Debating

Our Year 6 debaters competed in the second round of debating on Tuesday, 28 June.

The team for this round consisted of:

1st Speaker - Isabelle Smith, 2nd Speaker- Bill Strohfeldt, 3rd Speaker - Hannah Cygan and 4th Speaker - Jazmin Martin.

The topic was ‘That test and exams in schools should be abolished’. We were on the affirmative side. Although we had some good arguments and strong rebuttals we unfortunately went down to St Nicholas' Tamworth.

Acknowledgement Plaque

St Xavier's have purchased an Acknowledgement Plaque that has been hung at the front of the school. Attached is a photo of the plaque and a brief description outlining its significance.

NAIDOC Week- Get Up, Stand Up, Show Up

St Xavier's NAIDOC Week celebrations started on Monday with a special assembly and smoking ceremony by guest, Mitchum Neave and James Hogbin. Afterwards, some Year 6 students read an extended Welcome to Country and Kinder led us in a NAIDOC Week Prayer.

At the conclusion of the assembly, Mrs Rachael Field, Jack Wells, Mr Simon Thurbon and Byron Ricketts raised the Aboriginal and Torres Straight Island flags on the brand new flag poles.

Later in the day the students were treated to a special guest, Mitch Tambo.

Australian World Music Star Mitch Tambo is a new voice for a generation producing music that cuts across culture.

A proud Gamilaraay man, Mitch blends traditional Aboriginal sounds and language with contemporary beats and production. The multi-talented recording artist first stunned the nation when he performed a spine tingling First Nations version of the iconic John Farnham anthem, You're The Voice on the 2019 Finale of Australia’s Got Talent. Mitch’s performance was powerful and won the hearts of Australia as well as a host of other countries.

https://www.mitchtambo.com/

Tomorrow, NAIDOC Week celebrations continue with guest dancers from Gunnedah High School and Yrs 3 and 4 singing Burrula Balabalaa (Many Butterflies).

There will also be a NAIDOC Week cake shared amongst students.

Throughout the week, classes have engaged in many literacy based NAIDOC activities such as peer reading, researching authors, reviews of books and much more using our beautiful new Indigenous resource books. Students have also been busy completing artwork for the upcoming NAIDOC Art Exhibition 2022 - GET UP! STAND UP! SHOW UP! at the Gunnedah Bicentennial Creative Arts Gallery. The exhibition will officially open at 6pm on Friday, 8 July, 2022 and will continue until Friday, 5 August, 2022, so be sure to pop in and have a look.

St Xavier's School TV

Here is the link to your special report: https://stxaviersgunnedah.catholic.schooltv.me/wellbeing_news/special-report-celebrating-naidoc-week

Chess

It has been a big couple of weeks for Chess at St Xavier's.

On Thursday the 16th of June, 48 students from Years 3-6 competed in the St Xavier's Chess Tournament. It was a great day for students to learn new moves and practise strategy. A big thank you to Mr Heap for running the Swiss tournament and Mr Samson who helped adjudicate.

On Wednesday 29 June, two St Xavier's Chess Teams went to South School to compete in the Primary Schools Chess Competition.

Both teams had a great day coming up against some strong competition.

A big congratulations to St Xavier’s number one team; consisting of

Sean Gander, Jackson Kook, Jack Carter and Brae Hinchcliffe, who came runners up to Coonabarabran Public.

Thank you to Mrs Bec Gander and Mr Ed Heap for supervising the boys for the day.

Real Talk Parent Sessions

Canteen

The canteen still needs helpers on the following days: Tuesdays, Wednesdays, Thursdays and Fridays.

ICAS Assessments

We are delighted to inform you that St Xavier's will be participating in the world-renowned ICAS competitions in August this year (dates to be confirmed). The tests are for students in Years 3- 6.

What is ICAS?

ICAS is an online academic competition that is designed to assess students’ higher order thinking and problem-solving skills in English, Mathematics, Science, Writing, Spelling Bee and Digital Technologies.

Each assessment celebrates students’ accomplishments by providing opportunities for recognition and development. Every student who participates will receive a printed certificate and an online results report. Top performers will be eligible for medals.

We encourage you to consider entering your child into ICAS this year.

Learn more about ICAS here. (https://www.icasassessments.com/products-icas)

How to participate in ICAS

If you wish for your child to participate in ICAS this year, please:

read about ICAS subjects and prices here: (https://www.icasassessments.com/products-icas)

go to Parent Portal here: (https://shop.icasassessments.com/pages/pps)

enter our school’s access code – GAA680

enter your child’s details, select the tests you would like to purchase, then proceed to payment.

School Hats

There has been an increasing number of students coming to school without their school hat. Even though the weather is getting cooler, it is still compulsory for the children to wear a hat for outdoor play.

Also, please have a look at the state of your child's hat, some are looking very scruffy. We take pride in our uniform and the hat is a part of that. New hats can be ordered on Qkr.

School Fees

School fees were due on 9th June. Please contact Jeni Muller in the office if there are any concerns with the payment of your fees.

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