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

GRANDPARENT LITURGY AND WALK-A-THON

A big thank you to our Junior School families for their incredible generosity at last week's Grandparent Liturgy and Walkathon. Your support has helped us to raise over $7,000 (so far), which will benefit both our sponsor schools in Walgett and Bowraville as well as our World Vision sponsored child, Gloria. Thank you again to everyone who contributed to making this day so special!

TRIVIA NIGHT

It was great to see so many of our Junior School families at this year’s Trivia Night – thank you for your continued support of the college. 

BOOK WEEK PARADE 

Yesterday, students, staff and parents celebrated this year’s Book Week theme:  'Reading is Magic,' with our annual parade.  Our judging panel Mr Ronchetti, Ms Watson and Mrs Martin had the most difficult of jobs with congratulations going to all the students for making such a wonderful effort to dress up and a special congratulations to those who walked away with a prize.  It’s hard to believe that Mrs Martin could keep out-doing herself year after year, but this year’s library decorations and her three days of costumes has been a highlight.  Thank you for continuing to inspire a love of reading in our students Mrs Martin.

Students and staff who had seen it, were so sad when we found out that Liam B’s amazing, hand-made costume went missing just before the parade and he didn’t get to wear it.

So – here it is!  Congratulations Liam on the work you did to design and draw this amazing tribute to The Wild Robot books.

FATHER’S DAY LITURGY AND FATHER & SON SPORTS DAY

Next Thursday we celebrate another highlight in the Junior School calendar – our Father’s Day liturgy followed by the Father and Son Sports’ Day. The liturgy begins at 9:45 am – and if last year is anything to go by, you won’t want to miss it. 

Just a reminder to make sure that students bring their own recess/morning tea and if you think that a BBQ sausage on a roll and a popper won’t be enough for lunch, please pack a little extra.

RACIST LANGUAGE

Unfortunately, at assembly this morning, I had to address continued use by some students of the n-word.  This term, with its painful history, continues to be used despite previous warnings from both myself and Mr Ronchetti. Such language is extremely harmful and unacceptable in our school community. I explained to the students that any further reports of the use of this word (or the term “can I have an n-pass”) will result in a meeting with parents and myself to discuss further consequences. We are committed to maintaining a respectful and inclusive environment and expect all students to uphold these values. Thank you for your understanding and cooperation.

We are developing a program to better-educate the students on the history of this term and are hoping to have a guest speaker speak to the students about the impact this word has had on them.  

ASSESSMENT SCHEDULE

This year, the Junior School decided not to publish Assessment Schedules. This choice was made in response to concerns about student anxiety related to upcoming assessments. We believe that removing fixed dates can help reduce stress and allow students to focus more on learning and personal growth. By fostering a more flexible approach, we aim to support a healthier and more positive educational experience for all our students.

Other factors that influenced our decision included:

Flexibility:  We often need flexibility in scheduling due to unforeseen circumstances like changes in the school calendar, teacher availability, or interruptions or delays in instruction. Rigid assessment schedules do not allow for this necessary flexibility.

Focus on Learning, Not Testing: Emphasising assessments shifts the focus from learning and growth to merely preparing for tests.

Adaptation to Student Needs: A flexible assessment schedule allows teachers to tailor assessment timings to better suit the needs of individual students or to provide additional support where needed, rather than adhering to a set schedule.

Good practice:  The Junior School is committed to providing formative assessment and ongoing feedback rather than only relying on summative assessments with set dates.

Encouraging Independent Learning: Without a fixed schedule, students might develop better time-management skills and learn to prepare for assessments as part of their regular study habits, rather than cramming for specific dates.

MERIT AWARDS

This year, the Senior School transitioned to an online system for Merit Awards, where merits are recorded in our Student Management System and contribute to further awards. The Junior School adopted a similar approach but quickly missed the tangible aspect of the Merit Award. In response, our Class Captains have been working on developing a new merit system for the Junior School. They will present their proposal to the College Leadership Team next week. Pending approval, we plan to reintroduce a physical merit card in the Junior School. A big thank you to Mr Buda and the Class Captains for their initiative. I look forward to sharing the new system once it's approved—fingers crossed!

DATES FOR THE DIARY

• Thursday 29 August | Father's Day Liturgy and Sports Day at Oxford Falls 
• Friday 30 August | P&F Father's Day Mass and Breakfast
• Monday 2 September | St Pius X Feast Day holiday (Pupil- and Staff-free day)
• Wednesday 4 September | Winter Sports photos
• Friday 27 September | Year 5 Science Fair 1:30 pm – 2:30 pm | Term 3 concludes

Thank you for your continued support of the Junior School.

Mrs Jill Greenwood -  Head of the Junior School 

Junior School Sport

Thursday Sport:   Training for Basketball, Touch Football, Cricket, Softball and Tennis all commence this week. Please remember to bring any additional gear you may require. 

Junior Athletics

• Barker Invitational 

Last weekend, members of Junior Athletics squad participated in the Barker Athletics Invitational. It was a fantastic morning, filled with impressive performances across various field and track events. As our first hit-out of the season, it was great to see some brilliant individual performances. The event also provided an excellent opportunity for our students and coaches to gauge the level of competition we'll face at the upcoming IPSHA Carnival.

I want to extend my thanks to the students and their parents for their commitment and attendance. A special thanks also to Matt North for his invaluable support in preparing and coaching the students before their races.

• Brothers Carnival @ St Ignatius' College, Friday 23 August 

Tomorrow, members of our Athletics Squad will attend this carnival and details of the results will be shared in next week's issue. 

• Shore/Newington Invitational Carnival @ SOPAC, Saturday 24 August

The SPX squad members will be off to compete at SOPAC on Saturday. This will be the last outing before the IPSHA Carnival next Wednesday, 28 August. 

Athletics – Training: Athletics training for the Junior School will conclude on Monday 26 August. Following the IPSHA Carnival, any athlete that qualifies for the CIS Championships will be invited to continue training with the senior team.  

Sporting successes: I am pleased to report that there are a number of students who are doing great things in sport outside of their regular sport commitments to the St Pius X College Sport Program.

Return of SPX uniforms: Just another reminder to return any SPX loan uniforms that your son no longer requires. Any outstanding uniforms will be charged on the final school fees later in the year. Thank you to those who have already returned their gear.

Junior School Father’s Day Liturgy and Father & Son Sports Day

A reminder to compete the rsvp form via the link below if you have yet to do so. Thank you to those who have already completed the form as the information it provides is essential in planning the event.

Mr James Bourke - Junior School Sport Coordinator

SPX Football Social Night, 14 September - GET YOUR TICKETS VIA THE QR CODE BELOW!

Many thanks to all those that have already purchased tickets to the SPX Football Social - come and have a great night out at The Avenue, Chatswood - a great venue, central to all forms of transport. SPX staff, old boys and parents are attending so it will be a great night to catch up and discuss your thoughts on the season in a really relaxed environment with great guest speakers.

Prize donations gratefully received

The Football Supporters Committee has already received some generous offers of prizes from football families that we can raffle / auction - thanks so much.  If you are able to make a donation on behalf of your family or business, please reply directly to Matt at spxfsc@gmail.com or Priscilla at pleasepris@hotmail.com. It would be a great way to continue to support the football program.

Good luck to all SPX senior football teams playing in the Grand Finals this week.

SPX Football Supporters' Committee

spxfsc@gmail.com

Cricket - Registrations

Mr Ryan Balboa - MWJCA Cricket Convenor

From the Junior Resource Centre

This week’s Highlights are:

Can you guess our Book Week characters?

Year 5 Chatswood Library Visit 

As promised Year 5 Blue were able to visit Chatswood Library on Monday and participate in their Book Week activities for 2024. The students read and discussed Paper - Flower Girl. A great picture book to add to the PRC list.

Paper - Flower Girl by Margrete Lamond, Illustrate by Mateja Jager

PRC – ID 1078779

Virtual Book Week Excursions with the NSW State Library

On Monday 6 Green were able to take part in an exclusive ‘behind the scenes’ investigation into the process of bringing a picture book to life. The students were able to see original drafts and artworks from the extensive picture book archives from the State Library.

Creative writing during Book Week

On Tuesday 5 Green were able to embrace their inner writer and unleash their creativity with the State Library’s creative writing virtual excursion. The State Library has provided inspiration for generations of writers. In this interactive and dynamic session, the boys were able to view the library’s collections as an inspirational launching pad for their own writing. The boys had the opportunity to brainstorm ideas, develop their characters and start on their own short story.

CONGRATULATIONS! CBCA 2024 Book of the Year Award Winners

Congratulations to the winners of the CBCA book of the year awards! The honour books, shortlist and long list this year were all filled with fantastic titles, so make sure you check them out. If you haven’t read any of these fantastic Australian children’s books, make sure you pop into the JRC to borrow them.

Congratulations to Isolde Martyn and Robyn Ridgeway, Illustrated by Louise Hogan.

MANY THANKS TO ALL FOR AN AMAZING BOOK WEEK PARADE  

The students loved it, and it would never have happened without all of your participation and Support. A BIG SHOUT OUT to ALL!

Finally, congratulations to all the boys, their efforts were spectacular!

MAY BOOKS BE FOREVER IN YOUR FAVOUR!

                             Book Week 2024 – Competition Winners

Year 5 Magical Owls – Sam Stroud – 5 Gold, Nicholas Satterthwaite 5 Green, Max Pile – 5 Red, Louis Khamis – 5 Blue.

Book In a Jar – Isaiah Byak, Ronan Orr, Noah Menezes, Rei Shimoda Chehab, Lachlan Centofanti, Louis Khamis, Casper Jean, Dee Weir, James Ulevik, Xavier Korkor, Oliver Willems, Chatzden Ng, Isaac, Roth, Mav Sheriff, Ryan De-Fina, Nathan Hon, Ashworth Hilton, Ethan Odze

Book Worm Guessing Competition – Sean Goaley

Book Poster for the theme Reading is Magic – Josh Matthew 

Book Trailer – Winner – Noah Menezes

Book Week Parade 2024 Winners are:

First Prize: Hunter Bois

Second Prize: Ash Hilton

Third Prize: Oliver Mackinlay

NSW Premier’s Reading Challenge.

Have you checked out the new books added to the NSW PRC booklist? Don’t forget to finish your student reading record before 23 August.

https://online.det.nsw.edu.au/prc/home.html

Book Week Author Talk 28 August - Mick Elliott 

Mick Elliott will be visiting Junior School as part of our Book Week Celebrations for 2024.

Attached is a digital order form from Larrikin House.

Larrikin House is offering to run easy, cashless book sales for the event where students get to purchase their books of choice and have them signed by the Author at the event.

Parents simply need to follow the instructions on the landing page when they click the link on the form or scan the QR code. I will also have printed copies in the JRC for the students to collect.

Mrs Martin’s Book Trail: Dogs Who Changed the World by Dan Jones.

Who doesn’t love dogs? This new one will definitely be popular in the JRC. Fifty stories of dogs that have altered history, inspired art and literature, reunited lost lovers, saved lives, or just ruined everything. These inspiring, humorous, heart-breaking, or just plain weird stories reveal why dogs have earned their place as our greatest companions, and how our fascination with them is age-old. Meet big Barry, the hefty St Bernard credited with saving the lives of more than 40 people lost in the Swiss Alps in the 1800s.

Marie Antoinette’s sassy little Papillon Coco, was the true star of the French Court.

Dogs that Changed the World is a beautifully illustrated book that celebrates the unique relationship we have with our canine best friends. (including Teddy in the photo) #MrsMartinsbooktrail2024

Mrs Elena Martin - Teacher Librarian