Newsletter 4 - 25 March 2022

Principal's Message

Dear Parents, Students and Staff,

Give alms … pray to your Father … fast, [but] do not look gloomy” ~ Matthew 6:2-16

Why Do We Pray?

As Catholics, we believe that personal prayer is not complete unless our prayers are joined with the community of faith who is the living Body of Christ. The Sunday liturgy is the greatest form of prayer because together we receive the gift of the Holy Eucharist — the very real presence of the Risen Christ. 

Deepening Prayer: Throughout the season of Lent, we are called to deepen our prayer life. For some of us, this means beginning a habit of daily prayer, setting aside time each day to share our hopes, joys, fears and frustrations with God. Praying first thing in the morning, while the house is still quiet, or talking to God while on your commute to work or school are simple ways to integrate prayer into everyday life. Praying the Rosary, visiting the Blessed Sacrament or attending a daylong silent retreat may bring you to new places in your relationship with God.

Debriefing following the floods

Many community members, staff and students gave of themselves in a number of ways during the recent floods. Heads of House, counsellors and Mrs Frances Lamont (Student Support Worker) in the Chapel have been able to provide support for students who wish to debrief. Of course, individuals will seek out their own help, while others may be unaware of outside providers that may be able to assist. The information below may be a source of support for many.

Tips for Self-Care

Recovery is different for everyone and certain events can cause distress, long after the event. Here are some tips for looking after yourself:

• Maintain routines that work for you — eat well and sleep well. Your physical health impacts your emotional health.
• Know who your support people are and spend time with them — this might be friends, family or someone else at work or school.
• Know your limits — supporting others can be tough, so know when to step back.
• Debrief with others at work or school — this can be informal with friends, or formal with a counsellor or leader.
• Connect with support outside of the learning environment.
• Make time for activities that give you joy and energy. 
• One of the best things we can do for ourselves following a traumatic experience is to spend time with people who care about us and to experience the support of friends, family and the community.

Give yourself time to adjust. Resilience is the norm, but it can take a while to bounce back. Keep reminding yourself that things will get better, and you do have the ability to manage.

Parent/Teacher Interviews for Years 11 & 12

A reminder that these sessions have been opened up on the Parent Portal for bookings for the next two consecutive Thursdays. At the time of publishing, there were fewer bookings than anticipated. As such, we may consider reducing Parent/Teacher Interviews to just one night (the second Thursday only). If such a decision is made, impacted parents will be notified with adequate time to make other arrangements.

COVID-caution

Whilst COVID restrictions have all but eased across NSW, the College Executive have taken the position of maintaining some caution around events including large gatherings, whole-staff meetings, assemblies and so on. This may become evident to your child in interactions with some staff members who are concerned for their own and others’ health. Please be mindful that we are doing our best to ensure everyone’s safety moving into the Easter holiday break. We hope that, when we return for Term 2, things will be able to be much freer in the life of the College community.

Thanks and good luck to Mrs Emily Webster

As this week concludes we say a fond farewell and offer our best wishes and thanks to Mrs Emily Webster. During this term, Mrs Webster has been teaching Religious Education across a number of year groups, but will conclude at the end of the week (today) to prepare for the impending birth of her baby. We thank her for her wonderful and enthusiastic efforts in and out of the classroom and wish her all the best in the coming weeks and months. A replacement for Mrs Webster will be announced in the coming few days.

Thanks and good luck Mr Matt Evans

Sadly, we farewell Mr Matt Evans from Xavier Catholic College after 10 years to take up a position at BusySchools at Coolangatta, a school for disengaged students in Years 11 and 12. Mr Evans joined us in 2013 and has primarily worked in Additional Needs, but graciously took up the role of Careers Adviser this year when Mr Mark Ellis decided to take some time away. Mr Evans has also been teaching a full load of Mathematics and the search for a replacement classroom teacher is now underway. We wish Mr Evans all the very best and assure him of our prayers and best wishes as he takes on this new challenge. He will finish at the College on Friday 1 April.

Rapid Antigen Tests

Students were provided with Rapid Antigen Tests last week in Pastoral Care. Please be reminded these are to be taken only as necessary. If your child requires an additional Rapid Antigen Test, please tell them to visit the front office to collect another.

Term 2 Dates

A reminder that Term 2 commences for all students on Wednesday 27 April 2022. Staff will be participating in Professional Learning on Tuesday.

An End to Daylight Savings

Just a reminder that daylight savings time ends at the conclusion of next week (Sunday 3 April). Please ensure you adjust all clocks to ensure the final week of term is not disrupted for your children.

God Bless,
Mr Kevin Lewis
College Principal
kevin.lewis@lism.catholic.edu.au

Assistant Principal - Teaching and Learning

Parent/Teacher Interviews

Year 11 and 12 Parent/Teacher Interviews are, at the time of writing, scheduled for Thursday 31 March (Week 9) and Thursday 7 April (Week 10). Students are encouraged to attend the interviews with their parents as a way to receive valuable feedback on their learning. 

Bookings for Parent/Teacher Interviews can be made via the Parent Portal. Please ensure you have created a Parent Portal Account. If you have any difficulties accessing the Parent Portal, please contact the Helpdesk on 6618 0123. 

Further information regarding Parent/Teacher Interviews for junior year levels will be forthcoming. 

NAPLAN Practice Tests

All students in Years 7 and 9 completed an online NAPLAN practice test on Thursday 24 March. Please note the practice test will not be marked and will not count towards students' NAPLAN results. Instead, it was an opportunity for students to become familiar with the types of questions they will experience in NAPLAN Online, and for NAPLAN Coordinators and Administrators to familiarise themselves with the functions of the online assessment platform. It also allows our College to trial the rooms, devices and student groups we intend to use in the official NAPLAN tests next term.

I thank Mrs Emma Smith (Literacy Coordinator) and Ms Nichole Page (Numeracy Coordinator) for coordinating these tests, and for all involved in ensuring our students' practice tests ran smoothly.

Assessment Tasks

As we approach the end of term, assessment tasks typically fall due and it is important that students keep an eye on their assessment calendar (linked below). All tasks are clearly outlined on Assessment Task Notification sheets, available on Google Classroom. Discussing the nature of the task with your child is an excellent way for parents to engage with their child’s learning.

Assessment Calendars may be viewed via the College website under Assessment Information.

FOR STUDENTS IN YEAR 10, 11 AND 12: If your child is unable to complete upcoming assessment tasks or requires special consideration at this time, please encourage them to speak with their classroom teacher or the relevant Leader of Learning. They should also submit a response to the Absence from Assessment & Request For Special Consideration form which will be used to consider individual circumstances whereby estimates, extensions or even alternate tasks may be deemed most appropriate for a particular student. 

Please note that your child must submit the form using their school login details. Parents are unable to submit on behalf of their children.

If your Year 12 student is currently absent due to COVID, please consult the Assessment Booklet for information regarding COVID procedures. 

Mrs Amanda Falvey

Assistant Principal Mission - Staff and Students

‘Aspire not to have more, but to be more.’ - Oscar Romero

On 24 March 1980, Archbishop Oscar Romero was shot dead while saying Mass in San Salvador. He led the church in a Central American country that knew tremendous poverty. In his homilies, he denounced the government for the various ways it oppressed the poorest of Salvadoran society. He appealed to them to end the killings, begin reforming land ownership and allow for political representation of the poor. Romero was renowned for ‘ruffling feathers’ while speaking up for social justice, yet he drew his ideas directly from both scripture and the traditions of the church. He was warned shortly before his death that he was likely to be killed, but he kept speaking out. He is a ‘martyr’, a word with Greek origins meaning  ‘witness’ or ‘to give testimony’. 

When images of Romero’s body in his Mass vestments were displayed around the world, many people gained a fresh understanding of the Eucharist and the words of Jesus: “This is my body given for you”.

Remember that Lent is a time we set aside each year to remember the love of God that is poured out through Christ on the cross in His death, and His defeat of death and sin. Christ's death and resurrection bring Eternal Life to you. As we move towards Easter we keep in mind that our focus should be on ‘what’ we are celebrating, rather than the chocolate we receive in celebration.

As Oscar Romero famously promoted, let’s not aspire to have more, but to be more, strive in your day-to-day life to be the best true version of yourself. The greatest gifts we can give and receive at Easter are love, forgiveness and kindness.

Mr Peter Fear

Catechesis And Evangelisation

Easter Egg Raffle — Prize Donations Needed

There is a longstanding tradition at Xavier Catholic College of raffling Easter eggs and other chocolate treats on the last day of Term 1.  This year, the last Friday of Term is still a week away from Easter, but nevertheless the Senior Ministry Team were keen to continue with tradition and hold the raffle.  All proceeds will go to the Bishop’s Flood Appeal.

Families are asked to assist by donating a chocolate egg (or bunny etc) for the prize pool. Donations can be left with Mr Eyles or the YMOs at any time.

The raffle will be drawn on Friday 8 April. Tickets will go on sale in Week 9 for $1 each or 3 for $2.

Please donate a prize or buy a ticket to assist flood victims.

Year 7 Mass (Tuesday 5 April)

On the morning of Tuesday 5 April, all Year 7 students will be travelling to St Francis Xavier Church in Cherry St Ballina for Mass. Students will attend Pastoral Care groups as normal on Tuesday morning at school, then travel to the Church by bus at the start of Period 1. After Mass, students will have the opportunity for a brief tour of the Church before boarding buses to return to the school in time for recess.

Students will travel to Mass with their RE teacher and our College YMOs.  Students in Campion have PE during Periods 5 and 6 this day and may wear their sports uniform. All other students should wear their regular school uniform. 

Xavier Catholic College Men and Women for Others Community Service Program

As mentioned in our previous newsletter, we are launching a Community Service Program, inspired by our Jesuit Charism to be Men and Women for Others. 

The program will give students the opportunity to be acknowledged for the good works they are already doing and encourage them to undertake service of others in the community. 

How it works

Students undertake deeds in the service of others and keep a log of their hours in their planner on pages 28-29. Their hours must be signed off by a supervisor (such as a parent, teacher, community supervisor). At the end of the year, their Pastoral Care teacher will record their hours and they could be awarded a Gold, Silver, or Bronze Community Service Award.

Awards: 

• 20 hours of community service = Bronze Award
• 50 hours of community service = Silver Award
• 100+ hours of community service = Gold Award 

What is community service? 

Community service is an unpaid activity that serves the community. It could include work that is: volunteering, community work, sports coaching, Parish-based, tutoring (unpaid), or for the Xavier Catholic College community (e.g. Leos club, ministry activities, environment club, Year 9 program). If they assisted during the floods, either at Xavier or in their local community, this also counts as community service. The range of activities that ‘count’ as community service is broad - if students have any questions they can talk to their PC teacher, RE teacher, or Dr Beveridge. 

Message from Pope Francis

Pope Francis has written to Bishop Gregory Homeming following the recent floods to offer his prayers for all those affected in our wider community. His message is linked below. We join Pope Francis in praying for healing and strength in the months ahead.

Mr David Eyles & Dr Madeline Beveridge

Wellbeing

Optimism and Being a Person for Others.
[Character Strength and Jesuit Value]

This week’s Character Strengths in the Student Planner are Accomplishment and Optimism and they dovetail with the Jesuit aspiration of being a person of Competence.

Vaping

There are a few students at Xavier who are engaging in this new type of “cigarette cool” both at school and in the community. We are doing what we can to eliminate this practice at school. If a student is caught vaping at school we will be most displeased. Please help us to put older heads on young shoulders and encourage your children not to engage in this very dangerous activity.

NSW Health has an information campaign ‘Do you know what you’re vaping?’ with information and resources to increase young people’s awareness of the dangers of vaping. 

 Key messages of the campaign and resources are:

• vapes can contain the same harmful chemicals found in cleaning products, nail polish remover, weed killer and bug spray 
• vape aerosol is not water vapour 
• many vapes can contain nicotine making them addictive 
• the nicotine in 1 vape can equal 50 cigarettes 
• young people who vape are 3 times more likely to take up smoking cigarettes 
• vapes can have long-lasting effects on young people’s brain and physical development 
• over 1 in 5 young people have used a vape, and schools and parents are reporting increasing vaping by young people.

Uniform Donations

The uniforms that were very generously donated to the College have been offered to those most affected by the floods. The excess uniforms are now outside JCL1 and are available to any member of the community who would like an extra item of clothing. There are many shirts and shorts and quite a few jumpers and blazers. Please encourage your student to select a needed item. 

Xavier Catholic College Socks

Great news. I have just rung School Locker and they have quite a few of all sock sizes in stock. After this weekend all students should be in the Xavier sock.

Mr Anthony Condon

Sport News

Diocesan Swimming

Congratulations to the thirty students who represented the College at the 2022 Diocesan Swimming Carnival on Tuesday 15 March at the Coffs Harbour Pool. All students swam their very best in a carnival where the standard is extremely high and only the first place getters go through to represent the Diocese at NSWCCC swimming at Homebush, Sydney. In particular, congratulations to Jayden Matthews who placed first in the 400m freestyle.

Diocesan Rugby League Trials

The rescheduled Diocesan Rugby League Trials for Under 15 and Open Boys were held at the College on Wednesday 16 March. Well done to the following boys who were involved:

• Under 15s: Jonah Verus, Kai Saric, Jett Flattley, Jed Lyon
• Opens: Noah Waldock, Fynn Jonsson

Congratulations to the following boys who were selected in the Diocesan representative teams and now travel to Smithtown on 5 March for possible selection in the Northern Country NSWCCC teams:

• Under 15s: Kai Saric, Jett Flattley
• Opens: Noah Waldock

Diocesan Touch Football Trials

The rescheduled Diocesan Touch Football Trials for Under 15 and Open Girls and Boys were held at Coffs Harbour Monday 21 March. Well done to the following students who were involved:

• Under 15 Girls: Madeline Alexander, Amalia Anderson
• Under 15 Boys: Zane Close, Charlie Hong, Logan Kennedy, Zac Thick
• Open Girls: Cheyenne Acret, Tamzin Collins, Mia Viel
• Open Boys: Jackson Campbell, Loui Rubbo, Charlie Strong, Blake Walsh

Congratulations to the following players who were selected in the Diocesan representative teams and now travel to Nelson Bay on 29 March for possible selection in the NSWCCC teams:

• Under 15 Girls: Madeline Alexander
• Under 15 Boys: Charlie Hong, Logan Kennedy
• Open Girls: Cheyenne Acret, Tamzin Collins (shadow), Mia Viel (shadow)
• Open Boys: Blake Walsh (shadow)

Under 15 Boys Gold Coast School Rugby Cup

Once again this year Xavier Catholic College have entered the 2022 Under 15 Boys Gold Coast Schools Rugby Competition. 24 boys have been training on Wednesday mornings at 7.30 am, although a number of games have been missed due to storms.

Wednesday March 16 the boys travelled to the Bond Pirates Rugby Club and finally got to play some running Rugby. Well done to all the boys involved.

Match 1 vs Miami State High School

XCC try scorers: Jed Lyon, Kai Saric, Tyler Hickey, Kai Dalli. Conversions 2 from 4 Kai Saric.

Final score XCC 24,  Miami 0

Match 2 vs Somerset College

XCC try scorer: Jett Flatley. Conversion 1 from 1 Kai Saric

Final score XCC 7,  Somerset 0

Wednesday March 23 unfortunately we had to forfeit due to the amount of players unavailable to play.

2022 CROSS COUNTRY CARNIVAL

Both the ‘Championship Cross Country’ and ‘Whole School Fun Run’ will occur on Friday April 8, 2022.

Championship Cross Country IS NOT COMPULSORY. It is for serious runners competing for Age Champion and wanting to gain selection in the College team (top 6 per age group) for Diocesan Cross Country on Friday May 20, 2022 at Grafton.

Students will need to nominate via the Google Form emailed to parents.

Venue: Headlands Reserve grass area and hill (no beach running)

Times:         Depart College 1.15 pm (walk for the College to Headlands reserve)

                        Return to College at 3.00 pm (walk back to the College for recess)

Uniform:        Years 7 - 10 Sport Uniform

                       Years 11 - 12 Senior College Uniform

Needs: Runners may change into and compete in appropriate running attire

Bring your own clearly labelled water bottle, hat and sunscreen

Distances:      As per - Diocesan Cross Country distances:

                       3 KM (12 boys/girls, 13 boys/girls)

                       4 KM (14 boys/girls, 15 boys/girls, 16 girls, 17 girls)

                       6 KM (16 boys, 17 boys, 18 girls) 

                       6 KM (18 boys will NOT run 8KM as per Diocesan distance)

Note:              Mobile Phones, iPods, AirPods etc. ARE NOT ALLOWED

Championship Cross Country track.

• 2 kms per lap

Year Group Fun Run  IS COMPULSORY

Students will compete in Year Groups for House Points and do the Fun Run during periods 1 and 2 along Sharpes Beach. Normal lessons periods 3 - 6.

Uniform:        Years 7 - 10 Sport Uniform

                       Years 11 - 12 Senior College Uniform

                       (students may change into appropriate ‘House Colour’  running clothing)

Needs: Bring your own clearly labelled water bottle, hat and sunscreen

START: Northern end of Sharpes Beach

TURNING POINT: Flat Rock

FINISH: Headlands Reserve

Mr Pat Kennedy & Mr Russell Asser

Canteen News – Term 1 2022

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

Hearts for the Floods

We returned to Week 6 feeling tired and at times overwhelmed by the devastation experienced across the entire Northern Rivers community. Not a single member of the XCC community was untouched by the floods and the rescue and recovery efforts that followed. In our Friday PC classes, we made 'hearts for the floods' to be displayed in the village green. These have now been sent off to 18 local schools, many of which have felt the devastation of flooding in their communities. 

It's a small but heartfelt gesture that although our classrooms at Xavier have returned to teaching and learning, our fellow schools, teachers and students remain in our thoughts and prayers. Thank you to our Year 9 Girls Squad for packaging these hearts and sending them off this week.

Mrs Sarina McPherson
Pastoral Care Program Coordinator

Year 7 Belonging Day

On 23 February, the Year 7 Class of 2022 made their way to GSAC for a fun-filled Belonging Day. A last-minute change of venue resulted in loads of fun — finger buns from Martin's Bakery, slides, inflatables and team building games. It was wonderful to see students having a day away from the school environment, getting to know each other and their Heads of House even better. The GSAC staff were so impressed with the behaviour and cooperation of our students. Thank you to the Heads of House, Ms Bolkum, Mr Threlfall and Mr Silva for their help in running a smooth and enjoyable day. Given the rain and weather that followed this day, we feel very blessed to have enjoyed this special time together.

Mrs Sarina McPherson
Leader of Year 7 Transition

Community News

Loaned Kitchen Equipment

If you donated a kettle or toaster during the evacuation week and would like it back, please email Rebecca Campbell (Technologies Assistant) at rebecca.campbell@lism.catholic.edu.au. 

Thank you for your thoughtfulness and generosity during this period. It was greatly appreciated.

Ms Fiona Spinks
Leader of Technologies