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Dear Parents and Carers,
I would like to acknowledge you all for your ongoing support of St Pius X Unanderra. We have worked hard to build a sense of community and belonging and even with the challenges of COVID we have managed to maintain a strong parent / school partnership.
On a daily basis, it is so affirming to witness the honest and open communication between home and school. Whilst resilience is importance in children, if issues are becoming a “Problem” I encourage you to contact the school regarding these matters. It is also so lovely to read the many emails that come across my desk about your positive school experiences.
In this spirit of parental engagement, I encourage you to join me in person or via zoom for our Parents and Friends Annual General Meeting on Wednesday 9th March at 7p.m. This meeting will be a wonderful opportunity to explore future community events, in the light of eased restrictions. It will also be an opportunity for parents to nominate for specific roles on the Parents and Friends Executive. Please do not be deterred that “You will get a job”, simply come along and share in our journey.
In the past the Parents and Friends have generously contributed to raising funds for air conditioning of the classrooms and the astro turf. They have also had input into the upgrading of the playground spaces and the proposed crossing and digital sign.
As part of this meeting I will present the school strategic agenda for 2022 and I look forward to elaborating on our key priorities around our catholicity, learning and teaching and marketing of our school. A Zoom link will be sent closer to the date and if you can attend in person the meeting will be held in the Kindergarten Rooms.
Yours Sincerely,
Pauline Chrostowski - Principal
The following students will receive awards for Week 5 and Week 6
Merit Awards
| Week 5 | Week 6 |
|
KB: Ivy B, Benny D, Miller S KR: Luca J, Mariah S, Lincoln S 1B: Scarlette D, Grayson L 1R: Liam N, Zoe M 2B: Julien C, Scarlett M 2R: Audrey K, Stephanie C 3B: Max M, Scarlett R 3R: Zac M, Scarlett T 4B: Joshua S, Liam M, Sharbel J 5B: Mason M, Bentley F 5R: William s, July C 6B: Jason C, Jayden H 6R: Katelyn H, Joseph F |
KB: Ryan G, Maddison M, Alexia-Rose S KR: Finnley O, Lachlan P, Charlotte Y 1B: Levi L, Evelina D 1R: Jack S, Marcella S 2B: Hamish R 2R: Jaxon G 3B: Zachary E, Katie V 3R: Ruby G, Ezekiel B 4B: Laynie H, Noah L, Isaac L 5B: Victoria N, Sebastian R 5R: Stella B, Ryan Y 6B: Charlotte D, Eva B, Molly H 6R: Zaylen H, Armani A |
When you have 5 Merit Awards, you qualify for a PRINCIPAL AWARD
Principal's Award
Poppy G - 1B
Isaiah R - 1B
Ryley M - 1B
Kyla M - 1R
Audrey K - 2R
Chiara C - 3R
Natalie C - 4B
Kieran P - 6B
Jason C - 6B
Jayden H - 6B
Xavier O - 6R
Zaylen H - 6R
When you have 3 Principal's Awards, you will qualify for a Mackillop Award
Mackillop Award
Orlando S - 4B
Kieran P - 6B
Xavier O - 6R
When you have 2 Mackillop Awards, You qualify for a School Medallion
School Medallion
Kieran P - 6B
Xavier O - 6R
Medallions will be presented later in year by Mrs Chrostowski.
Congratulations to all of these students.
Rapid Antigen Test Program (RAT):
In line with recent announcements from the NSW Government, the rapid antigen test (RAT) program will end on Friday 25 February 2022. This means that the twice weekly testing using RAT kits is no longer in place. Thank you for your patience and cooperation over the last four weeks. While it has been a—sometimes unwelcome—addition to the already busy morning routine, proactive testing has been a critical tool in keeping our school community safe, especially while case numbers remained high in the broader community.
For the remainder of Term 1, families are asked to use RATs at your discretion when you consider it necessary (e.g. if a child develops symptoms or a family member is unwell). A further eight RATs are now available for collection from the office.
Kindergarten 2023 Enrolments
Enrolments for Kindergarten 2023 are now open. Enrolment packs will be available to download from our school website or for collection from the office. Please spread the word about our wonderful school.
Birthdays
It is so lovely to acknowledge our birthdays. If your child would like to bring in a treat to celebrate their special day, can we kindly ask that treats are individualised and wrapped e.g. lollipops.
COUNSELLING
A CatholicCare school counsellor is available to work with parents and students to support their social and emotional wellbeing. Our CatholicCare counsellor provides a range of support, including individual sessions with students and or parents, consultation and support to school staff, and the delivery of group work programs for small groups and classes.
To book an appointment with our school counsellor, Kath Walsh, please contact the school office
Sport News
Mackillop Basketball Trials
A huge CONGRATULATIONS to ADDISON B - 6R for her selection in the MACKILLOP BASKETBALL TEAM.
Vinnies - Return & Earn
Naplan Information
REMINDER – SACRAMENTS
2021 FIRST HOLY COMMUNION (2022 YEAR 4)
1.Retreat Session
Parents/carers are required to attend ONE retreat session WITH their child. You can choose to attend at either location irrelevant of your home parish. You will be marked off at the door. If you do NOT attend a retreat session your child’s ability to make their sacrament may be placed in jeopardy.
Saturday 12th March 10.30 - 11.30 am Immaculate Conception Church, Unanderra
OR
Saturday 19th March 10.30 - 11.30 am St Therese Church, West Wollongong
2.Ceremonies
Parents/carers are required to book a preferred ceremony session using the provided TryBooking link. Participants will be allowed 6 guests NOT including themselves (ie the child making their First Holy Communion AND 6 other guests, therefore 7 individuals per pew).
Please use the https://www.trybooking.com/BXCXR provided to book your preferred CEREMONY timeslot.
The Try booking site opened on Friday 4 February at 9am.
2022 SACRAMENTS (YEAR 3 AND YEAR 6)
1.PARENT INFORMATION and REGISTRATION Meetings (approx. 1 hour duration)
Parents are required to attend a Parent Information Night including faith formation and practical
Information about the Sacrament/s:
Parents can attend the Parent Information Night at either West Wollongong or Unanderra, regardless of where your child will receive the Sacraments.
It is essential for one parent/guardian to attend the Parent Information Night if you wish for your child to receive that Sacrament this year. Due to COVID 19 restrictions we are asking that ONLY 1 parent attends and no children are present for the Parent Information Nights.
Please bring your child’s Baptisimal Certificate (and/ or photocopy) with you on the night.
There is also a small donation of $10 for Communion and $10 for Confirmation to cover the costs associated with each of the Sacrament. This can be donated electronically, on the tap device at the door as you enter the Church on the night.
PLEASE TAKE NOTE OF THE PARENT INFORMATION & REGISTRATION MEETING DATES AND TIMES IN THE BELOW TABLE:
SHROVE TUESDAY
We would like to thank all of our wonderful helpers who made it possible for the students of St Pius X to enjoy yummy pancakes on Shrove Tuesday. All of the money raised from orders has kickstarted our school wide 2022 Project Compassion fundraising drive. We will track our fundraising efforts throughout the remainder of the term and will continue to share these details with the school community via our school newsletter.
ASH WEDNESDAY
Ash Wednesday marks the beginning of Lent.
In 2022, Ash Wednesday falls on March 2.
Ash Wednesday is a time to focus the heart on repentance and prayer. Students and teachers participated in virtual liturgies within their classroom to mark this special liturgical event with teachers sprinkling blessed ashes over the students’ foreheads. We say a special thank you to Sr Kerry who supported our infants’ virtual liturgies by providing a very thoughtful Gospel reflection.
LENT 2022 – Laudato Si’
As we begin Lent, that time of preparation for Easter and the celebration of the Paschal Mystery, we are invited to embark upon a journey of ecological conversion through reflection, repentance, and renewal.
By committing to concrete changes through fasting and lifestyle changes, we can live more in solidarity with our Earth and each other, reduce our ecological footprint and inspire our sisters and brothers to join this conversion process.
PROJECT COMPASSION 2022
This week the season of Lent begins with Ash Wednesday, which also marks the beginning of the annual Caritas Australia Project Compassion Appeal. Donations to Project Compassion allows Caritas Australia, the Catholic Agency for International Aid and Development, to work with local communities around the world to end poverty, promote justice and uphold dignity.
The theme of Project Compassion 2022 is ‘For All Future Generations’ and reminds us that the good that we do today will extend and impact the lives of generations to come. It invites us to make the world a better place by working together now and finding long-term solutions to global issues. We encourage you to put your compassion into action this Lent through your prayer, fasting and almsgiving by supporting Project Compassion. Each class has received a Project Compassion box for their prayer space, these boxes will be used for class donation collection each week.
BE SAFE
BE RESPECTFUL
BE RESPONSIBLE
Maintaining a whole school consistent approach to behaviour management across our school is key to developing and maintaining a successful learning environment, where all students flourish. Having clear expectations for behaviour allows us to provide consistency in what we teach, acknowledge and correct in terms of student behaviour. At St Pius X students follow explicit behaviour expectations based on the following school rules:
BE RESPECTFUL
BE RESPONSIBLE
BE SAFE
All staff at our school work together to explicitly teach expectations, when and where they should be used and what each expectation looks like and sounds like. They affirm and correct agreed behaviour expectations across school-wide, classroom and playground settings.
Sometimes our kids get it wrong. They make mistakes. The ‘Positive Behaviours for Learning Framework’ highlights these as opportunities for learning and students are supported to get back on track. Consequences are an important part of owning our choices and behaviours. Consequences are applied consistently, but with consideration of individual circumstances.
We believe that providing students with positive reinforcement for expected behaviours is one of the quickest and easiest ways to improve classroom behaviour and develop a positive classroom environment. Everyone needs positive feedback to learn and maintain a behaviour or skill.
