Newsletter 5, Wednesday, 29 April 2026

Dear Families and Caregivers

Welcome Back to Term 2. We hope that the school holidays provided a chance to reconnect as a family, enjoy time together and find moments of rest and renewal. We trust that children are settling well into the new term and returning to school refreshed and ready for learning.

UR Strong – April Focus: Empathy

Our UR Strong focus for April is Empathy. Developing empathy helps children understand and respond to the feelings of others, strengthening friendships, resolving conflict and building a sense of belonging within our community.

Families can support the development of empathy at home by:

• Encouraging children to name and talk about feelings, both their own and others
• Asking reflective questions such as “How do you think they might have felt?”
• Modelling empathetic responses through listening, patience and kindness
• Reading stories together and discussing characters’ thoughts and emotions

Empathy is an essential life skill that supports positive relationships, emotional wellbeing and respectful communication. By nurturing empathy, we help children grow into compassionate and resilient individuals who care for others.

Holiday Maintenance and School Improvements

Over the school holidays, a number of maintenance tasks were completed around the school, including painting the administration block, gutter cleaning and tree lopping. These works help ensure our school environment remains safe, welcoming and well maintained.

I am also pleased to share that the sliding gate on Cloister Avenue is now automated. This will provide greater ease of use particularly as the wet weather approaches. Please note that the Ley St gate is the exit point for all after school activities such as sports training, instrumental lessons, clubs etc.

Living Our Faith Through Service

Through our support of Caritas Project Compassion, our small school with a big heart demonstrated a strong commitment to serving others with generosity and purpose. Our donation of $707 reflects the way our students and families strive to act with integrity, respond with courage to the needs of those beyond our community and offer hope to people experiencing hardship. In addition, the $164 raised on Harmony Day for the Archbishop’s Life Link Appeal highlighted the importance we place on inclusion and strong relationships. We thank our community for living our SEARCH values through the actions they take each day.

Mother’s Day Mass

All families and caregivers are warmly invited to join us for our Mother’s Day Mass on Friday, 8th May at 9.00 am in the church. This special celebration will be led by our Year 4 students as we come together to honour mothers and those we love like mothers within our community.

Year 2 – 6 School Choir

Our school choir commenced today  at 8.15 am in the Music room and it was wonderful to hear the room filled with happy voices singing together. The first two weeks will operate as a trial period before students make a commitment for the year. Further rehearsal dates for this term are 7th May, 28th May, 4th June and 11th June.

Kindergarten and Pre-Kindergarten Update

I would like to take the opportunity to provide some information regarding Kindergarten and Pre-Kindergarten options for the future.

In 2026, some CEWA (and non CEWA schools) have undertaken a 5-day Kindergarten trial however, at this time, Catholic Education Western Australia (CEWA) has not made any ongoing changes to the Kindergarten model across schools. The current structure remains at 15 hours per week and there is no confirmed move to a compulsory 5-day Kindergarten program. This uncertainty exists as CEWA has not yet received clarity from the State Government regarding funding required for a full-time model. As a result, no decisions have been made, and schools have not been directed to implement changes.

Similarly, no decision has been made regarding the discontinuation of Pre-Kindergarten and St Pius X continues to plan based on our current structure.

While I am unable to provide a firm answer beyond the current model at this stage, families will be communicated with clearly and with as much notice as possible should any decisions be made by CEWA in the future.

First Holy Communion

Please keep our students and their families in your prayers as they prepare to receive Jesus for the first time this term. Important dates are listed below.

• Commitment Mass: Saturday, 2nd May at 6pm
• Parent/Child Workshop: Wednesday, 27th May at 5pm
• Retreat(St Catherine’s House of Hospitality): Thursday, 28th May
• First Holy Communion Mass: Sunday, 7th June at 9am

Principal Update

I would like to advise our school community that I will be taking Long Service Leave from Monday, 15th June to Friday, 3rd July. During this time, my husband and I will be travelling through South Australia and Victoria, tracing the footsteps of St Mary MacKillop. This journey will take us to places significant in her life and ministry, reflecting on her deep faith, resilience, commitment to education and unwavering trust in God’s providence.

During my absence, our Assistant Principal Mrs Natasha Gregory will be serving as Short Term Principal. I am confident that the school will continue to be led with care and continuity.

Looking Ahead

As always, there is a lot going on at St Pius X this term and I encourage you to regularly check the school calendar on the school website for upcoming events and important dates.

With God’s blessings to you and your family.

Jacki Tucker
Principal

“Look at what’s been happening in Year 3”

Over the past few weeks, our Year 3 students enjoyed reading The BFG by Roald Dahl. As part of our class reading sessions, students have been engaging with the text by answering a range of comprehension questions, helping them to build their understanding of the story, characters and key events.

To bring the story to life, students also created their own dream jars inspired by the Big Friendly Giant himself. Using their creativity, they designed and decorated jars filled with imaginative dreams that the BFG would be proud to blow into the windows of sleeping children. This hands-on activity allowed students to connect more deeply with the whimsical world of the story.

Due to the high level of enthusiasm and engagement shown throughout the unit, we finished the term with a special ‘viewing party’ of The BFG. This was a wonderful way to celebrate students’ efforts and compare the book with its film adaptation, sparking great discussions about similarities and differences.

It has been fantastic to see such excitement for reading in our classroom!

Miss Breeze
Year 3 Teacher

We have started Term Two learning about our families and our bodies. We talked about how we all belong to a family, and that we are also part of God’s family. We explored how every family is different, just as God made each of us unique.

The children used collage materials to create representations of their bodies, making sure to include important features such as arms, legs, a head, and facial features.

Have a look at our wonderful creations!

Mrs Kucan
Kindergarten Teacher

Hello Students and Caregivers,

Donations can be placed in the baskets in the undercover area on Thursday, 21 May from 8am.

Thank you for your support.

The Sustainability Team

Issue 3 Orders close on Friday, 8th May.  So hurry and place your orders!

Scholastic Rewards:  Did you know that every purchase you make on Book Club earns our school 15% of the order value in Scholastic Rewards?  We use these to purchase more books and educational resources for the school. It all helps!

Welcome Back to Term 2!

We hope all our families enjoyed a well-deserved break and had the chance to relax and recharge. We are excited to welcome everyone back for what promises to be another busy and fun-filled term!

Kicking things off, our Mother’s Day Stall will be held on  Thursday, 7th May. This is always a special event for our students where they get to select a special gift for their Mum or someone special in their lives, so please remember that Flexischools orders close on Wednesday, 6th May at 2:00pm. Be sure to place your orders in time so your child doesn’t miss out.

We’d also love you to save the date for our next P&F Meeting on Tuesday, 9th June. We are always thrilled to see new faces and it’s a great opportunity to learn more about what the P&F does, get involved in the school community, and share any ideas you may have.

Looking forward to a fantastic Term 2 together!

Help support the Fundraiser for the Year 6 Canberra Camp.

A cake stall will be held on Saturday, 9 May from 8am outside O’Brien’s Clothing Co, Welwyn Avenue, Manning.

Come along for a lovely treat.

Thank you !