Xavier College is a Catholic co-educational secondary college north of

Adelaide, South Australia Adelaide ( ) is the list of Australian capital cities, capital city of South Australia, the state's largest city and the list of cities in Australia by population, fifth-most populous city in Australia. "Adelaide" may refer to either Greater A ...

, consisting of two campuses: a senior campus at Gawler Belt catering for Years 7 - 12 and the Two Wells Campus, catering for Reception - Year 6 students. The college was founded in 1995 and operates according to the traditions of the Salesians of Don Bosco. The school enrols approximately 1,200 students across both campuses. Its patron is the priest Saint John Bosco.

College values

Xavier College's core values are based on the Hebrew word for spirit, ''rûaħ''. The word ''rûaħ'' is often used to describe the "Spirit of God". The word ''rûah'' is used as an acronym for respect, understanding, affection and humour.

Educational activities

The College offers education in technology and Indonesian language as well as, extra-curricular activities including music, sports, a swimming carnival, athletics carnival, and Xavier Day. The school has an affiliation with St Patrick's Technical College.

Student life

Xavier College, operated in the Salesian tradition based on the life and example of Francis de Sales, has a pastoral care, homeroom system called an "Oratory". It is named after the small community of boys who were raised as Catholics by

Saint John Bosco John Melchior Bosco ( it, Giovanni Melchiorre Bosco; pms, Gioann Melchior Bòsch; 16 August 181531 January 1888), popularly known as Don Bosco , was an Italian Catholic priest, educator, writer and saint of the 19th century. While working ...

(known affectionately as "Don" or "father"). Bosco provided a safe haven for boys of all backgrounds, especially the abused and neglected of Turin, Italy in the 1800s. He ensured they were treated with equal love and devotion while they learnt practical skills such as carpentry and printing.

School houses

The College has four houses: de Sales after St Francis de Sales (motto: Inspiring others through kindness, colour blue); Mazzarello after St Maria Mazzarello (motto: Peacefully serving others with faith and humility, colour red); Handley after the founding principal of Xavier College, Fr. Dennis Handley (1995 to 2004) (motto: Living in the spirit with passion and vision, colour green); and Occhiena after Venerable Margaret Occhiena (1788-1856), who with her son, St. John Bosco, created the Salesian Preventive system of Education. Through her work at the Oratory of St. Francis de Sales in Turin, Margaret became lovingly known as "Mamma" Margaret and is considered to be the mother of the Salesian family. (Motto: Nurturing faith and dreams from the heart, colour yellow.)

Two Wells Campus

Opened in February 2021, Xavier College operates a brand new campus at

Two Wells, South Australia Two Wells is a town approximately north of the Adelaide city centre in South Australia adjacent to Port Wakefield Road and passed by the Adelaide-Port Augusta railway line. The first settlers in the area used two aboriginal wells in the area as ...

. This campus will initially cater for R- Year 6 students, with expansion for more senior students set for future years.

Principals

* Fr Dennis Handley (1995 - 2004) * Mr Lynn Martin (2004 - 2019) * Mr Mark Flaherty (2020–present)

References

{{Reflist

External links

* http://www.xavier.catholic.edu.au/ High schools in South Australia Salesian schools