From the Principal
Classrooms in the Upgraded 'A' Wing
- Prayer
- Welcome
- Starting the School Year - Thursday 28 January
- Warm Welcome to New Staff
- Welcome to Fr David Ranson
- Online Parent Information Evenings
- COVID-19 Protocols for the start of the new school year
- Completion of 'A' Wing
- 2020 HSC
- Key Dates
- Blue College Calendar
- College App and Social Media
- Collection notice for Parents/Guardians
Prayer
Our theme for 2021 is “Better Together” with the encouragement to ‘Motivate your Mate’. This theme was decided by the Student Leadership Team and we pray for our community as we begin the 2021 school year. Below is a beautiful reading from St Paul’s letter to his friends in Corinthians exhorting them that we are all part of the Body of Christ.
A Reading from the First Letter of Paul to the Corinthians (1 Corinth. 1: 10)
Now I appeal to you, brothers and sisters, by the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that all of you be in agreement and that there be no divisions among you, but that you be united in the same mind and the same purpose.
Welcome
I welcome all students, staff and parents to the 2021 school year and I am very excited to welcome especially our new students. There have been many new students into Year 5, 6 and 7 who have come to the school to pick up uniforms and laptops and all are keen and excited for their new beginnings. We also welcome a number of students commencing in other years.
All staff are working together to make the start of the year a truly positive beginning for a fantastic year ahead.
Starting the School Year - Thursday, 28 January
Just a reminder to all parents that all students return to school in summer school uniform on Thursday 28 January.
Any St Pius X College students travelling on public transport must wear a mask. Students are not required to wear masks when at the College but are free to do so if they wish.
Parents of new students are welcome to bring their son into the school on the first morning. Parents are asked to wear a mask and register using the Service NSW QR Reader on arrival.
The teachers and staff will be ready to meet new students and direct them to their classroom teacher. The Year 12 Student Leaders will also be here to greet students as they arrive. Parents are encouraged to have a photo with their son, wish him well and leave the school and check out of the Service NSW App.
Unfortunately, parents will not be able to gather and assemble. We are, therefore, unable to have a meeting with the parents as we have done in previous years.
Welcome to New Staff
We give a warm welcome to our new staff who commence with us this year.
Mr William Perry in HSIE
Mrs Sarah Gooley in Science for Term 1
Mrs Petah Jamieson in Learning Support & Enrichment
Mr Gabriel Henao in Languages for Terms 1 - 3
Mr Nic Parton in ICT
Welcome to Fr David Ranson
I was very pleased to welcome Fr David Ranson to the College last week. He is the new Parish Priest at Our Lady of Dolours Church. We look forward to getting to know him over the coming months. He will celebrate at our Commencement Mass in Week 4.
Online Parent Information Evenings
There are online Parent Information Evenings scheduled in the first two weeks of school for the Junior School, Years 7, 10 and 11.
The dates and times are below. A link for these meetings will be sent to parents in the next few days.
Monday 1 February: Years 5, 6 (6.00 pm) and Year 7 (7.00 pm)
Thursday 4 February: Year 10 & 11 (7.00 pm)
COVID-19 Protocols
Please see the attached document below which gives a list of our current and updated COVID-19 protocols. A new point to note is that all St Pius X College students and staff are required to wear a mask on public transport, including chartered and private buses. This will include travelling to and from our Oxford Falls premises and also to and from our Swimming Carnivals.
Completion of 'A' Wing
I am delighted to share with you that the refurbishment of 'A' Wing has been completed and I thank our Builders Farindon and Architects TKD for an outstanding job. The project has been completed on time and within budget. In total the spend of approx. $2m has been covered within the College Building Fund. I look forward to the student reaction to this first class facility.
2020 HSC
Congratulations to the Year 12 Class for 2020 on their excellent results in such a challenging year.
The Top ATAR was 98.40 achieved by Riad Lahoud, an outstanding student with excellent results in English, Business Studies, Economics, Mathematics and Studies of Religion II. These high results meant Riad was included in the prestigious list of All Rounders. An ‘all-rounder’ is a student who has achieved a Band 6 in 10 or more units.
The College results overall were strong at the top end of the range with 35 students (26%) awarded ATARs over 90, and a total of 70 students with ATARs above 80.
Sixty eight (68) students were listed as Distinguished Achievers, achieving a combined total of 121 mentions in the Honours Lists across a range of subjects – a fine achievement for a non-selective school, in which students can achieve at the highest level while enjoying the benefits of being in a balanced Catholic environment.
Drama and Music continued to perform with Daniel Halverson and Luke Thompson nominated for ONStage for their individual drama performances and Kieran Zucconi, Music 2 nominated for ENCORE for his performance in Music.
Full details and results will be shared to the College community next month in the HSC High Achievers Publication.
Key Dates
Tuesday 2 February: Senior School Swimming Carnival / Junior School Blazer fitting
Wednesday 3 February: Junior School Swimming Carnival / Senior School Blazer fitting
Thursday 4 February: Year 8 Vaccination Clinic
Friday 5 February: Year 7 Induction Day
Saturday 6 February: ISA Round 1 commences
Wednesday 10 February: Best Start Assessment for Year 7
Saturday 13 February: IPSHA and NSTA Tennis Round 1 commences
Monday 15 February: Junior School Parent/Teacher interviews (online)
Tuesday 16 February: Commencement Mass & Academic Awards Ceremony at Oxford Falls
Wednesday 17 February: Ash Wednesday
Saturday 20 February: P&F Commencement Mass & Social
Blue College Calendar
All students will receive a Blue College Calendar tomorrow when they receive their Student Diary. The College Calendars are for parents so please ensure you ask your son for it. All of the dates in the blue calendar are in the Student Diary so students do not need to keep these.
College App and Social Media
A reminder to all parents to download the St Pius X College App and Follow us on Facebook and Instagram to stay up to date with the latest news and information from the College. Please see the 'Upcoming Events' page of this Woodchatta for further information and links.
Collection Notice for Parents/Guardians
The College is required to provide the Australian Government, Department of Education, Skills and Employment with the following information about each student enrolled at the College: Name and residential address of students, parents and/or guardians; Education level of the student and whether the student is a day student or boarding.
For more information please see the attached document.
Mr John Couani - Principal