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Dates to Remember

Term 2 Week 6

Thursday 2 June

  • Sofcrosse Clinics Yrs. 4-6  9:00am-10:40am

Friday 3 June

  • Professional Development Day – No School

Term 2 Week 7

Monday 6 June

  • WA Day – Public Holiday

Tuesday 7 June

  • Sofcrosse Clinics Yrs. 4-6

Wednesday 8 June 

  • LifeLink Launch  Mass 10am—Year 6 Reps

Friday 10 June

  • Year 1 Assembly & Awards
  • Confirmation  6:30pm

Sometimes we believe our souls can only be at peace if there is no outer turmoil. The wonder of God’s peace is that even when the world around us is in confusion and our emotions are in a whirl, underneath it all we can know His peace.

A Message from the Principal

Dear Parents and Caregivers,

Over the past few weeks a number of our students and staff, myself included, have been impacted by COVID-19. I hope that we are over the worst of it now and that everyone who currently has COVID, makes a speedy recovery. If you haven’t collected your box of RATs from the office, you are welcome to do so; they are still waiting for you in the office.

Long Service Leave

I am on Long Service Leave this week. In my absence, Mr Hughes (Mon & Thurs) and Miss Thomson (Tues & Wed) will be overseeing the smooth functioning of our school.

Kiss and Drive

For those parents using Kiss and Drive, can I please ask that you do a lap around the block if your child is not ready and waiting for you. If everyone does this, our Kiss and Drive will flow much more efficiently and smoothly. The build-up of traffic at the round-about will subside and the safety of all community members will be enhanced.

Student absentee notes

To assist our teachers and administration staff, it would be greatly appreciated it parents could notify the school of their child’s absence via email or the Absentee form on our website before 8.30am. This will enable teachers to accurately account for student absences and reduce the number of parent phone calls that Mrs Tatasciore and Mrs Nichol, in the Office, need to make in the mornings. Every effort will be made for parents of students with unexplained absences to be contacted by 9.30am.

Kindy enrolments

Last week I conducted several Kindy interviews. As part of the interview process, I take the parents and their child for a tour through our school. Each of the parents I walked around commented on how polite, well-groomed and engaged in their learning our students are. They also remarked on how involved and invested our staff are in the students learning. The feedback and observations made certainly are a credit to our beautiful school community; every single member contributes to making our school such an inviting, enriching and flourishing place to learn and work.

School Fees

School fees for Term 2 were due by the end of May. If you have not yet paid your fees, can you please do so as soon as you can.

Wellbeing

Deb Perich, a CEWA Wellbeing consultant, has been working with our teachers over the past few months to build a greater understanding of wellbeing and emotional literacy. Emotional literacy is incredibly important for our students as it enables them to recognise, control and reset their emotions. Last week we explored Marc Brackett’s RULER approach.

Recognising emotions in oneself and others
Understanding the causes and consequences of emotions
Labelling emotions with a nuanced vocabulary
Expressing emotions in accordance with cultural norms and social context
Regulating emotions with helpful strategies

Research shows that these five skills are associated with a wide range of important life outcomes, including greater academic performance, better relationships, enhanced leadership skills, less anxiety, better conflict-resolution skills, and greater wellbeing.

Recognising emotions involves identifying:

  • our emotion by interpreting our thoughts and physiology (Heart rate, body temperature etc)
  • cues in ourselves and others which include:
    • Facial Expression
    • Vocal Tones
    • Body Language
    • Words and Behaviour

Understanding emotions involves:

  • Understanding the cause and the consequences of emotions, including their effects on:
    • Thinking
    • Learning
    • Decisions
    • Behaviour

Labelling emotions:

  • Assists us to tame the emotions
  • Helps us to identify the cause of the emotion – what triggered it
  • Helps us to effectively communicate our needs and to identify the best way to manage our emotions

Expressing emotions is about:

  • ‘how’ and the ‘when’ we express our emotions
  • Appropriate ways of expressing emotions

Regulating emotions involves:

  • Developing thought or action strategies
  • PRIME – to achieve emotional goals

As parents and teachers, it is essential that we support our children to develop these skills so that they can flourish irrespective of the vast challenges and emotions they experience throughout the course of any given day.

I hope you all stay well and have a great week. I will be thinking of you as I slow the pace down and enjoy my bushwalks, bike rides and coastal walks – at least that is what I hope I will be doing during my LSL!

God bless,

Melissa Vranjes
Principal

National Reconciliation Week

National Reconciliation Week is held annually around Australia. It reminds all people to connect with the First Australians and recall the past, present and walking hand in hand into the future. This year, the dates are 27th May – 3rd June.

At St Pius X, the classes from Kindy to Year Six have been learning more about this important event and exploring aspects of the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people. Pre-Primary were lucky to have time with Jahmekah Indich, a Year 12 student from Clontarf Aboriginal College. Mekah painted the children’s faces with patterns and colours taken from the Aboriginal Flag. They also learned about igniting the heart of all Australians by walking with the Indigenous Peoples. Kindergarten students were involved in murals of the rainbow snake, art with natural bush materials and stories.

We are so fortunate to share Whadjuk Country with the Noongar people and continue to acknowledge their stories and experiences.

Chelsea De Luca
Pre Primary Teacher

K-2 Movie Night

Our Kindy – Year 2 students gathered in the Library for their Movie Night last Friday.  The buzz of energy and excitement that swept over them as they set out their pillows and blankets, in the company of their peers, was a delight to witness. The popcorn was polished off well before the movie commenced but lucky for them, there were treats to follow and their water went the distance. Thank you to our P&F for organising and coordinating this special night for our Kindy-Year 2 students. Thank you also to our wonderful early childhood staff who gave up their Friday night to welcome and join our students in watching ‘Sing 2’.

ASCS Interschool Cross Country Carnival

Congratulations to all our students who participated in the Interschool Cross Country Carnival. You did yourselves, our school, and your families proud. Your positivity, encouragement of one another and stellar efforts are commendable. Although we didn’t bring the shield back home, we came very close. St Pius X cheered the loudest and most consistently throughout, projecting a strong sense of spirit and comradery. I suspect you all slept soundly on Friday night! Thank you to Mrs Matthews for preparing the students so well and to our teachers who accompanied the children and helped out at the carnival. A big thank you to our parents who came along to cheer on the mighty SPX competitors.

Overall St Pius X finished in second place on the day! We are so proud of our squad.

1st  Year 4 boys Hudson Hayes
3rd Year 3 girls Ashlyn Kelly

Confirmation

Retreat 

Yesterday, our Year 6 students further prepared for their Confirmation by participating in a retreat facilitated by 24:7 Youth Ministry. This was an active and practical session that further cemented the students’ understanding of the Gifts of the Holy Spirit, the importance of building a relationship with our God and recognising the values that Jesus modelled for us. We would like to thank the presenters from 24:7 Youth Ministry for connecting so authentically with our students and providing an engaging and relevant experience.

Next Friday, 10th June at 6:30pm, our Year 6 students will be Confirmed into the Catholic Church. This is a special time for our students as they complete their final Sacrament of Initiation. We wish our Year 6 students all the best as the Gifts of the Holy Spirit they received at Baptism are renewed and strengthened in order to help them to be the face of Jesus in our world for others.

A reminder that our photographer will be in the Parish Hall prior to the service.

Kim Hughes
Assistant Principal

Sport News

St Pius X Cross Country Carnival

What a joyful school event this was! The sun was shining and the students were excited and happy to be finally running the event we had been training for since the start of term. It was wonderful to see so many great examples of determination and team spirit on the day and so lovely to see students supporting each other at the finish line!

Thank you to the wonderful staff of St Pius X, parents and Year 6 leaders who volunteered to assist throughout the afternoon.

Congratulations to all our runners – you were magnificent and should be so proud of your efforts!

Well done to the many Year 3-6 students who attended morning running sessions this term. It was great to see so many smiling faces attending each week.

Congratulations to Carmody on winning the shield on the day!

1st Carmody
2nd Sarto
3rd McKillop
4th Josephite

ASCS Winter Sport Carnival 

In week 8, our Year 5 & 6 students will be competing in a Winter Sports Carnival at Morris Buzacott Reserve, Kardinya. Further information will be sent home shortly regarding the event.

Year 5 & 6 before school training Weeks 8-10

Please check the calendar for before school training dates for football and netball sessions. This is in preparation for the carnival next term. Students should meet in the undercover area at 7.50am Tuesday/Thursday mornings, if they would like to participate.

Linda Matthews
Physical Education Teacher

Bin Ball Competition

Over the last two weeks, our Year 6 students have been running a Faction Bin Ball competition for the 4-6 classes at lunch time. This has been well received by the students and everyone has participated with enthusiasm. This competition will continue over the coming weeks.

Kim Hughes
Assistant Principal

Scholastic Book Club
Issue 4

Scholastic Book Club Ordering

Scholastic Book Club Organiser