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
TEACHING AND LEARNING
It was another engaging week of learning in the Junior School with Year 5 continuing to explore the Solar System. Students looked at the Sun’s role in providing energy for the Earth. They learnt about infographics and created their own infographics about the Sun.
In Mathematics, Year 5 reviewed what they have already learnt about addition, subtraction, multiplication, and division before putting their knowledge into practise by measuring the perimeter and area of regular and irregular shapes.
Our Peer Support Program continued with our students discussing things that they like and things that they don’t like. The Year 5 boys enjoy being able to interact with the Year 11s with the older boys acting as great mentors for our Junior School students.
Year 6 had some fun this week exploring air resistance by dropping parachutes of different sizes off the Junior School balcony. Great discussions ensued following the recording of the results.
Many of the students have begun reading the picture book, My Place by Nadia Wheatley & Donna Rawlins. One of my favourite books to read with students in the classroom, My Place looks back at the development of Australia and how the use of land, the jobs people had, and the way they spent their free time has changed over time.
MILSON ISLAND / CANBERRA
With only seven more sleeps until our Year 5's head off to Milson Island and our Year 6's journey to Canberra, the sense of excitement around the Junior School is palpable! For some boys, this will be their first experience of being away from Mum, Dad and the comforts of home and they may be a little apprehensive. You can certainly help by talking with your son about how exciting their time away is going to be.
By now you should have received all the information you need to prepare for Milson Island or Canberra. If you feel you have missed anything, or would like clarification about anything, please be in contact as soon as possible with your classroom teacher. If there have been any changes to medication that haven’t been communicated since you filled in the registration, please let Mrs Sutton know as soon as possible: lsutton@stpiusx.nsw.edu.au
An update on Canberra rooming: the rooms have changed from three to a room to five to a room. This made it somewhat easier to accommodate all the requests for room buddies. Where I wasn’t able to accommodate a request, I have spoken to the student, and he has nominated an alternate friend.
NEW SYLLABUS
After a significant period of curriculum review and reform, the Junior School will begin to teach the new Stage 3 English and Mathematics syllabuses from January 2024. This is the first comprehensive reform of the NSW school curriculum in three decades.
It is exciting to be part of curriculum reform and Mrs Iwatani and I enjoyed learning about the changes to the English syllabus at a conference last Friday. We will also attend a Mathematics conference in August. We look forward to sharing what we learn with staff over the remainder of the year and adapting our teaching and learning programs to reflect the changes.
ASH WEDNESDAY
Thank you to Mr Mulheron and Mr Wheatley, for leading our Ash Wednesday liturgy last Wednesday. Ash Wednesday is the first day of one of the most important seasons in the Church’s liturgical year - Lent. As I explained to the children at Wednesday’s liturgy, Lent is a time when we try to get closer to God. The children were encouraged to think of things they could do to achieve this, for example, have conversations with God, do good deeds and give to Project Compassion.
PROJECT COMPASSION
We are raising funds to help support Project Compassion, Caritas Australia’s annual fundraising campaign. Project Compassion brings together supporters from across Australia to address the challenges of poverty today and drive lasting change for a better tomorrow. Join us to help support remote and vulnerable communities across Asia, Africa, the Pacific and in Australia. Your generosity today can help communities access clean water, food security, skills training, health and sanitation and disaster risk reduction training. Together with your support, we can create lasting change today, and for all future generations.
CHINESE NEW YEAR
Last Thursday we welcomed the Year of the Rabbit with great enthusiasm and Chinese traditions in the Junior School. To begin the celebrations, we enjoyed a performance of a song sung in Chinese by several our students. We then invited a Chinese dragon to bless our classrooms and the Junior School. The dragon, which is an essential symbol of Chinese culture, symbolises good luck, prosperity, and happiness. The dragon's blessing ceremony started at the entrance of the Junior School before the dragon made its way to the classrooms accompanied by traditional Chinese music. The dragon visited each classroom, blessing and bringing good luck to students and teachers alike. It was an unforgettable experience for all who participated and for those of us in the audience. Thank you to Ms Li, Ms Lee and Mr Cummins for all their work in organising this annual event for the Junior School.
YEAR 5 REFLECTION DAY
Last Friday, Year 5 spent a wonderful day at Oxford Falls and participated in a range of activities that introduced them to our Founder, Edmund Rice, the Touchstones and our Year 5 theme “From Little Things, Big Things Grow”. You might like to ask your Year 5 son if he knows what our four Touchstones are, or to give you two facts about Edmund Rice.
JUNIOR SCHOOL HONOUR BOARD
Congratulations to Cristiano Calcarao and Rory Rapa who had their names added to the Junior School Honour Board this week.
SPORTING NEWS
For all your Junior School sporting news and highlights, please see Mr Ryan’s report below.
DATES FOR THE DIARY
Thank you for your ongoing support of the Junior School.
Mrs Jill Greenwood - Head of the Junior School
Junior School Sport
Wet Weather
Whilst we have been fortunate with the fine weather of late, it is a good time to ensure you are using the SPX App should wet weather impact fixtures. All cancellations, as well as any up to date notifications will be communicated via the App.
The Armidale School Rugby Carnival
The following link is for Year 6 families who wish to express an interest in their son attending The Armidale School Rugby Carnival to be held from Friday 21 April to Sunday 23 April. Expressions of Interest need to be received by Wednesday Monday 5 March please.
Swimming Carnival
The following boys represented the College at the IPSHA Swimming Carnival held at Sydney Olympic Park Aquatic Centre today We wish the boys well as they compete at this level.
10 yrs
Benjamin Costain, Brandon Abram, Simon Kay, Aidan Burke
11 yrs
Max Sunjaya, Benjamin Crichton, Kye Ausling, Dominik Playle, Ryan Volpato
12 yrs
Patrick Connell, Jack Treder, Patrick Butler, Aidan Kristianto, Luka Hilton, Edward Harkin
Cross Country
We completed the Junior School Cross Country during our Thursday Oxford Falls sports session last week. A 1km course was marked out on our grounds, with the U10 runners completing a 2km race and our U11s and U12s completing a 3km race. Despite the threat of rain, the boys enjoyed a dry course with ideal running conditions. Congratulations to the following boys who finished in the top three of each age group.
U12
1st Cristiano Calcarao
2nd Parker Ball
3rd Patrick Butler
U11
1st Jake Florian
2nd Matthew Krizan
3rd Ryan Volpato
U10
1st Henry Formosa
2nd Brandon Abram
3rd Nicholas Belov
Cross-Country Training:
When: Monday, Wednesday and Thursday mornings. Join our coaches Matthew North and Dominic Panozzo for fun, varied and challenging sessions.
Where: Beauchamp Park, Chatswood
Time: 7.15 am – 8.15 am
Who: All Senior and Junior School students in Yrs 5 - 12
Meet at the Beauchamp Oval Grandstand in comfortable running gear and with a water bottle. Bring your school uniform to change into afterwards back at The College.
These sessions serve as a good opportunity to build up endurance. However, you don’t have to aspire to run in the IPSHA Carnival - all students and abilities are welcome.
Baseball
Congratulations to Dominik Playle (5 Red) who competed in the “Greater Sydney Rookies Cup Tournament” last Sunday. His team were undefeated Division 1 winners. Dominik had a successful day with the bat, scoring 4 home runs.
Representative Athletics
Cristiano Calcarao competed in the NSW Junior Athletics Championships last weekend placing 2nd in the U13 1500m with a PB of 4:15.13. He came within 0.06s of winning this event. He won the U13 800m event with another PB of 2:15.93. He has now qualified for the Australian Junior Athletics Championships in mid-April in Queensland. A tremendous achievement and we wish Cristiano the very best at the next championships.
State Cup Touch Football
Eddy Onslow, William Tully and Felix Davidson (Year 6) represented the Hornsby District at the State Cup Touch Football Tournament last weekend in Dubbo. They played in very hot conditions, displaying improved touch footy skills after months of training. Well Done Boys!
And Around the Grounds...
Basketball:
Touch Football:
Softball:
Players remember to bring, hat, water bottle, mouth guard, shin pads and to eat breakfast. Parents remember to bring a chair as many venues do not have seating.
Mr Ben Ryan - Junior School Sports Coordinator
NSTA Tennis
No breeze and blue skies, perfect tennis weather! Thanks to our umpires this week who helped to mentor and umpire the younger players for the 8.00 am session: Cooper Anderson, Spencer Anderson, Aidan Seifert, Lucas Youngman, Izaac Tan and Lucas Halim. It is fantastic to see so many young men who are volunteering their time to help our younger players.
SPX 20, Brenda Marr, Angus Gibson and Nicholas Kwan worked hard to win their matches against Cammeraygal 7. Brendan Marr’s match in particular was a tough one but it was great to see Brendan fight his way to a win 6-5. SPX 23: Aiden Chan, Noah Marshall and Jamie Stapleton showed their skills on the court winning 18 games to 7 against SPX 22. It is wonderful to see our green ball teams SPX 27 – SPX 32 flourishing under the guidance of Mrs Keighery. Each week you can see their skills and knowledge of the game improve.
Once again, it started to heat up for the 10.00 am matches. SPX 13: Esteban Leon Curran and Matari Webster worked well together to win 18 games to 5. Ben Shoudra, Layton Chan and Martin Chan SPX 15 showed their strength and team work on the court winning all 3 sets against Reddam 4. Lucas Korth and Lachlan Yu, SPX 12 continue to amaze, being our top junior team and they haven’t lost a match yet. Congratulations also to our top team SPX 1: Izaac Tan and Lucas Halim who won their match 3 sets to 0 against Redlands 2.
Mrs Sam Iwatani - NSTA Convenor
Rugby Registration NOW OPEN
All Year 5 - 12 students wishing to play rugby are required to be registered to be included in a team, allowing the school rugby administrators & coaches to best prepare for the coming season, plus allow your P&F Rugby Club to best support and communicate with you! There are no trials or grading days, all students of different shapes, sizes and abilities can find a home within the SPX Rugby Program.
You have three options when registering:
- 2023 Rugby Season Registration + Two Day April School Holiday Clinic: $280 (cost includes season registration & access to rugby specific physio during the season + specialist coaching, transport and lunch at the April Holiday clinic held on 19 and 20 April).
- 2023 Rugby Season Registration Only: $180 (cost includes season registration & access to rugby specific physio during the season)
- Clinic only - The third option for holiday clinic only is for junior school students.
To register simply follow the trybooking link below: https://www.trybooking.com/1017694
Term 1 Rugby Dates for the Diary:
- Training starts Tuesday 14 March – Rugby Training Commences at Oxford Falls for all students Year 7-12
- Training days are Tuesday and Thursday
- Friday 24 March – Sunday 26 March - Opens Rugby Camp and TRIAL VS CCGS – Central Coast.
- Saturday 1 April – SPX vs ST ALOYISIUS – HOME- TBC
- Wednesday 19 & Thursday 20 April - School Holiday Clinic – Oxford Falls – TRYTIME RUGBY
Mr Martin Gillogly - Rugby Convenor
Rugby Club 2023 Golf Day
For Bookings please use the QR Code attached or go to:
Contact St Pius X Rugby Supporters' Committee:
From the Junior Resource Centre
Celebrate Dr Seuss Books!
Curiosity cultivators. Imagination instigators.
Happy Birthday Dr Seuss - 2 March 1904.
This week’s Highlights are: What Literary adventures will you embark on this year?
Premier’s reading Challenge –Opened on Monday 27th February 2023. Your son’s username and password have been e-mailed to them.
Library Monitors for 2023
Congratulations to the following boys who are joining the wonderful team of Library monitors for 2023:
Liam O’Donnell
Vinn Buckingham
Matthew Higgins
Javien Foo
Harry Staber
Connor Koruga
Massimo Musumeci
Lachlan Yu
James Ulevik (absent from photo)
CBCA BOOK OF THE YEAR - NOTABLES 2023
Congratulations to all CBCA Book of the Year Notables Authors, Illustrators and Publishers for 2023. There is so much talent in the Australian children’s Book industry. We are so very lucky to have the Author Kate Foster visiting the school today to speak to year 5.
Click on the link below to see the full list of notables for 2023.
https://cbca.org.au/notables-2023
New Books in the JRC
Just had to get a picture of this today! My heart did a leap. New Books in the hands of keen readers.
Year 5 Author visit – Kate Foster Wednesday 1 March. A big congratulations as her novel The Bravest Word has been long-listed for Book of the Year as part of the CBCA Notables 2023.
Year 5 students had a visit by author Kate Foster today. Kate discussed her latest book The Bravest Word, and Paws.
It’s the story of Year 7 student Matt who’s grappling with overwhelming emotions. One day on a bush walk he comes across an abandoned dog. A powerful story about depression, anxiety and saving someone in need ensues.
Students can order signed copies of Kate Foster’s books on the following link:
https://www.thechildrensbookshopspeakersagency.com.au/person/kate-foster/
Mrs Martin’s Book Trail – Paws by Kate Foster
Is a heart warming middle grade book about a boy and his dog, and how they tackle life together. This gentle story centres around the 11–year–old Alex as he navigates the changes that come with the start of high school being just around the corner. Change can be terrifying… but slightly less so with your best pooch pal Kevin at your side.
#MrsMartinsBooktrail2023
Ms Elena Martin - Teacher Librarian
Junior Chess
Thank you to all the students who have expressed an interest in joining NSW Junior Chess Competition for 2023.
Registration has closed. Training begins Week 8, Tuesday 21 March at 7.30 am in the Junior Resource Centre.
Mrs Elena Martin - Junior School Chess Convenor