From the Principal

In my early teaching career, I trained as a Food Technology teacher and later undertook further study to teach Hospitality. So food and its importance have always been a passion of mine.

In day-to-day college life, where there are many classes, deadlines, and commitments, it’s easy to overlook the simple act of sitting down to share a meal. Yet this small habit holds surprising power. Perhaps this is why sharing food and hospitality is mentioned so often in our Gospels.

At its heart, eating together is more than just nourishment for the body - it’s nourishment for the spirit. When we gather around a table, we pause, talk, laugh and listen. We build connections that go beyond the classroom or the staffroom.

It’s in these shared moments that community is strengthened and a sense of belonging is truly felt. Community is one of our key values, and we deliberately design our classrooms and spaces to encourage this sense of belonging.

Research tells us that regular shared meals are linked to improved wellbeing, stronger relationships, and better mental health. For students, it’s a chance to feel seen and supported. For staff, it’s an opportunity to connect beyond professional roles. For all of us, it’s a reminder that we’re not alone.

It is therefore wonderful to announce that the tables and benches for the outdoor alfresco dining area in the Brindisi building arrived last Thursday. This space will be used by Food Technology classes, as a general classroom, the Breakfast Club and staff.

Design and planning for landscaping around the new Brindisi building is also well underway and we hope that construction of the new downball space and basketball half court will begin in the coming weeks.

Cobblebank update

Our Cobblebank Campus has come a long way from the greenfill site that we took over back in 2021.

Although rain hampered our first attempt to officially open our new oval, last Friday, the conditions were perfect for our rescheduled colour run. You can click here to read more and see photos from the event.

I am also pleased to advise that Greater Western Water is now providing a sewer branch into their sewer infrastructure, which means the pump station and eduction tank at the campus can be disconnected and removed.

This will save the College on pumping costs that have been incurred over the last three years for this temporary measure.

Looking Ahead - Melton Campus

Looking Ahead - Cobblebank Campus

Parents and Friends Meeting

The next meeting of the SFCC Parents and Friends Association will be held online this evening, Tuesday 13 May, from 7pm.

The association comprises representatives from both campuses and new members are always welcome.

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

Exams and timed assessment tasks

Year 7 and 8 students at both campuses will complete their Timed Assessment Tasks (TATS) on Tuesday 10 June.

Year 10 and 11 exams will run from Wednesday 11 June to Friday 20 June.

All Year 12 students (VCE and VCE VM) and any Year 11 student completing a VCE Unit 3&4 subject will complete the General Achievement Test (GAT) on Tuesday 17 June.

Wherever possible, families are encouraged to avoid booking appointments on these dates.

Information will be sent out to families later this month explaining the logistics for these important assessment times.

Parent Student Teacher Interviews

Thank you to the parents and guardians who took the time to attend the recent Parent Student Teacher Interviews. These discussions allow us to strengthen our partnership with families and the learning occurring at the College.

Semester 1 reports will be available at the end of Term 2.

Please remember you can contact your child’s teachers at any time during the year if a learning issue or concern arises.

Teacher Excellence Program

At SFCC, we encourage students to think of themselves as lifelong learners, and it’s a philosophy our staff embrace through the many professional development opportunities available to them each year.

This commitment to learning and best practice is a focus for Mathematics Domain Leader Margaret Fury this year as she undertakes the Victorian Academy of Teaching and Learning Teacher Excellence Program.

During the 12-month program, teachers focus on an aspect of teaching they are passionate about. For Margaret, that is improving student outcomes in VCE mathematics, particularly strengthening retention and conceptual understanding to enhance student achievements.

The program is based on an inquiry model and supported by Master Teachers in Residence. Participants work in discipline areas to investigate elements of impactful teaching and engage with national and international expert educators.

Margaret will engage in data analysis, collaborative planning, and evidence-informed instructional strategies that target common misconceptions and learning gaps.

By embedding spaced revision, formative assessment, and opportunities for deep mathematical reasoning, the goal is to build student confidence, improve knowledge retention, and ultimately enhance VCE outcomes.

The College is committed to excellence through contemporary, evidence-informed research, teaching and learning, which supports the MACS Vision for Instruction.

Nominate Your Favourite Teacher

In partnership with Melbourne Archdiocese Catholic Schools, News Corp has launched its annual Australia’s Best Teachers campaign, recognising inspirational and innovative educators nationwide.

Students and families can nominate their favourite teacher via an online form.

Click here to nominate now.

The campaign aims to highlight the incredible role that teachers play by asking the community to nominate their favourite teachers.

This is an excellent opportunity for our school to recognise the fantastic work of our teachers.

A judging panel will select the top 50 teachers, who will be announced at the campaign's completion on 21 June.

Mother’s Day Reflection and Breakfast

Thank you to everyone who came along to our annual Mother’s Day Reflection and Breakfast held at each campus last week.

Melton Campus

Cobblebank Campus

In the lead up to the celebrations, students were asked to describe their favourite memory of their mother, grandmother or significant female figure in their lives.

Below are some of their responses:

“My mum always goes to work and comes back after school. Even though she is tired and exhausted, she gets up and cooks in the kitchen. I love my mum for how caring she is, no matter what.”

“When I was younger, I used to love playing dress up. I learnt this from Mum. Although, this particular day I was wearing an orange and black cultural dress and decided that I wanted to show my mum how cute I looked and wanted to do her makeup, to make her look extra special. However, three-year-old me did not use actual makeup; rather, I used the chalk that I used to play outside with. I remember breaking the chalk up and doing my mum’s makeup, with pink rosy cheeks, green eyeshadow and blue lipstick. Mum allowed me to put it everywhere. It's still one of my favourite memories to this day, mum and I bonding over cute dresses and chalk makeup.”

“My favourite memories of my mum are when we spent time with each other.”

“A favourite memory of my mother and me is from the times when I was little, and my mother would travel to multiple areas with me and we would take photos and explore new places in Australia.”

“My favourite memory with my mum is when we went to the circus. We couldn't stop laughing because the clown was so funny and weird.”

“Going on a rollercoaster together!”

“When I was feeling very bad after I lost a cricket match, my mum stood by me all the way and we ended up making it to the grand finals.”

“When my mum and I had a girls' day together, we went to the movies, went shopping and got our nails done.”

“Going on holidays and cooking together.”

Athletics Carnivals

Two new champions have emerged to claim the Athletics Carnival trophies for 2025 following the Cobblebank and Melton annual events last week.

Both days dawned bright and sunny as competitors from each House took to the track or competed in field or novelty events to earn House points and advance to the SACCSS Athletics Championships in September.

Cobblebank Campus Carnival

We kicked off the Cobblebank Campus track action with many students racing to claim victory in the 100m sprints.

There were many close calls as students crossed the finish line with their peers cheering them on from the sidelines.

The day ended with a new event, the staff versus student tug of war!

It was a tight battle, but our staff were victorious! Staff are already excited and anticipating the opportunity to show off their strength next year.

While the points tally remained close throughout the day, we congratulate Dominic House, our 2025 Cobblebank Athletics Carnival Champions, who were able to hold the lead consistently!

Cobblebank Campus results:

1^st Dominic: 683 points

2^nd Mackillop: 652 point

3^rd Anthony: 649 points

4^th Bernard: 621 points

5^th Glowrey: 600 points

6^th Lawrence: 541 points

7^th Catherine: 478 points

8^th Bakhita: 458 points

There was also plenty of activity in the lead up to the Cobblebank carnival, with House Captains rallying their peers and creating decorations for the day.

“Last Wednesday MacKillop and Lawrence students were invited to decorate flags for the Athletics Carnival. Students were given textas and gems to decorate flags that they could wave to show support for their teammates. It was a fun way for students to participate in the carnival, express their creativity and boost school spirit. A big thank you to Mr Carter and Ms Keating for making this happen!” Rylee, MacKillop House Captain and Cassandra, Lawrence House Captain

Melton Campus Carnival

Following Cobblebank’s exceptional carnival, the Melton event started with a farewell to our Year 12’s who paraded down the track in their creative costumes one last time.

It may be the first and only time in our lives that we’ll be graced with the presence of a “flamboyance” of flamingos (yes, that is what a group of flamingos is called!). But there must also be a special mention for our Super Mario characters (some red shells might have come in handy for you during the staff versus student race…just saying!).

Despite the phenomenal efforts from all Houses, only one victor could be named, and it’s with great pleasure that we congratulate the 2025 Melton Athletics Carnival Champions, MacKillop House!

Congratulations also to Glowrey House, winners of the 2025 Melton Athletics Carnival House Spirit Shield. Glowrey had an exceptional set-up in their marquee as well as a fabulous cheer squad, and plenty of green on display from both staff and students.

The day concluded with the annual staff versus student 100m race.

Dominic House Leader, Jesse Sciberras, attempted to back up last year’s victory (frankly, it’s a miracle that his hamstring is still intact). But there was no stopping Elite Sports Academy student Shukuru Balebanga, who turned on the jets and flew to the finish just ahead of Sports Assistant, Jake Richards.

We thank all the staff who were involved in making the day a success and all the students who attended and participated.

Melton Campus results:

1^st MacKillop 1280 points

2^nd Lawrence 1074 points

3^rd Anthony 1046 points

4^th Bakhita 1019 points

5^th Bernard 920 points

6^th Glowrey 866.5 points

7^th Dominic 834 points

8^th Catherine 700.5 points

Author visits Cobblebank Campus

Year 7 and 8 students at Cobblebank Campus enjoyed a visit by author Ernie Rijs last week who shared some fantastic insights on story writing.

The visit was part of activities to promote the Melton City Library 2025 Short Story Competition.

Ernie has spent nearly 50 years in secondary education as a leader and English and Humanities teacher. He is an experienced theatre performer and director.

Ernie's first novel, The Crossing, was published in October 2022 and is available to borrow from our libraries at both campuses.

This captivating story explores themes of African migration, personal growth, the impact of our choices, and the quest for redemption. The characters are relatable, and face challenges related to belonging, friendship, and family.

Ernie is currently putting the finishing touches to his second novel, Hindsight, and is halfway through a sequel to The Crossing. He writes short stories and plays, both for fun and to test himself in competitions, and now works as a secondary school counsellor.

If you're interested in entering the Melton Library Short Story Competition, please visit their website here.

The school with the highest number of entries will win prize money to enhance their library! Plus, there are free writing workshops available at the Melton Library.

Colour Run to Celebrate New Cobblebank Campus Oval

Cobblebank Campus students and staff celebrated the opening of their new oval last Friday afternoon with a colour run.

There was plenty of jostling and laughter as students ran along the path to the new oval, past gleeful staff who sprayed the brightly coloured powder.

PE teacher Cassi Bottrell said both staff and students had eagerly watched the space turn from a dusty paddock to an amazing sports facility. It was with great excitement that students began using the oval at the start of this term.

"Stepping onto the pitch and kicking a soccer ball or footy around has been enjoyed by both staff and students and has made break times all the more fun," Cassi said.

"Our HPE classes are loving the space and making the most of it for their practical classes. We have even got to enjoy watching our first Premier League games, with our Year 7 boys and girls soccer teams able to compete at home, with the added bonus of a home crowd too!"

Watch a short clip of last Friday’s colour run here

Below is what our students have to say about the new oval.

The oval is significant as it allows physical education to be more flexible. Previously, only one class could go outside due to the size of the soccer pitch however, now with the new oval, it allows many classes to be outside at the same time. Noor, Diversity Captain

The new oval looks really good. It is great to have a new and bigger area for students to play sport or just walk around and more space to do PE. I've seen lots of students enjoy playing soccer and footy on the oval. I think it’s a nice upgrade to our school and gives students more places to hang out and play sports. Mackenzie, Arts Captain

I think we should be very grateful for our new oval. Students now have more space to play ball games such as soccer and football and extra space for people to hang out and talk. James, Catherine House Captain

I think the new oval has had a significant impact. The people who used to sit or just hang out on the small soccer pitch/green area now use the new oval. It’s made things more comfortable and less crowded. The rule about no food or rubbish on the oval is an exceptional idea. And during PE it's much better than the little pitch. Ekamjot, Environmental Captain

Short-Term Hosting of a Visiting Italian Student

Every year, the College hosts students from Convitto Nazionale “Paolo Diacono” in the Friuli region of Italy.

Students from this school will visit us for about four weeks at the beginning of Term 3.

The students all speak English and are escorted by a teacher from their school, who is generally hosted by a staff member. The students will attend classes at the College on all school days during their visit.

Hosting a student from another country is a fantastic way to learn about the culture of another country while sharing our own hospitality and way of life.

If you would like to know more, please contact me via email at piannazzo@sfcc.vic.edu.au.

You are also welcome to join an online information evening on Tuesday 13 of May at 7pm to ask any questions you might have. Click here to join on the night.

Sports Update

Melton Campus Round 5 Senior Volleyball

Congratulations to our Senior Boys Division 1B team, who have advanced to the 2025 Grand Final!

St Francis will face Round 5 rivals MacKillop Catholic College at the Melbourne Sports and Aquatic Centre on Tuesday 13 May. We wish them all the best for a strong finish to what has been an excellent season.

Melton Campus Round 2 Year 7 Premier League

Cobblebank Campus Round 2 Year 7 Premier League

Cobblebank Campus Creativity Hub

Work on our new Creativity Hub continues to power ahead at Cobblebank Campus.

Students and staff are looking forward to its completion later this year.

Community Notices

Faith in Motion

Useful Links

Keep updated with College events, procedures, resources and information via the links below.

PAM – Parent Portal

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