Berwick Campus – 5 December 2019

2019 – What a year!

This year’s theme of We Grow Together provided the perfect platform to highlight the major aspects of our Culture of Excellence approach at Berwick. Our theme of growth has also been witnessed in three distinct ways at the Berwick Campus.

1. Physical – The evolution and refurbishment of a number of classrooms has compliment a more collaborative approach to learning.
2. Cultural – The continued development of our Positive Learning Partnerships program has highlighted a focus on; Unconditional Respect, using a calm and just manner and solving problems together with a positive mindset.
3. Student Achievement – The benefits of our curriculum review in 2018 has been realised through a broader and more flexible program offered to all students. This has been coupled with a deeper commitment to differentiating the curriculum to provide pathways for all.

Congratulations to all students on their efforts this year, thanks to all staff for their professionalism and commitment to assist students achieve their best and finally, thanks to all parents of our school community for your continued support and contributions to our school community throughout the year. Merry Christmas to all and a safe and enjoyable summer break and I look forward to working with everyone again in 2020.

Year 8 City Experience

Year 8 students have recently enjoyed the very first City Experience program last week. Every day for a week, all Year 8 students had the opportunity to travel into the city, mostly by train. Students gathered at the Melbourne Exhibition Centre for a morning briefing before heading off to engage in focused study groups that led to many adventures around the Melbourne CBD to gather information. 

Programs such as this take great organization to coordinate and thanks to Ms Kate Bamford and Ms Hayley Griffin for leading this program which has taken many months of planning. Thanks also to the many staff that contributed during the week travelling in on trains, supervising train stations and assisting groups in the city during the day.

Students enjoyed the program immensely which promotes development in the areas of resilience, collaboration, self-confidence and independence.

Remembrance Day

November 11 is always significantly acknowledged as a school community, and this year at Berwick a special service was conducted at our war memorial space after the morning school service. Our Campus laid a wreath, followed by each Care Group representative laying an individual pine cone as a mark of respect for the many men and women who lost their lives protecting the freedom of our country.

Soccer Marathon

The Berwick Campus annual soccer marathon was held a fortnight ago and involved many students. The concept is that students donate an amount of money to then engage in a series of continuous, round robin games of soccer to help raise funds for the Jesuit Family Services. This is a popular social justice activity which not only raise funds for the needy but also promotes the benefits of physical exercise. Thanks to Ms Gemma Harris and Ms Sharon Kosta who coordinated this fundraiser on behalf of the Synan and Burgess Houses.

Art/Tech Exhibition

Congratulations to the many students that represented our College by having their artwork featured at the SIS Art and Technology exhibition. This exhibition is held annually at the Frankston Arts Centre. It was pleasing to see so many St Francis Xavier students’ work represented like the pieces below by Alana Garrubba (Year 8 McKenna) and Kassidy James (Year 9 Gallagher)

Student News

Congratulations to the following students who have appointed to Berwick Campus – Positions of Leadership in 2020. They will receive their badges at a special assembly next year and we wish them all the best.

Campus Captains: Holly Jans & Tiaan Pereira

Liturgy Captains: Janelle Del Mar & Callum Browning

Justice Captains: Linette Sebastian & Jayden De Kauwe

Sports Captains: Milli Craven & Josh Stewart

Arts Captains: Aaliyah King & Michael Fulgoni

Music Ensembles

On Thursday 21st of November, a group of our Instrumental and Classroom Music teachers across the College, participated in a Professional Development day with Dr Rob McWilliams from Yamaha Music. We discussed and workshopped many ideas in regards to our Instrumental Music program and Year 7 Classroom Music program as well as learning about improved ways to run rehearsals and different rehearsal techniques.

It was a very worthwhile day and we hope we will be able to continue working with Dr Rob over the next few years as we work to improve and increase the numbers in our music program.

One of the ideas which we are going to implement in 2020 is that some of our Music Ensembles across the College will move from lunchtime to before school rehearsals starting at 8.00am. These ensembles include:

If your child is currently involved in the following ensembles, or is interested in joining, more information will be made available at the start of the school year; however we wanted to give our students and their families enough notice so that arrangements can be made if required.

We are looking forward to an exciting year in the Performing Arts in 2020!