St Pius X Catholic Parish Primary School Unanderra eNewsletter

Dear Parents and Carers,

Our Welcome Barbeque last Thursday was a wonderful opportunity to support the partnerships between home and school. It was so lovely to connect with our many new families and enjoy a sausage sizzle. Sincere thanks to the Parents and Friends executive, that so capably led the cooking and serving.

The Whole School Mass was also a beautiful occasion, with Father Duane reflecting on the concept of our Parish family, this was certainly apt as we aspire each day to create a community that welcomes and is deeply connected to parents, parishioners and the local community.

Visiting the classrooms on a daily basis is one of the most rewarding parts of my role. I am pleased to note that as we venture into the halfway mark of the term, teachers have developed strong routines and are in the process of collecting valuable data to inform their teaching and learning. I was delighted this week to witness:

Year Three and Year Five preparation for NAPLAN testing in full swing;
Sr Kerry teaching the Year One students all about the ceremony of Baptism with a baby doll as a prop;
Quality Mini and Macq lit lessons taking place. This is an intervention program across Years One to Six that has a focus on phonemic awareness, phonics, fluency, vocabulary and comprehension. This program is for students that have been identified as requiring additional support in the area of reading;
Kindergarten learning to write and talking about the sounds they can hear in words;
Progressive Achievement testing (PAT) across Years One to Six, leading to the analysis of quality literacy and numeracy data to inform learning and teaching practises and ensure high levels of learning for all students;
Children feeling comfortable to learn, leading them to take risks and be engaged in their learning;
The SPLICED program commencing for selected students (Stretching Potential through Learning in Interactive Challenging Environments in the Diocese);
STEM (Science Technology, Engineering and Mathematics) lessons being offered to every student across Kindergarten to Year Six.
Creative Arts lessons, teaching the element of Dance across Kindergarten to Year Six;
Choir re-commencing across Years Two to Six for interested students.

The growth in learning and faith for every student at St Pius X is our key priority. I look forward to seeing many of you at the blessing of the backpacks on Sunday at 8a.m at Immaculate Conception Unanderra.

Yours Sincerely,

Pauline Chrostowski - Principal

SACRAMENTAL NEWS 2023

Compulsory information meeting for ONE parent/ caregiver. (Students do not attend)
1 hr duration ( 2 seperate opportunities)
Payment option either cash or tap device.
Held in the new Parish Centre at St Therese, West Wollongong
Bring a copy of Baptisimal certificate
Confirmation registration next week 7pm (next week) either - Tues 7/3 or Thurs 9/3
Reconciliation and / or First Holy Communion registration (week after) at 7pm either - Tues 14/3 or Thurs 16/3
Please see attached note or hard copy note from your child (Year 3 and Year 6)

Sacramental_Program_2023_Initial_letter.docx.pdf

Sacramental_Program_2023_Initial_letter _docx _pdf 280.69 KB

Week_1_Lent.pdf

Week_1_Lent _pdf 984.25 KB

Important Reminders

As we now settle into the routines of school and to help our children with their afternoon learning and dismissal we would like to take this opportunity to remind parents and carers of our afternoon dismissal procedures. These procedures are put in place for the safety of all our children.

Please take note below where on the playground parents wait for their children. Remember to collect your youngest child first then any other children and refrain from waiting directly outside classrooms.

Please be mindful that there are to be no children using the play equipment after school each afternoon in order to disrupt the flow of our dismissal and for the safety of all children.

Class	Children line up area	Parent waiting area
Kinder	Snakes and ladders game	Between the vegetable gardens and playground
Year 1 & 2	Astro patch in front of their own classes	Large astro playground
Year 3 and 4	At the base of the Year 3/4 stairs (near the rock garden)	Under the cola in front of the staffroom stairs.
Year 5 and 6	Under the brick wall at the bottom of their stairs.	Large astro playground

Bus lines - Under the basketball ring under the cola in three lines.

OOSH - On the silver seats to be picked up at 3:10pm by OOSH staff.

Thank you for working with us in following our new afternoon procedures so that we are able to maintain the safety of our children.

NSW K–2 English and Mathematics syllabuses

The NSW school curriculum has undergone the first comprehensive reform in 30 years after an extensive curriculum review and consultation.

The curriculum review has been informed by consultation with teachers and education experts from around the State, as well as a detailed examination of quality international education systems. In 2018 and 2019, parents and carers took part in the review through consultation.

Reform recommendations include the priority of building strong foundations for future learning with new English and Mathematics syllabuses for Kindergarten to Year 2. The reformed English and Mathematics K–2 syllabuses highlight foundational literacy and numeracy skills to develop competence in:

oral language
reading
writing
mathematics.

In 2023, all New South Wales primary schools are expected to teach using the new NSW syllabus. New 3-6 Syllabus in English and Mathematics will be implemented in 2024.

English K–2

The organisation of outcomes and content highlights the importance of strong foundations in the early years across oral language, reading and writing. It supports the development of early literacy knowledge and skills, while continuing to acknowledge the importance of learning about and enjoying literature.

All the outcomes for English K–2 fall under:

Understanding texts
Creating texts.

Mathematics K–2

Learning Mathematics in K–2 enables students to become confident, effective users and communicators of mathematics. They develop an increasingly sophisticated understanding of mathematical concepts and processes that helps them interpret and solve problems. Students make connections within mathematics and connect mathematical concepts with the world around them. They learn to understand and appreciate how mathematics is a relevant part of their lives.

The reformed Mathematics K–2 syllabus organises the outcomes and their related content into 3 areas:

Number and algebra
Measurement and space
Statistics and probability.

The important role of Working Mathematically is incorporated into all areas of mathematics.

PRINCIPAL AWARDS

Archer Miller - 1B

Conor Hunt - 1B

Orlando Curcio - 1B

Sienna Curcio - 1B

Isabella Dimoski - 1R

Lucas Gibson - 1R

Lenny O'Brien - 1R

Maria Bubb - 1R

Zara Moretti - 1R

Mali Rockliff - 2B

Marcella Specogna - 2B

Isaiah Ririnui - 2R

Jensen Masi - 2R

Ruby Magill - 2R

Zara Vaassen - 2R

Scarlett Mahanidis - 3B

Isaac Llamas - 5R

Rhys Szilagyi -6B

Bentley Faucett - 6B

Izabel Brejniak - 6B

Ava Gamosh - 6B

Rocco Scaglia - 6B

Mason Micevski - 6B

Cooper Campbell - 6R

Victoria Nestorovski - 6R

William Stepanovski - 6R

Trinity Vergan - 6R

MACKILLOP AWARDS

Scarlett Mahanidis - 3B

Bentley Faucett - 6B

Mason Micevski - 6B

SCHOOL MEDALLIONS

Bentley Faucett - 6B

Mason Micevski - 6B

Medallions will be presented at the Year 6 Farewell Ceremony by Mrs Chrostowski.

Congratulations to all of these students.

	TERM ONE 31 JAN – 6 APR
MARCH
Wednesday 15^th-Tuesday 21st	NAPLAN Testing window.
Friday 24th	SPX Cross Country Carnival Kindergarten to Year Six at Unanderra Oval, commencing 9.30am All welcome!
Saturday 25th	State Election in SPX Hall - Parents and Friends BBQ.
APRIL
Sunday 2^nd April	Palm Sunday.
Wednesday 5th April	Easter Hat Parade and Picnic, all welcome and further details to follow.
Thursday 6th	Last Day Term 1 (Holy Thursday), dramatisation of Holy Week all welcome.

Emergency and Lockdown Drills

As part of our safety compliance, it is important that we carry out evacuation and lock down drills regularly. The normal practice in schools is to complete these drills once each term. We will be completing the lockdown and evacuation drills over the coming weeks. These drills will allow us to refine our practices in ensuring that the children and staff are safe in the event of an emergency.

Positive Behaviours for Learning

Positive Behaviours for Learning (PB₄L) is an organisational framework for behaviour support to enhance respectful relationships and engagement of students in their learning. It is an evidence-based framework that is implemented across Kindergarten to Year Six.

The PB₄L Framework includes:

Improving and maintaining the social climate of the school by reducing problem behaviours, whilst increasing prosocial behaviours and respectful relationships;
Promoting the social and emotional skills students need to be successful in life;
Supporting and enhancing the learning and teaching environment, and engagement of students to improve student learning outcomes;
Increasing a proactive approach and reducing a reactive response to problem behaviours through a continuum of support.

Identifying Problem Behaviour

MINORS: Students who are exhibiting low level behaviour such as calling out and are not responding to prompts to re-direct will receive a Minor. Three Minors in a term will involve parents contact from the Stage Leader and booster lessons implemented to support the identified behavior

MAJORS: A high-level behaviour, with impact and intent i.e., foul language, aggressive physical behaviour will lead to parent contact, continued patterns of high-level behaviour will lead to the development of an individualised Behaviour Plan and activation of the suspension policy, if appropriate.

At St Pius X our behaviour data is reviewed weekly by the Leadership Team. We pride ourselves on dealing with issues promptly and proactively. The safety and well-being of the students is our absolute priority.

Gifted Education

As part of our processes for identifying gifted students, this term at St Pius X, all Year 3 students had the opportunity to take the ACER General Ability Tests (AGAT). This test is designed to assist teachers of students in their assessment of students’ general reasoning ability.

Each of the tests assesses students’ reasoning skills in three areas:

• Verbal

• Numerical

• Abstract (visual)

Students who scored in the top stanines of the AGAT test were then tested on the SLOSSAN test- a verbal one-on-one test that provides an estimate of verbal cognitive ability. Well done to Year 3 students for completing these.

I am very excited to announce the SPLICED topic for 2023- “A View From Afar: Examining and Dissecting, Marvelling and Wondering through a Wide-Angle Lens. Students involved in the SPLICED program will have their first workshop day at St John's Dapto on Monday March 6th.

Finally, we are in the process of finalising the DaVinci Decathlon groups who will represent St Pius X this year. We are looking forward to continuing to work with and help prepare these students.

New Alternative Summer Girls Uniform

Thank you to the 150 parents and carers that took part in the Google Form survey on the options for the Alternative Summer Girls Uniform.

We are excited to announce that the uniform choice with the most votes was the sky blue shirt with red piping and the skort (please see picture below).

Also, a very large number of parents and carers wish to look into a new school hat option.

I will now take this information and begin the production process with Lowes.

We are looking forward to seeing this new addition to the Girls Summer Uniforms and will keep you informed when they are ready to be purchased.

Chloe Tighe.

CLEAN UP AUSTRALIA DAY 2023

Pope Francis, in his encyclical, Laudato Si’, challenged every person living on our planet to support the building of a better future for humanity and the world.

Here at St Pius X we take this challenge very seriously. As our vision statement highlights, we encourage all through our daily actions to be carers for our common home. We believe that every small action can have a big impact on our planet Earth and on our school community. As part of accepting this challenge, we are participating in the “Clean up Australia Day 2023” campaign.

This will take place on Friday 3rd March. On this day, classes will be required to do their bit by cleaning up a particular area of our school environment. Children have been asked to bring gloves to school on this day.

RAT Kits

The school currently has a very healthy supply of RAT kits. If your family would like
more tests, please don’t hesitate to contact the office.
What should I do if I test positive?
NSW Health recommends you:
 stay home until your acute symptoms have gone
 register your positive rapid antigen test result with Service NSW
 wear a mask indoors and on public transport, if you must leave your home
 avoid large gatherings and indoor crowded places
 don't visit people at higher risk of severe illness.

SCHOOL NEWS

Enrolment for 2024
Enrolments for Kindergarten 2024 are now open. If you have a child attending
Kindergarten next year or you know of anyone who is thinking of enrolling their child,
please encourage them to attend our SPX New Enrolment Expo on Wednesday 8th
March. This is an opportunity for families to visit the school, meet the staff and enjoy
some hospitality. Enrolment forms are available from the school office or our website
https://www.spxudow.catholic.edu.au

Food Related Allergies and Diet Restrictions

The Canteen understands that food allergies and other diet restrictions can be concerning to parents and students when purchasing food outside of the home such as a school canteen.

If your child/dependant has any food related allergies please mark this clearly on their lunch order when ordering. The Canteen also requests if parents/carers intend to allow their children to use the Canteen for lunch orders and/or break time that the students introduce themselves a few times to the Canteen. This will help ensure in person identification with allergy charts and the students identified allergies.

The canteen seeks to provide healthy food options for all, respect and cater for allergies, cultural and religious food preferences.

The online menu lists ingredients within each menu item. Canteen Kat Facebook page posts photos and ingredient lists of pop up specials. Please contact the canteen if you have any further questions regarding ingredients or preparation of menu items.

Thank you

Canteen Kat

2023 School Fees – Important information and reminders

All families have been sent their 2023 School fee statements via email. We have been advised that some emails to Yahoo and Hotmail accounts are going to junk or spam boxes. If you have not yet received your fee statement, please check your junk/spam to see if it has been filtered there. If you have not received anything, please contact the school office as soon as possible to rectify this to avoid any overdue notices.

PAY BY INSTALMENTS

Many families have already elected to pay their school fees by instalments. If you wish to take up 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. 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. The Fees Team have received a large volume of requests and updated statements will be emailed to families on their next school fee statement.

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 school office. Be reassured that your situation will be treated with strict confidentiality and respect for your circumstances. Please note, if you have children in more than one school, it will only be necessary to submit one application.

For those families that received a Fee Concession in 2022, you will receive an email prior to your annual review date attaching a further Application for Fee Concession. You may also initiate an earlier review if you wish to do so by contacting your school office.

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.

ICLT

Thank you to the parents who replied to the Google Form about Parent Technology
Sessions. Due to only eight responses showing interest in holding a session we are going to hold off, at this point in time. I will look into creating a few step by step videos for some aspects that I had planned to cover. In the meantime I have just been made aware of an application - Our Pact that can be found at https://ourpact.com/ and should allow parents the ability to monitor devices and settings. This has been recommended by one of the Technology Leaders in the office who used it with his own children.
The eSafety Commissioner who we regularly turn to for technology guidance is also hosting four webinars that may interest you. These webinars can be on the esafety website found below https://www.esafety.gov.au/parents/webinars and cover topics of:eSafety 101: how eSafety can help you (30min)
This 30-minute webinar is designed for parents and carers of young people in primary and secondary school.

It will cover:
 who we are
 what you can report to eSafety
 helpful advice and resources for parents and carers.

Term 1 dates (Australian Eastern Daylight Time)
21 March 7:30 pm to 8:00 pm
Setting your child up for success online (30min)
This 30-minute webinar is designed for parents and carers of children in primary school.

It will cover:
 age-appropriate expectations and boundaries
 online risks and strategies to keep your children safe
 where to find support for you and your child when things go wrong.

Term 1 dates (Australian Eastern Daylight Time)
28 February 12:30 pm to 1:00 pm
14 March 12:30 pm to 1:00 pm
Getting the most out of gaming (45min)
This 45-minute webinar provides families with strategies for supporting children and
young people to have safe, positive experiences when playing games online. It is
designed for parents and carers of children aged 7 to 14.

It will cover:
 when gaming can be beneficial and strategies to promote better in-game
experiences
 how to keep children safe online – using safety and privacy settings in games and
platforms
 strategies to promote more balanced gaming and how to create smoother
transitions from game-play to other activities
 the key online risks and where to find help for things like bullying and harassment
in games.

Term 1 dates (Australian Eastern Daylight Time)
14 March 7:30 pm to 8:15 pm
Navigating online friendships (30min)
This 30-minute webinar is designed for parents and carers of young people in
secondary school.

It will cover:
 how to support young people to have safe and respectful online relationships
 what to do when something happens at school and ends up on social media or
private messaging apps
 how to report to social media platforms and eSafety.
 Term 1 dates (Australian Eastern Daylight Time)
29 March 7:30 pm to 8:00 pm

I recommend registering for any courses that might interest you. I have also included in this newsletter and all following newsletters one social media or gaming article that explains safety concerns and actions for that specific area. These infographics are from the Carly Ryan Foundation and have very useful information.

Regards
Bill Whittle
ICLT Coordinator

eSafety Commission Parent and Carer Webinars

eSafety 101: how eSafety can help you (30min)

Setting your child up for success online (30min)

This 30-minute webinar is designed for parents and carers of young people in primary and secondary school.

It will cover:

who we are
what you can report to eSafety
helpful advice and resources for parents and carers.

Term 1 dates (Australian Eastern Daylight Time)

21 March 7:30 pm to 8:00 pm

Register here

This 30-minute webinar is designed for parents and carers of children in primary school.

It will cover:

age-appropriate expectations and boundaries
online risks and strategies to keep your children safe
where to find support for you and your child when things go wrong.

Term 1 dates (Australian Eastern Daylight Time)

28 February 12:30 pm to 1:00 pm

14 March 12:30 pm to 1:00 pm

Register here

Getting the most out of gaming

(45min)

Navigating online friendships

(30min)

This 45-minute webinar provides families with strategies for supporting children and young people to have safe, positive experiences when playing games online. It is designed for parents and carers of children aged 7 to 14.

It will cover:

when gaming can be beneficial and strategies to promote better in-game experiences
how to keep children safe online – using safety and privacy settings in games and platforms
strategies to promote more balanced gaming and how to create smoother transitions from game-play to other activities
the key online risks and where to find help for things like bullying and harassment in games.

Term 1 dates (Australian Eastern Daylight Time)

14 March 7:30 pm to 8:15 pm

Register here

This 30-minute webinar is designed for parents and carers of young people in secondary school.

It will cover:

how to support young people to have safe and respectful online relationships
what to do when something happens at school and ends up on social media or private messaging apps
how to report to social media platforms and eSafety.

Term 1 dates (Australian Eastern Daylight Time)

29 March 7:30 pm to 8:00 pm

Register here

Among_Us.pdf

Among_Us _pdf 239.83 KB

LOWES SALE

Schoolwear_Zero_March_23_flyer.pdf

Schoolwear_Zero_March_23_flyer _pdf 370.13 KB

HSC_Enrol_now.pdf

HSC_Enrol_now _pdf 1.16 MB

St_Joseph_s_Tours_Info_Evening.pdf

St_Joseph_s_Tours_Info_Evening _pdf 939.12 KB

Good Luck to the following students who are competing in Diocesan sporting trials.

SPX Swimming Team 7th March

Claire Belo, Ryley McNally, Mila, McPherson, Cael Chinnock, Tom Fischer, Sophia Guerrera, Savannah Harb, Louis Garcia, Madison Halcrow, Addison McPherson, Emmett Turner, Bronte Chinnock, Sebastian Rodwell, Georgia Correa, Khushi Maskey, Saffron McNally Bates, Ryan Yeo, Annabel Norton

Football (Soccer) Trials 8th March

Georgia Correa

Rocco Scaglia

Daniel Zugic

Rugby League Trials 3rd March

Ryan Yeo

Pj Pedron

Zach O'Brien

Jump Rope For Heart Update

It is just over a week til our Jump Off Day and the SPX students have been very busy skipping and practicing their tricks. Our fundraising effort has been outstanding, making us the top fundraisers throughout Australian schools so far this year.

A reminder that it is a mufti day for next Thursday 9th March for our Jump Off Day. Please come in joggers/closed in shoes suitable for skipping and celebrating our achievement!

Fundraising Effort as of Wednesday 1/3/23

Top Student Fundraisers:

Jaxson Steele. $1625.78

Aiden Laker. $1421.61

Ruby Magill. $722.17

Scarlett Thompson $572.11

Scarlette De Santis $536.96

Poppy Goovan $518.85

Representative Sport

Zach represented Wollongong for touch football in Wagga over the weekend. They were undefeated all weekend and won the title of State Cup Champions :)

Caritas Project

Last week, we attended the Caritas Project Compassion Mass with Mrs Chrostowski at St Columbkille's Catholic Parish school, Corrimal. We enjoyed a lovely liturgy with Bishop Brian and morning tea with other catholic schools around the Illawarra. We are grateful that we got to experience this event.