Newsletter 13 – 23 August 2023

Glorious Pope of the Eucharist, Saint Pius X,
you sought “to restore all things in Christ.”
Obtain for me a true love of Jesus so that I may live only for Him.
Help me to acquire a lively fervour
and a sincere will to strive for sanctity of life,
and that I may avail myself of the riches of the Holy Eucharist
in sacrifice and sacrament.

By your love for Mary, mother and queen of all,
inflame my heart with tender devotion to her.

Blessed model of the priesthood,
obtain for us holy, dedicated priests,
and increase vocations to the religious life.

Dispel confusion and hatred and anxiety,
and incline our hearts to peace and concord,
so that all nations will place themselves
 under the sweet reign of Christ.

Amen.

Saint Pius X, pray for us.

Dear Parents and Caregivers,

I hope the four-day weekend provided our children with the rest they needed to replenish their batteries for the remainder of the term. As always, the coming weeks will be a hive of activity.

Feast of the Assumption Mass
Thank you to our Year 2s for leading us in the Readings and Prayers of the Faithful during our Assumption Mass. Thank you also to Fr Stephen who celebrated Mass for us in the absence of Father Patrick who is currently in the US caring for his sister who recently underwent major surgery. Father Stephen reminded us all that like Mary, we need to say ‘yes’ to Jesus by recognising God in one another and helping each other to grow and succeed.

Year 6 iPad Conference
Last Thursday, our Year 6s joined forces with Year 6 students from Orana, Corpus Christi, Queen of Apostles and Our Lady of Mount Carmel for a ‘sustainability’ themed iPad Conference. Megan from Waste Sorted spoke to the students about sustainability and the various challenges that wastefulness presents and the opportunities that exist for us to curb waste.

After the Keynote presentation, the Year 6 students made their way through five workshops during which they had to use their iPads to solve problems or conduct mini-projects centred on sustainability. During these sessions students expanded their knowledge of iPad applications and engaged in critical thinking and problem solving. Some of the applications they used were: Garage Band, iMovie, Halo AR, ARVid, CANVA and Key Note.

St Pius X Feast Day
Our Year 5 students beautifully led us in a Liturgy yesterday to celebrate our school patron saint, St Pius X. Our Year 5s spoke so clearly and confidently and shared a reflection on the charisms of St Pius X. St Pius X was known for demonstrating charity, perseverance, and humility; qualities which each of us in our school community try to emulate on a daily basis. We were very fortunate to have Sister Maree from the Sisters of St Joseph of the Sacred Heart, South Perth, join us for our feast day celebrations. Throughout the day, classes learnt more about the story of St Pius X and engaged in activities with their buddies which they all thoroughly enjoyed. Sr Maree visited individual classes and led students in Christian meditation.

Year 5/6 Camp
Tomorrow afternoon, our Year 5 and 6s will be going to Woodman Point, Coogee, for their overnight camp. I’m not sure who is more excited, the students or the staff! After dinner, our students will be participating in an Escape Room activity which is bound to be a lot of fun. On Friday, we will be taking part in a variety of outdoor activities including archery, a coastal bike ride, orienteering and team building activities. Thank goodness the weather is set to be nice and sunny! In preparation for the coastal bike ride, I pulled my trusty bike out over the weekend and successfully completed a 23km bike ride along the coast – my legs may have struggled on the inclines a little, but we won’t share that with the Year 5s and 6s!

Book Week
Next week, St Pius X will be celebrating Book Week. The theme for this year’s Book Week is ‘Read, Grow, Inspire’. Our students are super excited about dressing up as their favourite character from their favourite book. On Friday 1st September, at 9am our PP-Year 6 students will have their Book Week Parade. Rather than our school leadership team calling classes to come forward to showcase their costumes and inviting students to share what they love about the book or character they are dressed up as, a handful of our Year 3-6 students will be commentating throughout the morning, building their leadership and public speaking skills. As always, parents are most welcome to join us for our parade – you are most welcome to dress up, too!

On Friday afternoon, our students will also be participating in a Book Week incursion presented by ‘Way Too Cool’. Throughout the week, teachers will be reading a number of the CBCA shortlisted books.

URSTRONG
This year, our Year 3-6 classes implemented the URSTRONG program. Next year, we are looking to implement the program right through the school, from PP-Year 6. URSTRONG is a whole-school friendship program which has contributed to the improvement of the social climate in schools around the world, connecting children, parents, and teachers with a common language of friendship.

You and your child/ren are invited to attend an ONLINE Language of Friendship parent-child workshop on Thursday 24 August at 6:00pm. Dana Kerford, the founder of URSTRONG, will teach you and your child skills and language to foster healthy, feel-good friendships.

If you haven’t already registered for the online workshop, I strongly encourage you to do so. It will empower you to empower your children to develop and maintain healthy, positive relationships with peers. If you as parents are speaking the same language and promoting the same messages as we are here at school, our children will be better supported to not only become a good friend to others but to solve any friendship fires in respectful, dignified ways. Please note, is not essential for your child to be present during the online workshop.

CLICK HERE TO REGISTER

Father’s Day Mass
Dads, if you haven’t already put our Father’s Day Mass in your calendars please do so. We hope to see you at Mass on Thursday 31^st August at 9am.

Wishing you all a gentle week,

Melissa Vranjes
Principal

In Kindy this week we have been learning about the letter “P”, measuring weight, continuing patterns and counting before and after a number.

The success criteria included using measurement in construction, understanding properties of materials and innovating to create a house for the pet rock. Suggestions were to include a bed, table, chair, tv and doorway. This project went over several days and included a reflection of ‘design problems!’

Refection by Inti

National Science Week at St Pius X had the students involved in a range of STEM challenges whilst experimenting with fizzing, exploding concoctions for some extra fun!

The balloon racer challenge was met with great enthusiasm and innovation whilst catapult designs were modified to see which would send a ping pong ball flying the furthest.

Lemon volcanoes, lava lamps and bicarb balloon bottles were just a few of the concoctions the students had fun creating and experimenting with.

Scitech put on a show for the whole school. The Juniors Show had the students bending, pouring, twisting and shaking everyday materials to see what can be discovered when they get hands on!

The Senior Mystery Hunters Science show inspired the students to explore surprising mysteries in their everyday world.

Linda Matthews
Science Teacher