Dear Parents and Carers,

 

Our Lenten Journey

Last Wednesday we began the journey of Lent with an Ashes Service at the College. The Season of Lent is a time of preparation for Easter, when we celebrate the new life that is given to us through the power of Christ’s death and resurrection. At Easter we celebrate the love of our God that binds Godself to our humanity fully and completely, so that we may share in God’s divinity. As the great theologian of the early church, Saint Athanasius, said: ‘God became man so that man could become as God.’ It is an incredible act of love that the creator and sustainer of the universe would bond Godself to creation so completely and fully. In the resurrection of Jesus, our final destiny is decided. While the journey may not be easy, as Saint Paul said ‘The universe is now groaning towards its fulfilment.’ (Rom 8:22).

 

By marking ourselves with ashes on Ash Wednesday we publicly acknowledge ourselves as sinners. ‘Sin’ gets a lot of bad press including the notion of a sin tally sheet or balance sheet. These kinds of definitions are not really helpful to our faith. By sin we are actually referring to things that distract us from the fulfilment that comes through embracing our God and God’s invitation to a loving relationship. Turning away from sin is not about turning our back on all the ‘fun stuff’ in life. Rather, it is accepting and turning away from those life decisions that may give us a false sense of satisfaction but, in the long run, are ultimately unfulfilling. It is like the football player who longs to win the premiership but doesn’t want to train and eats too many potato chips. Sitting back on the couch watching television and munching on a bowl of fries may feel good at the time, but until he realizes and accepts that these things are distractions from the more fulfilling goal, he will remain unsatisfied and disappointed.

 

Our God loves us because we are good and lovable. Our God desires to liberate us from those things which are ultimately unsatisfying and open our eyes to the peace and fulfilment that can only be found through embracing our creator. There is no tally sheet of wrong doings. There is only God’s invitation to us to see beyond our mistakes and distractions and be liberated to see the goodness and beauty that resides in each of us. The stories Jesus shared did not present an image of a God that kept count, but rather, a God who celebrated the moment a person saw through the distractions to their ultimate goal and their own worth. Like the story of the prodigal son, it does not matter when in life that moment of liberation arrives.

 

Once we have experienced that liberation we cannot help but want others to feel it and to share it. This is the basis for true evangelization. We reach out to those in need, those who are struggling with life’s challenges, those at the margins of society, not to turn them into good people, but because they are already good people who just can’t see it because of the distractions and challenges thrown in their path. As Martin Luther King Junior put it: “I cannot be what I ought to be, until you are what you ought to be.” My salvation and liberation is not a personal business between me and God. It is a collective matter that involves all of creation. I am compelled to act and to reach out to others. This is all a part of the Lenten Journey – looking inwards and reaching outwards.

 

A reminder that we are very keen to gain your feedback through the Community Satisfaction that was emailed to you last week. Your voice will help us shape the future growth and direction of the College. It was pleasing that within 24 hours of the survey going out we had already received over 230 responses. But, if we can get everyone to complete it we will gain a fuller picture and ensure our plans are aligned with the community’s desires.

 

I would ask you to please complete this survey (click on the link below) so we can gauge the community’s feelings about Xavier’s performance and its future. The survey will close on 5.00 pm Friday, 7 April, 2017.

 

 

God bless

Simon Dash

Principal

 

 

We ask all parents to check their email this week as you have been forwarded details about accessing your child’s Interim Report and the upcoming Parent / Teacher / Student Interviews. There are a number of attachments that contain all the information you will need to access the Report through the Parent Portal as well as instructions for booking an interview. Interview bookings will open from 6pm on Friday 10th March.

 

On Tuesday a number of our staff attended a professional learning opportunity on “Supporting Boys in Schools” by Dr. Ian Lillico, a very well-known academic and speaker in this area. There were three sessions over the day. The first session was for staff in leadership positions to assist them to support staff in supporting boys. The session during the day was for staff who teach in the Junior area and after school we had a number of staff attending the session on supporting boys in the Middle and Senior school.

 

Staff who attended will share their learning with their colleagues at upcoming meetings to ensure that we are aware of the small changes that we can make in our everyday class routines to support all learners and especially boys to access the learning and make the most of their education.

 

We take this opportunity to thank the staff, Mr. Tony McQuaid, Mr. Chris Relf, Miss Laura Stringer and Miss Kelsey Maddocks, who gave up time with their families to lead the Marine Studies and Aquatic Practices excursion to Lady Elliot Island. It was a unique and wonderful opportunity for students to undertake practical activities and reinforce their learning in the classroom. More details of their trip are to be found later in the newsletter.

 

Each Wednesday afternoon a number of students take part in the Broncos Challenge in Maryborough. We have four teams involved who are supported by staff as coaches.

13 boys – coaches Tom Riley and Mick Tyrrell

15 boys – coach Phil Smith

18 boys – coach Tony McQuaid

15 girls – coach Angela Hogan

 

The Year 12 Hospitality class had the wonderful opportunity to dine at an iconic Hervey Bay restaurant “Coast” last week. This visit was to gain a valuable insight into restaurant menus, food trends, food and beverage presentation, and in particular, dessert production and presentation. We thank Mrs. Lynette McLean for organising this activity.

 

A reminder that Camp Information forms have been handed out and are expected to be returned by Friday 10th March. If you have any questions please make contact with the Head of House leading that Camp.

 

 

 

Caritas are conducting their annual awareness and fundraising campaign during Lent and featuring stories from people in the Philippines, Timor Leste, Indigenous Australia, Vietnam, and Fiji.

 

“Their stories humble and inspire us, and show how your contributions to Project Compassion help people build better lives for themselves, their families and their communities.”

 

 This week’s story is about Dinia, who was struggling to feed and educate her children when her husband died. It tells of her perseverance and the support Caritas have provided to help create sustainable farming programs for Dinia and her community. Dinia herself has taken a leading role in this for the benefit of her whole community.

 

Narwari House will promote awareness-raising next week, during their Mission Week, on behalf of Caritas and will also be sharing these stories. The proceeds from the various fund-raising activities that Narwari House undertake will be sent on to Caritas Australia to help them continue this important work.

 For further information, or to learn the other stories behind this year’s campaign please visit  http://www.caritas.org.au/projectcompassion

 

Recently, we attended a service at the Uniting Church called the World Prayer of Day. The service is written by women in a different country each year around the world and this year’s theme was “Am I being fair to you?” The country that it was focused on was the Philippines. The service that we attended was an eye opening experience and was extremely worthwhile. What made the service so empowering was the relationship formed between all of the Christian Churches in Hervey bay, united for peace and justice for others and the incorporation of many different aspects from each different belief. I would highly recommend this experience to all students and the wider community as it is an extremely valuable and moving. So much so we all want to attend next years’ service. We were all immensely surprised by some of the injustices that are happening in the Philippines. Caritas K’s is coming up once again this year. This event was started by Jonathan Jordan, who himself came from the Philippines and wanted to do something to raise the awareness of the school community about the plight of those who do not live life to the full and it is a great opportunity to be part of a “Faith that does Justice”. Many Blessings, Hayden Kubler, Raemah Krause, Hayley Westendorp, Grace Lunn & Alex Pronk.

 

 With many families moving around so much these days with work requirements and family reasons it is often difficult to ensure your child has completed their sacraments of initiation within the Catholic Church.  If you have a child who is a Baptised Catholic and is in year 8 and above who would like to receive confirmation and their first Eucharist (Communion) please contact myself, Carmel Donnelly directly on cjdonnelly@bne.catholic.edu.au or on 41971165.  Preparation will commence in Term 2 this year. 

 Blessings

Carmel

 

 

"On Monday 27 February, 22 students gathered together to cook pancakes to raise awareness for Shrove Tuesday. These pancakes were then sold with proceeds going towards Caritas. It was a great opportunity for the Xavier students to actively participate in the tradition of Lenten preparation."  Talia Carter (Student)

 

 

 

 
08/03/2017   Book Fair (Through until 10/03)
09/06/2017   Cluster 2 Hervey Bay Secondary School District Sports Trials
13/03/2017  Narwari Mission Week
18/03/2017  Rugby 7s Competition
22/03/2017  Year 7 Immunisations

 

Term One Repor,t will be available electronically through the Parent Portal on Friday 10th March from 3.00pm.  This report is an Interim Report and provides an indication of progress and performance at this stage of the year.  A more formal report for each subject area will be provided at the end of Semester One. We hope that this report will provide you with a picture of how your child is progressing so far. To have the opportunity for you to discuss your child’s progress we offer Parent / Student / Teacher Interviews on Tuesday 21st March from 3.30pm to 8.00pm in GOA Performance & Activity Centre.

 

At these meetings, you will be able to discuss if your son or daughter is up to date with his or her work and if the teacher has any concerns. Where teachers have indicated that they require an interview (and a tick is shown), please use the PTO Booking system to secure a time with those teachers. If this section displays a cross, we are informing you that subject teachers do not need to speak with you, however, they are more than happy to meet with you and ask that you make a booking should you wish to do so. Teachers welcome the chance to meet with parents to discuss positive developments as well as concerns if necessary. We see these Parent / Student / Teacher interviews as a very important part of the learning and teaching process and an opportunity to address issues before they become serious concerns. Students are welcome to attend interviews with their parents.

 

All information regarding accessing the Parent Portal and the electronic version of your child’s report as well as booking interviews with teachers can be found on the College website under the Learning banner, Assessment and Reporting. There are a number of documents that can be downloaded from the ‘Help Guide’ that will assist you.

 

Please note – The online booking system will not accept any bookings or access to the site prior to 6.00pm on Friday 10th March.  If you are experiencing technical difficulties booking an interview after this time and you have followed the ‘Help Guides’ as indicated above, please contact the College for assistance.

 

 

 

This year we welcome Rhiannon Lowe to our Indigenous Student Support Team.  Rhiannon is the recipient of the BCE Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Mentoring Program which seeks to support Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander senior graduates who commence a Teaching Degree post-school.  Rhiannon will be working one day per week as a School Officer in the Junior & Middle School.

 

We would like to congratulate Lysha Skene on commencing her School Based Traineeship with the Queensland Government Department of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Partnerships.  Last year while in Year 10, Lysha applied for and was shortlisted to interview for this highly sort after position.  As the successful candidate she will now complete a Certificate III in Community Services whilst continuing her Senior Studies at Xavier.

 

 

 

Congratulations also go to our Indigenous students who claimed Aged Champion honours at the recent Hervey Bay District Swimming Carnival these include: Cailey Veitch (12yrs Girls), Tom Veitch (15yrs Boys) and Kasey Gamble (15yrs Girls). Well done!

 

 

Homework Club has kicked off for the year.  Sessions are held in Manresa on Tuesdays at 8am and on Thursdays at 3pm.  A light breakfast and afternoon tea is provided.  These sessions are an excellent way for students to stay-on-track with not only their homework but any of their in-class work that they haven’t completed or other assessment tasks. Already we’ve seen an excellent turn-out to Solid Study Sessions this year but there’s always room for more. We hope to see every student participate in at least one session per week.

 

Kerry-Ann Bates

Indigenous Student Support Coordinator

 

LADY ELLIOT ISLAND TRIP

Last week saw our senior Marine Science and Aquatic Practices students embark on their annual trip to beautiful Lady Elliot Island. A stormy ride got the thrill seekers excited on the plane to the Island, as did the short landing strip, but once safely on the ground calm was restored and it was time to hit the water.  The afternoon SCUBA and snorkel took in the amazing reef as well as Manta Rays, Black-Tipped Reef Sharks, plus the inquisitive resident Hawksbill and Green turtles. It was not all play however, with the aquatic practices students taking the time to interview staff on the Pros and Cons of Island life as well as what it takes to be employed in the industry.  The Marine Science students spent Thursday afternoon in the lagoon conducting transects and anything from sea cucumber and giant clam distribution to coral populations and their health.  Moving the trip to earlier in the year not only ensured warmer temperatures, but also allowed us to take in the spectacle of turtle breeding season, whether it be females hauling themselves up the beach to lay their eggs, or a nest erupting and the hatchlings making the dash for the ocean. A sunset over the ocean was a great way to spend our last afternoon on the island, and our final snorkel trip on Friday morning was spectacular, with sharks (black and white tipped), barracuda, turtles, clownfish and a pair of cow-tail rays nested in the sand below. All in all an unforgettable three days in what is a truly amazing part of the world.

Our Yr11 & 12 Legal Studies students travelled down to Brisbane last Tuesday to visit the Supreme Courts complex. After a 4:00am, start we arrived at the law courts at 8:30 and met with Supreme Court Justice Burns, who not only answered some questions, but also ran a mock trial involving two Yr12 students being accused of "Kardashian related" talking during class! Both were found guilty and sentenced accordingly. Students were also fortunate to meet with Justice Applegarth, who spoke privately with the students about the law after they watched him deliver a judgement in a civil matter. Students then broke off into small groups and sat in on various trials from a list provided by the courts for schools. These trials were at various stages ranging from the empanelment of juries, to witness examinations in chief and cross examinations, to sentencing. Once the courts adjourned for lunch at 1:00pm students gathered for a discussion before heading into the Queen Street Mall for lunch. After lunch we were due to visit the Supreme Court Museum, but unfortunately it was closed for a change in exhibit, so we had a quick look at the Magistrates Court complex before heading back to the Bus for our trip home to the Bay. Whilst a long day it proved to be very worthwhile, and gave students the opportunity to gain some great insights into the operation of our legal system.

 

 

 

Maths tutoring is for students in Year 4-12. Students can attend any time slot but Mr Riley's tutoring on Friday first break is the best time for Year 4-6 students.  This is group tutoring so please bring all your maths equipment and the questions that you wish to ask the teacher.

 

 

 

Year 6 students recently invited some grandparents to come and talk about what life was like when they were younger. The students will be using this information to help them write a historical diary entry that shows time and place. We would like to thank our visitors as this was very helpful in developing an understanding of vocabulary and settings for the student’s writing.

 

 

It’s that time again! Cross Country is JUST AROUND THE CORNER!! It will be held on Thursday 30th March. Attendance on the day is compulsory for all students – it is a normal school day so any absences will need to be explained as usual. Year 7-12 students will have shortened classes up to period 4, so students will not have period 5-6 classes on that day. The junior school will run in the morning, with the middle and senior school starting in the middle of the day – a very similar schedule to last year. A more detailed schedule for the day will be provided in newsletters closer to the date. We can’t wait to see the students shining in both Xavier spirit and participation. Bring it on!

 

On Thursday 9th March, students will be competing at the Hervey Bay District Cluster 2 Trials in the following sports: Rugby League, Rugby Union, Netball, Hockey, AFL, Soccer, Basketball and Golf. We wish these students well in their trials.

 

On the 24th and 25th of February, Xavier had 6 students compete in the QLD Triathlon Titles held here in Hervey Bay. Lachlan Armstrong finished 4th in the Boys Intermediate Division (15 & 16 yrs). Todd Baldwin finished 5th in the Senior Boys Division. Both Todd and Lachie will now represent QLD at the National Titles to be held in Penrith from Tuesday 18th April to Friday 21st April. Jeremy Hinton and Kayla Munson also performed strongly in the Senior Division with Kayla gaining a top 10 finish. Toby Powers finished 7th in the Junior Boys Division. Toby’s run leg was a real highlight, making up incredible ground after dealing with some bike problems that held him up. Piper Hinton also performed strongly in the Intermediate Girls Division. Well done also to Leilani Coster and Chantelle McCarthy who were competitive in their respective divisions. Xavier is very proud of all these students. Congratulations.