Senior School Cocurricular Program 

• From the Assistant Principal, Cocurricular
• Fixtures 10 February
• Basketball
• Cricket
• Cross Country
• Public Speaking and Debating
• Rugby
• Senior Chess
• Senior Football
• Squash
• NSTA Tennis

From the Assistant Principal, Cocurricular

Senior Swimming Carnival

I congratulate and thank everyone for their efforts and response to last week’s Senior Swimming Carnival.  Our House Patrons, Mr Nadoo, Mr Lee, Ms Zervakos and Mr Dawson ensured school spirit was excellent and the levels of participation superb.

The College staff were superb and ensured that the Carnival ran smoothly. 

The Carnival opened with an Acknowledgement of Country and Prayer and concluded when Mr Ronchetti presented the Senior Swimming Carnival Trophy to Treacy Captain PJ Merrin.  Our final points tally (shown below) proves that participation is as important as peak performance.

We congratulate Treacy House, our 2024 Swimming carnival winners!

There were some fine individual performances on Thursday, with the following students being awarded the Senior School Age Champions:

12           Joel Pagano

13           Jack Dunk

14           Luca McCarthy

15           Jayden Law

16           Archer Ferguson

17           Derek Jung

Opens   Nicholas Gladen

3 long-standing records were broken:

Opens   100m     Freestyle             Nicholas Gladen        54.48                     2024 (2000)

U14s      50m       Breaststroke      Luca McCarthy           34.05                     2024 (2010)

U12s     100m     Freestyle             Joel Pagano                1.08.30                   2024 (1995) 

For our Junior School Swimming Carnival report see the Junior School section. 

Rugby Convenor 2024

With Mr Martin Gillogly stepping down from the position of Rugby Convenor as he takes on the expanded role of Assistant Principal, Pastoral Care,  I am thrilled to announce that Mr Justin Gates has been offered and accepted the Rugby Convenor position.

Justin returns full circle as he takes on this rugby leadership position having led the college 1st XV in 2010 as a student.

We look forward to working with Justin in what are challenging times for the sport on a national level.

We also thank Mr Gillogly for his custodianship over the past 2 years as he steps down to the role of rugby coach in 2024.

Christian Brothers Combined Swimming Carnival

This Saturday we host the Christian Brothers Swimming Carnival at Ryde Aquatic Leisure Centre.

Our Year 11 students have a chance to demonstrate their leadership potential as they take on a lead role in hosting the Carnival.

The details are:

DATE:                                                    Saturday 24 February 2024

VENUE:                                                 Ryde Aquatic Centre, Victoria Rd, Ryde

STAFF ARRIVE:                                   6:40 pm for 7:00 pm start

EVENTS COMMENCE:                    7:20 pm (Warm-up: 7:00 pm)

FINISH:                                                 10:00 pm

State Touch Football Tournament 2024

All the best to Bradley N, Ethan S, Josh Y and Xavier D who are in Dubbo this weekend for the Junior State Cup for Touch Football.  We also congratulate Bradley N who was named as club/team captain for 2024.

Mr Matt Stearn - Assistant Principal, Cocurricular

Fixtures 24 February

Basketball

Round 9 results

Last Saturday was very hot and humid and all players should be congratulated for their efforts in the difficult conditions. 

Well done to the 14 teams who came away with a win… most of our C, E and F teams.

In their matchup with Central Coast Grammar, our First V trailed for most of the game before mounting a comeback in the fourth quarter. The electrifying push was just not enough to come away with the win, losing by only 3 points. 

ISA representative news

Congratulations to the following students on their representative achievements:

Max Wilcox - ISA Open basketball 2nd team

Henry Hecimovic - ISA 16 & under basketball team

Round 10 - Last round of the season

This Saturday is the final round of the normal ISA season against Oakhill. It is also the last round for the Blue and Gold League Development Squads. Good luck to all teams. Thank you to all players and coaches for your sportsmanship and commitment to basketball this season.

Semi- Finals and Finals

At this stage the following teams are sitting in 1st, 2nd or 3rd position in their ISA Divisions… 

13D, 14B, 14C, 14D, 14E, 15B, 15C, 15D, 15E, 15F, 17A, 17B, 17F

Teams placed in 1st place at the end of Round 10 will go straight into the Finals on 9 March, to be played in Penrith. Teams placed 2nd or 3rd after Round 10 will play in the Semi-Finals on 2 March in Penrith.  

Training will be ON next week for those teams listed above, following a slightly different schedule… as all training will be in the College Gym. NO buses will be going to Oxford Falls. [NB. If your team falls out of the top 3 after Round 10… you will NOT have training.]

Year 7 2024 Basketball

Thank you for your attendance to basketball grading this week. Teams will be finalised and announced early next week, along with a draw. It is likely that all games on 2 March will be played at NBISC against St Augustine's teams. Details will be in Woodchatta next week, if not earlier.

Mr Danny Garrett - Basketball Convenor &

Mrs Joanne Schuster - Assistant Basketball Convenor

Cricket

Training

Monday – ISA (1st and 2nd XI) Squad.

Tuesday – U13 (Senior School) and U14.

Wednesday – ISA (1st and 2nd XI) Squad. Thursday – Junior School during sport. U15 and U17.

Bus departs OLD Church at 3:20 pm and returns to Anderson Street at approximately 5:30 pm. Players are to be attired in correct sport/cricket uniform. Training is compulsory and part of a cocurricular commitment. 

All training is facilitated by Cricket Appeal.   

ISA Round 9 – 1st XI v St Augustine’s College at Oxford Falls #1   1st XI 94 (Rohan Chang 23, Patrick Frost 19) lost to St Augustine’s 6 for 95 (Lucas Gleeson 3 for 36, Flynn Mansbridge 2 for 7). For Round 9 of the ISA competition the 1st XI returned to Oxford Falls. Having won the toss, Darcy Aylmer decided to bat first. Tight bowling and fielding from the opposition restricted the 1st XI batsmen until Rohan Chang and Pat Frost put together a positive 35 run partnership for the fifth wicket. A disappointing total was reached but there was a determination to fight back hard in the field. Lucas Gleeson bowled 10 consecutive overs of probing spin and was supported by accurate bowling from Flynn Mansbridge and Jared Fernandes. The opposition had to bat into the 40th over to reach the target.

ISA Round 9 – 2nd XI v Oxley College at Oxley

2nd XI 7-131 (Darcy Horstead 50*, Charlie Chippendale 20, Max Lynn 19*, Darcy Mills 19) defeated Oxley College 10/130 (Darcy Mills 3-12, Jack English 3-15, Alex Burke 2-27) 

The 2nd XI travelled to Bowral for a shortened 40 over match against Oxley. After losing the toss and being sent into field, Jack English (3-15) and Max Lynn (1-16) both took early wickets to have Oxley on the back foot. Alexander Burke (2-27) then broke a 69-run partnership and the wickets began to fall regularly. Wickets went to Oliver Costain (1-11) and to Darcy Mills (3-12) with Jack English cleaning up the tail to have Oxley bowled out for 130. 

After the loss of an early wicket, Darcy Mills (19) and Charlie Chippendale (20) went on the attack, making use of the small boundaries. After a brief batting collapse, Pius were on the back foot at 7-68. Darcy Horstead led the fightback, playing another very composed but aggressive innings to bring up 50 off 56 balls, assisted by Max Lynn (19) in a match winning 63-run partnership to see out the game, the 2nd XI winning by 3 wickets with almost 17 overs to spare, also locking in a home semi-final in two weeks’ time.

Alessio Spillane

SPX U13 Black

Bowling first at Collaroy, we had a great start with a run out on the second ball. Unfortunately, that didn’t slow down CPCC who got off to a flyer. By drinks they were 2/129, we pegged them back a little in the second half of the innings, but they racked up 6/207. Pick of the bowlers were Riley Silver (1/12) and Cameron Cheah (1/22), and the highlight in the field was our catch of the season from Felix Keeler. We were soon under pressure at 3/15, before Riley Silver & Nick Forwood dug in, in a 28-run partnership. Unfortunately, we then lost 3 quick wickets, and were 6/60 at the drinks break. Felix Keeler (28) and Luke Steptoe (8*) then put on a 47 run partnership to add some respectability to the score, but in the end, we lost by 100 runs. Nick Forwood had his best game for SPX.

Mr David Reay - Cricket Convenor

Cross Country

Cross Country training continues this week. Join us for fun, varied and challenging sessions.

When: Monday, Wednesday and Thursday mornings

Where: Beauchamp Park, Chatswood 

Time: 7:15 am – 8:15 am 

Who: All Senior and Junior School students welcome

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.  All students are encouraged to join training, whether it is to prepare for the IPSHA Cross Country Competition in April, the ISA Cross Country competition in Term 2 or to simply improve your general well-being. Please email Mr Scott Steinman ssteinman@stpiusx.nsw.edu.au or Ms Leanne Lee llee@stpiusx.nsw.edu.au to sign up or simply turn up in the morning.

Ms Leanne Lee - Cross Country and Athletics Convenor

Senior Chess

Chess training continues on Mondays in D Block from 3:30 pm - 4:30 pm.

All students in Year 7 - 12 are welcome.

Term 1 – Training Monday afternoons with chess coaches

Term 2 – Training Monday afternoons and interschool competition Friday afternoons

The Clipboard function for Chess has been reopened for the next two weeks only.

Here are some other benefits of learning chess:

• Improves cognitive skills (including concentration, pattern recognition, decision making, algebraic and geometric thinking, problem-solving, spatial reasoning, and critical thinking)
• Improves self-confidence and self-worth
• Increases attention span
• Increases memory capacity
• Offers a logical pattern and critical-thinking system
• Provides competition, fostering interest and promoting mental alertness
• Teaches good sportsmanship

Ms Janelle Dempsey & Ms Denise Ramsey - Senior Chess Convenors

Public Speaking and Debating

CSDA Public Speaking 

The CSDA Public Speaking Competition runs on the following Friday evenings:

1 March                  Public Speaking Round 1

8 March                  Public Speaking Zone Finals

15 March               Public Speaking Finals

Registrations have now closed. Public Speakers have been given the topics and speaking times ahead of training this Thursday at Lunchtime in B8. Students must come to all training and rounds to progress through to the Grand Final. Round 1 will be hosted by St Pius X, but we are still waiting to hear about following venues.

CSDA Debating Competition 

Registrations have now closed and should  have been completed via Clipboard. The CSDA Debating Competition runs through Term 2 and 3.  There will be training sessions for the 2024 Debating season on the following dates:

Week 7 – training Friday 15 March 3:30 pm - 5:30 pm

Week 8 – training Friday 22 March 3:30 pm - 5:30 pm

Week 10 – training Friday 5 April 3:30 pm - 5:00 pm

Debating competition dates:

For those involved in debating it is essential that you meet at the clock after our Sports Assembly every Friday, attend all training and the first six rounds. If your team makes it through to the Elimination round (and beyond) you also need to keep the above dates free. 

Parents and students also need to complete the yellow registration form AND sign the CSDA ‘Code of Conduct’ form on the back of that sheet and return it to the Student Reception Office. Students would have received this in Friday’s meeting, otherwise they can collect another copy from the Student Office.

Mrs Leigha Zervakos - Debating and Public Speaking Convenor

Rugby

Rugby Convenor

I would like to firstly thank Mr Martin Gillogly for his leadership over the last 2 years heading up the Rugby program. As I take the reins from Mr Martin Gillogly I will endeavour to continue the great program here at the college. 

Registration

Rugby Registration is now closed. If your son is still considering playing Rugby for the college it would be appreciated if you get in contact with Mr Gates as soon as possible. If you have any questions, please email Mr Gates jgates@stpiusx.nsw.edu.au 

Specific details regarding the commencement of training and the draw will be advertised once registration is finalised. 

We are looking forward to our boys having a successful season ahead. 

Mr Justin Gates - Rugby Convenor

Squash

SPX 3 started the second half of the season strongly with a 6-0 win against JETS 2! Unfortunately, SPX 1 and 2 lost just as decisively.

Mr Joseph Madani - Squash Convenor

NSTA Tennis

It was great to see some sunshine for the start of the NSTA summer season for 2024. The 8:00 am matches started the day with a bang. There is always a lot of chatter and laughter at the 8:00 am games and this week was no exception. It is great to see the boys on the courts really enjoying the games, despite the heat! 

It was exciting to see SPX 31, Xavier Korkor, Nathan Hon and Connor Huynh secure their first win as a team: 18 games to 3, it was an impressive start! SPX 30, Tom Shoudra, Alex Seifert and Daniel Thomson also played some exciting matches. Daniel Thomson and Luca Hellmich’s (SPX 29) match came down to a tie break with Luca just pipping Daniel at the post. SPX 26, Henry Auer, Micah Chan and Oliver Willems proved to be a difficult team to beat winning all 3 sets. 

The 10:00 am matches were no exception, our top 2 teams battled it out in the first round, with SPX 1, Boston Bannister and Jake Yu beating SPX 2, Lucas Halim and Yuri Kim, 18 games to 1. Cooper Anderson and Ethan Li, SPX 4 played superbly and although they lost in sets, they won in games. Lachlan Yu and Lucas Korth (SPX 7) started the season off well with a 3-0 win. Both boys played some excellent tennis and the sportsmanship shown by them and their opposition, Redlands 6 was exceptional. 

Just a reminder that only the boys who play the singles will have their names recorded on Xpoint. Please ensure that you are checking Xpoint each week to see your scores, your positions and where you will be playing next week.

https://www.xpointsports.com/region/325/currentEvents

Finally, thank you to the senior boys: Boston Bannister, Lachlan Yu, Jake Yu, Kody Tabalon and Alex DalMolin who helped with umpiring this week, your guidance is invaluable to the younger players. 

Mrs Samantha Iwatani - NSTA Convenor