Thursday 11th April 2024

Tena Koutou Katoa

What a whirlwind term one has been. Thank you for all your generous support and welcome as I came into this lovely community. The learners at St Pius X have worked for their break with having footsteps every Wednesday, supersmash cricket, Holy Week liturgies and Easter learning.

Young Vinnies

I am so proud of the Young Vinnies and wider school community for their work around the food drive this term. These items are all going to local families in need so thank you for your continuous and generous support you have given to this promotion.

Cultural Showcase
Last Friday we were privileged to share some of the cultures that make up St Pius X. Through an evening of food, dance and song. Thank you to all the families and learners who participated to make the evening special. The Friends of the school team organised and ran the event beautifully. Thanks also goes to the school teaching team for their support around the running of the event. It was a lovely evening spent together and a very special celebration of St Pius X culture and families.

Book Week
Week 2 next term will be book week. We will be celebrating books and a love of reading all week. As part of the celebration on Thursday of week 2 there will be a book character day. Everyone will dress up as their favourite book character for a parade. Start thinking over the holidays as to what you would like to come as for the day.

Enrolment
If you have a younger sibling to enroll at school from 2024-2026 please give their name and birthday to Maree in the office. This ensures we have a place available when your child turns 5. 2024 and early 2025 roll numbers are nearly closed.

Bikes and Scooters on the Drive
It is wonderful to see more people scootering or riding to school. Just a gentle reminder, before and after school, please make sure to walk your bike in the carpark and on the drive. We have a number of people using the same space at the same time and by walking your bike or scooter you help everyone stay safe at this busy time. Thanks.

Ngā mihi nui
Erin Clayton

Over the past week, our Year 5-8 students have explored engineering, problem-solving and teamwork through EPro8 challenges. As a school, we hired six extra sets of equipment to allow all our students to work with the equipment. Yesterday, we held competitions to find the top team at each year's level. These teams will attend the interschool competitions to be held early next term. Keep an eye out for how those teams get on.

Easter

The Easter season is the second longest liturgical season in the Church. Second only to Ordinary time. It continues as a celebration of Jesus' resurrection and mirrors the time that Jesus spent with the Disciples teaching them all they would need for the future of the Church. We as Catholics celebrate Easter for the 50 days following Easter Sunday, ending on Pentecost when the Holy Spirit visits the Disciples and the birth of the Church.

Here are some Ways To Celebrate the 50 Days of the Easter Season inspired by the Catholic Icing website

Make your own Pascal candle, or get a white candle blessed by your priest. Light it each night at dinner through the Easter season.
Teach your children to say “He is Risen” and then the person responds “He is risen, indeed!” and proclaim this as a greeting to them through the Easter season. Children love this kind of simple stuff, and it’s no extra work for you!
Display the word “Alleluia” prominently in your home during this season.
Be sure to point out to your children that word “Alleluia” has been missing from the mass during Lent, and now it is back.
Make cross crafts. There are unlimited colourful and fun ideas for this! Do it!
Make empty tomb crafts. Fun and totally Easter centred!
Include an extra daily family prayer for all 50 days of Easter.
Learn about lambs as an Easter symbol and make a lamb craft.
Bake bread (Risen Jesus reveals himself in the breaking of the bread) Read this scripture to your children while you eat the bread. Luke 24:13-35.
Go on a walk (The disciples meet Risen Jesus on the road to Emmaus). At some point during the walk, take a break and read the story from the Bible to your children. Luke 24:13-35
The Easter season is the perfect time to set up a family home altar, especially if you’ve never had one before.
Plant a garden! It could be a Mary garden, or new bulbs, flowers, whatever.
Did you know peacocks are an ancient Easter symbol? Peacocks were originally believed to be incorrupt because their feathers stayed beautiful after their death, and therefore, became a symbol for Christ. Make a peacock craft in celebration.

Pray the joyful mysteries of the rosary together as a family. Easter is certainly the perfect time for that

A brief introduction to the People that make St Pius X so special.

I would like to introduce to you.....

My name is Lisa. I have been working at St Pius since 2008 in various roles, but mostly with our senior students in years 6, 7 and 8. I love working with these older students and helping them prepare for their move on to high school. My teaching passions include mathematics, reading, art, and digital technology. There is often a slightly mad project happening in my classroom, while my students explore ideas and learn concepts.
I live in Hamilton with my husband, Brett, two of our girls, and four cats. My four amazing daughters all attended St Pius and are now adults spread around NZ. In my spare time, I enjoy reading, running and spending time with friends.

Kia ora everyone. My name is Rachel and I started teaching here at St Pius X last June. I took over Kakapo class after John left. I came for 4 weeks and love it so much, I am still here! Before that, I was teaching at St Columba’s Catholic School for 10 years. This year, I am the class release teacher, which means I have the privilege of going into all of the classes in the school. I am here for Term 1 and 2 and after that, I’m off to Europe to go backpacking with my daughter. Very exciting.

I am a mum with two fantastic children, both in their twenties, and a crazy cat. In my spare time I enjoy movies, reading, the beach and catching up with friends and family.

Hi, I'm Juliet and I have been part of the St. Pius community for 6 years as a teacher aide. I enjoy working with children of all abilities, encouraging them to be their best. I also work as a swim teacher at Hilton Brown Swimming in Chartwell.
In my spare time I play squash and football and have recently started playing lawn bowls again. I love gardening, lego and floral arrangements, which I take great enjoyment in doing.
I have two children and five grandchildren. I also have a 13 month old black lab and a grumpy fur baby at home.

My name is Bibin Jacob. I am originally from India and have migrated and settled in New Zealand since 2009. Following the completion of a Masters in Computer Applications, I embarked on a fulfilling career as a lecturer in a college, where I had the opportunity to teach at graduate levels. I am part of the St. Pius X School since 2020 as a Teacher Aide. Being with kids brings me genuine happiness and I cherish every moment guiding and inspiring them.

I am blessed to share my life’s adventures with my wonderful wife and our two amazing children. We love the beautiful outdoors of New Zealand and try to see as much of it as we can.

It brings me great joy and pride to be a member of the staff in the same school where my daughters are flourishing as students.

Beyond my role in supporting our children and teachers you might also catch a glimpse of my passion for photography through the vibrant snapshots of our school’s various occasions and events. Capturing the essence and energy of our school community through the lens has always been a joy for me. You will often find me with my camera in hand, eagerly snapping away to document the memories and milestones that make our school experience truly special.

My passion is to see children of all abilities achieving success in their own time.