Senior School Cocurricular Program 

• Fixtures
• From the Assistant Principal, Cocurricular
• Basketball
• Chess
• Cricket
• Cross Country
• Debating 
• Rugby
• ISA Tennis
• NSTA Tennis
• Senior Swimming
• Squash

Fixtures

Please see attached this week's fixtures.

From the Assistant Principal, Cocurricular

As we come into the final round proper of the summer season, I would like to congratulate every team member and coach for their efforts throughout the season.  After this week we head into semi-finals, and then on 15 March the grand finals are played.  I remind students it is still important to maintain the same level of effort put into training and games as in previous weeks as your efforts may mean a place in the finals weeks.

Squash has recommenced for the second half of the summer season.  Although a small team of players, we wish them well as they continue their competition.

I also wish our swim squad the best as they head to Cranbrook for the Christian Brothers Carnival on Friday night.  

Mr Matthew Stearn - Assistant Princpial, Cocurricular

Basketball

It was another action-packed week of basketball, with some fantastic performances across all year groups. The 1st V delivered a commanding 83-60 win over Central Coast Grammar, while the 15As impressed with a strong 60-41 victory. The 14As also put in an outstanding effort, securing a 52-41 win.

Several games went down to the wire, showcasing the competitive spirit of our teams. The 17As edged out Central Coast Grammar in a tight 41-38 battle, while the 17Bs followed up with a 34-29 win. The 17Ds also secured a thrilling 23-21 victory over Redlands.

Some teams faced tough opponents but showed great resilience, with the 15Cs falling just short 27-29 and the 13Ds narrowly missing out in a 30-33 contest.

As we approach the final round of the regular season, several teams remain in contention for the finals. For those who qualify, training will continue next week, with potential adjustments to venues to maximise court use. All updates will be available in Clipboard.

A huge thank you to the families, players, and coaches for their effort’s week in and week out. To the families, thank you for making the weekly travels and for your unwavering support of your sons. To the players, your commitment to training, your teammates, and the game has been outstanding across all teams. To the coaches, your dedication, leadership, and guidance continue to make a lasting impact.

A special thank you to Mrs Schuster for her tireless work behind the scenes in organising fixtures each week and being there each Saturday, and to Mr Gibson for his wisdom, guidance and time on Saturdays.

We couldn’t have the biggest cocurricular program in the school without the support of everyone involved, it truly takes a village. Let’s make this final round one to remember!

ISA Finals – 8 and 15 March

The teams that qualify will be notified following the final round of the regular season.

Finals Venues: Games will be hosted across multiple venues, with details to be confirmed once matchups are finalised. Players and families should check Clipboard for updates regarding fixtures, times, and locations. 

Year 7 Term 1 Basketball Grading Series 

Thank you to all Year 7 families who have registered via Clipboard, registrations are now closed. The first grading session begins next week, with students invited to attend one of the morning sessions on Monday, Tuesday, or Wednesday in the GYM. 

To help form teams for the first fixtures on 8 March, we will be running grading based on surname groups:

• Monday morning – Surnames A-H

• Tuesday morning – Surnames I-N

• Wednesday morning – Surnames O-Z

Following the final session on Wednesday, teams will be placed for Week 1 of the grading series. Team allocations will be placed in Clipboard, with fixture information. Fixtures are currently set to take place at Oxford Falls, but there may be some away games (TBC). Games will be between 10:00 am and 1:00 pm. 

Grading Series Rounds:

• Saturday, 8 March 

• Saturday, 15 March

• Saturday, 22 March 

• Saturday, 29 March 

Throughout the grading series, team placements may change as we work towards ensuring the best development experience for all players. Games will be played against St Augustine’s, Redlands, and St Paul’s Grammar, with the focus on skill development and growth, rather than just results.

Looking forward to seeing the players on court next week!

Development Squads: Luminate Sports

Last week’s Luminate Sports session was a fantastic success, with great feedback from both players and families. The energy and enthusiasm shown by the Junior Development Team was outstanding, and it was great to see so much improvement in just one session!

This week, we continue the program, and the Senior Development Teams will also have the opportunity to experience the Luminate training. 

Students will once again train under highly qualified coaches, refining their skills, game awareness, and shooting technique. We encourage families to share any feedback after the session, as we continue to develop this exciting program.

Quote of the Week

'In this final round of ISA, play with passion, pride, and purpose. It’s not just about the score, it’s about the effort, the camaraderie, and the legacy you leave behind. Wear the SPX singlet with honour, and make this game one to remember!'

Fide et Labore – Faith and Hard Work!

Mr James Bourke - Basketball Convenor

Chess

St Pius X College participates in the Sydney Metropolitan Secondary Schools Chess competition, which takes place on Friday afternoons from 4:00 pm - 6:00 pm, during Term 2. 

Students compete in the North Shore Zone and as such are required to travel in their teams to various schools within this zone. Students are also required to attend training provided by Sydney Academy of Chess on a Monday afternoon, throughout Terms 1 and 2.

Clipboard is currently open for all students wishing to register to play Chess in 2025.

Students play in the following levels:

Seniors                   Years 11 & 12

Intermediates       Years 9 & 10

Juniors                     Year 7 & 8

Training is held Monday afternoons in the Blue Room 

• Time: 3:15 pm - 4:30 pm
• Afternoon tea will be provided

Ms Denise Ramsey and Ms Janelle Dempsey - Chess Convenors

Cricket

Saturday 22 February 2025 

ISA Division 1 Round 9

St Patrick’s College 10/194 (Flynn Mansbridge 2-34, Alex Burke 2-36, Luke Austin 2-32) defeated 1st XI 10/111 (Oliver Freeman 35).

The 1st XI hosted St Patrick’s at Oxford Falls, which was a picture. The outfield was in superb condition and the pitch looked like it could be ready for a Test match. The opposition won the toss and decided to bat. Some top-class bowling backed up by catches such as Rohan Chang’s brilliant take at first slip restricted them to 5 for 55. As the pitch flattened out and resistance from the middle order grew, St Pius were forced to work hard for the remaining wickets. In the final over the total was 194 when the last wicket fell. Credit to Flynn Mansbridge and Charlie Chippendale who opened the bowling and to Luke Austin, Jared Fernades and Alex Burke who supported them well. Unfortunately, after a solid start which saw the score at 2 for 49, Ollie Freeman did not receive the necessary support as wickets fell regularly until the team was dismissed in the 41st over.

ISA Division 2 Round 8 – Record 2nd XI total!           

2nd XI 4/295 (Edward Stearn 71*, Viaan Singh 70, Archie Wragge 57, Alessio Spillane 55) defeated St Stanislaus’ College 10/49 (Thomas Costain 3/24, Oliver Costain 2/1, Miles Jory 2/1, Jack English 2/10, Miles Moran 1/8).

ISA Round 10 – Saturday 1 March 2025 

1st XI v St Augustine’s College @ St Andrew’s College Oval, Sydney University (10:00 am start)

2nd XI v Central Coast Grammar School @ Oxford Falls #1 (10:00 am start)

Mr David Reay - ISA Cricket Convenor

MWJCA Match Reports

Mr Ryan Balboa - MWJCA Cricket Convenor

Cross Country

All communication regarding cross country will take place via Clipboard.  Parents and students should ensure they have notifications turned on for Clipboard and their device.

Cross Country training continues every Monday, Wednesday and Thursday mornings. Join us for fun, varied and challenging sessions. 

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, the ISA Cross Country competition in Term 2 or to simply improve your general well-being. 

Simply turn up to join.

All communication regarding cross country will take place via Clipboard.  Parents and students should ensure they have notifications turned on for Clipboard and their device.

2025 Run2Cure and Sydney10 Fun Run

St Pius X will take part in both the Run2Cure and Sydney10 5km Fun Run this year. These runs provide students with an excellent fitness challenge, as well as a great opportunity to prepare for those who will participate in the ISA Cross Country Competition, which will be held in late May. 

Students will need to organise with parents to make their own way there and back.

See below for details.

Run2Cure Fun Run

This run supports Neuroblastoma cancer research. We will run the 5km Wave A together.

Who: Year 7-12

When: Sunday, 6 April, 2025. Race starts 9:30 am.

Where: The Domain, in the centre of Sydney. Event village is the grassy area in between Hospital Road and Art Gallery Road. Mr Steinman and Ms Lee will meet everyone at 9:00 am. 

What to wear: Blue and yellow cross-country singlet, available for purchase at the uniform shop, can be used for training and ISA. Option to borrow a singlet is available with limited sizes, let Ms Lee know if you require to borrow a singlet. 

Early Bird Cost: $28, price increases after 28 February. Use code: SPX10 for an extra 10% off the registration fee. See website for more information: 

https://www.run2cure.org.au/event/domain25/event-info#pricing

If you are interested in this run, please register directly through the website, select "SPX Runners 2025", when prompted to join a team, and select our school when prompted to participate in a school challenge. Select “pick up” for bib collection and I will have them collected prior to the event. Please let Ms Lee know once you have completed registration at llee@stpiusx.nsw.edu.au. 

Sydney10 Fun Run

Who: Year 7-12

When: Sunday 18 May, 2025. Race starts 9:20 am.

Where: The Accor Stadium, Sydney Olympic Park. Mr Steinman and Ms Lee will meet everyone at 9:00 am.

What to wear: Blue and yellow cross-country singlet, available for purchase at the uniform shop, can be used for training and ISA. Option to borrow a singlet is available with limited sizes, let Ms Lee know if you require to borrow a singlet. 

Super Early Bird Cost: $25, price increases after 3 March.

https://raceroster.com/events/2025/99499/2025-sydney-10#pricing  

If you are interested in this run, please register via this link

https://raceroster.com/registration/c54e32d0-6ede-4bae-b59b-49f19ff27a90/entry?team=776013, 

Join Code: SPX1. Ms Lee will collect the bibs on Saturday, a day prior to the event. Please let Ms Lee know once you have completed registration at llee@stpiusx.nsw.edu.au. 

Ms Leanne Lee – Cross Country and Athletics Convenor 

Debating

CSDA Debating Competition 

Registration is now open on Clipboard. The closing date is 28 February. The CSDA Debating Competition runs through Terms 1 and 2.  There will be training sessions for the 2025 Debating season on the following dates:

Week 7 – training Wednesday 3:30 pm - 5:30 pm

Week 8 – training Wednesday 3:30 pm - 5:30 pm

Debating competition dates:

o Round 1: Wednesday 2 April (Term 1, Week 9)

o Round 2: Wednesday 9 April (Term 1, Week 10)

o Round 3: Wednesday 30 April (Term 2, Week 1)

o Round 4: Wednesday 7 May (Term 2, Week 2)

o Round 5: Wednesday 14 May (Term 2, Week 3)

o Round 6: Wednesday 21 May (Term 2, Week 4)

o Conference Eliminations: Wednesday 28 May (Term 2, Week 5)

o Conference Eliminations (if needed): Wednesday 4 June (Term 2, Week 6)

o Quarter Final: Friday 13 June (Term 2, Week 6)

o Semi Final: Friday 20 June (Term 2, Week 7)

o Grand Final Friday 27 June (Term 2, Week 8)

For those involved in debating, it is essential that you attend meetings at Recess 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 finals dates (above) free.  

Parents and students also need to complete the yellow registration form AND sign the CSDA ‘Code of Conduct’ form and return it to the Student Reception Office. Students can obtain a form from the Student Office.

Ms Lesley Gissane - Debating and Public Speaking Convenor

Rugby

Rugby Registration will continue to be OPEN. 

All Year 5-12 students wishing to play rugby are required to be registered via Clipboard. This allows the school rugby administrators and coaches to best prepare for the coming season, plus allows your SPX Rugby Club to best support and communicate with you! There are no trials or grading days, all students are encouraged to get involved. 

The following link will direct you to clipboard: https://portal.clipboard.app/stpiusx. Please note that payment for the season will be made upon registration.

If you have any issues pleases contact Mr Justin Gates, Senior Rugby Convenor jgates@stpiusx.nsw.edu.au

Year 7 Rugby Taster Program 

The College along with Mr Mike Cross and the Rugby Committee are offering 4 free fun after school coaching sessions to all of Year 7 before the rugby season starts. If you are interested, please enrol your son via Clipboard. 

The sessions will be conducted on 11, 13, 18 and 20 March.  

Holiday Rugby Clinic

The annual Easter Holiday rugby clinic will take place on Wednesday and Thursday, 16 - 17 April.  This is a great opportunity for the students to make sure they are well and truly prepared for the season and will help them put their best foot forward for the ISA season. Coaching staff will be Trytime coaches and special guest coaches.  Position-specific coaching will be given, as well as team play.  It is a great chance for students to work on their skills and confidence before the season commences.

Please register via Clipboard - https://portal.clipboard.app/stpiusx.

WARATAHS TICKETS - THIS FRIDAY NIGHT

This Friday night the Waratahs Men's and Women's teams are playing a double-header against the Fijian Drua. It will be a massive night as all Super Rugby clubs unite to celebrate ‘Culture Round', recognising the diverse cultures connected by the game of rugby. We’d love to see the Pius community at the matches.

The NSW Waratahs have put together a ticket offer for Pius, which opens up $10 General Admission for kids and $15 General Admission for Adults. 

The rugby community can access via a direct link for your school for the Fijian Drua game – https://premier.ticketek.com.au/shows/show.aspx?sh=TAHS25&eg=TAH&EP=PIUS

OR

For any games this year by entering the password “PIUS” when you buy tickets through this link - https://premier.ticketek.com.au/shows/show.aspx?sh=TAHS25

Friday 28 February - Allianz Stadium

Double Header

Round 1 of Smartech Super Rugby Women

NSW Waratahs Women v Fijiana Drua

5:00 pm

Round 3 of Smartech Super Rugby Pacific

NSW Waratahs v Fijian Drua

7:30 pm

Term 1 Rugby Dates for the Diary:

• Sunday 9 March - Old Boys Gala Day – Oxford Falls (9:30 am kick off for a game of touch)

• 11, 13, 18 and 20 March - Year 7 Rugby Taster & Opens Training at Oxford Falls

• Thursday 27 March - Rugby Training Commences at Oxford Falls for all students Year 7-12

• Saturday 5 April - SPX vs ST ALOYISIUS 

• 16 and 17 April – Rugby Holiday Clinic 

Mr Justin Gates - Rugby Convenor

ISA Tennis

Applications for ISA Winter Tennis are now open!

ISA Tennis is a senior school sport for students in Years 7 to 12. St Pius X teams compete against other ISA schools on Saturday mornings. If students are selected and commit themselves to a team, they must be available for all weeks of the competition and to travel regularly for games. 

This competition runs through Terms 2 & 3 with four grading sessions late in Term 1.

All students intending to play in the 2025 season must attend all allocated grading/training afternoons, running in Term 1, Weeks 7, 8, 9 with Queenwood Tennis and Sporting Centre (Oxford Falls).

Students will be advised whether they are required to attend the Tuesday or Wednesday afternoon sessions once registrations have closed.

Please click here for more information regarding ISA Tennis: ISA Tennis Enrolment information. Should you have any queries, please contact Ms Bamber -vbamber@stpiusx.nsw.edu.au.

Mrs Veronica Bamber - ISA Tennis Convenor

NSTA Tennis

We had a cooler start to the games last weekend; the skies were a little overcast but that certainly didn’t dampen the spirits of the players. Nathan Hon and Eric Park (SPX 24) had an amazing weekend winning all 3 sets against SPX 22. Kairav Singh and Wesley Lum played an outstanding doubles that came down to an exciting tie break, where the students showed their teamwork and won the match! Kai Stephen, Sam Lam and Andrew He, (SPX 31) are all Year 5 students and although they didn’t win any sets, should be congratulated on the way they faced their opponents, all Year 12 students from Redlands. Thank you to Lachlan and Jake Yu who, once again, gave up their Saturday morning to come down and help the younger players, mentoring and umpiring our lower divisions. Your help is always appreciated. 

At 10:00 am, thank you to both Ben Shoudra and Lucas Korth who both rose to the occasion to play up in divisions. Ben played an excellent singles, and only just lost out on a win in an exciting tie break. Lucas pulled out an amazing win in his singles with some excellent rallies and shots. Patrick Hu and Noah Safarian (SPX 6) were out to impress, taking out all 3 sets in their match against SPX 8. Ben Crichton and James Stapleton (SPX 10) also played an impressive doubles also coming down to a tie break winning it 7-4. Tyson Liu and Lachlan McGrath (SPX 12) are to be congratulated on winning 18 games to 5 against SPX 13. 

NSTA TRAINING TEAMS

A great afternoon of tennis was had. There was a lot of chatter and laughs on the court. It is obvious that all the students are learning from this experience, and with the coaches there it is an excellent opportunity for all. In Division 1, Nicholas, Javien and Seth (Team 1) showed their skills against Team 4, winning all 3 sets. Josh, Patrick and Nicholas (Team 2) also came together as a team to pull out 3 amazing wins, losing only 4 games! Division 2 was no exception, with one of the longest doubles matches I have ever seen 1.5 hours between Teams 6 and 7, with Team 7 securing the victory! Team 7 (Coby and Archer) went on to also win both of their singles. 

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 Convenor

Senior Swimming

This Friday evening, 28 February, the swimming squad will be taking part in the Christian Brothers Carnival being held at Cranbrook Aquatic Centre. Entry is at 6:00 pm for a 6:30 pm start.

All students involved have been notified of which events they are swimming. All swimmers must wear the school swimming cap and be in black or blue swimming costumes - no flourescents. All swimmers must wear closed-toed shoes to the pool as well as their Pius swimming shirt. No crocs. Year 11- 12 must wear their school uniform to the pool and get changed once there.

All students swimming have been emailed and regularly updated. Please leave enough time to travel over the bridge on a Friday evening as traffic can be challenging at that time. Looking forward to a competitive evening.

Please note: there is no U12 age group for the carnival tomorrow night.  U12 swimmers will be swimming at the next carnival on 18 March (the ISA Swimming Carnival).

Ms Leisa Proc – Swimming Convenor

Squash

Welcome back to the second half of the summer squash season! Have you ever thought about squash for sport? Registrations for the winter season of squash are open on Clipboard. Squash can have many positive attributes, including physical and mental health benefits, social skills, and stress relief. Success in squash often requires a strong work ethic and a commitment to training and practice. 

The 2028 Olympics will include squash for the first time with the potential of it becoming a permanent sport from the 2032 Olympic Games in Brisbane. Could you be Australia’s next Olympian? There are 20 places available for winter squash and St Pius X participates in Squash NSW’s Junior Pennant twice a year. We are looking to grow the profile of squash at St Pius X and if you would like to participate, sign up via Clipboard. 

Mr Joseph Madani - Squash Convenor