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Phone: (03) 8099 6000
Email:info@sfcc.vic.edu.au
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This week, we celebrate the Feast of St Clare of Assisi, the founder of the order now referred to as the Poor Clares, a second order of the Franciscan family.
St Clare had come from a wealthy family, was well educated and admired for her beauty and graciousness.
At a young age, Clare developed a deep spirituality and was drawn to the teachings and lifestyle of St Francis. She met with him on several occasions until finally, in the middle of the night following Palm Sunday, she left her parents’ home and found her way to Francis and the brothers.
It was here that she became acquainted with a lifestyle that blended work and prayer, and over a 42-year period, lived out her vows of poverty and obedience to God.
Clare slept on a straw mattress, fasted three times a week, never ate meat and spent a lot of time praying. She was known for her compassion and wisdom, and despite being chronically ill herself, healed others of sickness and depression by signing them with the cross.
As we reflect on Clare’s commitment to God and her community, we are inspired to consider the following in our own lives:
All families with students currently in Grade 5 are reminded that applications for Year 7 2027 are due this coming Friday 15 August 2025.
The College is blessed to have so many enrolment requests, which is a testament to the focus on wellbeing and teaching and learning that occurs.
Families with current students at the College still need to submit an enrolment form to secure a place.
Your prompt attention to this looming deadline is much appreciated.
Click here to enrol now.
At St Francis Catholic College, we are committed to the wellbeing, learning, and the success of every student. A key part of that success starts with something simple but essential: being at school every day.
While it may seem that an occasional day off won’t make a difference, the reality is that every day missed is a day of learning lost. Regular attendance helps students to build strong relationships, stay engaged in their learning, and form good habits for life beyond school.
Here’s why every day counts:
We understand that illness and unforeseen circumstances do occur. However, we encourage families to prioritise attendance whenever possible and to reach out to the College if your child is experiencing barriers to attending school regularly. Our pastoral care and wellbeing teams are here to help.
Students who do not attend school during the February and August census cannot be counted in the official enrolment numbers. This in turn impacts State and Federal funding to the College.
Let’s work together to give every student the best chance to thrive. Because at St Francis, every day really does count.
| Dates to remember | |
| Wednesday 13 August | MacKillop House Mass |
| Tuesday 19 August | Write a Book in a Day event |
| Thursday 21 August | Winter Sleepout |
| Friday 22 August | Student Study at Home Day - Staff Professional Learning Day |
| Wednesday 27 August | Bernard House Mass |
| Friday 29 August | Class of 2015 Reunion |
| Dates to remember | |
| Wednesday 13 August | MacKillop House Mass |
| Tuesday 19 August | Write a Book in a Day event |
| Thursday 21 August | Winter Sleepout |
| Friday 22 August | Student Study at Home Day - Staff Professional Learning Day |
| Wednesday 27 August | Bernard House Mass |
| Friday 29 August | Class of 2015 Reunion |
NAPLAN individual student reports have been sent home for all Year 7 and Year 9 students.
At St Francis Catholic College, we understand that NAPLAN is just one measure, taken at a single point in time, and may not fully reflect the achievements of our students.
However, as the Centre for Independent Studies asserts, NAPLAN is "a crucial national assessment" that provides transparent achievement data, helping schools and parents see how students are progressing against national benchmarks.
Our learning and teaching team leaders have begun analysing the NAPLAN data to identify opportunities for future improvement and to support student learning.
Our students performed well across all four assessed areas: Reading, Writing, Language Conventions (spelling, grammar, and punctuation), and Numeracy. We have seen improvements in students moving from Year 7 to Year 9 as shown by the NAPLAN data from 2023 to 2025.
Ongoing initiatives such as mini whiteboards for active learning, targeted literacy support, and maths problem-solving strategies will continue in 2025–2026. We encourage parents to review their child’s individual NAPLAN report and discuss their progress with teachers during Parent Student Teacher Interviews later this term.
Congratulations to our Languages Team on an exceptional Italian Week program.
From the vibrant Italian music performances and engaging soccer clinics to the diverse range of cultural activities and educational excursions, every element contributed to an immersive and enriching experience.
It was wonderful to witness our students and staff fully embrace Italian culture with such enthusiasm and appreciation. You can read more and see photos from the week here.
Thank you to Year 12 families and students who attended our VTAC information session last week.
The session provided comprehensive insights that will greatly benefit both students, parents and guardians as they navigate the tertiary education pathway.
Thank you to our Pathways Team for their expertise and commitment to helping our students make informed decisions about future educational opportunities.
We were delighted with the response to our Cobblebank Campus Cricket Academy Information Session held last Thursday evening.
The session covered:
The presentation also outlined the holistic approach the academy takes, balancing skill development with educational outcomes to ensure students receive maximum benefit from this specialised program.
Thank you to all families who attended and showed their support for this valuable educational opportunity.
Alfred Road will be temporarily closed between Buckingham Boulevard and Mount Cottrell Road, from Monday 18 August 2025 until Friday 5 December 2025
Developers will be upgrading this section of Alfred Road to urban standard as required by planning permit. Melton Council has advised that the road cannot be open to traffic while construction is being completed.
The project will significantly improve road safety and enhance the overall condition of Alfred Road.
Melton City Council has worked with developers to limit the length of the road closure and work crews will be working Monday to Saturday.
Works have been scheduled to avoid future closures of Ferris Road, which are expected later this year as part of the project to remove the level crossing.
Detours
Residents on Alfred Road and nearby estates can access their home via Ferris Road and Alfred Road. Residents in these areas who need to travel to Thornhill Park will need to detour via the Western Hwy or Exford Road.
Residents in Thornhill Park who are travelling to or from Cobblebank will need to detour via the Western Hwy or Exford Road.
Detours may add to your travel time, so please plan ahead. See the detour map below.
Join us for drinks and canapes to celebrate the 10th anniversary of CRC Melton's Year 12 Class of 2015 on Friday 29 August from 6.30pm in the Performing Arts Centre foyer at our Melton Campus.
Reminisce, reconnect with friends and staff and find out more about what has happened at the College in the past decade.
To attend the Class of 2015 reunion, please RSVP by emailing me at arowley@sfcc.vic.edu.au
The Student Wellbeing Hub funded by the Australian Government Department of Education is an online resource designed to help parents and guardians support their child’s social, emotional, and mental wellbeing.
The site offers practical advice and information on a range of topics, including online safety, managing friendships, building resilience, and promoting respectful relationships.
ReachOut is a free online resource supporting parents and guardians of young people aged 12 to 18. It offers expert advice, real-life parenting stories, and tips on how to communicate with teens, support their mental health, and handle issues like stress, friendships, or school pressure. The site also includes access to professional one-on-one support.
Together, we can help young people thrive at school and beyond.
Almost 100 students have signed up to take part in our annual and biggest ever Write a Book in Day event next Tuesday 19 August.
Teams will work from 8am until 8pm to plan, write, edit, illustrate and publish a book that will be available in a digital library and distributed to children undergoing medical treatment in hospitals across Australia.
The annual competition promotes literacy, collaboration and creativity and is run by The Kids’ Cancer Project
Each team has also been given the added challenge of meeting a fundraising target of $240 through sponsorship to support childhood cancer research.
You can support them by making a donation using the links below. Fundraising will remain open until 30 September.
In past years, our students have been incredibly successful in their fundraising efforts, contributing thousands of dollars to this important cause. We’re hoping to match (or surpass!) those totals this year.
Last year, one of our teams won the National Prize for Illustrations in the Middle School division - an incredible achievement! We’re excited to see if we can build on that success in 2025.
Cobblebank 1: Aish Aravinthan, Akul Choudhary, Ishaan Dhamodharan, Sean Jay Masaquel, Sienna Petersen, Ruchika Prakash
Cobblebank 2: Adhib Cholakkal, Heran Gebretsadik, Harshpreet Gill, Juliana Juan, Akanksha Prakash, Nimar Sandhu, Ayush Sehgal, Arvin Singh, Reinard Tolentino
Cobblebank 3: Allayna Batta, Mamie Lukullay, Wiraaj Sharma, Adele Van Schalkwyk, Achraj Virk, Emily Wilcox
Melton 1: Bernice Acabel, Shreeya Prasad, Jessica Sultana, Kayla Hart, Chloe Mosqueda, Anna Thompson
Melton 2: Phoenix Boon, Renee Furtado, Keisha Naidu, Jade Harrison, Joey Dunne, Alisha Day, Ronin Sutton
Melton 3: Paige Cauchi, Nikita Hassal, Elizabeth Wall, Gemma Dunne, Chloe Murray
Melton 4: Olivia Cunningham, Mikayla Jaeder, Hayden Hausfeld, Lily Kensington, Scarlett Thompson, Bawi Haunung
Melton 5: Krisha Devi, Edie Todd, Arlia Fearon, Maddy Whelan, Abbey Honig
Melton 6: Ollie Emin, Alanis Furtado, Addison McKellar, Troy Gilbert, Retisha Hossain, Raphael Guillaumier, Venice Bullen
Melton 7: Georgia Bregmen, Ava John, Astrid Lanigan, Lynda Kucan, Abby McNair, Abuk Ngong, Hasica Srikumar, Gracy Singh
Melton 8: Kiley Del Mar, Romi Hossni, Mariann Joseph, Youssef Kolta, Gabrielle Pilipil, Shelby Vallence
Next week we celebrate Book Week at the College and the library team has a wonderful program of activities planned.
We’ll also be announcing the winners of our College Writing Competition.
Yesterday’s school assembly was filled with energy, passion, and a whole lot of music as our talented ensembles from both Melton and Cobblebank campuses took to the stage.
Performing songs they had been perfecting at this year’s Ensemble Camp, students demonstrated just how much their hard work and dedication have paid off.
The audience was treated to an inspiring program, featuring the:
Each performance reflected the students’ growing skills, commitment to rehearsals and love for music. A credit to themselves and to the dedicated staff who mentor and encourage them.
The performances were a powerful reminder of how music can bring people together and make the educational journey truly memorable.
Congratulations to all our young musicians – your talent continues to grow, and we can’t wait to see what you achieve next!
Calling all student singers, dancers, actors, musicians, and backstage crew! Our 2026 school production of MAMMA MIA! is here, and we want YOU to be part of it.
Auditions are in Week 7 (week beginning 1 September). Full details and a sign-up form is now on Simon Daily Messages.
Don’t miss your chance to perform ABBA’s greatest hits and make unforgettable memories!
Our VCE Unit 2 Food Studies students have been investigating key Victorian food industries, with a focus on horticultural growing regions, food miles, sustainability, and local manufacturing.
As part of this, students explored the impact of food miles by taste testing a variety of apples sold in supermarkets like Coles and comparing them to locally grown, organic apples from Bacchus Marsh.
They sampled a range of honeys, including a whipped honey that is packed, labelled, and distributed in Bendigo and sold at local farmers markets.
The standout favourite was the raw organic Mt Stirling honey, with students noting its zesty flavour and its lower environmental impact.
Technology Domain Leader
SFCC Feast Day is fast approaching, and Melton Campus students can pre-order their food tickets at a stall outside the library during the first half of Big Break each school day from now until Friday 29 August.
All tickets are $1 each and can be purchased via cash or EFTPOS.
Please refer to the list below for how many tickets students will need for each food item on the day.
| Food Item | Tickets needed |
| Cinnamon doughnuts | 1 doughnut = 1 ticket |
| Fairy floss | 1 fairy floss stick = 1 ticket |
| Chip/crips packets | 1 packet = 1 ticket |
| Mini biscuits packs (Oreos & Tiny Teddies) | 1 pack = 1 ticket |
| Soft drinks | 1 can = 1 ticket |
| Pancakes | 1 pancake = 1 ticket |
| Zooper Doopers | 1 Zooper Dooper = 1 ticket |
| Frog in the pond (jelly & Freddo) | 1 serve = 2 tickets |
| Lolly bags | 1 bag = 2 tickets |
| Hot chocolate | 1 cup = 2 tickets |
| Smoothies (Smoothie Bike activity) | 1 cup = 3 tickets |
| Pizza (2 slices) Flavours: BBQ chicken, Margherita, Vegetarian and Hawaiian. | 2 slices = 5 tickets |
Students should be mindful of how many tickets they buy, as they are non-refundable.
They will receive their pre-ordered tickets during morning Mentor Group on Feast Day.
Students will receive a free sausage on bread from our campus sausage sizzle on the day.
Cobblebank Campus students can also buy coupons for food stalls run by staff on Feast Day.
They can order their coupons from the stall set up at the front entrance near the campus reception during the first 10 minutes of Big Break tomorrow, Wednesday 13 August and Friday 15 August.
Students should check Simon Daily Messages for further dates.
Coupons
Pink = $1, Blue = $2, Green = $5
Food prices
Popcorn = $1 per bag
Fairy floss = $1 per stick
Baked goods = $1 per item
Pizza = $2 per slice
Hot chips = $2 per cup
Soft drink can = $2 per can (after the first free can)
Students will receive their pre-ordered coupons during morning Mentor Group on Feast Day.
All students will receive a free can of drink and a beef or chicken sausage or veggie patty in bread from our campus sausage sizzle on the day.
On the day, there will also be external companies selling ice cream and crepes (Crepes for Change). Students will need cash on the day to buy items from these food vans.
Last week we celebrated Italian Week with fun activities for all year levels.
The Year 7 students enjoyed watching an Italian magician’s show. Card tricks and surprising appearances and disappearances kept students thoroughly entertained.
A soccer clinic with Avondale FC senior player, Joey Katebian, was also offered to junior students to acknowledge one of the most popular sports in Italy.
Students participated in various drills to improve their control, dribbling and passing skills and finished up with a practice match to tie it all together.
Thank you to Joey for running the clinics and to all our students who attended.
Other lunchtime activities included an Italian karaoke for our senior students, Italian card games, and movie time.
Our Italian VET students attended an excursion to Carlton’s Lygon Street, the “Little Italy” of Melbourne. They learned about Italian migration in Victoria at the Italian Museum on Faraday Street and then took a tour of one of Melbourne’s most iconic cafes, Brunetti Classico.
The students learned about the inspiring journey of Brunetti Classico’s founder Giorgio and his arrival in Australia, the rich history of Brunetti Classico, and the cultural traditions that connect their service to classic Italian hospitality.
They toured the entire venue, getting a behind-the-scenes look at their pastry production, kitchen, gelato and their operational and service areas, before enjoying a pizza lunch.
As food is a big part of Italian tradition, our school canteen organised a special menu for Italian week, including cannoli, gelati and croquettes.
Thank you to all the Italian teachers, our sport coordinators and everyone who made this week special for our students.
In June, all students studying Italian for a full year in Year 9 participated in a poetry recitation competition, organised by the Dante Alighieri Society Melbourne, which promotes Italian culture and language.
The students attended an excursion to the University of Melbourne, where they recited a poem in Italian before a judge.
We congratulate the following students who received a Certificate of High Distinction (Certificato di Pregio): Cameron Roberts-Formosa (Cobblebank Campus) and Maddison Whelan (Melton Campus).
Last Wednesday, Dominic House students from Melton and Cobblebank campuses came together to celebrate a special Mass in honour of our house patron, St Dominic.
It was a powerful reminder of our shared values and faith across campuses.
One of the most moving moments was the deep reverence shown by all, especially when both campuses knelt together before Communion.
The unity and respect displayed throughout the Mass truly reflected the spirit of Dominic House.
Whilst on Year 8 camp in Anglesea, all students had the opportunity to listen to Mark Smith speak about his best-selling Australian novel The Road to Winter.
All Year 8 students at both campuses are studying the novel this term.
Mark was a fantastic speaker, telling students that up until the age of 15, he had never read a novel and had his heart set on becoming a builder. He was from a family of 10 children and to avoid the chaos, spent most of his time outside surfing, rabbiting and riding his bike.
He has transferred these experiences to the main character in his novel, Finn.
It wasn’t until Mark suffered a catastrophic horse riding accident, nearly losing his life at 15, that his career trajectory changed.
He spent months in a coma and further months not allowed to move, even roll over, in bed. This was when he started to read, and his life changed.
With no television, internet or phones, he filled his time reading - first small Australian novels like Storm Boy, then large fantasy series such as Lord of the Rings - anything to help him escape the four walls of his room.
Mark returned to school with a new outlook and went on to pass VCE and become an English teacher for a few years.
During this time, he noticed that most of the novels students read in class they could not relate to because they were largely American.
He decided to write an Australian novel for English classrooms, and now, after several years in the making, The Road to Winter is a series of three books.
Mark was kind enough to take questions from the students and awarded the second novel in the series to the student with the most interesting question.
He was also very willing to sign copies of his book. Many students were very excited to have a signed copy of their class text.
Our VCE VM students have been doing a fantastic job in our Melton Campus vegetable garden, successfully growing a wide range of lettuce, herbs and other veggies.
The produce is picked and used by our students in the College kitchens during Food Studies classes.
You can’t get much fresher than that!
| Team | Result | SFCC Ladder position |
| Senior Boys Football | St Monica’s College 4 d MEL 0 | 6 |
| Senior Girls Football | MacKillop College 3 d MEL 1 | 4 |
| Team | Result | SFCC Ladder position |
| Senior Boys Basketball | MEL 55 d Kolbe Catholic College 50 | 2 |
| Senior Girls Basketball | MEL 43 d Marymede Catholic College SM 11 | 1 |
| Team | Result | SFCC Ladder position |
| AFL Division 2 | BYE | 2 |
| Netball Division 2 | SFCC 41 d CRC St Albans 3 | 3 |
| Boys Volleyball Division 1 | Marymede Catholic College SM 3 sets d SFCC 0 sets | 7 |
| Girls Volleyball Division 1 | SFCC 3 sets d Marymede Catholic College SM 0 sets | 3 |
| Boys Basketball Division 2 | SFCC 80 d CRC St Albans 45 | 1 |
| Girls Basketball Division 2 | SFCC 115 d CRC St Albans 4 | 3 |
| Boys Football Division 2 | CRC St Albans 8 d SFCC 0 | 7 |
| Team | Result | SFCC Ladder position |
| AFL Division 2 | Thomas Carr College 60 d SFCC 0 | 6 |
| Netball Division 2 | Thomas Carr College 40 d SFCC 9 | 6 |
| Boys Volleyball Division 2 | SFCC 3 sets d Thomas Carr College 0 sets | 1 |
| Girls Volleyball Division 2 | SFCC 3 sets d Thomas Carr College 0 sets | 1 |
| Boys Basketball Division 2 | Thomas Carr College 48 d SFCC 23 | 3 |
| Girls Basketball Division 2 | Thomas Carr College 58 d SFCC 12 | 6 |
| Boys Football Division 2 | MacKillop College 5 d SFCC 1 | 6 |
| Girls Football Division 2 | MacKillop College 4 d SFCC 0 | 4 |
Last week, our Learning and Teaching Team attended a Secondary School Improvement Network (SSIN) workshop hosted by Melbourne Archdiocese Catholic Schools (MACS).
Our Principal Marlene Jorgensen and staff joined leaders from other MACS schools to explore strategies for enhancing teaching and learning.
The workshop focused on key priorities from the MACS Vision for Instruction, including cognitive science principles, explicit instruction, professional development, and leadership in teaching. Our staff took part in discussions on staff learning, educational theory, innovative classroom practices, and shared successes and challenges.
One highlight was the positive feedback on our mini whiteboards initiative, launched last semester to boost student engagement. With more sets arriving soon at both our Melton and Cobblebank campuses, teachers are encouraged to incorporate them into lessons, with support available as needed.
The team also began planning the 2026 professional development cycle, including feedback surveys and new monitoring tools. We remain committed to ongoing improvement and ensuring the best learning outcomes for all students.
Ubuntu Youth Wellbeing Program Outline 2025
Keep updated with College events, procedures, resources and information via the links below.
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