From the Pen of the Principal
Dear Parents and Carers,
On Monday 24th April, our Prep to Year 12 College Community gathered for an Easter and ANZAC Day Liturgy. It was a beautiful and moving ceremony. I was also heartened the next day by the numbers of students who turned out for the ANZAC Day Parade.
The ANZAC Story
It is good to begin by reminding ourselves of the events that shaped the ANZAC spirit. At dawn on April 25th, 1915, 12,000 men of the first Division of the Australian Imperial Forces (The first AIF) stormed ashore at Gallipoli in the Dardanelles. The objective was to open a sea lane to the Turkish Capital of Constantinople to force the Turks to withdraw from the Caucasus where they were attacking the Russians, then on the Allied side.
The Gallipoli Campaign lasted from the 25th April until 10th December 1915. Australia’s test of nationhood began in the darkness of that fateful Sunday morning of the 25th of April. The Diggers landed in the dark under fire; and always under heavy fire, climbed precipitous cliffs mostly covered by prickly oak scrub through which progress was difficult even for the strongest. Individual courage and initiative won a foothold on the plateau and the ridges, which for the next eight months saw epic valour and endurance on both sides. Apart from the heavy casualties from attack and counter-attack, the lines were so close that there was no respite from bombs, shells and mines. Mental strain and physical illness reduced the bodies of our finest youth to gaunt skeletons held together only by determination. Finally, pressures from other theatres of war led to the evacuation, itself a casualty-free miracle.
In those eight months, there were 27,329 Australian casualties: 7,818 killed, 19,441 wounded and 70 taken prisoner. Gallipoli became the battleground where Australia, savagely and tragically came of age.
The title “ANZAC”, from Australian and New Zealand Army Corps, was first coined in 1914 by Lt. Gen. Sir William Birdwood, Commander of the Australian and New Zealand Forces, which landed on Gallipoli on April 25th, 1915.
Today we remember not only those who took part at Gallipoli, but all Australian Servicemen and women who have fought for this country.
The Season of Easter
We are now well and truly into the Easter Season which takes us on a journey from Jesus’ death and resurrection to the celebration off Pentecost.
If it is going to make any sense to a battling church then we have to start with concepts to which people can relate. Each day I discover more clearly the idea that we, as a community, are the body of Christ. All those people who helped me through tough times have been the body of Christ, making God truly present in our world. Through their touch and support, Christ was made present. Through their everyday love, God’s grace was able to shine. All those with whom I have laughed and shared the sense of camaraderie and friendship have equally been the body of Christ to me.
When I receive Eucharist, I don’t think of it as the fuel-tank of God’s grace. God’s grace has already come to me through the love and concern of friends and the Xavier family. To receive Eucharist is to recognise and celebrate that God’s grace has been hitting me between the eyes all week (even if I have failed to see it). To receive Eucharist is to say thank you to the body of Christ that has nurtured me and supported me. To receive Eucharist is to commit myself to being the body of Christ to others.
Before anyone hangs me up as a heretic, I would like to share with you a quote from the catechism, the official teaching of the church. In paragraph 1396, the catechism quotes St Augustine sharing his understanding of the Eucharist to the new members of the church. He says:
"If you are the body and members of Christ, then it is your sacrament that is placed on the table of the Lord; it is your sacrament that you receive. To that which you are, you respond: 'Amen' ('Yes, it is true!'), and by responding to it you assent to it. For you hear the words 'The Body of Christ,' and respond 'Amen.' Be then a member of the Body of Christ that your Amen may be true.”
So, what do we mean when we speak of the body of Christ? It when a community of ordinary people occasionally gets it right. It is when average people make God real to me through their compassion, generosity and sense of fun and friendship. It touches me when I am tired and facing my wits-end, yet I am somehow carried by another’s love.
It is when people express a commitment to each other that makes God real in this world. It is when average battlers, whether they know it or not, become the channels of God’s presence.
My thanks to you, my fellow members of the Body of Christ.
Setting our Academic Expectation
As we hit the second week of Term 2, classes are in full swing with our students seeking to build on the success of Term 1. We are also committed to continue to develop our emphasis on building a strong learning culture where everyone strives to achieve their personal best.
As a community of learners, we wish to continue to look at ways to improve our academic standards and outcomes. The College has produced very good results over many years, but the sense that we can take this to the next level is very real.
While our teachers do a remarkable job in staying abreast of latest educational trends and implementing them into their daily practice, your assistance is also vital. You can never underestimate the impact of parents in developing a learning culture.
The following pointers provide some useful tips for parents in assisting their child to reach their educational potential:
How Should I Help My Child with Homework?
- Show that you think education and homework are important. If your child knows that you care about what is happening at school, he or she will have a good reason to complete assignments on time.
- Set a regular time for homework. The best schedule for homework is what works best for your child and your family. Your child’s outside activities, such as sports or music lessons may mean that you need a flexible homework schedule.
- Provide an area for your child to do homework. Make sure the area is well-lit and has minimal distractions.
- Ensure that there are no distractions. Discourage your child from making and receiving social telephone calls during homework time. Turn off the television if it is keeping your child from doing his or her homework.
- Provide supplies and identify resources. Have pencils, pens, erasers, writing paper, a dictionary, or other supplies that may be helpful available.
- Help your child use everyday routines to support the skills he or she is learning. Teach your child to play word and math games. Help your child look up information about something in which he or she is interested.
- Look over completed assignments before they are turned in. Then, after the teacher returns completed homework, read the comments to see if your child has done the assignment satisfactorily.
- Talk about school and learning activities in family conversations. Ask your child what was discussed in class that day.
- Show your child that the skills he or she is learning are an important part of the things adults do. Let your child see you reading, writing, or using math. Talk to your child about what you do at work.
- Attend school activities. If you can, volunteer to help in your child’s classroom or at special events.
God Bless,
Simon Dash
Principal
Acting Head of School – Primary
I would like to take the opportunity to thank the Xavier Community for the way we ended Term 1. Congratulates to Helen Hatchett and her team on a successful Cross Country, Xavier spirit was definitely on show with students representing their houses with pride, as well as the support of all spectators. The event was not without its challenges including rescheduling to the Friday, but it is times like this when we appreciate all members of our school community. Thank you to parents for your understanding and patience while we tried to make the carnival work on Thursday but then had no choice but to move it to Friday. Thank you to all teaching staff for re-arranging lessons and activities to facilitate the change to Friday and a big thank you to Laura Oliver who made changes to the Easter Liturgy last minute to ensure we could run both the Liturgy and cross country on the same day. The Liturgy not only provided the opportunity to come together and celebrate the Season of Easter and resurrection of Jesus but also provided an opportunity for us to farewell Mrs Libby Gaedtke and thank her for her many years of service to our school.
As we begin the new term, I would like to take the opportunity to remind parents and carers regarding some of our general morning and afternoon processes. Please see below:
Supervised GOA Duty – 8:00am – 8:30am
As you would be aware the College provides supervision from 8:00am each morning in our GOA centre and on the GOA oval. The purpose of this duty is to allow parents the opportunity to drop off prior to the start of the school day and to ensure they are able to get to work as required. In recent times we have had a number of students who are not making their way to the supervised areas. Can I ask that all parents who are dropping students in the morning remind their children about the need to go to directly to these supervised areas GOA/GOA oval. Students who are waiting outside these areas must have a supervising adult with them at all times to prevent any unnecessary accidents/issues. My thanks for your support in this area.
Doors Open – 8:30am
Classroom doors in P-6 open at 8:30am each day with rolls beginning at 8:40am. This time is available to parents to deliver a quick message if they need to do so or make an appointment to see the classroom teacher. Alternatively, you can Email your class teacher and they will respond once they have had the opportunity to check their Emails. If a message needs to be passed to students during the course of the day, please contact student reception at the College and they will pass on the message to your child's teacher.
Pickup/Drive Through
In the past we have used car sun visor family signs to assist staff with identifying cars and calling students to be ready when the car approaches the pick-up area. This simple addition to our drive through pickup has prevented delays due to staff having to determine which students are required for each vehicle. I would encourage all families to contact the College if you are yet to receive a visor sign bearing your family name or require a new sign for their vehicle.
ANZAC Day
Thanks to our students who represented the College at services in Burrum Heads, Howard, Toogoom, River Heads and Hervey Bay on Tuesday morning. Last week our Prep students learnt about the importance of ANZAC Day in HASS. Through the sharing of stories such as "My Grandad Marches on ANZAC Day", the Preps are aware of the significance of the Poppy as a symbol of remembrance. They also created some portraits of the soldiers who landed in ANZAC Cove on the very first ANZAC Day. Many of our Prep and Year 2 artworks were on display at our ANZAC Liturgy on Monday.
| 
|
Finally, a big thank you to all the students and staff who marched on Tuesday, it is an event that we can come together as a P-12 community to honour and thank all our Service men and women who have fought for peace.
Lest we forget.
Regards,
Sarah Love
Head of School – Secondary
Welcome back to Term 2! It has been delightful to see the joy in the faces of our students as they returned on campus last week. This term brings with it the promises of continued connectedness to the College and more information about the events around our celebration of turning 20.
Uniform Reminders
The College expectations are that all students will always wear the full and correct uniform between home and school. Uniforms are to be clean and in good condition. School shoes should be clean. Also remembering that in Terms 2 and 3 students are to wear their formal uniform on Wednesday. Students are also reminded that excess jewellery is not to be worn when coming to and from school.
We have had a few students choose not to have their hair within the College guidelines. Could I please remind families to ensure our boys do not have mullets, or mullet like haircuts? Eyelash extensions are not permitted at the College.
Camps
Our Year 7 and Year 9 students went off to camp this week with great excitement. I would like to thank all the teachers who assisted and attended camp as well. It is a huge commitment to give up this time with our loved ones to be away with our students. I would also like to acknowledge the work of Ms Stacy Mills and Ms Gerry Glass who put in every effort for our students to have this opportunity.
With Blessings,
Ursula Witham-Young
News
Prep 2024 Come and Try
Xavier Catholic College is inviting parents and carers with children starting Prep in 2024 to come and experience the wonderful facilities at the College.
Our Prep 2024 Come and Try sessions will give children the chance to meet the teachers, explore the Prep classrooms and play area and make new friends – all before the start of the 2024 school year!
The College will host three Prep 2024 Come and Try sessions in the coming months:
- Mon 15 May 2023 – 3:30pm to 5pm
- Wed 14 June 2023 – 9:00am to 10:30am
- Fri 28 July 2023 – 9:00am to 10:30am
We can’t wait to meet you!
Please feel free to share the below flyer with your family and friends!
School Photos: Online Ordering
Parents and carers can now order photos taken by Academy Photography.
To do so,
click this link and navigate to ‘Order Online’ under the ‘Products for Parents’ tab.
You can use the secure access key located on your child’s envelope to begin customising your order.
If you have misplaced your envelope, please contact the College.
Online orders will be open until 19 May 2023.
ANZAC Day
Xavier Catholic College commemorated ANZAC Day this week with a special Liturgy on Monday.
The College also marched with the Hervey Bay community to Freedom Park in Pialba on Tuesday.
Thank you to all the staff and students who joined the march and attended other services across the Fraser Coast, it was great to see Xavier Catholic College honour Australia’s heroes.
Lest we forget.
Our Prep students have been learning about the significance of ANZAC Day and why we commemorate the occasion every year.
To enhance their understanding of some of the symbols and stories of the ANZACs, the Preppies have undertaken some incredible art activities, including: Directed drawing solder portraits, photographic poppy art and printmaking. Some students even got to bake ANZAC biscuits.
Week 2 Maths Update
Year 7-12 Maths Tutoring Timetable
Please see below the current Maths tutoring timetable. Students can attend as many sessions as they like. Have your questions ready to ask the teacher or start working through your homework.
Awesome Achievement
While working on the Mathematical concept of Area, Mr Jansen gave his 8.1 class a challenge over the holidays. He asked students to see how many decimal places of Pi (π) they could memorise.
Pi – which is associated with the area of circles – is an irrational number. This means it will continue forever with no repetition or patterns. Presently, Scientists have worked out 1-million decimal places. Most people know the first 2-6 digits: 3.141592.
Gabriella Holloway did an amazing job reciting 303 decimal places in front of her 8.1 peers.
Below, Gabriella recounts the strategy she used to memorise the number to 303 decimal points. What an awesome achievement!
Last term, before the Easter holidays, my class was challenged to see how many digits of Pi (π) we could remember. I rose to the challenge and over the course of two weeks, I was able to successfully memorise 303 digits of Pi. Pi is an irrational number used to find the circumference of a circle, the number is irrational meaning it does not end and never repeats. However, it took a lot of trial and error to find a helpful strategy.
I first grouped the digits into hundreds and took each section one at a time. I then divided the first hundred digits into rough groups of three. These were put into lines consisting of around 24 digits (eight groups of three).
Now that the digits are organised, I first began looking for patterns and sequences within the small groups, then within each line and finally patterns that could help me remember which line came after. By using different coloured highlighters, I was able to memorise these patterns.
Finally, the most important step was to start by saying the digits out loud, then by writing each line out several times. I was occasionally testing myself by writing them down from memory to see how many I could remember and where I needed to correct my mistakes.
I did this for every hundred digits, looking for any possible links between them. Then after lots of practise I was able to memorise 303 digits of Pi.
Maths Pathway Years 6-8
Students who have achieved 133% or higher Growth Rate or 100% Accuracy will be recognised each fortnight. To achieve 133% Growth Rate, students need to master four out of the six modules completed each cycle.
Why is 133% Growth Rate important?
Students achieving this consistently show more than a year’s worth of knowledge mastered. As students are filling in gaps in Year 6-8, this is ultimately the goal of Maths Pathway.
This newsletter acknowledges the students who have achieved 133% Growth and 100% Accuracy for all of Term 1. These students have consistently mastered four or more modules every cycle, which is a great achievement.
Congratulations to the students listed below!
Year 12 students host ‘Relay for Homelessness’
More than 116,000 people were estimated to be homeless in Australia on census night in 2016 (AIHW, 2021).
Not only is this a worldwide and national concern here in Australia, the number of our local community, that’s Fraser Coast residents, who have experienced homelessness has climbed by almost 8% since 2019.
There are many people experiencing and at risk of homelessness on the Fraser Coast and they need our help.
We are highlighting the struggles of homeless peoples’ lives in Hervey Bay by changing our routines and drawing attention to the discomfort of homeless people’s day to night lifestyles.
From 6pm on 3rd May to 6am on 4th May, the Year 12 Health class will complete the ‘Relay for Homelessness’.
Students will walk laps around the school oval for 12 hours and will be sleeping rough on the oval to raise awareness of the plight of those in our local community who are homeless.
Through donations and sponsorship from local businesses, support will be provided to those in our local community who are experiencing homelessness. Money raised will be used to provide hygiene products, meal vouchers and other essentials through local organisations - including Red Cross and The Hervey Bay Neighbourhood Centre.
If you would like to support this cause, you can donate through Qkr!
If you have a business and would like to support us, or would like more information on our mission to help those in need on the Fraser Coast, you can contact us through our teacher, Tracy Grambower by Emailing: tgrambower@bne.catholic.edu.au.
Thank you for your support,
The Year 12 Health class
Xavier Catholic College
Confirmation
For children in Year 3 or above the first step in their Sacramental Program begins this term, with preparation for Confirmation in June.
A Parent Information Night will be held on Thursday 27th April at 6:30pm at St Joseph’s Catholic Church. Please bring child’s Birth Certificate and Baptism Certificate to the meeting.
For more information, please contact the Parish office on (07) 4124 3334 or email herveybay@bne.catholic.net.au.
Well done Bella!
Congratulations to Year 12 student Bella Thom for completing her Cert 3 in Hospitality at the Hervey Bay RSL.
Bella’s hard work saw her successfully complete the program while also managing her regular school requirements and responsibilities.
This school-based traineeship has provided Bella with work-ready skills for the future and will be a fantastic addition to her CV.
The College’s VET program helps prepare students for the working world after school. The program supports senior students with their individual pathways, which could include school-based apprenticeships and traineeships.
Primary Mother’s Day Celebration
Xavier Catholic College invites all mums, grandmothers and all the important ladies in our Primary students’ lives to a special Liturgy and picnic morning tea.
The Primary Mother’s Day Celebration will be held on Friday, 12 May 2023.
The Liturgy will start at 9:00am and will be followed by the picnic morning tea. Please bring along a snack and picnic blanket to enjoy morning tea on the lawn with your child.
Second Hand Uniforms
If you have any school uniforms that your child has outgrown, please do consider donating them for others within our College community to wear.
Uniforms that are clean and in good condition can be handed in at College Reception or Student Services.
Items required:
- Formal pants, shirts and skirts
- Student ties
- Student belts
- Everyday uniforms (shorts/polos) for primary and secondary students
Scholastic Book Club
Issue 3 of Scholastic Book Club is out now!
Orders are due by 3:00pm on Friday, 28 April and must be placed using LOOP, the Scholastic Linked Online Ordering and Payment platform –
accessible here. LOOP is safe and easy to use and eliminates the need to return paper order forms and cash to school. Books will be delivered to your child’s classroom, unless you have marked the order as a gift.
Each order helps earn free books and teaching materials for our school.
Happy reading!
Sport
K-12 Cross Country
Congratulations to Buthu for taking home top honours at the K-12 Cross Country at the end of Term 1. It was great to see all the students out on the course competing for their respective houses.
Overall Results:
1. Buthu – 2125 points
2. Narwari – 1819 points
3. Kondari – 1776 points
4. Dirum – 1685 points
Age Champions:
Hervey Bay District Cross Country
The 10-18 years Hervey Bay Cross Country will be held at the Fraser Coast Sports Precinct on Tuesday, 2 May.
Students taking part must be at school by 7:30am to catch the bus, which departs at 7:45am sharp. All students are required to catch the bus.
Students should wear full Xavier ‘day’ uniform. Running singlets will be provided. Please remember to pack your lunch and a water bottle.
Don’t forget
You can stay up-to-date with Xavier Catholic College by following us on
Facebook and
Instagram.