This week our senior student leaders spoke at Assembly about the amount of rubbish left in the yard.
This was a follow-up to a meeting our senior students arranged with the leadership team.
The students raised concerns about the high levels of rubbish that are consistently dropped in the yard by students. Several strategies were put forward by the group, including the need for more prominent recycling bins and options to deposit rubbish that avoided touching rubbish bin lids.
As a result, the College has invested in rosetta bin lids that allow students to put rubbish in the bin without touching a lid. Our maintenance team are also working on grouping landfill bins next to recycle bins to encourage positive choices by students.
As I walk around at lunchtime and pick up rubbish with students, occasionally, the response is, “Can’t we get a cleaner in to do this?”
Certainly, paying an outside contractor to come in each night to clean the grounds would create the illusion of a clean campus.
However, the responsibility to keep our College grounds clean is both an individual and collective responsibility based on our gospel values
The Eighth Decree of the Plenary Council titled Integral Ecology and Conversion for the Sake of our Common Home, should guide our environmental responsibilities.
“Throughout the Scriptures we learn of God’s love for creation, from the affirmation of the goodness of creation in Genesis (Genesis 1:2–4) to the Book of Revelation’s vision of a creation made new (Revelation 21:5). All life and all that sustains it comes from God the Creator as gift, and so we are committed to care for our Common Home.”
“Local and universal Catholic Social Teaching, too, has helped us to reflect on how we might live in right relationship with the Creator, one another, and all of creation. Pope Francis’ landmark Encyclical Letter Laudato Si’ (2015) powerfully pointed out that we do not stand outside creation but are ‘joined in a splendid universal communion’ with other creatures and are called to care for the common home which we share with them (n. 220).” plenarycouncil.catholic.org.au
The concept of ecological conversion calls us to a change in mindset from one of dominance and exploitation of our environment to a deeper understanding of the need to be interconnected with our environment.
As a Pacific nation, we are responsible for ensuring our oceans are free from rubbish and that our actions do not negatively impact our Pacific neighbours.
Our senior student leadership team will continue to work with students to help them understand the individual difference they can make in protecting our environment and our collective responsibility to protect our planet.
As adults, we all have a role to play in educating and supporting the next generation to make positive choices.
The great Pacific garbage patch is now as big as the USA.
The College is planning classes and staffing for 2023.
A reminder that families are required to email enrolments@sfcc.vic.edu.au
if their child/children will not return to the College in 2023.
Exit paperwork will be emailed to families by the end of October.
Students will not be formally exited from the College until all relevant paperwork is returned.
Kylie Perry
Registrar
Father’s Day Liturgy and Breakfast
We're celebrating all fathers and fatherly figures with a morning liturgy and breakfast at the College next week.
Students and their dads or fatherly figures are invited to the event on Thursday 1 September from 8am in the Performing Arts Centre foyer.
Fathers and fatherly figures are different for everyone and may be biological, an uncle, brother or family friend.
Students are also invited to send a photo of themselves with their fatherly figure to Amy Rowley at arowley@sfcc.vic.edu.au to be part of a selfie mural being created for the day.
All the details are below and you can click here to register.
A First Look at our New Uniform
Our new St Francis Catholic College uniform was launched at a full school assembly on Monday.
The pictures above and below show some of the items - a full pricelist is being prepared by our supplier, Academy Uniforms and will be sent to families in Term 4.
All 2023 Year 7 students must purchase the new College uniform. New students to the College in other year levels in 2023 will also be required to wear the new uniform.
Current students can continue to wear the existing uniform for up to two years. The new uniform will be compulsory for all students from the start of 2025.
Students will not be permitted to mix and match the old and new uniform items.
If you have any questions please email me at kmatthews@sfcc.vic.edu.au
Kerrie-Ann Matthews
Deputy Principal - Head of Cobblebank Campus
Indigenous Immersion for Year 10 and 11 2023 students
The College is planning an Indigenous Immersion experience to Cape York for 2023 Year 10 and 11 students. The trip will run from 10 to 19 April next year.
An information night for parents and guardians will be held online tonight, Wednesday 24 August, from 6pm.
A link to join the online meeting is available below.
Presenter Lael Stone will outline a valuable set of tools for parents and guardians aiming to raise children through positive connections and communication.
In this 90-minute workshop, Lael will provide you with advice on:
Guiding your children to become resilient adults
Practical strategies to build stronger connections with your children
Ideas to support your children when they are frustrated or going through challenging situations
Simple ways to create co-operation
Dealing with your own triggers as a parent
Understanding big emotions and feelings and assisting your kids in becoming emotionally resilient.
Cheryl Bullen
Deputy Principal Student Wellbeing - Melton Campus
Student Leadership Applications
Applications for the 2023 Student Leadership Team close soon!
The application process formally began on Thursday 18 August when our current leaders hosted a morning tea for any Year 10 and 11 students interested in role next year.
It was great to see such an amazing turnout and for students to chat with the current leaders about what they should expect if they are successful in their application.
If your child is interested in becoming a voice for their school peers and a representative of the College, they should submit their application to me via email by 11am next Monday 29 August.
If you or your child have any questions or concerns, please contact me or their Year Level Coordinator.
Nirasha Pandi
Student Leadership Coordinator
School Improvement Survey
In 2022, our school is participating in Melbourne Archdiocese Catholic Schools – School Improvement Surveys (MACSSIS). MACSSIS is an annual process whereby schools listen to the thoughts and feelings students, families and staff have about how their school can improve. These surveys help inform the ongoing improvement of schools across the Archdiocese of Melbourne.
One of the main goals of the family survey is to identify the strengths and areas for improvement in our school. MACSSIS data benefits everyone within our school and provides valuable community insights on areas that each school can focus on. Our school believes it is important to encourage families to have a voice and contribute to shaping the ongoing improvement of the school.
The survey is available online, can be accessed from Monday 29 August and needs to be completed by Friday 16 September 2022. Families will be selected at random to complete the survey. An email with how to access the survey and login details will be sent on Monday 29 August.
If you are interested in competing the survey, please email Amy Rowley at arowley@sfcc.vic.edu.au
for a login code.
From the Deputy Principal Learning and Teaching
Celebrating our tutors
Our College tutors continue to work with Year 7 to 10 students who need assistance with literacy and numeracy.
The tutors are allocated to English and Mathematics classes based on availability and the timetables. Some pre-service teachers who have obtained their Permission to Teach (PTT). This has allowed us to employ them for some of the classes. Our tutors have become an integral part of our community, having built a rapport with students and actively engaged in College life.
Our Galgani Aspire tutors (GAP) work with the senior students and aim to model best practices to improve VCE outcomes. They can help students further broaden content knowledge and subject-specific skills and help them achieve the best results possible. We also have tutors supporting our Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander (ATSI) students to reach their learning goals.
We thank all our tutors for the time and dedication they put into improving outcomes for our students.
Joanne Holmes
Deputy Principal Learning and Teaching
Year 9 Food Studies
Year 9 Food Studies students worked through a design brief to create healthy breakfast pancake stacks this week.
They included their choice of flavouring ingredients, toppings, and fresh fruits in the recipe.
The results were fantastic and students even came up with names for their pancake stacks. Pictured above is the Strawberry Shortcake and below (left to right) are the Beehive, Berry-Banana and Apple and Cinnamon Stack.
VCE Unit 2 Chemistry
Our VCE Unit 2 Chemistry students have been studying precipitation reactions and solubility concepts.
The recently completed a practical assessment task to predict, observe and infer if a chemical reaction would occur due to ionic compounds being added together.
Their predictions were quite accurate, and the students could observe precipitates forming, some of which were quite colourful. If your child studies Unit 2 Chemistry, ask them to explain what occurred in our Precipitation Practical.
Joanne Holmes and Dr Romila Gopalan
Chemistry teachers
Sports Update
Senior Boys Basketball
Our senior boys basketball team played Emmanuel Catholic College yesterday and unfortunately lost 69 to 53.
The boys were undefeated until their third-round game and are now determined to return harder for their game next Thursday. I was lucky enough to have the expertise of Flynn Pettit alongside me yesterday and a big shout out to Li-Min Kung, our scorer.
I am very proud of the boys and how they represented the College. They showed great sportsmanship to each other and the opposition.
We will be back to training on Monday to regroup before taking on Marymede Catholic College next Thursday.
Shehani Smith, Basketball Coach
Year 9 Premier League
The results from Wednesday 10 August games were:
Girls Basketball: Emmanuel College (EMC) def CRC 29-46
Boys Basketball: EMC def CRC 66-38
Netball: CRC def EMC 27-22
Boys Soccer: EMC def CRC 1-6
Girls Volleyball: EMC def CRC 0-3
Boys Volleyball: EMC def CRC 0-3
AFL: EMC def CRC 38-88
Ella Higgins, Sports Assistant
Science Week Wrap-Up
Students and staff celebrated all things scientific during Science Week with daily trivia, lunchtime activities and participation in an online Education Perfect competition.
This year’s theme was Glass: more than meets the eye
and our lunchtime activities explored this with students creating kaleidoscopes, designing marble runs, using jelly and lasers to look at refraction of light and creating hot glue fibres.
Congratulations to all students involved and in particular those who placed in the top three for our trivia competition. First place went to David Johan (Year 10) with equal second won by Ajak Majok (Year 11) and Alannah Trovato (Year 8). Well done also to Xavier Schembri (Year 8) who received a Silver Certificate for his active participation in the EP Science Competition.
Below are some photos from the week. We look forward to celebrating Science Week again in 2023!
Lisa Bui
Science Domain Leader
Seasons for Growth Program
Learning to live with change and loss
Change and loss are issues that affect all of us at some stage in our lives. At Catholic Regional College Melton we recognise that when changes occur in families through death, separation, divorce and related circumstances, young people may benefit from learning how to manage these changes effectively.
To help our students with this, we are offering a very successful education program called Seasons for Growth which will begin in the first week of Term 4 for Year 7 to 9 students.
The program will be offered to students in Years 10 to 12 in 2023.
Seasons for Growth is facilitated in small groups and based on research that highlights the importance of social support and the need to practise new skills to cope effectively with change and loss.
It focuses on self-esteem, managing feelings, problem-solving, decision-making, effective communication and support networks.
If you think your child would benefit from the program, we encourage you to talk to them about participating.
The College is pleased to offer this important program and confident it will be a valuable learning experience for all involved.
If you would like further information, please contact your child’s Year Level Coordinator.
Jo Clinton
Teacher and Season for Growth companion
Teaching our Teachers
At the start of this term, we ran a professional learning day titled Power of Words for teachers and Student Support Officers (SSOs).
One of our SSO’s who participated in a session called High Achievers recently took a strategy they learnt and applied it to a learning diversity student in Year 8 Mathematics.
The student created the booklet by folding two pieces of A4 paper and creating pockets in it. The booklet is small and portable for students.
The booklet was:
a colourful and visual way to present fractions for the student to remember
a physical activity – the student created the booklet themselves
a great revision tool in which the student wrote sample fractions and answers
used by the student to record their answer to a fraction question.
The booklet highlighted how a strategy can be used for high achievers and learning diversity students across the College with different complexity of knowledge.
Faye Quinn
Learning and Teaching Pedagogical Coach
Community Notices
City of Melton Lifelong Learning Festival
Below are workshops and learning opportunities that will be offered during the festival:
Venturers is a great opportunity for 14 to 17-year-olds to make lifelong friendships, learn valuable life skills, create amazing memories and have a great time doing it.
The Djerriwarrh Venturer Unit meets at 7pm on Wednesdays, at Bacchus Marsh Scout Hall.
For more information please contact Katelynn Condon via email krcondon112783@gmail.com
or phone 0448 350 961.
Darley Junior Football Netball Club
Goal mentoring program
Eynesbury Discovery Centre
Looking to learn something new? The Eynesbury Discovery Centre has a range of programs and workshops running in Term 3. You will find their newsletter and all the options below.
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