Junior School News
From the Head of the Junior School
WOODCHAT | For busy families who just want the facts, fast!
Spray jacket and/or raincoat to school every day.
Wednesday 12 March | NAPLAN Writing assessment
Friday 14 March | NAPLAN Reading assessment
Tuesday 18 March | NAPLAN Conventions of Language assessment
Friday 21 March | NAPLAN Numeracy assessment (note, this is a change)
Monday 24 March | NAPLAN Catch-up assessment (note, this is a change)
Tuesday 25 March | Junior School Bible Liturgy (9:45 am College Gymnasium)
WOODCHATTA
PEER MENTORING
Please note this communication from Mr Gillogly (Assistant Principal, Pastoral Care). This was also emailed to all Junior School parents yesterday.
Dear Parents/Caregivers,
The College’s Peer Mentoring Program pairs selected Year 5 and Year 6 students with a Year 11 mentor. Recently, a permission slip was inadvertently sent out to all Junior School parents. Please note that due to limited availability of Year 11 mentors, this program is not available to all students. Eligible Year 5 and Year 6 students will be invited to participate. They will be notified by Ms Boyle before the end of Term 1 and the program begins in Week 2 of Term 2.
We apologise for any confusion and if you have any questions, please contact Ms Boyle at rboyle@stpiusx.nsw.edu.au
Mr Gillogly - Assistant Principal, Pastoral Care
YEAR 5 CAMP: A MEMORABLE ADVENTURE
Year 5 students had an unforgettable experience at Point Wolstoncroft, filled with adventure, teamwork, and new friendships. Over three days, they embraced exciting challenges, including rock climbing, orienteering, archery, and kayaking. Each activity encouraged students to step outside their comfort zones, building resilience and confidence along the way.
Beyond the activities, the camp was a valuable opportunity for students to develop independence and strengthen friendships. They supported and encouraged one another, demonstrating teamwork and perseverance throughout the experience.
A heartfelt thank you goes to the Junior School staff for their dedication and care. Their guidance and encouragement made this camp a rewarding experience for all involved, ensuring that students returned home with a sense of accomplishment and unforgettable memories.
Year 5 Camp photos can be found here:
YEAR 6 CANBERRA TOUR: A JOURNEY OF DISCOVERY
Year 6 students recently embarked on an unforgettable educational tour of Canberra, immersing themselves in Australia’s history, culture, and government. Over several action-packed days, students explored some of the nation’s most significant sites, gaining valuable insights through hands-on learning experiences.
A visit to the Australian War Memorial provided a moving tribute to those who have served the country, deepening students’ understanding of sacrifice and remembrance. At the National Gallery of Australia, they admired breathtaking artworks, expanding their appreciation for artistic expression and creativity.
The National Arboretum offered a unique outdoor experience, where students learned about conservation efforts and enjoyed the stunning landscapes. Meanwhile, Questacon brought science to life with interactive exhibits and thrilling demonstrations that sparked curiosity and excitement.
At the Australian Institute of Sport, students discovered the dedication required to excel in athletics, trying their hand at various sports activities. A highlight of the trip was visiting Parliament House, where they stepped into the heart of Australian democracy, engaging in discussions and witnessing the chambers in action. The Election Centre provided further insight into the voting process, reinforcing the importance of civic responsibility.
Beyond the learning opportunities, the tour was also a time for bonding, laughter, and creating lasting memories with friends. The experience not only enriched students’ knowledge but also fostered independence and teamwork.
A heartfelt thank you to the dedicated teachers who made this tour possible. Their commitment and care ensured a smooth and enriching experience, leaving students with an inspiring appreciation for Australia’s history, culture, and government.
Year 6 Canberra Tour photos can be found here: Year 6 Camp
Thank you to those families who took the time to email our teachers, expressing gratitude for their efforts in making both the Year 5 Camp and the Year 6 Canberra Tour such a success. Managing and caring for over a hundred boys aged 10 to 12 for three days is no small feat, and your recognition is very much appreciated.
MINECRAFT CUBEEZ SWAP MEET
As the Woolworths Minecraft Cubeez campaign wraps up, we’re excited to host a Cubeez Swap Meet on Tuesday. Junior School students are invited to bring along any extra Cubeez they’d like to swap or share with friends.
I have a collection of spare and unopened, unbuilt Cubeez ready for trading or giving away, so there will be plenty of opportunities to complete collections and share the fun.
If he’s keen, please remind your son to bring in his Cubeez on Tuesday and join the swap! Students will need to bring their own recess as we are going to stay up at the WLC.
OPEN DAY VOLUNTEERS AND CAKE STALL
Open Day at the college is fast approaching. We are seeking volunteer tour guides to assist visitors to the college. There are various times throughout the day to choose from, and students can volunteer at either our Chatswood or Oxford Falls campuses. Any help is greatly appreciated. Please click on the link below to submit your son's availability.
Thank you for your ongoing support of the Junior School
Mrs Jill Greenwood - Head of Junior School
Junior School Sport
Fixtures
Thursday Sport
Accessing Fixture Information via Clipboard
To stay up-to-date with training schedules and game fixtures, please ensure you regularly check the Clipboard app. Training and 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. The have the option to receive push notifications and/or email prompts.
Please 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 and a notification will be sent to families.
Please check clipboard regularly for any changes to the schedule.
Some fixtures are subject to weather, on occasion this can lead to cancellations. This will occur via the Clipboard app, you should receive a notification if a fixture is cancelled, but please check the app on the morning before leave to ensure you are up to date with any changes.
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.
For normal school day absences, please continue to follow the standard school process.
SPX App
If you haven’t already, please download and familiarise yourself with the SPX App.
Cross Country Training Squads
Morning squad training with the senior school has now started. Details below:
When: Monday, Wednesday and Thursday mornings
Where: Beauchamp Park, Chatswood
Time: 7:15 am – 8:15 am
Who: All Senior and Junior School students are welcome
Note: Meet at the Beauchamp Oval Grandstand in comfortable running gear and with a water bottle. Bring your school uniform to change into afterwards back at The College.
You don’t have to aspire to run in the IPSHA Carnival - all students and abilities are welcome.
If you son plans to join the sessions, please send me an email.
Sports Opportunity
See below an opportunity for any students keen to attend the trial. Would like to attend, please send me an email. jbourke@stpiusx.nsw.edu.au
Holiday Football Clinic
ST PIUS X APRIL HOLIDAY CAMPS – THE PERFECT PRE-SEASON PREPARATION!
Looking to sharpen your skills before the season kicks off? The St Pius X April Holiday Camps, in partnership with Coerver Coaching, offer an exciting and structured program designed to develop technical ability, confidence, teamwork, and sportsmanship—all while having a blast!
📅 Dates: Monday 14 – Thursday 17 April⏰ Time: 9:00 am – 12:00 noon daily
🎟️ Options: 2, 3, or 4-day participation⚽ New Feature: 5v5 Tournament running each day!
Who can attend?
Students from Year 3 to Year 10.
Transport:
A bus is available for the first 60 players registered, departing from Chatswood Campus at 8:30 am and returning at 12:40 pm.
What to Expect:
✅ Technical Skill Development – Using the Coerver® Method to enhance ball mastery and tactical play.
✅ Confidence Building – Encouraging creativity, risk-taking, and success in a fun, challenging environment.
✅ Teamwork & Sportsmanship – Learning key principles of attack and defense while fostering respect and effort.
✅ Loads of Footballing Fun!
This is the perfect opportunity to fine-tune your skills before the season, meet new teammates, and enjoy fast-paced football action. Don’t miss out!
🔗 For more details and to register, click here: Coerver course | Coerver Coaching
Holiday Rugby Clinic
Get Ready for the SPX Rugby Season at Our Easter Holiday Rugby Clinic
Give your son the best start to the rugby season with our April School Holiday Rugby Clinic! This is the perfect opportunity for players to sharpen their skills, boost their confidence, and get game-ready for ISA season.
When: Wednesday 16 and Thursday 17 April
Where: Oxford Falls Campus - 1 Dreadnought Rd, Oxford Falls
Why Sign Up?
✅ Expert coaching from Trytime coaches & special guest coaches
✅ Position-specific training + team play development
✅ A great way to build confidence & prepare for the season
✅ Trial Games on Thursday Afternoon! (from 12:00 noon)👉 Face off against Redfield College in Years 5, 6, 7, 8 & Opens
Don’t miss out on this exciting pre-season opportunity! Register now via Clipboard:
🔗 https://portal.clipboard.app/stpiusx
Secure your spot today and get ready to hit the ground running!
Football
Summer sports results
Last week, a high number of absences left several teams short, making it difficult to compete. To ensure every team has the best chance to perform, please prioritise attendance this week so all players can fully benefit from their fixtures. Your commitment makes a difference - let’s give every team the opportunity to play at their best!
Basketball
Touch Football
Softball
Our Year 6 students had just returned from a three-day camp to Canberra, however, they knew the importance to partake in their team sport and came ready to play. The game was slow-paced but so exciting. Our opponents were fresh and kept us competitive. Though we lost by 1 run, the positive atmosphere amongst the team was contagious. Congratulations to all our players who demonstrated St Pius X sportsmanship and commitment.
Mrs Jenny Williams - Softball Convenor
Mr James Bourke - Junior School Sport Coordinator
NSTA Tennis
Despite the ominous looking skies, the rain held off and we were able to get all of our games in on Saturday. Lucas Chong SPX18 put up a good fight against Cammeraygal 6 in his singles and it came down to the wire in his singles, where he unfortunately lost 7-4 in the tie-break. Mark D’Mello, Isaac Fernandes and Andy Wang, SPX 30 were up against a couple of seasoned players from SPX 29 and took out the win 13 games to 11. Henry Auer, Ollie Willems and Leo Safarian, SPX 20 showed their strength as a team winning all 3 sets.
The 10:00 am games, as always, had a very calm atmosphere. Justin Lee and Lucas Willems, SPX 8 were on fire and beat SPX 7 18 games to 12. Linas Magyla, who played up a division and had a difficult singles, held his ground and came out victorious against Chatswood, winning 6 games to 3. Lachlan Chan and Jake Swan, SPX 5 worked hard in the doubles and it came down to a tie-break where Killara took out the win, 7-4. The play of the day was from Jayden Meguerditchian, SPX 16 who came from behind in his singles to take out the win 6-5 against SPX 15.
Following the final regular game this weekend, please keep an eye on Xpoint next week to check the draw for 22 March, where all teams will be playing in the finals or play-offs.
https://www.xpointsports.com/region/325/currentevents
NSTA TRAINING TEAMS
Despite having just returned from camp it was great to see so many of the Junior students giving it their all at the games on Saturday. There is certainly an improvement being seen each week, the students are showing more confidence in playing and scoring. Oliver Hayward had a great singles match winning 6-2, as did Yannick Amith winning his singles 6-1. Josh Wilson, Patrick Buono and Nicholas Halim continued on their winning streak taking out all 3 sets. Nicholas Keung, Javien Foo and Seth Macwan also showed their strength as a team winning 18 games to 3.
Allocation of points: One point will be awarded for each set won, half a point for each set unplayed or unfinished and 2 points for the winning team.
Mrs Samantha Iwatani - NSTA Covenor
From the Junior Resource Centre
2025 - a great year for Bookworms
in the Year of the Snake…
READING FOR LEISURE AND READING FOR PLEASURE …
With thanks to the NSW PRC team…
Welcome back to school and reading with the NSW Premier’s Reading Challenge. Now is the perfect time to revive good habits and discover new people, places, and ideas - in books and everywhere. The NSW Premier’s Reading Challenge (PRC) is not a competition but a challenge for our Year 5 and 6 students to read, read more, and read more widely. The PRC booklists give easy access to a range of books, including fiction, non-fiction, picture books, poetry and drama, and a wide variety of Australian authors.
Registration for 2025 opened on 24 February. Students have been e-mailed their username and password and have all managed to log on and have started to record books.
ARTWORK by Matt Ottley
BOOK WEEK BASICS: ANNOUNCING CHILDREN’S BOOK WEEK DATES
SAVE THE DATES
Mark your calendar with these important dates:
• Shortlist: Tuesday 25 March
• Winners and Honours: Friday 15 August
• Shadowers’ Choice Awards: Friday 15 August
2025 Book of the Year Awards – Notables
New Books In the JRC
Hooray for new books! These are some of the books I read during my weekend….just so you can understand when I stare off into space (and can’t remember your name) my brain is packed! Being ready to recommend books to all the students in the Junior School is hard work! But very enjoyable.
Check out this Oz Middle Grade Stack! As you can see, we have a lot of talented authors and illustrators pictured here, and I thought it was time for a celebration of sorts, showcasing all of these incredible titles! We have such a variety of stories, filled with ghosts and spiders, witches and magic, evil businesspeople with pens and clipboards, mysterious mansions, crazy creatures, kooky pigeons, extra special cousins, dinosaurs, and one of the best teachers in the world. Which would you read first? Are any of these books new to you? Maybe you’ve found a new one to add to your TBR! Let me know!
Year 6 – Picture Books
The JRC has a very healthy picture book collection…. Possibly because the librarian secretly loves picture books…..So happy to see Year 6 students engaging and borrowing picture books.
Library Monitors – Semester 1 2025
Introducing our new Library Monitors for Semester one 2025. Isaiah Byak, Samuel Nunes and Kris Bentrott. Congratulations and welcome to a fun filled year in the Junior Resource Centre.
Mrs Martin’s Book Trail 2025: Jungle Escape by Nathan Luff
One of my favourite Aussie middle grade reads published this year is Jungle Escape by best-selling author Nathan Luff. This is a fast and funny and a heartfelt tale. I am reading this to Year 6 students at the moment.
‘When Branson’s parents announce a ski trip to Aspen, he’s thrilled – until he learns he won’t be going with them. Instead, Branson is being sent to an exclusive retreat in the Daintree Rainforest that promises poolside luxury, cuisine classes, and lessons in interior decoration. Not his idea of a holiday. But, when they arrive at the resort, Branson and the other kids learn they’ve been duped! The building is in ruins, the bathroom’s covered in slime, and the pool is empty. It turns out the owners have lured the kids to Jungle Escape to work as free labour and restore the resort.’
Branson and his new friends need to find a way out of this hell hole and the Daintree Rainforest. Will they be able to escape this jungle, or will they end up as cassowary – or crocodile – lunch?’ #mrsmartinsbooktrail2025
Ms Elena Martin – Teacher Librarian
Junior School Chess
St Pius X College participates in the Sydney Metropolitan Primary Schools Chess competition, which takes place on Friday afternoons from 4:00 pm, during Term 2.
Students compete in the North Shore Zone. Parents are required to transport their sons to the various schools within this zone. Students are also required to attend training provided by Sydney Academy of Chess on Tuesday morning, throughout Terms 1 and 2 beginning on Tuesday 25 March at 7:00 am in the JRC.
Thank you to the students who have registered their interest. Registration is now closed. Clipboard is currently open to students who have registered to play Chess in 2025.
Ms Elena Martin - Junior Chess Convenor