From the Principal

As part of the transition to the new charism of St Francis, the College has joined Franciscan Schools Australia. The benefits of this association are many including access to resources and inspiration from around Australia.

One particularly helpful resource offered by Franciscan Schools Australia is a series of short courses including one titled Women of the Streets – Early Franciscan Women and their Mendicant Vocation.

The course looks at four very different women who have one thing in common. They were all followers of St Francis and wished to live out his values of poverty, service and dedication to Jesus. 

Unlike St Clare, these women did not wish to live a cloistered life inside a convent but instead chose to live within their distinct communities as cocreators of the Franciscan tradition. These women then were amongst the first Laity. (Pictured from left below: Rose of Viterbo, Angela of Foligno, Margaret of Cortona and Sancia Queen of Naples.)

In her summary, after the first session of the short course, Alison Stone reflects:

“We began to unpack, with awareness, that lay Franciscan women who took up a mendicant life add a deep layer to the Franciscan intellectual tradition and that the road they travelled was tough. Their choices brought outrage and disgrace to themselves, their families, and their communities.

“It is their courage and commitment to faith that inspires us today. We are those ‘followers’, working for the Church today.”

Catholic schools are a prime example of faith-filled followers of Christ who strive every day to model the values of Christ and to invite our young people to also live a life of service just like St Francis.

Looking Ahead - Melton Campus Students

Looking Ahead - Cobblebank Campus Students

Year 7 2025 Enrolments

From the Deputy Principal Student Wellbeing

As Catholic educators, we actively promote the safety and wellbeing of every student in our care.

This week I would like to draw your attention to one of our Child Safe Standards relating to how we work to educate and protect our young people from harm physically and online.

Child Safe Standard 9 refers to our students’ physical and online environments.

Child safety in physical and online environments – Physical and online environments promote safety and wellbeing while minimising the opportunity for children and young people to be harmed.

At the College, students participate in a pastoral care program and health classes that focus on safe and positive behaviours for their physical health and how they interact online.

We directly address cyber safety, identifying different strategies for keeping safe and developing an awareness and understanding of potential harms that could occur.

We access the most up-to-date information from the Department of Education, eSafety Commissioner, and the Student Wellbeing Hub to ensure our students have access to the most current research and data in this area.

As part of this commitment, we have organised a presentation for parents and guardians by cyber safety expert Susan McLean at the College next Monday evening from 7pm.

Susan has appeared on several television programs including Sunrise, 60 Minutes, and Catalyst, sharing her extensive knowledge in this area. Her presentation will take place in our Performing Arts Centre and I encourage all families to attend. 

You can click here to read more about what you can expect to hear on the night or register now.

While the evening is for parents and guardians only, we hope that Susan will present to students in selected year levels during Semester 2.

House Leader Conference

I spent a rewarding two days with our team of House Leaders, the Year 12 Coordinator and Director of Student Wellbeing at our biannual conference in Daylesford last week.

We worked on the areas of student engagement, belonging, and deepening our appreciation of the current Child Safe Standards.

It was wonderful to collaborate on different topics and work as a team. It is such a privilege and honour to work with such dedicated staff who are proactive and supportive of each other, with many ideas to support our young people.

Mother’s Day Liturgy and Breakfast

The College will host a special Mother’s Day liturgy and breakfast this Thursday 11 May from 8am in the Performing Arts Centre to celebrate and recognise all the motherly figures in our students’ lives.

Students and their mothers, grandmothers, aunties or a significant adult in their lives are invited to join us for a liturgy, followed by breakfast for those who would like to stay. Siblings are welcome to attend, as is anyone who would like to come along and say a prayer for mothers past and present.

All Melton and Cobblebank campus families are welcome to attend.

Parents and Friends Meeting

The next Parents and Friends Association meeting will be held tomorrow, Wednesday 10 May, online via Teams from 7pm. New members are always welcome.

Please contact me via email arowley@sfcc.vic.edu.au for the Teams link.

Cyber Safety Presentation for Parents and Guardians

Monday 15 May 2023, 7pm

St Francis Catholic College Performing Arts Centre

Susan is Australia's foremost expert in the area of cyber safety and was a member of the Victoria Police for 27 years. Widely known as the 'cyber-cop' she was the first Victoria Police officer appointed to a position involving cyber safety and young people.

Join us for an informative and entertaining session for parents and guardians delivered with Susan’s famous ‘no-nonsense‘ approach. It will cover the positive benefits of technology and what parents need to be aware of.

You will hear about:

• What kids are doing online
• Online grooming
• Cyberbullying
• Taking and sending explicit images
• Potential dangers and safety tips
• Problematic internet use and gaming issues.

Parents and guardians will also have the opportunity to ask questions at the end of Susan's presentation.

"Don’t be afraid of technology. Learn about it and embrace it as your children do. Accept that they will access content that might upset them, often not because they went looking for it and make sure that they are comfortable coming to you when this happens. Spend time online with them. Cyberspace can be a lot of fun." Susan McLean

Click here to register for this event. All Melton and Cobblebank parents and guardians are welcome to attend.

Year 11 History - Trial of Al Capone

Students in Year 11 History participated in a mock trial of well-known 1920s American gangster Al Capone yesterday.

The mock trial was a fun way to give students insight to the illegal selling and making of alcohol and corruption of the 1920s, develop their argumentative skills and analyse evidence.

Students wore props such as a judge’s wig, feather boas, gangster and police hats.

The jurors, Francis, Nul, Fane, Mirna, Lee, Paris and Mary, had a serious role, taking notes of the evidence and analysing the truth in detail. Our honest Judge, Mikayla, had a difficult role with Al Capone (played by me) as he kept interrupting and saying he was an ‘honest businessman’.

The witness Liz Jefferson, played by Sarah, jumped in with a superb American accent and testified against Al Capone. The other two witnesses, Chuck Daniels, played by Isabella, and Don Rodgers, played by Ysabelle, quickly embellished their stories and testified that they had ‘not seen’ any of the murders taking place on Valentine’s Day.

The defence lawyer, played by Miriam, challenged Liz Jefferies on her ‘eyesight’ with regard to the murder. Finally, the Prosecutor, Montana, was fully prepared to do battle with Capone and presented sophisticated arguments to the Judge and jurors seeking a guilty verdict.

But alas, the jurors struggled to reach an agreement and felt that they needed more time to decide if Al Capone was ‘guilty or not’.

Faye Quinn

History teacher

Sports Update

Premier League Melton Campus - Round 1 results

Premier League Cobblebank Campus - Round 1 results

Senior SACCSS Sports - Melton Campus results

Year 7 Melton Girls Basketball

After a bye in Week 1, our Year 7 Girls Basketball team travelled out to La Trobe University in Bundoora to compete against St Monica's College last Wednesday.

In what was set to be a tough battle the girls worked together to hold a lead of three points at the end of the first half. Some excellent defensive work to shut down St Monica's offence, led to a flurry of scoring opportunities for our girls in the second half. St Francis won the game with a final score of 42 -21. We look forward to our next game against Emmanuel College next week.

Adam Cooper - Coach

Great Book Swap for Indigenous Literacy

Do you have a home library bursting at the seams, a few books gathering dust or have the kids outgrown the books you have?

The College library is seeking quality books suitable for children and young adults for its Great Book Swap.

During Literacy Week, we conduct a book swap where students and staff can purchase books for a gold coin.

All money raised is donated to the Indigenous Literacy Foundation to help fund their Book Supply Program, which reaches over 400 remote communities.

All books can be dropped off at the front office or the library.

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Keep up to date with College events, procedures, resources and information via the links below.

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