I hope everyone had a restful break and has returned refreshed and ready for another exciting term of learning.

What a fantastic start we have had with our Book Week celebrations. It has been wonderful to see so many learners embracing the joy of reading and bringing their favourite book characters to life. A huge thank you to everyone who supported our Book Fair. Thanks to your generosity, we raised $825 to purchase new books and resources for our school. Every purchase will help us continue to grow our library and foster a lifelong love of reading for our learners.

Congratulations also to all of our talented Jump Jam teams who are competing this Saturday. Your commitment to practising, supporting one another and striving for your best is something you should all be incredibly proud of. We wish you every success and know you will represent St Pius X School with enthusiasm, teamwork and pride.

Finally, I would like to celebrate an incredible achievement from last term. Through your commitment to the Wednesday Challenge—walking, biking, scootering, carpooling and parking a little further away—you helped St Pius X School take out the top spot across Hamilton schools. Winning the $500 prize is a wonderful reward, but even more importantly, you have helped reduce congestion around our school, cared for God's creation and encouraged healthy, active habits. Thank you to every family who made the effort to participate.

As always, thank you for the continued support you give our school. Together we are creating wonderful opportunities for our children to learn, grow and flourish. We look forward to another busy and rewarding term ahead.

Thank you to all families for supporting regular attendance at school.
Every day counts. Consistent attendance helps learners make progress, build friendships, and fully participate in school life.
A reminder that if your child is absent, please notify the school as soon as possible. If you have concerns about attendance or need support, please contact us so that we can work together.
Being at school every day and on time gives every learner the best opportunity to succeed.

As our school continues to grow, so does the number of families using our car park at the end of the day. We understand that everyone is keen to collect their children as close to 2.45pm as possible, but this can create significant congestion.

If your circumstances allow, collecting your child just 10 minutes later can make a remarkable difference to the flow of traffic. Please remember that staff supervise students in the car park until 3.00pm, so there is no need to worry if you arrive a little later.

For older students, another option is to arrange a safe meeting point a short distance from school. Having children walk a little way down the street to an agreed pick-up location can greatly reduce congestion in the car park and help everyone get home more quickly.

Thank you for your patience, understanding and support. By working together, we can help keep our school a safe place for all students, families and staff at the busiest time of the day.

The safety of our students, whānau and wider community is always a priority. As many of you will know, the speed limit from the roundabout through to the crossing at the rear entrance of Melville Primary School is 30km/h. Unfortunately, we continue to see a number of vehicles travelling well above this limit, particularly during the busy drop-off and pick-up times.

To help improve safety, we have been working alongside Hamilton City Council to explore ways to make the area safer for everyone. We are pleased to share that the Council has plans to install a raised pedestrian crossing outside our school. This will help slow traffic while providing a safer place for students and families to cross the road.

The crossing will also be supervised after school by our Kea Crossing student leaders, who will do a wonderful job helping our community cross safely.

We would like to sincerely thank Hamilton City Council for listening to our concerns and for their commitment to improving safety around our school. In the meantime, we ask all drivers to please slow down, observe the 30km/h speed limit and take extra care around our school gates. Every child deserves to arrive at and leave school safely.

Ngā mihi nui,
Erin Clayton
Principal

Year 5/6 Basketball Team Blazes to First Win!
Our Year 5/6 Basketball Team kicked off the season with an incredible performance, securing a dominant 38-21 victory in their very first game of the year.
The energy on the court was electric from the opening whistle as the team demonstrated fantastic teamwork, sharp passing, and hustle on defense. A extra special shout-out goes to Patrick, who earned Player of the Game

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 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.  

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. 

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. 

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. 

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. 

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. 

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. 

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

Our Book Week fun

 

Timothy, Avayah, Heizel & Eunice

August
2nd - Vihaan - Pukeko
3rd - Franco - Kereru
7th - Marlee-John - Tara Iti
9th - Kerriann - Tui
9th - Lucas - Hoiho
14th - Jaeden - Kakapo
15th - Luana - Pukeko
16th - Carolina - Piwakawaka
17th - Patrick - Kereru
20th - Alexander - Kakapo
20th - Andrea - Hoiho
23rd - Juan - Hoiho
23rd - Pepper - Tui
24th - Violet - Takahe
26th - Adelajh-Hope - Kereru
28th - Austin - Takahe
29th - Pia - Kereru
29th - Reuben - Takahe
31st - Jaydan - Kakapo