Student & Parent Matters

• Scarlet Fever Notification
• Information Session for Volunteers at the College​
• From the Head of Student Services
•  -   House Vice Captains for Semester 1, 2018
•  -   ANZAC Day Ceremonies
•  -   UBUNTU Rhythm Choir
•  -   Eddie Rice Camps
•   -   Guringai Festival
• SPX Robotics Club - In the News
• Public Speaking & Debating
• Chess
• Kokoda Track Expedition 2018 – Participants' Training Hike
• Holiday Programs

Notifiable Communicable Factsheet

One of Year 6 students has been diagnosed with Scarlet Fever which is a communicable disease.  The information below is taken from the NSW Government Health Communicable Diseases Factsheet:

http://www.health.nsw.gov.au/Infectious/factsheets/Factsheets/infectious_childhood.PDF

Scarlet Fever

Time from exposure to illness:  1 to 3 days.

Symptoms:  Sudden onset sore throat, high fever and vomiting, followed by a rash in 12 to 36 hours.

Do I need to keep my child home?  Yes, until at least 24 hours of treatment has begun and the child is feeling better.

How can I prevent spread?  Careful hand washing. Sick contacts should see their doctor.

Information Session for Volunteers at the College

Thank you for being willing to support our students through the activities in which you volunteer at the College – your time and energy is really valued and appreciated.  It is necessary for all our Volunteers to be registered with the Principal having completed necessary documentation. For some roles that require individual work with students, there is also the need to complete a Volunteers Working With Children Check (WWCC) and submit this number to the College for our records. For parents and carers volunteering with groups of students where your son is participating directly in that activity,  an exemption can be given for WWCC numbers.

There will be the choice of two – 45 minute information sessions for existing and new volunteers conducted before the end of Term 1. That meeting time will be used to check existing details of your Volunteer registration or register with the College and learn of the current obligations Volunteers have regarding Child Protection and Work Safety and Health Policies at the school. People that have attended previous sessions in prior years, must attend again. Volunteers only need to attend one meeting.

• Meeting Option #1: Week 10 Thursday 5 April 2018 – 2:30pm-3:15pm
• Meeting Option #2: Week 11 Monday 9 April 2018 – 9:00 am -9:45am

These times have been planned to cover different points of the day, so hopefully one of those options can work for you.  If you have any further enquiries please contact me at the College.

Happy Easter!

Ms S-J Grove - Head of Staff Services

From the Head of Student Services

House Vice Captains

Congratulations to the following students who have been elected and appointed as House Vice Captains for Semester 1, 2018:

They have already been active in student leadership initiatives and will represent the College at the NSW RSL Schools Remember ANZAC Ceremony at the ANZAC Memorial Hyde Park on Monday 9th April.

The House Vice Captains are invited to attend ANZAC Day Ceremonies during the holidays along with our Kokoda Expedition participants, and indeed all students and student leaders of the College. They are expected to work with the College House Captains and Student Leadership Team, in the best traditions of the College, to give voice and exercise leadership in curricula and co-curricular activities, such as the House Athletics Carnival, and throughout Semester 1.

ANZAC Day Ceremonies

Congratulations to Oliver Tysoe (Year 11 participant in two SPX Kokoda Expeditions) who will lead the College’s Representation at the NSW RSL Schools Remember ANZAC Ceremony at the ANZAC Memorial, Hyde Park at 11.30am on Monday 9th April 2018. Oliver will read the Prayer for Peace during the Ceremony and will be supported on the Memorial platform by three Flag Orderlies in House Vice Captains: Liam Kerlin, Tom Hunt, and Nic MacLachlan, in full Winter Uniform.

This event is attended by many prominent leaders of the community, and a fitting way for us to commemorate those who have served, in this the year of the Centenary of the cessation of hostilities in World War I.

The wreath will be laid, on behalf of St Pius X College, by representatives of our student House Vice Captains (Years 7 – 10) and House Captains (Years 5 and 6), who will attend the ceremony after paying our respects to The College Foyer Honour Board tp those who have served, and in our College Archives Office where Br Carl Sherrin has placed the artefacts commemorating two old Boys KIA in WWII in pride of place.

Our student leaders, Kokoda Expedition participants, and all students are encouraged to attend and participate in local ANZAC Day Ceremonies including the 25th May Dawn Service at Chatswood Garden of Remembrance adjacent to the station from 5am, the Club Willoughby Service from 7am and the Forestville RSL Services held the Sunday before ANZAC Day at 3pm, and ANZAC Day at Dawn. The College will conduct a short Assembly ANZAC Service when students return for Term 2 on Tuesday 1st May.

UBUNTU Rhythm Choir

Please note that in the spirit of Ubuntu https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wg49mvZ2V5U

and linking to our Edmund Rice Beyond Borders partners at Edmund Rice schools in South East and West Africa St Pius X College has agreed to host a joint Choir Group from Uganda and Kenya to a concert on the evening of Monday May 21st. There will be a masterclass for Year 6 and Junior and Senior Choir students to participate in the Thursday 17th May prior and tickets will be available on Trybooking: https://www.trybooking.com/UZOO

Eddie Rice Camps

Congratulations to Ronan Crispe who recently fulfilled the role of Peer Leader at an Eddie Rice weekend Camp at Mulgoa, a remarkable achievement for a Year 8 student who has been identified for his maturity and leadership potential.

During the upcoming holidays St Pius X College will contribute to this important outreach arm of EREA by providing our mini bus while Year 10 target Eddie Rice Camps as their major annual social justice fundraising initiative. In the future we hope that many more students will follow Ronan’s lead and example and become Eddie Rice Camp volunteers.

Guring gai Festival

There is currently some considerable concern that this significant annual celebration of local indigenous culture will not be supported by local councils this year. Councillor Vincent De Luca will be making motion to Northern Beaches Council this week that the Festival be supported and interested parties are urged to support the movement where they are able.  Please click on the flyer below.

A reminder also that St Anthony's Church Terrey Hills conducts a land acre project for three hours on the second Saturday of every month. See Mr Brannan if you would like the contact details to volunteer or accrue Eddies CIP Hours.

Old Boys Gala Day

Congratulations to the students and Old Boys who gathered recently and dedicated thoughts, prayers and condolences to the family of Lachlan Ridley (Class of 2017) at the Old Boys vs Students Gala Day matches. At last Friday’s assembly we were able to have recent Old Boy and College Dux from 2010 and current Science, Physics and Maths Teacher, Mr Justin Donnelly, present the trophies to students: Andreas Nolan - 1st XI Football captain, Darcy Guyzens - 1st V Basketball representative and Sam Kafer - 1st XV Rugby representative.

Please refer to last week's Woodchatta for a full report on the Gala Day.

Fide et Labore

Vale Lachlan Ridley

Mr S Brannan - Head of Student Services

Robotics Club - In the News

On the weekend the St Pius X Robotics Club featured in the Sydney Morning Herald in the Digital Adventurers Education lift-out. The focus was on our preparations for RoboCup Junior one of the competitions that our Club is involved with. A photo of old boy Denis Webber was included from last year. Denis has joined our coaching team this year and is working to encourage and further develop our Junior program.

The Robotics Club has been running as a voluntary club after school for a number of years now. More recently (the last 5 years) we have had an explosion of interest and enthusiasm for the Club as a way of preparing our boys for the future. Many jobs and fields of study now require students to be literate in mechatronics and coding and our Club provides this.

Currently we have nearly 100 students ranging from Year 6 to Year 12 with another 30-40 Year 5 students completing an Introduction to Robotics module in term 4. Students develop skills in mechatronics, coding, problem solving, leadership, planning, teamwork and resilience and we now have students gaining access to university courses based on their participation in the Robotics Club and State and National competitions. A number of our students are also members of the UNSW and Macquarie University First Robotics Challenge teams.

The boys work through a program starting with Lego robots and then move through Arduino projects as they progress to “big boy” robots constructed from scratch (these work out to around $800 a Robot). Whilst internal and external competitions are a focus of the club, students also have the opportunity to work on individual or group projects. Currently we have teams of students working on different aspects of drone technology.

Congratulations to the students, Mr ten Seldam and Mr Lai for their passion, efforts and enthusiasm and to our new coach Denis Webber whom all contribute to make this club and its students a National newsworthy activity. A big thank you must also go to Mrs T. Bradley and Mr T. Cunneen for their assistance with the media. Finally, a very big thank you to the P&F for their ongoing and enthusiastic support for Robotics Club.

https://www.smh.com.au/education/robots-and-humans--the-schools-dance-challenge-20180320-h0xq5t.html

Mr P de Silva - Robotics Convenor

Public Speaking & Debating

Information from Mrs Waterson can be found in the document below.

Mrs M Waterson - Debating and Public Speaking Convener

Chess

Attention all Junior, Intermediate and Senior Chess players!

This year we are going “green” and using trybooking as an electronic form of registering for Chess. If your son intends to play Chess this season can you please use the following link to confirm his involvement in co curricula chess: https://www.trybooking.com/USDR

The trybooking link is now open and closes 11.59pm on Easter Monday April 2.

Please click on the flyer for information from Sydney Academy of Chess, for any of our keen players! 

Go to www.sydneyacademyofchess.com.au to check your Chess Rating or visit the Chess Shop.

Ms D Ramsey - Chess Convenor

Kokoda Track Expedition 2018 – Participants' Training Hike

Our next training hike will take place after the Easter weekend. The hikes are now becoming serious and we will hike from Cowan to Mt Ku-Ring-Gai (17.2km).  It is important that all members of our group attend as many of these training hikes as possible. They provide an opportunity for us to gauge fitness, to share information and to address any potential concerns or issues before they manifest.

• When:  Sunday 8th April 2018
• Meet:    Mt Ku-Ring-Gai train station 7.05 am (Train to Cowan at 7.16am; arrive 7.37am with a change at Berowra). Park at the Eastern end of Glenview Rd (Just after Aldi)
• Finish:   Glenview Rd Mt Ku-Ring-Gai 3.00pm (approx.)
• Need:    3 litres of water (no water on route), hat, sunscreen, lunch, Opal card, sense of humour

In the event of track work we can do a car shuffle to Cowan. In the event of poor weather, please check the College App.  All member of the College Community are welcome to attend.

Next Hikes

6.           Sunday 6th May 2018

7.           Sunday 3rd June 2018

Please note that I will confirm the following hikes as we move closer to the dates.

Mr P de Silva - Outdoor Education Coordinator

Holiday Programs

GLENAEON Holiday Care Service offers alternative activities for the school holidays for families and we welcome children from all schools.  We also provide a program for children up to 14 years of  age during the school holidays.  Please click on the flyer below for details and program information.

NSW Office of Sport - Sport & Recreation Holiday Programs 

These programs provide kids and teenagers with the chance to meet new people while also trying a variety of fun sports and activities. Led by qualified instructors, parents can rest easy knowing their children are in safe hands. You can download the flyer and view the programs online as below:

• Download the Autumn school holiday program ad/flyer
• View programs online - sportandrecreation.nsw.gov.au/schoolholidays

Enquiries to sherilee.hemers@sport.nsw.gov.au or call 13 13 02.