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School Reception: Monday-Friday, 8am-4pm
Phone: (03) 8099 6000
Email:info@sfcc.vic.edu.au
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Last week Pope Francis offered the Church’s support for people suffering in Turkey and Syria following a pair of catastrophic earthquakes in south-eastern Turkey.
Countless lives and buildings lie in ruins, including the Cathedral of Iskanderun.
“Now is the time for compassion and for solidarity. We must put aside hatred, wars, and divisions that lead to self-destruction. Let us unite in our sorrow to help those who suffer in Turkey and Syria. May we build peace and fraternity in our world.”
Pope Francis tweeted those words of support on Thursday for the tens of thousands of people whose lives have been lost or upturned.
“With emotion, I pray for them, and express my closeness to these peoples, to the families of the victims and to all those who are suffering from this devastating calamity.”
The Pope thanked those working to bring relief, and encouraged everyone to show solidarity with those territories, “some of which have already been battered by a long war”.
“Let us pray together that these brothers and sisters of ours may move forward in the face of this tragedy and let us ask Our Lady to protect them.
Hail Mary full of Grace, the Lord is with thee.
Blessed are thou amongst women and blessed is the fruit of thy womb Jesus.
Holy Mary Mother of God,
pray for us sinners now and at the hour of our death
Amen.”
New Child Safe Standards were introduced in Victoria on 1 July 2022.
Establishing a culturally safe environment takes time, dedication and meaningful engagement.
As a College we are committed to consistent review and meaningful actions to ensure the standards are enacted.
Standard 1 requires organisations establish a culturally safe environment in which the diverse and unique identities and experiences of Aboriginal children and young people are respected and valued.
The College has again appointed Daniela Harrington as Project Officer – Indigenous students. This role ensures that the needs of our Indigenous students and their families are heard and acted upon.
Standard 1 requires that:
“1.3 Measures are adopted by the organisation to ensure racism within the organisation is identified, confronted and not tolerated. Any instances of racism are addressed with appropriate consequences.”
Throughout 2022, Food Studies teacher Joanne Tissera and I met regularly over lunch with a broad group of students to develop our Inclusion Policy.
The process required unpacking with students how a policy is structured, what it would contain and how to ensure our community knows about it.
Students received input on the draft policy from staff and our Parents and Friends Association and it is now ready to launch with our students.
The Inclusion Group is preparing to present the policy to students and developing ways to explain the importance of tolerance and inclusion of everyone at our College.
The development of our Inclusion Policy and appointment of our Project Officer are just two examples of measures the College is implementing to ensure that all students in our care are protected so that they may flourish in all their endeavours.
Schools are no longer asked to report positive COVID-19 cases centrally to their diocesan education office.
The College is not required to alert our school communities of positive cases.
However, the Department of Health recommends that a person who tests positive for COVID-19 should inform those with whom they have recently been in contact, including their workplace, school and household.
Students should remain at home until symptoms are no longer present.
| Dates to remember | |
| Wednesday 15 February | Year 12 Information Night |
| Thursday 16 February | Opening School Mass - All Melton Campus students. This is a formal occasion - all students must wear their academic uniform. Due to expected hot weather, the blazer is not required. The tie is encouraged but not compulsory. |
| Tuesday 21 February | Year 9 Gadal Information Evening |
Wednesday 22 February | Parents and Friends Meeting |
| Thursday 9 March | Swimming and Multisport Carnival - All Melton Campus Year 7, 8 and 12 students must attend the Swimming Carnival. |
| Dates to remember | |
| Wednesday 15 February | School Photo Day - Students must wear their academic uniform to school, including the tie and blazer. |
| Thursday 16 February | Opening School Mass in Sheehan Stadium at Melton Campus. Students must wear their academic uniform to school. Due to the expected hot weather, the blazer is not required. The tie is encouraged but not compulsory. |
| Cobblebank Campus Family Welcome Night - Click here to RSVP | |
Wednesday 22 February | Parents and Friends Meeting - Click hereto read more |
| Thursday 9 March | College Swimming Carnival |
Families are welcome and encouraged to become involved in the College community through the Parents and Friends Association.
The Association provides an opportunity to meet other families, hear about what is going on at the College and have a say in new initiatives. Each meeting includes a short presentation from a College staff member.
Our first meeting for 2023 will be held on Wednesday 22 February from 7pm at the Melton Campus.
All formal positions will be open and appointed on the night.
To express interest in joining the meeting, please email arowley@sfcc.vic.edu.au.
Over the Christmas break, all PAM accounts were reset.
All PAM accounts must be reactivated to enable your child to attend excursions, camps or school activities throughout the year.
If you have not already done so, please follow the instructions below or refer to the attachment below for a more detailed guide to reactivating your account.
Click on this link - pam.sfcc.vic.edu.au
Click on Forgot Password
Enter the email address that you used to set up your PAM account originally. Click Send Link.
Open your email inbox and select the email from noreply@sfcc.vic.edu.au. Click on the link in the email which will take you back to PAM and prompt you to reset your password.
Once your password is reset, login to PAM.
You will be prompted to update your child’s medical information.
Please review your child’s medical information and add new information if necessary. If there are no changes just press Save.
When you have completed these steps, your PAM account will have been reactivated and you will now be able to receive and respond to activity permissions sent from the College.
Please contact our IT Support Team via email at itsupport@sfcc.vic.edu.au if you have any problems reactivating your PAM account.
Last Wednesday and Thursday evening, we held our inaugural Melton Campus House Welcome Evenings.
Students from Anthony, Bakhita, Bernard and Catherine houses and their families joined us on the first evening followed by Dominic, Glowrey, Lawrence and MacKillop families on Thursday evening.
We were blessed with perfect weather on both nights, with families making the most of the opportunity to talk and enjoy a barbecue before the formalities began.
The evening consisted of a meet and greet House Leaders and an information session with Mentors (formerly homeroom teachers). The feedback from each session was overwhelmingly positive – parents and guardians were pleased to begin building a relationship with their child’s mentor and spoke highly of the new wellbeing initiatives at the College.
This highlights the importance of working in partnership with our families, ensuring a shared approach for the education of our young people.
Throughout the year, students and staff in each House will celebrate with a Mass on their respective feast days.
Melton Campus students in Bakhita attended their House Mass at St Catherine of Siena Church last Wednesday 8 February.
It is wonderful to see how the students have begun to develop a sense of belonging to their House, which will continue to grow throughout 2023 and beyond.
Students have adapted well to the new Yondr pouch system for their mobile phones.
A reminder that as they enter the College grounds, students should ensure they have placed their mobile phone in their pouch. They are not permitted to have their phone on them during school time. Additionally, bluetooth headphones also need to remain locked in lockers.
If your child is caught with their mobile phone during the school day it will be confiscated and you will receive an email from the College. If they are aught a second time, meeting with the student's parent or guardian will be organised.
Freshly cooked pancakes will be served outside the staffroom for $1 each from 8.20am next Tuesday morning for Melton Campus students and from 8.15am in B Block for Cobblebank students as part of the Faith and Mission team's fundraiser for Caritas’ Project Compassion.
The team is still collecting donations of pancake mix for the Shrove Tuesday event. Please drop them off at the front office.
Our Year 10 Premier League teams showed great mateship during their first round games this week and notched up four wins across various sports.
Both boys’ basketball teams had a great win this week at Cobblebank stadium playing CRC Caroline Springs. Our boys showed amazing teamwork throughout the day.
Our girls’ basketball team also demonstrated teamwork on and off the court. They had a fantastic win and we hope to see their skills develop and grow through the season.
Despite their losses this week, the volleyball teams showed great team spirit and will be working on their skills and gameplay ahead of this week’s games.
Our girls’ netball team started the season in fine form scoring a win against CRC Caroline Springs. The girls worked well together on the court in a hard-fought game.
Our boys’ soccer team received compliments from the umpires about their great skill and their ability to have fun and keep trying through the game. As hard as these boys worked it didn’t end up in their favour but they hope to make a big comeback in the next round.
Our senior girls’ netball and senior boys’ cricket teams opened the SACCSS competition for 2023 playing against Salesian College.
Despite their best efforts and obvious skill, the netball team could not defeat Salesian. We congratulate their girls on their determination and team play.
The cricket team also lost to Salesian but the boys tried very hard and didn’t let the score discourage them. Salesian came out batting, getting a head start on the scoreboard.
Both teams are determined to work on their skills and do their best in the weeks ahead.
St Francis Catholic College will celebrate Diversity Week and Harmony Day next month. The week is about inclusiveness, respect and belonging for all Australians, regardless of cultural or linguistic backgrounds.
The Diversity Week - Harmony Day Team is looking for expressions of interest from parents and guardians who would like enrich our College community by sharing games, dance, crafts or food from their culture.
Please email me, tgriffin@sfcc.vic.edu.au by Monday 27 February if you would like to be part of the week.
On Harmony Day (Tuesday 21 March), students can wear their cultural dress or the colour orange to school. Our school assembly on this day will also feature a guest speaker.
Students in Years 9 to 12 who would like to volunteer for this year's Melton Central Kids Reading Club every Wednesday after school can email me tgriffin@sfcc.vic.edu.au to express their interest.
The program involves listening to primary school children read and enjoy literacy activities at the Melton Central Community Centre. Students are transported to the centre after school and the program runs from 3.30pm to 5pm.
The Reading Club is facilitated by the St Vincent de Paul Society and The Vinnies Education team, who aim to help a range of students from various backgrounds, cultures and with differing learning needs improve their social, emotional, and academic outcomes while having fun.
St Francis Catholic College has teamed up with Catholic Regional College St Albans in a wellbeing initiative for families who would like to donate their child’s pre-loved CRC uniform.
Blazers, school pants, kilts, shorts or dress donations are welcome to the College office.
Keep up to date with College events, procedures, resources and information via the links below.
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