From the Principal

• PRAYER:  Feast of St Pius X 
• Special Assembly last Monday 22nd August
• Year 12 Retreats
• P&F Meeting
• NAPLAN Results
• Upcoming Events

PRAYER

FEAST OF ST PIUS X - 21st August 2016

The Feast of St Pius X was the 21st August and the College will celebrate this with its annual Feast Day Holiday next Monday 29th August.

The man some called the best loved Pope of the 20th century, Pope Pius X, was born Guiseppe Sarto in Italy and was the second eldest of 10 children. Though poor, his parents valued education and Giuseppe walked 6 kilometres to school each day. He was ordained a priest in 1858 and later was Bishop of Mantua and Cardinal Patriarch of Venice. He served the Church as Pope from 1903 to 1914.

Known for his humility and glowing example of faith, Pope Pius X was canonized a saint on May 29, 1954 and two days later at a special mass in our local parish church our school was officially re-named St Pius X College.

Prayer to St Pius X

Let us always remember that St Pius X stands as a worthy patron, challenging us to Faith, Learning and Culture.   

Father, to defend the Catholic faith and to make all things new in Christ,

You filled St Pius X with heavenly wisdom and courage.

May his example and teaching lead us to the reward of eternal life.

Grant this through our Lord Jesus Christ, Your Son,

who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit,

one God, for ever and ever.

Amen.

Special Assembly

LAST MONDAY 22nd AUGUST

On Monday the College held a most wonderful Assembly with an emphasis on reaching out to those in need.

Just to give you a flavour of the occasion I list below some of the highlighted events:

• Presentation from The Kids’ Cancer Project by Mr Owen Finegan (CEO), Ms Eryn Miller (Engagement Manager) and Ms Pip Aitken (Community Fundraising Executive) and from Kiss Goodbye to MS by Mr Len Russell (Head of Fundraising) and Ms Richelle King (Campaign Manager) for the funds raised by Luke Forwood, Tom Wong and Hayden Robertson for Mr Pembroke’s open water ocean swim. Both charities received over $25,000 each.

• Presentation to the Kokoda Track students by Mr Bill James, ex-student and author. This also recognised the immersion and donation to Callan Services in PNG of just under $13,000.
• Presentation of the students who raised funds through the SPX Fair Trade Stall selling chocolates throughout Term 3 for Callan Services. They have raised just over $100 so far this term.
• There were over 100 students who participated in The Color Run held in Centennial Park last Sunday. Over $3000 was raised for The White Knight Foundation, established by ex-student Liam Knight.
• Presentation of the 25 plus students who undertook the 40 Hour Famine last weekend. They collectively raised $2,000.

Sincere appreciation is offered to all those who have anticipated and donated.

Year 12 Retreats

We welcome back our Year 12 students following their Trials and their highly successful Year 12 Retreats.  These students will now give all their attention to their studies as we enter their final month of classes before they tackle their HSC examinations at the beginning of Term 4.

P&F Meeting

A small but hardy group of parents met at the P&F meeting held on Monday of this week. In particular the Trivia Night was reported on and over $27000 has been raised with each club to receive approximately $5000 towards their endeavours this year. Sincere thanks to all those who donated prizes and attended the evening. The boys will certainly benefit from these funds.

NAPLAN Results

The NAPLAN results were sent home to parents last week. The College is either “above” or “well above” State average in all areas.

Mr Damo has published the results in his section of this edition of Woodchatta. We are certainly concentrating our efforts on the continual improvement of students’ learning in all areas and particularly in literacy and numeracy.

Upcoming Events

As we prepare for the last month of Term 3, I highlight some of the major upcoming events.

25 August:             Junior School Walkathon

1 September:       Splinters, Stage, Splashes & Sounds; Junior School Father/Son Day

2 September:       Fathers' Day Breakfast; Twilight Concert; Old Boys’ Annual Dinner

8 September:       Winter Sports Colours

12 September:     Board Meeting

22 September:     Internal Graduation 2016 Year 12

23 September:     External Graduation 2016 Year 12

23 September:     Term concludes

Mr John Couani - Principal