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Dear Parents and Carers of St Pius X,
Last Friday our School celebrated “G Day”. This special event acknowledged our Grandparents, God Parents and Good friends who play a significant role in the lives of our children. It was so wonderful to see such a large turn out for our lunch, open classrooms and picnic. A special thank you to Jas Sidhu, father of Ryan in Year One who so generously supported the event, with his team from Outback Steakhouse in Fairy Meadow. Also to Ms Louise Sartor and Mrs Karen Harley who so capably led the event.
This celebration aligned with the Church's commemoration of World Day for Grandparents and the elderly on Sunday. Following his Sunday address to the faithful gathered in St. Peter's Square, Pope Francis, who instituted the day in 2021, recalled the occasion, whose theme this year is "Do not cast me off in my old age" (cf. Psalm 71:9)
We certainly do not ‘Cast off” our grandparents and elderly, as they have so much wisdom, love and knowledge to provide. On behalf of the St Pius X community, thanks to all our special “G’s” who support our children. We also honour Mary’s parents and the earthly Grandparent of Jesus, Joachmin and Anne On their feast day of July 26th.
I will leave you with our Vision, which I spoke to our guests about on Friday. This Vision describes who we are, is Christ centred and influences all aspects of our school. It was so lovely to receive feedback on the “great job” we are doing in the area of faith, learning and well being.
“With faith as our guide we nurture hearts and empower minds”
Yours Sincerely,
Pauline Chrostowski - Principal
Please contact Melissa at unanderra@dow.org.au if you have any questions or have not received the email.
Mass with the Bishop
St Pius X will be hosting the 2024 Mass with the Bishop on Wednesday 7th August, which will see our Year 6 students and their peers from 7 other surrounding Catholic Primary Schools participate in a special Mass celebrated by Bishop Brian at Immaculate Conception Parish Church. After Mass the students will be entertained by the Edmund Rice Band and have the opportunity to mingle with their peers onsite at St Pius X. We are very much looking forward to this wonderful opportunity to share in this experience together.
Mary MacKillop Feast Day
On Thursday 8th August we will be celebrating the Feast Day of Australia’s first saint, Mary MacKillop. Mary dedicated her life to education and helping those in need. To honour her legacy, students will engage in a liturgy and accompanying activities throughout the day that reflect her values of compassion and service. We look forward to a meaningful and inspiring celebration!
NAPLAN: One Piece of the Learning Puzzle
Last week, students in Years 3 and 5 received their NAPLAN results. NAPLAN, or the National Assessment Program – Literacy and Numeracy, is a key component of Australia's education system. It evaluates the literacy and numeracy skills that students are developing through the school curriculum.
NAPLAN is unique because it is the only national assessment that all Australian students undertake. Each year, students in Years 3, 5, 7, and 9 participate in this standardised testing to provide a snapshot of their proficiency in essential skills such as reading, writing, and numeracy.
It’s important to understand that while NAPLAN provides valuable insights, it is just one piece of the puzzle when it comes to assessing a child’s learning. Teachers regularly evaluate students through various methods, including whole-school formal assessments, classwork, pre- and post-assessment tasks and observations. This ongoing assessment helps build a complete picture of a student’s abilities and progress. NAPLAN results can complement this by providing additional information that might highlight areas of strength or areas where extra support might be beneficial.
For parents, NAPLAN results are a useful tool to gauge how your child is performing. However, they should be considered alongside the regular feedback you receive from teachers and your own observations of your child's learning and development.
If you have any questions about your child’s NAPLAN results or their overall progress, we encourage you to reach out to their teacher for further discussion and support.
Behaviour Management & Pastoral Care
At St Pius X Unanderra, we prioritise pastoral care, respecting each person's dignity and their contribution to our school community. We implement the Positive Behaviours for Learning (PB4L) framework, which is supported by international research and focuses on enhancing respectful relationships and student engagement in learning. This proactive approach, used across all Wollongong Diocesan Primary schools, establishes practices and systems to create positive teaching and learning environments. Our school-wide management framework aligns with our vision of fostering an inclusive, nurturing Catholic school community where students reach their full potential.
This is achieved by establishing school-wide management practises which:
- clearly define outcomes that relate to academic and social behaviour
- is supported by the understanding that “Adults matter”. Clear, consistent and durable systems support the work of the adults that matter to the lives of children – staff and parents
- has effective and efficient teaching practises that support student success
- uses relevant school data to guide decision making.
We also adhere to the CEDoW 'Life to the Full' Framework, which guides our approach to building respectful relationships, child safety, and human sexuality education within a Catholic context. This framework underpins our pastoral care and wellbeing initiatives and aligns with Social and Emotional Learning across the curriculum.
Key CEDoW policies and frameworks that support behaviour and pastoral care at St Pius X can be accessed on the CEDoW website, including:
Student Pastoral Care and Wellbeing Policy
Positive Behaviours For Learning Framework
CEDoW Path to Life Framework for Pastoral Care and Wellbeing
Suspension, Expulsion and Exclusion of Students Policy (currently being updated)
CEDoW 'Life to the Full' Framework
| AUGUST | |
| Wednesday 7th |
Mass with the Bishop |
| Thursday 15th-Friday 16th |
Year 5 Excursion to Canberra |
| Tuesday 27th |
Stage 1 Excursion |
|
SEPTEMBER |
|
| Friday 20th |
Kindergarten Excursion to Symbio |
| Thursday 26th |
LAST DAY TERM THREE-STUDENTS |
| Friday 27th |
PUPIL FREE DAY |
|
OCTOBER |
|
| 14th October |
FIRST DAY TERM FOUR |
GREEN AND GOLD DAY
On Friday 2nd August, St Pius X will be turning GREEN & GOLD, in support of the Australian Olympic Team.
‘Green & Gold Day’ is for everyone. The athletes, the fans, the businesses, the schools, the young, the old and everything in between. It doesn’t matter who you are, your sporting ability or your background, we believe sport has the power to unite us all.
This day is about painting the country in our national colours and being proud of Australia’s sporting achievements, it’s about all Australians coming together and celebrating the green and gold.
So let's wear green and gold mufti and support our Aussie Team.
Students are required to wear closed in shoes, hat, no singlet or midriff tops.
SAVE THE DATE
Friday 30th August Father’s Day Breakfast and Feast Day Fun! More details to follow.
BOOK WEEK
Night of the Notables
Every year, Year 6 students complete a research project on a notable Australian figure through their HSIE (History) Unit. They have spent a considerable amount of time throughout Term 2 completing different research tasks to present their findings in creative and engaging ways.
On Wednesday 24th July, SPX hosted Night of the Notables, both for students during the day and after school for family, friends and special guests. We would like to acknowledge the remarkable job Year 6 students did presenting their information both visually and verbally.
Year 5 Canberra Overnight Excursion
The Year 5 students will attend an overnight excursion as part of the Human Society and Its Environment unit "Australia as a Nation" on Thursday 15 and Friday 16 August. The students will travel by coach leaving at 6.30am on Thursday and returning at approximately 7.30pm on Friday.
Further details are available in the Compass event issued to parents recently.
Permission by parents is required on Compass.
This excursion is an educational tour of the national capital. Students will be given the opportunity to participate in a variety of educational programs with a focus on Australia's history, culture, heritage, and democracy. The Australian Government recognises the importance of all young Australians being able to visit the national capital as part of their Civics and Citizenship education. To assist families in meeting the cost of the excursion the Australian Government is contributing funding to our school of $30.00 per student under the Parliament and Civics Education Rebate program towards those costs. The rebate is paid directly to the school upon completion of the excursion. Please note this cost has been rebated in the school fees.
The St John's Catholic Parish Primary School Dapto Parents and Friends Association are excited to announce they are hosting a parent and carer information session with Dr Justin Coulson on Wednesday, 28th August 2024 at 6:30pm.
Dr Justin Coulson is the co-host and parenting expert on Channel Nine’s “Parental Guidance” and the founder of happyfamilies.com.au and is considered one of Australia’s most trusted parenting experts.
The parent session will focus on the topic of Resilience. In this session parents will learn the psychological secrets that build their child’s sense of identity, strengths, and growth mindset in order to perform better, be happier, and build resilience.
Tickets can be purchased using this link https://events.humanitix.The live session runs from 7:00pm-8:30pm and refreshments will be provided from 6:30pm on the night.
PRINCIPAL AWARDS
Jaxon Stokes - 1R
Ruby Magill - 3R
Evelina Dudzinski - 3R
Blake Murray - 3R
MACKILLOP AWARDS
Alexander Borg Gauci - 3R
Blake Murray - 3R
Mila McPherson - 3R
Valentina Mulaj - 3R
Laynie Hill - 6R
Oliver Morath - 6R
PJ Pedron - 6R
Sienna Guerrera - 6R
Congratulations to all of these students.
SPX Athletics
Congratulations to our Athletics placegetters and Age Champions who received their ribbons and medals last week.
Age Champions 2024
Boys Girls
Junior - Tom Fischer Sophia Guerrera
11 Years - Vitaliy Riznyk Claudia Davis
12 years - David Carolan Laynie Hill & Marlee Minns
Congratulations to Francis House (green) for winning the inaugural House Trophy for 2024.
Good luck to our SPX Athletics Team who will be competing at Beaton Park on the 13th August.
Abhi Nair
Millie Begonja
Sophie Chard
Claudia Davis
Leni Grayson
Sophia Guerrera
Madison Halcrow
Serena Harb
Laynie Hill
Charlotte Mackay
Addison McPherson
Mila McPearson
Marlee Minns
Mariah Said
Marcella Specogna
Zara Vaassen
Marcus Barreto
David Carolyn
Tom Fischer
Jaxon Gafa
Nicholas Gauci
Luca Jurak
Levi Lima
Zac McGranahan
Pj Pedron
Vitaliy Riznyk
Hamish Ryan
Isaiah Santalab
Micheal Scognamiglio
Touch Football Gala Day
Message from Fr Duane
Dear Parishioners,
Please find attached this week's bulletin.
Fr Duane Fernandez
Parish Priest
Immaculate Conception and St Therese Parishes