Year 12 Retreat

Congratulations to Year 12 cohort of 2024, for the wonderful way they participated and immersed themselves in their Year 12 Retreat experience. From Wednesday to Friday last week, our Year 12s attended the Benedict XVI Retreat Centre at Grose Wold and had an opportunity to reflect on their lives and relationship with God. It was a truly memorable experience for our students. I would like to thank our Year 12 Coordinator, Mr Arzapitian and the Retreat Facilitator, Ms Emma Randall, for their impressive work in developing and coordinating three days of meaningful presentations, activities and liturgy.

I thank our Year 12 Pastoral Care team and the various staff who attended and gave up their family time to be with our Year 12s.

The retreat was excellent, and our students will gain much from the experience - setting them up well for their HSC year.

More details (and photographs) will appear in future newsletters.

Year 7 Camp

Year 7 Camp is an opportunity for our students to bond as a year group and engage in various fun yet challenging activities designed to stretch themselves and push them out of their comfort zone. I especially thank Miss Cox for her tremendous work, in organising the camp, and I think our dedicated Year 7 Pastoral Care team and the staff who were there for the three days at the ‘Great Aussie Bush Camp’, Kincumber.

The camp staff were very impressed with our students and commented on their politeness and positive attitude. It’s exciting to know many students have developed new friends and/or strengthened their relationships at the college, whilst also having an engaging (yet tiring) time away from school. Well done, Year Seven! Future newsletters will contain photographs of this event.

2023 HSC High Achievers

On Thursday, 15th February, our 2023 HSC High Achievers returned to the College to be recognised for their excellent performances last year.  As previously communicated, our Year 12 2023 HSC group performed exceptionally well - with the highest percentage of Band 6/E4 results recorded in the Wollongong Diocese and seeing St Francis rank within the top 150 schools in New South Wales.

There were numerous individual achievements of note in 2023, with many students (whether they achieved a Band 6 or not) excelling beyond what was expected. Our Dux, Courtney J., who not only attained an ATAR 98.35 but was ranked 5th in NSW in Society and Culture, spoke on the day and shared her meaningful study experiences. So too, Liam N., another high achiever who excelled in the Sciences and Maths, shared his study tips with our Middle Year and Senior Year students.

I thank the group of students who attended on the day, and we appreciate the group then being involved in a Q & A sharing session, providing advice to our current students regarding what success looks like and how to approach study, assessments and/or Major Works. Our current senior group gained much hearing from our recent alumni and such events help build our academic culture.

LA school visits and Religious Education Congress

Mrs Crescini (REC K-4), Mrs Mediati (Assistant Principal - Religious Education, Identity & Mission), and myself were part of the Catholic Education Wollongong Party representing the Diocese at this international event. Over 10,000 delegates attended over the four days, including the first day aimed at Youth. Over the course of the Congress, amazing presenters and theologians from around the world shared a range of subject matter based on the conference theme of “Beloved”- the notion that we are all loved by our God.

I look forward to sharing my learnings with our staff and students and then in future newsletters.

Mrs Cresini, Mrs Mediati and I were also involved in memorable school tours - St. Finbar’s, a K-8 school and St. Genevieve’s, a P-12 school. Pleasingly, we learned much from the students and the staff and built connections with both schools. Furthermore, our tour group visited ‘Homeboy Industries’ and met Father Greg Boyle, a highly impressive individual who has had an incredible impact on changing the lives of former gang members around Los Angeles. I’m delighted to say that Father Greg Boyle will be visiting Australia later in the year, and many of our students will have an opportunity to meet him and hear his remarkable story.

PRAYER

BELOVED 

Blessed are we, in every moment

Blessed are we, chosen and sent

Blessed are we, loved beyond measure

Blessed are we! 

God Bless,
Mr Matthew McMahon
College Principal