Parent & Student Matters
Three Year 7 students competed in the NSW Junior Chess League - Secondary Schools One Day Tournament.
What's happening in the College?
- Summer Uniform
- Winter Sports Photos
- Fantastic Footage and Fun at the 2019 Film Festival!!!
- NSW Junior Chess League
- Year 10 Teaching Year 7
- From the Senior Resource Centre
- - Australian Reading Hour
- NSW School of Languages Applications for 2020
- French Holiday Workshops
- Bronze Duke of Edinburgh Adventurous Journey
- Kokoda Track Expedition 2020 Training
- Free HSC lectures in the holidays
- HSC Mass at St Mark's Drummoyne
- Volunteering with 'At Home with Willoughby'
- Welcome to Willoughby Picnic - Meet your Community on Saturday 12 October
- - Magflix: trending now!
Summer Uniform
The Summer Uniform consists of a regulation grey (Years 5 – 10) or white short sleeve shirt (Years 11 and 12) that does up at the collar and worn with the College tie. The College blue shorts or grey trousers (Years 7-12 only) are worn at the waist supported by a black belt. If wearing shorts our boys wear the College long socks with garters, or black or grey socks with the long pants. Footwear must be black leather lace-up shoes that take a shine.
On colder days the College jumper is able to be worn. The College rain jacket has been an excellent addition that our students can wear on wet days or as part of their Sports Uniform. The College Uniform also includes the College Backpack.
Summer Uniform items are available for sale in the Uniform Shop.
Mr M Casey - Deputy Principal
Winter Sports Photos
All photo orders need to be placed into the Silver Box outside the Finance Office before Friday 27 September. Order forms can be collected from the Student Office or downloaded from the attachment below.
Ms L Proc - General Coordinator
Fantastic Footage and Fun at the 2019 Film Festival!!!
Last Friday was the fourth Lights Camera Pius Film Festival. At lunchtime the gym quickly filled up with excited students and the audience was treated to a fabulous variety of films - from competing drones to Minecraft extravaganzas, dramatic shootouts in the Junior School corridors, to contemplative expressions of the landscape. The films were judged by Year 11 students Oliver Lenehan and Louis Wellard as well as Mr Tom Garvey and Ms Felicity van Riet. There were many compliments given to our filmmakers but the prizes were awarded to:
Junior Section
- First Prize: Benjamin Cutbill, Zavier Domenici, Luca van Vuuren and Robert Trupiano (Year 8) for Salad Spinner Time Machine
- Runner Up: Ethan Li (Year 7) for Earth in Space
Senior Division
- First Prize: Cole Simpson (Year 10) for Character
- Runner Up: Harrison Wallace (Year 11) for France Exchange
Our comperes - Adam Hawthorne and Daniel Halverson - did a great job on the day. The Film Festival could not happen without many hours of organisation by a very dedicated committee who met weekly to arrange posters, promos, prizes, judges, props and the list continues. The committee were very ably led by Adam Hawthorne who showed real leadership in organising and motivating the boys. The other committee members were Year 9: Peter Yastreboff and Tristan Williams; Year 10: Benjamin Mooney, Ethan Rockett (who created the fantastic opening promo), Oliver Robson (technical expertise), Joshua Gomez and Ben Marino; Year 11: Luke McManus, Harrison Wallace, Jonathan Hall, Oliver Lenehan and Adam Hawthorne.
Many thanks for their support also go to Mr Jack Gruber and IT team, Mr Steven Cummins and the Performing Arts Department, The Maintenance Team, the Visual Arts Department, Mrs Sue Cheney and to Mr Mark Casey for his ongoing support and encouragement.
Ms Frances Doyle and Ms Annie Bryant
NSW Junior Chess League
Secondary Schools One Day Tournament
Over the weekend past, three keen young chess players from Year 7 - Ethan Li, Spencer Anderson and Cooper Anderson - competed in the Terrey Shaw Shield held at North Sydney Boys High School. This competition was a round-robin style one day tournament. The boys represented St Pius X College admirably finishing 12th out of a field of 27. Ethan Li played particularly tactfully winning 6/7 of his games.
It is wonderful to see these boys enter the competition of their own accord, taking up the opportunity to improve their skills of chess. We would like to encourage more players to continue to develop their knowledge of chess by finding tournaments to play or even by simply having a regular game in the school library. There are 3 chess sets in the library available for loan or in-library use.
Year 10 Teaching Year 7
Mr Pawlak’s Year 10 Religion class recently taught a mini lesson to Dr Meale’s Year 7 Religion class. The lessons focused on current social issues. A Learning experience for all!!!
“…It was a great opportunity to teach a group of Year 7s about a current social issue, ours being ‘racism in sport’ because it allowed us to inform the Year 7s about the problems that racism in sport causes … whilst also giving us a better understanding because we had to physically explain it to someone else….” - Nick Ward Year 10
“…Today in our RE lesson we presented to three Year 7 students and taught them about racism in sport. Our group focused on Adam Goodes and Eddie Betts who had been abused on social media and during games. We then talked about ways to prevent this from happening and what you can do to report it….” - Riley Kennedy Year 10
Mr Mark Pawlak - Religion teacher and Year 10 Coordinator
From the Senior Resource Centre
Australian Reading Hour: Thursday 19 September: Stop what you’re doing and join the nation by picking up a book and reading for one hour this Thursday. This initiative began in 2012 to highlight the vital role literacy plays in our lives with a report finding that 46% of Australians can't read newspapers; follow a recipe; make sense of timetables, or understand the instructions on a medicine bottle.
In children, reading has been shown to help with identity formation, setting them up for success in the future. In adults, reading has been shown to reduce stress by 68% more than listening to music, going for a walk, or having a cup of tea. You can read more about this initiative on the Reading Hour website.
Magflix - trending now: Our latest display highlights the exciting range of magazines on offer in the library. The display supports this week’s focus in English Wide Reading classes on magazines in providing bite-size, high-interest news stories. Further, the graphic nature of magazines satisfies many boys’ preferences both as visual learners and for factual texts.
Research identifies providing ‘choice’ in reading materials as a key contributing factor in students’ success in reading. Our collection of over 20 magazines provides plenty of choice and are proving a hit with students. Popular picks include:
- Slam
- How things work
- Techlife
- Cosmos
- BBC History
Mrs Karen Keighery - Senior Teacher Librarian
NSW School of Languages Applications for 2020
This year at the 2020 Year 9 and 2020 Year 11 Information Evenings, I spoke to several parents regarding the desire for students to study a Language Elective (200hrs) at NSW School of Languages. The NSW School of Languages has uploaded the 2020 Applications and it is now time to have either parents or students contact me about enrolment.
Applications are to be submitted in Term 3/ early Term 4, and definitely by the Department of Education deadline of 13 November 2019. Applications received after this date may not fully be processed prior to the beginning of the new school year.
HSC course applications should be lodged in Term 3 so as to start the HSC course at the commencement of Term 4 2019.
Please visit https://nswschoollang.schools.nsw.gov.au/about-our-school/enrolment/enrolment-application-forms.html To download the form or see Mrs manga directly. There are limited spots available.
Mrs Kara Manga - Teacher in Charge LOTE
French Holiday Workshops
Bonjour Parents,
I have received the email below advertising some French holiday workshops suitable for Year 11 and Year 12 students. I thought that I would pass this on to you in case you wanted to enrol your son for the upcoming holidays (Year 11 and Year 12) or the January holidays (Year 11). It could be a great opportunity to practise their French skills and interact with other French-speaking peers from the Sydney area.
Merci!
Mrs Sarah McCormack - French Teacher
Bronze Duke of Edinburgh Adventurous Journey
Over the weekend a number of our Year 9 students completed a Bronze Duke of Edinburgh Adventurous Journey. The boys hiked from North Turramurra to Mt Ku-Ring-Gai and then caught the train to Brooklyn. They camped at Brooklyn Dam and then hiked back to Cowan. Congratulations to the students that have now completed the Adventurous Journey component of their award.
Thanks must also go to our Old Boy coaches Denis Webber, Daniel Butler, Jack Schyvens, Alex McClarty and to Zac de Silva for their leadership, patience and general assistance with this activity. These young men are exceptional role models for our students.
Students wishing to participate in the College Duke of Edinburgh program need to be at least 14 years of age and need to discuss the process with Miss Manga. Further information can be found at:
Mr Paul de Silva - Outdoor Education Coordinator
Kokoda Track Expedition 2020 – Second Training Session
The second of our training hikes is locked in for Sunday 6 October 2019 when we will be walking from Cowan to Brooklyn, 13.4km (1 big hill). This is an opportunity for all prospective participants to meet, prepare and to discuss all aspects of the Kokoda Track Expedition 2020.
When: Sunday 6 October 2019
Meet: Hawkesbury River train station (Brooklyn) 7.30am (Train to Cowan at 7.53am; arrive 8.02am)
Finish: Hawkesbury River train station (Brooklyn) 1.00pm (approx.) Trains every 60 minutes to Hornsby
Need: 3 litres of water (no water on route), hat, sunscreen, snacks, OPAL card, sense of humour
In the event of track work we can do a car shuffle to Cowan. In the event of track closures due to controlled burns we will decide on an alternate route.
All members of the College community are welcome to attend these hikes.
Next Hikes for 2019 – To Be Confirmed
3. Sunday 3 November 2019
4. Sunday 1 December 2019
Mr Paul de Silva - Outdoor Education Coordinator
Free HSC lectures in the holidays
ATAR Notes - HSC Lectures: Over 50 lectures across UTS and Macquarie University. Please click on the link below for details.
HSC Mass at St Mark's Drummoyne
6.00PM ON SUNDAY 13 OCTOBER 2019
St Mark’s Catholic Church - 33 Tranmere Street, Drummoyne
ALL WELCOME!
Candidates studying for the HSC or international baccalaureate are invited to St. Mark’s Catholic Church, 33 Tranmere Street, Drummoyne. Afterwards there will be a gathering and supper in the Parish Centre. If you would like to participate in a ministry in the Mass please contact Parish Office on 9181 1795 or email Sr. Antonia at pa@stmarksdrummoyne.org.au Readers, Extraordinary Minister of Holy Communion, Musicians and Singers are all welcome.
Volunteering with 'At Home with Willoughby'
- Would you like to make a real difference to the lives of others?
- Would you like to 'give back', make friends and learn new skills?
- Do you have some spare time during the week?
Please click on the flyer below for details.
Welcome to Willoughby Picnic - Meet your Community
Saturday 12 October - 10.30am to 1pm
Please click on the flyer below for details.