St Pius X College Newsletter

Mission and Identity

  • Chapel Mass
  • India and Ireland Immersion for EREA staff
  • Edmund Rice Education Beyond Borders
  • Social Justice Programs
  • Year 12 Graduation Mass
  • Matthew 25:40 Immersion Program for Year 10 Term Four 
  • Edmund Rice Hours For Years 10 and 11

Chapel Mass

Tuesday morning’s Mass was celebrated here at the College, led by 5 Gold – their first. It was a wonderful liturgy to mark the feast of St Robert Bellarmine, a giant in Church theology, canonised in 1930, having lived his life in the 17th Century as a staunch defender of the faith in the times of the great Protestant Reformation period.

Social Justice Programs

We continue our weekly program of outreach to Matthew Talbot Hostel in Woolloomooloo and St Peter’s Catholic Care in Lane Cove.  It was heartening to recently receive and read some positive feedback about the interactions our boys have at both locations.  Sometimes we just don’t realise the impact we have on the wellbeing of others.

India and Ireland Immersion

Following on from the report of staff members Daniel Petrie and Ryan Balboa participating in an EREA staff formation program to Kenya and Uganda, Mrs Jill Greenwood, Head of Junior School and myself will be undertaking a 16-day pilgrimage to India and Ireland in the upcoming school holidays. The India component allows us to visit mission sites coordinated by the Christian Brothers, whose presence in India reaches right back to the 1840s, first setting up a congregation of Calcutta Brothers and then again from the 1890s at the request of the Pope, coordinating a mission under the auspices of the Irish Christian Brothers congregation. From there the group will make its way to Ireland and visit the home of Blessed Edmund Rice and the site of his first ministries in Waterford. We are especially grateful to the College and to EREA for this opportunity to extend our connections with the broader Edmund Rice community and deepen our understanding of their ministry.

Edmund Rice Education Beyond Borders 

This week the global map of the Edmund Rice network of schools was released, highlighting the global presence of the Charism of Blessed Edmund Rice across 280 schools in 21 countries. It also shows our commitment to UNESCO's Futures of Education, the UN Sustainable Development Goals and Pope Francis’ Global Compact on Education. Schools are asked to display the Global Map and use it to not only build awareness but also to teach about the Global Edmund Rice Schools’ community,  the Charism of Blessed Edmund Rice and the legacy and ongoing ministry of the Christian Brothers. A worldwide online launch will be held early next year to bring together students and staff from across our schools in global solidarity.

Year 12 Graduation Mass

Our Year 12 Graduation Mass will take place on Wednesday 25 September in the Parish Church.  Please take into consideration traffic and parking to ensure you arrive on time and are seated in the Church for the commencement of Mass.  The boys will need to assemble outside on the Kirk St entrance while parents are seated inside for the commencement of Mass.

Matthew 25:40 Immersion Program for Year 10 Term 4

An expression of interest was posted via their CANVAS page for Year 10 students to complete if they are interested in participating in the Matthew 25:40 Term 4 immersions during Week 7 (Sunday 24 to Thursday 28 November).  There are 4 opportunities for boys to consider, 3 of them being residential and one a day only experience.  We have about 60 places available for the four experiences.  The boys and parents will be provided more comprehensive details early in Term 4, with information regarding application procedures and cost, but this gives us an early non-binding indication of interest.  In brief, the Greater Sydney is a series of three local outreach experiences with physically and mentally disabled and homeless communities; Central Coast is based at Terrigal and engages the boys with some local charities for homeless men and women, meal distribution and bush care and regeneration, Bowraville is based at St Mary’s Catholic Primary School in Bowraville on the mid North Coast assisting in the school and being on country with local Aboriginal elders, while the Kamilaroi immersion visits schools and local Aboriginal communities in the Central NSW towns of Coonabarabran and Baradine.

Edmund Rice Hours for Years 10 and 11

Students in Years 10 and 11 aim for 20 faith in action hours.  They are required to log their contributions and participation in their journal (provided) and seek sign off from their Religion teacher or a member of the Mission and Identity team. We are seeking to have all journal logs completed by Week 4 of Term 4.

 

Mr Sam Di Sano - Leader of Learning, Religious Education