​​

From the Pen of the Principal 

Dear Parents and Caregivers

The saying 'you can't see the forest for the trees' is attributed to the English writer and poet John Heywood and first appeared in his proverb collection produced in 1546. It is an expression used for someone who is too involved in the details of a problem to look at the situation as a whole. Their focus is so honed on one thing, they miss the totality, the obvious and the big picture.

It is reminiscent of the 2007 story of Joshua Bell, one of the greatest musicians in the world, playing classical music for around 45 minutes, on a violin worth $3.5 million at a Washington D.C. Metro Station. Over a thousand people walked past and only 6 stopped to briefly listen. He made $32 in tips, $20 of which came from one person. Three days before he had sold out a Boston Theatre at $100 per person. It was a famous social experiment organised by the Washington Post which raised the question: 'If we do not have a moment to stop and listen to one of the best musicians in the world, playing some of the finest music ever written, with one of the most beautiful instruments ever made... How many other things are we missing?'

Likewise, there was another experiment, this one involving trainee teachers preparing to teach in Catholic Schools. A group was asked to prepare a lesson on the Good Samaritan as part of learning about how to teach. They were to prepare their lessons in one building, then walk down the street to a studio where some would be chosen to present their lesson to the remainder of the group; the presentations were to be recorded on video for discussion at a later date.

However, the trainee teachers were unaware that an actor had been hired to dress as a wounded man; he was to lie on the footpath, appear very distressed and gesturing for help. Nearly 80% of the trainee teachers walked past the man and didn't even see him! They had studied the parable of the Good Samaritan, prepared thoughtful lessons about it, but still nearly 80% would walk past the wounded man and ignore him! No doubt their awareness levels were raised after their lecturer had had a few quiet words to them.

Are we, perhaps, a little like the trainee teachers in that we are so busy living our busy time-starved lives, that we neglect ourselves and fail to see the needs of our children? Have we become addicted to being busy? Have we allowed being busy to make us feel important? If so, then we have confused overwork with self-worth.

The Australian writer, Stephanie Dowrick, tells us that, “Being busy is a kind of addiction. It reassures us that we are 'someone'. It lets us know that we are alive, even when we feel half-dead. It gives us the best possible excuse not to look a little more deeply into our lives. It may be saving us from loneliness. But being constantly busy estranges us from ourselves." We need to notice what is driving our lives because being too busy exhausts our spirit. We need time to relax, simply drift along, recover and feel renewed. Most definitely we need time to live through our senses as well as our minds.

The Irish theologian, John O'Donohue, tells us that our senses are large pores which let the world in. He goes on to say, “When your senses open out to the world, the first presence they encounter is the presence of your soul. To be sensual or sensuous is to be in the presence of your own soul. The poet, William Wordsworth, careful of the dignity of the senses, wrote that, 'pleasure is the tribute we owe to our dignity as human beings'. This is a profoundly spiritual perspective. Your senses link you intimately to the divine within and around you."

​If we are feeling good and relaxed within ourselves, we will have time to notice other people, we won't be “on edge" all the time, we won't allow ourselves to be so busy and caught up within ourselves as to simply ignore other people. We will have time to share with our children and our children will truly feel that they are loved and appreciated. What's more, because we have made ourselves available to our children, we might even find it to be a relaxing and stress reducing experience.

“May your body be blessed,

may you realise that holiness is

mindful gazing, feeling, hearing and touching. May you realise that your body

is a faithful and beautiful friend of your soul."  (John O'Donohue)

God, our Father, may Your Spirit which dwells within me, 

prompt me to cultivate my senses so that I become fully alive and fully aware of those around me.  

Amen.

Blessings and Happy School Holidays!

Simon Dash

Principal 

​

School Fees 2022

Advanced notice to all families that there will be no fee increases in 2022. This will also apply to compulsory levies. There may be some small variations in subject levies depending on the activities planned by Senior teachers.

I hope this is good news to all families. It is a reflection of our commitment to ensure that we are fiscally responsible and our desire to minimise the financial impact of schooling on all families.

With the increased funding to the College from the new Commonwealth funding formula being gradually phased in, we were able to cover the educational C.P.I. through this additional money.

Simon Dash

Principal​

Upcoming Dates 

Head of Primary Address – Mr Russell Davey

It has been a remarkably busy term in the Primary Years at Xavier.  The list of events has been extensive with a whirlwind of performances, celebrations, excursions, and gala days all combining to produce a term full of learning, adventure, and celebration for our students.  It has been truly wonderful to see families back on site and the community events which are so important to our College up and running again.  The students have worked very hard this term and they all deserve some down time and the opportunity to recharge during the holiday break. When we return, we will find ourselves quickly moving towards the end of the school year and the before we know the end of the 2021 school year will be upon us.  I would encourage all families to take the opportunity to spend some quality time together and I hope many of you have the opportunity to rest and relax with your children during this holiday period.  My thanks to all families for your support over the past term and I look forward to the return to classes in Term 4.

Primary Musical 2021

Congratulations to the cast and crew of Peter Pan 2021.  It was wonderful to see the joy on the faces of staff and students as the show came together for both of the evening performances and the P-6 matinee performance.  Particular acknowledgement must go to our talented and dedicated director, Mrs Jensen who with the assistance of many committed staff ensured the performance was a resounding success.  Well done to all involved!

Year 4 Overnight Stay/Whale Watching

Our Year 4 students experienced their first overnight camp on Thursday night at the College.  The primary purpose of this camp is to give students the confidence to spend a night away from home in a camp environment as we lead into their Year 5 camp on the Sunshine Coast in 2022.  The students had a wonderful time with their peers and their behaviour both during the overnight stay and on the Whale Watching boat was excellent.  They were very excited to return to the College on Friday with many stories of the millions (possibly an exaggeration) of whales they had seen. Thanks to the Year 4 teaching team and supporting staff for ensuring this event was such a success.

Book Term

Book term comes to close at the end of this week and it has once again been a true celebration of the joy of reading.  My thanks to Mr B and his team for another exciting term of book characters/ special visitors/ parades/ rug reading and last but not least the Decorate the Door competition. We look forward to 2022 and the return of this wonderful part of our College life.

NAPLAN Results 2021

All parents of students who are in Years 3, 5, 7 & 9 will receive communication regarding the 2021 NAPLAN results for your child/children. These results can now be obtained via the parent portal with a paper copy also available upon request from the College.  If you require any assistance to access your child's results please do not hesitate to contact the College directly. ​

Life Education

Life Education and Health Harold the Giraffe are coming to our school soon. Their mission is to empower young people to develop the skills needed to make informed decisions.

They will be here from Tuesday 5 October until Thursday 14 October delivering the program from Prep to Year 6.

It is important to the program for parents to be involved as much as they can. There are great articles on their website for parents with up to date topics: http://www.lifeeducation.org.au/parents Continue the conversation with your children by working on the Life Education modules together at home. 

A parent brochure has been included in the newsletter but to view more information about the parent module, visit… http://www.lifeeducation.org.au/parents/modules​

Head of School – Secondary – Mr Chris Relf

As this is the last newsletter for Term 3, I would like to thank staff, students and parents for their presence, efforts and application during this very busy term. We are all part of the one community, all working towards the one goal - to help our students achieve the fullness of life.

It is a busy time of year for our Senior students with our Year 12s currently working through their Mock Exam Block in preparation for their External Exams in Week 4 next term. Our Year 11s are also busy preparing for their Exam Block in Week 2 of next term. Our Year 11s will begin their Unit 3 studies in Week 3 next term. We wish our Senior students well at this important stage of their education.

End of Year Celebration Events

As we turn our eyes to the end of year stretch, we need to let all families know, that we have had to make some changes to the way that we traditionally celebrate the achievements of our students again this year due to restrictions on numbers in line with COVID 19 guidelines.

Our Senior Celebration Evening will be for students and their parents in Year 11 and 12 only this year and will be held on Wednesday 20th October. The evening will be in JPAC and begin at 7:00 p.m.

Students in Years 7 – 10 will have an Awards Assembly hosted at school. Unfortunately, with current COVID restrictions, we will not be able to have any families at this Assembly with us. We will live stream the Awards Ceremony for families to watch. This is scheduled for Wednesday 3 November approximately 9.00 - 11.00 am.
​

Year 2 Excursion

It was with great excitement that Year 2 students boarded buses on Thursday morning and headed to Maryborough.  To conclude our unit on Landmarks and to prepare for Term 4, students visited Story Bank House to learn more about life in the times of Mary Poppins. At the Bond Store they explored where merchandise was delivered before the Port of Maryborough was constructed in 1914.  During lunch the students watched a cannon being fired. Some played with musical instruments in Queens Park and all students got to ride on the Mary Ann, Maryborough's own steam train which is driven maintained by volunteers. It was a wonderful day enjoyed by both staff and students.  ​

Care & Concern 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 anyone of our parent contacts their details will be published each term in the College Newsletter.  We are in need of parent contacts in our P-6 area so if you would like to nominate yourself or to ask further information of what is involved please do not hesitate to contact myself, Carmel Donnelly (Campus Minister).  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

Anna Anderson (Jack Anderson)  aanderson4283@gmail.com

Claire Sinclair (Alex Sinclair) 41295730

Jo O'Neill (Kate O'Neil) 0422942289  

Ellen Geldard (Lachlan & Matthew) 41286910/ 0400499508 egeldard@gslaw.net.au

Mary Arnold (Riley/Corey/Joey) 0418729967

Karen Grumley (Stewart) 41243034 / 0413306540. 

Cassie Wilson (Max/Anabel/Imogen Wilson) 0409761207.

Malina Blakely (Ryan Blakely) mblackley@bne.catholic.edu.au (0478 410 180)

Rachael Trevillion (Luke/Sadie/Abbie Trevillion) rach.trev17@gmail.com

Nikita Falconer (Lily & Mia Falconer) nikita.beattie@live.com.au (0432 265 632)

Buthu House Parents

Michelle Wiegmink (Reece Wiegmink) 41287941/0409890188

Karen Goffinet (Patrick Goffinet) 0421 322 121.

Allison McGovern (Georgia McGovern) 0411 416 943

Shelly Hislop (Jordan/Lincoln Hislop) 0423 506 675.

Dirum House Parents

Rachel Loague (Oscar/Sophie Loague) 0417792179

Melissa Lynch (Mya) missyjane300@gmail.com

Helen Hatchett (Summer/Sam Wilson) 0438347153

Kellie Robinson (Alysha Robinson) 0448623963

Kondari House Parents

Michelle Begaud (Blake/Kyle Begaud) 0438242252

Carole Dewhurst (Freya Golik) 41206240/0400793188

Alison Keal (Angus/Seth) 0466250799

Emma Pearson (Dylan/Ava /Shayli) 0403599406

RCIA (Rite of Christian Initiations of Adults)

The RCIA prepares adults for initiation into the Catholic Church (with the sacraments of Baptism, Confirmation and Eucharist), which will be celebrated at the Easter Vigil 2022. For those wishing to become a Catholic, please contact the parish office to register.

RCIC (Rite of Christian Initiation of Children)

This process is for children, over 8 years old who want to join the Catholic Church. The children will receive the Sacraments of Initiation, which are Baptism, Confirmation & Holy Communion. During this process, the children will receive a better understanding of what it means to know and love God. Contact the Parish Office to find out more.

 ​

2021 Operation Christmas Child Project

This project is overseen by Samaritan's Purse- an international, interdenominational Christian Relief Organization. The Operation Christmas Child project encourages people of all ages, to fill shoeboxes with school supplies, hygiene items, clothing, toys and small gifts.  These boxes are delivered into the hands of children around the world, who are victims of war, persecution, poverty, disease, and natural disasters.  It is the largest children's project of its type in the world. 

This year some of our Preppies have begun to donate items to create these beautiful gifts that will be delivered to a collection point on October 15th.  Many generous families have already filled a box of joy to help us on our way.  If you would like to donate to this project, feel free to check out what can be donated via the website.  All donations can be dropped off at student reception.

www.samaritanspurse.org.au

Women and Men for Others

During this week, under the direction of Mrs Amy Brennan and the year 10 Religion teachers, our year 10 students are living the religious life of the College through their actions, words and thoughts.  Students are helping out our younger students, cleaning out our recycling stations, weeding our community garden and making cards for residents who are living in our local nursing homes.  It is a true joy to watch and see a faith that does justice.  Thank you to all those involved and we pray that all members of our community continue to enjoy a safe, supportive College community that we are building here at Xavier Catholic College.  ​

​​​

Maths Pathway Semester 2

This semester students have been focusing on achieving 100% accuracy.  For a student to achieve 100% accuracy they have mastered all the modules that had been assigned to them. We will still be acknowledging the students that achieve 200% + Growth Rate as this is also an excellent achievement each cycle.  Year 7 students have completed two cycles this term and Year 8-10 have only completed one, so in the Growth Rate rocket there are quite a few Year 7 students that have achieved 200% + Growth in the two cycles. Well done.

​

​

OSHC Vacation Care Program

Please contact our Outside School Hour Care staff if you would like to book in for their upcoming September holiday program.​

SPORTS NEWS

Touch Football

Congratulations to all students who competed at the Wide Bay All Schools touch competition on Thursday 2nd September. All teams made finals with 5 Girls narrowly losing the grand final 3-2. This competition is an excellent preparatory tournament for the major QLD All Schools competition held 1st week back in Term 4. A reminder to all students of the deadline (Friday September 17th 9am) for the following:

• Qkr payment of $65

• Travel/Accommodation Form (to sports box)​