Pastoral Care

• Year 12
• College and Student Leadership Team Signage
• Year 9 Activity Days
• Student Diary Planner Input
• Speechcraft
• Year 10 Student Empowerment Team (SET) Table Tennis Competition
• Free Parent and Teen Online Workshops

 Year 12

Our thoughts prayers and best wishes are with our Year 12 students as they prepare for their HSC Examinations next week. Our new Mission and Identity prefects led the assembly with the following prayer to bring to our minds to some of the significant events in the College:

Allow us to introduce ourselves as the Mission and Identity Prefects and Student Leaders for 2020 – 2021.  We are Matthew Felice, Douglas Daniels and Lachlan Onslow, and it will be our privilege to lead the faith life of the College over the next 12 months.

Matthew : This week as our Year 12 Leaders prepare for their HSC we lead the College in this earnest prayer.

We begin our prayer: in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit Amen.

We pray for our Year 12 students that they remain composed and approach their studies and exam preparations in a calm and effective manner.

Lord Hear Us

Lord Hear our Prayer

Douglas : We pray in gratitude for the leadership of our Parish Priest Fr Jim McKeon who continues to lead the Our Lady of Dolours Parishioners and the students at the three schools with great devotion and care through these times.

Lord Hear Us

Lord Hear our Prayer

We pray for our Year 9 students who today begin their Wellbeing Reflection Activity days using the theme “Our Journey of learning on Cammeraygal Land”. That they may learn well and benefit from the stories and experience of all those who have gone before us.

Lord Hear Us

Lord Hear our Prayer

Lachlan : We pray for the next generation of Ministers of the Eucharist who will begin their training in the coming weeks under Fr Jim’s guidance. That they may continue to uphold the great traditions of faith and ministry for which St Pius X College is well regarded.

Lord Hear Us

Lord Hear our Prayer

Lord, we pray that your grace may always precede and follow us, that we may continually be given to good works; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever. Amen.

Blessed Edmund Rice - Pray for us

St Pius X - Pray for us

Live Jesus in our hearts - Forever

College and Student Leadership Team signage acknowledges our place on Cammeraygal Land

Inspired by our Student Leadership Team’s goals of bringing greater colour and life to our Houses and House activities, as well as acknowledgement of the First Nation's custodianship of the land on which we stand, our Assembly podium now explicitly acknowledges that St Pius X College stands on Cammeraygal land as a permanent Acknowledgement of Country while B Wing signage adjacent to our Assembly area proudly highlights our Houses: Barron, Purton, Rice and Treacy.

In this vein, it is pleasing to see the Student Reconciliation Action Plan Team’s Acknowledgement of Country highlighted in the Junior School playground along with EREA Indigenous Touchstone symbols. They will no doubt be a feature in our future Reconciliation Assemblies.

Thank you to the Maintenance Team who installed these signs through the vacation break.

These Touchstone Signs and Acknowledgements of Country will be particularly relevant during NAIDOC Week which has been moved to November this year.

Year 9 Activity Days

Monday’s presentation by local Olympic Kayak athlete Jo Brigden-Jones was a great way to kick off our Year 9 Activity Days. Having represented at the London Olympics and with goals set firmly on the Tokyo Olympics, Jo spoke to the students on the value of mental fitness, mindfulness and resilience training. She was capably interviewed by Year 9 PASS students Mitch M and Michael T who observed the strength motivation used by Jo to pursue her passion as a student, an athlete and professionally as a paramedic.

Year 9 students will use Wellbeing Wednesdays throughout Term 4 to complete the Bite Back program for young people to reinforce their mental fitness before Jo joins us again on 23 November to check in.

Our Year 9 PASS students led House Competition and Games alternated with a workshop by youth representatives of AFL great Jim Styne’s REACH Foundation on Monday Afternoon, to round out a positive and connective wellbeing day of learning for all.

Our theme of “Listening to Story” continues over the next two weeks with each Homeroom taking a day to listen to the story of Cammeraygal leader Professor Dennis Foley, following in his footsteps to learn something of Aboriginal spirituality and culture at Gumbooya Reserve rock carvings in Allambie Heights, kayaking on Narrabeen Lake and Paddle Boarding on Dee Why Lagoon. 

Student Diary Planner input 

Our annual cycle of improving the Student Diary Planner with student voice and stakeholder input culminates with the new Student Leadership Team input in Term 4, however we welcome ideas from all members of the school community to enhance this process. Much of the Positive Education, Goal setting and Growth Mindset resources have supported us this year, and are being developed to align with our Pastoral Care programs and learning resources in 2021. If you have any input to be considered by the Empowerment and Leadership Teams please contact either the Student Leadership Team or Mr Brannan with your ideas. 

Speechcraft

Our Year 11 Student Leaders continue their Speechcraft course sponsored by the Old Boys' Association this Friday after school from 3.30 pm – 5.30 pm as they prepare for the Leadership Investiture online, Period 1 Thursday 29 October. With thanks to the Old Boys' Association who generously support this program in enhancing the presentation skills of each generation of St Pius X College students. 

Year 10 Student Empowerment Team Table Tennis Competition

Since Week 6 last term, students from Years 7-11 have been competing in the SPX Inter-House Table Tennis Championships, held at lunchtimes in the Gym. Run by the Year 10 Student Empowerment Team, so far eight table tennis sessions have been held and to date, 64 boys have competed. Considering the tumultuous year that 2020 has been, mental health has become more important than ever. So, the competition has been an opportunity for SPX boys to spend some time with their mates and continue to develop their mental health and wellbeing. It’s also been a great opportunity to earn some much-needed House Points!

This week the competition starts to wrap up, with Year 11 playing on Thursday and Friday at lunch. Next week, the finals will be held in the Gym at lunch, to determine the Champion Table Tennis player in each year group. Prizes and House Points are on the line, not to mention bragging rights. Spectators are welcome on the day, with more details released soon, so stay tuned.

The Year 10 SET would also like to thank Mr Mendez, Mr Russo and Mr Brannan for making this initiative and competition possible. 

Free Parent and Teen Workshops

Please note the following Free Parent and Teen Workshops online which are provided by The Kidman Centre UTS and are highly recommended.

• Managing Teenage Emotions with Cognitive Behavioural Therapy - workshop for Parents and Teens (14 October)
• Managing Exam Stress - workshop for Teens (21 October)
• Managing Exam Stress - workshop for Parents (22 October)

Note the first workshop takes place tonight Wednesday 14 October.  Use the link below for further information.

https://mailchi.mp/b20190d5d524/free-parent-and-teen-workshops?e=79a175377a

St Pius X College acknowledges our First Nations, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples, and particularly the Cammeryagal people, 

whose interconnection with this land sustained and 

fulfilled them mentally, physically, emotionally, socially and spiritually, 

over thousands of years. 

May we learn from their wisdom.

Fide et Labore

Mr Sean Brannan - Assistant Principal, Pastoral Care and Wellbeing