June 8th 2023

Acknowledgement of Country

Prayer

Gracious and generous God, you have given us your Son Jesus to show us how to be people of the Gospel, living in love and peace.

May we be examples of love and peace in our lives. 

Amen

A Note from our Principal.

Ngata Families and Friends,

Dear Families,

After this week we only have 9 days of school until the end of the term. Whilst I am never sure where the time goes, this term has seemed particularly quick. 

Congratulations to everyone who participated in the Eisteddfod last week. Word has come through that St Pius X has won the perpetual shield and that James Turner received the most points for any student participating. A great effort! 

It was great to have donut day this week. Thank you to the Sharna and the students from Merri River for helping to provide this special treat. They were delicious!

Families are asked to booked in for learning conversations that will take place during the last week of term. Please contact the office if you are having difficulty with this. 

A reminder that Monday is the King's Birthday Holiday. Enjoy the long weekend. 

Kind regards,

Stacey 

Next school closure

Our school closure for next term will be Friday 28th July. 

There will be no school for students on this day as staff engage in professional development. 

Enrolments for 2024 now open

Enrolments close next Friday 16th June. Existing families are required to enrol as soon as possible so that we are aware of how many spots are left. Forms are available at the office or online. 

https://www.spwarrnambool.catholic.edu.au/enrolment-application-form

If you know anyone who missed out on a tour but would like to look at our school, please ask them to contact the office to arrange an appointment. 

Reports and Learning Conversations

Teachers are busy preparing mid year reports for children at the moment. 

This year, reports will be made available via PAM as an electronic copy. Hard copies will not be sent home. This will happen on Friday June 16th. If you require a hard copy please contact the office or email principal@spwarrnambool.catholic.edu.au

Learning Conversations will take place during the final week of term. This is an important part of the reporting process and a great opportunity to meet with your child's classroom teacher to discuss their progress as well as future goals. Families are asked to book in via PAM. 

School Advisory Council

Last Thursday night the School Advisory Council (SAC) met. The SAC is a vital link between the school and the parent community. 

The SAC members are Peter Van De Camp (chairperson), Jun Meredith, Justin Harzmeyer, Cherie Geyer, Mel Steffensen, Sharna Westley and Jane Kelly. 

Rachel Brown is our staff representative, Anne Kerr attends as our business manager and Richard Verspay as the P&F representative. 

Key items discussed included the renovations to the middle pod, carpark safety, ways of promoting the school as well as ways of building our school community. 

If you would like to communicate with our SAC please feel free to approach any of the members or send an email to the following address.  spxsac@spwarrnambool.catholic.edu.au

Twilight Fair Consultation

As a school, we are trying to find the best way to promote a sense of community as well as maximising fundraising opportunities. 

Last year our Twilight Fair was held in the school halls and featured some food stalls with activities run by classes. There was also a raffle which was organised by our business manager, Anne Kerr. 

Last year the fair raised $11 000 with approximately $6 500 being raised by the raffle. The stalls run by each class raised around $1000.

We are currently exploring the option of adding a colour run to the fair. The organisation of the colour run is done by an outside provider who anticipates that a school our size could raise between 15 and 20 thousand dollars. This part of the fair would be run by staff instead of them running activities at the fair. 

There would still be food and fun stalls so that families could stick around and enjoy the sense of community at St Pius. It is hoped that the parent body will organise this. 

A meeting will be held on Monday 19th June, 7.30pm at school if you would like to be a part of the planning for this event or to provide feedback. 

Let us know what you think by responding to a short survey linked below.

Pastoral Care Day

Last Friday was our second Pastoral Care Day for 2023. This was an important day for our whole school reviewing our norms and safety plans, then focusing on building skills to confidently join, participate and include others in games, particularly in the yard.

 In addition to re-familiarising ourselves with the Zones of Regulation and reviewing our preferred regulation strategies, all students were asked to add a trusted adult to their safety plan. This was a follow up to the Circle of Trust activity we did on the first Pastoral Care Day last term. Ask your child/ren to share with you which adult they can rely on for help at school.

The next part of the day was used to discuss ways we can make the people around us feel happy/included/respected. The topic of this conversation was about showing kindness through actions and/or compliments. Children were asked to pull a name out of a hat and perform random acts of kindness for their person. This could include helping them, giving them compliments, including them in a game etc. It’s up to you!

The Prep students did an activity on Bucket Filling, a representation of a person’s emotional wellbeing (bucket) that we can either fill or dip into, depending on the way we treat someone.

The grade 1/2 students shared a photo of each student around and their peers were asked to write a compliment about that person. These were given to the child at the end of the lesson to read what their classmates thought about them.

Next, children discussed the important social skill of appropriate ways they can join a group or a game. They learnt the following strategies:

1. Approach and observe: Approach the group and stand a reasonable distance so you can watch what is going on.
2. Identify friendly faces: Look at the children who are playing the game and note the ones who seem the friendliest and most approachable.
3. A natural break: Wait until there is some natural break or lull in the game when your approach will be least intrusive. 
4. Blend in, don’t burst in: Try to enter the group without causing any disruption. Wait until your turn and don’t expect to be centre stage straight away. 
5. Be confident: Expect to be allowed in. Be friendly and confident (not mousy or bossy).

After discussing these strategies, some classes played cooperative games inside and other classes were rotated through six activities in the yard. These were:

Station 1: Football safety

Station 2: Shed and oval safe play

Station 3: Four square rules and demo

Station 4: Skipping safety and demo

Station 5: Basketball court safety

Station 6: Quiet area safety. 

Representatives at each station explained to the students how to be safe and what the expectations are in certain areas of our yard. They demonstrated how to play each game to try and teach the students and motivate them to be doing something structured at lunchtimes.

Overall it was another fantastic day and we thank Mr Bacon and Mr Blythe for their fabulous planning.

Tree Planting at Platypus Park

On Tuesday, students and staff in MP2 made their way to Platypus Park to help with tree planting along the Merri River. We attended at the invitation of Glenelg Hopkins CMA's Stephen Ryan (Murphy's dad). The kids had a ball planting, learning about the importance of caring for our waterways and examining a variety of river life in water samples. We hope to repeat the experience in Term 4.

Hot off the Prep Press!

We are all Bucket Fillers!

On Monday we enjoyed our Pastoral Care Day together where we were learning about acts of kindness, joining in games and how we can fill each other's ‘invisible buckets’.  Our aim was to be great bucket fillers by greeting others, being positive and using kind words, inviting people into games etc. We are always trying to be in the green zone when we are at school and by being a ‘bucket filler’ we are helping others and ourselves to achieve that. We hope that we can continue our bucket filling at home too!

See you soon, Mr A!

For the last three weeks we have welcomed Mr A (Daniel Antonoff) into our room as he has participated in the first part of his 4th year teaching placement. We have all enjoyed having him as part of our classroom and we look forward to having him back in Term 3. See you soon Mr A!!

Wet weather play.

This week we have experienced some unkind weather which has kept us inside at our play breaks. We don’t always like it when we can’t get out and run around in our playground or on the oval but we have been working hard to follow our norms and be engaged in some inside activities. We have loved drawing and writing on the whiteboards, building block towers and cities, creating restaurants and shops and playing families with the dolls. We hope that this weather doesn’t continue too much in the coming weeks!

What's happening around the school

Thanks to Rachel Brown for facilitating this report for the SAC around key things happening in each area of the school. 

Prep

This term the Prep students have been very busy. Over the past few weeks we have been out and about on 3 different excursions. As part of our integrated unit “Looking Forward, Looking Back’’, we visited Flagstaff Hill to explore how things were different in the past to now. The children enjoyed going to the olden days school and comparing how school life was different then to how it is for them now. 

We went to Emmanuel College to see Frozen - The Musical. Our children absolutely loved every minute and sang loudly and proudly to their favourite songs. We enjoyed seeing some past St Pius students as part of the cast. 

This week we visited the Warrnambool Library where we saw the Reconciliation Week display that our school contributed to and enjoyed a First Nations story. 

We have also welcomed Mel into our classroom to share some more sacred dreamtime stories which the students were so engaged with. 

As well as all this we have been busy teaching and assessing, getting ready for reports and learning conversations.

Grade 1/2 

This term in 1/2 our integrated unit is a science based unit called ‘Animals, Animals, Animals’. We visited Werribee Zoo in Week 3 to find out about animals. We are now writing an information report on a chosen animal. This will then be published as a written piece and on book creator.

Spelling - Spelling mastery across the POD.

Maths - have completed Place Value and we are about to finish Addition and Subtraction. Both units were streamed across the pod according to student needs. 

RE - Participation.  We are looking at ways we can participate in our community. 

Intervention - Currently with have 3 minilit groups providing extra support in a small group setting.

Grade 3/4

This term our integrated unit is ‘Healthy Me/Feed Me’ We have had experiences in looking at different body systems and focused on the changes that occur as we grow. We also had a focus on where food comes from and had an excursion to the Community Gardens. We will showcase our learnings with a health expo towards the end of the term.

Our RE focus is on the concept of Ídentity’ with a main focus on the importance of Mary being a significant person in our church.

In maths our focus has been on multiplication and division as well as addition and subtraction.

Grade 5/6

This week each of the senior classes participated in the choral reading section of the Warrnambool Eisteddfod in our function room.  SP1 was excellent, bringing home the green ribbon.  The other two classes tied with an Honorable mention.  Numerous students competed throughout the week in a range of categories such as the poem for one, poem for two and scripture reading. 

Last Friday the Grade 6’s went to Emmanuel to watch a number of past students perform in the musical ‘Frozen’. 

Our Integrated Unit, ‘Resort Mogul’ is essentially a geography unit and is well underway. Students are researching a location in either Europe or North America to try and entice an ‘investor’ to build a resort there. They’re focusing their study on climate, terrain and population and building a presentation around these geographical features.

Movie Night

Thank you to those who supported our movie night on Friday night. Special thanks to Kimberley Lack and Richard Verspay for organising the snacks and to everyone who stayed to help supervise. Thanks also to those who were able to help clean up and lock up.

Unfortunately, the sound did not work as well as I had hoped. Another movie night will be organised for early next term to make up for this. This will be a free event. My apologies for this error. 

Thanks again for your ongoing support of the PnF and our fundraising efforts. 

Eisteddfod Speech and Drama

St Pius X put in 71 entries into the Speech and Drama section of the Warrnambool Eisteddfod.  Our school had the largest number of entries by far and the most number of students participating out of all the primary schools in the region. St Pius X won the overall school agregate and James Turner won the overall individual agregate.   We had eight first places, seven second places, thirteen third places and fourteen honorable mentions. Forty five brave senior students took themselves out of their comfort zone to perform in front of an audience and an adjudicator. They spent countless hours out of class time practicing. Some students even composed their own poems and others wrote a speech about something they were passionate about.The students were able to take on advice on how to improve each time they practiced with a teacher or LSO. Their fluency and expression in their final performances were a testimony to their dedication, with many staying in during break times for weeks wanting to do their personal best. We are so proud of each and every one of them. We had many winners and placings, BUT ALL STUDENTS WERE WINNER IN OUR SCHOOL’S EYES.  A special thank you to Louise Crispe for her support.

District Winter Sports

Last Friday 2nd June, St Pius Primary School was represented by around 50 students in the District Winter Sport Competition. The day included football, teeball, soccer and netball. All the students did an amazing job and their sportsmanship and attitude was exceptional. The soccer team came away with some outstanding results, three wins on the board. The football team and teeball showed a gallant effort throughout the day. The netball team finished the day in equal second place. Special thanks to Mrs Graham, Mrs Gardner, Mr Blythe, Xavier, Louise, Jack and Jenna for all their help and support for the students. 

District Girls Football Championships

Today St Pius X was represented by 18 girls from year 4-6 in the District Girls Football Championships. We competed in a round-robin with 8 other schools from the district at Dennington Football Club.
Round one saw St Pius defeat Koroit/Woolsthorpe. Round two saw St Pius defeated by Warrnambool East Primary School. In round three, St Pius defeated St Jospeh's Primary School which resulted in the progression to the Semi-Finals. In the Semi-Finals, St Pius was narrowly defeated by OLHC by 1 point!
It was a sensational effort by our girls team. We would like to say special thanks to Simon Corbett for coaching, and Ollie Miller and Jack Lewis for umpiring.

AFL Football Clinics

This week, we were lucky enough to have AFL Victoria attend our school to conduct Football Clinics. Jamie for AFL Vic did a fantastic job with the students and we can't thank him enough for his efforts!

Sacrament of Eucharist

The Sacrament of First Eucharist will be celebrated in our community on Sunday August 20th, 2023.  Typically, this sacrament is celebrated when a student is in year 4, but your child may be in another year level and would like to participate, for example if they missed it.
Please fill out the registration  link and we will be having a formation meeting in the St Pius X Church on Wednesday July 19th at 7pm.  Please mark this date on your calendar.
Please contact me via the office, if you have any questions.  
Sara Graham

Breakfast Club

Breakfast Club continues to be a hit during these cold Wednesday mornings! If you arrive at school before 8:50am, head down to the function room for some yummy toast, cereal, fruit, milo and lots more! 

Helpers are always welcome, even if it is for a morning, every little bit helps! If you’d like to volunteer please contact the office! 

Healthy Moves Walk to School!

As the rain starts to fall it is incredible that we still see some healthy movers! Walking, Riding, Busing or Scooting to school is a great way to get to school in a healthy way and prepare for the day! Our walk to school competition is continuing with lots of prizes to be won! 

Students can be dropped off a block away or just around the corner and still be in the running for a prize! Keep up the great work all you healthy movers!

St. Pius Book Club

Issue 4 of Scholastic Book Club is currently available ONLINE. Parents/Carers are able to order and pay for their Scholastic Book Club via the LOOP portal only (no cash based orders are available on this issue). If parents/carers wish to order, please follow the link below or alternatively, Google search ‘Scholastic LOOP orders’

Website: https://www.scholastic.com.au/book-club/book-club-parents/book-club/

Australian Dental Health Visit

The Australian Dental Health van will be visiting St. Pius X the week beginning 17th July.   This is a  program funded by the Australian Dental Health and Child Dental Benefits schedule where  students can receive a full check up, preventative and general dental care at school.  Medicare covers these costs for eligible students via bulk billing, however if your child is not eligible, the ADHV will still do a free dental health screen.  If your child needs further treatment, you will be called for consent.   

Please return completed forms by Tuesday, 13th June.

Parents and Friends Raffle

The PnF have secured a very generous donation from Rafferty's- so we're having a bonus raffle this term.   Tickets have been sent home last week, with more available at the office. 

A reminder to send your sold tickets back to school. The raffle will be drawn on the final day of term. 

If you send along your survey we'll write out another 5 tickets for you! 

A special message........

Wishing the following students a very Happy Birthday for the coming week...........

Mitchell Payne, Maddison McKenzie, Edie Hudson, Benji Miller, Lucas Payne, Taden Broderick, Max Green.

Footy Tipping 2023

A tricky round with some surprising results. Well done to Rebecca Cain who was the only person to tip 7.  Don't forget that there is a bye this week as well. 

Our top 5 tippers are:

1. Fynn20- 103
2. Seurens- 100
3. Debra Redpath- 99
4. Letty Parkinson -96
5. aaronsearle85- 95
   

Canteen Roster

Tuesday, 13th June -Lauren Johnson

Wednesday,  14th June- Leonie Neale

Thursday, 15th June - Kristina Vagala

Friday, 16th June- Bec Maglaras

Important Dates

Monday 12th June: King's Birthday Long Weekend

Friday 16th June: Enrolments Close

Friday 16th June: Reports available via PAM

20/21/22 June: Learning Conversations

Friday 23rd June: Last day of term, 2.30pm finish

Friday 23rd June: Grade 3/4 excursion to Charlie and the Chocolate Factory performance

Monday 10th July: First day of term 3.

Advance notice:

Term 3 closure date: Friday July 28th

Term 4 closure date Friday November 3rd 

Second Hand Uniforms

Families seeking low cost uniform items are welcome to contact Angela Verspay (mum to Dylan and Finn) who has stock of many donated uniform items. Ph: 0477660119.

Before & After School Care

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/ 

Warrnambool City Council - Winter Vacation Care program:

FOR SALE!     Personalised Zooper Dooper holders made by William Carey.   They are $5.00 each and come in a range of colours.  Please phone Jodie on 0459 115 004 for more information.

COVID 19 Arrangements

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