Junior School News & Sport

• Junior School News and Information
• Junior School Sport

Welcome to all the new and ‘recycled’ parents to St Pius X College.  Every year is a busy start and it isn’t unusual for a boy to be unsure about what is happening.  Your job as a parent is to reassure your son(s) that everything is okay and that he is in a safe place where the teachers will answer questions and look after him.  Within a few weeks your son will be accustomed to his new surroundings and will have settled in.  We do have a lot of sport at the beginning of the year as we have more new boys than ‘old’ boys in the Junior School and we have 7 days to have them organised for their Saturday sporting competition.  If you can visit the swimming carnival you will see how quickly the boys develop their sense of belonging to a team. There are many opportunities for the boys to get involved in various activities such as a variety of sports, music, chess, public speaking, debating and the robotics group at the College.  We ask that every boy does his best and gives 100%.

You should have received an email from myself last week so you may recognise some of the following information.  If you didn’t receive this email you will need to check that your email address is correct on our database.  Please go to the College website, click on Enrolment and scroll down to 'Update Family Contact Details'.  Please update your email address, as every year we have people who make typographical errors or they have changed their email address in the interim.

Tomorrow your son will attend in full school uniform (tie, polished black shoes etc).  We will line up at 8.30am and move into the Gym. Parents are most welcome to come in and listen to a few speeches.  Thank you to the P&F who are putting on a cup of tea where we can have a chat afterwards.

Below is the Prayer which will begin our session in the Gym tomorrow.

UPCOMING EVENTS

I have explained about upcoming events in an email and in the document above.  I would also  like to add a bit more information the daily processes in the College, the acronyms in education and 'who is who' with the teachers.

PARENT INFORMATION NIGHT FOR YEARS 5 AND 6:  Next Monday evening 4 February there will be an Information Night commencing at 6.00pm sharp.  The meeting will commence in two separate venues:

Year 5 parents will go upstairs to the  classrooms and Year 6 parents will go to the Sarto Centre. (The Sarto Centre is a former church and is located north of the school entrance on Anderson Street, on the corner of Daisy street.) The class teachers will explain how the classrooms operate, homework, expectations, etc. 

Due to limited space, boys are not to attend this information night.  Parking is available in the College playground.  Year 7 parents also have a meeting commencing at 7.00pm in the College Gym and there have been occasions in the past where somebody has been parked in.  If you are a Year 6 parent there is limited parking at the Sarto Centre, entering off Anderson Street. 

On the night we will ask for volunteers to be the Class/Year Representatives for the P&F.  This usually involves organising social events and assisting the  P&F to disseminate information by email. 

MASS:  The school Commencement Mass will be held at Our Lady of Dolours Church on Tuesday 12 February at 10.00am and it is a very intimate (that is, packed!) affair with the Junior School sitting on the Sanctuary around the Altar. 

The P&F Mass on Saturday 16 February at 5.30 pm is a great way to meet other families and there is plenty of room.  All are very welcome to attend (you don’t have to be Catholic - Catholic means universal anyway) and after Mass the P&F serve refreshments/supper in the playground.

It is a great way to meet other parents over a beverage while the children enjoy the food and running around the playground.

COMMUNICATION:  Communication is important. I will occasionally send an emailed message but the College newsletter 'Woodchatta' is the main form of communication.  Woodchatta is published on the web page every Wednesday and you will receive an email each Wednesday afternoon containing a link to the newsletter.  It is also readily available on the College Website http://www.spx.nsw.edu.au/ and the College App so don’t forget to access Woodchatta every Wednesday.  The App is an important communication tool - details on how to download the App is available on the 'Upcoming Events' page of this newsletter. 

The Student Diary is another important form of communication.  Please peruse it regularly and sign it weekly.  If during the course of the year you do need to speak to your son’s teacher or myself please write in the diary, phone the office or send an email and we will organise a mutually agreeable time.

If you need to leave an urgent message for your son please phone the Office (9411 4733) but only in an emergency, as the office staff can’t be running around after over 1100 boys.  If the message is after lunch or on a Thursday after Period 2, it may be difficult to guarantee that it will get through to its destination.  Please don’t leave an urgent message on my answering machine as I may not get it in time.

IF YOU DON’T RECEIVE EMAIL COMMUNICATION  If you don’t receive this newsletter by email today, you will need to upgrade your email address by submitting your details in the following way: 

• Open the SPX website home page http://www.spx.nsw.edu.au/
• Click on the dropdown menu – 'Enrolment Information'
• Click on 'Update Family Contact Details'  and make necessary changes
• Click 'Submit'.

In this way we should avoid any typographical errors or mistakes in interpreting handwriting. 

THE SCHOOL DAY

Students are required to be on the school premises on school days no later than 8.35am and will be dismissed at 3 pm.  On a Thursday the boys are dismissed as soon as their bus arrives at school so the time may vary from 2.45pm to 3.00pm.  The bell to start the day rings at 8.37am on a Monday and Friday and 8.42 am for the other days.  These different bell times relate to Mandatory Hours for courses in the secondary school.

Some parents choose to collect their sons from Oxford Falls on Thursdays and they wait in the Oxford Falls car park at 2.15 pm.  Obviously the first sports day is an exception as many parents will come to see the facilities and enjoy afternoon tea from 1.30pm in the Falls Room. 

Should you wish to collect you son or have another parent collect your son from Oxford Falls on Thursdays, a note will need to be given to your son’s class teacher by Thursday morning.  If this is going to be a regular occurrence then please state this in the note and there will be no need for further notes unless the arrangements change.  We will walk the boys to the car park.  If you aren’t in the car park by the time we load the last bus the boys will be brought back to school.

JUNIOR SCHOOL CLASSES & TEACHERS FOR 2019

Head of Junior School:  Mr Timothy Long

Junior School Curriculum Coordinator:  Ms Samantha Iwatani

Junior School Sportsmaster:  Mr Greg Virgona

Junior School Teachers:

5 Gold:                    Ms Jenny Williams

5 Red:                      Mr Terrance Patterson

5 Blue:                     Mr Glen Carroll

6 Gold:                    Mr Chris Ure

6 Red:                      Mr Paul Cummins

6 Blue:                     Ms Samantha Iwatani

6 Green:                  Mr Michael Simpson

Teacher/Librarian:            Ms Elena Martin (Mon, Tues, Wed and Fri)

Learning Enrichment:     Ms Bettina Spanyik (Mon, Tues, Wed and Fri)

                                                  Ms Mary Doheny (Tues, Wed and Fri)

                                                  Ms Bridie Barrett (Tues, Wed and Fri)

I would like to take this opportunity to thank Mrs Deb Cummins for her work with the boys.  During the holidays Deb gained a teaching position at CBHS Lewisham.  We are very fortunate to welcome Mr Chris Ure to the staff who will be teaching Year 6 this year.  

Junior Sport

Thursday Sport: Below is the Term 1 Thursday Sport diary. Our first Sport day is this Friday, in lieu of our normal Thursday timeslot (see below). Please note the early departure times for the first three weeks and thus the need for a full packed lunch.

Summer Sport Trials Day:  On Friday 1 February and Thursday 7 February the boys will spend the entire school day at Oxford Falls. The purpose of these days is to familiarise the boys with the facilities, inform them of sporting expectations at SPX, conduct summer sport trials for Basketball, Softball, Tennis, Touch Football and build early peer friendships. Cricket training will take place for boys currently in a team and any new boys who will be playing in Term 4 and are not doing another Saturday sport in Term 1 can join this training.

• Dress:  College sports uniform with hat (sunscreen is always provided at school)
• Bring:  Recess, lunch, drink (no canteen available), tennis racquet if trialling for tennis
• Transport: Students are required at school normal time. Parents may collect their son from Oxford Falls at 2.20pm or they will return to Chatswood for dismissal.
• Afternoon Tea:  Parents are invited to attend on Friday 1 February from 1.30pm for a welcome afternoon tea.

College App: If you have not already done so please download the St Pius X College App on your phone.  Instructions can be found on the 'Upcoming Events' page of this newsletter.  Go to Settings -Subscriptions to tag the sports you wish to receive notices for.  Also, tag the ‘General’ sports notices option so that you receive the notices pertinent to all students.

Twitter / Wet Weather Procedure:  Follow @SPXJuniorSport for instant updates regarding late sporting changes, cancellations etc. Full details here.

Swimming Carnival:  Our House Carnival will take place on Wednesday 6 February at Macquarie University Aquatic Centre and parental support and assistance would be greatly appreciated. A separate note and program for this event have been uploaded to the College App.

Basketball: The first game of the 6 week, Term 1 season begins on Saturday 9 February. Boys will be notified of their team and issued a singlet on Thursday/Friday next week after our final session of trials. All relevant information will be uploaded to the College App. Please ensure boys are correctly attired in College-only uniform and at their venue 20 mins prior to tip-off.

Softball: The first game of the 6 week, Term 1 season begins on Saturday 9 February. All relevant information will be uploaded to the College App. Wet weather procedures will be in place (as per the season draw and information letter). Please ensure boys are correctly attired in College-only uniform, have protective equipment and are at the venue 20 mins prior to commencement time.

NSTA Tennis:  Rd 1 is on Saturday 16 February. Boys will be notified of their team and will be given further team, draw and venue details once the Competition grading has been released. The summer competition is graded and run in conjunction with the Senior School. Boys are graded in ability groups and grading may transcend year groups. Please check under NSTA Tennis in the Senior School Sport section for future correspondence.  If there are any urgent questions before this time please do not hesitate to contact Mrs Iwatani via siwatani@stpiusx.nsw.edu.au

Touch Football:  We will be running Touch Football games this term. Whilst this is not an official IPSHA sport yet,  we will arrange games with  few schools, some hosted by us at Oxford Falls and others Away. This will be our first time playing competitive Touch Football at St Pius X College. More information will be forthcoming shortly.

Mr Greg Virgona - Junior School Sportsmaster