November 3rd, 2022

Acknowledgement of Country

Prayer

In November, we pray for the souls our loved ones who have died - those people whose love, connection, guidance, advice and example reverberate still with us.

We pray that the lives of those we remember continue as part of the life of the world and are forever part of us.

We make this prayer through Jesus our brother, Amen.

A Note from our Principal

Ngata Families & Friends,

We had a sensational evening last Friday with our Twilight Fair! While the weather was against us for an outdoor event, our parish hall proved to be a great place to be out of the wind and rain that we have been exposed to over the last couple of weeks. There was a great feeling as we gathered together as a community again for a special event. We owe thanks to the Parents and Friends committee for keeping the fair on the agenda of events after two years of interruptions. We thank especially those who coordinated raffles, events and stalls. Finally we thank our families and friends for attending and helping us raise money. Funds raised on the night and through the ongoing raffle totalled an amazing $10,000! Money raised by the P&F goes directly back into the purchase of learning resources for our school. Money currently being raised will be used for the replacement of our courtyard playground, which will be replaced in conjunction with our middle pod refurbishments.

Thanks also to Ms Lane and Ms Osborne who organised our Melbourne Cup celebrations on Tuesday. Photos of our fun are included below.

Joe Ewing

Principal

Twilight Fair:

Financial Report from Fair

Major Raffle $4,774.95

Kids Raffle $1,727.70

Fairy Floss $535.10

Snow Cones $109.72

Lolly Stall $98.69

Food-BBQ/Potatoes $869.02

Cakes $747.00

Donuts $145.65

Lucky Cards $410.40

Coffee $313.60

Face Painting   ($24.90)

5-6 Area $130.51

Art Area $30.50

Foundation $    101.60

3-4 Area $482.20

1-2 Area $93.30

Stall Site donations $580.00

Recipe Books $20.00

HoL $142.90

A total of $11,358.04 (at this stage) profit.

Thank you to those who sold raffle books and who supported the Fair with very generous donations.  The result would not have been as good without you.  I assure you of our appreciation.

Yayoi Kusama pumpkin Art at the Twilight Fair:

Melbourne Cup

St. Pius was awash with colour on Tuesday as our students and staff dressed up for the Melbourne Cup Day.   We held our annual race day parade and amongst all the fine fashions there were also several jockey's and horses and other interesting characters.  A fun day was had by all.

Placegetters in the Fashions on the Field are as follows:

Some fun snaps from the big day............

Yr 6 Graduation

Our Yr 6s will be graduating on the evening of Thursday December 8th. A formal invitation will be distributed to Yr 6 families soon. Thanks to Janine Lyons, mum to Anna, who has volunteered to organise the event that will be held afterwards.

St. Pius X Recipe Book

Our school recipe book was available at the Twilight Fair and will continue to be available from the school office. Make sure you get your copy of this great collection contributed by families of our school.    The books are priced at $10 ea.

School Advisory Council

Our SAC are reminded that a meeting will be held this evening in the school board room at 7.30pm. This meeting is a rescheduling of  the October 20th meeting.

Pupil Free Day: Reconciliation Action Plan

Families are reminded that our final pupil free day for 2022 will be held on on Friday November 18th. This day will enable our staff to engage in learning and planning for our Reconciliation Action Plan (RAP). A RAP is a formal commitment and plan for recognition and acknowledgment of First Nations people, for us, in particular the Gunditjmara Maar Nation.

In the lead up to this day, we are required to complete a school survey on cultural awareness and recognition practices in our school. Families are welcome to contribute to this survey:

Jungle Book Kids DVDs

Families wishing to purchase a DVD of our school production The Jungle Book Kids may do so from our administration office. DVDs are $15 and are available from tomorrow.

Walk to School Month!

Starting this Friday, October the 28th, is ‘Walk, Ride or Scoot to school Month’. During this time, all students in the school are encouraged to travel to school by either walking, riding or scooting. 

Students who participate, will receive a point when their ‘healthy moves’ sheet is completed each morning. This will then count towards the overall competition which will be run between the sports house colours. The winning team will receive a free sausage, at the end of the competition which will be held on November 25th. 

The SRC team will be collecting the data from the healthy moves sheets and adding up the tallies. The winning team will be announced on Thursday 24th November. Let’s get walking, riding and scooting! 

SRC team. 

Attention Yr 4 Families: Chromebooks Senior Laptop Program

Over the past 6 years, as part of our implementation of the Victorian Curriculum, our Year 5 & 6 classes have been using individual Chromebook laptop computers in their classrooms.  Our current Yr 4 students will be receiving their laptop from the beginning of 2023, and to prepare for this a information session will be held on November 22nd at 5.30pm for families. Keeping with the technology we will be speaking about, the meeting will be held online and recorded for families unable to attend.

A handbook will be shared with all families, and we are happy to answer questions at the meeting or at another time convenient to families.

Hot off the Prep Press!

Winners are Grinners

We held our annual Melbourne Cup Sweep and here are the results. Jensen in 1st Place, Reg in 2nd place, Levi Williamson in 3rd place and Leo Jenkins-Smith in Last place. Congratulations to everyone who helped Ms Lane and Ms Osborne have a fabulous Cup Day for 2022! 

It’s raining, it’s pouring! 

Due to the terrible weather we have been having we have been spending lots of time inside during our play breaks. Even though we would love to be getting outside more we have been following our norms when playing inside. Some of our favourite activities include drawing, playing with the dolls and building lots of great things with our blocks. Evie, Chloe and Levi have found some of their favourite inside activities. Here’s hoping for some warmer weather soon!! 

Smokey Update

We are all falling in love with this gorgeous bunny who is so social and well behaved. He loves having inside play with us and will happily roam free around the room. He is getting daily exercise and his diet has included some blueberries, sweet potatoes and beans and even some pear. He spent last weekend with Leo Jenkins-Smith and his family who had a wonderful time spoiling him. Check out these gorgeous photos that Leo shared with us on Monday. 

Warrnambool Show

Grade 5/6 had great fun entering the art and photography sections of the Warrnambool Show.  Alternate Afternoon Group and Hands on Learning entered woodwork, cooking, craft and horticulture. A group of senior students sewed twice a week during their lunch break to enter the craft section as well  In many sections St Pius was the only school to enter. Although we had many winners, the whole focus on entering was to be able to view our art, craft, cooking and horticulture in a public place and make sure the Warrnambool Show was full of lots of great work for the public to view. 

Well done to all our students who entered.

School Fees and Levies

With only 7 weeks of the 2022 school year remaining it would be greatly appreciated if school fees and levies could be finalised as soon as possible. For families who have committed to regular instalments, please continue with your payment plan as per your arrangements.

Ringing families as a reminder to pay fees is not only embarrassing and uncomfortable to you but also to the admin staff. Please contact the school office to organise a payment plan should you wish to set up a payment plan.  Thank you.

Crisis Meals

Thanks to our meals volunteer this week: Alanna Dowling

Each week a volunteer has been rostered to provide a freezable meal to our school to be distributed to a family experiencing hardship, grief or unforeseen circumstances. These meals have been regularly distributed and the families receiving them have been most grateful.

Thanks to those who have added their name to the list for the final weeks of Term 4. Still some empty slots:

Breakfast Club

Every Wednesday from 8:15 breakfast will be available in the function room for any students that would like to have some breakfast before the school day starts! Everyone is more than welcome to come along, even if they have already had breakfast at home. It is a great initiative supported by FoodShare who provide fruit, yoghurt, cereal and yummy toast. 

Thanks to our parent leader Tracey Williams.

Before & After School Care

A Lasting Legacy

I’ve always been fascinated by the Sydney Opera House. I’ve visited it, but never attended a performance there, opera or otherwise. I’m more interested and amazed by its place as an object of awe and beauty in the hearts, minds and souls of the people of Sydney, and indeed Australia. The sails of the Opera House are perhaps the best known sculpture in Australia - maybe even the world.

Earlier this year I was reading ‘The Opera House’ by Peter FitzSimons in which the story of the inspiration, design and building of this marvel was recounted. The central figure in the story is Danish architect Jørn Utzon. Utzon’s visionary design was chosen from a competition in which the other entries today look either decidedly dull or dated. The Opera House is definitely outside of time and fashion, it holds iconic status in our imagination.

Those familiar with history will know that the construction process was long and expensive, leading to unrest between the NSW government and Utzon. Utzon was eventually fired as the architect, whereupon he left Australia, vowing never to return. He died in 2008 without ever having visited his creation.

When I have stood in the forecourt of the Opera House marvelling at the roof, which seems to defy gravity, I have considered what it must be like for Jørn Utzon’s children and grandchildren to visit a place so imbued with his thinking, creativity and vision. For them his presence must still be so tangible.

The Gospel for this Sunday and for many of the weeks of November are to do with remembering those who have died. In the Church, November is set aside as a month to remember all who have died. In Sunday’s Gospel there is confusion about what eternal life will be like. Jesus stresses that ‘eternal life’ is different. 

At a Catholic funeral the priest reminds the mourners gathered that life is changed, not ended, and this is true in a tangible sense. We carry with us the memories, wisdom and shared experiences of our loved ones who have died. The family, perhaps children, live on sometimes with startling resemblances. But, for better or worse, we will all leave behind a legacy of our love, our work and our passion when we die. Our life reverberates through generations, and while it may not be as obvious as Utzon’s Opera House, it nonetheless continues to be held as sacred by those we loved and knew.

Light a candle for your departed loved ones this week. May their souls rest in peace, AMEN.

Parish Contact

Sunday Mass 10.00 @ 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/ 

School Canteen Roster

Class Awards Week 4

Our Diocesan Community

The link below opens the quarterly diocesan magazine that features news from across the Ballarat Diocese.

Upcoming Dates

Tonight: School Advisory Council 7.30pm (Rescheduled)

Nov 11 Remembrance Day & Social Justice Day

Nov 18 Pupil Free Day - Reconciliation Action Plan

Nov 21 - 29 PSG Meetings

Nov 28 Yr 5/6 beach safety commences

Nov 30 SAC & P&F social evening

Dec 6 Transition experience 1

Dec 7 Learning Conversations 1

Dec 8 Yr 6 Graduation (early evening)

Dec 8 Transition experience 2

Dec 9 End of Year Mass (daytime)

Dec 12 Learning Conversations 2

Dec 13 Transition experience 3

Dec 14 Learning Conversations 3

Dec 15 Carols and Presentation Evening

Dec 16 Final day of school classes for 2022. (Final bell at 3.30pm)

COVID 19 Arrangements

All famililes are asked to familiarise thesmselves with the updated COVID 19 regulations.