St Pius X College Newsletter

Pastoral Care and Old Boys' News

  • Student Attendance Supporting Wellbeing and Learning
  • Year 9 Camps
  • 2023 Student Leadership Team
  • Links to St John's Baradine, St Ignatius' Bourke, St Joseph’s Walgett and St Lawrence's Coonabarabran as well as Gundabooka and PCYC connections 
  • Thanks
  • Old Boys' News

Student Attendance supporting Wellbeing and Learning

Our care and support of students, and standards of student wellbeing and learning patterns are reinforced by all students being in the right place and frame of mind to calmly and cohesively go about their daily routines of development, performance, and learning.

To this end all students are expected to be at school, and at all lessons, on time and well presented with their correct uniform and equipment to give a good account of themselves and contribute positively to the school, their mates, and the learning environment. 

Any anomalies in Attendance should be reported directly to studentmanagement@stpiusx.nsw.edu.au.  Uniform or equipment concerns should be advised to Year Coordinators, the Front Office Administration, or the relevant school leaders so that they can be addressed. 

Certainly Year 11 students will be consolidating their Year 11 Final Assessments learning and beginning their HSC courses this week in preparation for the Year 11 Student Leadership Investiture on Monday 24 October, upcoming HSC Assessments, and the Snowy Hike at the end of term. We are mindful that some accelerant students will sit their HSC Mathematics Exams over the coming weeks and we wish every success and work hard to support them at this important time.

Year 10 students will be preparing for their upcoming assessments from Week 5, Immersions and “Term 5”, and preparations for their senior studies and responsibilities later in the Term before Year 5 – 10 Semester 2 Reports are issued on 6 December.

Year 9 conduct their Workul Koo (Wamberal) Rites of Passage Camps over the first three weeks of term before joining Year 7 and 8 students in Assessment Tasks in Weeks 6.  Year 9 will also have their Ceroc Dance Workshop with Brigidine College at Oxford Falls preceding our Music Christmas Twilight concert on 18 November.

Year 6 Transition programs into Year 7 2023 culminate in their Orientation Day with the incoming Year 7 students at Chatswood B Wing rooms on Tuesday 15 November, and 2023 Parent Information Session online from 7.00 pm on Tuesday 22 November. 

Year 5 Transition Day to Year 6 2023 takes place on Thursday 27 October when existing and new St Pius X Year 6 students for 2023 will meet to prepare for Year 6. 

Year 5 students will be learning about and preparing for their Excursion to the Kokoda Memorial Walkway at Brays Bay Reserve adjacent to Concord Repatriation Hospital on Tuesday 8 November. Some Year 5 student leaders will then represent the College at the Chatswood RSL Garden of Remembrance Day Service at 11.00 am on Friday 11 November. 

Year 9 Camps Workul Koo, Wamberal, Rites of Passage, Respectful Men of Honour Camps

Year 9 Homerooms are attending their Pastoral Care Camps in homeroom groups at Workul Koo over the first weeks of Term 4. On the camp they will consider the Year 9 Pastoral Theme: Respectful Men of Honour and their Gospel Spirituality theme: Go and Do Likewise; The Good Samaritan. The camps aim to develop the students’ shared “Curriculum of Story” with the school using the principle of Didirri - deep listening to the story of the other. 

Thank you to Mr Gillogly and the Year 9 Pastoral Care staff who will lead the camps.

2023 Student Leadership Team

The 2023 Student Leadership Team, under College Captain-elect, Eamon Boyle’s leadership, can be commended for the manner in which they have taken up the mantle from our current Year 12 student leaders.  They had a Speechcraft session during the holidays in preparation for the 2023 Student Leadership Investiture which will occur at 1.30 pm on Monday 24 October. 

The Speechcraft Graduation Dinner for the Student Leadership Team elect, their parents, guests and members of the SPX Old Boys' Association will be held on Monday evening 7 November. More details to follow.

Links to St John's Baradine, St Ignatius' Bourke, St Joseph’s Walgett and St Lawrence's Coonabarabran as well as Gundabooka and PCYC connections

It was pleasing during the Holiday break to connect with our Red Dirt and Immersion connections in Bourke, Walgett, Baradine, Brewarrina, and Coonabarabran in the spirit of Dadirri – deep listening for rich learning. The communities, which are currently being affected by water inundation from the Darling, Macquarie, Barwon, Namoi and Culgoa River systems, are grateful for their connection and links to the wider St Pius X community and look forward to our continued visits, consideration, thoughts and prayers. Amanda Cheal of Bourke and Walgett PCYCs, and Kate Olsen of Baradine Discovery Centre are particularly welcoming of our upcoming plans for student visits.

Thanks

Finally in the context of our wonderful Year 12 Graduation celebrations last term, I would like to thank Ms Janes, Ms Dempsey, and the Year 12 Pastoral Care team, supported by all staff who have had a role in shaping this cohort over the past eight years. 

Profound thanks to also to our Art staff including Ms Doyle and Ms Janes and Promotions Team including Ms Barrett and Ms Bradley for their part in commissioning a wonderful Visual Arts Award in honour of Craig Ruddy our Old Boy Archbald Prize Winner from 2004 for his David Gulpilil Charcoal portrait: “Two Worlds”. Having outgoing Old Boys Association President Jeff Clarke, (father of Hunter, Class of 2019, and a classmate of Craig Ruddy’s Class of ’86), was a fitting way to award the prize to its first recipient: Congratulations to Leo Blane Outstanding HSC Art Student, Class of 2022. 

 

Craig’s parents, Caroline and John, pass on their deep thanks and are keen to attend an afternoon tea to see the tribute, award, and thank Mr Couani for his commissioning of this new award in Craig’s honour. The perpetual trophy above is formed in part from the iconic Eucalyptus Paniculata Big Tree which stood in the centre of the playground throughout Craig’s time at the College and, no doubt on Cammeraygal land, for centuries before the College's formation.

Fide et Labore

Mr Sean Brannan - Assistant Principal, Mission and Identity

Old Boys' News

Vale Fr Jim Elmore CP

The College was saddened to hear of the passing on Friday 30 September of Fr Jim Elmore, a past Deputy Principal and Commander of the Cadet Unit of the College during the late 1970s. Jim later retrained as a Passionist Priest and served in his native Brisbane and more recently at St Brigid’s Marrickville, in this capacity until he succumbed to a long battle with cancer last week.

RIP Jim Elmore.

Mr Sean Brannan - Old Boys' Association