St Pius X College Newsletter

From the ActingPrincipal     

  • Friday 29th June - Term 2 Concludes
  • Monday 23rd July- Parent/Student/Teacher Interviews
  • Tuesday 24th July- Classes Resume
  • PRAYER:  The Year of Youth and the Year of Youth Cross
  • Reports
  • Staffing
  • EREA School Choice Parent Survey
  • Rugby Club Dinner
  • Holiday Tours
  • Debating
  • End of Term 2

Prayer: The Year of Youth

The Year of Youth Cross:  This week our Chatswood Parish has hosted the Broken Bay Diocese Year of the Youth Cross. The Cross has made its way around the Diocese in this Year of Youth and we were fortunate to host the Cross in our College.

Our College Assembly on Monday highlighted the Year of Youth Prayer, calling us to be inspired by the Holy Spirit and be filled with hope, love and joy as we embrace and share our unique gifts with each other as disciples of Jesus.

 

Come Holy Spirit of this Great Southland

Inspire our entire faith community,

as we prayerfully discern new horizons for spreading joy

in the lives and communities of the People of God.

 

Come Holy Spirit of Youth

Fill the hearts of young people with the hope and love of Jesus Christ;

enliven our community with the creativity, energy and joy of youth;

guide us together, as we strive to offer God’s mercy to those who feel abandoned or outcast.

 

Come Holy Spirit of Faith

Empower our community to be courageous;

unite your people as witnesses of love.

Walk with us, as we blaze new trails of discipleship;

accompanying young people as we renew the Church together.

 

Come Holy Spirit of Vocation

Stir within young people an awareness of God’s call;

reveal to us the graces of young people;

guide us all, in finding our place and raising our voices

To build a civilisation of love.

 

                                     

Reports

Our Assessment and Reporting process has certainly dominated our staff and students in the latter half of this term. Very thorough analysis has taken place and the Years 5 to 10 Reports will be available on the Portal from late Thursday afternoon. You will be emailed at this time with an explanation on how to access your son’s Semester One Report.

The Reports provide excellent feedback with affirmation and recommendations that will be the focus of the Years 5 to 10 Parent/Student/Teacher Interviews on Monday 23rd July. 

Staffing

As you are aware Mr John Couani has been on very well deserved Study Leave for Term 2. I would like to thank Mr Sean Brannan (Acting Deputy Principal), Mr Simon Yue (Acting Head of Staff Services) and Ms Alexandra Foord (Acting Year 8 Coordinator) for the excellent job they have done in their respective roles. We look forward to John‘s return at the beginning of Term 3 to continue in his outstanding leadership of our College.

Mr Luke Barbour has resigned his position during this Term and from the beginning of Term 3 we welcome Mr George Catchpole into the Science Department.

Ms Carla Leonardi from the Learning Support and Enrichment Team has announced her retirement from teaching. Carla has served at St Pius X College for over twenty years and we wish her well.  As a good friend of the College we will no doubt still see Carla here from time to time.

I also announce that Ms Anne Gripton has been appointed Director of Teaching & Learning at Loreto, Kirribilli. Anne will take up this position full time in Term 4 to allow her to guide her St Pius X College Year 12 classes to their HSC in Term 3.

EREA School Choice Survey

Tomorrow is the last day to complete the Survey which is currently underway across Edmund Rice Schools Australia. Your feedback is greatly appreciated as it will help us, as a member school of EREA, to plan well for the future. Please access the link that was emailed to all families on Wednesday 13th June. Thank you to all the families who have completed this survey.

Rugby Club Dinner

Congratulations to Mr Paul O’Neill (President) and the Rugby Club Committee for an excellent evening at Roseville Golf Club last Friday night. It was a great gathering of staff, parents, friends, supporters and Old Boys who ensured a great spirit and supported the St Pius community.

We were fortunate to be joined by the parents of both Michael Hooper and Luke Jones, two of our very proud and successful Rugby Old Boys. Our Master of Ceremonies for the evening was Mr Rod Kafer, former Wallaby, Foxtel Commentator and current parent who managed the evening superbly.  A big thank you to Rod and to our special guest Mr Mick Byrne (currently on the Coaching Staff of our Wallabies).

It was a great night and thank you to all involved for its success and the support it provides for our young men.

Holiday Tours

Our third Kokoda Expedition totalling 30 hikers heads off first thing Friday morning.  We wish them well on this incredible experience for our students and family members who will be accompanied by four staff members:  Mr  Paul de Silva, Mr Sean Brannan, Mr David Reay and Mr Tim Long. Thank you for the planning and organisation to ensure all is in readiness for this lifetime opportunity.

After completing the Track, a group will stay on for an Immersion Experience with Callan Services, one of our Christian Brothers' partners, who leads the way in Disability Health and Education in PNG.

We also see our annual 1st XV Queensland Rugby Tour, our Junior School Football Tour to Tamworth as well as the “July Cup” held at Oxford Falls for our 1st XI Football Team take place during the holidays.

 Thank you to all staff for providing these opportunities for our young men.

Debating

Congratulations to our Years 8 and 10 Debating Teams for making the Finals of the CSDA Debating competitions. Congratulations to James Hanna, Ben Cullen, William Ramsbottom, Jai Oorloff-Kay and their coach, Dr Katie Meale, on their season.

Our Year 10 Debating Team have now progressed into the Quarter Finals of this huge competition and we wish Ethan Tat, Matthew Hogan, Luke McManus, their Coach Ms Suzanne Pence and Debating Convenor Ms Michele Waterson the best of luck for this Friday.

End of Term 2

As Term 2 concludes I thank all the staff, students and parents for their tireless efforts and contribution to the College. I hope you are fortunate to have some downtime during the vacation period.  We wish our Year 12 students a productive time as they continue to manage their studies.

We look forward to seeing as many parents as possible at the Years 5 to 10 Interviews on Monday 23rd July, with classes resuming in full on Tuesday 24th July 2018.

Mr Mark Casey - Acting Principal