Xavier College Gawler Belt eNewsletter

Principal's Welcome

Welcome back to the start of Term 3. A special welcome to our new students and their families who have joined us this term. In particular, I would like to welcome our mid-year Reception class and their families at Two Wells as they commence their journey with Xavier College.

PIP Fields Emerging Leader Award

It is with great pleasure that I congratulate, Janet Coomber (Head of Campus – Two Wells) on being recognised at the recent ACEL South Australia Annual Branch Awards Evening and receiving the Pip Fields Emerging Leader Award. As Australia’s peak professional organisation for educational leaders, the Australian Council of Educational Leaders has a strong reputation for recognising, developing and celebrating excellence in educational leadership.

This award is presented to an emerging educational leader in their first five years of a designated leadership position, who has demonstrated outstanding educational practice in the classroom and leadership that has made a significant difference to colleagues and students.

Janet, in her second year as Head of Campus – Two Wells, is an outstanding practitioner interested in contemporary middle school pedagogy. In preparation for the introduction of Year 7, her leadership of staff saw the College being awarded the “Future Students Ready Award” by Adolescence Success in 2019.

Due to her professional experiences in regional Australia, she has a strong passion for Indigenous Education, wellbeing and respect for land and culture.

Janet has an ability to create and maintain a supportive and safe learning environment and has great compassion and understanding of those around her. Janet is constantly engaged in professional learning and has just completed the AITSL Assessor Training course to mentor and inspire teaching excellence, especially in young teachers. She is soon to commence the Women and Leadership Australia’s Executive Ready Program.

New Board Member

After ratification at the College Board meeting on 21 June 2022, it is with pleasure that I advise of the appointment of Mrs Caddie Irish to the Xavier College Board.

Caddie grew up in the Eyre Peninsula area and is a current parent of the College. She is married to Sam and they have three children. Their daughter Loulu is currently in Year 1 at our Two Wells Campus with their other two children, Syd and Alfie, to join Loulu at Two Wells in the next couple of years.

Caddie has previously worked as a Palliative Care Nurse and has always been involved in the community.

As our Two Wells parent representative on the College Board, we are looking forward to Caddie contributing and being involved in the College Board as we broaden our campuses of Xavier.

2021 School Performance Report

A link to the College’s 2021 School Performance Report can be found on the College’s website. Hard copies of the Report can be collected from the Front Office of the Gawler Belt Campus.

School Fees 2023
We are pleased to inform our school families that there will be no increase in school fees for the 2023 school year.

As South Australians continue to feel the impact of COVID-19, Catholic Education SA has announced it will freeze fees at its 86 Diocesan schools for the 2023 school year.

“These decisions are part of our continued COVID 19 response as we seek to support families at a time when they are being impacted by rising costs and inflation,” says Dr Neil McGoran, Director, Catholic Education SA.

Since 2019, Catholic Education SA has been implementing the Making Catholic Education More Affordable Initiative to ensure our schools are accessible to any family who wants their child to have a Catholic education.

Dr Neil McGoran said the fee-freeze would not impact the quality of education.

“We’re committed to keeping school fees as low as possible and ensuring a Catholic education is affordable and accessible to all.”

In addition to the fee-freeze, further fee remissions are available to any family who is struggling to pay school fees due to financial pressures. Families should contact Mrs Liz Polljonker, Business Manager, for more information.

Mark Flaherty
Principal

Gawler Belt - 2021 Year 12 Academic Excellence

It is wonderful to finally come together as a College community to celebrate the outstanding academic achievements of our 2021 Year 12 students which was postponed due to Covid-19. Congratulations to Keeley Menadue who was our Dux of Xavier College for 2021 with an ATAR of 98.05. Keeley was also one of 28 students across the State to recieve the South Australian Governor’s Award for Excellence. Keeley proudly joins four other Xavier students who have been the recipients of this prestigious Award over the last eight years. We congratulate the entire Year 12 cohort of 2021 on their achievements. They have demonstrated a degree of resilience and diligence in what has been a year full of significant challenges. We also commend our amazing teaching staff for their commitment to our students’ learning.

Gawler Belt - Music Achievements

Catholic Schools Music Festival

Congratulations to Abigail Sharpe who has been selected to perform at the Catholic School Music Festival. Selection for the Festival is highly competitive and Abigail was chosen after an intense audition process. The Festival runs over a four day period in September, and Abigail will be performing a vocal solo called ‘Breathe’ from the Musical ‘In The Heights’ on the first night, 26 September.

Adelaide Symphony Orchestra Big Rehearsal

Congratulations to William Bailey who applied for and was accepted into the Adelaide Symphony Orchestra's Big Rehearsal project. This is an opportunity for William to sit side-by-side a professional musician from the Adelaide Symphony Orchestra and prepare music together. The pieces are designed to challenge and develop musical playing ability and improve orchestral playing, resulting in a public performance at the end of the session.

Gawler Belt - Music News: Balaklava Eisteddfod

Congratulations to the Xavier College Rock band who competed at the Balaklava Eisteddfod on Friday 5 August.

Jed Hudson, Rowan Roberts, Jai Carson, Steve Geraghty, Lexi Harrip and Lucas Tooke performed Nothing Else Matters by Metallica and Alive by Pearl Jam. They were clearly a crowd favourite on the day and they were given an Honorable Mention by the judges. Everyone had a lovely day gaining some valuable performance experience and watching other bands perform.

Gawler Belt - Pedal Prix at The Bend

Xavier College’s three Pedal Prix teams took to the track for an eight hour race at Tailem Bend on Saturday 6 August. Thankfully expected heavy rain did not eventuate, making perfect conditions for racers and spectators.

The track is so large that 178 vehicles in both school and adult community classes were able to compete to their full potential without the congestion experienced at other tracks which can cause many collisions.

All Xavier vehicles performed faultlessly on the day, needing only minor attention for tyre wear and this enabled students to have uninterrupted stints and consistent times free of frustrating unscheduled pit stops.

Age limits determine that Xavier’s fastest vehicles race in the highest school category, however, many of the riders would qualify for the younger division. Cerberus achieved 30^th position in a class of 49, completing 78 laps totalling 266 kilometres. GreenEdge finished 35^th out of 49, with 73 laps and 249 kilometres travelled. This was a worthy effort and attention to training and fitness is being revealed under testing race conditions. Veyron, the introductory vehicle is reliable and strong but is not a rocket and we applaud the students for enjoying their experience racing to complete 51 laps and 174 kilometres.

Xavier’s Pedal Prix teams benefit from enthusiastic parental support and we literally could not race without volunteers who undertake vital track marshalling duties. Vehicle monitoring and timing data is provided by parents with specialised I.T. skills and vehicles are prepared and repaired by parents with mechanical knowledge. Xavier maintenance staff are always supportive in organising equipment and transport vehicles. The Pedal Prix teams are grateful for the generous support from so many individuals because without this involvement, students could not experience the physical fitness, personal development and social interaction that participation in the racing series provides.

Rob Welsh
Library Technician

Gawler Belt - Rising Athlete: Dyson Sharp

We would like to congratulate our very own Year 9 Occhiena student, Dyson Sharp, for being selected for the 2022 AFL National Development Championships U16 Boys All-Australian Team. This means that Dyson has been named as one of the top 18 athletes in the entire country; what an incredible achievement. Well done, Dyson!

Gawler Belt - Swimming Carnival

Last Term, Gawler Belt Campus held their annual Swimming Carnival at the Adelaide Aquatic Centre, North Adelaide. It was wonderful to see so many students, especially those new to our community, having a great time in the pool, participating in both the race events and the novelty events. Congratulations to all students who competed with enthusiasm and demonstrating such great sportsmanship. It was also wonderful to witness the level of support shouted from the sidelines. Although the competition was tough, Occhiena managed to bring home the Cup for a second year in a row.

Gawler Belt - WWI: Fighting the Kaiser and Vietnam: Dusted Off Performances

On Thursday, 4 August the Year 9 and 10 cohorts each viewed an exciting presentation relating to their studies of History.

The Year 9 students have studied WWI in class this year and through the WW1: Fighting the Kaiser performance they were able to see an engaging dramatic portrayal of some of the effects that War can have on returned soldiers.

“The WWI performance was funny as well as teaching us information it also showed us just how bad and gruesome war can be it's also interactive, overall, it was a great show” Patrick Durdin.

“We had the opportunity to watch a presentation about WWI. It was great to be able to learn about the topics we had looked at in History in a fun and interactive presentation which was different from normal classroom learning. It was factual and informative as well as funny and quite powerful in some parts, and the comedy and acting made it enjoyable and kept it interesting.” - Innay Smyth

The Year 10 students were able to gain a firsthand insight into the impacts that war can have on a family and the importance of commemorating the efforts of soldiers through the Vietnam: Dusted off Performance.

"Before viewing the performance, myself and many others were sceptical, just assuming that this was going to just be an hour of someone talking and talking about the Vietnam War, and not having anything that the students could remember it by. However, 'Vietnam: Dusted Off' surpassed my expectations completely with the way that Brett Hunt used music and song to tell the story of his father in the war. The initial storytelling was incredible, and the added music and sound effects really brought the entire performance together. I found it incredible how just a man, a guitar, and some music can tell the story of not just his own family, but the story of many other families during and after the Vietnam War." - Hannah Holtze.

Amelia Vogelsang
Curriculum Leader - Humanities

Gawler Belt - Year 12 Modern History Excursion

Our excursion to the Adelaide Holocaust Museum was a memorable, captivating experience that opened my eyes to the gravity of the Holocaust even further than before. I spent a lot of time looking at the rare photographs and videos that were displayed, as well as items like real clothing worn in concentration camps. Some of these were quite confronting, but in a good way that forced me to think deeply about the human element of the genocide, and how the horrors displayed in these images warped the lives of many people, still impacting so many to this day. It was a clear reminder of why it is so important that we never forget the grave impacts of the Holocaust. The visual and audio material I got to see at the museum absolutely increased my knowledge about the Holocaust in new ways even after years of learning about it, and I would highly recommend visiting the museum if you get the chance as some of the stories it holds are both fascinating and heart wrenching.

Layne Bailey
College Captain

Two Wells - Head of Campus

A warm welcome to Term 3, especially to all our new students entering the Xavier Community. A special welcome to our new Reception students and families; we trust that this is the beginning of a wonderful chapter.

The start of this term has been a significant milestone with our first classes moving into some of the brand new classrooms built as part of Stage Two of construction. The building is very impressive, and has made us even more excited for the rest of it to come. A huge thank you to the team from Mossops for pulling out all stops to make this happen – especially to Brett and Dylan. In addition to this, I would like to thank our staff who contributed much of their break time to ensure our students had the best start and smoothest move possible. You are all greatly appreciated!

While construction of this part of the campus continues, we have been working on our gymnasium design. We look forward to the next stage of development. Along with this will be the handover of the much awaited car park and drop-off zone – I know we are all looking forward to this.

This term will see us host many events including Cross Country, Athletics Day, SPOC interviews (this is a pupil free day on the 17 August) and Book Week. The theme for Book Week is “Dreaming with Your Eyes Open”. Mrs Haythorpe is very excited, and is looking forward to the parade on 26 August. Watch this space for photos!

Finally, on behalf our community, we congratulate Danielle and Matt Monticelli on the safe arrival of Olivia Jayne. We can’t wait to meet our newest little Xavier Bambino, and wish them all the best.

Janet Coomber
Head of Campus - Two Wells

Two Wells - 100 Days of School

100 Days of School signifies the 100^th day of study in the school year allowing students and teachers a time to reflect on the work undertaken by students and lets schools celebrate achievements and milestones. The symbolic representation is an incredibly exciting event to be a part of and helps students celebrate their education in a positive way. This year the Junior Primary R-2 classes at the Xavier College Two Wells campus celebrated this is highly anticipated event for our students who have been patiently counting the days towards this event in their classrooms. Our Primary students participated as part of their Oratory while our Middle Primary students supported our Junior Primary students as spectators of our dress-up parade.

Students were invited to dress up as either one-hundred-year-old people, decorate an item of clothing with 100 objects or wear a piece of clothing with the number 100 on it. Teachers talked about how we often associate our elders as being wise with the idea of dressing up as a 100-year-old person. It is a playful and entertaining way to celebrate they are now 100 days brighter, 100 days smarter and have experienced 100 school days of new learning.

Throughout the day, students participated in a wide variety of Maths and Literacy tasks centered around the number 100. They also successfully completed the 100 acts of RUAH challenge with the goal to collectively model 100 acts of our College values of Respect, Understanding, Affection and Humour by the 100^th day of school.

It was a wonderful day spent together, capturing memories that can be shared and reflected on in the years to come.

Two Wells - Girls SAPSASA Netball State Carnival

Xavier College Two Wells is extremely proud to have had three girls selected for the SAPSASA Netball State Carnival that was held at Netball SA Stadium Mile End. Lily Gameau, Mia Platt, and Kelsey Buckley, all from Year 6, were chosen to represent Gawler District SAPSASA, competing against other districts from around South Australia. The girls worked extremely hard over the 3 days, deservedly coming away with a Gold Medal. A big congratulations from everyone on your accomplishment girls, well done.

Two Wells - Lumination Excursion

On Tuesday of Week 10, some Year 7 and 8 students had the opportunity to attend the Lumination Lab to begin the Lumination XR Challenge for their Technology subject. The day started with students being introduced to their topic Earth Heroes: a project that asks students to design a solution for climate change based on a local issue. Students had the opportunity to use VR (virtual reality) headsets and IMVR (immersive virtual reality). Students particularly enjoyed the IMVR experience as they played a trash game, sorting rubbish and recycling. Finally, students also were taught how to use block coding and build virtual reality worlds through CoSpaces and how to design 3D objects on TinkerCad. Students enjoyed the engaging presentation and we look forward to seeing the year 8 projects at the end of Term 3.

Nikki Williamson
Coordinator - Middle Years

Nicholas Skewes
Teacher

Two Wells - NAIDOC Week 2022

Show Up! Stand Up! Get Up! This week the students at our Two Wells Campus celebrated NAIDOC Week. This celebration is just one way for us to celebrate and recognise the history, culture, and achievements of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples. This year's theme is designed to encourage everyone to engage in and model cooperative change while celebrating those who have already guided change in Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities over the generations. The students were involved in various class discussions and activities that aided them to gain a deeper understanding of First Nations Perspectives.

Two Wells - Northern Catholic Schools Football Carnival

Recently our Year 4-6 students headed to the Northern Catholic Cluster Football Carnival at Ridley Reserve Elizabeth. They competed against other Catholic schools from the Northern area in a ‘lightning carnival’, playing a series of 12-minute matches. The emphasis of the day was on participation in team sports, enjoyment and teamwork. Students from our Two Wells Campus represented the College extremely well, displaying effort and persistence.

Two Wells - Xavier Bambinos

Our Xavier Bambinos had the opportunity to meet their new teacher, Mrs Gina Dunning, who comes to us with a wealth of knowledge and expertise working with children in the early years. Students discovered the magic of their learning brains after reading the story, The Magic Hat by Mem Fox. With visits from Mrs Haythorpe, our Hub Technician, and the Reception students from Mrs Bhraunxs class, new friends were discovered.

Finally, we concluded our Xavier Bambinos' transition visits with our Graduation ceremony. Congratulations to our 2022 Mid-Year Xavier Bambinos. We are very excited to guide you as you begin your school journey with us.