From the Head of the Junior School
Junior School Sport
From the Junior Resource Centre
Junior School Chess

From the Head of the Junior School

TEACHING AND LEARNING

In learning about the journey of astronauts in space, students in 5 Red created a model to represent the process of "docking" – the process where a rocket attaches itself to the international space station. Student used cups to represent the rocket, and a balloon to symbolise the astronaut. It was a very challenging task.

In HSIE, Year 5 students are investigating migration to Australia in the 1800s. They are looking at the reasons why people wanted to come here, the push and pull factors and what the voyage was like to get here.

Students have begun to review and practice their persuasive writing skills. Everyone looked at a very powerful piece on Graffiti – Art or Crime and explored the persuasive tools that were used before using them in their own piece of writing.

Year 6 students have begun their Electricity studies in Science. They began by looking at what electricity is, and how it is produced. The students are looking forward to the unit’s hands-on activities.

Year 6 have also begun looking at migration to Australia since Federation. They began by investigating the countries these migrants came from and listened to the story of The Little Refugee, as told by Ahn Do.

In English, the students have begun to explore how a significant historical event can be portrayed through different genres. The students were introduced to an article about Vincent Lingiari, an Australian Aboriginal rights activist of the Gurindji people. In his early life he started as a stockman at Wave Hill Station, where the Aboriginal workers were given rations, tobacco, and clothing as payment.

DEBATING

Congratulations to our Junior School debaters who won both debates against Oxford Falls Grammar last Friday. The competition was very tough, and the affirmative argument was particularly difficult - that we should keep native animals as pets, but the St Pius X students won over the adjudicator with their clear arguments and clever rebuttals.

Speaking of winners, Year 6 teacher and debating coach, Ms Shaba started the weekend on a high having successfully guided the boys to a first-round win to go on to win the State title in the Impromptu section at the Toastmasters competition as well as placing third in the international section and the Evaluation section. Congratulations to Ms Shaba and her team of debaters – it all augers well for a very successful season ahead.

MRS GREENWOOD’S CREATIVE QUILLS WRITING SKILLS GROUP

Last term, students submitted pieces of imaginative writing to the Nan Manefield Writing Competition. Over the next two weeks, students are working on a persuasive piece of writing to enter into the 'What Matters?' competition. Part writing exercise, part civics and citizenship activity, 'What Matters?' is an opportunity for students to raise their voices on issues that are important to them and know that their perspectives are valuable, no matter their age, background or viewpoint.

COLLEGE CAPTAIN - QUINTON CRISPE

Each year, the Junior School celebrates our College Captain with a tribute wall that illustrates his journey from Year 5 to Year 12. We all love seeing our College Captain in the Junior School, so we were thrilled when he made a visit to his tribute wall last week!

FATHER AND SON CAMPING TRIP – A message from the Year 6 Parent Group

Please note that the Father and Son Camping trip is organised by the Year 6 Parent Group – not St Pius X. Please direct any enquiries to Michael Koruga at spxclassof2030@gmail.com.

The Year 6 parents’ group are organising a father or special person/son camping overnighter at the NRMA Sydney Lakeside Holiday Park, North Narrabeen on Saturday 7 September.

If you are interested in joining the fun, you will need to call reception at the Park and mention the group name ‘St Pius X Father and Sons Weekend’ by no later than 29 May to secure a campsite with the group. Beyond this date the park will release campsites to the general public, and you might not secure a camping site with the other families.

COST

The base rate per site (2 people) is $46.00 per night.

Additional people are $8.00 per child per night, and $15.00 per adult per night.

Each site has a maximum number of 6 people.

Food will be in addition (to be determined).

The sites can have a maximum of 2 cars per site, however, this is only okay if ALL equipment including the cars can fit within the site perimeter. Cars are not permitted to be overhanging on the road. They do not have overflow parking in the park, so any cars that cannot fit on the site will be required to park on the street.

Park Details

NRMA Sydney Lakeside Holiday Park

1800 008 845

38 Lake Park Road, North Narrabeen NSW 2101

Once you have paid can you please message Michael Koruga with your email, mobile and names (father/son) to spxclassof2030@gmail.com so that further details can be provided closer to the time.

STUDENT ABSENCES

Just a reminder of the process for absences: for absences of three or more days, complete this form and return to Mrs Greenwood: SPX-Application-for-Leave.pdf.

For absences of two days or less, email studentmanagement@stpiusx.nsw.edu.au.

PRAC TEACHERS

Next week the Junior School welcomes eight student teachers who will be completing 10 days of practicum experience as part of their studies to be School Learning Support Officers.

FOUNDER’S DAY

Tomorrow, staff and students conclude our week of celebrating our founder, Edmund Rice with a special day of activities at Oxford Falls. Students are welcome to wear mufti in the colour of their sporting house to and from school. Students are to come to school and will be taken to Oxford Fall by bus.

IPSHA WINTER SPORT

What a cracker of a start to our winter sport campaign from the Junior School sportsmen! Although it was a tough outing for Mr Morris’ Year 6 rugby team, all the football (soccer) teams who played at Oxford Falls managed a win as did Mr Montgomerie’s Year 5 rugby team with a huge victory over our friends at Trinity Grammar. Thank you to all those parents who turned up on what turned out to be quite a nice morning. Special thanks to Mr Goedsir and Mr Do for stepping in to coach and organise subs for Mr Buda’s team and as always, thank you to our dedicated staff and especially to Mr Bourke for the tireless work he does for the Junior Sport program. For a comprehensive round-up of the day, please see Mr Bourke’s sport report below.

Thank you for your continued support of the Junior School.

Mrs Jill Greenwood - Head of the Junior School

Junior School Sport

Recent successes...

Several of our Junior School students have had recent success in their chosen sports.

Ethan Gilio has been selected to play representative rugby again this year with the Gordon Highlanders. The tournament will take place on the June long weekend in Camden, NSW. Here is a photo of Ethan and St Pius X alumni Michael Hooper from last year's tournament. As a college we wish Ethan all the best for the tournament and look forward to hearing how he goes.

During the recent school holidays, Dominik Playle, competed for the Manly Warringah Baseball in the Little League Division 2 State Championship Tournament which was held at Blacktown International Sports Centre. The were a large number of teams that attended the tournament and the level of competition was extremely high. Dominik’s team put in some great performances and managed to remain undefeated across all 5 of their games, taking out the state title. The team scored a total of 57 runs and only conceded 2 against them. Dominik and his team will now proceed to the National Championship in June this year. We wish Dominik the best of luck.

Cuba Nicholas recently competed at the US Kids Golf Australian Masters which was held in the Hunter Valley. On a tough course and up against some high-level competition, Cuba put in a great performance and finished 3rd in the tournament. Cuba continued his string of positive results, finishing 2nd in the US Kids competition, 3rd in the men’s comp later that week and claimed first in the second round of the US kids comp. Congratulations to Cuba and we wish him all the best for future competitions later this year.

Thursday Sport: Winter sessions continue this week for rugby, football and AFL. Please see below a summary for Term 2 Thursday Sport.

Winter Sport uniforms and safety equipment: Please ensure your son has the correct winter sport uniform for Round 2 this weekend. Students must also have the appropriate safety equipment listed below, or they will not be allowed to play:

Rugby – mouthguard
AFL – mouthguard
Football – shin guards

Clipboard App: Please continue to consult the Clipboard App for the most up-to-date information on sport/fixtures.

Football:

Optional Football Training

A reminder of the optional after school training at Beauchamp Oval every Tuesday from 3:15 pm - 4:15 pm for any Junior School football players. Mr Buda, Mr Bourke and Mr Makhoul will be leading these sessions. If your son has a cocurricular clash, please prioritise the other commitment over this session.

Rugby:

The Junior Rugby season kicked off with blue skies and plenty of enthusiasm from the boys. The Prep Firsts played their first game in front of a home crowd this week. Despite the scoreline, there were moments of individual brilliance and whole team positives. The students worked well together as a team putting in a strong first half performance. The U11s team began their rugby season with a dominant win over Trinity. Aspects of the game that were impressive were ball handling, strong carries and tackles throughout the match. They have now set the tone for the season ahead. Well done to all players this week for demonstrating outstanding sportsmanship during their games.

A reminder of compulsory after school training at Beauchamp Oval every Wednesday from 3:15 pm - 4:30 pm for ALL Junior School rugby players. If students are unable to attend training sessions, please send an email to Mr Antonio Morris (AMorris@stpiusx.nsw.edu.au)

AFL:

Mr James Bourke - Junior School Sports Coordinator

From the Junior Resource Centre

Year 5 enjoyed reading and discussing the book Dreaming Soldiers by Catherine Bauer and illustrated by Shane McGrath. "With impressive well-chosen prose that references the Indigenous theme, Catherine Bauer brings into focus the Indigenous soldiers that served in the Wars. Shane McGrath has done a magnificent job translating the text and giving it another dimension by magnifying the most important scenes."

Year 6 read through this book The Poppy by Andrew Plant which was released in 2014 tells the story of Villers-Brettoneux in France. The illustrations in French are gorgeous and what a wonderful story about The Poppy’s coming to be. Unforgettable. Lest we forget. PRC -ID 2495

Mrs Martin’s Book Trail :How To Spot A Mum Written by Donna Amey Bhatt.

Who is that talented creature juggling several impossible tasks whilst looking (almost) gorgeous, flawless? It’s a mum of course! Can you spot any you know?#mrsmartinsbooktrail2024

Mrs Elena Martin - Teacher Librarian

Junior School Chess Club

Thank you to all the students who attended Chess training on Tuesday 7 May. A reminder that the NSW Junior Chess Competition begins week 2 Friday 10 May. Teams A and B have a BYE. Team C will be playing Mosman B at HOME. Team D will be playing St Aloysius’ C at HOME. The games will be held in the JRC with Ms Boyle straight after school. The draw can be found here: https://www.nswjcl.org.au/

Alternatively, the draw is attached.

Mrs Elena Martin and Ms Raelene Boyle - Junior Chess Convenors

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