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Issue 18 Term 4, Week 6 Thursday 24th November, 2016

the Xavier NewsA Catholic school in the Salesian tradition

School Diary Wed 30 November

Music Showcase Evening, Hewett Community Centre

Thu 1 December ATSI Family BBQ

Fri 2 December Principals Invitational XI vs Xavier College First XI Cricket Match

Mon 5 - Fri 9 December Don Bosco Leaders Camp

Wed 7 December Presentation Night

Fri 9 December 2017 Year 9 - 12 Finish

Wed 14 December Year 12 Graduation

From the Principal

Mr Lynn Martin Principal

a home

Blessing of the Memorial Cross On Wednesday, 9 November, a Liturgy was conducted to bless the newly erected Memorial Cross. It stands as a reminder of those members of the Xavier College community who have passed away. A significant number of students, staff and families gathered to remember family members and friends and to witness the blessing.

Remembrance Day Friday, 11 November, was Remembrance Day and as a school community, we held the traditional minute silence with a brief reflection.

In 1918 the armistice that ended World War I came into force, bringing to an end four years of hostilities that saw 61,919 Australians die at sea, in the air, and on foreign soil. Few Australian families were left untouched by the events of World War I - ‘the war to end all wars’. Most had lost a father, son, daughter, brother, sister or friend.

At 11am on 11 November, we pause to remember the sacrifice of those men and women who have died or suffered in wars and conflicts and all those who have undertaken military service during the past 100 years.

This time of the year is a busy period! • Year 12 SACE Exams finished this week.

• Year 10 and 11 exams were conducted last week.

• Year 9 ‘Challenge’ camps were held at Mylor last week.

• Year 8 students participated in a full day ‘City Excursion’ last Thursday.

• The ‘new’ Year 8 class for 2017 had an Orientation Day last Monday.

• The 2017 College Leaders gathered for a leadership development day on Monday.

The 2017 Academic Year has commenced! Last Tuesday, all students at Xavier College commenced their 2017 Academic studies. This initiative is designed to help students maximise engagement with their teaching and learning programs for every moment of their time at school. I am sure everyone wants to gain maximum value for the effort and energy they invest in the time spent at school.

College Presentation Night The College Presentation Night will be held on Wednesday, 7 December, commencing at 7.00pm. Students who will be receiving an award will receive an individual invitation. Whilst it is not a compulsory event for all students, as seating in the gymnasium is limited, all other students and their families are encouraged to attend.

Annual Presentation Evening

All students, families and friends are warmly invited to attend this important occasion.

Wednesday 7 December 2016, 7.00pm

College GymnasiumThe evening will include the Principal’s

Annual Report and presentation of student awards.

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a parish AdventAdvent is the period preceding the Christmas season. It begins on the Sunday nearest November 30, the feast day of St. Andrew the Apostle, and covers four Sundays. Because the day it begins changes from year to year, so does the length of each Advent season. In 2016, Advent begins on November 27 and ends on December 24.

The best piece of advice I can offer in regards to observing Advent with your family is this: remember what it’s for and who it’s for.

The what is easy: Advent is to ready our hearts for the coming of the Christ Child.

The who is somewhat trickier. On the one hand, it seems that Advent is for Christ, for His arrival into our hearts. But if we remember that Advent is a season of preparation, the real who of Advent becomes clearer. Advent is for us. Christ is, by His very nature, already perfect. But we’re not. So we set aside that lead up to Christmas to help us get ready for His arrival. But how? Not surprisingly, the how of that preparation has no one-size-fits-all answer.

As a parent, you know your children better than anyone which one would eat all the chocolates out of their Advent calendars, but would also take the time to do something nice for someone else. As parents, we also know that God made each child unique, and He calls them to Him in distinct ways.

In our social media-saturated culture, it is easy to become one of those people who advertise the successful things they do. We all know them, those who make sure they let us know how well they have done at the gym, or how important they are at work, and who seek accolades from people telling them how wonderful they are for doing so. But – Advent asks us to have a different focus - we should focus on helping our children’s hearts melt for Christ, to be people who are humble enough to face their shortcomings, and brave enough to want to change them.

In short, families are called to not only assess our particular

needs for this Advent, which could take the form of action for those who need help, prayer for those who need strength, or acts of service or acts of contemplation, but also the needs of all our individual children. Then, to make the whole thing even more challenging for parents, we need to help equip our children with the tools to assess their own Advent needs so they may become devout adults, active in the faith in the hope that this means that they become a community of people who support and seek ways to live out the Gospels in their daily lives.

In many senses, Advent has sometimes been known as a “little Lent”, with a focus on good works and preparation. In our hectic modern world, it is easy to get distracted and feel the preparation of Christmas as a pressure, especially when shops begin putting Christmas decorations out months before – but this is the wrong sort of preparation.

The world may move fast but we can slow down. Many people have their Christmas tree up after the pageant, but doing this means we tend to switch into Christmas mode. Traditionally, Catholics waited until Advent was almost over before putting up the tree and other decorations. While it is hard to wait until Christmas eve, if we do put the tree up later we are still in the preparation mind set rather than the Christmas mind set, which helps increase our sense of expectation.

As we enter Advent this year, let us ask the Holy Spirit to reveal first the areas needed for our preparation, and then give us the guidance needed to see our children’s.

And above all, let us not forget to slow down and work with the sense of expectation, rather than rush through it. Let us all use the time to focus on the messages, remind us that Christmas and the focus of it doesn’t end on Christmas day and can’t be packed away with the tree until the next year – Advent is the signal that the real work of Christmas is soon to begin, and we must be ready for it.

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a school P.A.R.T.Y. Program

On 15 November, we farewelled a long serving cleaner, Kay, who has been with our College for 21 years.

She has been in a number of roles within the cleaning aspects of our College, including being part of the ISS Cleaning Service, and we could not let her leave without saying a big

thank you for everything she has done over the years.

Kay always conducted herself in a positive and friendly manner, and we thank her for the service she has provided during her career at Xavier College.

We wish her the best in her retirement.

Farewell Kay

Recently a select group of 35 Xavier College students from Years 10 and 11 attended the PARTY program held at the Lyell McEwin Hospital

The program is designed to highlight to young people the dangers associated with alcohol and drug related risky behaviour that can cause trauma.

Students were involved in a number of seminars discussing the dangers of

alcohol and drugs and the damge they can cause. Sadly the most startling fact they received was that alcohol and drug related behaviours, contribute to the most deaths of young people aged between 15 and 24.

The students were then taken on a journey of a young person who was involved in an accident causing serious trauma. They were taken

through simulated events in the emergency department and intensive care units, followed by the lengthy and often pain staking process of rehabilitation.

The response from our students was overwhelming and hopefully it highlighted to them the importance of looking after themselves and their peers.

Mr Rob Polito

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Year 8 City ExcursionLast Thursday the entire Year 8 Cohort travelled to the City for their ‘Discover Adelaide’ Excursion.

The main purpose of the excursion is for students to develop a link between Adelaide’s Catholic Cathedral and Xavier College, along with discovering parts of the city that they may not be familiar with.

Students were split into small groups and were accompanied by a staff member and a 2017 student leader.

Students attended Mass at St Francis Cathedral, celebrated by Xavier’s own Father Brian Ahern. This was followed by a 2 and a half hour ‘tour’ of Adelaide taking in sites such as Rundle Mall, the State Library, Government House, the Town Hall and the Central Market.

Mr Rob Polito

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Year 9 Challenge Campa playground

Occhiena and HandleyWith a short trip into the Adelaide Hills the Year 9 Occhiena and Handley students were away to see what ‘challenges’ awaited them. After a short induction session for the site, the ‘tributes’ were let loose to familiarise themselves with their rooms and Mylor camp site. Until the games began…

The students were split into random groups for the camp to participate in a number of challenges; ranging from High Ropes, Bridge Building, Raft building – to the gruelling The Mud Crawl. Everyone got involved and enjoyed the activities, each other’s company, and the ‘wild life’.

On our first evening the students went for a trail walk after their delicious meal, which was followed by a quiz night upon their return. The second evening involved a liturgy, a photo slide show (camp photos), and a bon fire.

We had a very enjoyable camp, and some students felt the challenges to their core – but they over-came and grew stronger. ‘

Loved it! Best camp ever! Great food! Teachers really got involved and were so funny!’

were some of the quotes the students gave us.

This was a brilliant camp due to the students’ commitment and the teacher involvement. On behalf of Mr Lewis and Mr Hickey; a big thank-you to all the students and staff who attended and made the most of this brilliant opportunity.

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Mazzarello & de SalesRecently the Year 9 students of Mazzarello & de Sales had the opportunity to experience a 3 day challenge camp together at Mylor. The feedback from the staff and students who attended was overwhelmingly positive. The physical challenge of the high ropes activity and the personal challenge of collaborating with others outside their usual social circle were frequently mentioned as significant highlights. A number of students were asked to reflect on their challenge camp experience and a few of those comments have been included here:

‘The groups were very co-operative and competitive, this made people bring the best of their personality. It was a good opportunity to form new friendships and challenged people to socialise within the group. It was also better that everyone was not looking at social media 24/7’ – Mitchell Cassel.

‘Camp was an amazing experience. We’ve made heaps of memories with heaps of new people. We all had a blast getting muddy and wet while some of us got over our fear of heights too’ – Tayla Carll.

‘Camp was really fun! At first I didn’t want to come, but I’m so happy that I did! It was truly a challenge camp because it tested me to my limits.’ – Jaymee Glenister.

‘I enjoyed the giant swing and the leap of faith (at the high ropes course) because they challenged you to trust in yourself and those around you’ – Jo White.

‘I enjoyed the whole experience of camp, especially meeting new people and challenging myself.’ – Abbie Woods.

‘The staff that run the camp are really friendly and kind. They’re easy to get along with and know exactly what they’re doing. They also make nice food in the kitchen!’ – Ben Allan.

‘I liked the co-operation in the games because there were people in the group who you’re not friends with and don’t talk to much. Doing the challenges with these people made you make new relationships with the other Year 9 students. Also, everyone was encouraging and there was a good vibe in our group.’ – Angus Brodley.

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Community NoticeboardXavier College provides this information for families and asks that consideration be given to the usefulness and appropriateness of the information.

Providing the information does not of itself infer any recommendation.

 

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