The Melbourne Declaration guides the development of the Australian Curriculum on Educational Goals for Young Australians, adopted by the council of state and territory education ministers in December 2008. The Melbourne Declaration emphasises the importance of knowledge, understanding and skills of learning areas, general capabilities and cross-curriculum priorities as the basis for a curriculum designed to support contemporary learning.
The Australian Curriculum describes a learning entitlement for each Australian student that provides a foundation for successful, lifelong learning and participation in the Australian community. It acknowledges that the needs and interests of students will vary and that schools and teachers will plan from the curriculum in ways that respond to those needs and interests. The Australian Curriculum acknowledges the changing ways in which young people will learn and the challenges that will continue to shape their learning in the future.
The Australian Curriculum will eventually be developed for all learning areas, and subjects set out in the Melbourne Declaration: initially for English, mathematics, science and history; followed by geography, languages, the arts, economics, business, civics and citizenship, health and physical education, and information and communication technology and design and technology.
Schooling in NSW is based on the mandatory NSW syllabuses for students from Kindergarten to Year 12. The syllabuses are developed and endorsed by NESA.
Xavier Catholic College follows the approved syllabuses with the exception of Religious Education, which is approved by the Bishop.
Please visit the New South Wales Education for more information on the NSW syllabuses: Standards Authority (NESA) website
Subjects are called Key Learning Areas (KLAs).
They are:
As a Catholic school, Religious Education is both a Key Learning Area and integral to our way of life.
As a school of the 21st century, Xavier Catholic College provides students with learning environments that encourage investigation, exploration, and creativity. Students are provided with opportunities to develop technological information and higher-order thinking skills as they develop an understanding of how they learn. Through reflection and evaluation, the children are empowered to independently extend their learning.
At Xavier Catholic College, we are committed to excellence and equity in the growth and development of all students as lifelong learners who are actively engaged with a passionate curiosity and wonder about the world. At its heart, education equips students with the attributes, knowledge, skills and confidence they need to live fulfilling, productive and responsible lives. Students engage with a range of people, places, and disciplines to grow as critical and creative problem-solvers who embrace society in all its diversity.
Learners in our school are empowered to become co-responsible for their learning as they explore an increasingly interconnected and complex world through:
a rich curriculum that engages;
pedagogy that empowers;
environments that enable;
a powerful culture of learning for continual growth.
These four dimensions are at the heart of learning and teaching, inspiring, challenging, empowering, and developing students’ love of learning. We draw on the Catholic tradition, providing direction and meaning for students as they engage with their lives' religious and spiritual dimensions.
Highly skilled teachers, and those who support them, have a central role in the learning process as they use their expert knowledge, skills and dispositions to engage in learning and feedback in partnership with students. They build learning communities that inspire, engage and challenge students as they seek to make sense of their world and their role in it. They model lifelong learning through intentional collaborative practise, feedback and reflection. Through deep thinking and meaningful engagement, they challenge themselves and their students to co-construct and apply new knowledge in a range of contexts.
Teaching is a vocation that calls for recognition that we recognise that we are walking on the 'sacred ground of the other' (Evangelii Gaudium, 169).
Students enjoy a strong academic program and are exposed to a rich and engaging curriculum as well as co-curricular programs that provide diverse opportunities for students to excel in specialty areas of interest.
Students’ pattern of study can be broadly considered by pairing Year groups:
Years 7 and 8
Each student in Years 7 and 8 undertake study in:
Years 9 and 10
In addition to the compulsory courses of Religious Education, English, Mathematics, Science, Australian History, Australian Geography and PDHPE, students choose electives from a wide range of courses including Design and Technology, Food Technology, Textiles and Design, Industrial Technology (Timber, Metal, Graphics and Multimedia), Information Software, Commerce, French, Music, Dance, Drama, Visual Arts, and Physical Activity & Sport Studies.
Years 11 and 12
In Years 11 and 12, students choose their pattern of study from a wide range of courses in consultation with our staff. They must include a Religious Education course and an English course.
Xavier Catholic College’s academic program is designed for students who are seeking further tertiary study as well as students working towards achieving a well-rounded education in the pursuit of employment.
Students can choose a pattern of study which enables them to acquire an Australian Tertiary Admission Rank (ATAR) and can also include Vocational Education courses if they want. These involve industry work placement and are dual-accredited nationally (Certificate II or III) and for the HSC.
Offering flexible alternatives to their education, our students have opportunities to study online or through distance education to meet individual course needs.