ADAMSTOWN St Pius X High School (2012) - Catholic Schools ...

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Messages from Key School BodiesPrincipalIn 2012, St Pius X HS had a student population of 999 in Years 7 to 10, 70 teachers and 31 Support Staff.St Pius X is located in Park Avenue, Adamstown and draws pupils from the local Catholic primary schools including St Therese’sPrimary School, New Lambton, St John’s Primary School, Lambton, St Patrick’s Primary School, Wallsend, St James’ PrimarySchool, Kotara South, St Columba’s Primary School, Adamstown, Holy Family Primary School, Merewether Beach, St Joseph’sPrimary School, Merewether and Our Lady of Victories Primary School, Shortland. On completion of Year 10, our students moveon to St Francis Xavier’s College at Hamilton for Years 11 & 12. Together, all of the schools mentioned here form the CentralCluster of the Maitland-Newcastle Diocese.2012 was a successful year academically, culturally and in sport for our student community. Highlights included excellent resultsfor Year 10 in the School Certificate and for Years 7 and 9 students in the NAPLAN tests and an excellent Year 10 Retreat. In thefinal School Certificate Examinations, four St Pius students gained five First Place in the Diocese Awards out of a total of 10Awards conferred.Mr Robert EmeryMEdLead BSc(Hons) DipEd DipRE MACELP & FSt Pius X High School has an active P&F. Meetings are held every second Tuesday of the month. All parents and friends arewelcome to attend. The P&F provides parents with a forum in which they can raise questions, discuss issues pertinent to theschool, make comment and offer suggestions on policy and procedures. The P&F prides itself on its ability to raise much neededfunds for the school. Much of these funds are raised through the extremely successful and well-run School Dances held up to sixtimes through the year. Other activities vary from year to year.Mrs Louise PtolemyP&F President 2012Student Leaders/SRCOverall, students have a very strong school spirit and enjoy their time at St Pius. Students highly value the great school dances,good choice of electives, teacher personalities, current sporting opportunities and equipment, canteen food and music and dramaperformances. Excursions, overseas trips and the Yr.9 Snow Trip are also valuable experiences that are on offer.Abbey Dorman & Andrew de SouzaSchool CaptainsReligious Dimension and Culture of School LifeCatholic IdentitySt Pius X High School, Adamstown is named after the first Pope of the Church canonised in the 20th Century.The school crest is modelled on the Pope’s coat of arms and the school motto “Instaurare omnia in Christo” (To renew all things inChrist) reminds staff and students that everything we do, we do for Christ. The school community of St Pius X seeks to provide aneducation grounded in the Gospel values of love, justice and truth.The school came into existence on its present site in 1959 as a fulfilment of the late Bishop Toohey’s dream of a school directedand fully staffed by Diocesan Priests. Today the school is completely lay staff. Originally a boys’ high school, it became a coeducationaljunior high school in 1983.Each year the school community celebrates our patron saint’s feast day on the 21st August by organising activities to raise fundsfor Catholic Mission, Caritas and other needy charities.A N N U A L S C H O O L R E P O R T 2 0 1 2 2
In 2008, St Anne’s Hall, for assemblies and meetings, was re-named Sr Marie Hall in honour of Sr Marie Therese Fahey, aJosephite Sister who had a long relationship of service with our school. Sadly, this hall was burnt to the ground on June 30 2012by arsonists. The name “St Anne’s Hall” was a reminder of St Anne’s College, a senior girls’ high school that was opened adjacentto St Pius X High School, run by religious sisters of the Diocese and opened in 1966. The vacated St Anne’s buildings becameincorporated into the St Pius X campus when the students transferred to the present St Francis Xavier’s College, Hamilton in 1983.As well as the Religious Studies programme, there are whole school liturgies to celebrate special occasions, weekly staff prayers,Community days for Years 7, 8 & 9 and a three-day Retreat and a special Graduation Liturgy for Year 10.The School as part of Parish and Diocesan LifeStudents from St Pius X are involved in each of their Parish churches as readers, altar servers and in youth groups.St Pius X has a very active St Vincent de Paul junior group within the school. Run by members of the teaching Staff, the groupmeets regularly and involves the members in a number of activities including visits to local aged-care facilities, food collections forthe needy and raising funds through activities such as out-of-uniform days, cake stalls and sausage sizzles to assist studentswithin the diocese who need assistance.Every year the Principal meets with the Bishop, Director of Schools and priests to discuss matters relevant to the operation of theschool and its support for the Church in the wider community.Contact with the Parish Priests is via involvement in school Liturgies and via committees such as the Enrolment Committee. Manystaff are Special Ministers, readers and commentators in their local Parishes.The Liturgical and Prayer Life of the SchoolSt Pius X Ministry Coordinator organises prayers, liturgies, Masses, reflection/community days and retreats for the schoolcommunity. The details can be read on the Ministry page of our school website.Teaching of ReligionThe Religious Education at St Pius X High School promotes an understanding of Catholic beliefs and practices and incorporatescontent with the same academic demands as other subjects taught within the school.The teaching of Religion aims to: Encourage students to find meaning and excitement in learning about the teaching of Christ Assist students to articulate Christian values and the teachings of the Catholic Church Encourage students to be active members of their local Catholic Community Encourage students to integrate Gospel values into their daily life.The Religion Program is underpinned by four strands: Jesus and Scripture, History and Belief, Celebration and Prayer and Justiceand Morality.Retreats and Faith Development ProgramsEvery Wednesday morning, staff members meet for prayer. They take turns and great care to prepare the material. A StaffRetreat program ran 3 times throughout the year and was a great success. Post-graduate study in theology and education is bothencouraged and subsidized at CSO level, such as MA at ACU, BBI/SCD. Several staff are completing Diplomas in ReligiousEducation by correspondence and face to face mode at Newcastle CSO.Year 10 students participated in a three-day annual retreat at Collaroy. This was organised by the Ministry Committee, whichincludes the Ministry Co-ordinator, Student Co-ordinators and volunteer staff. 190 Students from Year 10 attended the “Timeout”Retreat which assisted students to reflect upon the period of transition they were experiencing. It aimed to empower the studentswith the wisdom to make appropriate choices. Community Days were held for Yrs 7, 8 and 9 to bring the Year groups together,have fun and focus on a particular aspect of Christian life relevant to their current circumstances.The Catholicity of the school has been nurtured through liturgical celebrations and other forms of worship. These includewelcoming of staff and Year 7 and their parents, Commissioning of Student Leaders, Ash Wednesday and Holy Week Liturgies,Anzac Day Liturgy, Vinnies’ Day Fashion Parade, St Pius X Day Celebration, Year 10 Graduation and Presentation DayCeremonies (Yrs 7-9).A N N U A L S C H O O L R E P O R T 2 0 1 2 3
Page 1: 2012 Annual School ReportSt Pius X
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