From the Principal

• PRAYER:  September In Australia​
• SPX Drought Relief Appeal
• Father's Day Events
• A Vibrant School Environment
• EREA Congress:  Melbourne 7-9 September
• 2018 Old Boys' Dinner:  Reminder re Change of Date
• 2018 Old Boys' Dinner:  Reminder re Change of Date

Prayer:  September In Australia

(An excerpt from the poem by Henry Kendall circa 1869)

On the tops of the hills; on the turreted cones —

Chief temples of thunder —

The gale, like a ghost, in the middle watch moans,

Gliding over and under.

The sea, flying white through the rack and the rain,

Leapeth wild at the forelands;

And the plover, whose cry is like passion with pain,

Complains in the moorlands.

Oh, season of changes — of shadow and shine —

September the splendid!

My song hath no music to mingle with thine,

And its burden is ended:

But thou, being born of the winds and the sun,

By mountain, by river,

Mayst lighten and listen, and loiter and run,

With thy voices for ever.

I thought by way of prayer you may wish to reflect on the extract and consider the changing season and its joys, beauty and challenges for our land its people.

St Pius X Drought Appeal

Our Appeal continues and I thank everyone for their contributions so far. We have a growing range of treats for our farmers for the hampers. Please keep your donations coming.

The raffle has been well supported and the prizes are amazing.  We have 100 prizes of jewellery!

• 1st Prize:   Bowerhaus Champagne Necklace with pair of Earrings valued at $1200.00
• 2nd Prize:   Bowerhaus Champagne Blush Round Pearl Adjustable Necklace with lucky four leaf clover diamante clasp and matching Earrings valued at $1000.00
• 3rd Prize:   Bowerhaus Triple strands white and black pearls with rock crystals necklace and a pair of earrings valued at $650.00
• 4th-100th Prize:   97 Individual Bowerhaus Prizes consisting of 50 sets of Pearl Earrings OR 47 Bracelets valued at $80.00 each.

To date our raffle and special collections at events such as the Fathers and Sons Junior School Sporting Day at Oxford falls, the Father's Day Breakfast, Rugby Presentation Night, Staff Morning Tea have raised $3790.00.

Please return raffle tickets in a sealed envelope with money or credit card details to the silver box. All sold and unsold tickets must be returned by Friday 21 September at the latest. 

Father's Day Events

We had such wonderful support from our Dads last week. Over 110 Dads came to the Junior school Sports Day last Thursday at Oxford Falls and on Friday morning we had over 400 Fathers and Grandfathers join us for breakfast cooked by the mothers of the P&F.  It was a great morning and I share with you a selection of photos below.   

All photos taken on the day may be viewed here:

https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1PZ80Kb43i-IRYr8NM_JJqPDCgma0hPgV?usp=sharing

(Please note that these are low-res photos.  If you want a high-res copy please email Ms Tracy Bradley at tbradley@stpiusx.nsw.edu.au )

A Vibrant School Environment

Term 3 is always full of educational activity for the whole school. To give you a sample of the breadth of activities, consider the following range of educational provisions for the boys just over the past four weeks or so.  This is just a sample to date of the exciting opportunities that are available to our boys.

EREA Congress:  Melbourne 7-9 September

Edmund Rice Education Australia (EREA) which governs all our EREA schools is holding a Congress of all its schools and agencies commencing this Friday 7th September until Sunday 9th September. Representing St Pius X College will be Mr Brian Populin (Board Chair), Mrs Donna Dempsey (Assistant Principal Mission and Identity, Ms Alex Foord (Staff member) and myself. We will report back to you through Woodchatta on the events of the Congress which is aimed at the future directions for our schools overall.

2018 Old Boys' Dinner:  Reminder re Change of Date

There has been a change of date for this year’s Dinner.  It will now be held on Friday evening 14th September.

Prayers

Parents and friends of the College are asked to keep former staff member Peter Bromley in their prayers. Peter is recovering from a recent stroke. He now lives on the Gold Coast. His progress is slow but steady.

Please pray for former Headmaster Tom Casey who has been unwell recently.

Prayers are also asked for Carla Populin’s father Lui who passed away last week. Carla is Brian Populin’s wife. Brian is the Chair of our College Board.  Please pray for Lui’s repose and for the Populin family.

Mr John Couani - Principal