St Pius X Catholic Parish Primary School Unanderra eNewsletter

Dear Parents and Caregivers of St Pius X,

As we approach the end of Term One, I would like to thank the staff and the students for their energy and dedication to ongoing growth in faith, learning and wellbeing throughout the term.

Our annual improvement goal - Students will demonstrate personal growth and academic achievement through the delivery of evidence informed teaching practices - is underpinned by four key strategies to support staff and students to reach this goal:

Embed consistent behaviour support in the school to create a safe and supportive learning environment
Collaboratively enrich knowledge and understanding of how students learn.
Further refine and enhance school wide collaborative processes that support effective differentiation.
Improve attendance to enhance engagement and learning

I also take this opportunity to reflect on our Vision and Mission, which underpins everything that we do at St Pius X Catholic Primary School Unanderra.

Vision

WITH FAITH AS OUR GUIDE WE NURTURE HEARTS AND EMPOWER MINDS

Mission

Encountering Jesus through word and action

Fostering well being in our community

Enhancing academic and personal excellence

As previously communicated via COMPASS, our Creative Arts teacher, Katrina Hannaford, has accepted a position at St Mary's Star of the Sea College. Although very sad to be leaving our beautiful school community, Katrina is following her training and her passion - Secondary Creative Arts Education.

Katrina has contributed greatly to our school community during the two years that she has been with us.

After thoughtful consideration and discussion with staff and relevant personnel from CEDoW, I have made the decision not to follow a recruitment process to replace Katrina as a Creative Arts teacher. Instead, Mrs Kylie Hertsch will commence as our PE teacher for the remainder of the year. Every student will attend one hour of PE instruction and one hour of STEM instruction each week, allowing our teachers to receive their allocated Teacher Professional Planning Time.

I am confident that our dedicated, skilled and knowledgeable teaching staff will continue to implement the NESA Creative Arts Syllabus successfully, as has been the experience prior to Katrina’s employment. Our Wakakirri preparations will continue under the extraordinary skill of Mrs Shay Lindner and the many talented teachers and support officers who are assisting her. I am also very pleased to announce that Miss Alana Vezinias has volunteered to work with the choir.

St Pius X is very fortunate to have a high number of skilled staff who are willing to assist in many ways to provide varied creative experiences for our students.

My staffing decisions leading into 2026 will be guided by the overall needs and priorities of the school.

Lisa Tyson

Principal

WORLD AUTISM UNDERSTANDING DAY

Today, Wednesday, 2nd April, we acknowledge World Autism Understanding Day. A day dedicated to promoting greater awareness, celebrating the strengths of autistic individuals, and encouraging inclusion in everyday life.

At St Pius X, we are proud to recognise this day and celebrate the strengths, uniqueness, and contributions of autistic individuals in our community.

As Bishop Brian reminds us in Bearers of Christ’s Love,

“We are called to see Christ in every person, to love without conditions, and to create a world where all are valued and belong.”

With this in mind, we commit to fostering a school community that embraces and uplifts every individual.

As part of our awareness and education initiatives, students in Grades 2–6 are attending special presentations across Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday to learn more about autism and how we can all foster a more inclusive and understanding environment.

To show our support, we invited all students and staff to wear a gold accessory on the day. Gold has been chosen as a symbol of the autistic community’s value—just like gold, they see themselves as rare and unique.

We encourage families to have conversations at home about diversity, inclusion, understanding, and celebrating differences.

Thank you for supporting this important initiative!

IMPORTANT TERM 2 INFORMATION

Mothers Day at St Pius X 2025!

9th May 2025 - Term 2 Week 2

St Pius X will be celebrating Mother’s Day!

We warmly invite all our wonderful mothers, grandmothers, and special mother figures to join us for a special event to honor the love, care, and support they provide.

This will be a wonderful opportunity for our students to share quality time with their loved ones and celebrate the important role they play in their lives.

To assist with our planning, please RSVP using the following Google Form:

Mother'sDayRSVP

Please see the attached flyer for further details—we look forward to celebrating with you!

Christine Nunes

Assistant Principal

SPECIAL JUBILEE EVENT

Last week, we joined the Immaculate Conception Parish in celebrating a special Jubilee event.

As part of the 24 Hours for the Lord, students participated in Eucharistic Adoration.

They demonstrated great reverence and respect, silently praying and expressing their reflections through written and drawn prayers.

	APRIL
Thursday 10th	Holy Week Liturgy - 10.00am - 11.00am
Thursday 10th	Easter Picnic (BYO picnic) 11.00am -11.30am Easter Hat Parade and P&F Raffle 11.30am
Friday 11th	Last Day Term 1
Sunday 13th	Palm Sunday
Sunday 20th	Easter Sunday
	TERM 2
Monday 28th	PUPIL FREE DAY
Tuesay 29th	Students Return to School
Tuesday 29th	ANZAC Day Assembly
	MAY
Thursday 8th	Mother's Day Stall
Friday 9th	Mother's Day Celebration 9.10-10.00am Mother's Day Liturgy 10.00-10.30am Open Classrooms 10.30-11.30am - Morning Tea in the Hall for Mother's

Notification of Extended Absence

In line with the new CEDoW Attendance Policy, CEDoW has launched their new online Notification of Extended Absence form. This user-friendly form simplifies the process, eliminating the need for printing or downloading documents.

Accessing the application form is now easier than ever with the form working on both mobile and desktop platforms. Parents can complete the application electronically and can also send the application for multiple students across CEDoW schools.

When an absence note exceeding five days in your school's Compass portal, you will be directed to attendance information documents that have a link to the online form.

Please don’t hesitate to contact the School Office if you have any questions.

CATHOLIC SCHOOL FUNDING

Are you curious as to how Catholic schools are funded? The following link can provide some clarity.

PRINCIPAL AWARDS

Isaac Veljanoski - 1B

Julian Hoare - 1B

Nicholas Jovcevski - 1B

Summer Burgess - 1B

Aadhi Gurudas - 1R

Benjamin Zaceski - 1R

Christian Sopovski - 1R

Hannah Biju - 1R

Liam kelly - 1R

Marcellin Farrugia - 1R

Nyna Menon - 1R

Mia Handley - 2B

Yohaan Agarwala - 2R

Sage Luu - 3B

Hayley Crowe - 6B

Javier Meezs - 6B

Katie Vicelli - 6B

Marco Pires - 6B

Scarlett Rodwell - 6B

MACKILLOP AWARDS

Adam Dolphin - 3B

Alexia-Rose Sanchez-Bruce - 3B

Luca Jurak - 3B

Mariah Said - 3B

Maddison Marcysiak - 3R

Congratulations to all of these students.

EASTER RAFFLE

Easter is fast approaching, for this year's Easter raffle we have an egg-citing lineup of 50 prizes.

All proceeds from the raffle go towards funding school projects and initiatives.

Tickets are $2 each and will be for sale on the day of the Easter Liturgy and hat parade but get in early to save waiting in the queue and get your tickets online at https://www.rafflelink.com.au/spxeaster25.

ANNUAL PIE DRIVE

Our first fundraiser of the year is our Annual Pie Drive, coming to a freezer near you this May, just in time for winter... This year our supplier is Queen St Bakery Warilla and Pie Drive orders close next week

All funds raised go to supporting P&F backed events and initiatives (e.g. Learning resources).

Online Orders: Will open from Friday 21st Feb https://www.ticketebo.com.au/st-pius-x-unanderra-p-f/spx-pie-drive-2025

Cash orders: please use the CASH or EFTPOS order form (copies available at the school office) & enclose correct amount as no change can be given. Cash orders can be handed in at the school office.

EFTPOS orders: please use the CASH or EFTPOS order form (copies available at the school office) EFTPOS payments will be available on the Friday 4th April 2:30-3:30pm and Wednesday 9th April 2:30pm-3:30pm outside the school office. Please note the school office cannot take EFTPOS payments for the Pie Drive.

Mother's Day will be celebrated early in term 2 with the students having access to our fabulous Mother's Day Stall on Thursday 8th May, gifts are $5 or $10.

Cash or Online payments accepted https://www.trybooking.com/DALBA.

Online payments close Wednesday 7th May at 12 noon for the list to be collated, if you miss the online deadline cash is still available on the day.

We will also have a Mother's Day raffle drawn on Friday 9th May, we graciously ask for donations towards the prizes be brought to the office by Thursday 1st May.

All proceeds will help fund the P&Fs financial contributions to the school.

Tickets for the Mother's Day raffle are available for pre-purchase at https://rafflelink.com.au/spxmothersday25, Cash and EFTPOS ticket sales are available on Friday 9th May during the Mother's Day celebrations.

Movie Night - Save the Date

Friday 30th May

The movie will be selected from a shortlist by popular vote from the students.

We will announce the movie selected closer to the date.

Would you like to volunteer for an event?

We have a new suite of opportunities available for signup via our volunteers Google form, check out what's happening in Term 2 and lend a hand.

Thank you from the P&F Team

Hockey

Congratulations to Emmett Turner from Year 6, who trialled and was selected for the MacKillop Hockey Team last Friday, 28th March.

Swimming

We wish Addison McPherson and Ryley McNally all the best at the MacKillop Swimming Trials, which they will be competing in on Wednesday, 2nd April.

CONGRATULATIONS

Scarlett Mahanidis has made finalist in the prestigious Joan & Monica Halliday Awards.

There were 120 entrants, 38 semi finalists and now 12 finalists.

She will compete in the finals.

From the Parent Handbook

AWARDS

St Pius X Awards work on a four tier process.

Students should receive one Merit Award per term handed out in class by the classroom teacher, generally on a Friday. Once a student has received 5 Merit Awards or a combination of five, such as ten, fifteen etc, the Compass system will automatically notify parents that their child has received a Principal Award. This will be handed out at the NEXT assembly, after it has been communicated in the school newsletter.

When a child has received 14 Merit Awards the Compass system will automatically notify parents that their child has received a MacKillop Award. This will be handed out at the NEXT assembly, after it has been communicated in the school newsletter. This will be repeated for 28 Merit Awards. All children by the completion of Year Six should receive 28 merit awards and therefore two MacKillop Awards.

The final tier is when a student receives 30 Merit Awards, the Compass system will notify parents that their child has earnt a Medallion. This will be handed out during the Graduation evening in Term 4 for Year 6 students. Not all students will receive this significant award.

05 Merit Awards = Principal Award 1

10 Merit Awards = Principal Award 2

14 Merit Awards = MacKillop Award 1

15 Merit Awards = Principal Award 3

20 Merit Awards = Principal Award 4

25 Merit Awards = Principal Award 5

28 Merit Awards = MacKillop Award 2

30 Merit Awards = Principal Award 6

30 Merit Awards = 1 Medallion

There are also a number of stand alone awards that are given. The ACE Award, which stands for Academic, Citizenship and Endeavour is given for high achievement, actions towards others and effort. Recipients may be selected for one or a combination of these reasons. This award is given once a Semester to two or three students per class. These awards are classroom teacher selected and students can earn multiple of these throughout their time at St Pius X. These awards count as one Merit Award towards the above system.

The other awards given are Year Six Awards handed out at the Year Six Graduation. Recipients of these awards are nominated by the Year Six classroom teachers and voted on by the staff leadership team, their current teachers and school support officers along with their previous Year Five and Four teachers. These awards are:

Excellence - This is given for achievement in one or multiple areas of school life
Good Samaritan - Kindness and compassion towards others
Principal’s - Effort in school life
St Pius X Shining Star - A combination of all three awards

The staff leadership team may give a spontaneous Merit Award to any student who they feel is deserving of one throughout the school year.

If a child joins our school post Term One Kindergarten, they are assigned their calculated level of awards in the system, that is one award per term they have missed.

e-Safety

We can help our children safely navigate the online world by taking some basic steps to reduce the risks.

Our support and guidance can give our children the knowledge to make sound decisions online and the confidence to ask for help when they need it.

Use safety features and settings

Get to know the devices you and your children use and set them up for privacy and online safety. Take advantage of parental controls to monitor and control screen time and access to content, based on your child’s age and experience. See our guide to parental controls.
Choose apps and games carefully, and visit the App Store or Google Play for age ratings and consumer advice.
Refer to our advice about screen time and online gaming if these are of concern.
The eSafety Guide provides valuable information about the latest games, apps and social media, including how to protect your personal information and report harmful content.
You can visit the Australian Classification Board’s online database, Children and Media Australia and Common Sense Media (US) for information about movies, apps, games and websites, searchable by age.