November 2nd 2023
- Acknowledgement of Country
- Prayer
- A Note from our Principal
- Twilight Fair
- TWILIGHT FAIR PLANNING MEETING
- Ways to support our fair
- St. Pius Giant Raffle - We need your help!
- Volunteers still needed.
- Warrnambool Show Results.
- 2023 School Fees and Student Levies.
- Laptops for Sale
- Student Raffle
- Hot off the Prep Press!
- Japan Trip 2024
- Learning Conversations Term 4
- School Fun Run
- Breakfast Club
- A special message........
- Canteen Roster for next week.
- Updated Uniform Price List
- Class Awards Week 4
- 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
Eternal rest grant unto them, O Lord.
And let perpetual light shine upon them.
May they rest in peace.
(Order of Christian Funerals)
All Souls’ Day follows All Saints Day on 2 November and is also known as the Commemoration of All the Faithful Departed and the Day of the Dead. It is a day of prayer and remembrance for the souls of those who have died. November is a time in the Catholic faith to remember those who have died.
A Note from our Principal
Ngata Families and Friends,
Thank you to all our families who have made alternative arrangements for their children tomorrow. Our school closure days are an important part of the ongoing professional learning for our staff. Tomorrow we will be focusing on teaching scripture.
Our Twilight Fair is fast approaching. Please take note of the information on the newsletter and consider how you can support the fair. This is a great opportunity for our school to come together. There will be a Twilight Fair Planning Meeting this Monday night at 7pm in the School Boardroom. All welcome.
Thanks to Jake Bacon for his organisation of the Pastoral Care Day this week. It was great to see so many children join our Walking School Buses and start the day at Breakfast Club. These days are an important break in regular programs to focus on wellbeing initiatives in our school.
Kind Regards,
Stacey
Reminder: School Closure TOMORROW
Friday, November 3rd
Twilight Fair
TWILIGHT FAIR PLANNING MEETING
Monday, 6th November at 7pm in the School Boardroom.
All Welcome.
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 your 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.
St. Pius Giant Raffle - We need your help!
We've only had a small number of books returned so far and time is running out! Please don't forget to get your tickets in for the St. Pius Giant Raffle which will be drawn at the Twilight Fair next Friday 10th November. There are many fantastic prizes to be won. A big thank you to all our wonderful sponsors.
Volunteers still needed.
We would love some more volunteers.
Thanks to the School Advisory Council who will be looking after the BBQ- we now have enough volunteers there.
As you can see from the roster there are a number of other stalls requiring help.
Please have a look and consider where your family could support our fair. Please email Stacey if you can help with a spot.
principal@spwarrnambool.catholic.edu.au
Volunteers will require a Working with children check.
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
Don't forget to organise cash.
The stalls at our fair will be cash only. Please remember to come along with some cash on the night.
Warrnambool Show Results.
2023 School Fees and Student Levies.
I have completed an audit of the school fees and levies for 2023.
Thank you to our families who have finalised their fees or who are making regular payments. We greatly appreciate your support.
Sadly within the St. Pius X School budget, there is an outstanding balance of $125,354.63 and with only 6 weeks left of this school year, I am a little concerned about the financial position this places the school in.
In the last few weeks, the school has purchased Ipads for the junior school and laptops for the middle school. The cost of these is just on $100,000. I wish to assure you that all funds that enter the school through school fees and levies are spent on our students.
If you are experiencing financial difficulties please do not hesitate to contact Stacey or myself and please be assured you will be treated with respect and all matters will be strictly confidential.
Anne Kerr
Business Manager
Laptops for Sale
The school is currently replacing some of the classroom laptops in the junior school. As a result, we
have 29 devices for immediate sale.
They are: HP 250 G6 Notebook PC, X64, Intel i3-7020U CPU @ 2.30GHZ, Windows 10 Education, Office 2016 included. They also come with chargers.
All of the devices have been taken off the school’s network.
The devices are available from the school office for $100 each.
Strictly no warranty given or implied.
Student Raffle
Please return tickets as soon as possible to be in the running for some yummy goodies!
Please remember that all funds raised contribute to resources for your children.
Hot off the Prep Press!
TICK TOCK! WHAT TIME IS ON THE CLOCK?
This week we have been learning about clocks and time. We have learnt that clocks have numbers and two hands - one for the hours and one for the minutes. We know that when it is an o’clock time that the minute hand needs to be pointing to the 12. During our maths time we have been practising drawing clocks and placing the numbers in the correct spots. Here are some of our friends who did a great job at drawing their clocks.
WALKING SCHOOL BUS
On Wednesday we all took part in a Pastoral Care Day and to begin our day lots of our teachers met at different places around our neighbourhood to walk to school safely with our students, Ms Lane, Ms Osborne and Mrs Brown only had a small ‘mini-bus’ compared to Mrs Green’s big coach! We had a great time walking to school with Arlie, Chelsea and Estelle. We walked all the way to school and dropped off our passengers at the Breakfast Club. Thanks to Mr Bacon for organising all the events and activities. What a great way to start our day!
Japan Trip 2024
In the past, the Warrnambool Catholic Schools Network has organised and led a trip to Japan for students led by local teachers. After a break due to Covid, it is hoped that these trips will resume next year. An initial meeting to find out more is coming up.
When: Wednesday 22nd November 4pm - 5pm
Where: St. Joseph's Primary School, 70 Botanic Rd, Warrnambool (enter via reception).
The aim of this meeting is to present information regarding the proposed Japan Trip for students in September 2024. (Year 6 students, and the possibility of Year 5 students - TBC) We are currently gathering details about pricing, and will have more information regarding this at the meeting.
Please indicate if you plan to attend via the google form linked below.
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.
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 have been sent home. If you did not receive one, please contact the office. 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 could 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. Please note that prizes MUST be ordered between the 8th November to 13th November - that's next week! Time is running out so get on board now and be part of the fun.
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!
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.
A special message........
The following students will be celebrating their birthdays in the coming week.................
Aaron Hendahewa, Lachlan Foreman, Indie O'Shannassy, Mia Kermond.
Canteen Roster for next week.
Tuesday 7th November: Volunteer Required
Wednesday 8th November: Merryn Payne
Thursday 9th November: Bec Stebbins
Friday 10th November: Bec Maglaras
Updated Uniform Price List
Class Awards Week 4
Important Dates.
Friday November 3rd: Pupil Free day - NO SCHOOL
Monday November 6th: Grade 5 visit to Emmanuel College
Thursday November 9th: Grade 1/2 Visit to Flagstaff Hill
Friday November 10th: Twilight Fair
Wednesday November 15: 2024 Prep information evening
Friday December 1st: Dennington Carols by the Merri
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.