St Pius X College Newsletter

From the Principal

  • Prayer
  • Congratulations to Year 6
  • Year 10 Activities
  • HSC Concludes
  • Staffing Changes 
  • Year Coordinators for 2022
  • End of Year Reports for Years 5 - 10
  • CIS Swimming Representative - Nicholas Gladen
  • Learning Hub Update
  • Movember
  • Special Thanks to Mrs Hilary Fromager

Prayer of Gratitude for 2021

As the 2021 school year draws to a close, I give great thanks for the many blessings bestowed upon our school community, on our families and all those we love. Although this year has been a year filled with a great many sorrows and difficulties, we still have so much to be grateful for: our health, our learning, our friends and family, our strength in community, the support of each other, the gifts we have been given and received, the achievements of the year and for all that has made us better and stronger people.

Let us pray with thanks for the earth and for our surroundings, the moments of chaos and the moments of peace, the moments of wonder and awe and for this season of Advent where we reach out to one another in love and peace.

 

Psalm 95:1-2

Come, let us sing for joy to the Lord;

    let us shout aloud to the Rock of our salvation.

Let us come before him with thanksgiving

and extol him with music and song.

 

And so, I take this opportunity to thank each student and parent, each staff member and College Council member, our Priests and Edmund Rice Education colleagues and schools for their part in making this year a fulfilling one.  

 

Matthew 3:3

 This is he who was spoken of through the prophet Isaiah:

“A voice of one calling in the wilderness,

‘Prepare the way for the Lord,

make straight paths for him.'”

 

We prepare the way of the Lord 

and I wish everyone a happy and holy Christmas and a wonderful New Year.

Congratulations to Year 6

The Year 6 students are an outstanding group of young men and have been very impressive all year but no more so than since we have returned in Term 4. They are, in so many ways, ready and well-prepared for High School and we look forward to 2022 and welcoming them into Year 7 as they are joined by another 42 students next year. 

I congratulate every Year 6 student on completing Stage 3 in the NSW education system and I look forward to presenting their awards along with the Year 5 Awards at the presentation ceremony at Oxford Falls this Friday. My sincere thanks to Mr Long and the Junior School staff for an outstanding year.

More details may be found in the Junior School section of Woodchatta today.

Year 10 Activities

It has been an excellent week for Year 10 and I thank Mr Pawlak for organising this busy week.

Just a small snapshot of the week for you:

Monday:  NSW NESA Minimum Standards Testing Day

Tuesday :  Personal Presentation Program and Wheelchair Roadshow

Wednesday:  Personal Presentation Program and Peer Support Leadership Program

Thursday:  Personal Presentation Program and Peer Support Leadership Program

HSC Concludes

The HSC concludes for St Pius X College students this Thursday 2 December. At the time of writing this Woodchatta, I am delighted to report that all students have been present for all their exams and the venue at Oxford Falls has been very successful. I thank the Presiding Officer Mrs Suzanne Camilleri and all the supervisors for conducting these exams. I also thank Mr Ticli and Mrs Bamber for overseeing the students in this HSC examination period.

We look forward to celebrating the Formal with Year 12 and their parents on Wednesday 15 December at Miramare Gardens.

 

Key dates

20 January         ATARs released

24 January         HSC results released

Staffing 2022

As the school year draws to a close, I take the opportunity to advise the College community of staff movements as we look towards 2022. 

This year we have a significant number of changes to staffing for 2022.  There are significant retirements from the College and the many years of service to the College by these staff is recognised with deep appreciation.  In particular I thank Mr Tim Long (17 years), Ms Judy Black (28 years), Mr Mark Anderson (36 years), Mrs Annie Bryant (19 years), Mr Michael Auer (18 years) and  Mr Tom Garvey (5 years).

 

I also thank Mrs Sarah McCormack who has taught French at the school for 11 years and leaves us to work closer to home at Scots College.

There are a good number of others leaving Sydney to continue their journey in education in country settings. I thank Mr Joe Lynch who is taking up the role of Assistant Principal Pastoral at Scone Grammar School, Ms Amanda O’Brien who is moving to Snowy Mountains Grammar School, Mr Justin Donnelly who will move to Central Coast Grammar School and Mr Benn McBrearty who is heading home to New Zealand.  We also have Mrs Sophie Casamento who will be taking Maternity Leave, and we certainly wish Sophie well for the coming months, and look forward to her return later in 2022.

We thank all these staff for their service.

 

I am very pleased also to announce that we have employed a very talented team of new staff who will make a huge impact on the students. I am very confident that the traditions, expertise and high learning culture at the College will continue in the capable hands of all staff at the school.

 

Mrs Jill Greenwood, Head of Junior School

Ms Beth Gleeson, Visual Arts Teacher

Mr Dennis Lee, Visual Arts Teacher

Ms Samantha Hood, Maths Teacher

Ms Laura Barwick, Science Teacher

Mr Mario Phaesie, French Teacher

Ms Carolyn Scott, English Teacher

Mr Martin Gillogly, Year 9 Coordinator (PDHPE & RE Teacher)

Ms Laura Coombe, PDHPE Teacher

Ms Antonella Schiller, Diverse Learning 

Mr John Dodd, HSIE Teacher 

 

Finally, we also wish to farewell our Archivist, Br Carl Sherrin, who has been with the College for the past 8 years looking after our archives.  Br Carl attended St Pius X College as a young boy and returned as our archivist, so has come full circle with St Pius X College. We are always pleased to see Br Carl attending our special events throughout the year and we hope he will be able to return on occasion to participate in these events.  Br Carl will be enjoying a well-deserved retirement and we wish him all the best and thank him for his years of service not only to the College, but also to the Christian Brothers community.

 

We also congratulate our current staff who are taking on positions of responsibility next year:

Mr Ed Codsi, Human Resources and Compliance Coordinator

Mr Glenn Carroll, Junior School Sports Coordinator 

Mr Greg Virgona, PDHPE Coordinator

Mr Frances Doyle, Visual Arts Coordinator

Mr Daniel Quilty, Literacy Coordinator

Miss Felicity van Riet, Professional Learning Coordinator

Year Coordinators for 2022

Below is the list of Year Coordinators for 2022.  

 

Year 7:  Mr Phil Stollery

Year 8:  Mr Scott Steinman

Year 9:  Mr Martin Gillogly

Year 10:  Mr Mark Pawlak

Year 11:  Mr Paul Ticli

Year 12:  Ms Donna Janes

 

I would like to take this opportunity to welcome Mr Martin Gillogly to the College as Year 9 Coordinator.  Mr Gillogly comes from St Andrew's College, Marayong where he has been for the past 5 years.  He is an experienced teacher and leader and we welcome him.

End of Year Reports for Years 5 - 10

Please see the Parent and Student Matters page for information on End of Year Reports for Years 5 - 10.

CIS Swimming Representative - Nicholas Gladen

The College was extremely proud this week to present Year 9 student, Nicholas Gladen, with his 2nd place medal from his CIS Swimming representation at the All Schools Swimming Carnival held earlier this year.  

Nicholas swam extremely well and achieved the following results:

50m Backstroke - 2nd

100m Backstroke - 4th

50m Freestyle - 7th

With these results, Nicholas qualified for the Nationals Swimming Carnival, which unfortunately was cancelled due to COVID-19.  Congratulations once again to Nicholas, it's a wonderful achievement.

Anderson Street Learning Hub Update

Despite the heavy rain of the past week, work on our Learning Hub continues.  I share with you some updated photos.  I know that by the time school recommences next year, there will be a noticeable difference in the site.

Movember

Yesterday saw the end of Movember where issues around Men's Health, both physical and mental, are discussed and highlighted.

Several of our staff joined in raising money for Movember, including one of our female staff members who raised money by being a Mo-Sister and participating in 'MOVE'mber - by agreeing to participate in 30 days of fitness or supporting men's health in other ways. 

Congratulations to our staff for participating, once again, in this very important event.

Special Thanks to Mrs Hilary Fromager

As this is the final Woodchatta for the year, I thank Mrs Fromager for her work in preparing, editing and publishing Woodchatta each week.

 

Mr John Couani - Principal