Newsletter 11 - 29 July 2022

Principal's Message

Dear Parents, Students and Staff,

2 CORINTHIANS 5:17 "Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new”

The Ignatian Year (20 May 2021 - 31 July 2022)
We join the Society of Jesus and all who follow the ways of Ignatian spirituality in celebrating the Ignatian Year. The celebrations commenced 20 May 2021, which was the 500th anniversary of St. Ignatius Loyola’s injury during the Battle of Pamplona and ultimately led to his conversion from soldier to saint. During the year, we marked the 400th anniversary of the canonisation of St. Ignatius and St. Francis Xavier on 12 March 2022. The year concludes the Sunday on the Feast of St. Ignatius, 31 July 2022.

Our assembly this week focused on the many events and activities the College engaged in to mark this important time in our Jesuit companionship.

• We started with a liturgy to mark the beginning of the Ignatian Year with a before school Mass in The Manresa Chapel.
• Fr Gerry Healy then presided at a whole College Liturgy on 21 May 2021, which featured a video overview of the Ignatian Year prepared by the Youth Ministry Class and the College’s Youth Ministry Officers.
• Fr Gerry returned to Ballina for our College Celebration of the 400th Anniversary of Ignatius and Francis’ Canonisation.

Celebrating the Ignatius 500 in Religious Education Classes

• Students prepared films of St Ignatius’ life, featuring events like the Battle of Pamplona, his conversion, ministry, meeting St Peter Faber and St Francis Xavier, and founding the Society of Jesus.
• Students created (fake) Instagram accounts for St Ignatius, highlighting important events in his life and commenting as ‘friends’ of Ignatius.
• Students created an itinerary for a virtual pilgrimage to retrace the steps of Ignatius and the Society of Jesus.
• Students created posters about the importance of the Examen.
• Our Year 8 boys entertained us with insightful and reflective raps about St Ignatius and his life (with a bit of artistic licence).
• Students created artworks that reflected St Ignatius.
• Students created games, such as Kahoots and Blookets, about St Ignatius and the Jesuits and we played them as a class.
• Research the work of the Jesuits, such as Jesuit Refugee Services, the Red Chair project, ecology, social justice, and global citizenship.

Supporting our Teachers and Support Staff
For many, the recent Industrial Action taken by teachers and support staff was an inconvenience that most could have done without. I would like to point a few things out for consideration when next you find yourself in a conversation about teacher workloads, being overpaid and having so many holidays.

• The Grattan Institute, as well as other respected publications has found that teachers work 46 hours per week on average. This is compared to 40 hours by teachers internationally. Over a 41 week school year that equates to 1886 In comparison if this were spread across the same working calendar as someone on wages (48 weeks) it would be 39.3 hours per week.
• The maximum working hours for a person on wages is 38 hours with 4 weeks annual leave. Spreading these hours across a whole year this equates to 1824 hours, less than a teacher at 1886 noted above. When a waged worker goes over these hours they are entitled to overtime. But teachers are not working for wages and do not get overtime no matter how many extra hours they do.
• As a salaried worker therefore, if we compare teachers to other university qualified professions, the rate at which their pay rises is poor in comparison. It is far more lucrative to become a mathematics statistician than a maths teacher. Initial teacher salaries are comparable to all other professions but as teachers' years of experience progresses, their remuneration does not when compared to other salaried workers.
• A recent study of articles written about teachers in all major Australian publications over the last 25 years found that negative stories about teachers and teacher quality far outweighed those of a positive nature, with little or no reference to inherent issues that exist within systems or the policies and workload under which teachers operate. No wonder people have a poor opinion of the profession when our media constantly engage in teacher criticism.
• So I invite you, next time you find yourself in or around a conversation about teachers, their salaries and their workload (or holidays) remember some of this and continue to support our teachers by sharing a little of the truth with the group.

School Improvement Review (rescheduled)
Parents and families will be aware that the cyclical School Review process which was to be conducted by our Catholic Schools Office in conjunction with ACER (Australian Council for Educational Research) was postponed last term and is now rescheduled. The new dates are August 22-25 and will involve individual surveys, interviews and an online tool called ‘Tell Them From Me’. A permission note will come home for parents to sign to allow their child/ren to participate. Parents will also receive an invitation to comment and feedback. Your input is very important to help us determine our strengths and a direction forward over the next 3 years in the development of our School Improvement Plan.

Covid Updates - Catholic Schools Office
Students learn best in a face-to-face learning environment. To continue to provide this learning environment while prioritising student and staff wellbeing, Xavier College will have a number of COVID-smart settings in place for this term.

The COVID-smart settings that students, staff and communities have become used to will continue in Term 3 including:

• Staying home if unwell or showing any symptoms, and not returning to school or work until fully recovered.
• Rapid antigen testing for any students or staff showing symptoms and for close contacts who are able to return to school.
• Maximising natural ventilation.
• Good hygiene practices for students and staff including regular hand washing with soap and water.
• Encouraging all students, staff and families to keep up to date with vaccinations, including COVID-19 booster shots when eligible and the flu vaccine.
• Identifying when schools need to implement additional COVID-smart measures if experiencing rapidly increasing numbers of COVID-19 cases.

In addition to these baseline settings, some additional layers this term as extra protection for staff, students and school communities, include:

• Strongly encouraging all staff, students and school visitors to wear a mask while indoors, particularly during the first four weeks from the beginning of term.
• Distributing RAT kits to all staff and students in schools (1 pack per person). This will be delivered directly to schools.
• Boosting day cleaning in schools, with a particular focus on high-touch areas.

COVID-19 reinfection period reduced to four weeks
NSW Health has revised the COVID-19 reinfection period from 12 weeks down to four weeks effective from 19 July 2022. People who have previously had COVID-19 should test for COVID-19 after 28 days since their isolation ended if experiencing symptoms and follow the relevant health advice if they test positive. People who test positive again will be reported and managed as new cases. NSW Chief Health Officer Dr Kerry Chant said the reduced reinfection period, which follows the advice from the Australian Health Protection Principal Committee, is due to the latest sub-variants of Omicron circulating in the community.

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

Assistant Principal - Teaching and Learning

STAFF PROFESSIONAL LEARNING - WHOLE SCHOOL LITERACY GOAL
Staff at Xavier Catholic College are a professional learning community and regularly participate in professional development around targeted goals to improve student learning outcomes. This year, staff are focusing on a whole school literacy goal linked to our School Improvement Plan:

On Monday 18 July, all teaching staff engaged in professional learning workshops focused on evidence-based strategies to improve literacy outcomes. This new learning continues to build on the work our Leaders of Learning participated in on Friday 6 May, where they developed expertise in literacy strategies by participating in professional learning with Max Woods, the creator of ALARM — a learning and responding matrix to move learning forward. Teaching staff participated in Learning Walks in Term 2, whereby teachers visited other classrooms to share their pedagogical practice and model literacy strategies in action in the classroom. We are fortunate to have a highly professional and dedicated team of teachers who work collaboratively to maximise learning growth and outcomes for our students at Xavier Catholic College.

Year 7-10 Reports
Semester 1 Reports for Years 7, 8, 9 and 10 were made available via the Parent Portal on 22 July. Students are encouraged to reflect on the commendations and recommendations within their report and to set individual learning goals for Semester 2. Term 3 Assessment Calendars for each year level are available on the College website under the Curriculum Tab/Assessment Information/Year level.

Year 7 - 10 Parent/Teacher Interviews
Parent/Teacher Interviews for Years 7 to 10 were held on Thursday 28 July. We hope the opportunity to discuss your child's progress and to form ongoing partnerships with the teaching staff was valuable. If you require any further information on your child’s academic progress please be reminded to contact the classroom teacher via email, or make contact with the relevant Leader of Learning.

Year 10 Subject Selection
Year 10 students completed individual interviews for senior subject selection on Monday 25 July and Tuesday 26 July. Year 10 students are to be commended on the preparation and positive approach displayed toward the senior subject selection process. Thank you also to parents and guardians for supporting your child by attending the interview process and assisting with the subject selection discernment process.

Year 8 into 9 Subject Selection
Year 8 students will be involved in subject selection information sessions on Monday 1 August. Students will be guided through the subject selection process and will experience four subject rotations in order to experience a range of elective subjects on offer. Students will select TWO elective subjects from the subjects on offer to study for two years, across Years 9 and 10. Students and parents have access to the Year 8 Subject Selection Google Site embedded within the Student Hub on the College website, to assist in choosing elective subjects for study in Years 9 and 10.

Year 12 - Trial HSC Examinations
Year 12 students will complete their final assessment tasks during the Trial HSC Examination period.  Examinations commence on Monday 1 August and conclude on Monday 15 August. All Year 12 students are encouraged to consolidate all course material and to focus on a program of study in order to be well prepared for the forthcoming examination block.

Students are reminded to check the Trial HSC examination timetable very carefully and ensure they attend all examinations at the scheduled time. Students are only required to be on-site when they have a scheduled examination and are encouraged to arrive at least 30 minutes prior to the commencement of an examination. If a student has two examinations scheduled on the same day they must remain at school during the lunch break and may not leave the College between examinations. If they do not have an examination scheduled on a particular day within the examination timetable, students may study at home or access the College library. Any student who wishes to access the library to study is required to sign in at the front office and attend in uniform. All students are required to be attired in full school uniform for all scheduled examinations.

Please be mindful that some afternoon examinations will not conclude until late in the afternoon. Alternative transport may need to be arranged on these occasions.

If a student is unable to attend a Trial HSC examination due to illness or misadventure please call the College office on the morning of the examination. Medical certificates and additional paperwork will be required and must be submitted with an Absence from Assessment form available on the College website/Learning tab/Assessment Information/Year 12/HSC Absence form Assessment and Request for Special Consideration.

A sense of balance is particularly important at this time and students are reminded of the need to take time for relaxation and to nurture their wellbeing in the lead up to, and during, the Trial HSC examinations.

I would like to take this opportunity to wish the Year 12 students well for the forthcoming examination block and the prayers of the College community will be with them during this time.

Year 11 Examinations
The Year 11 Examination block is scheduled for Weeks 8 and 9. Examinations will commence on Monday 5 September and conclude on Friday 16 September. All students are encouraged to commence a program of study and regular revision of course content in preparation for the end of course examinations.

Minimum Standards Tests
Catch up tests for any Year 10 student who missed the recent round of Minimum Standards Testing will occur on Thursday 4 August. A further opportunity for students who have not yet attained the Minimum Standards will also be provided on this date.

Study Tips

• Ensure you have a quiet space to study with a desk and appropriate lighting
• Make sure your phone is silenced and not in the same room
• Check notifications on your computer have been turned off to avoid any unnecessary distractions
• Set up a study timetable and consider the best time within each day to be “blocked out” for study. This may be before school, during scheduled study periods within the school day, after school or in the evening
• Set clear and achievable goals for each study session. Focus on selecting a specific area to consolidate (syllabus dot points, past paper multiple choice responses or extended responses)
• Access the material your teachers have placed within your subject Google Classrooms
• Know the syllabus and have dot point summaries
• Complete past HSC papers
• Familiarise yourself with the layout and section of examination papers
• Use flashcards, quizzes and online resources (ie. Edrolo and Atomi)
• It is important to have between 8 to 10 hours of sleep each night and there should be no screen time for at least half an hour prior to bed
• Eat well, drink plenty of water and maintain a healthy exercise program

Mrs Amanda Falvey

Assistant Principal Mission - Staff and Students

Punctuality and Early Departure
Throughout this term the College will be focusing on improving attendance procedures to ensure attendance records are a true and accurate reflection of each students punctuality and attendance. Families please take note of the following processes in which we need your support.

Late Arrivals
Students who arrive late must report to Student Reception at the Office with their student diary before proceeding to class. The student must have a note in their diary explaining why they are late; alternatively, a parent must accompany them to Student Reception. The student’s diary will be noted with a late arrival stamp.

Late Arrivals and Early Departures are monitored on a regular basis as part of the College's Duty of Care.

Early Departure
Junior Students
Students may not leave the College premises during school hours without signing out through the Student Reception at the Office. The student must have a note in their diary, signed by their parent/guardian to show the teacher of their current class to be excused. The student’s diary will be noted with an early leaver stamp.  Parents/guardians must collect their children from Student Reception.

Senior Students
If a senior student is driving or walking home, or going to an appointment, they must have a written note from their parents and verbal communication from the parents/guardian. The student must go to the Student Services (Front) office ten minutes prior to their departure time. The College Attendance Officer will contact a Parent/Guardian and confirm that they are aware of the student leaving. The student’s diary will be noted with an early leaver stamp.  

A student may not depart the College before 3:20 pm without following these steps. A student who needs to depart early may not drive with another student.

Restricted Items at School
Students are not allowed to use mobile phones at school. These items should be switched off at all times and kept in safe place (bag or lockers).

Under no circumstances are students to use their mobile phones to contact parents between 8:50 am and 3:20 pm, even if unwell. If they need to contact parents, this must be arranged through the College Office. Likewise, any parent needing to contact their child(ren) between 8:50 am and 3:20 pm should phone the College Office.

Key points for Parents and Students

• Make sure there is a note written in the diary
• If a student is feeling unwell they should ask their teacher to go to the office and our helpful office staff will contact parents - students MUST not do this via their mobile phone directly to their parents
• The school day starts at 8:50am - students need to be in their pastoral care group each morning from the first bell.

What is the importance of punctuality for students? Punctuality gives children the headstart they need in life and plays a very vital role in increasing their academic and professional success. Professionals and adults embrace punctuality not just because it’s an admirable trait, but also because it lets them live a brand of life that’s worth emulating. While children need punctuality as it gives them stability, security, and self-confidence. Students are here on time; they are engaged in our community and ready to undertake the rigours of the school day.

Mr Peter Fear

Catechesis And Evangelisation

Project-Based Learning
For several years now we have been engaging in Project-Based Learning in the Religious Education faculty at Xavier Catholic College. This term Years 7-10 are all engaging in projects that are designed to be interesting, rigorous and engaging, while providing authentic, real-world contexts for students’ learning. Year 7 are completing the unit Called to be Stewards and will be designing a proposal for a sustainability initiative of their choosing. Year 8 are investigating The Call to Follow as they compile a proposal for naming an area of the College after an inspirational Catholic individual. For the Year 9 unit The Church in Australia, students are writing magazine articles to inform about various aspects of the current religious landscape in Australia. Finally, Year 10 are delving into Catholic Social Teaching and writing key-note speeches with the stimulus “Will you cry out?” as they advocate for action and awareness of social justice issues. 

Trial HSC Exams
Good luck to our Catholic Faith in Action, Studies of Religion 1 and 2-unit students who are completing their Trial HSC Examinations in Week 3. We are proud of the way our students have applied themselves and are confident they will go well in their final in-school assessment task.

Mr David Eyles & Dr Madeline Beveridge

Wellbeing

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

This week’s Character Strength in the Student Planner is kindness and it dovetails with the Jesuit aspiration of being a person of Compassion.

Respond-ability.
Who’d be a teenager again? Well I would, if I could know what I know now. I’d borrow like crazy and buy a bunch of real estate at 1975 prices and wait. Sadly I didn’t have the money then and little has changed. As Seasick Steve sings: “I started out with nothing and I’ve still got most of it left.” 

Life often throws students challenges that are beyond their control and at times students put themselves into difficult situations. They have to learn how to respond to each of these situations. It is this response to life’s situations that they are learning to take charge of, perhaps even control. There is a difference between trying to control everything in your life and taking charge of your life.

Trying to control our lives puts us in a position of failure before we start and causes endless, unnecessary pain and suffering. Taking charge of our lives means owning our lives and having a respond-ability to our lives.

“Respond-ability” is a great word, and one we should add to our vocabulary today. The same goes with the distinction between taking charge and taking control.

We cannot control all of the things that happen to us. We cannot prevent bad things from occurring through worry or endless work. We cannot determine everything other people do and say. A wise person, on the other hand, takes responsibility for themselves and says, “I might not be in control of what happens to me in life, but I am in charge of how I respond to it.” A wise person is both responsible and respond-able.

Sometimes teenagers do some nasty things to one another. If caught, they need to learn to accept the consequences of their actions and reset for the future. They are learning to be responsible and to be better responders to life’s challenges.

Uniform
As we start a new term, could I ask that your student is dressed for learning. Our uniform should be worn in its entirety. We want students to focus on their studies, not how “cool” they look. A few things that are of special concern at the moment and I will quote the uniform policy:

• Extremes of hairstyle will not be accepted.
• Boys are to be clean shaven.
• No more than two small sleepers or plain studs in each ear (lobe only).
• No other visible body piercings.
• Single plain chain.
• No make-up.
• All dresses/skirts should be knee length.
• Shirts should be tucked in.
• Shorts and trousers should have a belt.
• Formal shoes should be black, polishable and lace up. Sport shoes should be black or white. No skate shoes.
• Only the XCC socks should be worn.

Thank you for your support of the College uniform policy.

Punctuality
As Oscar Wilde wrote in the Importance of Being Earnest: “I am not punctual myself, I know, but I do like punctuality in others.” If a student is going to be late to school they should have a signed note in their diary to that effect and they MUST report to Student Services (the Front Office). If they are late for no reason they will be given a C4 lunch detention.

Mr Anthony Condon

Faculty News

Year 8 Engineering

In Semester 1, Year 8 Engineering students enjoyed developing and challenging their practical skills in the Makerspace to create a lolly dispenser machine. This project integrated knowledge built throughout the course concerning systems, motion, simple machines and forces. Some very creative and thoughtful design ideas were developed and adapted as students worked through the design process. Technologies utilised included the laser cutter, hand tools, machinery, and also the CAD program Onshape, to digitally create their lolly machine.

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Caston Smith — Splendour In The Grass Work Placement Opportunity

As part of the Year 11 VET: Entertainment course I was given the opportunity to go to Splendour in The Grass for work experience. On the Thursday before the festival, a group of Entertainment students from all over the region and I went on a tour of the festival site while it was being set up and got to talk to multiple industry professionals who explained to us how they got into the Entertainment Industry as well as what their role in setting up and running a festival. We spoke about career pathways, and the ins and outs of setting up a festival of this size. 

The next week was another shorter experience, held on the day before the festival began. We were given a tour of the main stage while The Gorillaz were doing their sound check and got to explore lots of the amazing equipment and how it was used for the experience. 

It was a great experience and as a part of the work experience and section process, I was given a free three day ticket to the festival. 

Sport News

Football Results

Bill Turner Cup Boys

Rd 4. vs Lindisfarne
The under 15’s Bill Turner Boys squad travelled to the palacial Lindisfarne Anglican College to battle out the 4th round of the competition on 20 June. The boys convincingly won by four goals, including Koby Mortimer’s three to seal the 4th round. The squad now advances to play Summerland Christian College in the upcoming weeks for the Far North Coast Final. 

Rd 5. vs Summerland
On Friday 22 July, the Bill Turner Cup Boys Football team welcomed Summerland Christian College to our home turf in the Far North Coast Final (the top 32 schools within QLD, NSW, VIC and ACT). Sumerland Christian college were a really strong team and scored their first goal with a long range effort early in the minutes of kick off. Half time had us down 1-0 in a solid ball game with plenty of skill on the field. The second half saw an improvement with more pressure and more possession for our team. A long ball over the top and a composed finish had us down 2-0 with 15 minutes remaining on the clock. Our boys began to build momentum in the last 15 minutes, with plenty of crosses and shots, and some unfortunate missed chances to get us back.

The pressure paid off with a loose ball in the box where Oscar Fogarty lept on the loose ball and tapped it in the back of the net - changing the score to 2-1. Soon after again, another similar situation had Oscar pouncing on the ball with composure to equal the score 2-2 at the end of regulation time.

Golden Goal started and after the first period of 5 minutes, one player from each team was taken off to make it 10 on 10. Three minutes into the second period of drop off, Jakob Miletic found space, saw the keeper off his line and made a huge effort to sail the ball over the keeper hitting the top right corner to make it 3-2 in an extraordinary win. The boys stacked on with lucious smiles in a fantastic finish. Well done Boys! 

We now take on The Armidale Secondary College to hopefully put us in the Final 16.

Mr Edmonds
Coach

NSWCCC Junior Girls Football

On 23 June, the 7-9 Girls soccer team travelled to Coffs Harbour to play in the NSWCCC Knockout competition. The Xavier Catholic College girls were matched up against the winner of the Armidale Diocese, McCarthy Catholic College Tamworth. This was the first time the girls had the opportunity to play on synthetic fields and they worked really well together to take a win over McCarthy College, four goals to three.

This is an outstanding achievement from these girls and they now have progressed to the State Quarter Final (Top 8 in NSWCCC) to be held at Coffs Harbour on Friday 29 July, Go Girls!

Mrs Ferris and Mr Raeburn
Coaches

Rugby League

Cochrane Cup Under 14 Boys Rugby League

On 20 July, 18 students travelled to the Geoff Watt Motors Oval in Coffs Harbour to compete in the U14’s Rugby League North Coast Final. We came up against a well structured St John Paul College, Coffs Harbour team. Amidst the slipperiest of conditions and torrential rain for almost all 50 minutes of game time, the lads couldn't match the strong side falling 20 points to 0 (therefore, knocking them out of the competition). The team is to be congratulated on their efforts this year and should be proud of making the North Coast Final. 

Mr Coleman
Coach

Country Cup Gala Day

The Under 13, 15 and 18 Boys Rugby League teams travelled to South Tweed on Tuesday 21 June for the CRL Gala Day.

The U13’s were defeated in both matches. The U15s won both games and advanced to the next round of the competition. Unfortunately, due to several injuries the team had to withdraw from the next stage. The U18s won one and lost the other in two tight, low-scoring matches considering they only had 14 players. 

Well done to all players.

Mr Driscoll, Mr Priddis and Mr Colman
Coaches

2022 Championship Athletics

Field Athletics

The Championship Field Athletics Carnival was held on the College Oval on Thursday 30 June. Students used the long jump/triple jump tracks, as well as the shot put and discus throwing spaces at the southern end of the oval. Javelin was also conducted on the oval. Congratulations to all the Field Athletics competitors and thank you to the staff and the Year 11 SLR helpers on a great day. 

Congratulations to the following students who set new Xavier Catholic College Field records in 2022:

• Declan Wallace: U14 Boys Long Jump - 5.41
• Alexander Crimmins: U16 Boys Long Jump - 6.31
• Alexander Crimmins: U18 Boys Triple Jump - 12.60
• Loui Rubbo: U17 Boys Long Jump - 5.52
• Joshua Mallam: U17 Boys Javelin - 32.00
• William Cass: U17 Boys Discus - 28.91

Track Athletics

The Championship Track Athletics Carnival was held on the College Oval on Friday 22 July. Students competed in 100 metres, 200 metres, 400 metres, 800 metres and 1500 metres. Congratulations to all the Track Athletics competitors and thank you to the staff and the Year 11 SLR helpers on a great day. 

Congratulations to the following students who set new Xavier Catholic College Track records in 2022:

• Declan Wallace: U14 Boys 400m - 64.10s
• Loui Rubbo: U17 Boys 100m - 12.30s
• Thomas Grimster: U17 Boys 800m - 2:41.94
• Thomas Grimster: U17 Boys 1500m - 5:05.75

2022 Xavier Catholic College Athletics Age Champions

Congratulations to the following Athletics Age Champions:

• U12 Boys - Ohtis Edwards
• U12 Girls - Layla Keough
• U13 Boys - Finn Gisen
• U13 Girls - Charlie Hudson
• U14 Boys - Declan Wallace
• U14 Girls - Adelaide Brown
• U15 Boys - Caiden Manley
• U15 Girls - Olivia Hayden and Hayley Patterson
• U16 Boys - Matthew Page
• U16 Girls - Niamh Sharpe
• U17 Boys - Loui Rubbo
• U17 Girls - Mia Viel
• U18 Boys - Zach Sullivan 
• U18 Girls - Olivia Page

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NSW All Schools Rugby Union

Congratulations to the following Under 16 Boys who represented NSWCC at the NSW All Schools Rugby Union Championships in Sydney:

• Finn Johnson
• Will Pickin
• Oscar Godwin

Mr Pat Kennedy & Mr Russell Asser

Canteen News – Term 3 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

Big Thank you to Telstra

Big thanks to Telstra for their generosity — today, the College has received an incredible donation of 10 iPads and a $5000 grant in recognition of our community service as an evacuation centre. We're looking forward to using these devices around the school for learning and teaching.

Learning Centre

Dear Parents/carers,

During the recent icy weather, we’ve had a number of students borrow our spare jackets and jumpers from the Learning Centre. If your child still has one of these it would be greatly appreciated if they could return them so that we have some spares for the occasions when students do forget their jumpers.

Also, if you do have any old jumpers or jackets your child/children may have outgrown and would like to donate them, please send them to the front office.

Much appreciated
Bronwen English
Leader of Learning, Diversity & Inclusion

Library News

Term 3 has got off to a great start with the addition of our beautiful new leather lounges and coffee table! Our English classes, as well as students before school, during recess and lunch, have been enjoying the new and very comfortable couches. That, combined with the fantastic new LED lighting has transformed our Library into a most welcoming learning hub and relaxing space.

An exciting extra curricular use of the Library space this year is that the Lismore Symphony Orchestra has been rehearsing here. After COVID and floods displacing the group over the past 2.5 years, Lismore Symphony Orchestra is pleased to announce their upcoming Proms Concerts in collaboration with local group, Soul’d, on the weekend of 19-21 August at Ballina RSL Club.  LSO is a not-for-profit group which has been operating in our local area for almost 20 years, bringing the joy of music to the community. It is exciting to have the Library being used as a Cultural hub for our local orchestra.

This term also sees Book Week in Week 6, with many exciting activities planned to engage students in the Library. 

Book Club continues this term with the first meeting to be held on Thursday of Week 3 (4 August) in JCL1. Students are encouraged to come along and share their love of books and get even more out of their Library experience.

As usual, we have many new books, both fiction and non-fiction, which have just hit the shelves of our Library. Check out the new arrivals on the Library page of the school portal, or come down to the Library and check our New Arrivals stands.

Parents and guardians are reminded that the XCC LIbrary has a stand in the foyer of the office with many books available for loan on current issues affecting parenting and education. Please pop your details into the borrower’s book.

“You can find magic wherever you look. Sit back and relax, all you need is a book.” 
(Dr Seuss)

Community News

Download Link for Parents Guide to Snapchat

Good afternoon,
As promised is the link to be able to download our guide to Snapchat as promised. Please feel free to share the link far and wide

https://www.safeonsocial.com/download-snapchat-guide

eSafety HQ is Safe on Socials online learning program. It offers access to the most current cyber safety information year-round in easy bit-size video, audio, and written content.

It enables students, staff, school, and parents to be informed, educated, and empowered.