Week 2 Term 4 2026

🌿 Kia ora koutou,

Welcome back to Term 4! I hope everyone enjoyed a lovely break and found some time to relax and recharge before the busyness of our final term.

It is hard to believe we are already in Term 4! This is always a busy and exciting time at St Pius X, with plenty of opportunities to come together as a school community, celebrate our faith and enjoy the many special events ahead.

As we head towards the end of the year, our focus remains on making the most of every learning opportunity while continuing to live out our school values of Community, Faith, Service and Hope.

We look forward to a wonderful final term together!

🌍 Mission Day – Tuesday 27 October 🎪

📅 Tuesday 27 October
🕚 11.00 am – 12.45 pm
👕 Mufti Day – Gold Coin Donation

Our much-loved Mission Day is almost here! Our school will come alive with stalls, games, treats and plenty of fun as we raise money to support the Missions.

Students are invited to wear mufti and bring a gold coin donation for the Missions. They may also bring some spending money to enjoy the different stalls and activities organised by our classes.

Mission Day is always a highlight of our school calendar. It is a wonderful opportunity for our students to put their faith into action by helping others while enjoying a fantastic day together.

❤️ Families and whānau are warmly invited to come along and join in the fun!

✝️ All Saints and All Souls Celebration 🕊️

📅 Monday 2 November
⛪ Mass at 12.00 pm – St Pius X Church
👑 Dress as a Saint or Bible Character

On Monday 2 November, we will come together to celebrate All Saints and All Souls Day.

We invite all students to come dressed as a Saint or a character from the Bible. We will begin the day with a special parade where students can share their wonderful costumes and celebrate the people who inspire us through their faith.

At 12.00 pm, we will celebrate Mass at St Pius X Church, remembering the saints who have gone before us and praying for our loved ones who have died.

🙏 Families and whānau are warmly invited to join us for Mass.

We look forward to seeing the creativity of our students and celebrating this special part of our Catholic faith together!

👕 Uniform Reminder – Wearing Our Uniform with Pride

Our school uniform is an outward sign of the pride we have in being part of St Pius X School. We ask families to please support us by making sure students come to school wearing the correct uniform each day.

For our winter uniform, students should be wearing grey or navy blue long socks, black shoes, school shorts or skort or the new school track pants, black shoes, school polo and the school jersey or jacket.

☀️ Moving to Summer Uniform

Students may begin wearing their summer uniform from the start of Term 4. We know that early spring weather in Hamilton can be unpredictable, so winter uniform may continue to be worn during the first weeks of the term.

BUT from Tuesday after Labour Day, all students are expected to be in full summer uniform.

The upcoming school holidays are a great opportunity to take stock of uniform items, check what still fits and purchase anything your child may need for summer.

Thank you for helping our students look smart and wear their St Pius X uniforms with pride.

🎄 Carols Evening and Nativity Play 🌟

📅 Thursday 10 December
🕔 5.30 pm – 7.30 pm
We are looking forward to bringing our school community together for a special Carols Evening and Nativity Play as we celebrate the Christmas season.
This will be a lovely opportunity for our families to enjoy Christmas carols, watch our students bring the Nativity story to life and share an evening together.
🍽️ We need your help! We are looking for parents and whānau to help run the BBQ during the evening. If you can lend a hand, please let the school office know. Your support will help make this a wonderful event for everyone.
More information about the evening will be shared soon!

Earlier this year, our Year 5 students, Jovana Sijo Joseph and Andrea Jostin, along with former student Evanna Siju, took part in the 2026 MissioNZ Mission Box Design Competition. The competition challenged students to create original designs inspired by Pope Leo and connected to our 2026 Jubilee Year theme, “One in Christ, United in Mission.”

Although they did not take home the winning prize, we are incredibly proud of their creativity, effort and enthusiasm. Their hard work was recognised by the competition judge, Father Michael Pui, and each student was gifted a Mission Rosary in appreciation of their participation.

Congratulations to Jovana, Andrea and Evanna for representing our school and sharing their talents!

Miha Māori | Sunday 25 October, 11.00am

Join us at St Matthew’s Church, Hillcrest, Hamilton, for Miha Māori, a Catholic Mass celebrated in te reo Māori by Bishop Richard. With beautiful waiata, prayer and whanaungatanga, it offers a special opportunity to strengthen connections with our Catholic faith and te ao Māori.

Everyone is warmly welcome. Morning tea follows the Mass.

Nau mai, haere mai.

Thank you for helping strengthen participation across our Catholic school communities.

Policy Review

Our school works with SchoolDocs to create, maintain, and update our school policies. We review policies on a three-year cycle and we welcome feedback from our school community about how our policies are meeting your needs.

This term, we invite you to provide implementation feedback about Curriculum and Student Achievement Policy and Privacy Policy sections of SchoolDocs. This term’s review is slightly different than normal due to changes to the SchoolDocs platform, but we invite you to send any feedback about the implementation of policies in these sections directly to our school.

You can use this format to provide feedback if you’d like to do so:

· Name of policy you’d like to provide feedback on:

· Type of reviewer (e.g. parent, board member, staff member):

· Your name (optional):

· Do you have any general feedback for our school about the implementation of this policy?

· Are there any parts of the policy that we are implementing particularly well?

· Are there any parts of the policy where we could improve our implementation?

We invite you to send your feedback directly to our school info@stpius.school.nz
All reviewers

Visit the website https://stpius.schooldocs.co.nz/1893.htm
Enter the username (stpius) and password (pineave).
The policies listed here are the key policies under review this term. Click on the policy you want to review.

⛪ Parish Working Bee – Many Hands Make Light Work! 🌿

📅 Saturday 7 November
🕙 10.00 am
📍 St Pius X Church

Our Parish is holding a working bee to help tidy and prepare the Church and surrounding areas for the upcoming First Holy Communion celebrations and Christmas.

We would love to see our school families and whānau come along and lend a hand. Whether you can spare a little time or stay for the morning, every bit of help makes a difference.

💛 Many hands make light work! This is a wonderful opportunity for our school and parish communities to come together in service and care for our Church.

To learn Love, To learn Wisdom, The way we are.

Ngā mihi nui,
Erin Clayton
Principal

SPORTS ROUND-UP FOR THE WEEK

In the school holidays, Kenley and Emery Green competed in both inline and ice hockey nationals.

Kenley's Auckland U14 ice hockey team won gold in Dunedin. She then returned to Hamilton for inline hockey Nationals and her 12U team also achieved a gold medal. She then competed for the Youth Women 12U team who placed 1st, going undefeated the entire tournament.

Emery's 10U inline hockey team also went undefeated and achieved a gold medal. Emery was also awarded the "Most Valuable Goalie" award for the entire division. Emery also played on the U12 Youth Women's team with her sister and shared in that National Title. She then travelled to Christchurch for the U12 Ice Hockey Nationals, where her team went undefeated the whole tournament over 20 games!

Overall, 6 Gold Medals between them! They have both worked so hard, and are National Champions for every single team they played on. Their Dad, Cam, coached both girls on their ice hockey national teams, and they were very excited to share this achievement together.

BASKETBALL

Blue Beasts Start the Term with a Win!

The St Pius X Blue Beasts have kicked off the term with a great win in their first grading game, beating their opponents 38–32!

Player of the Day went to Pia for her vital baskets. It was a fantastic team effort, with everyone playing well and contributing to the win. Well done, Blue Beasts!

High Energy and Big Wins for Year 5/6 Basketball!

It was an incredible start to the term for our Year 5/6 basketball program! With two enthusiastic teams taking the court this season—the Beasts and the Comets—our players brought high energy, determination, and fantastic sportsmanship to their opening games.

The Beasts Take the Victory

The Beasts fought hard in a close, fast-paced matchup, coming out on top with an impressive 39–32 victory! The team’s strong communication and relentless effort made all the difference on court. A special congratulations to Pia, who was named Player of the Day for her outstanding play and hustle throughout the match.

The Comets Shine in Their Opener

The Comets made a massive statement in their first game of the season, dominating the court to secure a brilliant 44–18 win! From the opening tip-off, their passing and defensive pressure kept the momentum firmly on their side. Congratulations to Joanna and Derick, who both earned Player of the Day honors for their stellar performances.

Coaches' Highlight: Beyond the scoreboard, what stood out most was the amazing teamwork and tight defense shown by both teams. Every single player supported their teammates and gave 100% effort from start to finish.

Congratulations to both the Beasts and the Comets on a fantastic start to the term! Keep up the great work!

Office News

General Information

REMINDER:
Even if your child is running late, PLEASE DO NOT drive down the driveway to bring them to school.

Tommo's Bakery
As our school is growing, so are our Friday lunch orders from Tommos' and they have asked that I ring through the orders before 10:00am on Friday. Can you please tell your child to put their lunch order in before school or even the day before. Make sure they have the right change. Unfortunately, if they put in a late order (after 10:00am) , they will not be able to get their lunch for that day.

General Information
Dear Parents and Caregivers,

Welcome to St Pius X School. Whether you are new to our school, or already part of our community, we hope this information helps answer your questions.

School Times

School starts at 8:45am and finishes at 2:45pm.

Please make sure your child arrives on time. We begin each day with prayer. If your child is late, they must go to the school office to sign in.

If you need to take your child out of school during the day, please sign them out at the school office. If your child returns after the appointment, you must sign them back in at the office.

Absences

We use an electronic roll to mark who is at school each day. Because of this, it is very important that you tell us if your child will be late or away. You can report an absence in these ways:

School website: stpius.school.nz (click on Absences)

Skool Loop app: You can download this onto your phone.

Phone message: Call 07 843 6554 and leave a message on the absence line.

If your child arrives late and does not sign in at the office, you may get a text message saying they are not at school.

If you have not reported your child’s absence by 10:00am, I will send you a text message. If we do not receive a reply from you, your child will be marked Truant, which means they are marked as away from school without a reason.

Extended Absences / Holidays

If you are taking your child out of school during the term for any reason, you must email the office a term in advance. Please include your child’s name, class, and the dates they will be away. We must report this information to the Ministry of Education.

Driveway Safety

Please do not drive down the school driveway at any time. The only exception is if the school has asked you to pick up your sick child or you have permission from the office.

Stationery

You can buy your child’s stationery online at myschool.co.nz. Choose the year level your child will be in (the room name is not important). Please make sure your child has all their stationery ready for the first day of school.

Lunches

Fridays—Children can come to the office on Fridays (or Thursday afternoon) to order lunch from Tommo’s Bakery. This is cash only, and they must bring the correct change.

Kebab Stop – Tuesdays & Wednesdays—You can order lunches from Kebab Stop on Urlich Ave.—Order online at: orders.kebabstop.co.nz. Lunches will be delivered to the school office. This is a convenient option and supports a local business.

School Uniform

St Pius X uniforms are sold by The Brand Makers. You can buy uniforms at their store:- 6 Latham Court, Frankton. Monday–Friday, 8:00am–5:00pm. (You can also order uniforms online at: tbm.co.nz (click Find My School). A school hat is compulsory during summer months, a cap is for years 7 and 8 only.

Attendance Dues

These fees are paid directly to the Catholic Schools Integrated Schools Office, not to St Pius X. We send your contract to them and they will contact you about payments. For 2026 - Fees are $536.00 per child and there is a Catholic Character fee of $60 per student as well.

We hope this information is helpful. If you have any questions, you can contact the school office by email, (info@stpius.school.nz), phone (07 8436554) or SeeSaw.

Mrs Maree.—St Pius X School Office Administrator