Beaconsfield Campus – 21 March 2019

Secondary School vaccinations in 2019

The Secondary School Vaccine Program offers free vaccines to Year 7 and 10 students. These vaccines provide protection against:

• Meningococcal A,C,W,Y – one dose for Year 10 students

Parents/guardians of Year 10 students should look out for the vaccine consent card booklet coming home from school with your child. You need to read the information, complete and return the card regardless of whether your child is being vaccinated at school.

The Cardinia Shire Council immunisation service may contact you about the Secondary School Vaccine Program. Schools are authorised to provide basic parent/guardian contact details to local councils for this purpose. Contact the school by 29 March 2019 if you do not want your contact details given to the Cardinia Shire Council immunisation service.

To learn more about the Secondary School Vaccine Program, the vaccines, the diseases they protect against, or how you can prepare your child for vaccination, go to betterhealth.vic.gov.au

Additionally, the Commonwealth government is funding vaccinations for all children under 20 years of age who missed any scheduled vaccines, including a catch up program for Meningococcal ACWY vaccine for adolescents aged 15-19 years of age who have not already received the vaccine in school. If students have missed vaccines, either in childhood or adolescence, and require catch-up vaccines, they should speak with their immunisation provider. (ie. local council or GP).

Cultural Diversity Week 

This week we have celebrated Cultural Diversity Week. We have had a range of activities this week at the Beaconsfield Campus to celebrate our diverse community. We were treated to African Drumming Monday lunchtime where students were part of making some great music!

On Tuesday we had Ron Murray speak to some of our Year 10 and 11 Religious Education classes. Ron is a respected indigenous educator, storyteller, and musician. He shared his knowledge of Indigenous culture with our students.

The staff celebrated with the Learning Enhancement department staff putting on an Around the world morning tea.

Today we celebrate Harmony Day and invited our students to wear cultural dress or a touch of orange. Harmony Day is about celebrating cultural diversity, and at our College cultural diversity is a strength of our community and we are privileged to be in such a community. Harmony Day promotes Australia being a place of inclusiveness, respect and a sense of belonging for everyone. This is something that we at St Francis Xavier College try to embed in our every day. 

House Activities 

A strength of our College is House spirit. There are a range of opportunities that allow our students to represent their House and showcase their talents and commitment. Over the last fortnight our senior students have had the opportunity to represent their House at the House Swimming and House Cross Country carnivals. The success of the carnivals was due to the courage, commitment and energy that all students demonstrated at both events.

We also congratulate all the students who put their hand up to be a part of these events and to Ben Gaze, Campus Sports Coordinator, and all staff that supported these events.

International Women’s Day 2019

Reflection from College Captain Kailee McAuley and College Vice Captain Susmitha Raju

On 8 March we had the amazing opportunity to attend the 2019 International Women’s Day Breakfast with special guest Dianne McGrath, one of the 100 possible candidates to be part of the Mars One Mission.

Dianne shared with us her decision to apply for this one-way mission and her own personal passions and perspectives on life, which can be applied to the every-day lives of everyone.

McGrath’s brave decision was admirably not a decision for personal gain but to help take the next step for humanity. She talked about how the world united to watch the first man on the moon, and how Mars One also had the ability to unite humanity for their next historical achievement.

Interestingly, McGrath stated that the applicants had the option to pull out any time, however she chose to stick by her decision, saying that, I’m not going to say ‘no’ to me, someone else can. She also highlighted how women tend to not apply for jobs or opportunities if they do not meet all the criteria whilst men have a I’ll give it a shot mentality when applying for opportunities, regardless if they meet the criteria or not. McGrath’s words were personally very inspiring. As young students, sometimes it’s easier to let doubt and fear stop us from trying new things such as extracurricular activities or maybe subjects/a particular career pathway. The mindset of not being your own barrier is one that Kailee and I will personally keep with us from now on.

Another inspiring idea McGrath revealed she adopted was to empty the cup, which means to take old ideas out for new ones. McGrath’s passion on sustainability, especially on what humans eat helped explain this idea. She explained how she completed her own personal challenge of eating leftover food from strangers. At first this made us squirm but after comparing how we feel comfortable with sharing food from people we know, it made a bit more sense. This taught us the importance of perspective and emptying the cup filled with negative thoughts such as a belief that one can’t do somethings or achieve their goals.

Kailee and I are very grateful for the opportunity to listen and meet Dianne McGrath. Her courage, determination as well passion to do something that is bigger than all of us is very inspiring and left us feeling as young women, we can do anything and everything.

#balanceforbetter

On 8 March, the Beaconsfield LRC had a display advocating for gender balance and celebrating International Women’s Day. International Women’s Day is a global day celebrating the social, economic, cultural and political achievements of women – while also marking a call to action for accelerating gender balance. Staff were asked to have a photo taken with statements about IWD and gender equality and I am delighted to report many came in to support the cause. The role of the LRC is not only to provide resources for staff and students, but to raise awareness of social and cultural issues and events such as this. We look forward to many more of these kinds of celebrations as the year progresses!

Sue Osborne, Learning Resource Centres Leader

Air4 Future Squad STEM Excursion

On 15 March, two teachers and six students from St Francis Xavier College had the opportunity to experience the Air4 Future Squad event in the city at MSAC, where we were educated and inspired by women in Science, Technology Engineering and Math (STEM) careers. 30 students openly collaborated to come up with reasons why STEM subjects are or are not selected, with the main reasons being that they’re seen as being too difficult or are male dominated areas. We were also able to create idealistic future schools where we included more freedom, animals, hands on learning and a University-like structure.

As a group, we also visited the STEM section at the Grand Prix where we saw installations from Universities such as RMIT, and participated in new STEM activities including VR and the bungee inflatable. Overall, the day was very fun and educational and we were able to make new friends who shared our interest in STEM, as well as meet inspiring role models in STEM. We now have the tools to know about and educate others about the future pathways STEM can open.

Rachel Malley and Mikalah King

Student Achievement

Congratulations to Paige B (Year 10) who has been successful in her application for work experience with Brad Battin. Paige will have the opportunity work closely with Brad and his team researching local issues, attending community events and assisting in writing adjournments that will be presented in parliament. We wish Paige the very best for this opportunity and look forward to hearing from her when she returns