College, for enabling us to run this initiative again at St Pius in 2023.
Year 10 had a great afternoon to follow with their triple PDHPE period at Oxford Falls courtesy of PDHPE staff and our Ground staff Ron Noort, Trent Willoughby and Joe Colgan.
Red Dirt Immersion Expedition
Departs Sunday morning at 5:00 am to listen to story and learn from the cultural sites, communities and schools of remote North Western NSW.
It promises to be cold at night in the Warrumbungles particularly, so clothing layers will be the order of the day, but we look forward to the rich experiences and deep listening of Daddirri ahead! On Monday we heard from Old Boy Jonty Harris (Class of 2014) who is an agronomist working in the wheat farms outside Goondiwindi, whose family in Coonabarabran and Baradine had alerted us to our trip to Walgett, Brewarrina and Bourke. The SPX careers office leads to some exotic places!
Bingara Exchange
Best wishes to Jack Fairbanks and Isaac Donlevy who complement our Red Dirt Reconciliation Action Plan initiatives by joining the Willoughby – Bingara Nth NSW Council Youth Exchange to visit the annual Bingara Happy Days Orange Festival and pay our respects to the Wirrayaray People at the Myall Creek Massacre site in Week 2 of the holidays before they reciprocally host Bingara Council youth to the Willoughby festival later in Term 3. We look forward to Jack and Isaac sharing their learning and experiences with our RAP Team and community in Term 3.
Vale Anthony Mustaca OAM and Knight of the Republic of Italy
The College was saddened to learn of the passing of a great servant of the Willoughby City community on 11 June, in St Pius X College Old Boy, former Councillor and Deputy Mayor Anthony Mustaca. Born in Casignana, Calabria, Italy on 1st September 1944, Anthony emigrated to Australia in 1956. His services to the community were recognised in the awarding of an OAM and Knighthood of the Republic of Italy!
He is survived by his loving wife Heather, 6 daughters, and many grandchildren, one of whom, Maximus, follows a long list of many close friends and relatives, including Anthony, to have attended St Pius X College.
Vale Anthony Mustaca OAM
Rest in Peace.
In closing I would like to wish well, and thank the entire St Pius X College community, students, staff and parents, and particularly those who supported my two week, mid Term 2 sabbatical to attend the wedding of my wife’s cousin Donatella in Southern Italy. It was a wonderful celebration of my wife Paola’s family, and the timeless story of the Cicero clan on the cobblestone streets of Martina-Franca, Ostuni, and Gallipoli, Puglia. I learned a great appreciation of value of the ancient sense of story, family, and journey which we all share. And I got to swim in at Gallipoli, Italy. Although I think I may have followed another longstanding tradition in landing on “the wrong beach”.
Wishing a great, shared, and richly cohesive winter break to all the families of St Pius X College.
Fide et Labore
Mr Sean Brannan - Assistant Principal Pastoral Care