Pastoral Care
Image and brand are key when representing St Pius X
International Women's Day
Year 10 Vaccination clinic
House Points Week 6
Parent Webinar - healthy masculinity
Image and brand are key when representing St Pius X.
The way in which we conduct ourselves when we are in the St Pius X uniform is paramount. We are in the middle of Chatswood and eyes are on us all the time. How we behave outside the College walls has an impact on our brand. In business the good name of a brand is key to performance.
What you do when wearing the St Pius X uniform is noticed. Does your hair meet the college hair policy, is your shirt tucked in and socks pulled up, phone away all day, are you on time for school, are you using appropriate language, are you being an upstander and displaying Catholic values?
Are you following the student code of conduct when on public transport - waiting for members of the public to get on and off first, not taking a seat when a paying customer is standing, tapping on and off each trip, being polite and courteous and acting appropriately at all times?
I had the pleasure of speaking to a business consultant who coaches companies through brand management and the following are his observations on ‘brand’ ...
I am acutely aware of how image and reputation, and how you conduct yourself, professionally and personally, is paramount in today’s world and as a former boarding school student, this was embedded in my schooling days.
These days I still teach to much older audiences and am fortunate to be asked to speak at conferences across Australia and the world.
When speaking about businesses, we often refer to them becoming an ‘Employer of Choice’, as many companies seek to dominate, attract, and then hire the best people. When defining an employer of choice in a school setting, I always compare schools and how do parents choose one for their children.
The school search always ignites any room. You see, it is deeply personal, and most parents really do want the best for their children, hence the school search is of paramount concern to most, especially the first child. These results come from all schools and do not reflect on the private sector alone. Of course, there are some that don’t care; however, they are far outweighed by those that do.
So, what answers do I always get?
The culture
The leadership, especially the Headmaster or Principal
The staff (and turnover)
The reputation
The students (how they dress, the way they wear their uniform, their shoes, their hair, how they act in public, their language, the respect they show others, and how they act as a pack). The students are the unofficial custodians of the school reputation and the public label of schools are based almost entirely on them.
Academic results
Sporting facilities and results
Extra curricula activity
Proximity to home and ease of access
Size of classes and school numbers
It is hard to rank them, but this is the order I usually get.
I really hope that all students can uphold the values and expectations of the College. Let’s make the St Pius X brand a highly recommended and preferred school of choice for our community. What actions can the students make to uphold the Pius brand?
International Women's Day 2025: Let's Accelerate Action
This week we celebrated International Women’s Day at the College.
International Women's Day, 8 March (celebrated on Wednesday 5th at St Pius X), is a day to honour the achievements and contributions of women across all fields of life. In schools, it is an opportunity to educate students about gender equality, inspire them with the stories of strong women from both history and today, and promote the importance of respect, fairness, and empowerment for all.
The day encourages students to appreciate the progress made and motivate them to continue striving for a more inclusive and equal future. It's about celebrating the power, strength, and resilience of women everywhere! Respect and equity are the key themes presented to our students.
The theme for this year’s celebration is 'Accelerate Action'. It is a worldwide call to acknowledge strategies, resources, and activity that positively impact women's advancement, and to support and elevate their implementation. Significant barriers to gender equality remain, yet with the right action and support, positive progress can be made for women everywhere.
We started our awareness at Wednesday morning's assembly by introducing students to our guest speaker Dr Toner Stevenson who is an honorary History affiliate with The University of Sydney. She has a doctorate in Social Sciences, Master of Arts Management and BA Design degrees. Dr Stevenson researches the history of astronomy in Australia, in particular women who were the ‘hidden figures’ essential to research and discovery. Her extensive career in museums includes manager of Sydney Observatory and senior roles at the Natural History Museum in London, History Museums NSW and the Powerhouse Museum.
The students then broke up into year groups to view some inspiring videos and explore the achievements and challenges of women in society on a deeper level. During these lessons some students were encouraged to write a letter to a female in their lives who they admire.
Student leaders also had the opportunity to visit girls' schools during the week to hear first-hand how they celebrate this important day and what we can learn as a community from others.
A sincere thanks goes out towards the Student Leadership Team, the committee involved in the organisation of this important day, Ms Frances Doyle, Ms Joe McCarthy, Ms Amanda Fileman, Ms Veronica Bamber, Mr Martin Gillogly, Mr Sam Di Sano, and particularly the Maintenance Team and the Catering Team.
The hope is that one day we will not need days such as these, as progress is made towards a world in which disrespect and inequity are the exception, a time in which we can all celebrate humanity as united, fair and equal - unity in our diversity.
Collectively, let's forge a more inclusive world for women.
Mr Paul Ticli - Wellbeing Coordinator
Year 10 Vaccination Clinic
NSW Health will offer vaccinations to all Year 10 students on Friday 28 March.
Year 10 - Meningococcal ACWY
Also
Year 11 - Meningococcal ACWY (if not already vaccinated in Year 10) and
Year 8 - HPV and dTpa for those who missed the vaccination in Year 7.
Vaccination will only be provided at school if consent has been received. Please complete this consent at least 2 days prior to the school clinic.
How to provide consent:
To complete online consent for your child’s school vaccinations, visit: https://engage.health.nsw.gov.au/engage and log in using your ServiceNSW details.
Follow the steps to log in to your existing ServiceNSW account. This is the same account you may already use to renew your driver’s licence. If you don’t have a ServiceNSW account, refer to ServiceNSW to create one.
Update or confirm your personal details in ServiceNSW as required.
Complete the School Vaccination Consent Form for your child/ren. You will need to:
Enter your child’s personal details
Provide the Medicare card details for you and your child
Read the linked Parent Information Sheet and privacy statement. Translations available in 28 languages
Provide consent. (For detailed steps on how to provide consent please refer to guide on how to provide consent online on the NSW Health webpage.) If you require information in your language please visit Arabic, Korean, Simplified Chinese, Traditional Chinese, Vietnamese
No Medicare?
If you or your child do not have a Medicare card or you don’t have I.T. access, consent can still be provided by requesting a paper-based consent form directly from your child’s school.
The benefits of providing consent online:
• easily update your child’s details
• receive SMS and/or email notifications when vaccinations are given
• faster upload of vaccination records to the Australian Immunisation Register (AIR).
(Year 7 students will be offered free vaccines for diphtheria/tetanus/pertussis (dTpa) and human papillomavirus (HPV) at school later this year.)
Follow this link for a 2 minute video of a young man who had Meningococcal disease; Seb’s Story
For more information on routine school vaccinations, visit
www.health.nsw.gov.au/schoolvaccination .
If you require information in your language, visit
www.health.nsw.gov.au/immunisation/Pages/school_vaccination_language.aspx
If you have difficulty completing the online vaccination consent form, please email
nslhd-phuschoolvaccinationprogram@health.nsw.gov.au or phone 02 9485 6971 for assistance.
Please see attached for further information on the school vaccination program.
House Points Week 6
Students accumulate house points through participation in a variety of activities across the college, including both curricular and co-curricular events, as well as receiving merit awards. Points can be earned through involvement in activities such as swimming carnivals, cross country, and awards for positive behaviour or excellent work in class.
Congratulations to all students for their participation throughout the year!
Below is the House Points tally as of Week 6. It’s certainly a close race!
Parent Webinar - Healthy Masculinity
Mr Martin Gillogly - Assistant Principal, Pastoral Care