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School Reception: Monday-Friday, 8am-4pm
Phone: (03) 8099 6000
Email:info@sfcc.vic.edu.au
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“I was in my friend Billy’s kitchen waiting for him to come downstairs so we could go out and play. Billy was the oldest of nine kids. Dinner was over, and his mother stood at the kitchen counter and dealt out the bread for eight sandwiches - 12 pieces of bread, side by side, for the six kids who were in school, and four more pieces next to them to make the two sandwiches her husband would take to work with him. One after another she spread mustard on the left-hand side of bread, and one-by-one she placed two slabs of chicken meat on the right-hand side. Swiftly and deftly she brought the two parts of the sandwich together and wrapped the bundle tightly in waxed paper. She placed each sandwich in a bag with two biscuits and an apple and lined the bags in rows in their fridge, her husband’s on the top shelf.
“Years later when I was making sandwiches for my daughters I thought of Billy’s mum and wondered just how many sandwiches she had made in her lifetime.”
In one of writer Andre Dubus’ short stories, a father reflects on the simple act of making sandwiches for his kids. He draws a connection between his offering of bread and lunch meat with Jesus’ self-offering in the bread and wine of the Eucharist. Is it such a far stretch? Not when we do this in remembrance of Him.
We pray:
Go from here as peace-seekers. We will take time to be quiet and listen for God’s voice. We will face our challenges honestly and work through them. We will name our conflicts and seek to resolve them. We will realise our grudges and let them go. We will give thanks for God’s gifts and keep on giving thanks. We will identify the injustices around us and commit to bringing change. We will rejoice in our Christian tradition and proclaim its relevance for today. We go from here as those who seek peace, and we will find peace. Thanks be to God. Amen.
From Weekly Parables for Catholic Schools
As outlined in newsletters earlier this year, the move to governance under Melbourne Archdiocese Catholic Schools (MACS) requires establishing a School Advisory Council (SAC). The Terms of Reference for the council are now available on our website. Click here
The purpose of the SAC is to support the principal and school leadership and provide an important connection to the parish and wider community.
The council will provide a forum for discussion and discernment, where the parent/guardian voice and perspective are available to inform and support the decisions made by the principal and parish priest for the good of school and parish where the wellbeing and outcomes for students are paramount.
The SAC is not the governing body of a school, and as such, does not have a decision-making authority due to it not having a legal identity. While a vital forum for parent and community voice, it is not a forum for individual parent advocacy or special interest representation and does not become involved in the day-to-day management of the school. It does not take on the role of a parent and friends group, a fundraising forum or fete organising committee.
The School Advisory Council seeks to be inclusive of all community members and demonstrate a genuine commitment to gender equity, cultural diversity and requisite skill sets.
Expressions of interest from parents and parishioners for a position on the SAC are now open.
If you would like to apply, please carefully read the Terms of Reference and email Ms Tracey Blacka at tblacka@sfcc.vic.edu.au to obtain an information pack and application form.
Applications close on Wednesday 16 June.
Once applications are received a process of discernment will take place, which will include:
Thank you in anticipation for considering this important role in the College.
| Dates to remember | |
| Monday 14 June | Queen's Birthday holiday |
| Monday 21 June | Student free day - Staff Professional Development Day |
| Friday 25 June | Term 2 concludes |
View the full College Calendar
Yesterday (7 June) our Year 11 VCE students began their examinations in Padua. Students were exemplary in the way they followed the exam rules, remembered to leave mobile phones and digital programmable watches in their lockers and worked productively throughout the length of the exam. The exams continue through to Tuesday 15 June.
We have revised and condensed the Year 10 examination timetable and are waiting to see if classes resume on site on Friday. Year Level Coordinators are contacting students with the revised schedule and information related to the last few weeks of the semester.
Release of reports will be delayed until early Term 3 to allow all semester assessment tasks, SACs and examinations to be completed, marked and entered into Simon by teachers. Simon provides real time reporting which means parents have access to assessment task results via PAM.
Our Year 7 to 10 lessons continue online. I congratulate all students who are showing resilience, determination and a sound work ethic as they attempt online learning to the best of their ability.
The soft skills of resilience, perseverance, teamwork, collaboration and determination are looked for by employers and leadership teams. Distance learning provides the opportunity for our young people to develop some of these skills.
COVID-19 has thrown us all into a life of uncertainty. The constant thought of a lockdown and enforced restrictions can be difficult to manage and have implications on mental health.
It is beneficial to have different strategies on hand to manage your child’s health and wellbeing through this period and for the long term. Learning mindfulness techniques can help develop the ability to cope with the demands of everyday life and the unpredictable nature of living in a pandemic.
Mindfulness is focusing your attention on the present moment; it is a crucial element in stress reduction and happiness.
Click here to hear Hugh van Cuylenburg, the founding director and facilitator of The Resilience Project, discuss the importance of mindfulness.
There are many ways to practice mindfulness, one of which is meditation.
Meditation is a skill that needs to be learnt and practised. By meditating, we are training to be more open and so discover greater calm, contentment, and compassion as well as to be in the present moment.
Below is are some useful apps to help develop meditation skills. Simply click on the image to explore.
Smiling Mind
The Resilience Project resources
Headspace guided meditation
Stop, Breath and Think
Relax Melodies
Throughout their Health lessons, students learn the benefits of mindfulness and meditation through The Resilience Project. We are also introducing meditation sessions at lunchtimes with Year 10 Coordinator Ms Meryem McLeod.
If COVID-19 restrictions allow, Cyber Safety expert Susan McLean will speak to Year 7 and 8 students on Wednesday 16 June. Susan will challenge students to think about their online activites and the consequences of their actions now and in the future. The theme of the session is Respect and Responsibility and how to stay safe online.
Last Friday (4 June) Year 7 Josephine students took part in an online My Kitchen Rules Challenge.
Mr Tammaro played the role of Manu Feildel and judged the student’s dishes. They were required to bake cookies of their choice and submit two photos – an image of the dish professionally presented and one of a family member eating and giving the cookies a thumbs up or thumbs down.
It was a tough decision for Mr Tammaro as all the baked dishes looked so scrumptious! However, Chloe Plevnik took out first place, winning a $20 Coles voucher! Her entry is the first in our picture gallery below. Well done to all students who participated.
Have your say on how often our College Newsletter is delivered to your family by answering one simple question in our online survey.
Simply follow this link to submit your response.
Year 10 student Aydan recently took part in the Australian Army’s Indigenous Flagship Work Experience Program, Exercise First Look.
The five-day residential program is designed to give aspiring students aged 15 to 18 a comprehensive overview of life in the Army. During the program students see the day-to-day activities of an Army Solider and experience Army lifestyle as a whole.
Aydan reflects on his experience below:
“Overall it was an amazing experience that I am thankful I completed. It was a little daunting at first but everyone had similar interests, making it easy to relax and connect with everyone. Everything was run smoothly and we always knew where we were going and what we were doing, creating a safe environment that was very engaging. I was unsure about whether I would like to follow a career in the defence force. However, I am now confident that I would love a career in Infantry. I was very lucky to get the opportunity and I am very thankful for it. If all goes well, I would love to follow in the footsteps of the ANZACs.”
It was great to have our VCE and senior VCAL students return to face-to-face learning last Friday, and we wait in anticipation for the return of our Year 7 to 10 students.
Our Unit 3 and 4 VCE students remain focused on their end of year examinations, the timetable for which was released about two weeks ago. Our Unit 1 and 2 VCE students commenced their exams this week.
It is a busy assessment time for our students, and we encourage you to check in with your child and contact their subject teacher if you have any concerns.
I recently saw the post below and thought about how relevant this is to us all.
During distance learning and other pressure moments, it is worthwhile reminding ourselves to focus on the productive and not the busy.
With that in mind what have we been up to in the Humanities Domain?
Our Legal Studies students in both year 11 and 12 have just completed a unit of work related to civil law, which remains so relevant to our daily lives.
They considered areas of the law such as negligence and defamation and how people can access a resolution to their dispute.
Our Year 11 Business Management students have been studying the internal environment of a business – again so relevant in the current economic and business climate. Students considered the impact of all stakeholders on the employees of an organisation.
Our year 12 business students have been studying the operations process, particularly the impact of globalisation on our economy and the effect of the COVID-19 pandemic on suppliers, employees and the economy.
Our Geography students were fortunate to attend a camp to Marysville before the lockdown to consider hazards and disasters. They were able to see firsthand the impact of the Black Saturday bushfires.
Our Accounting students continue to crunch numbers – maybe some will one day work for the Department of Treasury and Finance – while our History students continue to develop their analytical, image analysis and extended writing skills.
Our Year 7 to 10 classes continue to focus on various areas of the humanities curriculum.
Year 7 students have worked on their History unit exploring Ancient Egypt, while in Year 8 the topic is Japan Under the Shoguns. Year 9 students have completed their geography unit and our Year 10 Outdoor and Environmental Geography class has been considering sustainability.
We do not inherit the world from our ancestors, we borrow it from our children. Native American proverb.
Year 10 Outdoor and Environmental Geography students have explored what it means to make sustainable choices. They investigated the impact of environmental threats in the world today and explored the concept of sustainability.
In this unit, students focused on being sustainable in our everyday life, considering food intake, transport, energy, electricity, waste, water use and consumption. Students also calculated their ecological footprint, a powerful lesson in understanding the impact we have on earth.
The ecological footprint calculator uses the information you provide to calculate how many earths it would take to support your way of living if everyone in the world lived like you.
You can calculate your ecological footprint by following this link Footprint calculator
Understanding our footprint also helped students create messages about making sustainable choices. You can view their work below. What everyday changes could you make to be more sustainable?
Annika Miesen - Outdoor and Environmental Geography teacher
Introducing Year 8 students to the culture and traditions of Japan as part of the Feudal Japan Unit in Humanities was a great success.
Students from 8 Bernard and 8 O’Reilly engaged in a team-teaching lesson during which they were involved in scriptwriting, using the Katakana alphabet, Origami and a chopstick challenge using Skittles.
The enthusiasm and energy in the classroom were fantastic and students were respectful and supported each other in team challenges. The chopstick challenge proved popular and involved students using chopsticks to pick up coloured Skittles and transport them from one bowl to another. Teams were given a time limit to move as many Skittles as possible. There was a lot of laughter and supportive chanting from cheer squads even though many Skittles landed on the floor!
Overall, this team-teaching activity allowed classes to engage in and support each other’s learning and enhance the concepts and topics taught in this unit. We hope that more team-teaching and open learning opportunities will present themselves in the Year 8 Humanities curriculum.
Mrs Karina Dunne and Ms Carissa Lock - Year 8 Humanities teachers
Do you think you are a good judge? Here is a chance to prove it.
Over the next few weeks we will highlight the Children’s Book Council of Australia, 2021 Book of the Year nominations.
Visit the Alexandria Resource Centre and read some of these books to see if you can pick the winners before the announcement in August during Book Week.
Dylan and her adored French mother dream of one day sailing across the ocean to France. Paris, Dylan imagines, is a place where her black skin won’t make her stand out, a place where she might feel she belongs. But when she loses her mother in a freak accident, Dylan finds herself on a very different journey: a road trip across outback Australia in the care of her mother’s grieving boyfriend, Pat. As they travel through remote towns further and further from the water that Dylan longs for, she and Pat form an unlikely bond. One that will be broken when he leaves her with the family she has never known. Metal Fish, Falling Snow is a warm, funny and highly original portrait of a young girl’s search for identity and her struggle to deal with grief. Through families lost and found, this own-voices story celebrates the resilience of the human heart and our need to know who we truly are.
Long ago, the little Prince of Cloudburst was stolen from the seashore by a Water Sprite. Now, ten years later, the prince has found his way home. The King and Queen are planning the biggest party in their Kingdom's history to welcome him. Meanwhile, on the other side of the Kingdoms and Empires, Esther Mettlestone-Staranise is looking forward to another year at Katherine Valley Boarding School. But she arrives to find a number of strange and unsettling changes. For one, her new teacher is rumoured to be an Ogre. Two mysterious students have joined the school, and one of Esther's classmates is an undercover Spellbinder. Most disturbingly, the mountains surrounding the school - usually a delight of glaciers, teashops, lakes and Faeries - are now crowded with wicked Shadow Mages. As secrets and dangers escalate, Esther must find the answers to several puzzles. Why is her teacher behaving so oddly? Which of Esther's classmates is the Spellbinder, and can they really protect the school from gathering hordes of Shadow Mages? Could the Stolen Prince of Cloudburst be connected? How can Esther - who is not talented like her sisters, nor an adventurer like her cousin, but just Esther - save her family, her school and possibly her entire world?
Melton Parish has confirmed the date for the celebration of Confirmation for Year 7 students from St Catherine’s and St Dominic’s will be Sunday 1 August.
Further details from the parish will be provided to parents and guardians as they are received.
An information sheet for parents and guardians about the Nationally Consistent Collection of Data (NCCD) On School Students with Disability is available below.
Keep up to date with College events, procedures, resources and information via the links below.
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