Junior School News 

• From the Head of the Junior School
• Junior School Sport
• IPSHA Debating

From the Head of the Junior School

GRANDPARENT LITURGY AND WALK-A-THON

Thank you to all the grandparents whose presence contributed to the overwhelming success of last Thursday’s Grandparent Liturgy and Walk-a-thon.  The event  brought our school community together in a unique and heartwarming celebration with our boys and their cherished grandparents gathering together in a beautiful ceremony that highlighted the importance of intergenerational bonds. The day culminated in our eagerly anticipated walk-a-thon, with young and old alike, strolling the picturesque grounds at Oxford Falls whilst raising money for our charities. The resounding success of these events is a testament to the strong sense of community that defines our school, and we are grateful to all who participated and contributed to making this day so special.

From Stratis P’s Mum:

Stratis had the privilege of having not only his two grandmothers at Oxford Falls, but also his great grandmother, Mary, who is 97 years young!  To say she had a wonderful day is an understatement! She was so excited to spend the day with Stratis; she saw him speak at the liturgy and had a lovely cup of coffee and watched the boys doing their Walkathon. 

The day would not have been the success it was without the help and support of a number of people:  Mr Trent Willoughby, Mr Ron Noort and Mx Luke Fromager at Oxford Falls,  Mr Daniel Petrie (Liturgy and gym transformation), Mr Ryan Balboa (musical accompaniment), Mrs Hilary Fromager (set-up, catering, first aid), Mr Stephen Cummins and Mr Daniel McGowan (audio visual tech support), Mr Ben Ryan, Mr Paul Cummins and Mrs Jane Higgins (Walk-a-thon and fundraising organisation) and the Junior School staff:  Mrs Mary Doheny, Mr Antonio Morris, Mr Chris Ure, Ms Vanessa Burke, Mrs Jennifer Williams, Ms Raelene Boyle, and Mr Glen Carroll for everything they do to always keep everything running smoothly and for ensuring the boys’ safety and enjoyment.  Thank you also to Junior School parents, Mrs Michelle Calcarao, Mr Geoff Kwan,  Mrs Maria Psarros and Mrs Tracey Turri for their help in preparing and serving morning tea.

Please use this link to view Grandparent's Day Photos.

PLEASE GIVE GENEROUSLY

If you have not already done so, we invite you to join us in making a positive impact by contributing to our fundraising efforts. Every contribution, no matter the size, brings us closer to creating meaningful change for our two partner schools, St Joseph’s Walgett and St Mary’s Bowraville as well as for our World Vision child, Gloria, from Zambia.

TEACHING AND LEARNING

YEAR 6 EXCURSION TO CHINATOWN

Last Friday, Year 6 travelled to Chinatown for a self-guided tour to further extend their knowledge gained during Mandarin and Geography lessons. Students had the opportunity to experience and explore authentic Chinese culture by visiting historical locations such as the Golden Water Mouth, the Chinese Pavilion, and the Australian Chinese Ex-Services Monument. 

Thank you to the staff and parent helpers who helped to make this excursion a meaningful and engaging learning experience. 

BOOK WEEK

On Monday, in preparation for Book Week, Year 5 were invited to the Chatswood library for a presentation by their library staff.  The boys were introduced to a variety of book types - picture books, graphic novels and chapter books and were told about the amazing resources that could be found in the library.  The presentation concluded with the boys engaging in an activity where they ranked Australian animals from the most to least dangerous.  Year 6 will enjoy a similar experience over the next week.

FEAST OF THE ASSUMPTION MASS

The Junior School were thrilled to join our friends from Our Lady of Dolours Primary School to celebrate the Feast of the Assumption with a Mass in Our Lady of Dolours Church yesterday morning.

FROM THE BEACHES TO OUTER SPACE

Students in 5 Gold were thrilled to be able to tune into a webinar featuring Katherine Bennell-Pegg, Australia’s first Astronaut Candidate (and North Shore Mum!).

Katherine has more than 12 years’ experience as a space systems engineer.  She applied to join the European Astronaut Corp when it was advertised in early 2021. This was the first selection process since 2009. She was one of only 25 people to complete the program, from 22,500 eligible applicants. Katherine, Director of Space Technology at the Australian Space Agency, will be the first Australian woman to be trained as an astronaut by an international space agency. The boys loved being able to ask questions and listen to Katherine’s experiences.

BOOK WEEK PARADE - FRIDAY 25 AUGUST

Starting at 1:30 pm in the College Gymnasium (next to the Canteen).  Please RSVP by the end of this week (Friday 18 August) to allow us to set up the gym accordingly on the day.

FATHER AND SON SPORTS DAY - HELP NEEDED!

We are looking for 5 or 6 mums to help us spoil our dads at the Father and Son Sports Day. If you can give a few hours of your time from 9:30/10:00 am to help cook and serve the BBQ on Thursday 31 August at Oxford Falls, please email your name and availability to Mrs Hilary Fromager at hfromager@stpiusx.nsw.edu.au.

FATHER’S DAY LITURGY AND FATHER & SON SPORTS DAY - THURSDAY 31 AUGUST

All dads and special men in our students' lives are invited to join us at Oxford Falls for a very special Father's Day Liturgy, followed by a fun afternoon of sport with your son next Thursday 31 August commencing at 9:45 am.

9:45 am                Father’s Day Liturgy 

10:30 am              Small Morning Tea (provided) 

11:00 am              Father & Son Sport Activity Session 1 

12:00 pm              BBQ Lunch (provided) 

1:00 pm                Father & Son Sport Activity Session 2 

2:30 pm                Departure

We are putting together a display for the Junior School Father's Day Liturgy.  If you would like to upload a photo for inclusion, please use the link below:

Please RSVP to this event by Thursday 24 August for catering purposes:

DATES FOR THE DIARY

• Friday 25 August | Book Week Parade 
• Monday 28 August | St Pius X Feast Day holiday (Pupil- and Staff-free day)
• Thursday 31 August | Father's Day Liturgy and Sports Day at Oxford Falls 
• Friday 15 September | P&F Trivia Night 

Thank you for your continued support of the Junior School.

Mrs Jill Greenwood - Head of the Junior School

MATHS DROP-IN AND HOMEWORK HELP FOR YEARS 5 - 6 

FRIDAYS 8:00 am – 8:40 am 

Drop-in to 5 Gold for help with difficult mathematics concepts or general homework.  This is an ideal place where students can come and feel comfortable to ask questions. Students are encouraged to bring along specific queries, tasks, assessments, homework, general revision and problems to work on, with Mrs Fileman on hand, ready to help.

Mrs Amanda Fileman - Mathematics Teacher

Junior School Sport

Thursday Sport: 

Training for Basketball, Touch Football, Cricket, Softball and Tennis all commence this week. Please remember to bring any additional gear you may require. 

Athletics: Last weekend saw a small squad of boys take part in the Barker Athletics invitational at Barker. It was a wonderful morning to attend and witness some great performances from the boys across a range of field and track events. The morning was also an opportunity for the boys and coaches to get a sense of the competition that we will be up against when the IPSHA Carnival comes around on Wednesday 30 August. Special mention to the U11’s (Alexander Troughton, Ryan Volpato, Lukas Gazey, and Leo Barnett) and U12’s (Rory Rapa, Carter Nelson, Patrick Butler, and Parker Ball) relay teams who ran blistering times (59.6 seconds and 55.8 seconds respectively) securing a podium finish. This was the first time these boys have relayed together. I thank the boys and their parents for attending and particularly thank Matt North and Dom Panozzo (SPX old boys) for preparing, coaching and talking tactics to the boys prior to races as well as recording times. 

Athletics – Shore Twilight Carnival @ Narrabeen, Thursday 17 August: The SPX track competitors will be off to compete at Narrabeen tomorrow afternoon. The carnival should be finished by 6.30pm, any parents in attendance can collect their son from Narrabeen. If your son travels back to Chatswood on the mini bus at the completion of the carnival, he can be collected at 6:45 pm at Kirk Street.

Athletics – Brothers Carnival @ St Ignatius College, Friday 25 August: This is an all day carnival and is open only to Athletics Squad members who have been attending the training sessions at Rotary Field. I have arranged a return bus for any students who’ll require transport both ways. A letter for selected athletes will be forthcoming.

Athletics – Training: Please note that there will be no training on Monday 21 August (Staff meeting) and 28 August (St Pius Feast Day holiday). 

Training continues for all athletes, taking place on Monday, Wednesday and Thursday afternoons at Rotary Athletics Field, Mowbray Rd West, Lane Cove. After school dismissal, the College will transport the students to the venue by private bus, and the sessions will run until 4:55 pm where a bus will return the students to Chatswood. If you wish to collect your son from the venue, please be there no later than 4:50 pm. 

Sporting successes: I am pleased to report that there are a number of boys who are doing great things in sport outside of their regular sport commitments to the St Pius X College Sport Program.

Patrick Butler (6 Gold) has recently returned from Lavington (near Albury) where he competed for NSWPSSA Australian Rules Football team in the School Sport Australia championships. Whilst NSW did find several games challenging against the powerhouses of South Australia and Victoria, they did experience wins over the NT and ACT teams. He was particularly impressed with the professional quality of the facilities and systems in place for each game. Patrick was deservedly recognised by the entire College community upon his return at our recent assembly. His commitment to St Pius was reflected in his participation at the Barker Athletics invitational last Saturday having only just returned the day prior from his NSWPSSA duties.

Jack Treder (6 Green) is another who is making waves in the field of Water Polo. Last week Jack represented the SNB Breakers, M14s Waratahs squad, participated in the grand final of Waterpolo NSW Sydney Winter Metro 2023 Competition.  The stage was none other than the iconic Olympic Park, and the opponent was the formidable Cranbrook School M14s team. Demonstrating grit and determination Jack and his team emerged victorious with an impressive score of 9-6! Jack has worked incredibly hard, and his perseverance and dedication has paid off.

Max Sunjaya (6 Gold) not long ago was in attendance at the Phenom National Camp in California for Basketball. Max trained with nearly eight hundred other players from all over America during the course of a 3 day camp. With each day comprising of a gruelling training schedule lasting from morning to the evening, Max was able to demonstrate his immense skill where there were NBA scouts keeping a close eye on all involved. At the conclusion of the camp, Max was one of only 125 players out of the 780 to be classed as an All-Star player and receive a coveted All-Star jersey. A remarkable achievement given the talent that was on display. We look forward to watching Max’s progress in basketball as he journeys through the College.

Cricket registration: All those who indicated that they wished to play cricket in Term 4 need to read the attached flyer and follow the Junior School link to complete the registration. This was also made available in the Senior School Sport section in last week’s edition of Woodchatta.

Return of SPX uniforms: Just another reminder to return any SPX loan uniforms that your son no longer requires. Any outstanding uniforms will be charged on the final school fees later in the year. Thank you to those who have already returned their gear.

Father and Son Liturgy & Sports Day Thursday 31 August: Please click on the link below and complete the online form. Thank you to those who have already completed the form, as the information it provides is essential in planning the event. 

Mr Ben Ryan - Junior School Sports Coordinator

NSTA Tennis 

Thank you to those parents who have enrolled their son in NSTA. For those who missed the note in Woodchatta, I will send you enrolment details after grading. Grading will be conducted this Thursday at Sport as part of the usual Tennis Training by EPS Sports

To assist in the management of NSTA Tennis, I will be using CANVAS.  Students will receive an email invitation to enrol in this course. 

Subject to change, you can pencil in these dates for NSTA: 

Round 1 - 21 October

Round 2 – 28 October 

Round 3 – 4 November 

Round 4 – 11 November 

Round 5 – 18 November 

Finals – 25 November

If you have any questions about the competition, please contact me: kkeighery@stpiusx.nsw.edu.au. 

Mrs Karen Keighery - NSTA Tennis Convenor

SPX Football Supporters Club 

Thank you to our wonderful SPX Football Community

At SPX we have a wonderfully generous football Community.

Our Supporters demonstrated their generosity of time when they volunteered to cook on the BBQ, bake cakes, stay back after events to clean up, assisted to share Football Club news and helped set up the AGM.

Our Supporters demonstrated their generosity of finances when they purchased BBQ , merchandise, baked goods, raffle tickets and tickets to Club events. This was also demonstrated with donations of baked goods, financial contributions, signage, a coffee machine, BBQ meats, wine and Matilda’s Gear.

Our Supporters demonstrated generosity of spirit when they helped team mates get to and from games and shared their football gear, encouraged our boys to enjoy playing football, helped families from other schools to find their way around Oxford Falls grounds, acknowledged the efforts of our Coaches throughout the season, made positive suggestions to Club about how we can all best support the SPX Football Program and engaged with the wider SPX Football Community at Saturday football games and Club events.

Thank you to our whole SPX Football community for their generosity this season.

Goodluck to all SPX senior football teams playing in the Grand Finals this weekend!

SPX Football Supporters Committee

spxfsc@gmail.com

Junior School IPSHA Round 6 Debating

The Junior School IPSHA Debating Competition continues this Friday, 18 August, in the Junior Library at 1:00 pm against Mosman Prep. Parents are most welcome to attend. The topic for the debate is 'That staying in the shade is better than using sunscreen in the sun.' Representing the College for the affirmative team are James P, Will W, Lachlan Y and Lucas K. Representing the College for the negative team are Hugh S.S, Levi A, Noah M and Alexander N. Good luck to all the boys.

Mr Paul Cummins - Junior Debating Coach