November 14th, 2024

Acknowledgement of Country

A Note from our Principal

Ngata families, 

It has been an action-packed week at St. Pius X and I am thrilled to share some wonderful highlights with you.

Firstly, our Year 3/4 students have absolutely shone in the Bike Ed program this week. Through skill-building exercises and hands-on learning, they gained confidence and competence in cycling, culminating in their exciting Big Ride today. It was inspiring to watch them apply what they’ve learned, all while having a great time outdoors. A heartfelt thank you to our teachers for their hard work in organizing such a meaningful program and providing our students with this invaluable experience.

On Tuesday evening, we hosted a fantastic Foundation Parent Information Session. It was a wonderful opportunity to engage with our families and we were thrilled by the great participation. The session was both informative and interactive and I’d like to extend my gratitude to our Foundation teachers for their thoughtful preparation.

Finally, today I had the privilege of accompanying Holly and Fynn on our weekly Meals on Wheels run. It was a powerful experience for our students, offering a hands-on way to engage with Catholic social teachings and serve our community. What a great reminder of the importance of service and compassion!

Thank you for your ongoing support of our school community.

Kind regards,

Nick Murrell

Principal

Crazy Hair/Socks Day - Friday, 15th November: TOMORROW!!

Students and families are reminded that tomorrow is normal school uniform, however, students are invited to have crazy hair or wear crazy socks, or both!

2025 Japanese Language and Culture study tour

For those families considering our Warrnambool Catholic Network Japan study tour in 2025.

A reminder that a deposit for the proposed 2025 Japan trip is due by November 29th to St. Joseph's Primary School. Contact cduyn@sjwarrnambool.catholic.edu.au or 55611343 for payment inquiries. 

Full details in the document below. 

The Foundation Files

St Pius X Cafe

Last Friday the Prep’s were invited to the Hands on Learning Cafe. We got to place our orders via the online ordering system and we got to choose something yummy to eat. Check out all the photos of us eating our delicious food. A big thank you to Mrs Webster and all of the Hands on Learning cafe workers. We had a great time!

Godly Play

The Nativity Story - The joyful birth of Jesus was written about in our Bible. 

Ms Osborne used Godly Play to help us learn about the stories from Matthew’s and Luke’s Gospel. Each gospel writer had differences in their version of the story and we learnt about how the versions of the story were similar and different. 

We named all the characters and talked about how they were feeling and we then talked about how the birth of a baby brings joy to everyone.

We have also been sharing our own Birth stories during our prayer time, too. Don’t forget to send along your Birth story if you haven’t remembered to already.

I-Pad Time

This week Ms Lane and Ms Osborne have been checking our Comprehension. They read us a story called ‘The Picnic’. We had to answer some questions about the story and remember what was read to us.

After we answered all the questions we then got to spend some time on the I-Pads using other decodable books from the Fitzroy Reader series. This was a real treat for us because it’s been a very very long time since we were allowed to use the I-Pads in our learning time. We had a lot of fun!!

Year 5 Emmanuel College Experience

The year fives went to Emmanuel college on Wednesday.  We arrived there at 9:30, we got off the bus and went into the building and dropped our bags off.  After a quick meeting about Emmanuel, we got split into 2 groups SP1 and SP2 were one group and SP3 and SP4 were a group.  Our first activity was sport, and we started doing P.E.  SP1 and 2 did basketball.

After 50 minutes or so the recess bell went and we all went outside. There was so much stuff to do! From a ninja course to a library opened at both recesses, as well there were 2 ovals, 1 for year 7 and 8 and one for 10, 11 and 12s.  

Then the bell went again and we went inside and started a tour around the whole school and it was huge! Then we SP1 and 2 made their own mini pizzas which were delicious. 

Before we knew it the recess bell went again and we ate that time for a good solid 10 minutes! After the bell went again and then it was time for play and we got to go and play for 40-45 mins. Then it was time for 5th period which SP1 and 2 did drama. We played a game and it was super fun.  We had to change the way we walked every time and we had to go back to our  home base.

Then for our last time we went back upstairs and there were two kids from year six last year, and they told us all about the big change from primary school to high school. They showed us a video about what the year sevens do in their first year at Emmanuel. They gave us a free drink bottle with the Emmanuel logo on it! Then we went back to school and talked about how great our day was.

Thanks to Mrs Graham, Kaz ,Miss O’Donnell and Paula for organizing our day and taking us. 

By Liam and Haley in SP2                                      

Book Fair Information

The Scholastic Book Fair is happening on the 18th, 19th & 20th of November!

Each learning area will have a buying day:

Monday 18/11- Juniors

Tuesday 19/11 - Middles

Wednesday 20/11 - Seniors

Purchases can be made prior to the day by visiting the website: scholastic.com.au/payment . EFTPOS and cash purchase will be available on the day also. 

The Scholastic Book Fair is our major fundraiser for the library. Any support big or small will be greatly appreciated!

Scholastic Book Fair- Colour In competition

Last week, students would have received a colour-in competition page from their classroom teacher. Could all entries be returned by Monday 18th November at the latest!

SAVE THE DATE - Bunnings BBQ on Saturday, 7th Dec.

A big thank you to all the wonderful volunteers who have pledged their time and effort to work at the St. Pius Fundraiser BBQ to be held at Bunnings on the 7th December.   We are pleased to say that all the shift spots are now filled.   Thank You once again everyone!

Food bank support - Thank You!

We have had a great response to the launch of our weekly community food bank to support families within our school. Thank you to everyone who has volunteered  to help with this great initiative. 

Please text Lara on 0423 453 334 if you wish to participate or need more information. Thank you for your continued support and generosity.

Text Lara on 0423 453 334

Breakfast Club - Wednesdays

A friendly reminder that Breakfast Club is running on Wednesday mornings from 8:20am. It is open to ALL students before school to enjoy some yummy toast, yogurt, cereal or a piece of fruit and take part in a morning conversation with others. We look forward to seeing everybody there!

Again, a big thankyou to Foodshare for providing us with breakfast items and Woolies Dennington for providing the fruit! Of course, this wouldn't take place without our amazing parent helpers, so a big thank you to Sarah & Virginia as well!

A special message just to say.............

The following students will be celebrating their birthday over the coming week......

Remi O'Shannessy, Henry Mahony & Dylan Scrivenor.

Canteen Roster for next week.

Important Dates.

Friday, 15th November - Crazy Hair/Socks Day & Sausage Sizzle

 Monday, 18th November - 1/2 Swimming commences (two week program)

Monday, 18th November - Scholastic Book Fair commences (one week)

Monday, 18th November - Foundation excursion - The Gruffalo 

Tuesday, 19th November - Parents and Friends meeting, 7.30pm

Friday, 22nd November - Assembly, 3pm in church

Monday, 25th November - 5/6 Beach safety commences  (one week program)

Thursday, 28th November - Foundation 2025 Transition #1

Friday, 29th November - Advent Liturgy 3pm church

Monday, 2nd December - Learning Conversations 2.30-5.30pm

Tuesday, 3rd December - Learning Conversations 2.30-5.30pm

Wednesday, 4th December - Learning Conversations 2.30-5.30pm

Friday, 6th December - Assembly, 3pm in church

Tuesday, 10th December - Orientation Day

Thursday, 12th December - Gr 6 Graduation

Tuesday, 17th December - Carols and Presentation evening 6pm

Wednesday, 18th December - Final day for students

Before & After School Care.

Parish Contact.

Sunday Mass 9.00am @ St Pius X Church. School families are always welcome.

The Parish office can be contacted on 5562 2231

Other information and contact details can be found on the Star of the Sea South West Coast website: https://www.ballarat.catholic.org.au/parish/southwestcoast/