Dear Parents and Carers,

Welcome back to what promises to be another productive term. Our focus continues to be on prioritising the faith, learning and well-being of every student. Our Vision and Mission clearly articulates the high expectations that we have for our students at St Pius X, with the belief that every child is capable of personal growth and excellence.   

Throughout this term our classroom and specialist teachers will be completing Semester One Reports for children across Kindergarten to Year Six. A standards-referenced approach is used to assess and report student achievement in NSW. This approach uses syllabus outcomes and content to describe what students are expected to learn and how well students demonstrate this achievement. This is then assessed against a three point scale for Kindergarten and a five point scale for Years One to Six.

Kindergarten

Basic  Sound  Thorough

Years 1-6

Elementary  Basic  Sound  Thorough. Extensive

Our teachers know their students well and utilise a range of quality-based assessments to establish where the students are at a point in time. This, in turn then informs next steps in the child’s learning.

I always look forward to reading and signing off on the Semester One Reports.

Reports will be sent home on Friday 28^th June with the opportunity for Parent Teacher Interviews in the final week of school:  Monday 1^st-5^th July.

I would like to sincerely thank the staff, and particularly the Leadership Team for their support during my period of secondment to the Catholic Education Office, Diocese of Wollongong (CEDoW). My time in the CEDoW was a wonderful professional learning opportunity and it was comforting to know the school was being led so capably in my absence. It was so lovely to walk back through the gates and see smiling faces, engaged learners and a feeling of calm.

I would like to particularly acknowledge Mrs Christine Nunes and Ms Louise Sartor for their outstanding leadership.

Have a lovely week ahead and thank you to all of our beautiful mothers, grandmothers and special friends that joined us today. It was a wonderful breakfast and I wish you all the best on Sunday. 

Sincerely

Pauline Chrostowski (Principal)

 

HAPPY MOTHER’S DAY

PRAYER FOR MOTHERS

Loving God,

We pray for our mothers and those who are like mothers to us – our grandmothers, our aunties, our sisters, our teachers and our friends.

May we always remember how intelligent, capable, responsible and hard-working they are and thank them for the love, care and protection they show for us.

O God, shower our mothers with abundant blessings. 

We ask this prayer in Jesus’ name.

Amen.

Month of May - Dedication to Mary 

The month of May is the "month which the piety of the faithful has especially dedicated to Our Blessed Lady," and it is the occasion for a "moving tribute of faith and love which Catholics in every part of the world pay to the Queen of Heaven. During this month Christians we are called to offer up to Mary from our hearts our prayers and dedications. Students will be learning about the rosary and engaging in prayer experiences every Friday throughout May.

Feast of the Ascension of the Lord - 12th May 

The Feast of the Ascension is the fortieth day after Easter Sunday, which commemorates the Ascension of Christ into heaven, according to Mark 16:19, Luke 24:51, and Acts 1:2. The terms used in the West, ascensio and, occasionally, ascensa, signify that Christ was raised up by His own powers. Tradition designates Mount Olivet near Bethany as the place where Christ left the earth. It is one of the Ecumenical feasts ranking with the feasts of the Passion, of Easter and of Pentecost among the most solemn in the calendar. 

SAVE THE DATE - Registration Evening Reconciliation and First Holy Communion

• Tuesday 18th June 7 pm at St Therese Parish Centre

OR

• Thursday 20th June 7 pm at St Therese Parish Centre

Please contact the parish office if you have any questions via unanderra@dow.org.au

Welcome to Term 2!

The beginning of a new school term always brings with it much excitement and anticipation for the events and learning of what lies ahead. Over the coming term there will be many wonderful opportunities for students and their families to become involved in our school community. These school community events are an important part of fostering positive relationships between the school and our families, as well as having a direct impact on learning and wellbeing for all our students. 

Our Diocesian Lighting the Way 24+ focus area of “Belonging in a connected community” identifies the importance of providing opportunities for students and families to feel a sense of belonging in their school communities. Stay tuned to Compass and our school newsletter for events such as Mother's day celebrations, Athletics Carnival, Grade assemblies, and celebrating our sacraments.

Year 1 and Year 2 Classroom updates

The end of Term 1 saw flooding impact our Year 1 and Year 2 classes. During the school break, extensive remediation work was undertaken, including the removal and replacement of damaged carpeting. This endeavor, although demanding, was successfully executed over the past week. I would like to extend my gratitude to our dedicated staff for their adaptability and unwavering support throughout this period. Special acknowledgement is also owed to our Out of School Hours (OOSH) staff for their collaborative efforts in ensuring that our learning spaces remained conducive to both learning and after school activities. 

Additionally, I would like to extend my gratitude to our parents for their understanding and support and more importantly I commend our resilient little people for their remarkable adaptability, seamlessly adjusting to their new learning spaces.

PB4L News

Within the first few weeks of each term, teachers spend time revisiting and reviewing expectations for learning and behaviour. Routines are re-established, and reminders for PB4L procedures are revisited to set up high expectations within the classroom and playground. PB4L stands for Positive Behavior for Learning. It's an approach used in schools to improve behavior and learning outcomes for students. PB4L focuses on creating a positive and supportive school culture by explicitly teaching and reinforcing positive behaviors, rather than solely reacting to negative behaviors. It involves strategies such as teaching social skills, setting clear expectations, providing consistent consequences, and recognizing and reinforcing desired behaviors. PB4L aims to create environments where all students feel safe, valued, and able to succeed academically and socially.

Reminders from the Parent Handbook

At times parents may become concerned about the behaviour of other students and, in an effort to resolve the situation, approach the student concerned. However, under no circumstances are parents to approach other students when trying to resolve an issue. Always seek assistance from the school. Incidents such as this can very quickly lead to reportable Child Protection matters that have to be investigated and reported.

It is also good practice to seek assistance from the school when you have a concern rather than approaching other parents about school related matters.

Always think about what you would do, or how you would feel, if another parent approached your child or confronted you about a matter where you were not fully informed of the details.

Term 1 Learning in Year 5

Maths

In Mathematics during Term 1, Year 5 learnt many different mathematical concepts and how they can be linked together. They enjoyed creating a cross country track around the school using the trundle wheels. They also worked collaboratively to create their own town map with a school, shopping centre, sporting fields and houses. After that they had to calculate the distances between the different landmarks on our maps. 

Over the last two weeks of the term, they looked at fractions, learning how to understand how these can be represented. One of the learning tasks was to design a flag for a new country that was ⅜ red, ⅛ green, ¼ blue and ¼ yellow. Here are some examples of the different designs they created.

Science

During Science lessons in Term 1, Year 5 investigated processes and
designed their own board game. They looked at what are technological
inputs and outputs and how we use this in our everyday life. Then, this
knowledge was used to make entertaining board games which include:
moving a Bee Bot around on Taylor’s Tour, navigating Magnificent
Mazes, even taking players on an out of this world adventure!

Visual Arts

In Art they looked at the artists Julian Ashton and Sidney Nolan creating the following artworks.

Term 1 Learning in Year 6

Year 6 has jumped straight back into things this term and what a term it’s going to be! In English, we have started looking at Vincent Lingiari and his instrumental role in improving Aboriginal working rights in the 1960s. This unit allows students to consider the context and perspectives of each of the authors and the devices used to compose informative and engaging texts. 

This term also sees the return of the Year 6 Notable Presentation Project. Students have spent time this week choosing and researching their notable Australian who has made a significant impact in our lives. Students will display their information, utilising their research and digital apps to creatively present their information. We cannot wait for the Night of the Notables Presentation Night on Wednesday 24th July! I’m sure we will be seeing a few political figures, elite athletics and inventors around. 

SPORT NEWS

MACKILLOP RUGBY

Good Luck to Tom Fischer competing for the Rugby League MacKillop team tomorrow in Canberra.

DIOCESAN CROSS COUNTRY

Diocesan Cross Country has been postponed until Tuesday 28th May.  

HOCKEY COACHING

This term, students from K-6 will engage in Hockey and Athletics sessions during Physical Education Lessons. These sessions aim to cultivate the basic skills of these sports while boosting students' confidence and proficiency for our upcoming athletics carnival participation.

LWFA TOURNAMENT

The boys are playing in cairns in the Far North Queensland cup with the Luke Wilkshire football academy.