Junior School News
- From the Head of the Junior School
- Junior School Sport
- From the Junior Resource Centre
From the Head of the Junior School
PRAYER
Help me love and appreciate the life I lead right now
Show me that which is good, that I often overlook,
and help me be content with what I have.
Let me celebrate the gift that is life every day.
Forgive me when I compare myself to others,
forgive me for longing for that which lies beyond you and your Kingdom.
Thank you for the love that you have shown me and continue to show me.
I am where I am because it is your will,
give me the courage to accept this and guidance to continue this work in your Name.
Blessed Edmund Rice – Pray for Us
St Pius X – Pray for Us
Live Jesus in our Hearts – FOREVER!
On Monday morning we held a special assembly to pray for Thomas Van Dijk and his family, relatives and friends. It was tragic news on the weekend and the assembly was a sombre occasion but with the hope of being resurrection people. I always believe that words are never enough at these times. As my email stated on Monday morning, everybody reacts differently to these situations and it is important you keep an eye on your son. The boys will understand it at their own level of understanding, some will go quiet (maybe they will talk later), others will want to talk (straight away) and others who didn’t know Tom are pleased they can pray for his family and friends. We don’t want them to feel they have to be sad. There is no standard response, nor time limit to grief. It was important to get back into routines after a short period in class. Some of the boys in the school have a close family relationship with the family so please remember them in your thoughts and prayers.
Please do not hesitate to contact me should you have any concerns.
I share with you below some information supplied by Mrs Joanne McCarthy, one of our school counsellors. I think it simply good information for all parents even if it isn’t required at this moment in time.
In case some students seek out clarification/ want to de-brief the tragic loss of Tom, below are some important areas to cover. Although many boys in younger grades will have less connection with Tom, impacts from COVID have left our young people more vulnerable to stress than usual, so various students may be triggered.
- Normalise reactions boys may have (numbness, anger, sadness, feeling overwhelmed, distressed, shocked, worried)- all ok and normal response. There is no standard response, nor time limit to grief. People do generally move through 5 stages, but in no set order. Stages typically are- denial, anger, bargaining, sadness, acceptance.
- De-brief the incident, keep things factual- Young people generally gain more support and comfort from their peers in these times, and will often know what they need to do. Listen to them, let them talk, facilitate this with empathy and without judgement.
- Present some positive coping skills e.g. connecting with a friend, talking with parents, listen to music, walk/ run/swim, write/journal out feelings. Really encourage connection with each other, and re-instate feelings of safety.
- Promote help available – parents, each other, teachers, year co, counsellors, kids helpline. There is ALWAYS someone available to talk with. Empower them to help each other.
- Answer any questions, but keep things contained.
- Feel free to direct any concerns to counselling team
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This week is Book Week. The theme is ‘Old Worlds, New Worlds, Other Worlds.’ At last week's Assembly I shared my favourite book which I guess is old world. The book is ‘A Fortunate Life’ by A B Facey. It is the true story about a man who endured a hard life but he had an amazing acceptance of the good and the bad and because of his attitude he believed that he had lived a fortunate life. The other book I shared is the one I just started which is ‘A Human's Guide to the Future’ by Dr Jordan Nguyen. I guess this could be the new world we are entering. I can’t comment yet about the book but I have heard him speak and he was very interesting. Mrs Martin has organised a lot of interesting activities so please read the Junior Resource Section below. Have you organised a Book Week costume? I’ve seen a few online today!
ST PIUS X FEAST DAY HOLIDAY
Our St Pius X Feast Day holiday is next Monday 30 August and it is a day off classes for the boys. A long weekend. Hopefully the weather is great and the boys can get outside and enjoy some fresh air!
MERIT AWARDS
Congratulations to the following boys who received a Merit Award this week:
Edward Yangoyan, Michael Chung, Cameron Giang, Leo Ward-Harvey, Julian Wallace, Sam Koudsy, Jack Costa, Lucas Willems, Jacob Laface, Julian Kuang, Tobias Wilson, Daniel Downs, Nick Cheung, Jake Swan, Luke Telfer, Ethan Willett, Will Harkin, Sebastian Gadeleta, Samuel Ford, Jack Costa, Alex Kim, James Hocking, Harry Greenwood, Alexander Moores, Jake Watt, Aidan Lilley, Ethan Hartley, Nate Solah, Emilio Circosta, Charlie O’ Donnell, Lachlan McGrath, Daniel Down, Cooper Thomason, Luke Morton, Oscar Requin, and Samson Symeonidis.
CERTIFICATE OF ACHIEVEMENT
A special congratulations to Jackson Byak, Thomas Kneeshaw x 2, Marcus Cicero, Cooper Hill, Jake Yu, Emilio Righi-Clayton, Lachlan Renshaw and Dexter Hurley who have achieved 5 Merit Awards and will be receiving a Certificate of Achievement.
A THOUGHT TO PONDER
Thanking you for your support.
Mr Tim Long - Head of the Junior School
Junior School Sport
Mr David Reay - Cricket Convenor
From the Junior Resource Centre
This week's highlights: Book Week 2021 is in full swing COVID Style!
Thanks to authors, illustrators and our very own St Pius X school community for staying positive in these challenging times.
From my family to you, Happy Book Week!
Read lots!
The JRC has heaps of fun things planned for this week, but if you have any free time, you should check out these author interviews.
https://www.artsunit.nsw.edu.au/reading-challenge
Dart learning has co-ordinated a series of Virtual Author Talks for Book Week. A link to all the sessions has been e-mailed to our teachers. During our library lessons this week we have been watching sessions of our favourite authors as well as completing the BOOK WEEK 2021- LIBRARY TASKS GRID.
Bookmark Competition is still on the Horizon!
It's so exciting that our Bookmark Competition entries are coming in at a rapid pace. The Carroll Clan are geared up ready to judge the best Bookmarks. Deadline to enter is tomorrow - Thursday 26 August.
Winners will be announced at the Junior School online Assembly.
Be in it to win it!
CBCA Book Week 2021
Congratulations to all those children’s book creators who were announced Winners or Honour Books for The Children’s Book Council Awards of Australia. It has been a challenging year but a year of brilliant books! Congratulations to all!
#CBCA2021
Book Week Online Costume Parade.
Term 3, Week 7 2021
This year our Book Week Parade will be online! and since many of us can't access shops to go costume shopping, I came up with a list of costume ideas that you can make from what you have at home. I'm sure there are many more ideas, but here is what I came up with.
Dress up in your favourite costume, take a photo and send your entry to your class teacher. A prize will be given to the best three in each class, then the finals …..three will be chosen for the overall winners of Book Week 2021.The competition is open Week 7, so get snapping for an awesome Book Week Prize. Winners will be announced during Assembly in Week 8.
Mrs Martin's entries so far:
Other Worlds: Monday - The World of Oz
Old Worlds: Tuesday - Ancient Egypt's Cleopatra
NSW Premier's Reading Challenge
6 Blue winners PRC Prize package sent home last week via snail mail! Congratulations!
How is your #nswprc reading log going? You have a few more weeks to finish entering your books – don’t forget you can count 10 choice books on your record this year!
https://online.det.nsw.edu.au/prc/home.html
Mrs Martin’s Book Trail: Be Brave Like Batman! (DC Super Friends) Hardcover – written by Glenn Dakin.
“What would Batman do? With his strength, sophistication, razor-sharp wit, and unrivalled gadget collection, Batman has all the advice you need to become a legend! Great for kids aged 7 to 70!#mrsmartinsbooktrail2021
Mrs Elena Martin – Teacher Librarian