Newsletter 12 – 13 August 2025

Dear Parents and Caregivers,

Performing Arts: Choral Speech

Congratulations to our Year 3 students who did an exceptional job performing their choral speech item ‘Too Many Cats’. They spoke with such clarity and expression, creating an energetic, captivating retell of Maura Finn’s story. Thank you to Mrs Basilio for preparing the students so well and coming in on her days off to ensure the children were confident and polished in their delivery.

In case you missed the performance – here it is : https://www.facebook.com/share/v/1GFHKayw2G/

Performing Arts: Dance

The excitement is building for our Year 5 & 6 students who will be performing at the Perth Convention Centre this Thursday evening. An enormous amount of work has gone into the choreography and costumes, with staff and parents rallying behind Mrs Basilio to get the finishing touches done in time. It was wonderful to see the joy on our students faces as they donned their costumes for the first time during Friday’s dress rehearsal. I can’t wait to see them up on the big stage. The St Pius X dance superstars are ready to shine!

Masses

Last Friday Morning, our Year 3s led us in a beautiful Mary MacKillop feast day Mass. They read beautifully, awakening the Word of God in our hearts and minds.  Fr Anthony set our students the challenge of being like Mary Mackillop by ‘never seeing a need without doing something about it’. So, hopefully, our students were that extra bit attentive at home, helping out at where needed over the weekend.

This Friday, our Year 2s will be doing the readings and prayers of the faithful for the Assumption Mass. The feast of the Assumption is a solemnity which means that all Catholics are obligated to attend Mass on Friday, whether it be the 9am Mass or evening Mass. This solemnity celebrates the Catholic belief that the Blessed Virgin Mary, at the end of her earthly life, was taken up, body and soul, into the glory of heaven. We hope to have as many of our parents join us for Mass this Friday.

Book Week Excursions to Manning Library

Next week, our students will be walking over to Manning Library for various Book Week activities, some of which involve meeting children’s authors. Classes will be walking to and from the library with their class teachers. Let’s hope the sun is shining for them during this time.

Confirmation

On Saturday evening our Year 6 students made a commitment to take their preparation for the Sacrament of Confirmation seriously. As part of this preparation, the Year 6s will be going on a Confirmation retreat to St Catherine’s House of Hospitality. During the retreat, they will be engaged in a variety of activities which will help them understand more deeply what the Sacrament of Confirmation entails and requires of us as Catholics. May we keep our Year 6 Confirmation candidates in our thoughts and prayers as they strive to relate to Christ more closely and discern what the call to discipleship means for them.

Costume Swap

A big thank you to our amazing Sustainability Committee for organising a fantastic ‘costume swap’ in preparation for our upcoming Book Week Parade. The event was a wonderful success, with students arriving early to choose their pre-loved costumes to wear.

It was heartwarming to see so many children willing to embrace re-using items. Events like these not only reduce waste but also build a strong sense of community and collective care for our environment.

We extend our heartfelt thanks to Mrs Sanchez-Lawson, Mrs O’Neill, Ms Sinclair, and Mrs Collazos for their time, energy, and dedication in making this initiative such a successful and meaningful experience for our students.

Let’s keep the momentum going. We look forward to a colourful and imaginative Book Week Parade in Week 6, on Wednesday 27th September!

St Pius X Feast Day

Next Thursday our school will be celebrating its patron saint’s feast day with a liturgy first thing in the morning. It would be lovely if families could join us for our St Pius X Feast Day Liturgy. Throughout the day, our students will be engaging in some fun activities. Keep an eye out for upcoming details on your children’s Seesaw posts.

Wishing all our families a gentle end to the week.

Please remember our students have a pupil free day on Friday 22nd and Monday 25th August.

Melissa Vranjes
Principal

This semester in Pre-Kindy, we are excited to have a full class of 20 students. Each week, we have been exploring new themes, learning, and discovering more about ourselves, our families, and the world around us.

Recently, we have been focusing on colours and practising our drawing skills. We are working hard on holding our pencils correctly, using our pincer grip to pinch and place. These fine motor skills are an important foundation for our Pre-Kindy development.

During our days together, we enjoy lots of play and have introduced a focus on counting to five — both with and without objects. And of course, Pre-Kindy always ends with a dance, making Mondays full of fun, laughter, and learning.

“YEARS 1 – 6 ATHELTICS CARNIVAL

In Week 9, on Tuesday 16^th September, we will be having our Years 1 – 6 Athletics Carnival. This will be held at Aquinas College from 9:10am to approximately 2:30pm.

For the carnival to run smoothly we require the help of parent volunteers. This is especially crucial in the morning block as we will have the 400-metre races, long jump, turbojav, and shot put all running concurrently. If you are available to help on the day, please send me an email at caleb.cooper@cewa.edu.au. The help is greatly appreciated! Thank you

“🏐 Perth Reds Volleyball League – Kids
The PRVL Kids competition is a fun, beginner-friendly volleyball league for boys and girls in Years 2-6. Running over 6 Friday nights, starting 21 August, it’s a great way to get active, learn new skills, and make friends – no experience needed!
👉 Register now: redsvolleyball.com.au/prvl-kids-nomination”

Hi All,

It’s that’s time of year again with the sports carnival just around the corner that the P&F has partnered with Ponytails and Fairytales to offer an exclusive opportunity to order Sports Faction T-shirts, hair accessories in St. Pius colours and faction colours, as well  sports carnival gear.

With 20% of all proceeds coming back to the P&F, this partnership not only allows you to accessorise in style but also supports our school community. Please ensure you use the link provided or click through our specific school name to ensure you have the right school colours.

To kick off this exciting collaboration, we have arranged for our first order to include free delivery to the school in time for the upcoming sports carnival. Don’t miss out! Place your orders before the cutoff date, which is this Sunday, August 17, to take advantage of this offer.

For future orders, parents can still order through the link provided, and the school will continue to receive 20% of the proceeds. Please note that a postage expense will be included in future orders.

https://schoolponytails.com.au/collections/st-pius-x-catholic-primary-school-manning-wa-6152

Further to this – please put it in your diaries for our upcoming Scholastic Book fair to align with Book week at the school. The fair will be running before and after school on the 27^th August (which is the same day as the book week parade) as well as before school on Friday 29^th August.  And then the Fathers Day stall will also be scheduled for September 4th. More information on both of these events will follow. Please check out your WhatsApp chats and posters around school.

Thank you for your support, and happy shopping!

Warm regards,

St. Pius X P&F