Pastoral Care and Old Boys' News

• Uniform 
• Pius/Mercy Year 9 Respectful Relationships Workshop
• RUOK? Day and Jersey Day - Friday 9 September
• Lights, Camera, Pius! Film Festival
• Speechcraft 
• Edmund Rice Beyond Borders
• Old Boys' News

Uniform

The upcoming Year 12 Graduation ceremonies require that all students are well presented in their clean Winter Uniform with 2 buttons on their blazer, polished shoes and dark socks. It is clear that some students need to attend to their hair cuts as per the College policy outlined in the Diary before the last week of term.

Additionally students return Day 1 Term 4 in summer uniform. Therefore all students are required to ensure they are organised ahead of time noting that the Uniform Shop is open on Mondays, Tuesdays and Wednesdays.

Pius/Mercy Year 9 Respectful Relationships Workshop Day at Oxford Falls

Our Year 9 Students enjoyed a great formative workshop day today at Oxford Falls where the topical themes of Respect and Interpersonal Relationships were explored within the context of our Year 9 Pastoral Care Theme: Respectful Men of Honour, in the company of Mercy Year 9 students and staff.

Our guest presenters and speakers covered three sessions:

1. Livingworks wellbeing programs for health, safety, connection, meaning and purpose
2. Mary Rajca: former student of Mercy College & St Pius in the Co educational days, previous St Pius X Parent, Primary School Teacher & Advocate for Candela, Peru, Women’s Community
3. Senior Constable Lynda Hart our schools’ Youth Engagement Officer over the past 3 years

The purpose of the Respectful Relationships Day is to bring our two Year 9 student groups together and empower them to exercise the Miriam Rose Ungumerr Bauman inspired concept of “Daddirri” of Deep listening to story and wisdom of experience, ideas and learning. Also to empower the students to develop a “Manifesto” or “Magna Carta” for living in Respectful Relationships which might carry them successfully through the next three years in our community and subsequently through the lives they choose to lead.

We thank and wish the students and presenters well in their learning and endeavours and are greatly encouraged by the leadership of the steering team including Rob Honer, Flynn Pavely, and Kobe Mendel among many others to be listed along with a student report next week.

RUOK? Day & Jersey Day – Friday 9 September

Jersies may be worn at school with correct Winter uniform worn to & from school.

A reminder that RUOK? Day will be celebrated at the College on Friday. Students should arrive to school well presented in full Winter uniform but may change into a jersey to be worn at school only to add a bit of colour for Assembly.

Our Wellbeing Prefects, James Shahinian, Franklin Clayton, Ethan Griffin and Alex Hawkins will lead a before school positivity project in the Foyer and then Assembly will be supported by our Wellbeing Prefects 2023 Elect: Liam Thomson, Billy Sykes and Tomo Wilkins, and our Wellbeing and Student Empowerment Teams.

Lights Camera Pius! Short Film Festival

Lunchtime will be extended to an hour on Friday to accommodate the Lights Camera Pius! short Film Festival in the Gym led by Ms Doyle, Luke Sarkissian and Luca van Vuuren's team.

To complement this activity and extended lunch on RUOK? Day, Max Lenton and Aaron Lau’s band will entertain the masses from the outdoor assembly podium. Rumour has it they might include a guest performer in Mr “Johnny Be Good” Couani! That will bring the fans back!

We look forward to RUOK? Day and a good experience for all involved to help us extend RUOK? Day to every day of the year. Start and have that conversation. 

We might even provide some apples for the teachers from our Year 11 and 12 student leaders!

Speechcraft

Our 2023 Student Leadership Team has commenced their Speechcraft Presentation Training over the past two Friday afternoons with an extended session planned in the holidays from 1.30 pm – 5.00 pm on 5/10/22 to connect with the Student Leadership Team of the Edmund Rice College in  South Africa – St Dominic’s CBC Welkom.

Edmund Rice Education Beyond Borders

Our Year 9 RE4 Class will commence their Zoom connection in the global classroom with St Dominic's CBC Welkom next Thursday. Thank you to Ryan Horan and his team who are staying back after school 4.00 pm - 5.00 pm to facilitate this great connection and rich listening and learning opportunity.

Old Boys' News

The College was saddened to learn of the passing of Mrs Margaret Tosatto last Thursday, 1/9/22. Margaret is the sister of St Pius X College (CBC Chatswood) first day pupil Jacob de Sisto, the only son of a hard working Australian-Italian family from Roseville, who was tragically Killed in Action serving in the Australian AIF 2/9th Infantry Battalion against the Japanese Forces on Bougainville 19 December 1944. 

Mrs Tosatto, aged 95, regularly attended College Remembrance Day commemorations, underlining in stark reality for our students and community, the tragic consequences of war. For an Italian Sydney family in the 1940s, losing their only son / brother was absolutely devastating. A plaque and flagpole in our Junior School playground commemorate Jacob. Margaret is survived by her sister Maria and her large extended family. St Pius X College’s three Kokoda Expeditions have attended and prayed at the grave of Jacob in Bomana War Cemetery Port Moresby.

The Funeral Mass commemorating Mrs Tosatto will be held at Our Lady of Dolours Church, Chatswood next Tuesday 13 September commencing at 1.30 pm.

We offer the Tosatto, Taranto, Barrett, and De Sisto families our sincere condolences.

Old Boys' Mass and Dinner Friday 9 September

We are looking forward to the Old Boys' 85th Anniversary Chapel Mass and Dinner on Friday afternoon.

Events for the afternoon and evening include:

4.15 pm Last Post and Reveille sounded by Student leader Anthony Elliott in honour of the fallen and all those from our Community who have passed.

4.30 pm Chapel Mass celebrated by Fr Paul Roberts School Captain (Class of ’79) with Bishop Peter Ingham and Br Carl Sherrin also hoping to attend.

6.00 pm Gathering for the Old Boys' Annual Dinner. (Currently Sold Out. Refer late concerns to President Jeff Clarke).

We look forward to celebrating the careers of Mr Couani and Mr Carson at these events. Contact Mr Sean Brannan at the College if you would like to attend the afternoon Chapel Mass.

Fide et Labore

Mr Sean Brannan - Acting Deputy Principal