Newsletter 18 - November 12
Principal's Message
Dear Parents, Students and Staff,
Galatians 5:22-23
“But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control”
Remembrance Day
Yesterday we stopped to commemorate Remembrance Day under COVID-safe restrictions and with an eye on the respectful conduct of the HSC exams. I thank Ms Maria Casamento for her thoughtful service and prayer which was shared with the College community at 11:00am.
Lest We Forget
School Fees and Technology Levy
College enrolment fees are an important resource which allows us to operate areas of the school which are not funded under other measures. This includes photocopier contracts, council rates and fees, payment of wages for office and other support staff, capital purchases for various departments and so on. Every effort is made to keep these to a minimum to ensure families are able to meet their obligations and to maintain a low-cost schooling option for our families.
We also charge a Technology Fee which enables us to provide specialist access to resources not normally considered part of a standard classroom. This includes access to:
- Latest technology smart-boards and screens
- Software such as
- Pulse (welfare subscription)
- Adobe Suite
- Education Perfect
- Atomi (HSC study)
- Screencastify
- STILE (Science application)
- IXL Learning
- Devices - ChromeBooks for 7-9 up until this year
The cost of these items (if shared out proportionately) would equate to well in excess of the $75 charged per child; in fact, it would be over double that amount. When multiplied out across our 950 students next year, you can start to see the amount to which we subsidise and support the community. The school works very hard to minimise impact to parents and their hip pockets to cover costs internally where we can. We appreciate the support of families in maintaining thief commitment to school fees invoices as they come through. Rest assured though, this is not a precursor to increasing fees and levies. I just want families to know we are doing our level best to support you during these tough times.
Farewell Mr Chris Robinson
Sadly I must inform the College community that after 16 years at Xavier, Mr Chris Robinson will be leaving us at the end of the year. Mr Robinson is currently the Leader of Curriculum, a member of the College Executive and an important and well-respected teacher on staff. He has decided to accept a position at St Mary’s College Casino as Leader of HSIE and will, I am certain, become a valued member of their community next year.
Mr Robinson joined us 2005 and has held a number of leadership roles including Leader of HSIE as well as his current role. His professional conduct of all matters Curriculum, dealing with NESA and CSO and his work as a member of the College Executive has been very much appreciated by me and my predecessor Mr Vella, as well as the current and past College Executives. We wish Mr Robinson all the best as he commences this new phase in his career next year. He will, of course, remain with us here at XCC until the end of this year.
REMINDER: Attention Please Year 10 Parents
By now you will have received a letter from me outlining a number of days where Year 10 have been designated to work from home.This decision was not taken lightly and will ultimately assist our Year 12 students to complete the HSC safely.
On the busiest of days for the HSC, the College requires additional rooms (the MAGIS Hall is banned by NESA) to run the examinations and so we need a Year group to work from home. For Year 10, the first three of these four days will involve working on and/or submitting assessments online. The fourth of those days will be working from home on pre-assigned work from their teachers. The remaining days are:
- Monday 15 November — HSC Mathematics Examination
- Thursday 25 November — HSC Studies of Religion Examinations
Go gently and love each other.
God Bless,
Mr Kevin Lewis
College Principal
kevin.lewis@lism.catholic.edu.au
St Francis Xavier Parish, Ballina
Website: www.sfxballina.org.au
St Francis Xavier Catholic Church, Ballina
Vigil 6:00pm Saturday (Max of 184 people)
9:00am and 11:00am Sunday (Max of 184 people)
Weekday Mass – Tuesday to Friday at 12:00 noon (Max of 184 people)
Holy Family Catholic Church, Lennox Head
Vigil 5:00pm Saturday (Max 70 people)
7:30am Sunday (Max of 70 people)
Masks must be work when attending Mass. There is no signing and the 2 square metre rule applies with in our two churches. QR codes are the preferred way of registering to attend our parish Masses. QR codes are located at the entrances of both Churches. For your convenience attendance sheets are provided upon arrival to manually leave your contact details when attending Mass.
Vaccinated and non vaccinated can join together in places of worship for Mass, the wearing of masks is mandatory.
Please do not attend Mass if you are not feeling well
- Use hand sanitiser provided at entrance and exit doors.
- Sit on crosses (X) allocated in the pews to comply with the required social distancing rules of 2 square metres (families can sit together).
- Singing not permitted by congregants (choir of no more than 10 allowed)
- 5 x weekend Masses and 4 x weekday Masses are celebrated each week in our parish.
- Our churches are open for private prayer Monday to Friday, please sign the sheet provided when visiting or use the QR code
Assistant Principal - Teaching and Learning
Year 12 HSC Examinations
We are most impressed with our Year 12 students and how they have adapted to the constantly changing circumstance of the 2021 school year. I remind the College community to pray for the intentions of our Year 12 students, who commenced their HSC examinations on Tuesday 9 November and will conclude examinations on Friday 3 December.
Year 11
Academic Excellence and Consistent Effort awards were presented to students to celebrate their achievements upon completion of the Year 11 Course. Please click on the following link to see a list of award recipients.
Year 11 Awards - Academic Excellence and Consistent Effort
Year 11 students have commenced HSC studies and will complete HSC assessment tasks over the forthcoming weeks. Please consult the Year 11 Assessment Calendar located on the College website under: Curriculum/Assessment Schedule/Year 11 Assessment Calendar for upcoming task dates. If due to illness or misadventure a student is unable to present an assessment task, please ensure the Absence from Assessment Form is completed and submitted with relevant medical documentation attached.
Year 10 Examinations
Congratulations to our Year 10 students, who completed their formal examinations this week. Please be reminded that Monday 15 November is an off-site day for Year 10 students due to HSC examinations. However, all Year 10 Visual Arts students are required to be on site on Monday 15 November to complete their major artworks. Music students will present performance examinations on Wednesday 17 November.
Year 7-10 Reports
All students in Years 7 to 10 will be issued with their Semester 2 Report in Week 10. Parents will be notified via email when Semester 2 Reports are available to download. Please ensure you have created a Parent Portal account. If you have any queries, or if you are unable to access your Parent Portal account, please contact the Helpdesk on 6618 0123.
Presentation Day
The College’s annual Presentation Day will be held on Friday 10 December in the Magis Centre. This is a wonderful opportunity to acknowledge student achievement across academic, cultural and sporting spheres in 2021. Further details about Presentation Day will be forthcoming.
Mrs Amanda Falvey
NOTIFICATION OF EXTENDED LEAVE
Travel outside of the school vacation period is counted as an absence for statistical purposes. Please complete a Form A4 Notification Extended Leave Travel. An absence in this case will be recorded using the Code ‘A’ (Unjustified Leave).
In exceptional circumstances parents may complete a Form A1 Application for Extended Leave-Travel for consideration, explaining why an absence for extended leave is in the best educational interest of the student. The Principal may accept or decline this application.
Please note relevant travel documentation such as an e-ticket or itinerary (in the case of non-flight bound travel within Australia only) must be attached to these applications.
These forms are available at the College Office or click FormA4 – Notification Extended Leave Travel or FormA1 – Application for Extended Leave – Travel to download a copy.
Catechesis And Evangelisation
To recognise Mission Month, World Mission Sunday and the important work of Catholic Mission, the Senior Ministry Team hosted a Socktober fundraising and awareness raising event on the College Green on the last day of October. The Senior Ministry Team and House leaders ran activities and raised money to assist a school for disadvantaged children run by the Good Shepherd Sisters in Thailand. Families are invited to support the work of Catholic Mission via their website:
Mr David Eyles & Mrs Mary Howard
IMPORTANT MESSAGE FROM THE COLLEGE OFFICE
Messages for students during the HSC Examinations Term 4, 2021
The HSC examinations are held at the College from Tuesday 9 November until Friday 3 December 2021. During this time we are unable to call students to the office to collect messages.
Parents/Guardians are requested to ensure that students are aware of any appointments prior to arriving at school and also have a written note from you if they need to be excused from class. It is the student's responsibility to leave class early and present at the office ready to be collected by their parent/guardian. Your assistance in the matter is greatly appreciated.
Faculty News
HSC Exploring Early Childhood
Exploring Early Childhood is a practical subject where students explore the needs of babies, young children and their families. Due to COVID restrictions, students have not been able to access some of the services and resources in our community. Fortunately, the HSC class were able to have a Zoom lesson with Dr Madeline Beveridge and her new son Padraig. Dr Beveridge is currently on maternity leave. The students were able to interview Dr Beveridge about her childbirth and parenting experiences and they were able to observe Padraig and his development. This was an extremely valuable experience and we would sincerely like to thank Dr Beveridge for volunteering her time to teach the class so much about her experiences. Pictured below are Dr Beveridge and some of the EEC Class - Baylee Woods and Mia Keemink.
Mrs Rebecca Kennedy
Class Teacher
Year 8 Coil Pots tell stories about their favourite place
Year 8 Visual Arts students created coil pots inspired by the Hermannsburg Potters of Central Australia. Hermannsburg pots tell stories about culture, community and sport. They are some of Australia’s most significant Indigenous artists working today.
Xavier students’ coil pots represented their stories about connection to their favourite places. The beach, forest, desert, basketball court and football field featured among the many diverse locations and places. Their sculptural lids featured animals, flora, iconic landmarks, cartoon characters, footballs and racing car drivers, as well as fictional characters from popular cartoons and fairytales.
Here is what some of our Year 8 artists said about telling their stories:
“I love to take in the beach for hours. My family and friends have picnics at Wategos beach. I am amazed by the vast pastel shades and contrasting colours melted together in a sunset. Each one is different and unique, so it’s always a surprise.” Leelu Welsby
“The ocean and fishing with my family is important to me. It’s a bright place and activity full of life.” Archie Kotsireas
“As you look at Uluru you experience the beauty of Australia, and this has inspired me. This place is special to me because it is a giant cultural rock that has been in Australia for around 500 million years. Uluru reminds me of the Dreamtime stories we used to read about in primary school.” Breanna Walsh
“I have been to Darwin many times and when I go I see my cousins and see some cool places like the Adelaide River. One time we went there and there were so many crocodiles that when you put meat over the edge they would jump so that their whole body was out of the water. It is an amazing place.” Finn Law
Mrs Therese O'Kane
Art Teacher
The Fuse Cup
On Friday 5 November, two Year 8 boys, Rocco Dugard and Ryley Davis, represented Xavier in the finals of the Mario Kart competition of the Fuse Cup. The boys were successful in making the finals from earlier in the year. There were initially 172 schools who signed up for the competition. The boys made it to one of four finals on the day competing against five other schools. Both boys played very well and were placed third overall in their final. Unfortunately this was not enough to progress to the Grand Final later in the day. It was a great effort from them both.
We look forward to continuing with the Fuse Cup in 2022. Hopefully we will get the opportunity to host some more ‘live’ events with visiting schools. Fingers crossed.
To all Parents/Guardians of Year 12 Xavier Catholic College students
Please note that all textbooks/library books and laptop computers must be returned to Xavier Catholic College library by the last day of HSC examinationss which will vary for each student.
Students will be issued with an email today detailing their outstanding items. This email will also be sent to parents/guardians today. If you do not receive this email please call the College Library on 6618 0141 and it will be sent out.
Formal tickets and school references will not be issued to students with overdue or lost resources. Any lost resources must be paid for. Please encourage students to return any resources they are not still using.
Ms Gloria McCown
Library Manager
House News
MacKillop House News
Every year, MacKillop House runs a PC challenge. Pastoral Care groups are awarded points throughout the year for their contribution to House meetings and community life at the College. Students in PC groups can be awarded points for their involvement in extracurricular events, House meeting games and activities, inter-House activities, and for receiving merit awards from their classroom teachers.
This year's challenge was hotly contested, with MacKillop 4 closely winning and being the 2021 Champion MacKillop House PC Group. Congratulations to MacKillop 4 and to their Pastoral Care teachers Mr Lee and Mr Whitney.
They recently enjoyed a pizza lunch together as their reward.
Mrs Rebecca Kennedy
Head of MacKillop House
MacKillop 4 - 2021 Champion MacKillop House Pastoral Care Group
Canteen News – Term 4 2021
Mrs Denise Barnard – Canteen Supervisor
Canteen is a great opportunity to meet other parents and to be involved in your child/childrens school life
- Arrive at school by 8:45am and park on the street (or you will get locked in the bottom carpark!)
- Go to the Office to sign in and receive your Visitor Badge.
- Head over to the Canteen where you can start preparing for the day’s lunch orders.
- Volunteers receive lunch and their children receive a $5 canteen voucher.
- Finish time is approximately 1:30-2:00pm, depending how busy the day is.
- If you are unable to make your rostered day please email Denise at xcccanteen@lism.catholic.edu.au or phone the College beforehand on 6618 0180.
- Text message reminders are sent on Wednesdays the week before your rostered day.
College News
Faber House - Christmas Heart Fundraiser
Please return order form and payment to the College Office by Friday 19 November 2021
2021 College Yearbook
Please return order form and payment to the College Office by Friday 19 November 2021