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Phone: (03) 8099 6000
Email:info@sfcc.vic.edu.au
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The anniversary of the death of St John Henry Newman passed recently. He was born on 21 February 1801 and died on 11 August 1890. He was canonised quite recently on 13 October 2019.
John Henry Newman spent the first half of his life as an Anglican and the second half as a Roman Catholic.
He was a priest, popular preacher, writer, and eminent theologian in both churches. When Newman was named a cardinal in 1879, he took as his motto “Cor ad cor loquitur” or “Heart speaks to heart”.
His reflection below shows the great strength of his faith.
The Mission of My Life
God has created me to do Him some definite service. He has committed some work to me which He has not committed to another. I have my mission. I may never know it in this life, but I shall be told it in the next.
I am a link in a chain, a bond of connection between persons. He has not created me for naught. I shall do good; I shall do His work. I shall be an angel of peace, a preacher of truth in my own place, while not intending it if I do but keep His commandments.
Therefore, I will trust Him, whatever I am, I can never be thrown away. If I am in sickness, my sickness may serve Him, in perplexity, my perplexity may serve Him.
If I am in sorrow, my sorrow may serve Him. He does nothing in vain. He knows what He is about. He may take away my friends. He may throw me among strangers. He may make me feel desolate, make my spirits sink, hide my future from me.
Still, He knows what He is about.
St John Henry Newman
As always there is plenty happening at the College this week.
Book Week is being celebrated across Australia recognising local authors and highlighting the importance of reading. This year’s theme is Read Grow Inspire.
Our English Domain is celebrating Book Week with its largest number of students ever competing in the Write a Book in a Day competition.
This exciting challenge sees groups of students write, illustrate and publish a novella in just one day. Students display their creativity and develop collaboration and leadership skills. The challenge also raises funds for kids' cancer research.
We wish all teams every success and look forward to reading their stories.
We are also hosting a number of NAIDOC Week activities to celebrate and recognise the history, culture and achievements of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples.
Yesterday students and staff walked laps of our soccer pitch to raise funds for the Opening the Doors Foundation, an Aboriginal-led community organisation supporting educational opportunities for Aboriginal children.
There was a wonderful atmosphere during the event, which also earned house points for all participants. See all the results and more photos here.
In this second half of a cold and wintery third term, students can sometimes become tired, and less tolerant and standards begin to slip.
I encourage all families to assist students in maintaining the high standard of uniform that we experienced in the first half of this year and to ensure they are on time to school equipped with all the necessary materials.
Remember, there are only four weeks until the school holidays!
| Dates to remember | |
| Friday 25 August | Student Study at Home Day - Staff Professional Practice Day - College closed |
| Wednesday 30 August | Parents and Friends Meeting |
| Thursday 7 September | St Francis Feast Day |
| Tuesday 12 September | Parent Student Teacher Interviews (online) |
| Thursday 14 September | Parent Student Teacher Interviews (online) |
| Friday 15 September | Final day of Term 3 |
| Dates to remember | |
| Friday 25 August | Student Study at Home Day - Staff Professional Practice Day - College closed |
| Wednesday 30 August | Parents and Friends Meeting |
| Thursday 7 September | St Francis Feast Day |
| Tuesday 12 September | Parent Student Teacher Interviews (online) |
| Thursday 14 September | Parent Student Teacher Interviews (online) |
| Friday 15 September | Final day of Term 3 |
All dads and fatherly figures in our College community are welcome to join us for a liturgy and breakfast in the Performing Arts Centre at 8am on Thursday 31 August.
We invite you and your child to join us for this special morning to celebrate Father’s Day.
On Tuesday 12 September and Thursday 14 September, the College will hold its Parent, Student Teacher Interviews (PSTIs) online via Microsoft Teams.
Interviews can be booked through the parent portal (PAM) from Monday 4 September.
Instructions on how to make a booking with your child’s teachers are available below. You will also find information about access to the interview booking link.
Interviews for Melton Campus families can be booked from 4.30pm to 7pm on both days.
Interviews for Cobblebank Campus families can be booked from 4pm to 6.30pm on both days.
The St Francis Catholic College 2023 Production Rags to Riches showcased the performing arts talent among our Year 7 to 12 students. It was also the first time that we had performers working together from Cobblebank and Melton campuses!
Act 1 was the musical Cinderella: If the Shoe Fits. The stereotypical characters from the classic story came to life through the convincing performances from our talented leads and the superb work from our full cast.
Act 2 was our Celebration of Music and Dance featuring performances from the Vocal Ensemble, SFCC Band, Year 10 music students and VET Music Band. The dances explored jazz, lyrical, hip-hop and contemporary styles performed by junior students and the VET dance class. We also celebrated some of the diverse cultures found within the school community with a Congolese and Pasifika performance.
Thank you to the students and staff involved in this production. Shows like these don’t happen without the support of many people generously giving their time for rehearsals, set-creation, props, costumes and sound and lighting design.
Thank you also to the many people who came out to support our students! The buzz in the audience was fantastic and the students loved having such positive feedback.
Congratulations to all involved!
As we celebrate Book Week, we take the opportunity to congratulate the winners of our annual College writing competition, the Hildegarde Literary Prize.
Each year, students across the College are invited to submit original compositions in response to a chosen theme. This year, the theme was Inspire, and from the many pieces of fiction, poetry and non-fiction our students contributed, four were chosen as prize winners.
First place in the senior division (Years 10-12) was awarded to Year 10 student Alanis Furtado for her piece Crunchy Philosophy. Here is a review from one of our judges:
"Alanis Furtado’s Crunchy Philosophy is a wonderfully poetic piece offering true glimpses of insight into the nature of being whilst generously counterbalanced with elements of bathos. Fun yet sincere, we congratulate Miss Furtado on her wise and whimsical work." - Amanda Racanovic - English Teacher.
First place in the junior division (Years 7-9) went to Year 8 student Isabella Sestoso, with her piece With the Touch of a New Dawn. Below is a review:
"Isabella Sestoso’s evocative piece With the Touch of a New Dawn uses contrasting images of drought and renewal to explore the nature of creativity and the ways inspiration provides a sense of connection, belonging and hope. Isabella’s prose demonstrated great maturity from such a young voice, and we look forward to seeing her writing develop even more." Kezi Todd – English Domain Leader.
Read With the Touch of a New Dawn
A huge congratulations also go to our runners-up:
Our annual Write a Book in Day event will be held tomorrow (Wednesday 23 August) in the Alexandria Resource Centre for Melton Campus students.
A total of 55 students from both campuses have registered to take part – the largest contingent we have ever entered!
Our Cobblebank Campus students will write their books next week so watch this space for more details.
Melton Campus teams will work from 8am until 8pm to plan, write, edit, illustrate and publish a book that will be available in a digital library and distributed to children undergoing medical treatment in hospitals across Australia.
The annual competition promotes literacy, collaboration and creativity and is run by The Kids’ Cancer Project
Each team has been also given the added challenge of meeting a fundraising target of $240 through sponsorship to support childhood cancer research.
You can support them by making a donation using the links below.
Bernice Acabel, Paige Cauchi, Gabrielle Pilapil, Jessica Sultana, Angelynne Gonzaga, Lorebeth Paler, Isabella Sestoso
Renee Furtado, Olivia Cunningham, Abuk Ngong, Hayden Hausfeld, Alisha Day, Raphael Guillaumier, Cecilia Bui
Edie Todd, Lily Maguire, Maddy Whelan, Abbey Honig, Bella Waters, Sienna Brown, Aleisha Brown, Grace Cordell
Olivia Emin, Karina Delgadillo, Alanis Furtado, Alice Summers, Addison McKellar. Try My Nguyen
Erin Johnstone, Monica Teichelman, Alannah Trovato, Izabella Boon, Marla Moakkad, Illyana Baraci
Reeih Bhullar, Prabal Bhumbla, Taranveer Dhaliwal, Senadee Dharmaratne, Harshpreet Gill, Juliana Juan, Navroz Kainth
Violet Marshall, Ellie Merington, Noah Navascues, Demitri Ong, Shriyan Peacheri, Akanksha Prakash,Gurnoor Rai
Caden Reeve, Ayush Sehgal, Kritika Sharma, Kanwar Sidhu, Liam Teh, Achraj Virk, Hannah Zou
Our NAIDOC Week activities began yesterday with a Walkathon for the Opening the Doors Foundation.
Together, Melton and Cobblebank students and staff walked more than 1800 half laps of the soccer pitch during their lunch breaks and raised almost $1000 for their efforts, to be donated by the College.
Valuable house points were also earned on the day
Well done everyone!
| House Points earned | |
| Dominic | 290 |
| Bakhita | 255 |
| Glowrey | 213 |
| Bernard | 182 |
| Lawrence | 178 |
| Catherine | 173 |
| MacKillop | 112 |
| Anthony | 101 |
Daniela Harrington - Project Officer Indigenous Students
| House Points earned | |
| MacKillop | 73 |
| Dominic | 65 |
| Lawrence | 60 |
| Bernard | 56 |
| Anthony | 39 |
| Bakhita | 39 |
| Glowrey | 28 |
| Catherine | 15 |
Charlee Keating - Teacher
Tomorrow (Wednesday 23 August) is your last chance to donate to our Homelessness Campaign and we thank all those who have so generously contributed to the collection.
Last Wednesday our Faith and Mission Team organised a very successful BBQ lunch for Melton Campus staff and students, raising a total of $854 for the campaign.
Thank you to our students, maintenance team and staff for their support and the great community spirit shown by all on the day.
This Thursday, we will hold our annual Winter Sleepout at our Melton Campus.
During the evening, students and staff will hear from community members including Melton Rotary Club past president Mr Martin Farrugia, Rotary Assistant Governor Mrs Cheryl Nash, President of Melton St Vincent de Paul Mrs Maureen Mohr and State Member for Melton Mr Steve McGhie MP.
The aim of the night is to raise awareness of the challenges of homelessness and what we can do to help those experiencing it.
Delicious pancakes were served for Cobblebank Campus students and staff last Wednesday as part of fundraising for their Homelessness Month campaign.
Thanks to all the students and staff who cooked and topped the pancakes and those who supported our team by enjoying one or two and donating generously to the collection for St Vincent de Paul.
The College will hold practice exams for all scored VCE Unit 3/4 students during the second week of the upcoming school holidays, on Wednesday 27 September, Thursday 28 September and Friday 29 September and the first two days of Term 4, Monday 2 October and Tuesday 3 October.
The practice exams will be held in the Trade Training Centre and there will be no Unit 3/4 classes on Monday 2 October or Tuesday 3 October.
The purpose of the practice exams is to replicate the students’ VCAA exams in October and November. They will be supervised by VCAA exam invigilators and conducted under the same conditions as their final exams.
Students should meet in Padua before their exam and will be escorted to the Trade Training Centre by staff.
Students can wear appropriate casual clothes when they attend practice exams during the school holidays. However, they are required to be in school uniform for exams held on the first two days of Term 4.
Student absences will be followed up by Year 12 Coordinator Kosta Masouras and myself. Non-scored VCE students are not required to sit the practice exams.
Students have been asked to arrange any exam changes due to clashes with myself or Mr Masouras.
For Year 11 students completing a Unit 3/4 subject, these practice exams take priority over Unit 2 classes on the first two days of Term 4.
If you have any questions please contact me at clock@sfcc.vic.edu.au
Year 10 Hospitality students made chocolate fudge brownies and a dessert sauce this week and their task was as much about presentation as it was about taste.
They were assessed by their teacher and staff who dropped by to see their plating skills and provide feedback (and earn themselves a brownie to take away for morning tea!)
Team |
Result |
SFCC ladder position |
AFL |
Emmanuel College 48 d SFCC 10 |
5 |
Boys’ Basketball |
SFCC 69 d Emmanuel College 54 |
2 |
Girls’ Basketball |
SFCC 53 d Emmanuel College 29 |
2 |
Netball |
SFCC 25 d Emmanuel College 17 |
4 |
Boys’ Soccer |
BYE |
4 |
Boys’ Volleyball |
SFCC 3 sets d Emmanuel College 0 sets |
1 |
Girls’ Volleyball |
SFCC 3 sets d Emmanuel College 0 sets |
2 |
Team | Result | SFCC Ladder position |
Boys' Basketball - Round 2 | BYE | 2 |
| Girls' Basketball - Round 2 | BYE | 3 |
Year 9 and 10 students have been perfecting their athletics skills ahead of the SACCSS Athletics Championships in September with the help of Athletics Australia coach Gerard Sansico.
In week one, the competitors learned the importance of using correct arm swing technique and body positioning to power their sprint speeds.
This week our athletics team showed some impressive throwing technique as they took an introduction to shotput.
Baton transfer during the 4x100m relay is next on the cards for our athletes as they return to the soccer field for session three on Thursday.
Our World Youth Day representatives have returned from their incredible trip to Lisbon. We asked them to reflect on their adventure and share some of their photos.
"My World Youth Day experience was an inspiring and life-changing one, being able to meet and connect with new people not just from Melbourne, but from across the world. It was memorable to celebrate and share our common faith with others, which included lots of praise and worship and even some loud music and mosh pits.
"In addition to this, exploring Portugal and Fatima was a privilege, to be able to see many beautiful churches and take in another beautiful environment that God has made. It was truly something I will not forget, and I hope that I can go to another World Youth Day in the future."
"Being a part of a pilgrimage to World Youth Day 2023 was truly a life-changing experience.
"I was blessed with the opportunity to represent St Francis Catholic College along with three other students to deepen our Christian faith.
"With more than 1.5 million other pilgrims from around the world, we got a better understanding of Catholicism and what it means to love Jesus and and live a life following his path.
"I participated in Catechesis where other pilgrims shared stories on how they came to find Christianity and how it is practised in other countries.
We embraced and celebrated our faith which was very special to me as I met people who shared the same love for religion as I do."
"World Youth Day was a wonderful experience. Lisbon was a beautiful and welcoming city with great people and a great culture.
"The event was very well organised and there was rarely a dull moment. Spiritually, to have been in the presence of the Holy Father and to have prayed with a million other people was inspiring.
"My highlight was Fatima and the candlelight service; it truly felt like God was present and the traditional style of the service was spiritually enriching.
"I highly enjoyed this experience and strongly recommend it to anyone who may be considering attending World Youth Day in Seoul in 2027."
"Being able to travel to another country for a pilgrimage is something I'll forever be grateful for. It was a privilege to be selected to go and worship our Lord Jesus in a country with so much history.
"During my time in Lisbon, I was able to create new bonds and friendships with people whom I have never met before. I highly recommend students take part in the next World Youth Day if they get the chance - it's a once-in-a-lifetime experience with millions of young people.
"The highlight for me was seeing Pope Francis drive past! We had a very good view and it was just amazing to see him in person. I will forever cherish WYD LISBON 2023!"
A group of Melton Campus students and staff volunteered to plant trees and shrubs along the College perimeter last week as part of Plant a Tree Day.
Leandro from our Maintenance Team expertly guided students, offering advice about tree planting and care.
Students enjoyed the experience and will keep an eye on their plants over the coming months to ensure they flourish.
The trees and shrubs were donated as part of the ResourceSmart Schools Program.
Student Leadership Coordinator
Balloon-powered rockets, paper plane challenges, simulated volcano eruptions and a daily trivia competition were among the activities at the College during National Science Week.
Congratulations to all our Melton and Cobblebank campus winners and thanks to everyone who got involved in our celebration of science and technology.
Science Domain Leader
The City of Melton Learning Festival will be held from 2 to 9 September. Below are some of the activities on offer.
Keep updated with College events, procedures, resources and information via the links below.
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