Newsletter 11 – 30 July 2025

Dear Parents and Caregivers,

Welcome back to what is set to be another busy and fun filled term. Judging by the many wonderful stories that were shared by our students upon their return to school, most families managed to enjoy some rest and recreation over the school holidays. I always love hearing what our children got up to over the break and what their highlights were. Without fail, every time, students communicate that family connection and time spent with wider family and friends as being the most memorable and enjoyable. That includes those who went away overseas or on road trips which emphasises that it isn’t the places they go to but who they get to spend time with that is of most importance to our children.

NAIDOC Liturgy

Congratulations to our Pre-Primary students who did a wonderful job leading our school in the NAIDOC Liturgy. I was saddened that I could not be in attendance, due to being at the Catholic Primary Principals Association (CPPA) professional development day. Mrs Gregory relayed that our Pre-Primary students read, prayed and sang beautifully. Well done to Miss Beattie for preparing them so well.

Thank you to Mrs Trabucchi, who coordinated various NAIDOC activities with Azariah and Lucas’ mum, Cheyene and Sharona. Thank you also to our Clontarf student visitors. The children thoroughly enjoyed decorating their boomerangs and listening to First Nations stories.

Costume Swap

Our sustainability committee have organised a ‘costume swap’ for next Wednesday morning. Although we have had a few costumes come in, it would be great to have more to make the swap worthwhile. If you haven’t done so already, please do clear out your kids wardrobes and send their no longer used, pre-loved costumes in to school. The rationale for the costume swap is to make parents lives a little easier in the lead up to Book Week and to limit the number of items that end up in landfill. Thank you for your support.

Performing Arts

Mrs Basilio has been very busy preparing our Year 3 and Year 5/6 students for the Performing Arts Festival. On Monday 4th August, our Year 3s will be participating in the choral speech category at the Vasto Club in Balcatta. The following week, on Thursday 14th August, our Year 5 and 6 students will be performing their dance at the Perth Exhibition Centre. May we all keep our Yr 3, 5 and 6 students in our prayers as they prepare to perform in their respective categories of the Performing Arts Festival. I am so proud of the way our students have committed to rehearsals and constantly strive to improve their performances each and every time. I can’t wait to see them up on the big stage.

Confirmation Commitment Mass

Our Year 6 students are preparing to receive the Sacrament of Confirmation later this term. On Saturday 9th August, the Commissioning Mass for Confirmation candidates will be held at our parish church at 6pm. It would be wonderful to see our wider school community attend this Mass in support of our Year 6s.

Student use of devices outside of school

If your child has an iPad, or the like, which they use to communicate with peers outside of school hours, whether it be for gaming or conversational purposes, I strongly recommend you oversee their usage. Whilst we educate students about cyber safety, their digital footprint and appropriate use of applications, it is important this is reinforced in the home environment.

The Australian Government has compiled a series of resources for parents which you may wish to familiarise yourselves with. These can be accessed by clicking on https://www.esafety.gov.au/parents

SLRL & LSL

In Week Five of this term, Mrs Gregory will be attending the NCEC Conference in Cairns. The following week she will be taking Long Service Leave to enjoy quality time away with her family. During this time, I will be the sole contact person for all school matters.

In Weeks 7-9, I will be going on System Leaders Renewal Leave. The purpose of SLRL is for leaders to engage in personal faith renewal experiences which will enhance their leadership capacity. I have been granted three weeks of SLRL during which time I will be visiting the shrines of Our Lady of Fatima (Lisbon), Lourdes (France), Santiago de Compostela, the Sanctuary of Loyola, Montserrat and Sagrada Familia in Barcelona. I am looking forward to the opportunity to disconnect from the world and connect more closely with Christ, the source and summit of our lives.

I will then be taking LSL in Week 10. During my four week absence, Mrs Natasha Gregory will be filling the role of Principal.

God Bless,

Melissa Vranjes
Principal

Kindy in Term 3

We’ve had a very busy and exciting start to the term in Kindy!

To begin the term, we explored NAIDOC Week and learnt about the traditional owners of the land. The children listened to Indigenous stories, created their own rainbow serpents, and enjoyed making damper as part of our cultural learning.

In Digital Technologies, we have been exploring robots and coding. We started with Cubetto, using it to navigate around a map. The children loved giving Cubetto directions using simple coding blocks. This term, we’ll continue using Cubetto to help tell the story of The Very Hungry Caterpillar, which is also our focus text.

We’ve been learning about sequencing events, the days of the week, and have been creating beautiful artwork to represent the beginning, middle, and end of the story. The children are developing their understanding of storytelling, order, and early literacy skills through this fun and hands-on learning.

We look forward to sharing more of our learning journey with you throughout the term!

Mrs Kucan

Costume Swap – Wednesday 6th August

Term 3 After-School Kids Volleyball with Reds Volleyball

The first session was held yesterday and the students who registered had loads of fun learning new stills.

Registrations are still open for our new after-school Kids Volleyball program on Tuesday afternoons from 3:15pm-4:15pm hosted by Reds Volleyball Club!

The Kids Volleyball Program is open to all Year 2-6 students aimed at developing the volleyball skills of St Pius X students from Years 2 – 6 in a fun, non-contact learning environment, with a great team atmosphere for students of a range of abilities from beginner volleyballers to more experienced players.

Register Here: https://www.redsvolleyball.com.au/stpiusx/

🎶 Afterschool Music & Singing Lessons – Term 3 at St Pius X 🎤

🎹 Instrumental lessons with Key Up Music require 4 more enrolments to be able to hold afterschool classes next Term.  If you are interested, please enrol as soon as possible.

🎶Group singing classes with Edu Sing are available for a range of ages and skill levels. Whether your child is just beginning or looking to advance their skills, our experienced instructors provide high-quality, fun-filled learning experiences.

📅 Enrolments for Term 3 are now open!
To register or find out more, please see the flyers below, or contact Keyed Up Music or Edu-Sing.

Be sure to register early to secure your place!

Let your child’s musical journey begin!

Registration