Pastoral Care

 WELLBEING ANECDOTES FROM THE STUDENT DIARY PLANNER

“Set yourself up to do things you think you cannot do yet.”

- MW

“You can be whatever type of person you choose to be. Your habits, your behaviours, your responses are all your choice.”

- PK Shaw

Student Leadership Team 2020 Training Camp

• Year 9 Market Day
• Year 9 REACH Day
• Year 7 RE Class 6 Chapel Mass
• Francis Webb Willoughby Library Poetry Reading Saturday 31 August
• Buddies not Bullies Bushwalk:   Sunday 8 September (Acron Oval St Ives to Davidson Park Forestville)
• St Pius X College Old Boys Association Annual Dinner
• Willoughby Council Youth Services HSC Student Support Lecture
• Catholic Schools NSW Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Conference
• Mercy – St Pius Year 12 Netball Test
• RUOK Day

Student Leadership Team 2020 Training Camp

The student leadership team elect for 2020 attended Leadership Camp at the College’s Workul Koo Retreat Centre at Terrigal last Wednesday to Friday with their Year 11 – 12 Coordinator Ms Janes.  Despite the challenging weather conditions which afflicted all the school Father’s Day celebrations at the College, there was a great sense of teamwork, strategic planning and initiative development from what promises to be a highly energised and effective group of team leaders.

Included in our three day camp was a video conference skype session with the Student Leadership Team of Cardinal Newman, Edmund Rice College, in Buenos Aires, Argentina to share leadership ideas and insights as well as a classroom visit to our closest Edmund Rice fellow school, St Edmunds School for students with intellectual disability at Wahroonga. Both experiences enhanced our understanding of the diversity and quality of Edmund Rice Education Australia, and our roles as leaders in community. We thank Mr Ignacio Torrico (Argentina) and Principal Mr Jon Franzin, Ms Rebecca Kirwan, Mr Carl Southern and Ms Bernadette Acret (Wahroonga) who facilitated our visits and are strong supporters of our school.

As a follow up to our Leadership Camp our student leaders will seek others from their cohort to be team leaders in the portfolios of Learning, Culture, Mission and Identity and Wellbeing to present at the Leadership Investiture on 31 October.

Lachlan Mathie’s team will meet their 2019 Student Leader predecessors for a lunch sharing of ideas and insights this Thursday in the Year 5 Classrooms.  

They will also engage in a continuation of their SPX Old Boys Association sponsored Speechcraft Course which they commenced last week on the dates below:

SPX Old Boys Association sponsored Speechcraft Course

• Session 1 held on Student Leadership Team Camp - Wednesday 26 August   
• Session 2 Friday 18 October from 3.30 – 5.30 pm in the College Boardroom in preparation for  their Investiture on 31 October.
• Session 3 Friday 1 November from 3.30 – 5.30 pm at the Podium and in the Gym / Blue Room
• Session 3 Friday 8 November from 3.30 – 5.30 pm in the College Boardroom in preparation for the Speechcraft Graduation Dinner on Wednesday evening 13 November at Chatswood RSL.

The Student leadership team elect includes College Captain Lachlan Mathie, Vice Captains Michael Fakhoury and Tyson McCallum, Learning Prefects: Ethan Tat, Matthew Weir, Cameron Fernandopulle, Mission and Identity Prefects Adam Greenwood, Luke McManus, Matthew Starr; Cultural Prefects Oliver Lenehan, Daniel Halverson, Louis Wellard; Wellbeing Prefects Will Oner, Harrison Wallace, Daniel Fileman and House Captains: Kiefer O’Brien, Duncan Dingley, Sam Barrell and Will Chen.

Year 9 Market Day

Congratulations to Year 9 Commerce students and staff for the positive interaction and activity they achieved throughout the school yesterday in organising a highly successful Market Day on the day following our Feast Day holiday. The positive vibe around the playground was palpable, connecting the students with cohorts both older and younger than themselves.

I extend this acknowledgement to the many parents who kindly gave their time to support the boys in what was a rich whole-school learning activity, to our Maintenance Team featuring Wayne Burling, Andy Darbin and Stu Munday who ensured all initiatives and people were safe, secure and supported, and last but not least the Year 9 Commerce staff Mr Yue, Mr Balboa, Ms Van Riet and Mr Damo who coordinated the day. It was a real team effort, particularly with Mr Masters chaperoning our Year 12 students to the Annual Year 12 Mercy Netball match. With Ms Rogers, Ms Dempsey, Mr Mulheron on board as spectators we were entertained but still not convinced that “netball was the real winner “ in the context of the quality of the match.

Year 9 REACH Day

Next Wednesday 11 September, while Year 10 attend their annual Driver Safety Awareness Day, Year 9 will be accompanied by the staff who will be taking them to Year 9 Term 4 Workul Koo Rites of Passage Camp on a day of learning coordinated by Jim Stynes, REACH Foundation, at Chatswood Concourse.  Listed below are key points for the day.

Students:

• are required to bring lunch which will be collected and kept in a labelled tub. This will assist in handing out lunches at lunch time, and ensuring all lunch boxes and drink bottles are returned to the correct school.
• are not to bring their school bag unless absolutely necessary - any bags will be collected upon arrival and stored for the day.
• bring their mobile phone to Heroes Day as this is an integral part of the workshop content.
• wear neat appropriate casual clothes.
• bring along any medication as per usual school day.

Year 7 RE Class 6 Chapel Mass

Congratulations to the following students from Year 7 Religious Education Class 6:  Sean Tutaan, Eliot Sanders, Dominic Mitchell, Darcy Mills and Will Rowe for reading at Chapel Mass supported by Max Forbes and Fergus Fung, who attended the Mass celebrated by Fr Jim McKeon in the St Pius X Christian Brothers Chapel at 8am on Tuesday following our Feast Day holiday. 

Given that many members of the Year 7 RE class had music rehearsals I also commend our newly elected Year 11 Student Leadership Team, led by College Captain elect for 2020 Lachlan Mathie, who all attended to support the Year 7 students and celebrate Mass with Fr Jim and members of the OLD, Mercy and St Pius X College communities.

Francis Webb Willoughby Library Poetry Reading Saturday 31st August

Ben Cullen (St Pius X College Year 9) and Angus McFadden (Christian Brothers Lewisham Year 10) represented both Edmund Rice Schools which Francis Webb, Australia’s prominent Poet of the 1950s,  attended in the 1930s and 1940s.

A talented athlete, musician and writer, Francis grew up at his Grandparents home in Johnson Street, Chatswood and attended Christian Brothers College Chatswood (which later became St Pius X College) before commuting across the newly-built Sydney Harbour Bridge to attend Christian Brothers High School at Lewisham.

A young protégé and well advanced of his time and years, Francis was afflicted by mental health concerns. He was well published in such contemporary editions such as The Bulletin and through his symbolic portrayal of birds, animals and musical features, Webb raise the issues of disenfranchisement of pre-colonial Aboriginal Australia before it was fashionable to do so, through poems such as “The End of the Picnic”.

The Francis Webb Poetry event is celebrated annually in Willoughby Library and it is fitting that representatives of St Pius X College such as Ben celebrate his work and social conscience in the traditions of Edmund Rice.  Well done and thank you Ben for reading “Australian Night” at this event.

Group Photo:  Students Ben Cullen and Angus McFadden  with Judith Crispin (poet), MC Toby Davidson (Macquarie University, poet and editor of Webb’s Collected Poems), Gareth Jenkins (poet), Associate Professor Michael Griffith (ACU - Academic and Webb's biographer), Richard Miller (Webb fan), Robert Adamson (poet & ex-Chair of Poetry, UTS) Oliver Millar (film-maker of a short film of Webb’s Electric).

Buddies not Bullies Bushwalk Sunday 8 September

Acron Oval St Ives to Davidson Park Forestville

Invitations are open to members of Mr Russo’s Peer Mentoring Program and the wider St Pius X College Community to attend the Buddies not Bullies Bushwalk this Sunday. Please let us know if you would like to attend so that we can cater. Information can be found below.

St Pius X College Old Boys Association Annual Dinner

A reminder to connections of the College that the Old Boys Annual Dinner will be held in the Chatswood Club on Friday 13 September, the second Friday in September.  Details can be found on the Old Boys website or by contacting the College.

Willoughby Council Youth Services HSC Student Support Lecture

Willoughby Library would like to support the wellbeing of young people sitting the HSC by offering a school holiday workshop on 3  October from 12:30pm-2:30pm.  Please refer the flyer below from Willoughby Council.

Catholic Schools NSW Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Conference

The Catholic Schools NSW Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Conference will be held in the Hunter Valley next Wednesday and Thursday and it is with a sense of pride and humility that we have been invited to present the work of St Pius X College through our Reconciliation Action Plan and wider initiatives as examples of how we have tried to celebrate the Aboriginal heritage and culture of this great land through our College, community and students.

We thank the many people who have helped us along this journey, including all those who supported our recent Red Dirt Expedition to Bourke.

Mercy – St Pius Year 12 Netball Test

The annual Mercy – Pius match on Tuesday was played in a carnival atmosphere given the context of very successful Mercy Social Justice Action Week and SPX Year 9 Market Day. While Wing Attack Tim McLachlan played with white line vigour, the enthusiasm of the team and intercepts achieved were often compromised by travels and contact. Hayden Roberston and Kalani Lenehan were effective as attackers but unfortunately the hours spent honing their shooting skills with sisters and Mums was not enough to prevail on the day. Congratulations to Mercy on a good win and to our students for the gracious manner in defeat in this exhibition match in front of the Mercy community.

RUOK Day

Thank you to the Year 12 Student Empowerment Wellbeing Team who, as their last hurrah before the HSC, lead us in our awareness-raising celebration of RUOK Day next Friday 13 September. The team is well supported by their Year 11, 10, and 9 counterparts and staff including Ms Kugananthan, Ms McCarthy and Mr Russo, as well as Ms Pip Waters and her team from our Performing Arts faculty.

The day combines with the Lights, Camera Pius Film Festival and is greatly anticipated as a time to support student and community health and wellbeing at the College. Thank you to the Year 12 students, Ms Kugananthan and their team.

Fide et Labore

Mr Sean Brannan - Assistant Principal Pastoral Care