Xavier High School, Albury

Xavier High School
Location
Albury, New South Wales, 2646
Australia
Coordinates 36°03′47″S 146°56′04″E / 36.06306°S 146.93444°E
Information
Type Private, Secondary, Catholic
Motto The Truth Will Set You Free
Patron saint(s) Francis Xavier
Established 1983[1]
Founder Brother John Henry Thornber, Sister Gwenda Livermore[1]
Status Open
Principal Gavin Dykes[2]
Asst. Principal Dale Gleeson<[2]
Teaching staff 66
Grades 7-12
Enrolment Approx. 900
Colour(s) Green, Gold
         
Website web.xhsww.catholic.edu.au

Xavier High School Albury is a Catholic Secondary School located within the New South Wales city of Albury, Australia.

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.[1]

To date, the school hosts over 900 students across 6 year levels.

The Principal of the school is Mr Rod Whelan[3] with the school motto reading "The Truth Will Set You Free"- a direct reference to the Gospel of John, 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 established St Brigid's College on a small block of land owned by St Patrick's Parish, 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 Christian Brothers in 1917, the same year St Brigid's College was redeveloped and renamed, St Josephs 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 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 system under the name "Xavier High School", named after St Francis Xavier. The campuses remained separated until January 2001 wherein the school united to share the redeveloped Northern campus, the site of the present day school.[4]

The school promotes its history to the student body, with many of the 8 Houses within the school named after the aforementioned colleges.[5] Today, the school employs over 60 teaching staff in addition to numerous support staff and several volunteers.[6] Additionally, continual redevelopment of facilities and structural expansion is currently in progress to accommodate the increasing number of enrolled students at the school.[4]

Facilities

Xavier High School has undergone considerable development since its establishment, resulting in a host of educational facilities available for students, including;

Xavier High School is currently undergoing Stage 5 development, which presently includes an expansion of food technology and hospitality facilities to include a full commercial kitchen, construction of general learning spaces, a covered outdoor learning area and new walkways with work expected to be completed by the end of 2012[4]

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 Day celebrations. The House-Cup winners for 2010 were Aquinas House, led by House Coordinator Jo Gleeson and House Captain Thomas Freeman and Julia Rossiter.

Each House is briefly described below, outlining of the House leaders for 2010:

Sports and Extra-Curricular

In addition to a focus on academia and Catholic education, Xavier High School is represented in a number of sporting activities, including;

Sports focused on at Xavier High School primarily include Australian Rules Football, Soccer, Basketball, Swimming, Athletics, Cross-country running, Hockey, Golf, Rugby League, Touch Football and Cricket.

Extra curricular ran at Xavier High School encompass, but are not limited to; Blood Donation through the local Vampire Shield, Rotary Debating, Local "Mock-trials", Musical Performance evenings, Art Exhibitions, Musicals/Stage Productions and involvement in ANZAC day services/supporting Legacy in addition to involvement in cultural events such as the LOTE (Languages other than English) festival.

See also

References


  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 "Xavier High School Albury - History".
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 "Xavier High School Albury - School Executive". Retrieved 13 November 2014.
  3. ↑ "Xavier High School Albury - Principals Message". Retrieved 19 November 2012.
  4. ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 "Xavier High School Albury - Timeline". Retrieved 19 November 2012.
  5. ↑ "Xavier High School Albury - Pastoral". Retrieved 19 November 2012.
  6. ↑ "Xavier High School Albury - School Structure". Retrieved 19 November 2012.

External links