St Pius X College Newsletter

Junior School News 

  • From the Junior School 
  • Rugby Club AGM
  • Junior School Sport

From the Junior School

REFLECTION

This week, the Church celebrates the Feast of Christ the King. The Feast of Christ the King is the last Sunday of the liturgical year and next week is the First Sunday of Advent.

Christ is King in a way that is different from traditional understandings of royalty. Christ's kingship extends to all places, all people, and all times. Christ manifests his kingship through his death on the Cross, in which he offers salvation to all.  You might like to talk with your children about what it means to be a king. 

This Sunday we celebrate a special feast called the Feast of Christ the King.  In this week’s gospel (Luke 23:35-43) we reflect on how the various people in this Gospel respond to Jesus on the Cross. Who in this Gospel recognises Jesus as King? 

How will you and your family recognise and honour Christ the King?  Pray together the Lord's Prayer and ask God to help your family to act in ways that show you recognise and honour Christ as King.

 

MERIT AWARDS

Congratulations to last week’s Merit Award winners:

 

TEACHING AND LEARNING IN THE JUNIOR SCHOOL

Surf Program

How lucky were Year 6 to be out in the warm sunshine, with the sand between their toes last Thursday at Dee Why beach?  We couldn’t have asked for a more perfect day, and the boys were kept active with rotations through a number of different activities.  The day was run by Dual Ironman and Surf Lifesaving World Champion, Craig Riddington.  Some of you may remember him from his Surf Lifesaving days or his Uncle Toby’s Nutri-Grain advertisements.

Year 6 Science

This term, our Year 6 scientists have been learning about Food and Fibre. They have explored the difference between processed and unprocessed food, how our food grows, organic farming techniques, sustainable and unsustainable foods, and bush tucker. 6 Blue looked at how bugs are the food of the future. Did you know that the consumption of insects (entomophagy) has recently attracted global attention for health reasons, as well as its environmental and economic benefits?  Achieving environmentally sustainable food security is currently one of the globe’s biggest challenges. A wide range of edible insect species, with their high contents in protein, fat, minerals, vitamins, and fibre can play a significant role in addressing food insecurity.

Students all tried corn chips made from cricket powder and pasta made from a combination of cricket powder and mealworms. You will be pleased to know that the consensus in 6 Blue was that we could all survive if we had to eat insects!

NATIONAL DISCUS CHAMPIONSHIPS

We wish Zach F in 6 Red all the very best as he heads off to Brisbane this week to compete in the School Sport Australia Track & Field Championships.  Zach is going for gold in the discus, and we will be cheering him on from afar.

 

SATURDAY SPORT

Tennis:  Special congratulations to Javien F who partnered with his brother to win both their singles and doubles games on Saturday.  Thanks also to Jake Y who volunteered to help by umpiring a Pius vs Pius match.

 

Cricket:  After a morning of basketball, touch, and softball at Oxford Falls, I timed my arrival at the Pius Gold cricket match in Mona Vale perfectly.  I saw Ben F demolish the stumps and then it was time for drinks and a review of the task ahead.  Competition leaders Peninsula needed only a handful runs, while the Pius bowlers needed only one wicket to win the game.  As the players walked back onto the field, I could sense a renewed sense of purpose, and within only a couple of overs, Joshua P struck with a ball that spat off the pitch, clipped the edge of the bat, and flew to the safe hands of Max B at square leg.  Over and OUT! A fantastic win for the Pius team and great motivation for the remainder of the season.

Catch up with all the weekend’s sport in Mr Carroll’s Sports News.

 

YEAR 7 TRANSITION DAY

Yesterday, our current Year 6 students welcomed their future classmates to the College for a Year 7 Transition/Orientation Day.  It was lovely to see a few familiar faces in the crowd and to reconnect with some families I’ve met throughout the years. Thank you to Mrs Jennings, Mrs King, Mr Brannan, and Mrs Loughman for the engaging and informative day that you organised for our current Year 6s, our future students, and their parents.

 

CHRISTMAS TWILIGHT CONCERT

You are warmly invited to the St Pius X Christmas Twilight Concert this Friday from 5.00 pm – 7.00 pm in the Junior School playground.  For those Junior School students who are participating in the concert, there will be supervision after school and a sausage sizzle at 4.00 pm.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

COVID | RAHTs

You should have received a new supply of RAHTs earlier this week.  Please ensure you use them to test your son if he has even the slightest of symptoms and keep him home until symptoms subside.

 

YEAR 6 FAMILY EVENT

This Saturday from 2.00 pm – 5.00 pm at The Diddy in Longueville.  This parent-run event celebrates the end of Year 6.  We hope everyone has a wonderful afternoon. 

 

DATES FOR THE DIARY

Tuesday 22 November | Year 7 Information Evening via TEAMS (for current and new Year 6 families)

Tuesday 23 November | Year 6 Reflection Day at Oxford Falls (Please note the change of date)

Friday 25 November | Founders Day at Oxford Falls

Friday 25 November | 5.00 pm – 7.00 pm – P&F Farewell for Mr Couani at Chatswood – all welcome.

Tuesday 6 December | Closing Mass, Junior School Sport and Academic Awards, Semester 2 Reports issued, last day of school year for students.

 

Mrs Jill Greenwood - Head of Junior School 

 

ST VINCENT de PAUL CHRISTMAS APPEAL 

Our Christmas Appeal collections commenced this week and runs until the end of Week 8. This provides a great opportunity for students to live out the faith they learn about in the classroom.

Vinnies are in particular need of men’s travel sized toiletry kits (no razors please!). Ordinarily, these would contain a combination of soap and shampoo, toothbrush, comb etc. in a portable bag or case of some kind.  

Please ask your son to hand his donation to his classroom teacher.

Thank you in advance for enabling our students to give, and spread, some Christmas spirit to those in need.  

Mr Ryan Balboa - Social Justice Coordinator

Rugby Club AGM

The Rugby Club will be holding its AGM on Wednesday 23 November in the Sarto Centre, commencing at 6.30 pm.  All positions on the committee will be up for re-election.  We look forward to seeing any Rugby parents attend.  

Mr Matt Stearn for Mr Martin Gillogly - Rugby Convenor

Junior School Sport

School Sport Australia Track and Field Championship:

All the best to Zach Fourie (6 Red) who will head to Brisbane later this week to compete in the Discus event at the SSA Track and Field Championship. Zach will take part as a member of the NSW team, throwing against the best athletes from around Australia. I look forward to sharing the details of Zach’s performance in the Woodchatta next week.

 

Thursday Sport: 

Our swimming program got off to a great start last Thursday and will continue for the next three weeks.

  • Boys are to arrive at school with their swimmers/speedos already on (underneath their PE uniform) as there are no changeroom facilities at either venue. After their session, they can dry off as best as possible and put their PE shorts back on over their swimmers for the journey home.
  • Hats are compulsory and sunscreen will be provided by the College.
  • In a small bag, boys can also bring their towel, water and lunch, as no food may be purchased at either venue. 
  • It is recommended that all boys wear skins or speedos, as boardshorts can make it difficult to swim
  • Year 5 students will also need goggles and a rashie (compulsory)
  • Year 6 students will be provided with a rashie, but are welcome to bring their own
  • Boys may be collected from the pool/beach by 2.00pm. Boys not collected will return to school on the bus. Obviously, parents will need to contact their son’s teacher prior to the day to make the appropriate arrangements.

Week 4 Results - Saturday 12 November:

 

Week 6 Fixtures:

Softball - Saturday 19 November:

Touch Football - Saturday 19 November:

Basketball - Saturday 19 November:

 

Swimming Squad Training – Term 4, 2022: 

This will be our final week of before school swimming training, here are the details:

  • 7.10 am at Fitness First, Chatswood (24 Endeavour St, Chatswood) 
  • Suitable swimwear, goggles and swim cap are all essential (no cap, no swim)
  • Students wear PE/ Pius Sports Uniform to the sessions. At 8.15 am the boys are walked back to school by staff. They then change into school uniform. A snack/breakfast is also recommended at this point.
  • Training days/dates:  Friday 19 November

Mr Glen Carroll - Junior School Sports Coordinator

NSTA Tennis

It was perfect weather for tennis last Saturday. The 8.00 am games were lots of fun to watch with 7 of the 8 games being Pius v Pius matches. SPX 28 the brothers, Kayden and Javien Foo were a force to be reckoned with winning all 3 sets to SPX 32. Henry Burke partnered with Nick Kwan last week to play against his own team. That didn’t stop Henry though winning both his singles and doubles, 6-4 and 6-1 respectively. Daniel Lenehan and Kody Tabalon, SPX 19 easily won their three set against SPX 20, 18 games to 4. Thank you to Izaac Tan, Lucas Halim, James Higgins for umpiring and mentoring our younger teams last weekend. A special thanks must also go to Jake Yu, Year 6, who also volunteered to umpire and was also a welcome addition to the team last weekend. 

The 10.00 am games are always a little more serious as when the players enter the courts, they are determined to win. Ben Shoudra and Oscar Roberts, SPX 12 both played excellent singles matches, both winning 6-2. I think the match to watch was SPX 15 vs Reddam 4, Adam Fitrzyk and Layton Chan fought hard to win the match with a close 16 games to 15. 

A reminder to all players that they must stay until ALL matches have been played in their team. As you are a team, it is important to support your team members. 

There have been a couple of errors with the scores recently so please ensure that you are checking your weekly scores, rankings and draw on the xpoint site: https://www.xpointsports.com/region/325/currentEvents

Mrs Samantha Iwatani - NSTA Convenor