Parent & Student Matters 

• PDHPE
• Microfiction 2024 Competition Winners
• Snowy Hike Preparations
• Duke of Edinburgh Award Program
• NSW Parliamentary Convention
• Maths Olympiad
• Maths Drop-In

PDHPE

Year 9 PASS excursion to Sky Park and Sydney FC

The recent educational excursion undertaken by our Year 9 Football PASS students to Sky Park, the home of Sydney FC was an exceptional and memorable experience. The aim of this excursion was to provide students with practical insights into the world of professional football.

The day began with a comprehensive tour of the Sky Park facility. Students explored various key areas, including the gym, canteen, offices, and performance areas. This tour offered a fascinating glimpse into the behind-the-scenes operations of a professional football club.

Following the tour, St Pius X old boy Nick Susko, the Sydney FC Academy Manager, conducted a coaching session for our students. During this session, Nick highlighted the key messages of the Sydney FC DNA, offering invaluable insights into the club’s philosophy and training methods.

After their coaching session, the students had the opportunity to observe Ufuk Talay as he put the A-League squad through a training session. The focus of this session was on pressing and winning the ball back early, demonstrating the tactical approach employed by the team.

The final component of the experience was a workshop with Riki Totsukawa, the club's analyst. Riki demonstrated how Sydney FC uses analysis to inform training and game preparation, ensuring that the team effectively implements their attacking, high-press style of play.

Our students thoroughly enjoyed and learned a great deal from their practical involvement and observations throughout the day. The staff at Sydney FC were incredibly welcoming and open, letting us into their professional environment. Each attendee was also provided with a ticket to Sydney FC's match against Macarthur on Sunday.

We are grateful to Sydney FC for providing this enriching experience and to Wayne Wheatley for helping to facilitate the excursion.

Mr Richard Lacey - Leader of Learning, PDH/PE

Microfiction 2024 Competition Winners

Last week, the winners of the 2024 Microfiction Competition were announced. This is a competition in which all St Pius X College students are invited to write stories of no more than 100-words while incorporating unique prompts. This year saw over 270 entrants, with the winners judged by Mr Quilty and the Academic Prefects, Fergus Fung, Cooper Anderson, and Max Forbes. The winners shared in a pool of $500 in Dymocks vouchers, generously donated by the P&F.

The winners of this year’s competition are:

1st Place: Lucas Korth, Year 7

2nd Place: Liam Carroll, Year 12

3rd Place: James Sykes, Year 7

Primary School Winner: Ashworth Hilton, Year 6

Principal’s Award: Lachlan Staber, Year 11

English Faculty Prize: Joshua Booth, Year 10

Staff Winner: Mr Ryan Balboa, Religious Education

Congratulations to all winners! Their stories can be found in the attached file.

The Visual Arts Faculty and their students are currently composing the final booklet for the piece. This book will be published by the end of the year, with a digital copy included in the Woodchatta and a physical copy provided to all selected authors and artists.

Mr Daniel Quilty - English Teacher

Snowy Hike Preparations

Snowy Hike Expedition

27 November – 3 December 2024

Last week, 65 students completed the next stage of their training for Snowy Hike.

The students, with staff, hiked 10km from St Ives to Forestville. They were then bussed to Oxford Falls for further training and an overnight stay. This provided an opportunity for the students to prepare and eat a freeze dried meal, set up tents and spend a night testing their equipment and to undertake training in first aid, low impact bushwalking, safety, lightening procedures and general bushcraft. 

A big thank you to all the staff and Old Boys for contributing to this mandatory training for our students.

Mr Paul de Silva - Outdoor Education Coordinator

Duke of Edinburgh Program

Outward Bound Australia is offering the following journey in the January 2025 school holidays.  Please click on the link for more information and booking details:

This journey is also suitable as a Gold 4-day practice or Qualifying Journey.

Mrs Annabel Gunns - Duke of Edinburgh Program Convenor

NSW Parliamentary Convention

by Anthony Parissis - College Captain and Legal Studies student

On Tuesday 5 November, I was fortunate to be selected to attend the NSW Schools Constitutional Convention at NSW Parliament House, Macquarie St, Sydney.

The theme of this year’s convention was about freedom of speech and expression. We were welcomed by the President of the Legislative Council, the Hon Ben Franklin MLC before Professor Anne Twomey delivered a keynote address on constitutional freedoms and free speech.

There were 96 delegates present on the day, with representatives from across NSW, from each border and from a number of EREA schools, including Waverley College. 

We were broken into small discussion groups where we had the opportunity to offer our opinions on certain matters relating to freedom of expression in NSW, before we voted in a plebiscite and voted for our peers who will represent NSW at the National Convention in Canberra in 2025.

I was very pleased to be voted as one of the 30 elected to represent NSW and Pius at the convention where I look forward to engaging in productive conversation with the youth of Australia.

A big thank you to Mr Tassone for assisting with my application for this incredible opportunity!

Maths Olympiad

Maths Drop-In

Excitement is in the air as exams are fast approaching. Maths Drop-In has been buzzing with energy, enthusiasm and excitement.  With the yearly exams commencing this week for Year 10 and next week for Years 7, 8 & 9 many students are keen to seek help and revise with mates. 

In the lead up to exams ADDITIONAL MATHS DROP-IN classes will run:

Friday 8 November & Monday 11 November 

As well as Tuesday & Thursday Mornings 

Where: C1

Time: 7:40 am - 8:30 am

Come along, bring your mates and make a difference to your results.

Mrs Amanda Fileman - Mathematics Teacher