Junior School News & Sport
- Junior School News
- Learning Enrichment Notices
- Highlights from the Junior Resource Centre
- Junior School Sport
PRAYER/REFLECTION: We are very lucky here at St Pius X College to have some very compassionate and generous students who give of their time to help and care for others. Of course this stems from the wonderful families that we have in our community. Thank you to those of you who have already sold their Drought Relief Appeal Raffle tickets and those of you who have also contributed to the donations for treats for the farmers' hampers. Please keep them coming in.
Most Revered Bishop Columba Macbeth-Green OSPPE DD Bishop of Wilcannia-Forbes, as part of his Pastoral Message in response to the drought affecting our Diocese, offered the following Prayer for Rain:
God our Father, You created our earth to nourish us and give us life
And Jesus told us to ask and it will be given to us
We ask now in Faith, Hope and Love that you look with favour on our drought stricken land.
Our starving animals and failing produce.
Sustain, strengthen and give new heart to our farmers and all those affected by this drought
In your loving providence send abundant rain soon
And renew the faith of your people and the face of our land.
We make this prayer with many, through Jesus Christ who gives new life to all living things.
Amen.
Our Lady of Perpetual Help - Pray for us
St Mary of the Cross Mackillop - Pray for us
JUNIOR SCHOOL NEWS
Firstly, thank you to Mr Virgona, Mr Cummins and Mrs Cummins on a very successful Football and AFL Presentation Night last Wednesday. It was great to hear that there were so many parents who were able to attend the evening to recognise the fantastic efforts of all involved. Special mention must also go to Jack Nercessian, who was awarded Football Player of the Year.
Last week I wondered if your sons shared their day with you at home. As often happens we ask “What happened at school today?” and we are often met with the response “Nothing”. I came across a wonderful list of alternate questions to ask, which I have tried with much success, and thought that I would share some of them with you. Hopefully you learn a little bit more about the day from asking some of these:
- Did you catch anyone doing something funny?
- What was the funniest thing that happened today?
- Did anyone do anything super nice for you?
- What was the nicest thing you did for someone else?
- Who made you smile today?
- Which one of your teachers would survive a zombie apocalypse? Why?
- What new fact did you learn today?
- What challenged you today?
- If one of your classmates could be the teacher for the day who would you want it to be? Why?
- If you had the chance to be the teacher tomorrow, what would you teach the class?
ICAS SCIENCE & WRITING COMPETITIONS: All boys recently participated in the ICAS Science Competition. This competition is run nationwide and assesses the following skills: observing and measuring, interpreting data, applying data, investigating and higher-order skills. The paper covers content from the following areas: Earth and Beyond (incorporating the Earth Sciences and Astronomy); Energy and Change (incorporating Physics); Life and Living (incorporating Biology and Ecology) and Natural and Processed Materials (incorporating Chemistry).
Our school performed very well and I am pleased to announce the following boys who achieved a distinction on the test, these are the boys who are in the top 10% of all students who sat the test.
Year 5: Dylan Murphy, Jaydon Akouri, Ethan Auer, Sebastian Blane, Bradley Ning, Matthew Sissons and Lucas Youngman.
Year 6: John Carroll, Liam Boswell, Jacob Magner, Eliot Sanders, Lucas Spinetti, Patrick Felice, Ethan Li, Samuel Cummins and Maxwell Forbes.
We also had a select group of students from Years 5 and 6 participate in the ICAS Writing Competition. ICAS Writing assesses students’ ability to write an extended response to a given task. Two forms of writing, narrative and persuasive, are assessed in alternating years. This year we had three boys who achieved a distinction: Robert Oner (Year 5), Christoper Harris and Sam Hollinger (Year 6). Well done to all boys on an outstanding achievement.
REMINDERS: I understand that at the moment there are a lot of collections happening, all of which the staff are also taking part in. Could I put out a quick reminder for the following:
- Collection and return of the Walkathon money;
- Bringing in treats for the farmers – these are being collected each morning in Homerooms;
- Selling and returning the Raffle Tickets.
SCREEN SMART PARENT TOUR: Do you know the following facts:
- On average, children aged 10 to 14 years have 2 active social media accounts
- On average, outside of school, 10 to 14 year olds spend 23 hours online per week
- 12% of 10 to 14 year olds share personal information online
- 9% of 10 to 14 year olds reported being exposed to inappropriate content
- 21% of 10 to 14 year olds reported being socially excluded by others online (one form of cyberbullying)
- 36% of 10 to 14 year olds said they had talked to strangers online
The above facts come from the 2017 Youth Digital Participation Survey, a nationally representative sample of 3017 children and youths (8 – 17 years).
Are you surprised about the above statistics? Do you want to know more about how you can help your son if he experiences any of the above scenarios? The Office of the eSafety Commissioner has recently released a 10 minute online interactive tour for parents. The interactive tour provides tips on how you can help your son explore the online world and mange online issues should they arise. This is especially important as they strive for independence and peer acceptance.
Topics covered are: cyberbullying, screen time, social media, personal information, inappropriate contact etc. Parents can select any topic that they are interested in to get started and close the tour at any time, resuming from where they left off the next time they access the tour. Visit: https://www.esafety.gov.au/education-resources/%20iparent/screen-smart-tour
P&F NEWS & EVENTS: Please see the P&F page of this newsletter for all news and events, including those for Years 5 and 6.
TERM 3 CALENDAR
A THOUGHT TO PONDER
Mrs S Iwatani - Acting Head of Junior School
Learning Enrichment Notices
Dorothea Mackellar Poetry Award:
Congratulations to Alexander Feehan of Year 6 who was recently awarded as one of the two winning entries in the Upper Primary Section of the National Dorothea Mackellar Poetry Competition. This Poetry Competition is the oldest, most prestigious and largest poetry competition for school students in Australia. This year there were over 9500 entries from all over Australia.
Alexander’s poem entitled ‘Storm’ is written with the current drought in mind. His poem will be published nationally online and in social media. This is an outstanding achievement by Alexander and he was presented with his award at the College Assembly on Monday.
STORM
Shadows rolling in over the tallest buildings,
Darkness overpowering the light,
Fear in the air,
People running inside for cover,
The busy streets now empty of pedestrians
Faces staring from the car windows
Paddocks covered in darkness,
Animals running to shelter near them,
Fear and relief in the air,
The crop is saved from thirst,
The farmers now have water.
Blue becoming grey,
Soft thumps becoming huge crashes against the hull,
Men preparing for a long night,
The fishing net coming in for the last time,
Storms bring rain and lightning,
But also something else,
For some people it brings fear, others relief.
But we all feel a foreboding feeling,
A feeling of anticipation,
As we all wait for it to hit.
Mrs B Spanyik - Learning Enrichment Teacher
Highlights from the Junior Resource Centre
Why we need Libraries
Mrs Martin’s Book Trail – 'My Outback Childhood' by Toni Tapp Coutts
There’s always something interesting in every chapter of this unique story. Toni Tapp Coutts (her first memoir, A Sunburnt Childhood, followed by My Outback Life.) A great yarn, complete with red dust, snakes, goannas and nights spent in a swag looking up at the stars.
Premier’s Reading Challenge 2018
Year 5 Blue and Year 6 Blue enjoying the movie - WONDER!
Happy Reading! There are words to be spelled, nerves to be overcome and a champion to be found!
Mrs E Martin - Junior Librarian
Junior School Sport
Thursday Sport: at Oxford Falls. Trials/training continues for Basketball, Cricket, Softball and Tennis.
Year 5 Parents: At this stage I need to plan for Saturday Sport in 2019 and require all Year 5 boys to complete their Online Sport Preference Form for 2019. Relevant information is on the St Pius X School App. The online form can also be accessed directly by clicking this link: Sports Preference Form 2019
Basketball: Grading continues this Thursday. Team lists for the Term 4 Season will go onto the App in the next fortnight with the season draw and information letter also available. The first game of season is on Saturday 20th October.
Cricket: Teams have been announced and training now resumes for the fast-approaching season. Thanks in advance to the parent volunteers for giving up your time to guide the players through the season, and also to the Cricket Club who do an enormous amount in organising, staffing and funding Cricket at SPX. A reminder boys can bring their own kit bag to Oxford Falls Thursday Sport sessions (or use the school issue gear provided). At the least boys must have a protector and personal gloves.
NSTA Tennis: Grading for the new Term 4 Season will be completed in the coming two weeks. The season begins on 20th Oct and relevant information including team lists and a draw will be disseminated to players after the grading meeting. Please see information in the Senior Sports page of this newsletter.
Softball: A season draw and team list will be available via the App in the next fortnight. The first game of the Term 4 season is on Saturday 20th October.
Winter Sport/Co-curricular Photos: Our Winter Sport/Co-curricular photos have now been taken. Hard-copy order forms were given to students and are due back by the end of this term (to the office). A PDF form is also attached should you require it.
Mr G Virgona - Junior School Sportsmaster
From the Rugby Club
Save the Date: Wednesday, 12th December 2018 – Inaugural SPX Rugby Club Golf Day at Roseville Golf Club from 1pm - ‘Ambrose Shotgun Start’. Further details to be provided in coming weeks and bookings will open shortly. Lady golfers most welcome and encouraged to play.
(Please note the date has now been moved from initially notified date of 28th November).
Paul O'Neill - President SPX Rugby Club