Junior School News
- From the Head of the Junior School
- Junior School Sport
- From the Junior Resource Centre
- Junior Chess
- Junior IPSHA Debating
From the Head of the Junior School
TEACHING AND LEARNING
As part of their Religious Education studies into the Catholic Church in Australia, on Monday, our Year 5 students enjoyed an exciting and educational excursion to Mary MacKillop Place in North Sydney. The trip proved to be an unforgettable experience, allowing students to delve into the life and legacy of one of Australia's most inspirational figures, Saint Mary MacKillop.
CURRICULUM REFORM
In 2024, following a lengthy curriculum reform process, schools will begin to teach a new English and Mathematics syllabus in Years 3 – 6. For those of you with students in K – 2, you will know that they implemented the new English and Mathematics syllabuses this year.
The NSW Curriculum Reform aims to strengthen and streamline what is taught in schools. The curriculum reform is an opportunity to engage and reenergise what we teach and how we teach it. It focuses on making clear what is essential in the curriculum to give more time for deep learning and establishing stronger foundations in English and Mathematics.
If you’re interested in finding out more about curriculum reform, click here:
Teachers in the Junior School will be working with their colleagues on the implementation of the new curriculum at various time over the remainder of the year in readiness for 2024.
FLU SEASON (FROM THE DEPUTY PRINCIPAL)
The winter chills have certainly arrived, and we are seeing the flu season impacting on the Pius community. The pandemic is now officially over and we are now learning to assess for COVID and manage the recovery.
The pandemic taught us many good hygiene practices that sustained us over the last few years. All indications highlight that the Flu Season has certainly struck, and our medical practitioners fear a big flu season as we are seeing at the college, with growing absenteeism of our students.
Can I remind the community of the following practices that we know well and need to be reinforced:
- If your son is unwell with flu like symptoms, please test for COVID. Many of our students who are unwell are testing negative for COVID but have contracted influenza and/or a cold.
- If unwell with colds, flu or COVID please keep him home until all symptoms have gone.
- Hand hygiene is most important in preventing the spread of the flu and we encourage the use of hand sanitisers that are a legacy of the COVID pandemic in society now at large.
- When coughing or sneezing please cover up, including using tissues, sneezing into your arm to prevent the spread of any germs.
- We certainly encourage the wearing of masks if any student is suffering from symptoms and also for their own protection.
The flu season is predicted to affect more than normal this year, due to the relief of coming through the pandemic. Please remain vigilant with your son and we will equally reinforce good hygiene practices for the good health of everyone.
The College has a good supply of RAHT kits to be easily collected from Student Reception. Please send your son to collect or collect personally, to continue to monitor for COVID as we strive to reduce the spread of any flu like symptoms.
DATES FOR THE DIARY
Wednesday 7 June | Junior School Athletics Carnival (Homebush)
Monday 12 June | King’s Birthday Public Holiday
Wednesday 21 June | Semester 1 Reports issued
Thursday 22 June | Last day of Term 2 for students
Friday 23 June | Parent/Teacher/Student interviews 8:00 am – 5:30 pm (online)
Thank you for your continued support of the Junior School.
Mrs Jill Greenwood - Head of the Junior School
YEAR 6 PLAYDATE
Junior School Sport
Thursday Sport: Winter sessions continue this week for Rugby, Football and AFL. Please travel to and from school in your SPX PE uniform and bring along a change of clothes to train in.
Saturday Sport Photos: It has been great to see some of the photos taken by our SPX parents over the first few rounds of the Winter season. Can I encourage you to continue sharing any Saturday sport photos with the following staff members responsible for each Junior School sport:
- Football – Mr Ben Ryan bryan@stpiusx.nsw.edu.au
- Rugby – Mr Antonio Morris amorris@stpiusx.nsw.edu.au
- AFL – Mr Glen Carroll gcarroll@stpiusx.nsw.edu.au
I would like to thank all families and especially your sons for the commitment you and they have shown so far this year across a range of sports and activities. Consistently I witness the great sportsmanship and respect for the opposition and officials each week. It is tremendous to be a part of the Junior Sport program and am sincere when I say Pius boys win humbly and lose gracefully. Equally I thank families for their preparedness to travel distances to ensure their son can be a significant participant of the team they are in.
Sharing stories: Within the next few weeks I intend to interview one or more boys who are currently playing sport for the College. There are 3 main purposes behind this initiative:
- To hear exactly what sport is like for a Junior boy at the College
- To share with the community the insights of our Junior sportsmen when it comes to playing for Pius
- To share highlights from a cross-section of sports that boys participate in
Winter Sport Registration: A reminder to parents and carers who have not yet processed their son’s registration through trybooking to click on the link below and follow the prompts please. Thank you to those who have already completed this process. The link will remain open until 2 June.
https://www.trybooking.com/CHBSQ
AFL: Last weekend’s fixture against Waverley saw an incredibly competitive game which ultimately ended in a draw for the Pius boys, who remain undefeated. Unfortunately, Pius were down a couple of players leading into the weekend due to injury, however it was great to see the Pius spirit shine with the commitment of Dominik Playle (5 Red) and Patrick Butler (6 Gold) to join the team for the weekend. Dominik and Patrick usually play Football and Rugby respectively. I wish to thank them for their generosity in supporting the team and Mr Carroll in this regard. I particularly thank Patrick and family as they had travelled back from the NSWPSSA Championships held in Bateman’s Bay the previous evening.
CIS AFL: I congratulate Leo Barnett (6 Green) and Patrick Butler (6 Gold) for doing themselves and the college proud as members of the CIS AFL team that competed in the NSWPSSA Championships last week. CIS played Riverina in the final and whilst Riverina were too strong and won the competition, I am pleased to say that Patrick was selected into the NSWPSSA AFL squad that will compete in the Nationals to be held in Albury in early August. I thank both boys for their commitment to school sport as they returned from Bateman’s Bay on Friday evening to play against Waverley the next day.
Patrick Butler and Leo Barnett representing CIS AFL at Bateman’s Bay
Junior Football: Despite incredibly chilly conditions, the St Pius X boys came ready to play in the Under 11s at Grammar St Ives. There has been great energy at training, and combinations within teams are beginning to take shape. The outcome of which was a clean sweep of wins by all teams in the 11s age group, including 3 clean sheets. There were mixed results in the 12s age group, with wins recorded for the 12C and 12D’s. I thank coach Josh Wong (Old Boy) for his calm and positive demeanour as he prepares the boys. We look forward to supporting the 12s as they play St Aloysius this weekend away. Whilst at Oxford Falls, we host our neighbours, St Augustine’s in the 11A-D teams and King’s in the 11E’s. Following a week off, our successful 10As take on Redlands. We wish them well as they aim to keep an unbeaten streak going. Thank you to those who have helped our teams in their “hour of need”. Occasionally we need someone to step in and do the warmup and it is greatly appreciated.
Calling for cake donations
Our next BBQ Day is Saturday 3/6/23. We will be running our first cake stall to raise funds for our football boys. If you can bake or donate cakes, cookies, brownies, slices or more, please email Priscilla and advise what you will be contributing towards this fundraising event pleasepris@hotmail.com
Thank you to our Football Supporters Community
Thank you to all our wonderful SPX Football Supporters who volunteered their time or bought some merchandise, a coffee and a sausage sandwich on Saturday. You all helped make BBQ Day a great success and raised significant funds for the future SPX Football Programs. We also enjoyed the opportunity to thank our SPX Coaches for their efforts coaching our boys and following the new SPX Coerver Coaching Program.
From the SPX Football Supporters Club Committee
COERVER Football camp is on during the holidays, from 26 – 28 June. We encourage footballers to take this opportunity to participate in this intensive football training during the school holidays. A bendy bus has been booked to assist with travel needs. We urge anyone wishing to book a place on the bus, to book and secure their place promptly. Active Kids vouchers can be used. See the flyer below and book by the link: https://coerver.com.au/holiday-camps
NSW All Schools Boys Netball: An exciting opportunity exists for boys turning 12 years old in 2023 to be a part of the first ever NSW Primary Boys Netball Team, who will compete in the inaugural School Sport Australia Championships in Perth, Western Australia. The following link provides a promotional flyer with information on the Selection Trials process.
LINK TO TRIALS INFORMATION: https://app.education.nsw.gov.au/sport/File/6540
The closing date to register to attend these trials is – FRIDAY 26 May 2023. Please email me at the college bryan@stpiusx.nsw.edu.au should you require further information or advice.
Illness/Injury: Thank you to the many parents and carers who have emailed me or their son’s coach in the lead up to games to indicate their unavailability due to illness. Whilst I know for some boys, they are desperate to play no matter their condition, I would ask that if your son is too ill for school on Friday, then he should not be playing on the Saturday, especially if showing signs/symptoms of flu, COVID, or any other respiratory infection. It would be at that point on Thursday evening or Friday before midday at the latest, I ask you to email me so I can plan for ensuring team numbers are as suitable as possible for the Saturday fixture.
Junior Athletics Carnival: Thank you to those parents and carers who have volunteered to assist on 7 June. I kindly ask for any further volunteers to email me at the college bryan@stpiusx.nsw.edu.au to indicate your availability. You may be asked to assist at the recording table or help a staff member with a field event.
Cross Country:
Cross Country training is cancelled (tomorrow) Thursday and will resume next week on Monday. All students wanting to prepare for the Athletics season next term are encouraged to join, especially those interested in track events.
When: Monday, Wednesday and Thursday mornings
Where: Beauchamp Park, Chatswood
Time: 7:15 am – 8:15 am
Mr Ben Ryan - Junior School Sports Coordinator
Junior Rugby: Round 4 was a successful round for Junior Rugby. The Prep Firsts continued their winning streak with a good win at home over rugby giants, Waverley. Thank you to Dave Stenning from Trytime Rugby who stepped in to assist with coaching the Prep Firsts. Mr Morris travelled down to Moss Vale with the 11As who faced Tudor House. The boys are commended on achieving their highest scoring game so far this season. Thank you to all the parents and boys who made the long journey down south for this game. The Rugby 7s players continued to play well with a dominant performance over Barker and a narrow loss in the final play to The Scots College. Thank you to Mr Ryan for coaching the Rugby 7s teams this week.
IPSHA Rugby: I am pleased to report that following the IPSHA Rugby trials last week all boys were called upon to now trial for selection in the CIS Rugby team. We congratulate the following boys and know that they will give a good account of themselves at the CIS trials in mid-June.
Henry Gardner – 6 Red
Harrison Dennis – 6 Gold
Matteo Borovac – 6 Blue
Harrison Surplice – 6 Gold
Ronan King – 6 Green
Parker Ball – 6 Blue
Owen Campbell – 6 Red
Reconciliation Ceremony Monday 29 May: On Monday next week, the College will be holding a Reconciliation Ceremony. Our Junior School Rugby players who played in Armidale earlier this year have been invited to bring their special SPX Indigenous jersey on the day and be part of the ceremony. It will be a fantastic opportunity for our Junior students to stand in solidarity with their Senior peers during such a significant ceremony in our school year.
Rugby Training: A reminder of compulsory after school training at Beauchamp Oval every Wednesday from 3:15 pm - 4:30 pm for ALL Junior School Rugby players. In addition to bringing rugby boots, can players also bring a spare pair of sneakers to training each week.
Mr Antonio Morris - Junior School Rugby Convenor
SPX Rugby Club – Gala Dinner
Save the Date - Saturday, 22 July, Kirribilli Club.
6:30 pm - 11:30 pm
We are now communicating via email with parents/carers through the SPX Rugby WattsApp group. The link to join the group is via the QR code below.
Tickets will be on sale soon so watch out for further information.
Donations Needed - We continue to seek donations for fundraising. See the attached document for further details on how you can help.
The Rugby Committee is excited to host this fun night out for the rugby community and welcomes all other SPX parents.
Please direct any enquiries to spxrugby@gmail.com.
SPX Rugby Committee
Interschool Snowsports Competition
The 2023 Interschool Snowsports competition will be held at Perisher Ski Resort from Tuesday 4 July to Friday 7 July.
The college has approved for students to enter this competition representing St Pius X College. All participants enter this competition at their own cost and parents are required to sign a liability waiver form.
Parents will also be required to attend the event and meet volunteering requirements of the competition. Further details of the competition are in the attached document.
Please contact Mrs Cathy Thomson on cathythomson7@gmail.com if your son (and family) is interested in participating in this competition.
From the Junior Resource Centre
This week’s Highlights are:
Friday 26 May is National Sorry Day or the National Day of Healing, is an annual event that has been held in Australia since 1998. The event remembers and commemorates the mistreatment of our country’s Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people who were forcibly removed from their families and communities, which we know as ‘The Stolen Generations’. Today and every day we acknowledge the strength of Stolen Generations Survivors and reflect on how we can all play a part in the healing process for our people and nation.
SORRY
Sorry is said with outreached hands
Ours taken away from family, Country and land.
Reflecting on our strength today.
Remembering family taken away.
You and I together, will you hold my hand?
Ashleigh Gibbs 2021
The CBCA celebrates picture books that put a creative spin on factual material with the Eve Pownall Award. Come Together: Things every Aussie kid should know about the First Peoples by Isaiah Firebrace is an engaging and visually appealing look at tradition and heritage. A popular choice in the JRC.
Mrs Martin’s Book Trail: Who’s Afraid of the Light by Anna McGregor
A book cover that glows in that dark!! How cool is that! It is only May and this is my favourite book this year! Not only is the glow in the dark feature super cool but this book is fun, a great read aloud, has a fantastic ending and is so well made. Take it home and turn off the lights. #mrsmartinsbooktrail2023
Ms Elena Martin - Teacher Librarian
Junior Chess
All teams are AWAY this week, with the exception of Team A. Neutral Bay Public A Team has had to withdraw and has forfeited. Please check the draw for more details. Thank you in advance to the parents transporting the teams to the away games this week.
What’s better than learning chess? It’s learning chess with friends.
New Chess Books in the JRC. Enhance your child’s critical thinking skill, brain power, memory and IQ by engaging them in a chess game today!
Ms Elena Martin - Junior School Chess Convenor