Pastoral Care

Student Wellbeing Anecdote from the Diary

“Let he who would move the world first move himself.”  - Socrates

"Strive not to be a success, but rather to be of value." - Albert Einstein (World Renowned Theoretical Physicist)

There's nothing wrong with being successful, but this quote is talking about what's more important.  As a student leader, success may come - big events, great ideas put into practice ... but a leader's primary responsibility is to serve others.  It is this value that a leader brings into people's lives that is most important, and it is the thing that people will remember after your time as student leaders is over.  When deciding on your next contribution to your school as a team, remember to ask yourselves, 'Is it valuable?' and not just 'Will it succeed?'.

Student Leadership 

The formal Investiture of our Year 12 students as leaders, and launch of the Student Leadership Team 2020, at the Chatswood Concourse this Thursday afternoon, precedes an afternoon tea with parents of the Student Leadership Team.

Notably, as has been a 50 year tradition, our student leaders are well represented in our end of year Snowy Hike Expedition participants. As such those joining the practice hike will depart the afternoon tea with Mr Brannan in the mini bus to Forestville, catch up with the hikers and subsequently join the evening Snowy Hike preparations at Oxford Falls. Please bring your pack, hiking gear, and kit and place it in the mini bus on Thursday morning. Year 11 have their first HSC Study Day at Oxford Falls on Friday.

Speechcraft Dinner

Following the Investiture we have only two sessions of our Old Boys Association sponsored Speechcraft course with a catch up session. The catch up session on Monday 4 November 3.15 – 5.30pm is being investigated for feasibility, Friday 8 November 3.15 – 5.30pm and finally on Wednesday 13 November the Speechcraft course will feature a dinner speaking graduation for the student leadership team and their parents / guests. This will challenge our versatility to practice speaking and presentation skills for all occasions.

The event will occur at Chatswood RSL Club. Please see the email from Ms Brady / contact Mr Brannan sbrannan@stpiusx.nsw.edu.au to confirm details if required. Dinner Tryookings are required by next Tuesday 5 November.

Already our Student Leaders are taking up the mantle of service for others. On Friday evening School Captain Lachie Mathie will lead a group of students to represent the College at a fundraiser for two ex-students of the College who have been afflicted by injury:  Liam Knight who was injured in an incident at an 18th Birthday party in Forestville in 2014  and Greg Wade who was injured in a motorbike accident last October. Both of these ex-students are remarkably recovering from life threatening brain injuries and need our support in their ongoing journey. Please contact the College office or our inspirational counsellor Mr Rick Russo if you are able to support this initiative. 

Similarly this Saturday our Wellbeing Prefects Daniel Fileman, Harrison Wallace and Will Oner, Music student leaders Oliver Lenehan and Zac Forster, and House Captain Sam Barrell will host our Year 5 2020 Student Orientation day.

The whole student leadership team will contribute to the running of our Year 7 2020 Student Orientation Day on Tuesday 12 November, while the recently 6th Graded Trumpeter Zac Foster is slated to play the Last Post and Reveille at our Remembrance Day Commemoration. 

Remembrance Day Commemorations

As is a proud tradition of the College, guests are invited to join our student body in commemoration of those who have served and suffered as the result of war, at our Remembrance Day Ceremony at 11am (assembling in the College Foyer from 10.30am) on Monday 11 November. This year we will learn about the literal and purposeful translations of ANZAC from Old Boy and Vietnam veteran David Lethbridge. David is a regular attendee of our ceremonies and a wealth of knowledge on the stories of the many SPX students who served from his era (late 1960s).

After focusing last year on the Centenary of cessation of WWI hostilities through Greg Growden’s writing on Wallaby Captain Lt Tom Rusty Richards MC, it is fitting that we move our focus to more recent life stories. In that context we will again commemorate the lives of Jacob DeSisto and Anthony Gillespie, our two Old Boys from Roseville and Artarmon respectively who last their lives in WWII. Anthony was shot down in his Mosquito Fighter Bomber over Germany in March 1945. Jacob, who was killed in action on Bougainville in December 1944, is buried in Bomana War Cemetery, Port Morseby and will be a focus of our 2020 Kokoda Track Expedition. Members of both ex-students families will be in attendance at our Remembrance Ceremony, in a touching reminder to our students of the many stories, futile costs, and the tragic sacrifices in conflict, made by so many.

Please contact Mr Brannan sbrannan@stpiusx.nsw.edu.au or Ms Cheney scheney@stpiusx.nsw.edu.au if you would like to attend our ceremony so that we can cater to include all, and protect guests, students and staff, from the often challenging November climatic conditions.

Chatswood RSL Remembrance Day Ceremony

Given that Remembrance Day falls on a Monday we will also send a class of students and all student House Vice Captains and Class Captains as representatives of the College to the RSL Commemoration at the Chatswood Garden of Remembrance. These students are asked to get a note of permission in their diaries to Mr Brannan before Thursday 7 November and remember to bring waterbottles, caps and sunscreen on Monday 11 November.

Lest we forget

Reconciliation Action Team Planning

As we prepare the Student Diary Planner for the 2020 school year it is important that we recognise the great environmental, spiritual, historical and cultural lessons we can learn from the First Nations Aboriginal and Torres Strait people whose elders and wise people were the over 60,000 year custodians of this land.

In the EREA Reconciliation Action Plan we have been gifted a great guide to the inclusion of these values and principles in our teaching and learning. In this context we will include the EREA Aboriginal Touchstone symbols and pour own Reconciliation Artwork as reminders in our Diary. If there are other student ideas, works, symbols and contributions to be included, we welcome your input.

Our Reconciliation Action Plan Team, led by our Social Justice Coordinator Mr Ryan Balboa, are looking for ways in the footsteps of initiatives such as the Year 9 Reconciliation projects, Red Dirt expedition and Walgett and Bowraville Immersions, where we can celebrate and learn from and about our indigenous heritage, history, and culture

Please see Mr Balboa and Mr Brannan ASAP with any ideas or contributions you have.

Fide et Labore

Mr Sean Brannan - Assistant Principal Pastoral Care and Wellbeing