October 26th 2023
- Acknowledgement of Country
- Prayer
- A Note from our Principal
- Learning Conversations Term 4
- Twilight Fair
- Ways to support our fair
- Volunteer Count- 16
- Walking School Bus - November 1st!
- Pastoral Care Day
- School Fun Run
- Hot off the Prep Press!
- Japanese Drumming
- Congratulations Payson.
- Breakfast Club
- Student Raffle
- A special message........
- Canteen Roster for next week.
- Updated Uniform Price List
- Important Dates.
- Before & After School Care.
- Parish Contact.
- COVID 19 Arrangements
Acknowledgement of Country
The St Pius X Parish School Community acknowledges the Gunditjmara / Marr Nation people who have educated children on these lands for thousands of years.
Prayer
Giver of all wisdom and greatest of all teachers,
look upon our teachers with love.
Grant them the resolve to nurture eager minds.
Bless them with gentle patience for the path of learning is never easy.
Kindle a spirit and passion in them, it is the flame that ignites the love of learning in us.
Let the light of your example shine upon all teachers to build up with their words,
to love with their mind and to share with their heart.
Amen
World Teachers Day is Friday 27th October
Image: Drawing by Harry McDuff, Grade 1
A Note from our Principal
Ngata Families and Friends,
Planning for our Twilight Fair is in full swing. Thank you to Kimberley Lack, Richard Verspay, Merryn Payne, Virginia Short, Jun Meredith, Bronwen Levett and Mel Steffensen for attending our planning meeting on Tuesday night. The aim of our fair is to bring our community together, have some fun and raise a bit of money to support the upgrade of our playground.
Thank you to those people who have already volunteered. Many helpers makes light work so please consider volunteering on a stall for an hour. A roster will be published early next week.
A reminder that we have a school closure/pupil free day next Friday 3rd of November. This is an important opportunity for staff to engage in Professional Development. This time we are focusing on Religious Education.
Finally, tomorrow is World Teacher's Day. We are extremely blessed at St Pius X to have a dedicated and passionate staff who continually go above and beyond because they love their jobs. Tomorrow is an opportunity to say thank you to them and acknowledge all that they do. I am continually amazed by our staff and wish to express my gratitude for all that they do every day.
Kind Regards,
Stacey
Reminder: School Closure
Friday November 3rd
Learning Conversations Term 4
This term we will be holding learning conversations on Tuesday December 5th, Wednesday December 6th and Thursday December 7th. Parents will have the chance to book at 20 minute time slot.
In the past, term 4 interviews have not had high attendance. We are hoping to get an indication from parents on how many people are interested in attending so that we accurately plan for how many timeslots each teacher will need.
We are asking ALL families to respond to the survey below. This will assist with planning.
Thank you to those families who have already responded.
Twilight Fair
Ways to support our fair
1. Volunteer to support a stall on the night.
2. Ask a friend to busk at the event.
3. Sell some raffle tickets.
4. Share you talents at a PnF meeting.
5. Make a cake (see letter below)
Remember the aim of our fair is to bring our community together.
It takes a community to run this event so please get involved.
Volunteer Count- 16
We would love some more volunteers.
The PnF are looking for volunteers to help with our Twilight Fair Stalls. This year we are hoping to have the following stalls.
Food
- Cake stall ✔
- Popcorn ✔
- BBQ ✔
- Coffee
- Snow Cones
And definitely some dumplings.
Activities
- Christmas Photos
- Face Paint
- Lucky Sticks
- Chocolate toss
- Step up the ladder
And other games.
The aim is for every family in our school to contribute an hour of their time to support one of these stalls on the night. To volunteer and pick your preferred time please fill in the form linked below.
Please support our Twilight Fair.
Buskers Wanted!
Do you know anyone who has a musical talent and would like a chance to busk at our Twilight Fair?
Please contact Stacey if you are interested principal@spwarrnambool.catholic.edu.au
Walking School Bus - November 1st!
This term we are hoping to run a walking school bus on the morning of Wednesday November 1st. On that day we will be running a Pastoral Care day with a major focus being student wellbeing. The walking school bus will involve student gathering at a meeting point with staff at 8:10 and then walking to school from 8:20. Breakfast Club will be running so that students will be able to access this when they arrive at school. A plan for the morning is attached below including meeting points and routes.
8:10am - Gather at Meeting Point with staff members
8:20am - Group leaves following the route to school
8:30-8:40am - Arrive at school for Breakfast Club
Pastoral Care Day
Next Wednesday we will be having our Termly Pastoral Care Day on Wednesday November 1st. The day will be focusing on the ZONES and tools we can use to help us if we are not in the green zone! We will also be taking a look at our Norms and unpacking what happens when our norms are broken, classifying this behaviour as either Minor or Major behaviours. Below is a breakdown of the minor and major behaviours, this will be the way staff will be discussing behaviours at school going forward.
School Fun Run
We’re holding the School Fun Run’s Crazy Colour Day as a major fundraising event this year! The event will be held on Friday December 15th, which is the last day of school. We are really hoping to raise money to support the upgrade of our playground.
Sponsorship forms were sent home on Tuesday. Once you have the form, you should sign up for a Student Profile Page at schoolfunrun.com.au. You’ll be able to access online fundraising and can win a $20,000 Ultimate Family Package!
Students who raise $10 or more will receive a reward, and the more money you raise the better the reward, and the more you help the school!
We’re looking for all students to participate and we’re organising a great day for our community, so we’d love everyone to come down to support the kids.
If you have any questions about the Crazy Colour Day please contact the School Fun Run Office on 1800 FUN RUN.
Thanks for supporting the school and we hope to see you at the event!
Hot off the Prep Press!
Pet Parade
Last Friday was one of the best days ever!!! The Prep’s bought their pets to school. We had turtles, dogs, rabbits, guinea pigs and their babies, snails and slaters, a leaf insect and we even had a Shetland pony. Mrs White and Ms Lane were amazed at the variety of pets that came to school.
Each of the pets were introduced and then they all went into the various categories for the judges to determine who the winner was.
Here are the results -
- Biggest Pet - Lachie McKenna’s Shetland Pony ‘Snoopy’
- Smallest Pet - Harvey Meade’s Sea Monkeys
- Most Unusual Pet - Henry Johnson’s Leaf Insect ‘Tilemekus’
- Best dressed - Paddy Miller’s Beagle ‘Basil’
- Smartest Pet - Davey’s Border Collie ‘Ted’
- Naughtiest Pet - Oliver Meade’s Dog ‘Toby’ for stealing the butter from the pantry
- Most Well Behaved - Ruby Reddick’s German Shepherd ‘Django’
- Pet with the Most Hair - Henry Mahony’s Golden Retriever ‘Max’
- Loudest Pet - Evie Terrington’s Sausage Dog ‘Caesar’
- Quietest Pet - Aamy Aravind’s Rabbit ‘Lilly’
- Slowest Pet - Quinn and Owen Geyer-Fox’s Snails
- Fastest Pet - Lenny Kelly’s Labradoodle - ‘Bonny’
- Cutest Pet - Harriet Amos’ Guinea Pig ‘Milly’ and her babies
We would like to thank all of the parents, friends and Grandparents who joined us for the parade and who took the time out of their busy schedules to support the Preps. A special thanks goes to the McKenna family who allowed everyone to have a pony ride on Snoopy.
Japanese Drumming
Last Friday grades 3-6 went on an excursion to Emmanel College where they saw the Wadaiko Rinto Drumming group perform. Some of our students were even asked to have a go on the drums themselves. Following are some photo's of what was a fun experience!
Congratulations Payson.
Payson completed at the Victorian Championship for Gymnastics last weekend and received a bronze medal. Well done Payson!
Breakfast Club
Breakfast Club
Our Beyond Bank Breakfast club is up and running for another Term on Wednesday mornings from 8:15-8:55. It is a great chance for students to come together and begin their school day with their friends over some yummy toast, cereal or even just a cup of milk or juice.
Tracey has been doing an amazing job with Breakfast Club and will be continuing to do so for the remainder of the year! Tracey will be moving on next year with all her children off to high school which means we will need a volunteer to take over for next year! Tracey will be more than happy to show people the ropes over the remaining weeks of the term. If this is something that might interest you for 2024, please make contact with the office, we really appreciate the time and effort that goes into these roles.
Student Raffle
Please return tickets as soon as possible to be in the running for some yummy goodies! Tickets were sent home with students or mailed out at the end of last term. If you did not receive a booklet or would like another, please notify the office.
Please remember that all funds raised contribute to resources for your children.
A special message........
The following students will be celebrating their birthdays in the coming week.................
Kaylee Clarke, Kobey Keane, Frankie Van Rooy.
Canteen Roster for next week.
Tuesday 31st October: Lauren Johnson
Wednesday 1st November: Anna Reilly
Thursday 2nd November: Kristina Vagala
Friday 3rd November: NO SCHOOL
Updated Uniform Price List
Important Dates.
Wednesday November 1st: Walk to School/Pastoral Care Day
Friday November 3rd: Pupil Free day
Monday November 6th: Grade 5 visit to Emmanuel College
Thursday November 9th: Grade 1/2 Visit to Flagstaff Hill
Wednesday November 15: 2024 Prep information evening
Monday December 4th: Transition 1
December 5th-7th: Learning conversations
Thursday December 7th: Year 6 Graduation
Friday December 8th: Transition 2
Tuesday December 12th: Global Transition Day
Thursday December 14th: Carols and Celebration Evening
Friday December 15th: Last day of classes. Fun day/colour run
Before & After School Care.
We remind everyone about TheirCare, our outside school hours care provider. Bookings can be made at https://theircare.com.au/
Please select St Pius X Warrnambool as the booking location.
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/
Old Collegians FNC 2024 Junior Netball Try Outs
The OCFNC welcomes all past and prospective junior netballers to take part in the selection process for the 2024 WDFNL season.
Minimum 1 session is required for selection and you need to register via the link below:
https://forms.gle/fpbfScDo1mk5wdo58
For any questions or apologies please contact our Junior Head Coach Sara on 0417 387 744
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.
Managing a suspected or confirmed case of COVID-19
- It is recommended that rapid antigen tests (RATs) are used by students and staff if they:
- have symptoms of COVID-19 infection, no matter how mild
- are a household or close contact of someone who has COVID-19
- are a social contact of someone who has COVID-19.
- The Department of Health recommends that all Victorians report their positive RAT result via the online form or by calling 1800 675 398.
- Principals are no longer required to inform their school community of a positive case associated with the school.
- Staff or students who are positive are strongly recommended to stay home and isolate for a minimum of five days.
- Symptomatic students or staff should not attend school, even if failing to test positive on a RAT or PCR.
Communication
There is no longer a requirement for schools to inform their communities of positive cases. All health information is held in accordance with the school’s privacy policy.
Masks
Staff and students who wish to wear a mask will continue to be supported to do so. Masks are available from the administration office for anyone wishing to obtain one.
Any staff or students who are close contacts are recommended to wear a mask indoors.
Any staff or students returning from isolation are recommended to wear a mask for 7 days after returning to school.
RAT Kits
RATs are available for all Victorians from council sites. Individuals can obtain two free packs (10 tests) for themselves and two free packs (10 tests) for each household member. People with disability and their carers can get up to four free packs (20 tests) in line with existing RAT distribution for people with disability.
The RATs are available at the Civic Centre (25 Liebig Street) and the Archie Graham Community Centre (118 Timor Street).
Vaccination
St Pius X strongly supports vaccination for all in our community who are eligible. There is no requirement for adults entering the school to declare their vaccination status.
All community adults are reminded of the child safety requirement to sign in when attending the school between 9.00am and 3.00pm
Transport
Parents who have tested positive to COVID 19 are permitted to drive children to and from school during their 7 day isolation period. They are required to return home immediately afterwards and not attend other locations.
Medically At Risk Students
Students who have chronic health conditions, especially affecting the respiratory system ie Asthma, must have up to date health support plans. Families who are unsure about the status of their child’s plan should make contact with teh school administration office.