Newsletter 17 – 2 November 2022

Dear Parents and Caregivers,

We are fast approaching the middle of Term 4 and no doubt your personal lives reflect school life in that they are busier than usual. During this increasingly busy period where great demands are placed upon your time and capacity to fulfil numerous, and sometimes competing roles, I hope that you find a few minutes throughout your days to pause, breathe and ground yourselves. As mentioned in the previous newsletter, taking a moment to give thanks to God for the small things that bring us joy and fulfilment, and calling upon the Holy Spirit for guidance, will greatly assist us to fulfil our obligations with zest and energy.

This week is a special one in our Church calendar. We celebrate All Saints Day and All Souls Day. May we seek inspiration from the abundance of Saints who, despite enduring challenging times, always sowed hope and brought the light of Christ into the lives of the people they served. During the month of November, we remember and pray for the souls of our faithful departed, that they may be united with Christ in Heaven and rest in eternal peace.

Inter-school Athletics Carnival

Congratulations to all our Year 3-6 students who represented our school in the Interschool Athletics Carnival. Each student put in a stellar effort in the various events they participated in and showed great camaraderie and enthusiasm throughout the day. The big question on everyone’s mind going into the carnival was ‘can St Pius X bring home the shield for the third consecutive year?’ My goodness, they come close. We are incredibly proud of our team for coming a close second. In our eyes, in the areas of teamwork, sustained effort, conduct and overall performance, you did bring home the shield.

A special mention and congratulations must go to Hudson Hayes, in Year 4, who walked away from the day as ‘Champion Boy’. Seeing you come off the bus with a sea of blue ribbons and a medal around your neck was quite a sight! How you make running, at the speed and pace you do, look so easy I will never know. Well done, Hudson! Thank you also to Mrs Matthews, Mr Cooper, Mr Hughes, Mr Telfer and Mrs Poggioli for all your work in preparing the students and ensuring the carnival ran smoothly.

Year 2 Assembly

Thank you to our Year 2s for sharing the wealth of knowledge you acquired, during your Geography lessons, about rainforests. You spoke so clearly and reminded us of how important rainforests and trees are. We loved your dance and song that you shared at the end which beautifully summarised the key messages you delivered. Your costumes were amazing, and you were an absolute delight to watch and listen to. Thank you to Ms Christian and Miss Punch for preparing the students so beautifully and enabling them to contribute their individual gifts and talents during the planning process and final performance. Grace, I still cannot believe you choreographed that dance!!

World Teachers Day

Last Friday we celebrated World Teachers Day / Teacher Appreciation Day. Thank you to our wonderful P&F for providing our teachers with a well-deserved coffee and platter of treats for morning tea. We are very blessed to have such dedicated and passionate teachers here at St Pius X. Thank you to each of our staff for all that you do, day in day out, seen and unseen, to ensure our students have the best educational opportunities possible and are supported to flourish socially, emotionally, academically, spiritually and physically. You are the best!

First Reconciliation

Congratulations to our Year 3 students who received the Sacrament of Reconciliation on Saturday. We pray that you will continue to strengthen your relationship with Jesus and strive to practice kindness, forgiveness and good decision making each day. Thank you to Fr Patrick, our parents, and Miss Tickner for ensuring the Year 3s were adequately prepared to receive First Reconciliation.

Year 6 UWA excursion

This Thursday, our Year 6 students will be venturing off to University of Western Australia to participate in a fun day of experiments in Environmental and Earth Sciences. Thank you to Oisin’s mum, Deirdre, for organising this wonderful opportunity for our Year 6s.

Fathering Project

This Friday night our school oval will be covered in a sea of tents as our dads and kids camp out overnight. Our students are very much excited by the prospect of spending the night at school with their dad and fellow peers. They are looking forward to the fun activities in store for them and experiencing the strong community spirit that exists here at St Pius X.

Annual Community Meeting

The St Pius X ACM will be held on the 15^th November at 7pm in the school Library. Please lock this date into your diaries and come along to support our P&F and School Advisory Council who have worked tirelessly over the year to deliver the best educational opportunities and community building activities for our students and families. We will celebrate the contributions and achievements of our school community with light refreshments at the end of the ACM.

God Bless,

Melissa Vranjes
Principal