Junior School News 

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

From the Head of the Junior School

REFLECTION

Pentecost is sometimes called the birthday of the Church. The Gospel for Pentecost reminds us that the Church begins with the command to forgive. Within the family, the domestic Church, we learn how to forgive, and we learn to accept forgiveness. It is the gift of the Holy Spirit that enables us to do both. Today is a fitting time to share a family celebration of reconciliation.

You might like to gather together as a family, sit quietly for a few minutes, inviting all to reflect upon their need to forgive and to receive forgiveness. If there is a situation or issue within the family that needs attention, spend some time reflecting upon the concern and how your family might address it. Read together today's Gospel, John 20:19-23. Talk together about how Jesus gave us the gift of the Holy Spirit to help us in the work of forgiveness and to bring us peace.

Ref:  Sunday Connection

TEACHING AND LEARNING

5 Blue have been using Reader’s Theatre during their Drama lessons.  Reader's Theatre is a strategy for developing reading fluency. It involves children in oral reading through reading parts in scripts. In using this strategy, students do not need to memorise their part; they need only to reread it several times, thus developing their fluency skills. The best Reader's Theatre scripts include lots of dialogue.

The first group did the “45th Annual Awards” and the second group did "Game Set Match". The boys created character voices and backgrounds for their performance.

MONDAY ASSEMBLY

The students in 5 Blue presented a moving prayer to the College on Monday morning at Assembly.  Thank you to the boys and to Mr Cummins for helping them to prepare.

MERIT AWARD WINNERS

Congratulations to our Merit Award winners last week:

STAFFING

We look forward to Mrs Fileman returning on Thursday and thank Mr Patterson for filling in while she was away.

ADELAIDE CONFERENCE

Last week, I was in Adelaide for a conference of Independent Primary School Heads.  We enjoyed listening to a range  of inspiring keynote speakers, with topics ranging from neurodiversity to UN Peacekeeping. It was a fantastic opportunity to learn more about how the human brain works, about educational leadership, and to connect with other Heads of Junior School from around the country.

AUTHOR VISIT

Yesterday, author Kate Foster spoke to Year 5 about her latest book, The Bravest Word.

Kate Foster is a neurodivergent author who writes children's books about friends, family, and dogs. Diagnosed as an adult with autism, and parent to a young son with autism, Kate is passionate about the need for stories that show disabled and neurodivergent children simply living their lives, doing what they love, getting on despite their struggles, being accepted despite their differences, and being the hero of their story in all genres.

Thank you for your ongoing support of the Junior School.

Mrs Jill Greenwood - Head of the Junior School 

DA VINCI DECATHLON

The da Vinci Decathlon proved to be a very popular event that many boys wanted to be involved in and the trials saw 34 boys vying for 16 spots. After much deliberation the two teams of 8, one from Year 5 and one from Year 6 were chosen and training began.

Following a welcome and introduction, the competition day was off and running. The first session began, each group of 8 broke up into smaller groups to complete the set tasks. The boys were given 1 hour and 50 minutes to complete Science, English, Ideation and Cartography tasks. For the last 15 minutes a couple of boys worked on the Creative Producers task, the boys had 8 minutes to create a minute long video presentation that identified a classic archetype in literature but added an original twist, they then acted this out.

After a short break for morning tea, the boys were back at it. The second session involved the boys taking part in the following subject areas: Engineering (60 mins), Art and Poetry (70 mins), Mathematics and Code Breaking (90 mins). The session was fast and furious, and the boys broke up into smaller teams again and worked to the wire to complete their submissions. 

A quick lunch break was taken and the boys returned to complete the final task, Legacy (35 mins) followed by a vibe session made up of fun quizzes to finish the day off. 

The teamwork and enthusiasm throughout the day was infectious and all boys should be congratulated for their efforts.

Mrs Samantha Iwatani - Junior School Curriculum Coordinator

Junior School Sport

Winter Sport Round 5 - Results:

Thursday Sport:

Our Dance program begins this Thursday, 2 June and is integrated with our Thursday sport program of winter training. Please note the amendments to travel times in the table below. On the early departure days*, boys will require a packed lunch. The cost of the 4 week Dance program will be charged to Term 3 Fees.

Athletics: The Junior School House Carnival takes place on Wednesday 8 June at the Sydney Olympic Park Warm-up venue, Homebush. A detailed letter and Carnival Program will be available on the SPX App this week. Parents are of course invited to attend as spectators or in an assisting capacity (ribbons / recording etc.). If you wish to assist with the running of the day, please contact me this week by email gcarroll@stpiusx.nsw.edu.au 

Cricket Holiday Clinic: Mr Ash Doolan, who trains our SPX Junior Cricket boys in the Summer season, is offering a Cricket clinic on the upcoming holidays. Please click on the link below for more information. 

Saturday Sport Photos: It has been great to see some of the photos taken by our SPX parents over recent weeks. I encourage you to continue sharing any Saturday Sport photos with the following staff members responsible for each Junior School sport:

• Football – Mr Paul Cummins pcummins@stpiusx.nsw.edu.au
• Rugby – Mr Antonio Morris amorris@stpiusx.nsw.edu.au
• AFL – Mr Glen Carroll gcarroll@stpiusx.nsw.edu.au  

AFL: After three weeks in a row of ground closures, we are hoping to take the field this Saturday. Please note the new venue. 

Mr Glen Carroll - Junior School Sports Coordinator

Junior Rugby

In Round 5 it was great to see all Junior Rugby squads back in action. The Prep Firsts faced tough opposition against Scots in cold and windy conditions. Some players did a great job playing in new positions. It was great to see players stepping up and taking initiative. The 11A’s had a great win over Trinity. All players worked together very well and kept the efforts high throughout the entire match. The Rugby 7s squads faced some challenging opponents but played with great courage. It was good to hear that players are backing up and supporting the other Rugby 7s teams. Well done to all players this week.  

The photo below is of Flynn Clulow (11As) with a friend from The King’s School. It is great to see the Spirit of Rugby! 

Please continue to send any photos.  

Rugby Training: A reminder of compulsory after school training at Beauchamp Oval every Wednesday from 3.15 pm - 4.30 pm for ALL Junior School Rugby players. In addition to bringing rugby boots, can players also bring a spare pair of sneakers to training each week.

Mr Antonio Morris - Junior School Rugby Convenor

SPX Rugby Suppoter's Club

Save the Dates! - Rugby Club Dinner  &  Rugby Club Golf Day

• Rugby Club Dinner - Saturday, 30 July - Roseville Golf Club - from 7.00 pm – (bookings via TryBooking opening soon – more detailed information to be provided next week).
• Rugby Club Golf Day - Wednesday, 23 November - Roseville Golf Club - from 1.00 pm.

  Mr Paul O’Neill - President

SPX Rugby Supporters’ Club

Tel: 0418-634750

Email: paoneill21@gmail.com

Junior Football

Unfortunately, our Preps were washed out at Kings, however we were able to get a full round of games for our U11’s thanks to our great facilities at Oxford Falls. There were some fantastic games played, none more so than our 11A’s who won 5 - 4 with the last kick of the game. It’s been very encouraging to see all boys develop their individual skills and then gel as a team. Here are some photos from the weekend. 

Thursday at Oxford Falls

Our boys have been really enjoying the Coerver session at Oxford Falls each Thursday. These sessions are skills based and are aimed at the players’ level to help them learn and master each new skill. Last week was the inside cut.  The players can practise the skill at home and are encouraged to view the link showing the skill from different angles. https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=V6MBhqjnozg

An optional Coerver training session has been organised for all footballers. The session will begin in Week 6  at Beauchamp Pk on Wednesday mornings from 7:15 am – 8:15 am. The boys will go to the ground in their training gear and get changed back into their school uniform back at school.

 https://coerver.com.au/courses/st-pius-junior-school-skills-clinic

Mr Paul Cummins - Junior Football Convenor

From the Football Supporters Club

Book now for the SPX Football Holiday Camp at Oxford Falls Campus

Monday 27 June 2022 to Wednesday 29 June 2022

Improve your football skills at the SPC Football Holiday Camp with Coerver Coaching.

Coerver Coaching holiday camps offer a fun-filled football experience. Each day will include Coerver Super Skills competitions and challenges, Ball Mastery, Coaching sessions focusing on developing effective use of skill, small sided Coerver Games, and a mini Coerver Cup Tournament.

Trybooking:        https://www.trybooking.com/UPLP

When:                  Monday 27 June 2022 to Wednesday 29 June 2022, 9.00 am to 12.00 pm

Where:                 SPX Oxford Falls Campus

Cost:                     $60 per day, single or multi-day tickets available

Transport Options:

• Parents to drop off and pick up boys from Oxford Falls 

                                OR

• Bus transport available from SPX Chatswood Campus (for up to 53 students)
  • 8.15 am drop off at Anderson St, front of school.  Bus to depart 8.30 am sharp.
  • 12.10 pm depart from Oxford Falls. Arrive at Anderson St SPX Chatswood Campus at 12.40 pm subject to traffic conditions

Bring: 

• Football boots, shin pads, football training clothes (SPX sports uniform not required)
• Water bottle with name clearly marked
• Sunscreen, cap and rain gear and sneakers (for indoor football play for wet weather)
• Food for snacks and lunch
• A football for skills practice
  • Coerver footballs are available for optional purchase for $20 on the Trybooking link

You can also bring a football from or use one of the SPX training footballs

• Years 5 to 7 to bring a Size 4 Football
• Years 8 and above to bring a Size 5 Football

SPX Football Supporters Club AGM

The SPX Football Supporters Club (FSC) AGM was held online on 24 May 2022.  The meeting minutes are attached for SPX football families.

Please contact the SPX FSC to donate items for the SPX Trivia Night to be held on 19 September 2022.  All funds raised at the SPX Trivia Night is donated to SPX Clubs and is used by the SPX FSC for the Coerver football skills program introduced at SPX College in 2022.

Please contact the SPX FSC if you would like to join in with us– volunteers always welcome.

Mrs Lorna Hammond - SPX Football Supporters Club President

footballclub@pandf.spx.nsw.edu.au

From the Junior Resource Centre

This week's highlights: 

Visiting Author – Kate Foster 

The boys loved Tuesday’s visit by author Kate Foster who is one of my favourite Middle Grade authors. Kate discussed her latest book – and she is also a fellow lover of dogs! Kate signed a book for the JRC and gave out bookmarks to the students. 

Students can order signed copies of Kate Foster’s books on the following link:

https://www.thechildrensbookshopspeakersagency.com.au/person/kate-foster/

The Children’s Bookshop will deliver the books to the school (free delivery).

Alternatively, you can call The Children’s Bookshop directly on 9571 1897 to order and pay over the phone.

Author Tour celebrating the release of:

We Run Tomorrow by Nat Amoore and Mike Barry

Tuesday 7 June 2022 at 11.00 am

Nat Amoore is a writer who is passionate about encouraging kids to read, write and explore their imagination without boundaries. With a background in writing for screen, she wrote and directed the international award-winning short film Elemenopee and has a feature film screenplay and a kids' TV series in development. 

Mike Barry is a writer and illustrator from Sydney's Northern Beaches. He created, crowd-funded and self-published the first two books in his middle-grade graphic novel series, Action Tank, which have been shortlisted for multiple literary awards.

Nat and Mike have now joined forces to create We Run Tomorrow, a story about four kids - and four superheroes - who are taking their future into their own hands!

Students can order signed copies of Nat Amoore and Mike Barry’s books using the following link:

https://www.thechildrensbookshopspeakersagency.com.au/person/amoore-nat-barry-mike-speaker/

The Children’s Bookshop will deliver the books to the school (free delivery).

Do You Know who invented the Rubik’s Cube?

The Rubik’s Cube was invented in 1974 by Erno Rubik. Erno Rubik obsessed with puzzles as a kid and all throughout his life. His first version of the Rubik’s cube that we know today was made of 27 wooden blocks and took him a month to figure out! In his home country of Hungary, Rubik was a professor of Architecture and wanted to develop a piece of moveable art for his students. The US patent number for the Rubik’s cube is 4,378,116.

Students enjoying the Rubik’s Cubes and timers that have arrived in the JRC.

House Of UNO!

Forget House of Dragons we have House of UNO in the JRC. We have the popular colour- coded card game and it's huge! Played the traditional UNO way but with a LIFE-SIZE twist.

Mrs Martin’s Book Trail:  

The Detectives Guide to Ocean Travel by Nicki Greenberg

Fabulous whodunit! The Detectives Guide to Ocean Travel kept Teddy and me guessing the whole way to the end. This Mystery adventure is set on a real historic ship “The Aquitania”, a luxury liner crossing the Atlantic. The characters are loveable and quirky and the plot is fast paced and cracking. Can Pepper discover who stole the diamond before they arrive in New York? Thoroughly recommend this fabulous read.

#mrsmartinsbooktrail2022

Mrs Elena Martin – Teacher Librarian

Junior School Chess Club

Team A will be AWAY this week playing Mosman Preparatory School. Teams B and C both have a BYE this week. Please check the draw for more details. Thank you to the parents who will be transporting the boys this week.

Our boys do battle with their Chess coach Praveen during training. No Chess pieces were harmed in the taking of these photos!

Mrs Elena Martin - Junior School Chess Convenor