From the Acting Deputy Principal

• Athletics Carnivals and Attendance
• Travelling to and from School
• Mr Anderson’s Canon Photography Extension Group
• Year 10 Vaccinations
• Iftar Interfaith Dinner
• Pastoral Care and Subject Reports
• School Photographs
• Student Counselling

Athletics Carnivals and Attendance

The great teamwork and positive spirit at the Athletics Carnivals this week overrode the damp conditions and slow track to ensure a highly participated successful community day led by our Sportsmasters Mr Stearn and Mr Virgona, our Year 12 students and staff.  IT was pleasing that despite the winter conditions there was a high level of attendance and involvement. The Year 12 Leaders and Mr Casey impersonators, in particular, showed positive evidence of creativity and planning, and did much to set a positive tone for the day. Well done to students, staff, parents, and officials, and thanks to Sydney Olympic Park Athletic Centre for an excellent venue and community building day.

Those students who were not in attendance, and are yet to communicate the reason, please do so, with a medical certificate or justification, to Homeroom Pastoral Care staff, Year Coordinators or email to Student Management: studentmanagement@stpiusx.nsw.edu.au on the day of or immediately after any absence.

Attendance at all school events and learning days is acknowledged on School Reports as mandated by the NESA (New South Wales Educations Standards Authority). As such parent or guardian verified reasons for absences, on any dates a student is away from school activities, need to be on the record. There are a number of students with several days absent unjustified over Semester 1, and every effort needs to be made to reconcile these before the end of term.

Travelling to and from School

Many of our students are in positive habits of thinking, learning, training and patterns of study, arriving before school to complete co-curricular training and / or study in venues such as the Resource Centre and Senior Study rooms. Similarly many students remain after school to complete their studies and training in available venues including Willoughby Library.

However, with the winter season, and activities such as the Vivid Light Show, upon us it timely to remind students and parents that our policy is:   that students are to make their way directly to and from school for safety and learning purposes. No loitering is permitted in large groups, or deviating from direct purposeful travel. Certainly Years 5–11 students are not to be in Westfield and Chatswood Chase unless in the company of their parent.

Mr Anderson’s Canon Photography Extension Group

A small group of Photography students and parents braved the wintry conditions with Mr Anderson, Ms Doyle, and Emma, our Canon Photography Mentor, on Tuesday evening. They made their way back to school after travelling home from the Athletics Carnival and benefitted from the wet conditions to experiment with low light ISO film speed, F stop aperture adjustments, and shutter speed, to record some artistic impressions of our local environment in this context.

Lachlan Donlevy (Year 11), Adrian Tuersley (Year 9) and Tom Conaghan (Year 7) were well performed photographers on a wet evening.

Year 10 Vaccinations

Thank you to Mr Pawlak who coordinated our Year 10 Meningococcal Vaccinations in Mr Carroll’s 5 Blue Classroom today vacated through the Junior Athletics Carnival. With catch up vaccinations also for several Year 7, 8 and 9 students, these vaccinations have been moved from Year 11 to facilitate earlier immunisation. Year 10 students faced the challenge with due composure and had the opportunity to prepare for State of Origin this evening by confronting Mr Carroll’s pro-Queensland Origin corner.

Iftar Interfaith Dinner

15 Students from Year 11 and Year 8 will represent us, along with our Mercy College counterparts, at an Iftar Interfaith Dinner celebrating the conclusion of Ramadan this evening at Amity College, Prestons. This important event also celebrates our connection with members of Sydney’s Muslim community, through Amity College.

Our Year 7 Religious Education students have articulated, through email communication, our values and characteristics as a Catholic school in the tradition of Edmund Rice Education and I am sure our student representatives tonight will give a good account of themselves and learn from the hospitality and culture of our generous hosts.

Pastoral Care and Subject Reports

At this stage of the semester, students should be working with staff to communicate and refine details of their learning progress, aspirations, achievements, personal development, and co-curricular involvement, for the purposes of Semester Reports. Students should contribute positively to this process with their own evaluation of their own progress, and take ownership of their learning and development by reviewing the report, and setting formative goals.

The Student Diary Planner incorporates many stimulus activities for helping to develop positive psychology and a growth mindset in the domain of personal performance. It provides a good starting point for analysis of student planning, and the development of cultures of thinking and higher order learning.

Aristotle is often paraphrased as explaining, “We are what we consistently do: that excellence is not an act but a habit”.   Let us form the habits that will help us most effectively now!

School Photographs

Parents and students are reminded that School Photographs will be taken on Friday 15th June and uniform including shoes, grey / dark socks, blazers, buttons and belts need to be polished / in good order.  Haircuts and general grooming need to be attended to by this time.

With the annual “Away” rugby match at Kinross-Woloroi School on Saturday 16th, Friday departures should be delayed until after Period 4 to accommodate cohort photographs in the morning.

College Counselling

Please be informed that Mr Russo, our College Lead Counsellor, is currently on leave.  However Ms McCarthy and Ms Gill, two trained and highly qualified members of our Counselling Team, have kindly made themselves available to ensure we have counselling expertise each day of the school cycle. 

• Mrs Gill:  Monday/Tuesday/Wednesday/Friday
• Ms McCarthy:  Wednesday/Thursday/Friday

Pastoral care programs typically run by Mr Russo (such as Boxercise and Peer Mentoring, including the upcoming and much awaited Handball World Series) will continue, supported by our lead students and staff working together.

Mr S Brannan - Acting Deputy Principal