Dear Parents and Carers,

It was wonderful to welcome the children back to school this week. I thank you for presenting your child(ren) so well in their uniform and with the resources they require for the new school year. I was so impressed visiting the classrooms and seeing the strong routines in place and pride the children were demonstrating towards their work. I attribute this solid start to the year to the hard work of our teachers, with many spending a significant amount of time in the holiday period setting their learning spaces up.

I am looking forward to formally welcoming our Kindergarten 2022 cohort next Tuesday 8^th February. The first day of Kindergarten is a significant milestone and I am so thankful that with strict covid safe measures two parent/carers per child will be able to accompany the children on site on this day. This will allow for lots of photo opportunities and the chance for our parents to see our refurbished Kindergarten rooms. I warmly welcome our new families to our community for 2022.

As we enter into the 2022 school year, I am mindful of the spotlight on schools and our responsibility to ensure the safety and well-being of the children in our care. Please be assured that we continue to implement strict covid procedures and encourage you to complete the twice weekly RAT tests and consider a mask for your child.

I would like to leave you with our school Vision Statement. I am so proud of the St Pius X community and believe that our community through our words and actions certainly reflects the words of our statement.

 The vision of St Pius X Catholic Parish Primary School is to be a faith-filled, contemporary learning community that is inclusive and respectful of all. We foster the education and growth of the whole person through academic excellence, genuine relationships, authentically living the Gospel and incorporating the traditions of our past and the value of their contributions to our future.

Yours Sincerely,

Pauline Chrostowski - Principal 

Canteen information

Important Dates

8/2/22 Kindergarten Orientation 2022

17/2/22 Swimming Trials

14/2/22-18/2/22 Zoom Meet and Greet with your child’s teacher. Years One to Six (Further details to follow)

18/2/22 Leadership Liturgy- Captains / Vice captains will be formally inducted Invitation will follow to parents of these children (This will be an outdoor COVID safe event)

Uniform

At St Pius X, we present ourselves well and wear our uniform with pride. Our students' hair, uniform and appearance should be in such condition, so as to invite only positive comment.

All items of clothing are available from Lowes, Our uniforms can also be ordered online from Lowes. A second hand uniform shop is available on site and all items are $5. Please contact the office for further details. (Donations are greatly appreciated!)
  

Change from Summer to Winter uniform occurs beginning May and change from Winter to Summer uniform occurs from the beginning of Term 4. Changes to these times may be made due to unseasonal weather conditions.

SPORTS UNIFORM (BOYS & GIRLS)

• Blue and red polo top with emblem
• Royal knit shorts with embroidered crest
• Royal fleecy track pants
• Plain white, ankle length socks
• Joggers with laces or Velcro
• St Pius X school hat
• A royal taslon jacket may be worn over the sloppy joe for extra warmth.

Please note: School hat is to be worn before and after school, at breaks, PE and Sport.

HAIR

• Students are required to wear their hair in a neat and tidy manner.
• Long hair below collar length is to be tied back.
• Extreme hair cuts and coloured hair are not permitted. The emphasis is on evenly cut hair. 
• No coloured hair decorations – girls may wear headbands, ribbons, scrunchies in royal blue or red and uniform material only.
   

JEWELLERY AND MAKEUP

No jewellery except for studs or sleeper (one per ear lobe), a watch, signet ring or religious medals.
No single piercings are permitted.
No nail polish or makeup is permitted.

School Drop-Off & Pick Up Morning

Morning

Supervision begins at 8:20am each morning.

Children may enter through the Hargreaves or Cummins St gate.

Afternoon 
3.00pm: Infants and siblings dismissed through Cummins St gate.

3.10pm: Primary dismissed through Hargreaves St crossing gate.

 Swimming Trials - Thursday, 17 February

This is a competitor’s only carnival which means only students who can swim 50m in any discipline will be attending. Students who will not be swimming will not attend the carnival. If your child can swim 50m (one lap of the pool), please encourage them to participate. An event notification was sent out via Compass to Year 2 - Year 6 on Wednesday of this week. Parents will need to complete a nomination form via Compass for any child/ren that are able to attend the carnival before the closing date of Friday 11th February.

Swimming races are based on the age students are turning this year - regardless of the month this occurs (eg born in September, 2013 would swim as a 9 year old). The youngest age event is 8 years freestyle. Any students in Year 2 must be very competent swimmers as they will be competing against 8 year olds in freestyle and 10 year olds in all other strokes.

As mentioned in the Compass Event, parents are encouraged to drop children at Unanderra Pool from 8.45am and pick them up at 12pm. Only parent helpers will be allowed to stay during the carnival. 

Leadership Badge Ceremony

On the 18th February we will be presenting our Year 6 Leadership Team with their Badges. 

Fee Information

School fees for 2022 have now been invoiced and statements will be issued by the end of Week Two with annual or first instalment payment due on 28 February 2022.  You may view school fees in the Compass Parent Portal.

We would also like to advise you of the following important information in relation to school fees and the rollout of new administrative systems.  All primary, secondary and K-12 schools have now been transferred to the package which includes Compass and Technology One.  This has provided the Catholic Education Office with the ability to perform centralised functions relating to school fee accounts on behalf of our schools.

WHAT CENTRALISATION OF FUNCTIONS MEANS FOR FAMILIES

The invoicing of school fees and the distribution of school fee statements each month, is now a function carried out by the Catholic Education Office.  Payment of fees, whether as an annual payment or payment by instalments is due on the date/s provided on your school fee statement.

Please note that if an adjustment is made to your school fee account eg your child changes subjects in a secondary school, etc., we will email a new school fee statement.  If you are paying by instalments, they may need to be regenerated and a change may occur in your payments.  If this is the case, a new schedule of payments and due dates will appear on the last page of your statement.

REMINDERS FOR LATE PAYMENTS

In 2021, the issue of reminders for late payment via email was introduced and in 2022 the ability to send SMS messages will be added to the system.  These reminders are automatically generated by the software based on the number of days a payment is overdue and are distributed by the Catholic Education Office.  For those families that may have difficulty in paying their school fees, these reminders may cause some distress. This is not our intention.  Our intention is to manage the collection of school fee accounts with new technology and in so doing, alleviate some of the administrative work of our schools.

SCHOOL FEE ACCOUNT ENQUIRIES

Please note, despite the centralisation of various functions, your school/s will always be your point of contact for matters pertaining to fees.  If you wish to discuss your school fee account, please contact your school office.  The role of the Catholic Education Office is to action centralised tasks on behalf of schools.

IF YOU WISH TO PAY BY INSTALMENTS

Many families have already elected to pay their school fees by instalments.  If you wish to avail yourself of this option please complete a Request to Pay by Instalment Form which is available on your school’s website or at your school’s office.  On completion of the request either email it to instalments@dow.catholic.edu.au or submit at your school’s office.  Following receipt of the request, instalments will be generated on your account and a schedule of payments and due dates will be provided on your next school fee statement.  Please note it is only necessary to complete this form once during the period of child/children’s enrolment, unless you wish to amend your payment frequency.

DIFFICULTY WITH PAYMENT

If you are experiencing financial difficulty, we encourage you to contact the school in which your child/children are enrolled to discuss an arrangement that will assist you meet your commitments.  This may include the completion of a Diocesan Application for Fee Concession which is available from the administration office of each school.  Be reassured that your situation will be treated with strict confidentiality and respect for your circumstances. 

For those families that received a Fee Concession in 2021, you will receive an email prior to your annual review date attaching a further Application for Fee Concession.   If you wish to submit the application, please do so at your child’s school.  Please note, if you have children in more than one school, it will only be necessary to submit one application.

For further information regarding school fees, please access the Diocesan School Fee Management Policy and Frequently Asked Questions which is available on your school’s website.

Soccer Registration

Road Safety