St Pius X College Newsletter

Junior School News 

  • From the Head of the Junior School 
  • Junior School Sport
  • From the Junior Resource Centre
  • Junior Chess

From the Head of the Junior School

REFLECTION

Gospel Reading | John 21:1-19 

This Sunday’s Gospel describes what we can easily imagine as a picnic on the beach. Jesus' attentiveness to food and mealtimes raises the possibility that our meal gatherings can be sacred times. In families, the domestic church, our meals together are everyday opportunities to gather and recall Jesus' presence with us. As in the Eucharist, we bring the gifts that God has given us, which have been prepared especially for our Mass, and at our family meals we share gifts that God has given to us and that we have worked together to prepare. This includes the food on the table and also the people who gather around the table. We ask God to bless these gifts and to be present among us in all of our interactions. 

 

GRACE BEFORE MEALS

Father of us all,

This meal is a sign of Your love for us:

Bless us and bless our food,

And help us to give you glory each day

Through Jesus Christ our Lord.

Amen.

 

MERIT AWARDS

Congratulations, and well done to those boys who received a Merit Award in the last week of Term 1.  

RUGBY TOUR TO ARMIDALE

Mr Morris, Mr Ure, Mr Carroll and I enjoyed spending the first weekend of the holidays watching our Junior School rugby players participate in The Armidale School (TAS) Rugby Carnival.  The boys did themselves and St Pius X proud with their sportsmanship, and their post-match interactions with the other teams and each other.  Thank you to all the families who travelled up to Armidale to support the team – we enjoyed wonderful weather and excellent hospitality from the folks at TAS.

 

YEAR 6 CAMP

By the time you are reading this, Year 6 and their intrepid teachers will be well and truly settled into their accommodation and probably out and about on their first adventure on the Year 6 Camp to Milson Island.  There is a little bit of rain forecast, but the Junior School boys have proven time and again, that rain is just a minor inconvenience and that the show must go on!  We pray that the boys and their teachers have a safe, and thoroughly enjoyable three days away.

 

NAPLAN – Year 5

If you haven’t bought your son a pair of headphones yet, please do so to ensure he has everything he needs for the NAPLAN assessments which begin on Tuesday, 10 May.

 

For catering purposes, please RSVP here: 

RSVP for Mother's Day Mass and Morning Tea

 

Thank you for your ongoing support of the Junior School.

Mrs Jill Greenwood - Head of the Junior School 

Junior School Sport

The Armidale School Rugby Carnival

Congratulations to the 23 Year 6 St Pius X students who represented our College at the annual rugby carnival in Armidale during the school holidays. While the boys were unable to notch up a win over the weekend, they were competitive in every game and improved with each performance. The playing experience and camaraderie the team enjoyed over the course of the carnival no doubt has them primed and ready for the IPSHA season ahead.

 

IPSHA Cross Country

Best of luck to the following boys who will represent St Pius X at the IPSHA Cross Country carnival next Wednesday, 4 May. 

  • U10: Maxwell Sunjaya
  • U11: Parker Ball, Cristiano Calcarao, Harry Layton, Rory Rapa and Blake Sobey
  • U12: Jonas Satterthwaite, Jenson Whitby, Max Barnett, Matthew Castorina and Connor Chitterer

IPSHA Winter Season

Round 1 of the IPSHA Winter Season kicks off this Saturday, 30 April. With the Year 6 students away at Camp this week and other students isolating due to COVID-19, the team lists for this weekend are by no means “locked in” for the season. Please be patient over the next fortnight as the coaches continue to do their best in finding the right team for each child in a fair and considered manner. 

In preparation for our first games this weekend, please ensure your son…

  • has the correct uniform for his chosen sport (SPX Uniform shop can assist) 
  • has all the appropriate safety equipment needed to play (e.g. mouthguard, shin guards, etc)
  • arrives at the venue 30 minutes before their game for warm-ups
  • brings their own water bottle

Football

 

Rugby Union

Prep Sevens and 11 Sevens venue and time will be confirmed on Thursday via the College App.

 

AFL

Mr Glen Carroll - Junior School Sports Coordinator

 

SPX Rugby Supporter's Club

To welcome in the commencement of the SPX Rugby Season the SPX Rugby Supporters’ Club will be offering for sale SPX Supporters Clothing at Oxford Falls on Saturday.

 

# High quality Basecamp Sideline Jackets - normally $85 - this Saturday only - reduced to $70. 

 

# Polo Shirts – both men’s and women's - normally $40 - this Saturday only - reduced to $20.

 

Limited stock on hand – be quick to purchase or you will miss out!

 

We will also have the ever-popular SPX Supporters’ Caps for sale for $20 - (both the navy and the pink).

Mr Paul O’Neill - President SPX Rugby Supporters’ Club

Tel: 0418-634 750     Email: paoneill21@gmail.com

From the Junior Resource Centre

This week's highlights:

Literature Promotion in the JRC

ANZAC DAY – Picture Books – A Minute’s Silence by David Metzenthen and Illustrated by Michael Camilleri. 

PRC – ID = 45432

They shall grow not old, as we that are left grow old:

Age shall not weary them, nor the years condemn.

At the going down of the sun and in the morning

We will remember them.

 

The Ode from The Fallen

Lawrence Binyon.

 

This week 6 Blue and 6 Green read and discussed One Minutes Silence by David Metzenthen and illustrated by Michael Camilleri. We discussed the complex etched drawings that feature heavily throughout the book. Michael Camilleri’s deliberate use only varying shades of sepia and black and white creates a realistic and fading memory of the war that only reinforces the book’s overall message of how important it is to remember both sides of the war effort. This is a book for everyone to explain and remind readers about why the one minute of silence is so important, and how it came about. It’s a book that gives a voice to the other side of the war, that as a nation who are so fundamentally defined by the ANZAC legend, we often forget or don’t even think about.

 

Be inspired and discover some of these stories found across Picture books, biographies, fiction and non-fiction, come in and borrow from the JRC.

 

 

 

 

 

The Premier's Reading Challenge is well under way. Great to see the boys updating their reading logs over the School holiday break.

 

Mrs Martin’s Book Trail

When the War Came Home by Leslie Parr – I loved this historical novel. This story is founded in hope and kindness and acceptance, even though the war itself took so much and left so many broken. The little Welsh village as a background for the recuperation of war veterans – to have such a calm and peaceful atmosphere allowed the consequences of war to be highlighted. From Johnny’s amnesia to Huw’s shell shock, the small village allowed people to meet and work together more naturally. The issues of fairness and equality for women and the poor – this story was a great introduction for some younger minds who might not know about certain key issues from the past. A wonderful and moving story! #mrsmartin’sbooktrail2022.

 

Mrs Elena Martin – Teacher Librarian

Junior School Chess Club

Thank you to all the boys who attended Chess training on Tuesday. The draw for this year's Primary Schools Competition is available on the NSWJCL website (see www.nswjcl.org.au and click on "Schools" in the homepage menu). The competition starts on Friday week (6 May). More information will be sent home next week.

 

 

Mrs Elena Martin - Junior School Chess Convenor