Dear Parents & Carers,

Last Friday we celebrated the Feast of St Francis.

We had to totally re-imagine the organisation of the day with strong COVID restrictions still in place.

It was a great day with the announcement of the winner of the House Cup - Chisholm! Students in Chisholm will receive a year of favour as a reward for being the champion house.

Student leaders for 2020-2021 were also announced and we congratulate the following students on their success in becoming College leaders:-

Students celebrated a liturgy dedicated to St Francis of Assisi and extended their learning by participating in trivia or Kahoots at the end of the day.  K-4 students heard the story of St Francis and the wolf of Gubbio.  I presented Years 5-10 students with my reflections on St Francis and his spirit of giving, which I have for your consideration below:

Francis was born over a thousand years ago. He was born into a wealthy Italian family who sold fabric across the region. His real name was Giovanni di Pietro di Bernardone. His father was away on business in France when he was born and so nicknamed him ‘Francis’. He lived a fairly privileged life, was well educated and learnt about religion and God through school and his family.

As a young man Francis liked to party and chose to the life of a soldier. He was taken prisoner by the army of the neighbouring town of Perugia. They knew his family was wealthy and so kept him hostage for almost a year, trapped in a cell and demanded that his family pay ransom money.

In captivity, Francis prayed to God to be released. I suspect he made bargains with God like many of do when we want something. ‘Oh God, if you do this for me, I’ll do this for you’. Eventually Francis was released and he took his commitment to God seriously and changed his ordinary life and started to do extraordinary things.

His eyes were opened to people in need around him. His saw many people who were poor and needed help. He gave his money, his time and his energy to helping others. He was very generous in giving to others. Quickly he discovered the joy in focusing on others rather than himself. He recognised that this was very much the life that Jesus lived.

I’m not sure how many of the staff and students listening to my story today have experienced giving. For some it may be something you do regularly, for others of us, we could give a lot more. But one thing Francis learnt was that the more you give the more you gain. The more you help others, the more you will be helped. The more energy you put into lifting others, the more you will be lifted up. The more love you give away, the more love you will receive. You cannot give without getting even more in return.

It doesn’t seem to make sense because if you spend the same amount of time doing just about anything else, you can’t produce the same result. It is like a special reward you can only get when doing good for others.

And Francis did good for others and in doing so inspired others. People saw how happy Francis was. They saw how much of a difference he was making. They saw how much people appreciate it and so they volunteered to help him. Eventually a group known as the Franciscans worked and travelled all around Italy and later the world; making a difference and helping others.

Perhaps this is what Jesus meant when He said, “For whosoever will save his life shall lose it: and whosoever will lose his life…shall find it.” I read that quote to mean that whoever goes through life looking out for only themselves will find in the end that they have created no life at all. It will be full of possessions and yet be empty. They may have friends but no deep connections. They will always search for something new that gives them that good feeling, only to find that it wears off too fast.

Those who expend their efforts looking for ways to serve others will find that they enjoy a full and satisfied life. They may or may not have many possessions but either way, that will not define them. They are rewarded constantly by the feelings that always accompany doing good for others. Perhaps this is why St Francis is one of the best-known saints and the reason why we celebrate the life of an ordinary person who did extra-ordinary things over 1000 years ago.

There is an infinite number of ways to make a difference for somebody else and most of them are pretty small and require nothing more than your time. You would be amazed how much of a difference you can make by just smiling every time you talk to someone. If you really want to make an impact, go to the store and buy a bunch of blank “Thank You” cards that you can write in and give to people any time they do something nice for you. Even better, write a card to someone for no reason and tell them how much you appreciate them. You will seriously change somebody’s life.

These are just some small examples. If you keep your eyes open, you will find ways to serve the people around you all day long. You don’t need to do something big but you do need to do something. For you, for them, for your own happiness. Over the school holidays, focus on helping as people as you can.

Staffing Announcements for 2021

Over the past month we have been very busy recruiting fabulous new teaching staff for 2021. Few things are more important than getting the very best staff. I am very proud of our existing staff who go above and beyond for students and their families. I am pleased to say that interest in teaching at St Francis remains strong, particularly as we enter senior classes with Year 11 next year and the teachers we have coming in will be amazing. 

The following applicants were successful for Junior Years (K-4) positions:

• Mrs Melissa Davidson & Mr Sebastian Diaz currently teaching at St Francis have been offered permanent teaching positions.
  
  
• Miss Allira Figueiras currently teaching at St Thomas More Catholic Primary School, Ruse has been offered a permanent position.
  
  
• Miss Kristine Micallef currently teaching at Immaculate Heart of Mary, Sefton has been offered a permanent position.
  
  
• Miss Bianca Messina & Miss Georgina Kaka currently teaching at St Francis has been offered a further teaching contract for 2021. 
  
  
• Mrs Mariah Anderson currently teaching at St Francis has been offered a part-time teaching contract for 2021. 

The following applicants were successful for Middle/Senior Years (5-11) positions:

• Mr Michael O’Brien -Leader of Administration & Events.
  Michael currently works at St Francis as our Compass Implementation Coordinator. 
  
  
• Ms Alyssa McGinnes -Leader of Diverse Learning (7-12).
  Alyssa currently works as an Education Officer, School Improvement- Specialist Support for the Catholic Education Office, Wollongong. 
  
  
• Miss Elise Laidlaw- Leader of Learning (K-4).
  Miss Laidlaw has been excellent acting in this role for over 12 months following Mrs Jeymour going on maternity leave. We are delighted that the role is now hers permanently. 
  
  
• Mrs Nadia Greci - Year 7 Coordinator 2021.
  Currently working at St Francis as a HSIE/RE teacher.
  
  
• Mr Philip Stonefield- Science, Chemistry, STEM & Mathematics Teacher.
  Currently teaching at De La Sale Revesby.
  
  
• Miss Amber Meadley- Mandatory Technology, Design & Technology, Food Technology & VET Hospitality Teacher.
  Currently Assistant Year 12 Coordinator, teaching at John Therry Catholic College, Rosemeadow. 
  
  
• Mr Thomas Siskas - Mathematics Teacher.
  Currently teaching at All Saints Catholic College, Casula.
  
  
• Miss Cassandra Cagliuso - Assistant Religious Education Coordinator, HSIE/RE & Legal Studies Teacher.
  Currently teaching at Emmaus College, Kemps Creek.
  
  
• Miss Mary Shoard- English/ RE Teacher.
  Miss Shoard is currently working at St Francis on a temporary contract. 
  
  
• Mrs Courtney Spencer - English/RE Teacher
  currently Literacy Coordinator at Patrician Brothers' College, Blacktown. 
  
  
• Miss Grace Potts & Ms Dearne Vaga
  currently teaching at St Francis have been offered further teaching contracts for 2021. 
  

We look forward to these staff members making a valuable contribution next year. Some further staffing announcements will follow next term. Staff numbers will grow to a little over 100 for 2021. 

I will be taking the opportunity to have an extended break by taking the first two weeks of Term 4 as long service leave. Mrs Rita Agostino will act as Principal in my absence, and Mr Shane Chapman will act as Assistant Principal - Pastoral Care.  I know that the College will be good hands whilst I am on leave.

I hope you enjoy some family time whilst the students have a break and look forward to seeing you when I return in Week 3.

May God continue to bless you.

Mr Simon Abernethy
College Principal