Junior School News 

• From the Head of the Junior School
• Junior School Sport
• From the Junior Resource Centre
• Junior Debating

From the Head of the Junior School

JUNIOR SCHOOL SPORTS AWARDS

We will be celebrating our Junior School students' 2023 sporting achievements on Tuesday 21 November at our Junior School Sports Awards Ceremony at 11:00 am in the College gym.

To RSVP please use the Trybooking link below.

YEAR 6 GRADUATION LITURGY AND AFTERNOON TEA

Our Year 6 families are warmly invited to celebrate the end of students' primary years at the inaugural Junior School Graduation Liturgy and afternoon tea at Oxford Falls on Monday 27 November.  The liturgy will commence at 12:45 pm, followed by an afternoon tea.

Could you please RSVP for attendance and afternoon tea purposes on the following form. Please note that Year 6 students are already included in attendance numbers for this event.  Please only advise on this form the number of non-student guests attending.

Could I please ask that you upload a Kindergarten (or first year of school) photo via this link:  https://forms.gle/BRrAtgnBm6EiqEvT7 for use during the liturgy.

If any Year 5 parents are available to assist with the Year 6 afternoon tea would you please email Ms Fromager at hfromager@stpiusx.nsw.edu.au. 

2024 STUDENT TRANSTION AND ORIENTATION

Last Thursday we welcomed 128 new students to the College as part of their 2024 Transition and Orientation program.  The new Year 5 students completed Allwell testing in the morning, before joining the new Year 6s for a fun-filled Scavenger Hunt throughout the College.  It is always lovely to meet our new groups of students.  What a gift they are to us.  As I watched the faces of the nervous mums and dads, I was reminded of what a privilege it is to be able to walk alongside these precious boys in their first few years here at Pius.

TEACHING AND LEARNING

In Year 6 Religious Education lessons, students are learning how to become stewards of God’s creation. They are making connections between creation stories from the Bible and stories from the Dreamtime.  

In Year 5 Science, students are discovering different states of matter with hands-on learning experiences. Students made ice cream by putting milk in a large bag and ice and salt in another bag. The addition of salt to the ice lowers the freezing point by a few degrees. The experiment was celebrated by adding topping and enjoying the ice cream on a nice hot day. 

Last week, students in Year 6 had an opportunity to present the research they had conducted into an Asian country of their choosing.  Mr Ronchetti, Mrs Greenwood, and Mr Wheatley attended and were thoroughly impressed with the knowledge that students demonstrated as well as the range of creativity shown. 

Students in Year 6 have been preparing for their Drama presentations over the past few weeks. Students have planned, drafted and written their scripts. They thoroughly enjoyed presenting their performances and had an even better time watching them! 

IPSHA GALA DEBATING 

Congratulations to our Junior Debating teams for their successful performances (winning 3 out of 4 debates) at the IPSHA Gala Debating Day at Abbotsleigh on Monday.  Special thanks to Mr Cummins for all the work he has done in preparing the students for this event.

SPECTATORS’ CODE OF BEHAVIOUR

Just a reminder that if you are dissatisfied with anything related to your son’s Saturday sport, it is imperative that you take the matter to the Pius team coach.  Please do not approach the opposition players, coach, staff or officials. Your next point of contact is Mr Ryan bryan@stpiusx.nsw.edu.au, and if you need further assistance, you are always welcome to contact me jgreenwood@stpiusx.nsw.edu.au.  Please use your time at the games to applaud good performances and efforts by students on both the St Pius X and the opposition teams.

SURF/SWIM PROGRAM

The four-week Surf Education and Swim programs begin tomorrow (Thursday) with the Year 5s headed to the Macquarie Aquatic Centre for swimming lessons and Year 6 headed to Dee Why Beach.  Our Surf Ed and Swim programs offer a safe and enjoyable environment for your son to learn and to improve his surf safety and/or swimming skills.

Thank you everyone for your continued support of the Junior School.

Mrs Jill Greenwood - Head of the Junior School

Year 5 End of Year Celebration

Junior School Sport

Fixtures 4 November 2023

Please note Tennis fixtures are found below - in the NSTA Tennis section below.

Thursday Sport: This week and for the next 3 weeks following, all boys will be participating in the Swim/Surf Program. If you are picking your son up from their respective venues (by no later than 2:10 pm), then please ensure your son’s class teacher is aware of this arrangement each week. For further details on each program, please refer to the letter distributed earlier this month.

Round 9 Results

Touch Football report:

Despite the inclement weather in the lead up to the Touch Football fixtures, there was a palpable energy from the teams before they ran out to play. With Mr Ure travelling to a wet Queens Park and Mr Hart (SPX Old Boy) travelling to Macquarie University fields with the A and B teams, I was fortunate to be able to manage the C-Blue team as they took on Riverview, who traditionally provide a well drilled and skilful team. 

This game was played with a high energy that ultimately saw both sides push too many passes and produce errors that would be costly. Riverview took an early lead and it was only through sheer grit and determination that the Pius boys came back after half time to go ahead on the score board with only moments remaining. 

With a score of 7-5, the Pius boys were able to hang on to a very impressive win. Great plays were executed by James Cotton, Oscar Waterman, Leo Waterman, and Aidan Burke. Special mention though goes to Mason Mattar who did not stop communicating and directing for the entire duration, even when on the sidelines. A massive congratulations to all teams as each came away with a win.

C-Blue Touch Football v Riverview

Softball

NSW PSSA Athletics:

Incredibly, it has been nearly five months since the Junior House Athletics Carnival. Since then, the athletics squad has competed across a range of invitational carnivals and IPSHA competitions, where each boy has trained with positivity and purpose to reach the next milestone or personal best. Fast forward to last week and the following boys competed for CIS at the NSWPSSA Athletics Championships. Their results speak of determination and hard work. The College is very proud of their efforts and the dignified manner in which they competed. I thank the families too for their unwavering support. Special mention must go to Cristiano Calcarao who surprised himself no less in winning, and in doing so, breaking the 800m record. This was following a successful gold medal performance in the 1500m the previous day. As a result, Cristiano will now be representing NSW at the Australian Track and Field championships late November in Tasmania. We look forward to watching Cristiano’s journey and wish him every success.

• 12yrs 1500m – Cristiano Calcarao – 1st (Time of 4:29.48)
• 12yrs 800m – Cristiano Calcarao – 1st (Time and new state record of 2:08.37)
• 4 x 100m relay – 4th in the Senior boys final (Patrick Butler, Cristiano Calcarao, Parker Ball, Leo Barnett) in a time of: 53.28s
• 12yrs Shot Put – Hunter Austin – 8th (10.42m)
• 12yrs 200m – Patrick Butler – 12th (Time of 27.43s)

Swimming Squad Training – Term 4, 2023: 

Training continues this week, here are the details:

• 7:10 am at Fitness First, Chatswood (24 Endeavour St, Chatswood) 

• Suitable swimwear, goggles and swim cap are all essential (no cap, no swim)
• Students wear PE/ Pius Sports Uniform to the sessions. At 8:15 am the boys are walked back to school by staff. They then change into school uniform. A snack/breakfast is also recommended at this point.
• Training days/dates:

• Please also note there is the possibility of several boys in the 12/13yrs competing in an upcoming carnival. Details will be shared as they become available.

Mr Ben Ryan - Junior School Sports Coordinator

Tennis

Fixtures 4 November 2023

It was disappointing that the 8:00 am games were washed out, however, the seven of the eight Talus Street courts were playable for the 10:00 am matches. 

Our Year 12 Anderson twins, Cooper and Spencer, are on a 3-year winning doubles streak. This dynamic duo first entered the NSTA and ISA circuit in Year 9 and they haven’t lost a doubles match yet!  No doubt, our new tennis twins, Year 7’s Hu brothers will be inspired by this remarkable feat.

Thank you to Esteban Leon Curran and Ryan Chung who kindly stepped up to play in higher divisions with players out to sickness. Both boys played like champions winning both in both singles and doubles. 

This week’s draw is available in Woodchatta OR you can check the draw online: 

8:00 am matches

10:00 am matches

Not sure what team you are in? Check the list attached.

Mrs Karen Keighery - NSTA Tennis Convenor 

From the Junior Resource Centre

This week’s Highlights: 

More Spooktacular fun in the JRC

Happy Halloween! If you’re like me, you love reading favourite Halloween stories this time of year, and decorating the JRC for some spooky fun. Of course, there are the obvious scary stories and Halloween books to display, but Halloween is also a time to display some nonfiction titles too. Books about crows, bats, toads, snakes, and spiders from the 500s. Books about bones, skeletons and blood from the 600s. Poetry books by Edgar Allen Poe from the 800s and biographies about Mary Shelley (author of Frankenstein). Check out some of these books in the JRC.

Enter the Halloween Writing Competition

So many entries so far, we even had Mr Cunneen from the senior school pop down to enter his 5 Word Horror Story. Watch this space for the winners.

Name that villain! Competition closes on Friday 3 November, 2023

Fill out a guessing sheet with the name of the book that each villain can be found in. For an extra bonus, name the character. Drop you answers into Mrs Martin for a CHANCE to win a prize! Remember to keep the answers TOP SECRET!

Mrs Martin’s Book Trail – The Wild Robot by Peter Brown

If you were stranded on an island, what animal would you want to be friends with, and why?

What happens when a robot designed to help people activates on a wild island? Let’s find out!

Roz wakes up for the first time and finds that she is in a strange place. There is no one for her to help but the animals; and they want nothing to do with a metal monster. What is she supposed to do? How will she survive? An exciting middle grade read. Sourced ready for the new curriculum in 2024.

With themes of community, found family, love, and friendship, this book will make you laugh and pull at your heart strings (no matter the age) #mrsmartinsbooktrail

Mrs Elena Martin - JRC Teacher Librarian

Junior Debating

On Monday 30 October eight boys from the Junior School represented the college at the IPSHA Junior Debating Gala Day held at Abbotsleigh Junior School. The boys were engaged in two separate debates: firstly, 'That all schools should have a student maintained vegetable garden' and secondly, 'That Teams sports are better than individual sports'.  We had Affirmative and Negative teams in both debates and won three of the four against some very good opposition. Congratulations to all of the boys for preparing for and competing in the Gala Day.

Topic: THAT WE SHOULD REQUIRE ALL SCHOOLS TO HAVE A STUDENT-MAINTAINED VEGETABLE GARDEN 

Topic: THAT TEAM SPORTS ARE BETTER THAN INDIVIDUAL SPORTS 

Mr Paul Cummins - Junior Debating Cordinator