Newsletter 8 – 31 May 2023

Dear Parents and Caregivers,

Here we are in Week 6 of Term 2, with the long weekend upon us. Hopefully, the additional day off from work and school will provide everyone with an opportunity to rest and reset. With any luck, the weather will be pleasant enough for us to get outdoors with family and connect with nature.

Interschool Cross Country

Congratulations to all our students who participated in the Interschool Cross Country. Each of you put in a fine effort, displaying courage and excellence in both conduct and performance. We are proud of every one of you and particularly commend you on the encouragement and support you provided your fellow St Pius X competitors. Congratulations to Isabella Hayes for coming 1^st place out of all the Year 3 girls across the six schools and Tess Draper for coming 2^nd place out of all the Year 4 girls competing. Thank you to our parent helpers, Mr Hughes and Miss Sherrington for your help on the day. Also thank you to Mr Cooper for coordinating the day and giving up his Tuesday and Thursday mornings over the term, to prepare the students.

Confirmation

Congratulations to our Year 6 students who received the Sacrament of Confirmation on Saturday night. We were very fortunate to have Auxiliary Bishop Don Sproxton celebrate Mass for us on this very special occasion. It was fitting that our Year 6s Confirmation took place the day before Pentecost Sunday. Just as our Year 6 candidates received the fullness of the Holy Spirit through the Sacrament of Confirmation, so too did Jesus’ disciples at Pentecost. May we all remember to call upon the Holy Spirit to guide us and inspire us in our daily lives, so that we may be faithful to God’s call and fulfil the will of God in our lives.

It was such a privilege for our staff to witness our students receiving the Sacrament of Confirmation. Thank you to Mr Hughes for preparing our students so well, to Bishop Sproxton for visiting the Year 6s on Thursday and celebrating Mass on Saturday night, to Fr Patrick for concelebrating Mass, and to our parents for allowing us to continue to share in your family’s faith journey. Let us keep our Year 6 students in our prayers, so that their faith and relationship with Christ may be strengthened with each passing day.

Clontarf Students Visiting SPX

Last Tuesday and Wednesday, as part of our Reconciliation Week celebrations, we had students from Clontarf Aboriginal College visit and work with our students. Together, they created a door display centred on the theme ‘Be a Voice for the Generations’. Reconciliation Week commemorates two significant milestones in the reconciliation journey— the successful 1967 referendum, and the High Court Mabo decision. Our children thoroughly enjoyed working with the Clontarf students and are looking forward to their next visit. Thank you to Mrs Keightley and Mrs De Luca for coordinating the activities and promoting our partnership with Clontarf.

Absenteeism

With cold and flu season upon us, we greatly appreciate parents keeping their children home when they are unwell. With our teachers also succumbing to various viruses, it would be great if parents could cc admin when emailing teachers to notify them of their child’s absence from school. This will prevent parents from being sent a SEQTA notification that their child is not at school if they have already notified the class teacher who may be absent. Thank you for your cooperation and understanding in this matter.

Wishing all our families a restful and enjoyable long weekend. May you feel the peace of the Holy Spirit within your heart, mind, body and soul.

God Bless,

Melissa Vranjes
Principal

School Fees

Please be reminded the second instalment of school fees are now due.  Please attend to these at your earliest convenience.  

Student Achievements

We would like to congratulate Aiden & Ethan on their wonderful achievements in the 2023 Fremantle Eisteddfod.

Ethan won first prize in Chopin Nocturne (Age 10 & under) and first prize in Piano Recital (Age 8 & under). Aiden won first prize in Bach Piano recital (Age 10 & under), first prize in Piano Recital (Age 10 & under) and first prize in Cello Grade 4 section. What an achievement!!

Both Aiden and Ethan will be performing at the winners concert held at Government House in June. We wish them all the very best as they prepare to take centre stage.

St Pius X Cross Country Carnival

On Thursday the 18^th of May, we held our St Pius X Cross Country Carnival at James Miller Reserve. This was a large event, involving the Pre-Primary students all the way to Year 6. Congratulations to all students for giving it a go and to those on the side lines for your huge encouragement (which could be heard from St Pius X). The cross-country can be quite a gruelling race, testing the student’s resilience and stamina.

I would like to thank those students who attended the early morning training sessions. Thank you to Mrs Matthews, Miss Sinclair, Miss Dempsey and Miss Sherrington for helping me run these training sessions.

Thank you to the staff who helped on the day, particularly Mrs Keightley for helping set up. Thank you to our wonderful announcer Mr Millar, our Education Assistants for supporting and running with our students, our parents and family members for showing support on the day and our parent helpers, who never let us down.

I would like to thank Mrs Coleman and the Clontarf students who spread themselves along the track to  support and direct students in their races.

Congratulations to Sarto for winning the 2023 St Pius X Cross Country Carnival.

Mr Cooper
Physical Education Teacher

National Simultaneous Storytime

Last Wednesday our school gathered in the undercover area to listen to the story ‘The Speedy Sloth’. Right across Australia and New Zealand, schools just like ours came together to listen to the very same book being read out aloud for all to enjoy.

‘The Speedy Sloth’ is a beautiful story of courage, tenacity and participation; it highlights that everyone is a winner in their own special way when they complete a task they set their mind to. With our school based cross country having taken place just the week before, all our students were able to relate to Spike’s determination to overcome self-doubt and celebrate personal achievements. The story was very much enjoyed by all our students and served as a reminder to embrace challenges and acknowledge the incremental improvements in achievement that effort brings.

On Monday the 22^nd of May our Year 6 students participated in a Confirmation Retreat lead by 24:7 Youth Ministry. This was a great opportunity for our Year 6’s to deepen their understanding of the Sacrament of Confirmation and the importance of using the gifts and fruits of the Holy Spirit. The students had a great time and were thoroughly engaged in the retreat activities facilitated by the three 24:7 Youth Ministry leaders.

Mr Cooper
Year 6 Teacher – Wednesday