August 24th 2023

Acknowledgement of Country

Prayer

On Monday we celebrated the feast day of the  patron saint of our Parish and School - St Pius X.

St Pius began his life as Giuseppe Sarto, in a small village in Italy. He came from a poor family, but he worked hard at school to give himself and his family opportunities. Young Giuseppe realised that life was about more than just getting money. He identified with the call of Jesus. It was as if the voice of Jesus in the Gospel saying ‘Come and Follow Me!’ was being spoken directly to him.

Giuseppe didn’t want to take, he wanted to give. He gave all he could to people in need. Sometimes this was money or possessions, sometimes this was a skill, like reading, but often it was hope and friendship. Today we pray that we identify times in our day when we can choose to follow Jesus and to give to others.

A Note from our Principal

Ngata Families and Friends,

This week we celebrated the feast day of St Pius X. It was a great day to celebrate the wonderful community that we have as well as an opportunity to think about who we are and what we stand for. Like St Pius X, we aim to be a community who supports each other.

Please make sure you read the letter from the Warrnambool and District Catholic Schools Network. This letter confirms a change in the end of year dates for students, which will be Friday 15th December at 3.30pm.

Next week there are students involved in volleyball, excursions and a celebration on Friday night for our Dads and special men. Be sure to read the newsletter for all the vital information and to keep an eye on PAM for permissions. 

Kind Regards,

Stacey

St. Pius X Feast Day Celebrations.

On Monday 21st August our whole school celebrated the Feast Day of our Patron Saint -  Giuseppe Sarto, nicknamed Bepi. Saint Pius X (as we know him) was a key figure in the inclusiveness of children in the Catholic faith tradition of Eucharist. Fittingly, we congratulated 15 children who received the sacrament of First Communion on Sunday, when we came together on Monday morning at 10am to celebrate our Feast Day Parish Mass. During Mass, we learned more about our Bepi with a modern day twist. Some senior students performed a “This Is Your Life” role play about Saint Pius X.

After first lunch, the whole school came together in the Courtyard to sit in their sports teams to “Chat and Chew” with their school mates. This provided an opportunity for students to catch up with others from across the year levels. 

After an hour back in our classrooms, we then all came together again at 1pm on the oval to play some fun games. Mr Bacon organised for us to jump into groups to play team building games including tunnel ball, over under and the hoola hoop passing game. The competitive nature of each student (and adult leader) came to the forefront and it was an awesome display of teamwork whilst having loads of fun.

Before Mass we set daily goals, as we normally do during our community meeting and revisited these throughout the day. At other times during the day we also reflected on our safety plans and updated them after experimenting with fantastic tools that our school counsellor Brooke had set up in each Pod. Some students chose to keep the same tools while others chose to change theirs. These tools help us regulate our emotions and stay in the green zone to help us learn and be happy at school.

Classes also completed a Bounce Back or Zones of Regulation lesson relating to wellbeing.

A big thank you to Mr Bacon, Mrs Graham and Brooke who helped plan, organise and implement a wonderful day celebrating our patron saint and our wonderful school community.

School Choir.

Congratulations to the School Choir for their beautiful singing at our special St Pius X Feast Day celebration on Monday.  You did a wonderful job.

End of Year Dates

Please find following a letter from the principals of the Warrnambool and District Catholic Schools Network.

Twilight Fair: We need your help!

Dear Parents and kids of St Pius X,

The Parents & Friends endeavour to hold a Twilight Fair each year and this year we plan to do so on Friday 27th October 4pm - 7pm. This year we aim to raise money to put towards our playground at school.  It is a really great way to showcase our community spirit and is something we as the P&F, the kids and I'm sure you look forward too.
This year we would like to continue the success of our community fair, albeit a little bit different.
Due to school staff work commitments and the new enterprise bargaining agreement for teachers, we will require the help of our wonderful students and parents for this event to succeed and to go ahead. We plan to have our Senior pod students run most of these stalls in shifts. The stalls will be set up prior to the event starting, so the assistance of parents is needed to help guide these kids through the night. All you will need is a Working With Childrens Card, a bit of energy, a big smile and the desire to help out our school. There will be shifts of an hour or one and a half hours.

To keep our Community Fair going this year we need this assistance. Without this we will have to rethink the fair going ahead.

We look forward to any assistance or feedback. You can contact the P&F before Monday 28th August on kimberleybakker46@gmail.com.

Thank you for your time,
Parents & Friends Committee

Kimberley Bakker, Merryn Payne, Richard Verspay

Friends of the Twilight Fair -

All welcome to our next planning meeting. 

Monday 28th August, 7pm at school. 

Australian Dental Health Van Visit

The ADHV has been re-scheduled for next week beginning Monday, 28th August.  The van will be at St. Pius X over several days to perform check-ups on those students who have submitted consent forms.

Meet the SAC.

Today we meet Jane Kelly. 

Jane is a Nurse Educator at the Terang hospital. Jane is married to Scott and they have 3 children now at St Pius, Rosie in grade 4, April in grade 2 and Lenny in grade Prep. In her spare time she loves reading, walking and frequent dips in the freezing cold ocean!!

Sports Night 1st September.

We're looking forward to seeing all available dads, grandfathers, uncles and other special men at school for our annual sports night. The students of our school are looking forward to some hotly contested games of footy, soccer, basketball and other fun games. Families are able to join in an organised game or create one for themselves. If the weather is too wet, a revised schedule will be published.

Please  come dressed appropriately for your chosen sport.

Please RSVP via the link for catering purposes. 

If you are able to assist with umpiring an activity please let Stacey know. principal@spwarrnambool.catholic.edu.au

Hot off the Prep Press.

Our very own Mermaid!!

Last weekend many of us went to the Arc Stadium to watch our very own Mermaid superstar, Louise, win another Big V Basketball Championship. In what was a very exciting game, the Mermaids beat Bellarine by 6 points with Louise having a huge impact on her team and the winning result. Louise has played in many grand finals but she recorded back to back wins this season. We loved sharing in her success and seeing her plastered all over the newspapers. Congratulations Louise, we are all so proud of you! Go Mermaids!

St Pius X Feast Day

On Monday we celebrated a very special day for our school, St Pius X Feast Day. We shared in many wonderful activities on the day as well as participating in a whole school mass. One of our favourite parts of the day was our work with Brooke. We spent some time in the Gallery Space exploring different activities that keep us calm and happy. Some of our favourites were the kinetic sand, drawing space, building blocks, yoga and playdoh. A big thanks to Brooke and Mr Bacon for their time and effort in preparing the day. 

How can we care for our school, and world?

Throughout this term we have been exploring how wonderful our world is and how we can bask in its beauty on a daily basis. As part of our learning this week we looked at ways we can care for our world such as saving water, reducing energy and preserving habitats. We decided it would be a great idea to make a pledge of cleaning up our school. So we set off with gloves and rubbish bags and picked up rubbish that we could find in the courtyard, quiet area and the oval. What we found amazed us all! We found rusty tin cans, food wrappers, stationary items, old pieces of hose, plastic straws and plastic drink bottles. We all agreed that we found too much rubbish in our school grounds and it is our job to keep it cleaner. Check out the pics below!

School Fees and Levies.

As we are into the third term, it is timely that you please review your school fees and levies.

The week before last, statements were emailed to all families and I thank those who had a query for their contact.

At this stage the total owing on Fees and Levies is $248,727.49.  This amount places the school budget in an awkward position.

Children have obtained their Chromebooks in Yr. 5 and 6, others have been on camp and excursions and all stationery supplies have been provided to your child. IT equipment has also been provided to all classes along with sporting equipment and cleaning and maintenance of all facilities.

Just like your accounts our gas and electricity costs have increased significantly.

The school has covered all these costs and we would greatly appreciate payment of your fees as soon as possible.

If you are on a Payment Plan please continue as agreed, ensuring that your account will be finalized by the end of the year.  For families who have finalized their fees already we are very grateful of your support.

Again, I wish to advise you that if you have any concerns or require further clarification contact me.

Anne Kerr

Business Manager

5562 2506

Arts News.

This term in the Arts we are excited to be raising money for the Indigenous Literacy Foundation by taking part in the Busking For Change fundraising event.

Here is a link to a video about Busking For Change.

The idea is that all our St Pius X students (led by our school Choir) will learn the song ‘Words Make the World Go Around’ and perform it for you on….......

 September the 6th at 3pm in the Function Room.  

Everyone is invited, we just ask that you pay a gold coin at the door.

On this day we also ask that all students bring a gold coin to school. 

Alternatively you can log into our busking for change site here and make a small donation.  

Our goal is to raise $250.

Many thanks for your support and we look forward to busking for you.

Grade 6 Hoodie for Sale.

We have one size Adult XS hoodie left to sell for $15.00.  Please contact the office if interested.

A special message........

The following students will be celebrating their birthdays over the coming week, we hope they have a wonderful day!

Leo Jenkins-Smith, Savannah Read, Rose Vu, Lewis Haberfield, Lilly Santamaria.

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! 

Footy Tipping 2023.

Well, it's neck and neck at the top as we approach the final round. There were a lot of jokers this round, with some being more successful than others. Congratulations to Team Milson who tipped 8! Great effort. 

It now looks like it's up to Letty (aka Josh) and the Seurens to battle it out. However, whatever happens the Saints are in the 8 and I'm going to beat Dad! 

Our top 5 tippers are:

1. Letty Parkinson-174
2. Seurens-174
3. Brad Everall- 171
4. Stacey Atkins-171
5. Debra Redpath-168
6. Team Milson- 168

Canteen Roster for next week.

Tuesday, 29th August:  Aliesha Williamson

Wednesday, 30th August:  Merryn Payne

Thursday, 31st August:  Bec Stebbins

Friday, 1st September:  Jane Kelly

Important Dates.

Week Beginning Monday 28th August:   Australian Dental Health Van Visit

September 1st- Sports Night with Dads 

September 13th-15th: 5/6 Camp

Friday October 27th Twilight Fair

Advance notice:

Term 4 school closure date/ pupil free day Friday November 3rd 

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/ 

Could you make a difference to a young life?

Could this be what you are looking for? 

Foster carers come from all walks of life. They can be working, not working or retired; married or single; in same-sex relationships; and can own or rent their home. The most essential criteria are that they care, can provide a safe and nurturing home, and have room in their home to support a vulnerable child or sibling group.

If you would like to know more call MacKillop Family Services on 1300 791 677, visit www.mackillop.org.au/fostercare or ring Alana in our Warrnambool office on 5500 2000.

COVID 19 Arrangements

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