Xavier High School, Albury is an

independent Independent or Independents may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Artist groups * Independents (artist group), a group of modernist painters based in the New Hope, Pennsylvania, area of the United States during the early 1930s * Independ ...

Catholic The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...

systemic Systemic fundamental to a predominant social, economic, or political practice. This refers to: In medicine In medicine, ''systemic'' means affecting the whole body, or at least multiple organ systems. It is in contrast with ''topical'' or ''loc ...

secondary Secondary may refer to: Science and nature * Secondary emission, of particles ** Secondary electrons, electrons generated as ionization products * The secondary winding, or the electrical or electronic circuit connected to the secondary winding i ...

day school A day school — as opposed to a boarding school — is an educational institution where children and adolescents are given instructions during the day, after which the students return to their homes. A day school has full-day programs when compar ...

for boys and girls, located in

Albury Albury () is a major regional city in New South Wales, Australia. It is located on the Hume Highway and the northern side of the Murray River. Albury is the seat of local government for the council area which also bears the city's name – the ...

New South Wales ) , nickname = , image_map = New South Wales in Australia.svg , map_caption = Location of New South Wales in AustraliaCoordinates: , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = Australia , established_title = Before federation , es ...

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...

. Xavier High School is supported and partially funded by the Catholic School's Office, Diocese of Wagga Wagga, continuing a long history of Catholic education in the region, forming from the amalgamation of St Joseph's College for girls and the Aquinas Boys College in 1983. The school caters for over 900 students from

Year 7 Year 7 is an educational year group in schools in many countries including England, Wales, Australia and New Zealand. It is the seventh full year (or eighth in Australia) of compulsory education and is roughly equivalent to grade 6 in the United ...

Year 12 Year 12 is an educational year group in schools in many countries including England and Wales, Northern Ireland, Australia and New Zealand. It is sometimes the twelfth year of compulsory education, or alternatively a year of post-compulsory educa ...

. The Principal of the school is Gavin Dykes with the school

motto A motto (derived from the Latin , 'mutter', by way of Italian , 'word' or 'sentence') is a sentence or phrase expressing a belief or purpose, or the general motivation or intention of an individual, family, social group, or organisation. Mot ...

reading "The Truth Will Set You Free"- a direct reference to the

Gospel Gospel originally meant the Christian message ("the gospel"), but in the 2nd century it came to be used also for the books in which the message was set out. In this sense a gospel can be defined as a loose-knit, episodic narrative of the words an ...

John John is a common English name and surname: * John (given name) * John (surname) John may also refer to: New Testament Works * Gospel of John, a title often shortened to John * First Epistle of John, often shortened to 1 John * Secon ...

, verse 8:32.

History and amalgamation

Catholic schooling in the Albury region has experienced a long and successful tradition, dating back to 1868, wherein the

Sisters of Mercy The Sisters of Mercy is a religious institute of Catholic women founded in 1831 in Dublin, Ireland, by Catherine McAuley. As of 2019, the institute had about 6200 sisters worldwide, organized into a number of independent congregations. They a ...

established St Brigid's College on a small block of land owned by St Patrick's

Parish A parish is a territorial entity in many Christian denominations, constituting a division within a diocese. A parish is under the pastoral care and clerical jurisdiction of a priest, often termed a parish priest, who might be assisted by one or m ...

, in South Albury. In 1885, Patrician Brothers opened a school for boys in an adjacent block in Olive Street, also owned by St Patrick's Parish. This school for boys was re-inaugurated by the

Congregation of Christian Brothers The Congregation of Christian Brothers ( la, Congregatio Fratrum Christianorum; abbreviated CFC) is a worldwide religious community within the Catholic Church, founded by Blessed Edmund Rice. Their first school was opened in Waterford, Ireland, ...

in 1917, the same year St Brigid's College was redeveloped and renamed, St Joseph's Ladies College. For the majority of a decade, The Sisters of Mercy and Christian Brothers delivered Catholic-based education to thousands of students across the area. All teaching during this time period was performed by

clergy Clergy are formal leaders within established religions. Their roles and functions vary in different religious traditions, but usually involve presiding over specific rituals and teaching their religion's doctrines and practices. Some of the ter ...

of the Church, linking closely with St Patrick's Parish. In 1959, a northern campus of the Boys College was established in Fallon Street North Albury, the site of the present day Xavier High. This establishment was named Aquinas College. In 1983, the boys and girls schools were amalgamated to create a

co-educational Mixed-sex education, also known as mixed-gender education, co-education, or coeducation (abbreviated to co-ed or coed), is a system of education where males and females are educated together. Whereas single-sex education was more common up to t ...

system under the name "Xavier High School", named after

Saint Francis Xavier Francis Xavier (born Francisco de Jasso y Azpilicueta; Latin: ''Franciscus Xaverius''; Basque: ''Frantzisko Xabierkoa''; French: ''François Xavier''; Spanish: ''Francisco Javier''; Portuguese: ''Francisco Xavier''; 7 April 15063 December 1 ...

. The campuses remained separated until January 2001 wherein the school united to share the redeveloped Northern campus, the site of the present day school. The school promotes its history to the student body, with many of the 8 Houses within the school named after the aforementioned colleges. Today, the school employs over 60 teaching staff in addition to numerous support staff and several volunteers. Additionally, continual redevelopment of facilities and structural expansion is currently in progress to accommodate the increasing number of enrolled students at the school.

Facilities

Xavier High School has undergone considerable development since its establishment, resulting in a host of educational facilities available for students, including: * a brand new indoor stadium, complete with elevated stage, stage lighting and an audio-booth, mezzanine seating for 150, fold out terraced seating for a further 200, and a total capacity with stored temporary seating of 1,200; equipped with a surface catering for a range of indoor sports including

basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular Basketball court, court, compete with the primary objective of #Shooting, shooting a basketball (ball), basketball (appr ...

and

indoor soccer Indoor soccer or arena soccer (known internationally as indoor football, fast football, or showball) is five-a-side version of minifootball, derived from association football and adapted to be played in walled hardcourt indoor arena. Indoor socc ...

as well as

PDHPE PDHPE (''Personal Development, Health and Physical Education'') is a subject in the New South Wales school curriculum. It is a compulsory subject in the K-10 curriculum, and available as an elective in years 11 and 12 and for the HSC in year 12. ...

practical classes * a 200-seat Arts Centre, complete with elevated stage, stage lighting and audio-booth * 2 Music rooms * 3

Visual Arts The visual arts are art forms such as painting, drawing, printmaking, sculpture, ceramics, photography, video, filmmaking, design, crafts and architecture. Many artistic disciplines such as performing arts, conceptual art, and textile arts al ...

rooms * 3 sound-proof music/tuition rooms assisting in private study, with recording equipment * a re-surfaced outdoor soccer/basketball court and access to 3 large sporting ovals * 4 fully equipped science

laboratories A laboratory (; ; colloquially lab) is a facility that provides controlled conditions in which scientific or technological research, experiments, and measurement may be performed. Laboratory services are provided in a variety of settings: physicia ...

and laboratory preparation room * 2 Computer rooms, offering internet access and a range of software programs * a library with a range of

fiction Fiction is any creative work, chiefly any narrative work, portraying individuals, events, or places that are imaginary, or in ways that are imaginary. Fictional portrayals are thus inconsistent with history, fact, or plausibility. In a traditi ...

and

non-fiction Nonfiction, or non-fiction, is any document or media content that attempts, in good faith, to provide information (and sometimes opinions) grounded only in facts and real life, rather than in imagination. Nonfiction is often associated with be ...

reference materials and an adjacent classroom * 2 fully equipped Hospitality kitchens * modern Industrial Technology

workshop Beginning with the Industrial Revolution era, a workshop may be a room, rooms or building which provides both the area and tools (or machinery) that may be required for the manufacture or repair of manufactured goods. Workshops were the only ...

, catering for a range of Industrial and VET-based subjects * a

textiles Textile is an umbrella term that includes various fiber-based materials, including fibers, yarns, filaments, threads, different fabric types, etc. At first, the word "textiles" only referred to woven fabrics. However, weaving is not the ...

room * recently refurbished/re-landscaped quadrangles * access to a developing

wetland A wetland is a distinct ecosystem that is flooded or saturated by water, either permanently (for years or decades) or seasonally (for weeks or months). Flooding results in oxygen-free (anoxic) processes prevailing, especially in the soils. The ...

and rainwater recycling facility * a relatively recently constructed block of 5 classrooms * 4 recently constructed student

locker A locker is a small, usually narrow storage compartment. They are commonly found in dedicated cabinets, very often in large numbers, in various public places such as locker rooms, workplaces, elementary schools, middle and high schools, tran ...

bays * toilet facilities

Houses

Xavier hosts an annual House-Cup competition between the 8 House groups of Xavier High School, with points awarded for House achievement and participation in sporting carnivals and events, fundraising, inter-house trivia and novelty events such as

Melbourne Cup The Melbourne Cup is a Thoroughbred horse race held in Melbourne, Australia. It is a 3200-metre race for three-year-olds and over, conducted by the Victoria Racing Club on the Flemington Racecourse in Melbourne, Victoria as part of the Melbou ...

Day celebrations. Each House is briefly described below, outlining of the House leaders for 2010: * Aquinas ''"Enlightenment through learning, faith through understanding"''. Named after

St Thomas Aquinas Thomas Aquinas, OP (; it, Tommaso d'Aquino, lit=Thomas of Aquino; 1225 – 7 March 1274) was an Italian Dominican friar and priest who was an influential philosopher, theologian and jurist in the tradition of scholasticism; he is known wit ...

and Aquinas College, Aquinas is represented by the colour maroon. * Clark ''"Persistence, task completion, fitness, working joyfully"''. Named after Thelma Clark, the first lay teacher of St Joseph's Ladies College, Clark is represented by the colour gold. * Dynan ''"Gentleness, inner strength, striving for excellence, preserving what is good"''. Named in honour of Brother Dynan, a pioneer of Aquinas College, Dynan is represented by the colour red. * Joseph ''"Simplicity, Love of work, courage, faith"''. Traditionally, Joseph is named in honour of

Joseph Joseph is a common male given name, derived from the Hebrew Yosef (יוֹסֵף). "Joseph" is used, along with "Josef", mostly in English, French and partially German languages. This spelling is also found as a variant in the languages of the mo ...

, the father of

Jesus Christ Jesus, likely from he, יֵשׁוּעַ, translit=Yēšūaʿ, label=Hebrew/Aramaic ( AD 30 or 33), also referred to as Jesus Christ or Jesus of Nazareth (among other names and titles), was a first-century Jewish preacher and religious ...

, in addition to recognising St Joseph's Ladies College. Joseph is represented by the colour white. * Loreto ''"Holy place- in the way of Mary, loving and thoughtful"''. Loreto house is named after the village wherein the house of Mary the Mother of Jesus is situated and is represented by the colour blue. * MacKillop ''"Faith Bravery and Strength- forthright and battling adversity"''. Mackillop is named in honour of Sister

Mary MacKillop Mary Helen MacKillop RSJ (15 January 1842 – 8 August 1909) was an Australian religious sister who has been declared a saint by the Catholic Church, as St Mary of the Cross. Of Scottish descent, she was born in Melbourne but is best known fo ...

, who was

canonised Canonization is the declaration of a deceased person as an officially recognized saint, specifically, the official act of a Christian communion declaring a person worthy of public veneration and entering their name in the canon catalogue of ...

as the first Saint born in Australia. MacKillop is represented by the colour green * McAuley ''"Working with others, leadership, dignity of all people, courage and compassion"''. McAuley House is named after

Catherine McAuley Catherine McAuley, RSM (29 September 1778 – 11 November 1841) was an Irish Catholic religious sister who founded the Sisters of Mercy in 1831.Austin, Mary Stanislas"Sisters of Mercy."''The Catholic Encyclopedia''. Vol. 10. New York: Robert Ap ...

, founder of the Sisters of Mercy and is represented by the colour purple. * Rice ''"To do, to lead and learn, working for others"''. Rice House is named after

Edmund Rice Edmund is a masculine given name or surname in the English language. The name is derived from the Old English elements ''ēad'', meaning "prosperity" or "riches", and ''mund'', meaning "protector". Persons named Edmund include: People Kings an ...

, advocate for disadvantaged education and inspiration for the Christian Brothers and is represented by the colour orange.

Sports and extra-curricular

In addition to a focus on

academia An academy (Attic Greek: Ἀκαδήμεια; Koine Greek Ἀκαδημία) is an institution of secondary education, secondary or tertiary education, tertiary higher education, higher learning (and generally also research or honorary membershi ...

and Catholic

education Education is a purposeful activity directed at achieving certain aims, such as transmitting knowledge or fostering skills and character traits. These aims may include the development of understanding, rationality, kindness, and honesty. Va ...

, Xavier High School is represented in a number of sporting activities, including; * School based Athletics, Swimming and Cross-country carnivals * BISSA level individual and team sports * CCC level individual and team sports * A range of state-level and national individual and team sports Sports focused on at Xavier High School primarily include

Australian Rules Football Australian football, also called Australian rules football or Aussie rules, or more simply football or footy, is a contact sport played between two teams of 18 players on an oval field, often a modified cricket ground. Points are scored by k ...

Soccer Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a team sport played between two teams of 11 players who primarily use their feet to propel the ball around a rectangular field called a pitch. The objective of the game is ...

, Basketball,

Swimming Swimming is the self-propulsion of a person through water, or other liquid, usually for recreation, sport, exercise, or survival. Locomotion is achieved through coordinated movement of the limbs and the body to achieve hydrodynamic thrust that r ...

Athletics Athletics may refer to: Sports * Sport of athletics, a collection of sporting events that involve competitive running, jumping, throwing, and walking ** Track and field, a sub-category of the above sport * Athletics (physical culture), competiti ...

Cross-country running Cross country running is a sport in which teams and individuals run a race on open-air courses over natural terrain such as dirt or grass. The course, typically long, may include surfaces of grass and earth, pass through woodlands and open coun ...

Hockey Hockey is a term used to denote a family of various types of both summer and winter team sports which originated on either an outdoor field, sheet of ice, or dry floor such as in a gymnasium. While these sports vary in specific rules, numbers o ...

Golf Golf is a club-and-ball sport in which players use various clubs to hit balls into a series of holes on a course in as few strokes as possible. Golf, unlike most ball games, cannot and does not use a standardized playing area, and coping wi ...

Rugby league Rugby league football, commonly known as just rugby league and sometimes football, footy, rugby or league, is a full-contact sport played by two teams of thirteen players on a rectangular field measuring 68 metres (75 yards) wide and 112 ...

, Touch Football and

Cricket Cricket is a bat-and-ball game played between two teams of eleven players on a field at the centre of which is a pitch with a wicket at each end, each comprising two bails balanced on three stumps. The batting side scores runs by striki ...

. Current extra curricular activities include Musical Performance evenings, Art Exhibitions, Musicals/Stage Productions and involvement in

ANZAC day , image = Dawn service gnangarra 03.jpg , caption = Anzac Day Dawn Service at Kings Park, Western Australia, 25 April 2009, 94th anniversary. , observedby = Australia Christmas Island Cocos (Keeling) Islands Cook Islands New ...

services/supporting Legacy. Extra curricular activities formerly run at Xavier High School included

Blood Donation A blood donation occurs when a person voluntarily has blood drawn and used for blood transfusion, transfusions and/or made into biopharmaceutical medications by a process called Blood fractionation, fractionation (separation of whole blood com ...

through the local Vampire Shield, Rotary

Debating Debate is a process that involves formal discourse on a particular topic, often including a Discussion moderator, moderator and audience. In a debate, arguments are put forward for often opposing viewpoints. Debates have historically occurred ...

, and Local "Mock-trials", in addition to involvement in cultural events such as the LOTE (Languages other than English) festival. The House-Cup winners for 2010 were Aquinas House, led by House Coordinator Jo Gleeson and House Captain Thomas Freeman and Julia Rossiter.

References

External links