Junior School News & Sport
SPX Prep Tour to Tamworth 2019
- Junior School News and Information
- Highlights from the Junior Resource Centre
- Junior School Sport
PRAYER: I hope you had some time to spend with your son during his holidays. It is a great time to bond. In the first week of the holidays I went on the ‘Red Dirt’ tour to some of the most rural, remote and unique communities and locations in Western NSW. Ten staff and 39 students went on the tour and it was a great experience from meeting all the wonderful children, teachers and communities, to hearing about their issues. The drought is very noticeable with whole towns on bore water and the tour was very appropriately named, especially when you get to Bourke. The following prayer is in honour of our indigenous brothers.
Aboriginal Our Father
You are Our Father, you live in heaven
We talk to you, Father you are good (repeat)
We believe your Word Father
We your children, give us bread today (repeat)
We have done wrong, we are sorry
Help us Father not to sin again (repeat)
Others have done wrong to us
And we are sorry for them, Father today (repeat)
Stop us from doing wrong, Father
Save us all from the evil one (repeat)
You are Our Father, you live in heaven
We talk to you, Father you are good.
(The Lord’s Prayer from the “Missa Kimberley”)
Welcome back to Term 3: At the conclusion of last term it was very pleasing to see all the parents and students attending the parent/student/teacher meetings. Hopefully, through that meeting and the report, you have had a conversation with your son about the things he has done well at and set some goals for the future. Term 3 is a great term to really ‘knuckle down’ and for the boys to do their best. It is important we get them back into routines after such a long break.
There are some dates listed below that you may wish to put in your diary. There is the Trivia Night which raises funds that go back to your sons, and is always a lot of fun. There is also the Father and Son sporting afternoon for Junior School dads and granddads so keep the date free. If there any mums who would like to organise me in the BBQ shed on that day, it would be appreciated as we have to cook about 600 sausages for the sporting heroes!
Staffing: Mrs Spanyik is on long service leave for Term 3 and we are very fortunate to have Mrs Antonella Schiller who will look after the boys. We wish Mr Spanyik all the best for her well deserved leave.
Sport: Sport this week will be Winter training and multi sport. We will be leaving after recess as per normal procedures. More details in the Junior School Sport section below.
Dance Performance: Thank you to all the parents who attended the dance finale. It was great to see the energy exhibited by the boys. It was also great for the boys to see the large amount of support. Judging by the comments at the afternoon tea everybody had an enjoyable afternoon. After some rigourous judging, congratulations to the Barron Bears on winning the dance competition.
Blue Fide et labore awards: As most subjects go for the whole year , we don’t give out subject awards till the end of the year but we want to acknowledge the efforts of some boys who have made a significant effort leading to improvement. These awards are referred to as the Blue Fides, aptly named as they refer to our college motto, the ‘Fide et Labore’ awards. Congratulations to the following boys:
- 5 Blue: Angus Gibson, Oliver Jones and Samuel Millar.
- 5 Gold: Michael Cheah, David Smith and Matthew Plummer.
- 5 Red: Aidan Lindsay, Enzo Gambino and Reilly Bois.
- 6 Blue: Rory Cooper, Ryan Sutherland and Noah Joynson.
- 6 Red: Aidan Seifert, Sam Cooper and Lucas Halim.
- 6 Green: Jet Stump, Flynn Pavely and Lucas McNally.
- 6 Gold: Jack Morabito, Ben Flynn and Dylan Tait.
After-School Study Program - New Venue E1: The after-school study program resumes on Tuesday 30 July in E1 from 3:15 – 4:30pm. It is available to all students, Year 5-12 on Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday afternoons.
Dates for Term 3:
Tuesday 6 August – Dr Martin Chatterton – Author visit.
Saturday 17 August – P&F Trivia night
Monday 19 August – Junior School Book Week begins
Tuesday 20 August - Matt Lin, Artist - Illustrator - Designer for Book Week
Monday 26 August - Science Week begins
Tuesday 27 August – Rugby Presentation Night: Junior School commences 6pm/Senior School 7pm
Thursday 29 August - Junior School Father & Son Day at Oxford Falls starts at 11.45am and concludes at 2.15pm. Dads and Grandads - keep the day free. Mums and Grandmothers are needed to assist Mr Long to cook a lot of sausages!
Wednesday 4 September – Football Presentation Night: Junior School begins 6pm/Seniors at 7pm
Friday 6 September – Twilight Concert
Friday 13 September - RUOK Day
Friday 27 September – Term 3 Concludes
BIRTHDAYS
Congratulations to the following boys who celebrate or celebrated their birthdays in July:
Jayden Arapoc, Joshua Barwell, Sam Cooper, Alexander Davies, Archer Ferguson, Adam Fitrzyk, Ryan Fong, Fergus Humphreys, Luke Jackson, Liam Kelly,
Highlights from the Junior Resource Centre
On July 20, 1969, the first major event in hundreds of millions of years was about to occur on the Sea of Tranquillity. A tiny spacecraft had just ignited its rocket engine and was plunging toward a cratered expanse. Above that, a small companion spacecraft, crewed by a lone astronaut, orbited overhead, awaiting the return of two brave explorers. After nine years of crushing effort, Apollo 11 had arrived at the moon.
"That's one small step for man, one giant leap for mankind."
Neil Armstrong, July 20, 1969.
Image credit: NASA. Buzz Aldrin explores the moon's surface in this iconic photo.
This week to celebrate the Apollo 11 50th Anniversary, Years 5 and 6 will be exploring the history-making Apollo 11 spacecraft mission. I have created a page on the Junior Library website. You can find the link here: Apollo 11 Moon Landing. Here you will find:
- NASA and National Air Space Museum links
- Books in our Library
- The Moon landing 50 years on BBC
- First men on the moon website
- We choose the moon - From the JFK Presidential Library
We also have a rocket photo booth! Please come and visit the JRC, come and have your photo taken and explore all the books we have on Apollo 11 – Moon Landing.
FIND YOUR BOOK WEEK PARADE COSTUME
Term Three has arrived and Book Week is coming!!!! (17 – 23 August)
You have two choices when it comes to your Book Week parade costume – wing it at the last moment and hope for the best, or plan weeks (or months) in advance and win ‘Most Awesome-est Book Week Costume Ever’ award. My suggestion is go for the latter. Some ideas to help you are:
- Read as many books as you can get your hands on.
- Make a list of your favourite characters.
- Gather your supplies and do a costume run-through to make sure it all works.
- If you’re struggling for ideas, the CBCA has partnered exclusively with Spotlight for costume parade inspiration, so you could check out their site and DIY suggestions.
Many thanks to Mr Andrew Darbin, Mr Wayne Burling and Mr Stuart Munday for all their help with their inspirational designs and construction of the telephone booth, ready for our Book Parade.
Photo: Mr Darbin with his masterpiece!
Mrs Martin’s Book Trail: One Tree by Christopher Cheng and Bruce Whatley. This is a multi-layered text with a gentle story and an important message for young (and not so young) readers. Told through the eyes of a young boy, the story centres on his grandfather and how his life has changed through the years. Great themes at play here: connectedness of generations; the importance of family; urban green renewal; and the concept that a small change can make a big difference. A gem. #MrsMartinsbooktrail2019
Mrs Elena Martin - Junior Librarian
Junior Sport
Were you injured over the weekend? Please refer to the flyer below.
Thursday Sport: at Oxford Falls. Winter Sport training resumes for Football and Rugby. Term 3 program is as follows:
Dance: Congratulations to Barron House who at the end of last term took out the Annual House Dance Competition. Purton placed 2nd with Rice House rounding out the podium. The boys did a great job pulling together a complex group dance in such a short space of time.
Rugby: Draw for Saturday 27 July:
Mr Greg Virgona - Junior School Sportsmaster
Football - Round 8: Our season recommences after the July Holiday break this weekend. Thanks to those boys who participated in the Football Camp. Congratulations also to our successful Prep team who competed in the National Primary Games in Tamworth, during the last weekend of the holidays. The team won 8 games and drew one, taking out first place. We scored 23 goals and conceded none along the way. They were great ambassadors both on and off the field and we should be very proud of all the boys who represented the College on the Tour.
There are three more rounds left to play and it would be great to have some more photos of our teams to be used at our annual presentation night (more details to follow). Please email any photos that you may have, as attachments, to PCummins@stpiusx.nsw.edu.au
This week all teams are at Oxford Falls. Please be at the ground half an hour before the scheduled kick-off.
SPX Prep Tour to Tamworth 2019
During the holidays St Pius X took a squad of 15 players to Tamworth for the annual National Primary Games. Please see below for a full report.
Mr Paul Cummins - Junior Football Convenor
Football News
The next SPX Football Committee meeting will be held on Wednesday 31 July 2019 at 6.30pm in the Sarto Centre. Chris Semaan, SPX Football Technical Director, will be presenting his coaching program for SPX Football for 2020 and beyond. Please come along and join us - we look forward to your input as we continue to develop Football at SPX.
Cathy Thomson - Secretary SPX Football Club
Athletics Training
- Monday and Wednesday - 4pm to 5pm
- Venue: Rotary Athletics Field, Lane Cove
- Buses depart from Anderson Street 3.20pm and return 5.30pm
Mr Paul Donovan - Athletics Convenor