Pastoral Care

From the Assistant Principal Pastoral Care

Chatswood Garden of Remembrance Centenary of Armistice Day Commemoration

• St Pius X College Centenary Remembrance Day Commemoration
• Year 7, 2019 Orientation Day
• Year 12 Formal
• Year 5 Kokoda Track Memorial Walkway Excursion
• Mindmatters Peer Mentors Canoeing afternoon Friday 16 November​
• Buddies not Bullies Mindmatters Peer Mentors and Mentees Beachwalk Friday 23 November
• College Counselling Team
• Boxercise

Chatswood Garden of Remembrance Centenary of Armistice Day Commemoration

We take this opportunity to commend those House Vice Captains, Class Captains and Student Leaders who represented the College last Sunday at the Willoughby Council and Chatswood RSL Commemoration of the Centenary of the signing of the Armistice to end the fighting in World War I.

Our wreath was laid by Year 5 Class Captains, Noah Joynson and Jack Fairbanks, whose proud grandmother explained that Jack’s great great Uncle was killed on 4th May 1915, 10 days after the landing at Gallipoli. They were chaperoned by College Captain Oliver Tysoe who hiked the Kokoda Track and completed the Callan Services Disability education immersion with our College Expedition in 2016.

I was also pleased with the representation of our College House Vice Captains - Year 7 Robbie Sappupo, Harvey Jackson and Sam Lodge; Year 8 James Morten, Oscar Martin, Nathan McAdam and Connor Dunne; Year 10 Erec Bacic, Lachlan Mathie and Ethan Tat; and Year 6 Tom Reay. I note also that Chris Guerrera, Ben Mooney and Adam Greenwood represented the college at last Sunday’s Chatswood RSL Egypt ANZAC lecture at Chatswood RSL.     

After the ceremony we were fortunate to speak with Mrs Daphne Dunne, the elderly widow of local VC recipient Albert Chowne who was KIA 1945 in Papua New Guinea and after whom the Willoughby Oval Hall complex is dedicated. The Mayor of Willoughby, Gail Giles-Gibney, and Councillor Anthony Mustaca OAM Old Boy of SPX and Honoured Knight of The Star of Italy, also took time to commend our students on their contribution to the ceremony.

The Remembrance Day Centenary was commemorated by the historic unveiling of a new plaque adjacent to the cross in the Garden of Remembrance. It reads: 

When you go home tell them of us and say, “They gave their tomorrow for our today.”

LEST WE FORGET.

St Pius X College Centenary Remembrance Day Commemoration

A fitting ceremony was held in our Junior School Playground on Monday to reflect on the tragedy and sacrifice of war, focussing on the Centenary of Armistice Day on WWI.

Guest speaker, journalist, author, and parent of Class of 2018 Year 12 Graduate Angus, Greg Growden drew on his book on Tom “Rusty” Richards. The Wallaby Captain and Gold Medallist, British Lions representative, and, subsequently, WWI veteran illustrated the calibre of great men and women who have served, and the price paid in lives affected or ruined by War. Tragically Tom’s only son Jim was killed as an 18 Year old pilot in Papua New Guinea in WWII.

We were honoured to host members of the Gillespie and De Sisto families whose uncles and brothers were ex-students of the very young College, founded in 1937, who lost their lives in WWII. According to Mr Cunneen’s research, Jacob de Sisto lost his life as a young infantryman attacking a Japanese Machine Post on the island of Bougainville in December 1944, and Flt Sgt Anthony Gillespie as a Mosquito pilot over Nazi Germany in March 1945. The pain of those tragic losses on those families is palpable today - a fact not lost on our reverent school community.

Mr Barney Flanagan OAM, Chatswood RSL President, past student Colonel Rodger Shanahan, Staff member major David Reay were also among our honoured guests.

The day was well led by College Captain Oliver Tysoe, Vice Captains Luke Forwood and Nick McLachlan and Prefect Max Fazzino,  while Performing Arts Vice Captain Oliver Osbourne’s rendition of both the Last Post and Reveille was commended as one of the most powerful in recent memory.

Our Year 11 students stood and presented poppies and photographs to represent both those who served and those who never returned to their suburbs, country towns, homes and families.

We will remember them.

LEST WE FORGET.

Year 7 Orientation Day

A sunny November day greeted our Year 7, 2019 cohort (Year 12 2024) as they gathered as a combined group of our own 128 Year 6 students joined by 32 boys from our feeder primary schools for the first time on Tuesday. The morning was spent completing diagnostic Allwell testing before afternoon orientation sessions in the B1 – B5 rooms which will be their homerooms next year. A tour of the senior school led by our Year 11 MindMatters Student Empowerment Team followed the session in which the features of a locker, timetable, diary planner and how to successfully organise oneself for a 6 period day and 10 day cycle were explained.

The new parents gathered in the Senior Resource Centre to hear from College Principal Mr Couani, Assistant Principal Teaching and Leaning Mr Damo, Senior Sportsmaster Mr Stearn, Performing Arts Coordinator Ms Tracey Bates and Year 7 Coordinator for 2019 Mr Stollery as well as Learning Support and Enrichment Coordinator Ms Raheb-Mol, LSE Teacher Ms Amanda Fileman and College Counsellor Mr Rick Russo.

Any further inquiries for information can be directed to our Registrars, Ms Christine Jennings and Ms Melissa King, who perform a great job ensuring all our students are supported as they transition into the College.

I also thank our Year 6 staff led by Ms Samantha Iwatani, our Year 7 Pastoral care staff (Ms Rodgers, Ms O’Brien, Ms Fileman, Ms Dempsey and Mr Formosa) and Ms Kugananthan’s Year 11 Mindmatters Team (Dominic Fromager, Lucas Whale, Will Clark, Zav Wylie, Michael Darbinian, Connor Baird, Patrick Baker, Jacob Hassan, Leo Lovesy, Christian Huth and Connor Battley) who did a superb job supporting our new Year 7 students.

A number of families have expressed interest in being a part of a network to support the transition and answer queries and provide tips to families new to the college, at times over the holidays when SPX staff may not be available.

If you would consider answering email inquiries from local families in this context, or know of any family who could use this support please contact Mr Brannan sbrannan@stpiusx.nsw.edu.au

Year 12 Formal

Well done to our Year 12 students, parents and pastoral care team led by Mr Batchelor on a highly successful formal last Friday.  The evening included the culmination of the HSC program of exams and was an appropriate and timely celebration, given that many students completed their final examination on the day.  It was a great celebration for students, parents and staff alike.

Year 5 Kokoda Track Memorial Walkway Excursion

In extension to our Remembrance Day Commemoration Day on Monday, Year 5 students travelled to the Concord Hospital Kokoda Walkway on Wednesday where they heard from ageing veterans of WWII in the Ralph Honner Education Centre.

It is a poignant primary source lesson in history, and a rich learning task for the students, who are now well equipped to research the history of the many servicemen and women who are listed in the Hospital Rose Garden.

The kick-around in the Bray’s Bay Reserve after the formalities is a great way to consolidate a meaningful learning experience in the values of mateship, courage, endurance and sacrifice of men and women who were perhaps one of Australia’s most resilient generations.

Mindmatters Peer Mentors Canoeing afternoon

Friday 16 November

A reminder that a group of our Senior Mentors and Mentees will travel to Northbridge Sea Scouts Castlecrag Boatshed on Friday afternoon to participate in some team-building canoeing, swimming and bushwalking activities.  Please see Mr Russo for a permission note.

Buddies not Bullies MindMatters Peer Mentors and Mentees Beachwalk Friday 23 November

Dee Why Beach Friday afternoon 23rd November 2019:  All member of the Peer Mentoring Program are invited to our Annual Beachwalk after the Founder's Day Festival on Friday 23 November. Some permission notes were distributed after assembly last Monday by Mr Brannan.  If you didn't receive one, please see Mr Brannan or Mr Russo for a permission note or more information.

College Counselling Team

Term 4 Counselling:

Mr Russo:            Tuesday - Friday in Week 1

                                  Tuesday - Thursday in Week 2

Ms Gill:                  Monday, Tuesday, Friday each week

Ms McCarthy:    Wednesday, Thursday  in Week 1

                                  Wednesday, Thursday, Friday in Week 2

Boxercise

A reminder that Boxercise is held every Thursday and Friday morning at 7.30am in the Junior School playground.  This MindMatters initiative provides friendship, fun and fitness to strengthen students’ resilience and general sense of wellbeing.  Classes are free to all students.

Fide et Labore

Mr Sean Brannan - Assistant Principal Pastoral Care