Newsletter Term 1 Week 2, 2025
Acknowledgement of Country
In the Spirit of Reconciliation, the St. Pius X school community recognizes the ongoing role of the traditional custodians of this land, the Tubba-Gah peoples of the Wiradjuri nation. It is on their ancestral lands that we continue our learning journey together.
We extend that respect to Elders, past, present and emerging. Furthermore, all Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples within our school community. Acknowledging their presence and spiritual connection to Country.
In the light of faith, we work towards a more accepting and humble school environment for all.
Principal's Address
Dear Parents and Caregivers,
A busy week has been and gone, Kindergarten students have joined us and we offer a special welcome to them and their families. I know the Year Six class were very excited to spend time with their buddies. I had the chance to talk to Kindergarten about my Year Six Buddy, many years ago, a man that I still remember and keep in contact with today.
Opening School Mass
An important date on our school calendar is our Opening School Mass. I encourage as many of you as possible to join us for this special occasion. 10.00am this Thursday at St Brigids.
Safer Internet Day
One of the many challenges we have as Parents and Educators is the internet; how we teach our children about it, how we supervise them while on it, how we model its use to them and of course how we keep them safe.
Tuesday 11th February is Safer Internet Day, it is a global day of action bringing communities, schools, organisations and families from more than 180 countries together to raise awareness of online safety issues and work towards a safer internet.
The eSafety Commissioner leads the day in Australia and below is a link to help you keep it a safe and positive place.
https://www.esafety.gov.au/parents
Parent Information Night
Tuesday 18th February, we invite you all to our class information sessions. Infants classes will commence their sessions at 5.00pm, followed by the Primary classes at 5.30pm. All children are encouraged to attend. During the sessions we will be providing supervision on the playground. After you have the chance to meet your child’s/rens teacher, please join us for a sausage sizzle at 6.00pm. While you are here, why not join the Parents and Friends AGM at 6.30pm.
St Pius X has always had a strong link with our families and community and many friendship groups credit St Pius X for creating this link. One way to meet people is volunteering and here is a great opportunity.
Many hands make light work!
Class Parent/s
At our class information sessions teachers will be asking for someone (can be more than one) to nominate as the class parent. This simply entails organising a few social outings during the year; with or without the children.
“Volunteers do not necessarily have the time; they just have the heart.” ~ Elizabeth Andrew
Student Representative Council
Classes have recently nominated a class member to be their voice on the Student Representative Council (SRC) for the remainder of the year.
Congratulations to the following students: Ollie Hannam, Eli Johnston, Desyrae Senturias, Hugh Elliott, Timmy Peek and Jamie-Lea Dean.
We wish the new members all the best in their role.
These students will be receiving their SRC badge during the Assembly in Week Four.
Information Update
If any of your details have changed in recent time please let us know through an email to the school office. This may include; phone numbers, addresses, emergency contact details etc.
stpiusdubbo@bth.catholic.edu.au
Hopefully see you all on Thursday.
Greg Cant
Assistant Principal's Address
Uniforms
Normal school uniform: Monday, Wednesday and Thursday.
Sports uniform: Tuesday and Friday.
A reminder that wearing the correct school uniform is part of our school policy. There will be uniform checks carried out through the year. We have a clothing pool at school, you are more than welcome to check for clothing items. Please see the office staff if you would like to access the clothing pool. Please label all school uniform items clearly to ensure they are returned to the owner quickly.
"The school uniform is not just a dress code; it is a vital part of our educational environment. It promotes discipline, equality, community, and pride."
Technology
Thank you to all the parents who have given their child permission to access technology at school via Compass. If you have not done this, can you please do this promptly so your child does not miss out.
Ice Blocks
Ice blocks were a great hit last Friday! Ice-blocks are sold for $1.00 during the Second Break throughout Term 1. It is very helpful to send in the correct money. A reminder that children are not allowed to ‘shout’ their friends an ice-block.
Free On-Line Webinar for Parents & Carers
Do you ever wonder what some of the words teachers use mean? Things like syllabus,
curriculum, KLA, summative assessment? Let Catholic Schools NSW, in conjunction with The
Council of Catholic School Parents NSW/ACT, give you a quick ‘lesson’ in ‘schoolspeak’! Learning
the ‘lingo’ of school will help you talk to your child and teachers so you can best support your
child’s learning. Presented by Mary Ryan, Head of Professional Learning at Catholic Schools
NSW, find out about scope and sequence, how curriculum develops, what NESA does, NAPLAN,
what’s different about the new K–12 curriculum and how you can work with the school to improve
your child’s achievements and wellbeing.
Register now for a day or evening session:
Sports News
Polding Basketball Trials
Last week, Amahlii Thurston travelled to Tamworth to represent the Diocese of Bathurst at the Polding Basketball Trials. Unfortunately, Amahlii was not selected for the Polding team but to make it to this level is a wonderful achievement – congratulations.
SPX School Swimming Carnival
The school swimming carnival is being held Wednesday 19 th February. The carnival will commence at 9.00 a.m. but we ask that students be dropped off by 8.45am and report straight to their respective teachers to be marked off the roll.
Teachers will write their age division and house on their arm on Tuesday afternoon. The carnival will conclude at about 2.30 p.m. The pool entry fee for students is covered in our school fees, just inform the person on the gate you are a student of St. Pius X.
Children will NOT be nominating for events prior to the day but on the day of the carnival. The announcer will call for children wanting to go to events, these students will need to report to the marshals; the marshals will then place the competitors into a lane. It will be important to discuss with your child/children which events they are capable of entering. A team will be selected from our carnival to represent St. Pius X at the Western
Region Carnival. The regional carnival will be held on the 27th February in Wellington and the Diocesan Swimming Carnival in Dubbo on 11 th March. The
Regional and Diocesan carnivals enforce the rules of swimming so it would be unfair to take students to the next level who do not adhere to the rules. The rules of swimming are set out below and these will be enforced at our carnival by our judge.
Freestyle
- As the stroke implies, there are no rules regarding stroke form.
Backstroke
- The entire race must be swum on the back. Rolling onto the stomach will bring disqualification.
Breaststroke
- Must be done with a breaststroke kick, feet pointing out.
- Swimmer cannot drop a foot or leg at any time, during kicking motion.
- Feet cannot break the water.
- Children are not allowed to “double pull” during the dive.
- Children must touch the end of the pool with two hands at the same time.
Butterfly
- Arms must clear the water at all times.
- Butterfly kick only (dolphin type kick).
It is important that all swimmers put in 100% as there are no finals; the places will be decided by the times. Ribbons will only go to the three fastest times, not heat winners.
No medleys will be swam on the day, but if you are interested in competing in the individual medley at the regional carnival it is important to compete in the four individual strokes on the day and discuss with Mr Cant or Mrs Taylor your interest in the IM for the regional carnival.
Thanks to those who have already shown interest in helping on the day. If you would like to help please see the table on arrival. The carnival cannot proceed without your help.
ALL SPX Students (Kindergarten to Six) are to go to the pool and NOT school.
Kindergarten and Year One will finish their activities at 12.00pm.
Please ensure your child wears a hat and sunscreen and all clothing is clearly named.
Recess will be from about 10.30 till 10.50
Lunch will be from about 12.15 to 12.45
These times are only estimates.
A few rules for the day:
- Canteen will only be at recess and lunch – no visits through the day
- Children may wear a T Shirt the colour of their house, otherwise full sports uniform, we appreciate your support in this matter, it is NOT a mufti clothes day.
Please be prompt with dropping off and picking your children up.
RE News
Opening School Mass
Our Opening School Mass is this Thursday 13th February, 10am at St Brigid’s Church. We welcome all family and special visitors to celebrate the start of our school year.
Leaders will also be presented with their badges during our Mass.
Sacramental Information Sessions
There will be information sessions for all parents of children who will be making a sacrament this year. The dates of the sessions are:
- Sunday 23rd February 10am, St Brigid’s
- Tuesday 25th February 6:30pm, St Brigid’s
- Sunday 2nd March 10am, St Brigid’s
You only need to attend one of these sessions.
Term 1 Dates to Remember
- Opening School Mass - 13th Feb
- Sacramental Parent Meeting - 23rd Feb or 25th Feb or 2nd Mar
- Ash Wednesday Mass - 5th March
Kristy Isbester
Acting Religious Education Coordinator St Pius X
Library News
Congratulations to our Library Monitors for Semester One. These students will help in various ways to keep the Library running as smoothly as possible.
Library Monitors: Terms 1 and 2
Year Three - Hugo Myers, Eve Howard
Year Four - Spencer Marchant, Estelle Wise
Year Five - Abigail Hannam, Liam O’Callaghan
Year Six - Elizabeth Gordon, Claudia Wise, Kimberley Williams
Just a reminder of our Library Lesson Timetable for this year:
- Wednesdays: Kindergarten, Year 1, Year 2, Year 4 and Year 5
- Thursdays: Year 3 and Year 6
Lunchtime Library Days: The Library is also open 2 lunchtimes a week. This is for browsing, reading or quiet play activities, and a terrific option on a hot day! Wednesdays: For Year 1, Year 3 and Year 5. Thursdays: For Kindergarten, Year 2, Year 4 and Year 6.
Library Bags and Borrowing: Students are allowed, and encouraged, to borrow 2 books each week. All Infant students must have a labelled Library Bag to borrow-to keep books clean and undamaged. While it is preferable for Primary students to also have a Library Bag, as long as they look after their books they can still borrow.
Ashton-Scholastic Book Club: Our first Book Club magazine went home last week. Orders need to be in by Thursday 20th February please.
For Your Calendar: Our annual Book Fair will be held on July 30th and 31st, and our Book Week Character Parade will be August the 19th.
Wishing you a great week, Mr Schwager
School Librarian
Student Wellbeing
Collector’s Club: We will begin our first Collector’s Club this Wednesday. Collector’s Club is for any student who would like to share their collection with other students and/or swap cards to add to their collection. Currently, the Minecraft Cubeez and the Harry Potter cards are popular, but any collection is fine to bring in…especially Many Sea Eagles cards!! Please don’t send in highly valuable cards or sets to school.
Collector’s Club will run each Wednesday at lunchtime in the Library during term One.
Kind Regards, David Schwager
Student Wellbeing Officer
P&F News
2025 St Pius P&F NRL Tipping Competition
Competition Infromation
The tipping competition is being run through the website www.itipfooty.com.au
Registration forms to be completed and returned to the school office or emailed to stpiuspandf@gmail.com
Payment of $10 per tipper can be made in cash on return of the registration form to the office, or direct deposit to St Pius X P&F BSB 066-781 Account number 100013706. Please use your tipping name as reference.
Once payment and registration form is received, you will be issued the competition code and password.
Your tipping name can be anything you like, as long as it is not offensive. Illegitimate accounts will be disqualified.
The email address and account name must be the same as what is on the registration form. This is so the winners can be correctly identified.
Competition Rules
1 point for each correct tip.
Perfect round will receive a bonus 2 points (exc split rounds)
Tips must be entered 5 minutes before the start of each game
State of Origin will be included in tipping.
Finals will be included in tipping
Non submission of tips/late joiners will be allocated away games.
Each class can enter the competition and the winning class receives a pizza party at the end of the competition.
St Pius X Dubbo P&F NRL Footy Tipping Registration Form Full Name: ………………………………………………………
Tipping Name: ………………………………………………………
Email: ………………………………………………………
Phone number: ………………………………………………………
Payment Type: CASH / DIRECT DEPOSIT BSB 066-781 ACC 100013706
Kind Regards,
St Pius P&F
Merit Awards
Year 1 - Bo, Oliver, Emerson, Lienna, Venus, Zara
Year 2 - Ivy, Harry, Oliver, Kha Thy, Kai
Year 3 - Hugo, Siena, Emily, Hazel, Jonathan
Year 4 - Estelle, Abigail, Travis, Willow,
Year 5 - Jet, Kingsley, Liam, Olivia, Drishya
Year 6 - Harry, Kimberly
Happy Birthday !
Mason 4th
Ridwik 4th