Gavin Dykes, Principal

Welcome back to Term 3.  I hope everyone had a great break and that you and your family were able to spend some time together.

While we had hoped to be through the worst of the Covid pandemic, the last few weeks have shown us how quickly things can change. At Xavier we have been fortunate there has been minimal disruptions to our daily school operations and I have been impressed by how well our students have adapted to wearing masks at school. I really encourage everyone to remember to bring their own mask each day. While we have been able to hand masks out to students who need them, due to the demand we will be asking students for a gold coin donation if they need a mask during the day.  Also, please remember that students should not be wearing hoodies and jumpers under their school uniforms.  Students can wear their woollen jumper or softshell jacket over their formal uniform or their tracksuit on the days they have a practical PE class. 

Next week we will be sending out a survey to parents and guardians on mobile phones at school.  Please keep an eye out for this. We really encourage all parents and guardians to complete this survey as your feedback on the topic is important to us. 

Keep an eye out on Prime7 during the Tokyo Olympics and Paralympics for the brand new Xavier TV commercial.

As announced last week, Mr Andrew Gibson has been appointed to the role of Deputy Principal of Learning, Teaching and Innovation at Catholic College Wodonga. This role is a well-deserved opportunity for Andrew and really highlights his leadership capabilities. Andrew will remain at Xavier until mid-Term 4 2021 to continue to provide support to Year 12 students.

Mrs Michelle Milthorpe our Diverse Learning Coordinator has been appointed to the Learning Enhancement Leader role at Victory Lutheran College. Michelle has been with Xavier for 15 years and during this time has shown much care and commitment to our students and broader community. She will be missed by many of us. Michelle’s last day at Xavier will be Friday 13 August. 

Today we farewelled Mr Jarryd Hatton and Ms Marie McKinley. Jarryd will be commencing a new role with Boys to the Bush and Marie is taking up a 6 month position at Catholic College Wodonga. We wish them all the best in their new roles and look forward to welcoming Marie back next year.

Congratulations to Mr Aidan Young who has been appointed to teach PE and RE for the remainder of the school year.  Many students will already know Aidan from the work he has done as part of our Learning Support Team. It is great to see Aidan taking the next step in his teaching career at Xavier.

The physical impact of the pandemic has mostly spared our young people, however as the nation remains to be on alert and in various stages of lockdown, restrictions continue to be mandated. The pandemic has had a great effect on our young people with many paying a heavy emotional and developmental price. Psychological disorders are on the rise and emergency interventions have skyrocketed.

As hard as it is being a young person today, it's also draining being the parent of one. It has been reported that many parents are struggling to keep their child's mental health afloat, often proving it is difficult to juggle parenting responsibilities whilst at the same time providing much needed emotional support for their children.

Unlike the coronavirus itself, the emotional blowback of the pandemic cannot be vaccinated away. Psychologists are seeing more depression and anxiety across all age groups, but in adolescents it seems to be on steroids, with some choosing to self-medicate using alcohol or other drugs. When they look into the future now, they're looking at one that wasn't what they envisioned before.

This report explains the current state of youth mental health in a post-COVID era and offers guidance on how best to support young people today. We hope you take time to reflect on the information offered in this Special Report, and as always, we welcome your feedback.

If this Special Report raises any concerns for you, a loved one or the wellbeing of your child, please seek medical or professional help.

Here is the link to your special report CLICK HERE

NESA has recently a hub of resources for HSC students. This hub contains tips for exams, wellbeing, useful information for university, where to seek support and much much more. All of our Year 12 students have been shared the resource via Compass. If you are interested in having a look and using some of the resources, CLICK HERE

The eSafetyCommissioner website has a wide variety of resources to assist parents in navigating the online environment that their children are immersed in. Further to the information contained on the site, there are also a range of webinars which are offered free of charge. The upcoming webinars are around online sexual abuse and image based abuse as well as a parent guide to popular apps. To see the times and dates and to register, go to the website below.

CLICK HERE

You are also able to review information and videos from previous webinars in this space. As more opportunities come to hand, we will share with our community.

In Week Two’s Extended Homeroom session we recognised students who had shown exemplary work habits and commitment to their studies. These awards were presented to students who had achieved the highest results in the work habits components of their Semester One report. As a school we feel it necessary to recognise those students who aim to achieve to the best of their ability through their efforts and work habits. Turning up to class on time with the all their materials, putting in their best effort and involving themselves in the learning activities are all key to this. 

We had a large array of students who received these awards for consistent effort across their subjects who are all commended for their efforts. In Week 4 we will recognise those students who have achieved exemplary results in the form of three or more A’s in Semester One.

To book in for the session in Albury, CLICK HERE 

NAIDOC Week this year fell during the school holidays. We chose to mark this in a few ways, one of which was through our weekly reflection. Using a NAIDOC reflection which you can find below, students were asked to consider and research the country name for the location in which they were born. Students were asked to discuss the importance of recognising and celebrating NAIDOC each year. In the theme of “Heal Country”, Homerooms brainstormed what this theme actually means and ways in which we can do this. As a result of this, the student community will have the opportunity to engage in the further development of our native garden. Darren Wighton and Jordan Ingram are leading this project and will also be providing some education around the different plants and the importance of caring for the land. To view the video, please CLICK HERE.

In Week 2, students viewed a clip from Simon Sinek looking at the concepts of what can hold us back. In the clip, Simon highlights how the human brain tends to focus on the negative or the obstacles in our way as opposed to the positives and the path around the obstacles. He highlights how successful people are able to reframe their mindset around challenges and the impact this can have. Students were asked to consider their own thoughts about the clip as well as why we might focus on the negatives instead of the positives. Students then discussed ways in which they could or already do reframe their thoughts and personal messaging.

Semester One Reports are now available for students in Years 7 - 10.

These reports are available for you to access via Compass. 

They offer a summary of student achievement across Semester One and reflect achievement in assessment across that time. 

Students are encouraged to engage with the feedback comments provided by teachers in discussion and on Schoology to ensure their continued growth as they progress through their studies.  

If you have any queries regarding access to or content within the reports, please contact the school.

Student attendance at school is essential for great learning outcomes to occur. Students and parents are expected to inform the school of any difficulties in maintaining school attendance, whether this be through illness or other justified reasons. The expectation is that students maintain 90% attendance at school across the year. There may be some extenuating circumstances which may prevent this which can be discussed with the school.

All absences from school must be accounted for. Please ensure you enter all absences via Compass. If the matter is more sensitive and you need to discuss with a staff member, please contact the School Office. 

Any absences not accounted for seven days from the day of absence will be considered unjustified absences. To avoid this, ensure that all absences are entered as soon as physically possible.

Students who fall below these benchmarks will require follow up when the absences are unexplained and unjustified.

On Thursday we celebrated International Pi Day with some great maths based activities.

Congratulations to Xavier Year 7 student Annabelle who correctly recited Pi to 151 significant figures!

Divided into two teams and led by their team captain's, Team Navy were tasked with preparing a pasta tuna mornay and Team Burgundy beef mince chow mein.

A highlight - the delicious, crunchy snow peas were freshly picked from the Xavier veggie patch - and the food scraps are fed back to the chickens!

Students were scored on their preparation, teamwork, cleanliness, texture, taste and OH&S compliance.

Round 1 was completed with Team Navy and Team Burgundy both scoring 40 out of 50.

Tune in next week with the addition of a dessert into Round 2 Cooking for Carevan Masterchef Challenge.

Class of 2021 - Graduation Evening

Tuesday 9th November 2021

Albury Racecourse

This week a selection of new student work has been added to the Xavier Gallery and is on display now.

Call out for Xavier students and members of the community to raise much needed funds during the Vinnies Winter Appeal.

Our goal is to raise $2,000 during the Winter Sleepout held on Friday 20th August.

To take part in the Sleepout a minimum of $100 needs to be raised per person.

For more details contact the Xavier Vinnies Team.

Student Leader Profile: Kiara Carpenter

House: Dynan

Your Position: House Captain

What inspired you to take on a leadership position?
The thing that inspired me to take on a leadership role is being able to create an impact on our community, both in the way in which I present myself to others, but also on a wider scale in terms coming up with fun ideas for homeroom and bringing our house closer together. 

What are the things that make your House great?
The things that make Dynan House great is the diversity that we have. We have students with a wide range of stories and interest, which is awesome! Dynan also has the most amazing homeroom tutors who support our students 24/7.

What do you love about Xavier High School?
The thing I love most about Xavier High School is our wonderful teachers. The teachers are not only knowledgable in their subject areas and always willing to work with each individual student, but they also have a deep care for all the students.

Which Xavier event did you enjoy most last year and what was so good about it?
The event I enjoyed most last year was Xavier Day. I loved it because we got to get involved in so many fun activities such as watching and performing in Red Faces, as well as doing the colour run!

Student Leader Profile: Isaac McGrath

House: Dynan

Your Position: Stage 6 Leader

What inspired you to take on a leadership position?
Self motivated.

What are the things that make your House great?
Organising the great morning activities and breakfasts.

What do you love about Xavier High School?
Education, social aspects, hanging out with my friends and the extracurricular activities.

Which Xavier event did you enjoy most last year and what was so good about it?
Xavier Day for sure due to the range of activities on show.

Donations of new and clean blankets are now being accepted at the Xavier Reception.

This is a part of the Vinnies Winter Appeal.

Check out the Teach Better Together Podcast 

To listen to the latest episode titled Break it down with Dr Stephen Brown! CLICK HERE

To learn more, or for more episodes follow the Teach Better Together facebook page CLICK HERE

Xavier offers students access to on-site private music tuition before, during and after school. Tuition is open to all students from Years 7-12. 

Xavier collaborates with instrumental teachers of music, providing students with the opportunity for private lesson on their chosen instrument.  

Students can study:

• Keyboard Piano
• Guitar - Acoustic, Electric, Bass
• Woodwind - Flute, Clarinet, Oboe
• Brass - Saxophone, Trumpet
• Percussion - Drums
• Voice - Contemporary

Shared lessons can be arranged with individual tutors at a reduced fee per student. 

This weeks' featured Tutor: Gary McDonald Drum / Percussion tutor.

Visit Gary's website: www.thedrummers.com.au

For more information visit our Xavier website:

CLICK HERE and scroll down to Private Instrumental Tuition

TS Albury is a Youth Organisation based at Bandiana, we are sponsored by the Royal Australian Navy and aims to build leadership skills in young people through adventure and exciting learning activities.

Becoming a Navy Cadet means making new friends, being part of a team that values you. Whilst also experiencing challenges that will develop your potential as a leader. 

Adventure and fun are the key ingredients for all camping, water sports and team challenge activities. 

Navy Cadets learn how to sail, navigate and gain skills in everything from IT, communications, cooking and first aid to drill and seaman ship.

If you have any further questions, contact:

Camilla Webb

Unit Support Officer - Lonsdale

camilla.webb@navycadets.gov.au

0422 455 582

ICAS Assessments are designed to recognise academic excellence. Students are assessed on their ability to apply classroom learning to new contexts, using higher-order thinking and problem-solving skills.

ICAS - International Competitions and Assessments for Schools run by UNSW Global. The top 1% of each year will receive an award of High Distinction, the next 10% will receive an award of Distinction and next 25% will receive an award of Credit.

Xavier will be offering the opportunity for students to participate in the world-renowned ICAS Assessments this year. 

Payment Portal: CLICK HERE

Unique code for payment: PFP275 

The ICAS tests we will be offering this year are Mathematics, English, Science and Digital Technologies. 

Did you know, there is a Xavier Facebook group for second hand uniforms & equipment?

This is a closed group, however you can request permission to join.

LINK: CLICK HERE

About:

A reminder that on a Friday there is a limited menu of items on offer.