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School Reception Monday-Thursday 8am-4.30pm, Friday 8am-4pm
Phone: (03) 8099 6000
Email:info@sfcc.vic.edu.au
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In Evangelii Gaudium Pope Francis stated: “An authentic faith – which is never comfortable or completely personal – always involves a deep desire to change the world, to transmit values, to leave this earth somehow better that we found it. The earth is our common home and all of us are brothers and sisters.”
Pope Francis also quoted, with approval, Pope Benedict, who wrote in his encyclical Deus Caritas Est that “the just ordering of society and of the state is a central responsibility of politics”, and that the Church “cannot and must not remain on the sidelines in the fight for justice”.
The recent Australian Plenary Council endorsed the Uluru Statement from the Heart and encouraged “engagement with processes for implementing the statement, including local, regional, and national truth-telling efforts”.
In his recent article in the Catholic Weekly, Australian Jesuit priest, human rights lawyer and academic Fr Frank Brennan suggests ten steps as to how Catholics inspired by Catholic social teaching should approach the referendum later this year. A selection are below:
Be attentive to the voices of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people. Stop telling them what is good for them. Start listening to them. Accept that they know what is good for them, just as we know what is good for us and our loved ones.
Don’t expect all Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people to agree about legal, political and constitutional questions. It’s called living in a democracy.
Having heard a range of Indigenous voices, make your own decisions about what Aboriginal aspirations are morally justified. What would be right and proper for Australia in the 21st century?
Know your history; know the Aboriginal history. The Australian Constitution does not even mention Aborigines or Torres Strait Islanders. They belong in the Constitution.
Fr Brennan finishes by quoting Noel Pearson’s chilling observation about his own people: “We are a much-unloved people. We are perhaps the ethnic group Australians feel least connected to. We are not popular and we are not personally known to many Australians. Few have met us and a small minority count us as friends”.
(Reference: Fr Frank Brennan SJ An Indigenous Voice to Parliament: Considering a constitutional bridge, Garratt Publishing, 2023.)
May we pray for guidance as we prepare to vote on the referendum question about the Indigenous Voice to Parliament.
Congratulations to the following students selected to attend World Youth Day in Portugal in August this year: Abouk Nagur, Thinh Nguyen, Deng Piyein, Kevin De Guzman and Anna Aguirre.
We are very proud of these faith-filled young adults who will represent St Francis Catholic College at the World Youth Day events. We wish them well and look forward to hearing about their experiences.
Last Friday evening, we welcomed back to the College our Year 12 cohort of 2012 - our first students to complete their VCE at CRC Melton.
Students returned for a tour and to catch up with past teachers and peers. It was a lovely evening filled with cherished memories, funny anecdotes, and surprise at how much the College has grown and changed.
Those who returned shared their experiences over the past ten years and spoke fondly of their time at the College.
Our next ten-year reunion for the Year 12 cohort of 2013 will be held later in the year. Please pass this on to anyone who may be interested.
| Dates to remember | |
| Thursday 6 April | Final day of Term 1 - students dismissed at 2.45pm |
| Monday 24 April | Term 2 begins |
| Tuesday 25 April | ANZAC Day public holiday |
| Wednesday 26 April | Parent Student Teacher Interviews |
| Tuesday 2 May | Parent Student Teacher Interviews |
| Dates to remember | |
| Thursday 6 April | Final day of Term 1 - students dismissed at 3.15pm |
| Monday 24 April | Term 2 begins |
| Tuesday 25 April | ANZAC Day public holiday |
| Wednesday 26 April | Parent Student Teacher Interviews |
| Tuesday 2 May | Parent Student Teacher Interviews |
We had our first session for whole school photos today. The link for purchasing your child’s photo will be given out during morning mentor time this week.
Next Monday 3 April we have our photo session for VCE-VM students.
Our family and catch-up photos will be taken on Wednesday 5 April. A link to book family photos will be emailed to parents and guardians.
Our Year 7 and 9 students successfully completed NAPLAN testing last week and are to be commended on their behaviour entering the testing areas and their commitment to completing the program.
The testing sessions were successful thanks to the quick-thinking and trouble-shooting by our Middle School Curriculum Leader Loretta Kalms and Cobblebank Curriculum Coach Mollie Daphne, our Year 9 Gadal Director Emmanuel Desfosses and Learning Diversity Leader Grant Buckler.
Teachers are currently finalising assessment tasks in preparation for mid-semester reports which will be completed by 3 April.
A reminder that Parent Student Teacher Interviews (PSTIs) will be held at the College on Wednesday 26 April from 4pm to 8.30pm and Tuesday 2 May from 4pm to 7.30pm.
Bookings will open via PAM next week and interpreters will be provided by the College for parents and guardians who require them.
After three years of online PSTIs, this is a great opportunity to connect with your child’s teachers, reflect on their progress and achievements and consider ‘where to next’ through face-to-face conversations.
Yesterday, our Year 11 and 12 students were presented with strategies to support their mental health when the team from Batyr visited the College.
Batyr empower young people to take charge of their mental health and aim to prevent students reaching a crisis point in their lives. They help them develop strategies to cope with the demands placed on them in and out of school.
Our Year 11 students focused on where pressure comes from and strategies to cope with it, while Year 12 students considered change and the skills required beyond secondary school.
Our Year 9 and 10 students will attend the Pat Cronin – One Punch Presentation tomorrow, which looks at the consequences of their choices and their impact on others.
Incursions such as these enable students to develop skills and resources to take with them throughout their lives. We know our young people will take risks and make choices. Armed with knowledge, a deep understanding of the consequences of different actions, and an awareness of likely outcomes, they can shape their behaviour and make informed decisions.
By having these conversations at school, we hope the shared experience gives students the encouragement they need to reach out to their teachers for support, where previously they may not have felt they could.
Last week Martin Heppell from The Resilience Project hosted the Authentic Connection parent and guardian online presentation.
If you could not attend, you can watch a recording of the presentation. Please note that the link will expire on 8 April.
If you attended the webinar or watched the recording, The Resilience Project would appreciate your feedback via their online survey (link below). It only takes a few minutes and helps the team further develop their programs.
What a fabulous week we had celebrating Diversity Week and Harmony Day at St Francis Catholic College this year.
All staff and students had the opportunity to participate in activities, including arts, crafts, and sports, and our canteen served different cuisines each day.
Two of the highlights for the Diversity Team were Harmony Day and Ks for Caritas (Melton Campus).
On Harmony Day, many students and staff proudly wore their cultural dress or something orange to show their support for the cultural diversity represented at the College.
At our College assembly, students proudly paraded through the stadium in their cultural dress, listened to Nyingot Reech share her story of determination and watched students perform cultural dances from Korea, India, Congolese, and Pasifika regions under the guidance of our Pasifika Engagement Project Officer Kimiora Joyce. This was another assembly to remember for all those involved.
Click here to view all our Harmony Day photos.
To finish off our perfect week and despite the wet weather, we held the annual Ks for Caritas event.
Working in house teams, students and staff carried a 5kg bag of rice or a 10-litre bucket of water across the oval. Teams supported each other and there was plenty of friendly competition to see who could walk the most laps during lunchtime.
Our Ks for Caritas event aims to raise awareness of the many kilometres those less fortunate than us in other countries walk each day to access fresh water, food, and education - some of the many things we take for granted.
Given that in some countries people walk 7-10km a day for clean water, you will see from the tally below that together our staff and students walked for the equivalent of almost four days worth of water.
| Ks for Caritas | |
| 1. Bernard - 6.59km | 5. Lawrence - 4.69km |
| 2. Bakhita - 6.12km | 6. Glowrey - 3.47km |
| 3. Anthony - 5.5km | 7. MacKillop - 3.12 km |
| 4. Dominic - 5.24 km | 8. Catherine - 2.5km |
| Total: 37.23km |
Last Thursday our Guitar Ensemble held their first lunchtime rehearsal for 2023.
The ensemble welcomed previous members and some new students from Melton and Cobblebank campuses.
After enjoying a pizza lunch and catching up, the group began learning Swallowtail Jig and it's sounding great so far! The guitarists are looking forward to performing for students and families later in the year.
On Monday 20 March, our Senior Boys’ Volleyball team won their first game for the season, playing against CRC Sydenham.
The boys showed great passion for the game and won in straight sets, captained by Year 12 student Jai Rowley. They play Emmanuel College this week.
Last Wednesday, the Senior Girls’ Volleyball team travelled to Greenvale to play Kolbe Catholic College in their first-round match. Unfortunately, the girls were defeated in the fourth set, losing it by four points. Despite this, the girls did not give up during what was an intense game and will be looking to bring home a win against Emmanuel College this week.
Some of our Year 10 Premier League teams played against St Monica’s College at La Trobe University in Bundoora last week, hoping to make semi-finals.
Unfortunately, the boys’ and girls’ basketball teams were defeated. The girls’ team only had four players and although they were determined to go in and try their hardest, it wasn’t enough to secure them a place in the finals.
Our boys’ A and B teams merged last week as students were away, making play difficult. They did their best but couldn’t make the semi-finals.
Our Girl’s Netball team played a great game against St Monica’s, winning by three points and securing a spot in the finals. They have played extremely well throughout the season, showing dedication and persistence. We wish them the best of luck in their semi-final match against MacKillop College this week.
The Boys’ Volleyball team had a bye last week but will meet Thomas Carr College in their semi-final game on Thursday.
Do you want to read on the school holidays? Then try the College library’s ePlatform.
It's simple to borrow an eBook or audiobook. You need to log in to our library by going to INFINITI in School Links on Simon, and from there search for a great title.
Choose the ePlatform tab at the top of the page. Once you’ve selected a book, simply click the borrow button and you can start reading or listening immediately.
New titles are being added all the time along with many of your old favourites – there is literally something for everyone.
So, let’s get wild about reading and choose a title for the holidays!
The ON TRACK school holiday music experience will be held at Staughton College in Melton during the upcoming school holidays.
The four-day program from Tuesday 11 April to Friday 14 April is free and brings together artists who mentor, teach and share tricks of the trade with students.
It gives students the chance to engage with music industry specialists, learn new skills and make new friends through specialised songwriting workshops.
Across the four days, participants will:
Additionally:
To register for the program, complete and return the form below or click here to sign-up online.
ON TRACK Student Registration Form
Are you a young, new, or inexperienced driver? Are you a parent or supervising driver? Melton Council's online Community Road Safety Education Session on Thursday 27 April aims to give you all the information you need to drive safely on our roads.
Guest speakers from Victoria Police, Ambulance Victoria and the community, drawing from life experiences, will talk about the rules of the road, as well as how to prevent road trauma and protect yourself, your passengers, and the public. You’ll have the opportunity to ask questions and get access to resources to help you stay safe on the road.
Every person who attends will go in the draw to win a share in $500 worth of prizes, including defensive driving and AutoBarn vouchers!
This webinar is free to attend and you can click here to register now. You will receive the Zoom link via email 24 hours prior to the event.
The event will start at 6pm and finish at 7.30pm.
Please note that this forum will include discussions about the impact of road trauma and may be confronting.
Keep up to date with College events, procedures, resources and information via the links below.
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