Junior School News
From the Head of Junior School
Welcome to the first Woodchatta of 2026 and thank you for finding your way to the Junior School section. Here you’ll find important information, key dates and learning highlights to support your family through what promises to be a busy and engaging Term 1.
It was a pleasure to meet new families and reconnect with familiar faces last Thursday, and again at our Information Evening on Monday. These early opportunities to connect are an important part of building the strong partnership between home and school that underpins successful learning. I hope the evening provided a clear picture of the year ahead and the exciting learning journey your son is about to begin. If questions arise at any stage, please don’t hesitate to contact your son’s classroom teacher. Working together makes a meaningful difference to every child’s growth and confidence.
WOODCHAT
Woodchat is the place to go for busy families who just want the facts, fast! Each week, Woodchat will be at the top of the Junior School newsletter section and if you read it and action anything that needs to be actioned, you won’t need to read the rest of the newsletter until you find time.
TO BE ACTIONED AS SOON AS POSSIBLE
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YEAR 6 CANBERRA TOUR MEDICAL AND DIETARY INFORMATION
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JUNIOR SCHOOL STAFF 2026
Head of Junior School
Mrs Jill Greenwood
Junior School Reception
Mrs Bridget Hawthorne bhawthorne@stpiusx.nsw.edu.au
5 Green – Mr Callum Montgomerie (Leader of Learning)
cmontgomerie@stpiusx.nsw.edu.au
5 Gold – Ms Belinda Hodges bhodges@stpiusx.nsw.edu.au
5 Red – Mr Matthew Makhoul mmakhoul@stpiusx.nsw.edu.au
5 Blue – Mrs Tiffany Anderson tanderson@stpiusx.nsw.edu.au
6 Green – Mr Chris Nouragas (Leader of Learning)
6 Gold – Mrs Bridie Barrett bbarrett@stpiusx.nsw.edu.au
6 Red - Mr Matthew Buda mbuda@stpiusx.nsw.edu.au
6 Blue – Ms Lana Shaba lshaba@stpiusx.nsw.edu.au
Please ensure that questions related to your son are directed, in the first instance, to your son’s classroom teacher.
If you have additional concerns that have not been addressed by your classroom teacher, please contact your son’s Leader of Learning (Mr Montgomerie in Year 5 and Mr Nouragas in Year 6).
TEACHING AND LEARNING
It was fantastic to see students in 5 Red already deeply engaged in a hands-on building challenge last week. Using only spaghetti sticks and marshmallows, they set out to design and construct the tallest free-standing structure they could. Along the way, students demonstrated impressive teamwork, clear communication and creative problem-solving, while putting their engineering thinking to the test. Activities like this highlight how collaboration and persistence help turn great ideas into reality.
YEAR 5 CAMP | YEAR 6 CANBERRA TOUR
Both Year 5 Camp and Year 6 Canberra Information letters were emailed over the last few days. Please make sure you read the letters and complete registration as soon as possible.
Year 6 Medical and Dietary Information Form:
Canberra Excursion: Medical and Dietary Information 2026 – Fill in form
QUICK REFERENCE GUIDE
You will have received a lot of information from a range of sources, so I will repeat some of it here as a quick reference:
PIUS APP
Make sure you download to your mobile device.
https://apps.apple.com/au/app/st-pius-x/id1498569584?ls=1
From the Pius App you will be able to access:
NEWSLETTER
Woodchatta – you’re reading it now! Woodchatta is the College’s weekly newsletter. Woodchatta is also emailed to parents and students each Thursday.
CALENDAR
The College calendar.
CANVAS
Student learning platform
SENTRAL
Student management system – this is where you will log student absences
CLIPBOARD
Your home for everything related to Sport and cocurricular activities (eg Band, Debating, Chess etc).
For any questions related to Clipboard or Junior School sport, please contact the Junior School Sport Coordinator jbourke@stpiusx.nsw.edu.au
CANTEEN
Flexischools https://user.flexischools.com.au/login
If you have any issues with Apps etc, please contact your son’s classroom teacher. If you have any issues with Clipboard, please contact Mr Bourke.
THURSDAY PICKUP FROM OXFORD FALLS (and tomorrow)
If you would like to collect your son from Oxford Falls tomorrow or on any Thursday, please do so by 2:30 pm, as that is when the rest of us will be heading back to school on the buses. A reminder that you are not permitted to take another person’s son from Oxford Falls unless we have written permission from that child’s parent.
To enable us to keep our students safe, if you are collecting your son from Oxford Falls, please meet us at Watkins Oval. Students are not permitted to walk to parents waiting in cars due to the large volume of traffic movement in the carpark.
Students who have not been collected by 2:30 pm will return to the college on the bus.
STUDENT ATTENDANCE
Attendance Rolls are marked between 8:35 am – 9:00 am. Students are marked absent or present by their Homeroom teachers. A text message to the nominated parent is generated if the absence has not been explained by mid-morning.
If you receive a text notifying you that your son is not at school, but you believe he should be at school, please call the school. Almost 100% of the time that this occurs, it is because the rolls have not been marked correctly, or the student is at Band or a tutor when the roll is marked – so please don’t panic, but do make contact with the college to check.
Sick Leave and short-term non-attendance
Log on to Sentral.
Application for Leave/Exemption from Attendance at School
When a student is planning to be absent from the College for three or more days, please complete the following Application for Leave/Exemption from Attendance at School Form and email to bhawthorne@stpiusx.nsw.edu.au.
Leave form: https://www.spx.nsw.edu.au/wp-content/uploads/2022/08/SPX-Application-for-Leave.pdf
CLASS PARENTS
If you are interested in becoming a Class Parent in 2026, please email your interest to bhawthorne@stpiusx.nsw.edu.au before Friday 13 February. No experience needed! If you are new to the school, you are very welcome to volunteer, and we have some very experienced Class Parents who can show you the ropes.
PARENT COMMUNICATION
At the beginning of each school year, many parent WhatsApp groups are created to help families stay connected, share reminders and build community. While these groups can be helpful, it’s important to remember that they are not affiliated with or monitored by the school, and information shared there is not always accurate or complete.
In the Junior School, we have been very fortunate to have a parent community that communicates with care and respect, and we value the positive partnership we share. We encourage all parents to continue reflecting these shared values when communicating online. Comments about the College, staff or students should always be respectful and considerate. Written messages can easily be misunderstood, and online conversations can sometimes escalate in ways that don’t reflect the supportive community we work hard to maintain.
If you ever have a concern, a question, or need clarification about something that has happened at school, please come directly to us. We are always willing to listen, explain and work with you to resolve issues. Open and respectful communication between home and school is the most effective way to support your child.
Our staff are deeply committed to your children and to providing a positive learning environment. Giving us the opportunity to address questions or concerns directly helps ensure information is accurate and that matters are handled with care and fairness.
Thank you for your ongoing partnership in fostering a strong, respectful and connected school community.
Thank you for your support of the Junior School.
Mrs Jill Greenwood - Head of Junior School
Junior School Sport News
Term 1 Summer Season Dates
Round 1: 14 February
Round 2: 21 February
Round 3: 28 February
Round 4: 7 March
Round 5: 14 March
Round 6: 21 March
Swimming Carnival
Our Junior School House Carnival will take place on Thursday 12 February at Macquarie University Aquatic Centre. Parental support and assistance is greatly appreciated. Please use the following link to sign up. Many thanks in advance. Expressions of Interest for Parental Assistance 2026 – Fill out form
Further information regarding the event will be shared to families.
Sport Choice 2026
Summer Grading will conclude tomorrow, after which students will be allocated to their teams.
In Week 3, families will begin to see their son's fixtures appearing in the Clipboard Calendar. Please note that you will only be able to view these fixtures if you have completed the Clipboard Registration via Activity Selections.
If you need assistance with this, please contact me at jbourke@stpiusx.nsw.edu.au or Merryn Dodd at mdodd@stpiusx.nsw.edu.au
Winter Sport Registration
In Week 4, Clipboard will open the Winter Sport Activity Selection portal for all families. This portal will remain open until Week 7, after which registrations will close in preparation for our Winter Sport Grading in Week 9.
Summer Sports Uniform
Basketball
Students are issued an SPX basketball singlet to use for the season.
Basketball shorts can be purchased from the College Shop.
Touch Football
Students are provided with a Touch Football singlet for the season.
Players wear their PE shorts with the singlet.
Softball
Mrs Williams provides the playing shirt to students.
Students wear their PE shorts.
SPX long socks can be purchased from the College Shop.
Tennis
Students are required to purchase the official SPX Tennis playing shirt from the College Shop.
Students wear their PE shorts.
Accessing Fixture Information via Clipboard
To stay up to date with training schedules and game fixtures, please ensure you regularly check the Clipboard app. Fixtures are accessible directly within the app, and any changes will be updated there as well.
Important Reminder
To receive timely updates and notifications regarding changes to fixtures or training sessions, please ensure:
Notifications are enabled both within the Clipboard app settings and on your mobile device.
You regularly review the app for any schedule updates.
Fixtures will be initially entered as UNCONFIRMED, by Thursday each week they will be CONFIRMED by opposition schools.
Logging an Absence
If your son is unable to attend a Saturday Fixture due to sickness or injury, you can log his absence directly through Clipboard by following these steps:
Log in to Clipboard using your parent account.
Navigate to the Calendar page.
Click on “Log an Absence” and follow the prompts to submit.
As a courtesy, please email Mr Bourke at Jbourke@stpiusx.nsw.edu.au prior to the fixture, if possible by Thursday. For all other absences a request needs to be sent to Mr Bourke for approval. Holidays are not a reason to be missing games.
For normal school day absences, please continue to follow the standard school process via Sentral.
SPX App
If you haven’t already, please download and familiarise yourself with the SPX App.
Swimming Squad Training – Term 1, 2026
This week our Swimming Squad Training kicked off as we prepare for both our upcoming Junior School Swimming Carnival and IPSHA selections.
Why join Swimming Squad?
The squad is designed for students who enjoy swimming and want to build confidence, improve technique, increase fitness, and prepare for competitive opportunities. Squad training also supports students aiming to qualify for the IPSHA Swimming Carnival later this term.
Who should attend?
Any keen swimmer in the Junior School is welcome. Students who wish to trial for IPSHA selection are strongly encouraged to attend regularly.
After the Junior School Swimming Carnival, selected students will receive invitations to continue preparing for the IPSHA event.
Training Details
Start Time: Training begins at 7:00 am
Days: Every Tuesday and Thursday morning
Location: Fitness First, Chatswood
Supervision: Students meet Ms Proc (Senior Swimming Coordinator) or Mr Bourke (Junior School Sport Coordinator).
Equipment:
Suitable swimwear
Goggles
Swim cap (required – no cap, no swim)
Uniform: Students attend in PE / Pius Sports Uniform, and at 8:00 am are walked back to school by staff, where they change into school uniform. A snack or breakfast afterwards is recommended.
Training Dates – Term 1
Week 3
- Tue 10/2
- Thu 12/2 (not recommended for junior students to attend)
Week 4
- Tue 17/2
- Thu 19/2
Week 5
- Tue 24/2
- Thu 26/2
For anyone that would like to join the squad. Please email Mr Bourke.
Return of SPX loan uniforms
Thank you to all those who handed in their basketball or touch football tops in the last couple of weeks of 2025. A reminder that there is only a handful of students yet to return their respective tops and it is important these are returned by Friday 13 February.
Students can either hand their singlet to me or leave with their class teacher if I am not in my office. Distribution of tops/singlets will then again take place prior to Round 1 in 2026.
It is also a timely reminder for all students who have been involved in any of the activities below return their SPX loan uniform. These include:
- Touch Football singlets
- Athletics singlets
- Cross Country singlets
- AFL jerseys and shorts
- Basketball singlets
- Basketball shorts
Mr James Bourke - Junior School Sport Coordinator
NSTA Tennis
Welcome back to the NSTA season! For new families, a warm welcome to your first season of tennis. It has been wonderful to see so many Junior School students eager to join our 2026 competition.
Yellow Ball and Green Ball
Both competitions run at 8:00am on Saturdays.
• Yellow Ball will be held across multiple venues and places students into competitions with various schools. These details will be updated on Clipboard.
• Green Ball is our internal program held at the Oxford Falls Racquet Club. It is ideal for students who are beginning their tennis journey.
First Grading Sessions
Our first two Junior School grading sessions have started strongly. The coaches at Oxford Falls Racquet Club were very impressed with the enthusiasm and motivation shown by both new and returning St Pius students.
Expectations
Our final grading session will take place on Friday 6 February. For each training session, please ensure your child arrives prepared with a hat, water bottle, and racquet.
First Game
Our first round begins this weekend at 8:00 am. Please arrive at least 15 minutes before your scheduled start time (approximately 7:45 am). If your son is unable to attend due to illness, please notify me as soon as possible so a substitute player can be organised.
Communications
All fixtures and game details will be uploaded to Clipboard. Please take some time to familiarise yourself with the platform. Fixtures will be posted in the coming days - thank you for your patience as we receive information from NSTA and update it promptly.
I wish all our Pius students the very best for the season ahead.
Mr Christopher Nouragas - NSTA Tennis Convenor