Junior School News
- From the Head of the Junior School
- Junior School Sport
- From the Junior Resource Centre
From the Head of the Junior School
TEACHING AND LEARNING
Year 6
In Science, Year 6 students are learning to make informed decisions about their diet. They are exploring the idea of whole versus processed foods and are learning about sustainable food practices. Students have been evaluating their own diets and discussing ways to improve the choices they make about what they consume.
Year 5
In Science this week, 5 Gold headed off to the Art rooms and made a non-Newtonian fluid. They used cornflour and water to create Oobleck and experimented with the different states of matter it forms.
Year 6 Blue – Geography
6 Blue has done some fantastic work in Geography, leading up to their cultural showcase this week. Students have been researching an Asian country of their own choosing and creating posters and artefacts to display their ideas in creative ways. They have been delving into key facts about their country, as well as landmarks, comparisons with Australia, and learning how to use correct citation methods in their bibliographies. Some of the countries students have chosen to study include Laos, Cambodia, Uzbekistan, Taiwan, Bhutan, Mongolia, Cyprus and many, many more!
YEAR 6 GRADUATION LITURGY AND AFTERNOON TEA
Our Year 6 families are warmly invited to celebrate the end of students' primary years at the inaugural Junior School Graduation Liturgy and afternoon tea at Oxford Falls on Monday 27 November. The liturgy will commence at 12:45 pm, followed by an afternoon tea.
Would you please RSVP for attendance and afternoon tea purposes on the following form. Please note that Year 6 students are already included in attendance numbers for this event. Please only advise on this form the number of non-student guests attending.
Could I please ask that you upload a Kindergarten (or first year of school) photo via this link: https://forms.gle/BRrAtgnBm6EiqEvT7 for use during the liturgy.
If any Year 5 parents are available to assist with the Year 6 afternoon tea would you please email Ms Fromager at hfromager@stpiusx.nsw.edu.au.
SUMMER SPORT
Please refer to Mr Ryan’s Sport News below for results and details regarding all Junior Sporting fixtures this weekend – including tennis. If you have any questions regarding Saturday Sport – for example, if you are finding it difficult to find your team or venue, please contact Mr Ryan. All fixtures and venues will be published each week in Woodchatta, with late updates made available via the St Pius X App.
There were a number of exciting finishes in the basketball. Congratulations to all the teams, including the SPX Bs who managed to score a late basket to clinch the win against St Augustine’s.
WELCOME 2024 STUDENTS
Tomorrow, the Junior School will welcome our 2024 Year 5 students and our 32 new Year 6 students to the College for an orientation day. The new Year 5s will start their day with an assessment which will provide teachers with valuable information to assist teaching and learning in 2024. The new Year 6s will spend the morning with the current Year 5s, engaging in 'Getting to Know You' activities in the College gym. The afternoon will be spent getting to know the College through an adventure-filled Scavenger Hunt. Due to the number of additional students who will be on-site, current students will leave for Oxford Falls at the end of Period 2. Home time and collection from Oxford Falls will remain the same.
IPSHA GALA DEBATING
We wish our Junior Debating teams the very best as they prepare for the IPSHA Gala Debating at Abbotsleigh on Monday. Representing Year 6: Charles Wilcox, Will Woods, Lucas Korth, Lachlan Yu, James Pratt and representing Year 5: Angus Rands, Hugh Slack-Smith and Michael Capra. Reserves: Nick Belov and Alex Nunes. Special thanks to Mr Cummins for all the work he has done in preparing the students for this event.
NEW PARENT INFORMATION NIGHT
We look forward to showcasing all that the St Pius X Junior School has to offer at our New Parent Information Night next Wednesday. The Information Night will start at 6:00 pm and is online. Thank you to those current Year 5 parents who volunteered to speak about what it’s like to be a new family starting at St Pius X and especially to Mrs Keeler who will share her experiences next Wednesday.
SURF/SWIM PROGRAM
Our four-week Surf Education and Swim programs begin on Thursday in Week 4 with the Year 5s headed to the Macquarie Aquatic Centre for swimming lessons and Year 6 headed to Dee Why Beach. Thank you to those parents who have returned their permission notes. Unfortunately, if we don’t have a note, students will be unable to participate, so please get your notes in to Mr Ryan if you haven’t done so already.
SAVE THE DATES!
Year 6 Graduation Liturgy and Afternoon Tea
Monday 27 November.
St Pius X College Annual Awards Day
Tuesday 5 December.
Christian Brothers Centre
1 Dreadnought Road, Oxford Falls
Thank you everyone for your continued support of the Junior School.
Mrs Jill Greenwood - Head of the Junior School
Year 5 End of Year Celebrati
Junior School Sport
Please note Tennis fixtures are found below - in the NSTA Tennis section.
Sport Choice Form 2024: This is for current Year 5 2023 boys and their families. You will have received previously a sport choice form for completion in anticipation of the 2024 school year (when you son is in Year 6). I would kindly ask that if you have not yet submitted the form then please do so prior to this Friday, 27 October, clicking on the link below. On Friday 27 October I am required to nominate the number of boys (and therefore number of teams) we will enter for the various sports we take part in during Term 1. Your attention to this important process is greatly appreciated.
https://forms.office.com/r/TmETK7pSac
Thursday Sport: Summer training continues for Basketball, Cricket, Softball, Tennis and Touch Football. Please note that weather conditions are monitored closely each week.
Saturday Sport: A reminder to always check each edition of Woodchatta for the most up to date schedule and times of fixtures and to check the College App on Thursday evenings for team lists, venue maps for away matches, including any specific information relevant to your son’s activity. Please note that the tennis fixtures are found below, in the NSTA Tennis section.
Term 4 Swim Program: All students will take part in a specialised program, as per the schedule above in lieu of regular Thursday Sport. Year 5 will attend Macquarie Uni Aquatic Centre for a pool-based program and Year 6 will attend Dee Why Beach for a Surf Skills program. Thank you very much to all those who have completed their respective documentation.
Swimming Squad Training – Term 4, 2023: It was great to see new and familiar faces at training on Monday 23 October at Chatswood Fitness First. Those that were part of Swimming Squad in Term 1 are invited to resume training. Where boys have basketball training before school, they need to make this a priority unless they have seen me in the first instance to make alternative arrangements. Students wishing to take part are expected to attend majority of the 10 sessions as we strive to build a strong squad culture. Either Ms Proc (Senior Swimming Coordinator) or I will be in attendance during each session.
Training details:
- 7:10 am at Fitness First, Chatswood (24 Endeavour St, Chatswood). I will walk boys over to the centre from Chatswood Campus main foyer.
- Suitable swimwear, goggles and swim cap are all essential (no cap, no swim)
- Students wear PE/ Pius Sports Uniform to the sessions. At 8:15 am the boys are walked back to school by staff. They then change into school uniform. A snack/breakfast is also recommended at this point.
- Training days/dates:
| Monday | Tuesday |
| 30 October | 31 October |
| 6 November | 7 November |
| 13 November | 14 November |
NSW PSSA Athletics: Today and tomorrow, 25 and 26 October the following boys are taking part in the NSWPSSA Athletics Championships:
Hunter Austin – 6 Gold (Shot Put)
Leo Barnett – 6 Green (4 x 100m relay)
Parker Ball – 6 Blue (4 x 100m relay)
Cristiano Calcarao – 6 Red (800, 1500m, and 4 x 100m relay)
Patrick Butler – 6 Gold (200m and 4 x 100m relay)
A complete summary of their achievements will be published in Woodchatta next week.
Basketball
A dominant Junior Basketball Team E vs St Augustine's With Old Boy coach, Mr Mitch Princi.
Softball
Congratulations to our Softball team on their commitment.
IPSHA Sport Results
Basketball: With Round 1 comprising internal fixtures, the boys (and coaches) were eager to test their skill against the St Augustine's opposition. These are always tough fixtures, however all boys did themselves and the school proud throughout the morning. Special mention to the E’s and B’s for their hard-fought wins. It was a dominant display from the E team, as they secured plenty of offensive rebounds and made plenty of shots count near the basket. The boys combined to execute some tremendous plays in each half and were deserved winners. The B Team was a much closer match with a great comeback from the Pius boys to secure the win in the dying seconds. A team full of composure, it was an ‘’on the edge of your seat’’ finish to the game. As you can see from the results below there have been significant improvements in our boys’ shooting accuracy and this will help them gain confidence into the rest of this term.
Thank you to all parents who were willing and able to run the scoresheet and electronic score board for all the games.
Mr Ben Ryan - Junior School Sports Coordinator
Tennis
It was terrific to see our players enjoying their first round of summer tennis at the Talus St Courts.
I have two thrilling doubles from the 10:00 am games to report. The first, with an intriguing plot twist, as, St Pius 5s, Will Scaff and Antony Autore at 4 sets up looked certain to win, however, St Pius 4s, Lucas Youngman & Aiden Seifert won the next 6 games! The second, a close game that went right down to the wire with a tiebreaker ending. St Pius 7s, Lucas Korth and Lachlan Yu match was intense with plenty of hotly contested points and “oohs and aahs” from the spectators. All four players emerged from the match looking like winners, such was the mix of sportsmanship and high calibre tennis.
Special thanks to Year 10’s Lucas Halim for kindly and generously volunteering to Mentor and Umpire our younger players in the 8:00 am Green Division. Thank you also to all parents and players for a terrific start to the NSTA Tennis. This week’s draw is available below OR you can check the draw online:
Not sure what team you are in? Check the 2 page list attached.
Mrs Karen Keighery - NSTA Tennis Convenor
From the Junior Resource Centre
This week’s Highlights:
World Teachers' Day is Friday 27 October and is celebrated in more than 100 countries. It’s an opportunity to acknowledge the work of educators and school staff and the Teacher, Teacher anthology is the perfect gift to mark the occasion. I would love to hear if you had or have an inspiring teacher.
'The power of an exceptional teacher cannot be overestimated. Sometimes it is not about what they taught you, but about how they made you feel as a person.' Edited by award-winning teacher-librarian Megan Daley of Children’s Books Daily. These are authentic accounts focusing on both the light and more sombre educational journeys of thirty key contributors, including Jessie Tu, Tony Birch, Rick Morton, Jacqueline Harvey and many more.
Diving deep into the Horror Genre in the JRC this week.
Country Town by Isolde Martyn, Robyn Ridgeway and Louise Hogan.
I love this new picture book! An absolute stand out. So many lessons across the new curriculum. We are very fortunate to have Isolde Martyn’s grandson here at St Pius X, Zach Pereira, and we look forward to organising a special author visit. Watch this space!
‘Country Town' could be anywhere in Australia and this beautiful book tracks 200 years throughout its history. First Nations teacher Robyn Ridgeway has not only provided an in-depth Indigenous perspective but has also encouraged the reader to reflect on what they have learnt by promoting discussions throughout the book.
Isolde’s extensive historical research and Louise’s absolutely stunning illustrations also make this a truly special book.’ @gleebooks_kids
Name that villain! Competition closes on Friday 3 November
Fill out a guessing sheet with the name of the book that each villain can be found in. For an extra bonus, name the character. Drop you answers into Mrs Martin for a CHANCE to win a prize! Remember to keep the answers TOP SECRET!
Book Snaps
Book Snaps are being created during our library lessons this week using CANVA.
What is a book snap?
Essentially, a book snap is about grabbing a short quote from a book and creating a shareable image about it.
Why a book snap?
Book snaps are fun, and an excellent way to communicate visually. There is a social aspect when students share with each other, as they come across something they notice, like, or make a judgement about. Book snapping is also an opportunity to integrate technology with literature and literacy. It is much faster than writing a book report, but is still an authentic way to respond to text, be an active reader, and potentially read and communicate more.
Thank you to Noah Menezes in Year 5 sharing his amazing Book snap. Watch this space, more to come!
Mrs Martin’s Book Trail – Brick Dracula and Frankenstein by Amanda Brack, Monica Sweeney, and Becky Thomas.
Bram Stoker’s Dracula and Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein are among the best-known horror stories of all time. These infamous tales have been retold with LEGO bricks. Each novel has been carefully abridged, maintaining the dramatic arcs and most memorable dialogue of both stories. For lifelong LEGO builders, horror-story aficionados, and young readers new to Transylvanian castles and the first mad scientist hope you enjoy these harrowing horrors in LEGO form. #MrsMartinsBookTrail
Mrs Elena Martin - JRC Teacher Librarian