PRINCIPAL’S ADDRESS
Dear Parents and Carers
In June this year Xavier Catholic College will be undergoing an external audit based on the National School Improvement Framework. This will be a critical review from which a new Strategic Plan will be developed.
In preparation, we wish to hear from all parents, students and staff. Last year we launched a very successful Community Satisfaction Survey which helped shape many new directions for the College including our new Responsible Behaviour Policy.
This year we are partnering with the University of Southern Queensland for our data gathering. USQ have developed a survey tool which aligns with the National School Improvement Framework. The survey tool is called the Diagnostic Inventory of School Alignment (DISA).
Your support in completing the survey is crucial to our future planning. Only when we hear all voices can we plan for long-lasting and sustainable improvement.
The link to the survey is https://disasurvey.acelleadership.org.au/survey/b088fc38. After this you will see a welcome page and you click on the dropdown box on the left-hand side to choose your survey (Parent, Student or Staff). The survey takes about 20 minutes to complete and it will be open for the next few weeks to give people the time and opportunity to have their say.
My thanks to you in anticipation. For those who wish to know more about the DISA tool and the data that it generates, I have provided an extensive summary below.
About the DISA Tool
Purpose
The purpose of the Diagnostic Inventory of School Alignment (DISA) is to provide schools with information on which to base judgements about leverages for school improvement – identifying the challenges and focusing on the successes on which it is possible to build school capacity for sustainable improvement.
The DISA provides schools with three levels of information.
1. Firstly, it has been designed to give comparative feedback from teachers, parents and students on each
element of an organisational image called the Research-based Framework for Organisational Alignment
(RBF).
2. Secondly, it scores a school’s level of social, intellectual and organisational capital. This is termed the School
Capital Index.
3. Thirdly, it provides information on the overall level of organisational alignment or coherence. This is termed
the School Alignment Index.
1. Comparative feedback
Staff, parents and students provide individual perspective on the Elements of the RBF, namely: School Successes and Achievements; Strategic Foundations; Community Cohesiveness; Pedagogical Development and Deepening; Generative Resource Design; and Holistic Professional Learning. The quantitative analysis provided by the staff of the University of Southern Queensland provides summary means and standard deviations for each of the Inventory items and the contributory elements as a whole – for each of staff, parents, and students, as well as an overall score.
2. Index of School Alignment
An institution is like a tune; it is not constituted by individual sounds but by the relations between them (Peter Drucker).
Peter Drucker’s use of a music metaphor to help us understand highly successful organisations raises a number of questions for schools as they confront demands to increase their effectiveness and to sustain significant successes that they achieve. In particular, if a successful educational institution is likened to a piece of music, what are the individual “sounds” that comprise the musical piece and how can they be brought into “tunefulness”, “coherence”, or “alignment”?
Educational theory asserts that alignment is the deliberate linking of the key features of the school so as to best serve the purposes of the school as a dynamic educational environment. That is, the creation of meaningful alignments between school vision, community input, classroom practices, physical infrastructure, and professional learning. Alignment is enabled by administrators and teachers developing each of the six elements of the RBF and bringing them into a philosophically consistent connection with each other. Thus, the foundations are laid for teachers to engage collectively and creatively in pursuit of heightened aspirations, through resourcing and schoolwide pedagogical processes.
Based on an analysis of authoritative contributions from educational organisational research, the following definition of alignment has been developed to guide schools:
Alignment (tunefulness) in schools occurs when each of the five key, or “contributory”, elements (i.e. the sounds) of the school is developed comprehensively, when the five elements are philosophically congruous (i.e. in harmony) and when they are implemented so as to be mutually re-enforcing in the school’s (orchestral) practices.
Research tells us that schools that are characterised by high levels of alignment, or tunefulness of their contributory elements will be better placed to achieve outcomes that reflect their aspirational goals. That is, using Drucker’s musical metaphor, they will have the conditions in place to create rhapsodic music – high levels of student achievement, teachers’ sense of professional well-being, community support and embedded processes for sustaining success.
3. Index of School Capital
The Index of School Capital derives from a combination of a number of ‘capital’ models of school capacity building. They include Hargreaves’ (2001) notion of enhancement of outcomes partially achieved through ‘leverages’, namely, intellectual capital (what teachers know and do) and social capital (the school’s capacity to generate trust and sustain both internal and external networks). The notion of organisational capital is taken from Mitchell and Sackney (2000) and Hopkins and Jackson (2003) and its definition further defined from other research (Andrews et al., 2009; Andrews et al., 2012).
Social Capital
Social capital describes professional relationships of trust and respect, dynamics within parallel leadership and in student well-being. The underpinning concept is that of relationships. Our use of the term closely resembles Mulford (2007) who asserts that in successful processes of capacity building three types of social capital are created, namely, bonding (which occurs among colleagues), bridging (which occurs between schools) and linking (which occurs between the school and its community).
Intellectual Capital
Intellectual capital describes a combination of: the creation of a school vision, identification of a school’s underpinning values, the conceptualisation and articulation of a schoolwide pedagogy, insights about school improvement processes, and student academic achievement across learning areas.
Organisational Capital
Organisational capital describes a combination of procedures for shared school planning, linkages internally and to external networks, organisation of time and space, use of technologies, curriculum design, and school aesthetics. The term organisational capital has been coined to describe intentional design, those structural organisational arrangements that Harris et al. (2003) assert generate associated synergies, interdependence and efficiencies.
Each item of the DISA is assigned to one of the three capitals – social, intellectual or organisational. The Index of School Capital indicates a value (for each capital) that is calculated by averaging the summary means for all items that are attributed to the respective capitals.
God bless
Simon Dash
Principal
CALENDAR OF EVENTS
Please note the following up-coming events:
28/02/2018 Lady Elliot Island Excursion
01/03/2018 Year 11 AQU Snorkelling
01/03/2018 Brisbane Street Immersion (Year 11/12)
05/03/2018 P-6 Parent / Teacher Interviews commence
05/03/2018 Year 7 Starlab (Library)
06/03/2018 Junior School Photo Day
07/03/2018 Secondary School Photo Day
12/03/2018 Narwari Mission Week
School Photos
School photos will be held next Tuesday and Wednesday. A reminder that all students in Years 7 to 12 are required to wear formal uniform. Please bring order forms on the day and hand to the photographers. Order forms for Family photos are available from the School Office.
Parent/Teacher Interviews
Bookings for P-6 Parent Teacher Interviews close this Friday, 2 March, 2018. Please book on-line by this date, if you haven’t already done so. Interviews will be held from 5-16 March, 2018.
Bookings for Years 7-12 interviews will be available in the near future. These interviews will take place on Tuesday, 20 March from 3.30 – 8.00pm.
LATEST XAVIER FACEBOOK VIDEOS
If
you missed the amazing caterpillar video captured by our Prep class or the latest episode of 'X-Files - The Arts Are Out There @ Xavier', please check them out by clicking the images below:
HEADS OF SCHOOL ADDRESS
“Create the Change”
It was an important Secondary assembly this morning as our Year 12 Captains unveiled the College Motto for the year with an engaging video and a presentation as to why this was chosen.
The words build on our past mottos and ask us to Create the Change by being the change. The leaders took inspiration from St. Mary “the Cross” MacKillop who once said, “Never see a need without doing something about it”. Our leaders asked the student body to where they see a need within our college, whether it be the need to pick up rubbish or the need for new resources, they are called to do something about it and ‘Create the Change’ that is required.
Clean up Australia DayWe will take part in this wonderful community activity across the College on Friday morning. Student will be asked to move across the College ensuring that we leave a tidy and well cared environment for us to work and play in.
STUDENT OPPORTUNITIESIt is always amazing to see the many and varied opportunities that our staff offer to students to enhance and reinforce their learning.
This week alone we have Year 12 students taking part in a Marine program on Lady Elliot Island. The Senior Drama class were treated to a weekend of Arts and Culture in Brisbane with visits to a variety of productions and tomorrow six students set off with Mrs Donnelly to Brisbane to take part in a ‘Street Immersion’ where they will work with a variety of agencies to see how the disadvantaged in our community are supported.
School PhotosNext week the photographer will be here to take our school photos. We ask all parents to ensure that students are looking neat and tidy and wearing their uniform correctly. Secondary students will need to wear their formal uniform. This would be a good time to check its condition and that it fits wel!
Our dates are as follows:
- Prep to Year 6 Tuesday 6th March
- Year 7 to 12 Wednesday 7th March
- Catch up day Tuesday 13th March
Family photos will be taken from 7.30am each morning. Photo envelopes have been sent home, if you are yet to receive yours please make contact with the School Office.
YEAR 7 CAMP
What a great start to the year for our Year 7 students. This year we headed off to Garapine in week 3. Garapine is an outdoor adventure camp south of Gympie situated on 180 acres of bushland. The lodge and accommodation was high on top of a hill with spectacular views over the Mary Valley and most of the events involved walking trails down the hills, through the bush or on the Mary River.
The focus of the camp was getting to know you. Students worked in various groups. They had their main day working group, house groups, sharing meals in mixed groups and coming together for Mass. The activities included: raft building, kayaking, orienteering, bushwalking, archery and group initiative challenges. The group initiatives included shelter building, fire building and damper making plus challenges that focused attention on the group process, decision-making, communication and innovation.
One of the highlights of the camp was the second night of minute to win it activities where students competed in house groups. Events included “Stack Attack”, “Suck it Up” “Ninja Cards” but the best was “Carrot in a can”. Throughout the event there was some great house spirit but the winner for the evening was Buthu.
I would like to take this opportunity to thank the following staff for being group leaders: Andrew King, Tom Riley, Reagen Collier, Kate Duffield, Shannon McDuff, Brenda Beach, Geena White, Brigitte Murtagh. A special thanks to our day visitors who assisted at camp: Kerry Sidaway, Lynette Hawes and Annie Sexton.
FAMILY FEE STATEMENT ACCOUNTS
Annual Family Accounts were issued by email on 2 February 2018.
Please contact our finance department on xFees@bne.catholic.edu.au or telephone 4197 1261 if you did not receive your account.
Due date for payment is 5 March 2018.
If
you wish to set up a weekly, fortnightly, monthly or quarterly payment
plan your original Direct Debit Request or Credit Card Authority Form is
required to be received at the college office by the due date 5 March
2018.
Note:
Statements will still be issued each term for families with payment
plans. Please use this statement to check your payments have been
received as scheduled and that your account will be paid in full by 30
November 2018.
TEMPORARY POSITION VACANT
XAVIER CATHOLIC COLLEGE REPLACEMENT POSITION : SCIENCE LABORATORY ASSISTANT
We are seeking a suitably experienced / qualified person to fill the position of SCIENCE LABORATORY ASSISTANT to replace a staff member on leave from the 4th May – 28th May, 2018.
The
appointee will support the Dean of Science and a team of teachers in
the organisation and management of the Science laboratory and provide
assistance in setting up Science experiments.
Applicants
should provide a resume and a brief covering letter outlining their
experience/qualifications to undertake this role, including the ability
to prepare and organise materials for practical activities and maintain
laboratory apparatus and equipment. Please include the names and
contact details of two referees, including one professional referee who
can comment on your ability in this area.
If you require
further information regarding the position, please contact Mrs Peta
Perry, Science Laboratory Assistant on Ph. 4197 1252 or email
pperry@bne.catholic.edu.au.Applications close 9am
Wednesday 21 March 2018 and should be emailed to Ms Suzanne Gee, College
Administration Officer, Xavier Catholic College at
sgee@bne.catholic.edu.au
CARE AND CONCERN GROUP
Care and Concern Parent Committee
WHAT THEY DO…
Xavier
Catholic College has a group of parents who volunteer their time to
welcome and help other members of the school community.
They do this by: -
- Holding first day morning tea (Meet and Greet opportunity)
- Providing meals for school families experiencing a crisis
- Providing information about the school to families
- Assisting the College Board in planning and reviewing the Pastoral Care Policy of the College
- Working closely with the Campus Minister.
At
all times we encourage you to explore the parent portal or to talk to
your child’s classroom teacher or Pastoral Care teacher about any
questions that you may have as your first point of contact. Each House
has parent contacts and they range from P-12. If you wish to contact
any one of our parent contacts their details are below.
Confidentiality is utmost for our committee and any information shared
with our parent contacts will not be passed on unless you so desire it.
House Parent Contacts
Narwari House Parents
Claire Sinclair (Cassandra Sinclair) 41295730
Rachel Neck (Chelsea Neck) 41287859/0417768798
Jo O’Neill (Will/Lucy/Kate O’Neil) 0422942289
Ellen Geldard (Connor, Lachlan & Matthew) 41286910/ 0400499508
Mary Arnold (Riley/Corey/Joey) 0418729967
Karen Grumley (Stewart and Lachlan) 41243034 / 0413306540
Cassie Wilson (Max/Anabele/Imogen) 0409761207
Kerrie Payne (Cameron Payne) 41280554/ 0407581389
Carmel Donnelly(Jeremiah Donnelly) 0448488443
Buthu House Parents
Michelle Wiegmink (Reece Wiegmink) 41287941/0409890188
Deanna Wyvill (Amy Wyvill) 41282176
Karen Goffinet (Alex/Patrick) 0421 322 121
Allison McGovern (Madison/Georgia McGovern) 0411 416 943
Shelly Hislop (Jordan/Lincoln Hislop) 0423 506 675
Dirum House Parents Rachel Loague (Oscar Loague) 0417792179
Melissa Lynch (Mya/ Noah)
missyjane300@gmail.com Helen Hatchett (Bryce/Charli/Summer/Sam Wilson) 0438347153
Kellie Robinson (Nathan/Alysha Robinson) 0448623963
Kondari House Parents
Michelle Begaud (Blake/Kyle Begaud) 0438242252
Carole Dewhurst (Patrick/Freya Golik) 41206240/0400793188
Alison Keal (Archie/Angus/Seth) 0466250799
Emma Ilka (Dylan/Shayli) 0403599406
NARWARI MISSION WEEK - MARCH 12-16
| | PRIMARY SCHOOL
| SECONDARY SCHOOL |
MONDAY 12 MARCH
| Year 5 Icy Cups - 1st Break
(Delivered to your room)
| Icy Cups on sale all week.
Easter Raffle on sale all week.
|
TUESDAY 13 MARCH
| Year 3-6 Carnival Games - 1st Break
(Goa)
| Bake Sale - 1st Break
(Outside Campion)
|
WEDNESDAY 14 MARCH
| Assembly - 9am - on Edmund Rice
Prep - Year 4 & Year 6 Icy Cups
(Delivered to your room)
| Assembly - 9am - on Edmund Rice
Teacher v Students Volleyball Game
|
THURSDAY 15 MARCH
| Prep - Year 2 Carnival Games - 1st Break
(Goa)
| Icy Cups on sale all week.
Easter Raffle on sale all week. |
FRIDAY 16 MARCH
| Face Painting - 1st Break
(Goa)
| Jelly Eating Competition
Easter Raffle Drawn
(Outside Stage)
|
Pre-orders for
Primary are due Tuesday 6th March.
GREASE MUSICALWe
are very excited to announce the cast for the 2018 Musical Grease.
Performances will be on Tuesday 7th and Wednesday 8th August 7.00pm – 9.30pm
Rehearsals are weekly, commencing this Thursday, March.
Those
selected have committed to rehearsal on
Thursday afternoons, from 3.15 – 4.45pm as well as some weekends and
evenings particularly as we move closer to performances in late July and
early August. In a large venture such as this it is important that the
cast makes every effort to attend rehearsals as required, so we can
work together to create a fun and fantastic spectacle.
| Main Cast | Chorus/Ensemble |
Sandy – Alexandra Pronk Danny – Brodie Rowe Rizzo – Lauren Flynn Kenicke – Jacob Gamble Frenchie – Raemah Krause Marty – Rachel Damms Jan – Maddison Smith Doody – Jack Buckley Roger – Zach Durston Sonny – Kieran Catterick Miss Lynch – Ms Sidaway Patty Symcox – Madi McGovern Eugene – Lachlan Relf Vince Fontaine – Hayden Kubler Jenny Casino – Brie Bagnall Teen Angel – Kirra Buckley CHA-CHA – TBC | Destiny Annetts Poppy Block Isabelle Brittain Amelia Brookes Karrie Burton Georgia Cassidy Jenah Cocker Louise Drake Jade Dundas Jasmine Durston Mercedes Durston Lucy Glass Jackson Green Rhys Jones Charlotte Knight Shelby Leworthy Poppy McIvor Lily Moses Emily Powers Maeve Riley Ebony Trembath Cailey Veitch Rhylee Ward Emma Wylie |
GREASE! - Book, Music and Lyrics By JIM JACOBS and WARREN CASEY
BY ARRANGMENT WITH ORiGiN THEATRICAL
www.origintheatrical.com.au
SECONDARY MATHS TUTORING
This is not one-on-one tutoring, it is group tutoring. Students are
required to have work with them and ask the teacher for help with the
questions that they are struggling with. Students may wish to attend to
work on their homework/Maths Online or just to get into a good study
habit. They can attend as many tutoring sessions as they like in a week, and best of all it is free.
Year 7-12 Maths Tutoring Roster 2018
Before School
(8 a.m. – 8:30 a.m.)
|
| Mr Relf
Library | Staff Prayer
| Mr Smith
Library | Mrs Wright
Library |
| First Break | Mrs White
Room 4
10.35-11.05am |
| | Mr Riley
Room P20
11- 11.20am | Mr Tyrrell
Room 42
11-11.20am |
| Second Break | | |
Mrs Buxton/Mrs Ritter
Room 12
1-1.20am | | |
After School
3:05 p.m.-4:00 p.m.
|
| Miss Murtagh
Library
Mrs Glass
Library | | Miss Hourigan
Library
Mrs Ritter
Library |
|
Sports for Schools
If
you shop at Coles please collect the 'Sports for Schools' vouchers and
place them in the boxes at stores or drop them into College
reception. Our school will benefit with sports gear for P-12, so start
collecting now!
SPORTS NEWS
Sporting Date ClashesThe Hervey Bay District Cross-Country is on Wednesday 2nd
May. This is also the first day of camp for Year 6 students and students in
Years 8 to 11. Students who are wishing to run at these trials to gain
selection in the Hervey Bay District team to compete at the Wide Bay trials
will be able to do so. These students will be transported by bus to their
respective camp locations at the conclusion of the carnival.
The Sunshine Coast All Schools Touch competition is being
held on Sunday 29th July and the QLD All Schools Oztag competition
is being held from 27th to 29th July. Information
regarding this clash of dates and the ramifications for students hoping to play
both sports in 2018 will be communicated to students and an information letter
sent home.
QLD Triathlon Titles From the 15th – 17th February, the QLD Aquathlon and Triathlon titles were held here in Hervey Bay. Xavier has continued its strong presence in this sport with the following students competing: Lochie Armstrong, Brodie Harris, Piper Hinton, Harry King, Chantelle McCarthy, Toby Powers, Emily Powers, Jordan McCarthy and Charlotte Davies. All students performed with great commitment in very hot conditions with several of our students having top 10 finishes. Harry King had a terrific race and reaped the rewards of his dedication to training over the last 12 months to finish in 3rd place. This qualifies Harry for the QLD team to compete at The National Titles in Penrith in April. Congratulations Harry and to all Xavier students who competed.
Hervey Bay District Cluster 2 Sport Trials
These trials are being held on Thursday 8th March at various locations in Hervey Bay. Students will be trialing in the following sports: Rugby League, Rugby Union, AFL, Football (Soccer), Netball, Golf, Basketball and Hockey. Students who signed up for this have received paperwork this week. All paperwork and payment is due by Monday 5th March 9am. Good luck to all students in your upcoming trials.
Xavier wins Secondary Hervey Bay District Swimming
On
Monday 19th February, 34 students represented Xavier at the Hervey Bay
District Swimming Carnival. Once again, students competed with great
skill and spirit and managed some outstanding results. Xavier won the
Junior Trophy (12-14yrs), Senior Trophy (15-18yrs) and the Overall
Trophy. Xavier was also runner up in the Percentage Shield.
In addition, the following students claimed Age Champion Honours:
12 Year Boys – Blake Begaud
14 Year Girls – Tiarna Lyons
15 Year Girls – Kiera Stephens
15 Year Boys – Lachlan Gent
16 Year Girls – Kasey Gamble
16 Year Boys – Tom Veitch
18 Years and over Boys – Matt Maag
The
relays were a highlight of the day, with Xavier winning 7 out of the 8
relays. Selections for the Wide Bay Swimming Team are being made in the
coming weeks and students will be notified by the Wide Bay managers.
KINDERGARTEN VACANCIES AVAILABLE 2018 & 2019