Xavier Catholic School in Hervey Bay, Queensland

Here is an article from the Australian Jesuit publication "Province Express." I was assigned to this school to do the retreat in daily life.

A school with an evangelising mission


18-Jan-2011

It is 8:40am on a Thursday morning and there is silence throughout Xavier Catholic College in Hervey Bay, Queensland. Even the groundskeepers and office staff have stopped what they are doing. Over the school’s PA system, soft music is played while the community takes time out for its weekly examen.

Xavier Catholic College Principal Mr Kerry Swann says the examen is one of many efforts the school has made to give students and staff an understanding of what it is to be Ignatian.

‘I really believe that Ignatian Spirituality speaks better to teenagers, and staff who may not be all that churched’, he says. ‘They respond to the challenge of “Finding God in all things”, the commitment to social justice, and to understanding different cultures.’

Xavier Catholic College was first opened in 2003 with 90 students. The Prep to Year 12 school has now grown to 1150 students, and expects to reach 1350 in the next two years. It is located in Hervey Bay, a coastal city with a booming population of young families looking for a ‘seachange’.

When the school was first being planned, the local parish came up with three possible names. Xavier College was the one approved by the Brisbane Archdiocese.

‘Because this school would have an important evangelising role in the community it was decided that St Francis Xavier would be an appropriate patron’, says Kerry.

Believing strongly that a school with a strong historical story would be more successful at passing on values to students, Kerry decided to find out more about St Francis Xavier’s life. Martin Scroope, from the Loyola Institute, was brought in to work with Kerry and the school’s leadership team.

‘The whole school culture and ethos have been developed around the patron saint’, says Kerry. ‘We’ve really looked to build our culture around Ignatian Spirituality, St Francis Xavier, and of course the Jesuits.’

Along with the weekly examen, the school has sought to bring the Ignatian story to life by naming many of its buildings after historical Jesuit figures like Claver and Arrupe. Each year, the school celebrates Xavier Day on the birthday of their patron, with students undertaking community service activities such as cleaning up the environment or visiting retirement homes.

Another recent initiative has been a new award system called ‘Magis Moments’, recognising students who have gone the extra distance in living out the school’s ethos of ‘competence, conscience, compassion and service’.

‘It’s sending a message that we’re all called to go the extra bit, to do “the more”’, says Kerry.

In 2008, Xavier Catholic College was invited by the Australian Jesuit Province to become a Jesuit Partnered School. A Memorandum of Understanding between the Archdiocese of Brisbane, the Society of Jesus, and the College was signed in 2009.

Kerry says being part of the network of Ignatian schools across Australia has broadened the college community’s horizons.

‘The students feel part of a big story’, he says. ‘For a regional city like Hervey Bay, to be part of a bigger picture outside of our local area is something that really inspires students.’