Weekly Reflection

Over the next two weeks, our students will be particularly focussed on their studies with exams taking place.

We wish them well and are sure they will be rewarded for their consistent positive and productive approach to these studies, regardless of the year level.

Below is a prayer for them to say during this time.


Calm Mind Prayer

Merciful God, thank you that I am never alone, your presence calms the troubled sea of my life and speaks peace to my soul.

When I am filled with anxiety and uncertainty about my studies, would you calm my fears and fill my mind with your peace.

Give me assurance that you are working everything for my good and your glory.

May your love be the passion in my heart. May your joy be my strength when times are hard. May your presence be my peace that overflows.

Through Jesus Christ, our Lord.

Amen.

Shaun Coates

Director of Catholic Identity

From the Principal

Our teachers at St Francis Catholic College play an essential part in seeking to ensure that students experience quality education and are invited to encounter God and develop their knowledge and appreciation of the Catholic faith and tradition.

Teaching staff are required to gain and maintain accreditation to teach in a Catholic school to fulfil the important obligation of modelling the ethos of the College and educating our students in our Catholic faith and traditions.

The Church’s mission is to provide a holistic education which takes account of established and current insights in education and the Catholic faith tradition. Catholic schools’ primary responsibility is one of witness. Sharing in the mission of the Church, the Catholic school bears witness to the hopes of the followers of Jesus Christ and is a sign to the broader society of its members’ commitment to the formation of young people to the fullness of human life.

CECV Accreditation to Teach in a Catholic School Policy

Last Friday, staff participated in our annual Faith Formation Day. On offer were several sessions that explored different aspects of our Catholic faith.

Sister Mary Sarah Galbraith led a session titled The Unnamed Women of the Gospels in which staff explored the women in St Lukes’s Gospel.

Participants were asked to reflect on what this story teaches us about the Lord, His love for these women and in turn His love for us.

Teacher Tony Gavran continued his series on Jesus Jews and Jerusalem. Tony has completed many trips to Israel and enthralled participants with his lively presentation.

Our Liturgy Coordinator Andrew Sciberras led staff in a session titled Deepening Faith: A Religious and Non-Religious Guide while teacher Paul Iannazzo offered a session exploring St Ambrose – A Doctor of the Church.

Our Director of Catholic Identity Shaun Coates led a session titled Who is Francis aimed at developing staff understanding of the Franciscan charism.

Shaun has also developed an Images and Icon Reflective Walk which guides participants around the Melton Campus to explore the various iconography, symbols and statues that adorn our College.

Staff also have access to FRG Ministries, a series of online modules developed by Father Rob Galea on The Mass, Introduction to the Bible, School of Prayer, Knowing Mary and Pentecost and the Holy Spirit.

It is wonderful to have such rich talent amongst our staff so that we can offer a wide variety of opportunities to deepen our Catholic literacy and consistently extend an invitation to the possibility of a Catholic faith.

Marlene Jorgensen

Principal

Looking Ahead - Melton Campus Students

Dates to remember
Tuesday 6 JuneYear 10 and 11 Exams begin
Wednesday 7 JuneYear 7 and 8 Timed Assessment Tasks
Monday 12 June

Kings Birthday public holiday

Wednesday 14 JuneParents and Friends Meeting
Friday 23 JuneFinal day of Term 2 - students dismissed at 2.30pm

Looking Ahead - Cobblebank Campus Students

Dates to remember
Wednesday 7 JuneYear 7 Timed Assessment Task
Monday 12 JuneKings Birthday public holiday
Wednesday 14 JuneParents and Friends Meeting
Friday 23 June

Final day of Term 2 - students dismissed at 2pm

Camps Sports and Excursions Fund Forms Due Soon

A reminder that families with a valid Centrelink Concession card must complete a Camps Sports and Excursions Fund (CSEF) application form by Wednesday 21 June 2023. If you applied for and received CSEF last year at the College, your application will be rolled over and there is no need to reapply.

To submit your application, please complete the form below and email it, along with a copy of your current concession card, to azammit@sfcc.vic.edu.au

Melton Campus School Photo Ordering


School photos of Melton Campus students are now ready to purchase from Arthur Reed Photography. 

If you registered, you will receive an email from Arthur Reed with all your access information.

If you did not register, please see the information below to purchase your child's photograph.


Ordering your child's school photos 

Arthur Reed Photos uses an online ordering system where you can view your photos prior to ordering.

On photo day all students received a flyer which includes a code unique to them. You will require this 2023 code to register online and view your photos.

If you have already registered, you will receive an email or SMS from Arthur Reed Photos with a link to view your photos.

If you have not yet registered, please go to order.arphotos.com.au and enter your code to complete your order.

If you have misplaced your registration code, please contact the Arthur Reed Photos customer service team directly on 5243 4390 (option 1) or email customerservice@arphotos.com.au

Please note that you will need to register online with your 2023 photo code to gain access to this year’s images.

All photo packages will be sent directly to your nominated address, so please ensure that you enter the correct details and nominated shipping address upon checkout.

If you require any assistance ordering your photos, please contact Arthur Reed Photos directly on 5243 4390 (option 1) or email customerservice@arphotos.com.au

Parents and Friends Meeting

The next Parents and Friends Association meeting will be held on Wednesday 14 June, online via Teams from 7pm. New members are always welcome.

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

Amy Rowley

Director of Community Relations

General Achievement Test 2023

The General Achievement Test (GAT) for Melton senior students will be held on Thursday 15 June. It is now undertaken in two sections (please see format details below).

Who is sitting the GAT?

  • Any student enrolled in one or more VCE or scored VCE VET Unit 3/4 sequence is required to complete Section A and B of the GAT.
  • If you are enrolled in one or more VCE VM Unit 3/4 sequences or a Senior VCAL Unit, you are expected to complete Section A only.

What is the GAT?

The GAT is a test of general knowledge and skills in these broad areas:

written communication

mathematics, science and technology

humanities, the arts and social sciences.

GAT results:

  • do not count directly toward a student’s VCE results
  • help check that school-based and external assessments have been accurately assessed
  • contribute to statistical moderation of school-based assessment results
  • help calculate Derived Examination Scores
  • determine scores in school-based assessment, external assessment and if a Derived Examination Score is required due to illness, accident and trauma.

The GAT will be held in Sheehan Stadium and students can wear casual clothes on this day.

All students must stay in the examination room until the completion of each section, even if they finish early.

Students must be at school no later than 8.10am and assemble in the Padua building rooms before the exam.

No VCE Unit 3/4 classes will be scheduled on this day. Buses will run as usual.

Materials students should bring on the day

  • Students may bring an English and/or bilingual printed dictionary into both sections of the GAT, but not a thesaurus or a combined thesaurus dictionary. Electronic dictionaries are not permitted.
  • A scientific calculator is permitted in both sections of the GAT.
  • Students will need pens (blue or black), pencils (2B or HB) and an eraser.
  • A water bottle (label removed and no larger than 1500ml) is permitted.

If you have any questions or concerns regarding this, please contact me via email at clock@sfcc.vic.edu.au

Carissa Lock

VCE Coordinator

Join the Melton Senior Snow Trip

Year 10, 11 and 12 students are invited to participate in a College Ski Trip at Mt Buller from 24-26 August.

There are limited places left on the trip, which costs $725 and includes gear rental, lessons, lift passes, transport by coach, accommodation and meals. Staff attending have experience facilitating school camps at Mt Buller.

Families who would like their children to attend are expected to be up to date with their school fees.

To join the ski trip, please contact Paul Iannazzo via email at piannazzo@sfcc.vic.edu.au Applications will be assessed in order of receipt.

Respectful Relationships

As we work together as a College during our pastoral care sessions within our Houses, we aim to implement a successful and ongoing evolving program to promote Respectful Relationships amongst our students and College community.

The fact sheet below that outlines the many benefits of implementing this program.


Meryem McLeod

Director Student Wellbeing

Cobblebank Campus Student Leaders 2023

At the end of last term, we gave all Cobblebank Campus students the opportunity to apply for various leadership positions. 

After many applications and interviews, it is with great pleasure that we announce the 2023 Leadership team:

House Leaders
AnthonyRhianna Parker
BakhitaRuth Mainey
BernardMorgan Pretty-Murphy
CatherineNimar Sandhu
DominicRidley Turner
GlowreyRihanna Ethige Silva
LawrenceTahlia Edwards
MacKillopTaranveer Dhaliwal
Academic CaptainsXavier Warne and Achraj Virk
Faith and Cultural Awareness LeadersMaria Pa and Aaron Thomas
Environment LeadersAndres D’Amore-Conejo and Gurnoor Rai
Arts LeadersMackenzie Planche; Senadee Dharmaratne
Sport Leaders Kanwar Sidhu and Aaymaan Deol

We also offered several students the opportunity to become College Ambassadors. This role will involve taking prospective families on tours of the Cobblebank Campus and helping to promote the College and foster a sense of belonging in our school community.

We are pleased to announce that the following students have accepted this role:

Miguel Luna, Olivia Obst, Seth McLeod, Frankie Bandola, Meaghan Dalloran, Tameka Kite-Afamasaga, Adam Joseph, Ayush Sehgal, Ater Kooc, Sherjan Clapano, Rubea Tongo, Abhijeet Brar, Kritika Sharma, Reejh Bhullar, Ricky Singh and Shaira Agarano.

Over the coming weeks, the leaders and ambassadors will organise events and activities to help maintain a positive culture among staff and students.

Terri Curnow

House Leader – Cobblebank Campus

Reconciliation Week

Cultural Excursion

Students and staff visited the Koorie Heritage Trust (KHT) in Federation Square last Wednesday to view Second Skin – Essence of Country, a story of the resilience of Victorian First Peoples, Country and culture.

Students were captivated by the exhibition, which celebrates the ongoing history and skilful use of animal pelts by Victorian First Peoples to create cultural belongings and works of art. It features possum skin cloaks, kangaroo skin headdresses, bags, shields, jewellery, and more.

KHT has one of Australia’s most significant South East Australian art and cultural collections.

After their visit, the group enjoyed lunch at Torres Strait Island restaurant and food store Mabu Mabu where they tasted foods such as crocodile, emu, wild boar and a range of fruits, vegetables and spices.

Student reflections:

It was a fun experience; I enjoyed it a lot. Lily (Year 8)

The excursion gave me an insight into Indigenous culture that I was not expecting. Trying and learning many new things for the first time allowed me to immerse myself in a fun and engaging way. Definitely an unforgettable experience. Alannah (Year 12)

The visit to the museum was exciting and informative. Learning about the sacred artifacts was brilliant. The food at the restaurant was amazing too. Jackamos (Year 10)

Protection and preservation

For tens of thousands of years, possum skin has been used in the production of cloaks to protect First Peoples from the wind, rain, snow and cold in South East Australia, but are also made for use in ceremony, making music, trade, to reflect cultural identity, map Country and pass cultural knowledge down through generations.

Possum skin cloaks are also an important reminder and marker of time, both materially and in their method of production. 

Beginning with a small number of pelts at birth, the cloak grows as pelts are

added throughout a person’s lifetime, and is decorated with cultural designs and symbols.

The various designs and markings made on the cloak, in both pigments and engravings, tell the story of an individual’s life journey, forming a visual biography and link to cultural identity. The cloak often follows its owners’ journey through life, marking key events and milestones, to finally be laid to rest with them when they pass into the Dreaming. 

Source: Koorie Heritage Trust

Staff morning tea

We ended our recognition of Reconciliation Week with a morning tea for staff last Friday that featured a beautiful array of foods including delicacies such as wattle seed scones, tea cake with native lime icing, rosella fruit, quandong slice and forest mushroom pinwheels.

Our staff room looked amazing, decorated with native leaves and flowers, thanks to our Indigenous Project Officer Daniela Harrington and her dedicated FIRE Carriers (Friends Igniting Reconciliation through Education) who organised the event.

The morning tea was also part of our annual Staff Faith Formation Day, a time for our teachers to explore different aspects of our Catholic tradition so they can gain and maintain their accreditation to teach in a Catholic school.

Daniela Harrington

Project Officer - Indigenous Students

Year 8 Reflection Days

Year 8 students took part in Reflection Days last week, run by the Youth Mission Team (YMT), to focus on their spiritual side as members of the wider Church.

YMT is a national youth organisation that has been operating since 1986. It provides young people with a dynamic and relevant encounter with the Gospel, empowering them to make positive life choices.

Each team comprises young men and women who defer career or tertiary studies for 12 months to volunteer as full-time youth ministers in schools and parishes.

The team who visited the College last week were very impressed with the demeanour and engagement levels of our Year 8 students.

By all accounts, the students were engaged, involved and encouraged each other throughout the program.


Kath Jones - Catherine House Leader and Shaun Coates - Director Catholic Identity

Equestrian Success

Congratulations to Year 8 student Sienna who achieved great success recently when she represented the College at the 2023 Equestrian Victoria Interschools State Championships with her horse Kevin (Owendale Beesting).

The pair won two of the three phases and claimed the title of Overall Champion, Show Hunter Intermediate.

This gained them a place on the Victorian team to compete at the National Championships to be held in September this year. We wish them the very best of luck!

Kath Jones

Catherine House Leader

Sports Update

Year 7 Premier League - Melton Campus Round 6

Team

Result

SFCC ladder position

AFL

Marymede Catholic College d SFCC 39-1

7

Boys’ Basketball

SFCC d Marymede Catholic College 41-35

6

Girls’ Basketball

Marymede Catholic College d SFCC 44-29

4

Netball

Marymede Catholic College d SFCC 22-9

7

Boys’ Soccer

Marymede Catholic College d SFCC 9-0

7

Girls’ soccer

Marymede Catholic College d SFCC 7-1

7

Boys’ Volleyball

SFCC d Marymede Catholic College 3-0

3

Girls’ Volleyball

Marymede Catholic College d SFCC 3-0

7


Year 7 Premier League - Cobblebank Campus Round 6

TeamResultSFCC ladder position
Boys’ BasketballKolbe Catholic College d SFCC 50 – 436
Girls’ Basketball

Kolbe Catholic College d SFCC3-11

6
Girls SoccerKolbe Catholic College d SFCC 43-116
Boys SoccerSFCC drew with Kolbe Catholic College 2-24
Boys VolleyballCRC Caroline Springs d SFCC 3-05
Girls VolleyballCRC Caroline Springs d SFCC 3-07


Cobblebank Girls Soccer

After five weeks of consistently trying and getting closer to success, the Cobblebank Girls Soccer team finally achieved a win! With a score of 3-0, the team was ecstatic that their hard work had finally paid off. Well done girls! Meg Bacchin – Soccer coach



Senior SACCSS Sports Melton Campus - Round 5 results

Team

Result

SFCC Ladder position

Senior boys AFL

SFCC d Kolbe Catholic College 79-23

1

Senior girls AFLSalesian College d SFCC 112-07


Senior Boys AFL

Our Senior Boys AFL team stormed into the Division 2 grand final after claiming a 56-point victory over Kolbe Catholic College last Thursday. 

SFCC remain undefeated this season, having bested Thomas Carr College, Caroline Chisholm College, Penola College and Antonine College. 

Last time Antonine faced SFCC, the boys from St Francis dominated the field with a resounding 48-point win (104-56). The two teams will meet again in the grand final with the date to be determined. Claudia Alp – Sports Coordinator


Junior Girls SACCSS AFL one-day tournament


On Tuesday 30 May, 21 of our Year 7 and 8 Melton students played in the SACCSS Junior Girls AFL one-day tournament in Wyndham Vale.

The team produced a win and two losses, finishing third in their pool and fifth overall in Division 2. 

The scores were:

Round 1: CRC Caroline Springs d SFCC 14-1

Round 2: SFCC d Caroline Chisholm College 23-6

Round 3: Marymede Catholic College d SFCC 23-2

Congratulations to the girls who displayed enormous team spirit and dedication to continual improvement. It was a wonderful day. Stephine Bertalmio – Junior Girls AFL coach


Emily Cook

Sports Trainee

Simon Everywhere App

Put permission requests for excursions, emails and school reports at your fingertips when you download the Simon Everywhere app to your smartphone.

The app gives you access to PAM, the College online parent portal and allows you to:

  • give permission for excursions
  • log student absences
  • receive notifications from the College
  • sign in without having to enter your username and password each time
  • access your child’s reports, grades and attendance
  • update medical information.

Simon Everywhere can be downloaded from the Apple Store or the Google Play store. Below are guides to help you.

Please email itsupport@sfcc.vic.edu.au if you require further information or assistance.

Community Notices

Melbourne Victory Holiday Program


On Track School Holiday Program


Music performance competition

MDC High School Talent battle competition info


Keeping your children safe online - eSafety Commissioner webinars

Useful Links

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

PAM – Parent Portal

What's new in 2023

Enrolment

Subject Selection Guide 2023

Cobblebank Campus

Facebook

Instagram

Policies

Uniform

Library

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