From the Head of the Junior School
Junior School Sport
From the Junior Resource Centre
Junior School Chess

From the Head of the Junior School

TEACHING AND LEARNING

I was thrilled to be able to watch Year 6 Blue students recreating the process of a parliamentary debate last week. Students – acting as members of parliament – were debating an amendment to the Fisheries Bill. Mr Buda maintained control as Speaker of the House, Alex S gave an impassioned speech to support his motion from the opposition, and I was impressed with how much the students knew about the process of moving, seconding and voting on a motion.

COLLEGE OPEN DAY

Thank you to those families who contributed to the overwhelming success of last Saturday’s Open Day by sending in cakes for the cake stall and/or by allowing your son to come along and act as a tour guide. Our visiting families absolutely loved meeting our Junior School students and hearing their insights about life at the College.

CONGRATULATIONS MR SLACK-SMITH

Year 6 student Hugh S was very proud to show us his Dad’s first book as a published author: Roarsome Half lion. Half werewolf. All pillow. Totally roarsome! All Walter wanted for his birthday was a limited edition, nitro-powered drone. Instead, he gets a tattered old lion-shaped pillow (that smells suspiciously like werewolf wee). Roar-kward! Now the full moon is out and Roars the lion-pillow has come to life for one night only, looking for adventure. Roars doesn’t just want some fun ... he wants all the fun!

STUDENT SAFETY

Unfortunately, Junior School students are continuing to run through the Victoria Avenue Mall. We regularly remind students of the safest path to take to the bus and train stations, instruct the students to walk, not run, and plead with them to stay off their phones as they cross the roads. As you can imagine, when they run in groups, they can be a danger to themselves and others. If they have a mobile phone, almost without exception, they are engrossed in their phones as they walk. Can you please discuss this with your son/s and if you are aware that they are catching a train or bus before 3:10 pm, you would be right to assume they are running to catch it. Thank you for your support in keeping your son/s safe.

STUDENT ABSENCES

Thank you for your continuing patience as we continue to roll out new programs and procedures in 2024.

When you are advising a student absence, please note:

If the student is missing school – this email should be sent to studentmanagement@stpiusx.nsw.edu.au and should include your son’s full name and class and the reason for his absence (eg John Smith, 5 Blue, cold).
If your son is missing a co-curricular event (eg Saturday sport, Band, Choir, Robotics) – then you need to notify through Clipboard.

NAPLAN 2024

Yesterday, Year 5 students completed NAPLAN assessments. We have a catch-up session tomorrow for those who were absent.

YEAR 5 BROKEN BAY CAMP | MONDAY 25 – WEDNESDAY 27 MARCH

In preparation for the Year 5 Camp to Broken Bay, if you haven’t already done so, please complete this medical form as a matter of urgency as Mrs Iwatani is finalising arrangements for camp: https://forms.office.com/Pages/ResponsePage.aspx?id=uh6Gabf6VUKCjipTGnwnkrjTTWFbccVJgVu6_4LanYhUM1BaNEgyWE9DMDQ0RUQwQ0hGTkVUMEtCRy4u

Please send any medication required on Camp to the front office in a ziplock bag, clearly labelled with your son’s name and medication frequency and dosage (as soon as possible).

If you think it would help to alleviate some nerves, you might like to have a look at the Broken Bay Camp website with your son: https://www.think-outside.com.au/broken-bay

ST PATRICK’S DAY

The Junior School came out on top as winners of the St Patrick’s Day Staff Costume Competition.

Congratulations to our favourite Irish export, Ms O’Hora and a very brave Mr Makhoul for representing the Junior School in fine fashion, to be sure.

DATES FOR THE DIARY:

JUNIOR SCHOOL BIBLE LITURGY

Please note that the Junior School Bible Liturgy has been moved to Tuesday 9 April (Week 11).

SUMMER SPORT PHOTOS

Please note that the summer sport photos have been moved to Thursday 11 April (Week 11).

Thank you for your ongoing support of the Junior School.

Mrs Jill Greenwood - Head of the Junior School

Junior School Sport

IPSHA Cross Country

Congratulations to the following boys who have been chosen to represent St Pius X at the IPSHA Cross Country carnival to be held on Saturday 6 April at The King’s School, North Parramatta. Further details of the event will be forthcoming.

U10: Emilio Calcarao, Haarlem Fallowfield, George Tchaprazian, Dylan Fok, Alexander Ruf

U11: Cristian Fajardo, Philip Brady, Brandon Abram, Christian Castorina, Nicolas Satterthwaite

U12: Matthew Krizan, Zac Hayes, Ryan Volpato, Sebastian Price and Alexander Troughton

Cross Country Training:

The Cross-Country training sessions at Beauchamp Park have been running now for a number of weeks. The sessions serve as a great opportunity for the IPSHA Cross Country runners to hone their running, as well as for anyone else hoping to increase their fitness for the upcoming Winter Sport season. Please feel more than welcome to join in. It is pleasing to hear that many of the Junior athletes are training very hard each session. This will do them well for the 6 April IPSHA Cross-Country Carnival.

When: Monday, Wednesday and Thursday mornings

Where: Beauchamp Park, Chatswood

Time: 7:15 am – 8:15 am

Rugby Holiday Clinic:

With the Junior Rugby Season just around the corner, the annual Easter Holiday rugby clinic will take place on Thursday 18 and Friday 19 April - April School Holiday Clinic. This is a great opportunity for the boys to make sure they’re well and truly prepared for the season and will help them put their best foot forward during trials. Coaching staff will be age group coordinators, Trytime coaches and special guest coaches. Position specific coaching will be given as well as team play. It will be a great chance for boys to work on their skills and confidence before the season.

The bus will depart Archer Street, outside OLD Church at 9:00 am and return to Anderson Street Chatswood by 3:15 pm. The clinic will start at 9:30 am for those heading direct to Oxford Falls.

To register for the clinic please use the link below.

https://events.humanitix.com/st-pius-holiday-rugby-clinic

Armidale Tour:

Thank you to all students and families who expressed an interest in sending their son to The Armidale School Rugby Carnival. I am pleased to say that a squad has been chosen and will be announced in the coming week. Boys chosen will meet with the touring staff, Mr Morris, Mr Montgomerie and me before the end of next week to arrange tour jerseys fit outs and training.

Basketball, Touch Football and Softball:

With the completion of Round 6 over the weekend, the Basketball, Touch Football, and Softball fixtures and training sessions will now cease until the summer season recommences in Term 4. I would like to take this opportunity to thank all families, coaches, officials, and especially the boys, for their consistent application to their chosen activity and their commitment to their teammates.

I would also like to make a special mention to the boys in Gold 2 Basketball team who achieved an undefeated season. They worked extremely well as a team each game and were wonderful representatives of St Pius X College. Congratulations goes to Michael Capra, Lachlan Cheung, Ryan De-Fina, Ryan Lu, Giancarlo Righi-Clayton, Benjamin Soady and James Wilkins.

I look forward to witnessing more of the same in the winter season which kicks off with Round 1 on 4 May. Further information will be forthcoming before the end of term.

Around the grounds…

Basketball

Touch Football

Softball

Thursday Sport:

Winter sports trials for Rugby Union, Football and AFL commenced this week. If your son is currently injured or not well, rest assured that there will be more trial days for him to attend before the end of the term.

Please ensure that your son has the correct equipment organised and ready for this each trial e.g. mouth guards, football boots, shin guards, etc.

Mr James Bourke - Junior School Sports Coordinator

COERVER Football Camps

In preparation for the Football season, the College is offering St Pius X student only COERVER Camps.

ST PIUS X APRIL HOLIDAY CAMPS

Monday 15 - Thursday 18 April

9:00 am - 12:00 noon each day.

Bus transport to and from is available, with details provided in link prior to registration.

Active Kids Vouchers accepted.

Age : 9 - 16

Coerver Coaching holiday camps offer a fun-filled soccer experience for children aged 9-16 years. Each day will include Coerver® SKILLS competitions and challenges, Ball Mastery, Coaching sessions focusing on developing effective use of skill, small sided Coerver® Games, and mini Coerver Cup Tournament to keep players active.

TECHNIQUE

The cornerstone of our curriculum is technical development. We utilize the Coerver® Method of ball mastery and graduated pressure to build technical competence and play carefully selected games to build functional success.

PLAYER CONFIDENCE

We foster creativity by providing the players technical building blocks & encouraging creative actions in developmentally appropriate games. Our games are designed to be fun, challenging and to reward success and risk-taking.

TEAMWORK

Small group tactics and principles of play are taught in attack and defence by utilizing the structure of the many small sided games, which have made the Coerver® Curriculum so unique and recognised as the world’s leading technical football program.

SPORTSMANSHIP

We value winning but not more than character and effort. We encourage paying respect to players, parents, coaches and referees. Sportsmanship is emphasized to develop the whole person and not just the player.

With 2, 3 and 4 day options available, this is the perfect pre and early season preparation for St Pius X students looking towards a successful season. It is also a huge amount of footballing fun!

Bookings can be made using the following link: Coerver course | Coerver Coaching

Mr Simon Yue - Senior Football Convenor

NSTA Tennis

It was a busy weekend for many players, competing in their tennis matches then rushing off to Open Day to help out there. Being the last week before our finals and play offs, some students were feeling the pressure!

Thank you to our umpires last week, they did an outstanding job: Esteban Leon Curran, Ryan Chung and Aiden Chan.

This coming weekend everyone will take part in either finals or play offs. We wish them all the best.

Mrs Samantha Iwatani - NSTA Convenor

From the Junior Resource Centre

Harmony Week 2024

Books are “windows, mirrors and sliding doors” (to quote Dr. Rudine Sims Bishop) that allow readers to see into the life experiences of others, see themselves reflected and build and understanding of different world views – a powerful way to build a sense of belonging, respect and understanding.

This week we are celebrating Harmony Week in the JRC to recognise diversity and inclusion. It is a time to celebrate Australian multiculturalism and the successful integration of migrants into our community. Australia is one of the most successful multicultural countries in the world and we should celebrate this and maintain it.

“A nation’s culture resides in the hearts and soul of its people.” – Mahatma Gandhi

Why orange?

Orange is the colour chosen to represent Harmony Week. Traditionally, orange signifies social communication and meaningful conversations. It also relates to the freedom of ideas and encouragement of mutual respect. Wear something orange during Harmony Week to show your support for cultural diversity and an inclusive community at St Pius X Chatswood.

Books in our JRC

Looking for your next read? Pop into the JRC and see our range of books to compliment Harmony Week as we celebrate diversity, respect and a sense of belonging for everyone. (Pictured are just a few) #harmonyweek

New Books

Pop into the JRC and have a look at the new Book stack that has arrived! Looking forward to reading and sharing these titles with the students.

Mrs Martin’s Book Trail: Roarsome by Joel Slack -Smith, illustrated by Rebel Challenger.

NEW RELEASE ALERT! Are we the luckiest school on the North Shore? We have the amazing Author Joel Slack- Smith with his new novel Roarsome in our school community. Proud son Hugh sharing Dad’s new book. Watch this space!

“Half lion. Half werewolf. All pillow. Totally roarsome! All Walter wanted for his birthday was a limited edition, nitro-powered drone. Instead, he gets a tattered old lion-shaped pillow (that smells suspiciously like werewolf wee). Roar-kward! Now the full moon is out and Roars the lion-pillow has come to life for one night only, looking for adventure. Roars doesn’t just want some fun ... he wants all the fun! “Perfect for young readers 8 and up!" #mrsmartinsbooktrail2024

Mrs Elena Martin - Teacher Librarian

Junior School Chess Club

Chess trials continue this week. Held at lunch time in the JRC. Here students will be chosen to represent the school in the NSW Junior Chess league. Teams will be posted on Thursday. A reminder that Chess training begins Week 9, 26 March 2024 at 7:30 am in the JRC with Mrs Martin.

Mrs Elena Martin and Ms Raelene Boyle - Junior Chess Convenors

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