St Pius X College
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| St Pius X College | |
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| Location | |
| Chatswood, New South Wales Australia |
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| Information | |
| Type | Private, Single-sex, Day school |
| Denomination | Roman Catholic, Christian Brothers |
| Established | 1937 |
| Chairman | Peter Hughes |
| Principal | John Couani |
| Staff | ~84[1] |
| Enrolment | ~1,100 (5–12)[2] |
| Colour(s) | Blue and Gold |
| Website | www.spx.nsw.edu.au |
St Pius X College (often referred to as Pius) is an independent, Roman Catholic, secondary day school for boys, located in Chatswood, a North Shore suburb of Sydney, Australia.
Located in the heart of the Chatswood central business district, the school is relatively close to Westfield Shopping Centre and Chatswood railway station. It is operated under the auspices of the Trustees of the Christian Brothers and is situated within the borders of the Catholic Diocese of Broken Bay which is under the leadership of Bishop David Walker. The College was ranked 101st[3] in the State for the 2005 Higher School Certificate marks, up from 108th the previous year. More recently, in 2013, the school again improved its rank to 73.[4] It is a member of the Independent Schools Association (ISA).
The College operates as two separate schools: "The Junior School" catering for boys in Years 5 and 6, "The Senior School" catering for boys in Years 7 to 12.
The College has also recently implemented an E-Learning program, which provides students with Personal Learning Devices, specifically for the younger years the Lenovo Thinkpad 10 and the Microsoft Surface Pro 3 for the senior years. These computers act as learning aids and hold student text books. More information about the Personal Learning can be found on the college website at the following address: [5]
Contents
History
St Pius X College started in 1937 as Christian Brothers Chatswood,[6] initially going to the Beginner level, with the first Leaving Certificate class graduating in 1941.
A major improvement in the 1990s was the development of Oxford Falls as an educational complex. Named the Treacy Centre, the facility comprises a variety of sports fields and venues as well as a number of meeting places and classrooms. In the late 1990s the College undertook extensive renovations and rebuilding.
"Fide et Labore" is written on the shield, which is Latin for "By Faith and Work". The current principal is Mr John Couani, the first lay person to be principal at the school.
Extra-curricular activities
Sport
The school participates in rugby, cricket, football, basketball, tennis, softball, squash and athletics.
Debating and public speaking
The College also participates in debating and public speaking. Although irrelevant to the public speaking participation by students in competitions, the College also holds an annual Edmund Rice Oratory Competition, in where students are selected for outstanding participation for public speeches performed in English Classes. Students speak about a given topic (free choice for years 5 and 6) for a set amount of time. Judging is usually done by English Teachers or School Counsellers. In 2015 the 11 A debating team were runners up in the CSDA debating competition and were awarded the prestigious Aggregate Senior shield for winning the most debates out of any school in the competition.[7]
Music
Music has also always been a large part of extracurricular involvement at St Pius. The various bands include concert bands, jazz bands and guitar ensembles and flaming dragon band. In order to gain entry to any band, a student must audition. In order to gain access to the Senior Jazz Band and Senior Concert Band, generally a high level of skill is required in the instrument of which a student plays.[citation needed]
The bands and choir often play for the school as well at the Twilight Concert held every term. The twilight concert generally begins with the choir. After the choir have performed, the ensembles usually play next and after which, the Jazz and Concert Bands begin to play. The concert is usually held under Baby Brother (the junior school playground), however, if the weather is unfavourable, the concert takes place in the school gym.
Robotics
The school's robotic club takes part in robotics competitions. The two major annual competitions are the RoboCup and First Lego League (FLL). The club consists of members from years five through to twelve. Acceptance is usually granted through the robotics lessons held in class during year five, however, entry to the club in later years can also be granted through applying directly to the robotics coordinator.
Notable former pupils
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- Francis Webb, poet
- Robert Fitzgerald, Commissioner of Community Services Commission, New South Wales[8]
- Peter Fricker, former CEO Australian Institute of Sport
- John Watkins, former Deputy Premier of New South Wales, Minister for Transport and Minister for Finance.[9]
- Peter Ingham, Auxiliary Bishop of Sydney 1993–2001; Bishop of Wollongong 2001–present[10]
- Michael Malone, Bishop of the Diocese of Maitland; Chair of the Australian Catholic Bishops' Conference Commission[11]
- Peter Thompson, ABC TV presenter
- Greg Sheridan, foreign affairs editor, The Australian newspaper
- Ben Fordham, journalist and broadcaster, Nine Network and 2GB
- Des Hasler (staff), former NRL player and current head coach of the Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs
- Luke Jones, Rugby Union Professional who plays lock for the Melbourne Rebels in the Super Rugby competition
- Michael Hooper, Rugby Union Professional who plays flanker for the Wallabies and NSW Waratahs in the Super Rugby competition
- Timm van der Gugten, Professional Cricketer who plays for the Netherlands, the Tasmanian Tigers and the Hobart Hurricanes in the Big Bash League
- Josh Duinker, professional basketball player
- Pat Reilly (1952–2014), mayor of the City of Willoughby from 1997 to 2014[12]
- David Kilcullen (b. 1967), strategist and counterinsurgency expert
See also
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References
- ↑ St Pius X College Annual Report 2006 (accessed: 27 June 2007)
- ↑ Australian School Choice – St Pius X College (accessed: 27 June 2007)
- ↑ 2005 HSC[not in citation given]
- ↑ "HSC 2007: All Class" (304 KB) The Daily Telegraph. (20 December 2007).
- ↑ http://www.spx.nsw.edu.au/learning-teaching/dsp-default.cfm?loadref=62
- ↑ History of the College
- ↑ http://www.spx.nsw.edu.au/news-events/fx-articles.cfm?loadref=15&id=72
- ↑ The Australian Catholic Migrant and Refugee Office (ACMRO) (accessed: 27 June 2007)
- ↑ "Seize the opportunity". Elicia Murray. The Sydney Morning Herald. 21 April 2007 (Accessed 26 November 2009).
- ↑ Archdiocese of Sydney: Peter William Ingham (accessed: 27 June 2007)
- ↑ Diocese of Maitland-NewCastle: About our Bishop (accessed: 27 June 2007)
- ↑ "Mayor Pat Reilly never lost that loving feeling for Willoughby", obituary, The Age, 24 January 2014
External links
- All articles with failed verification
- Articles with failed verification from August 2009
- Pages with broken file links
- Articles containing Latin-language text
- Articles with unsourced statements from September 2013
- Independent Schools Association (Australia)
- Use dmy dates from September 2010
- Roman Catholic schools in Sydney
- Private schools in New South Wales
- Educational institutions established in 1937
- Schools in Sydney
- Christian Brother (Irish) schools
- Christian Brother (Irish) secondary schools
- Boys' schools in Australia
- Junior School Heads Association of Australia Member Schools
