They say ‘time flies when you’re having fun’ and this has certainly been the case this term. It’s hard to believe that Term 1 is almost at its end. I would like to thank everyone for your support. It has been a very busy term, with a significant number of achievements and I feel very confident about the direction in which the College is heading. Our new building will progress next term and will be a game changer in terms of teaching & learning. 

However, the buildings are never what this College was about. The people are what make our community special and what I am most proud of. 300 new students and their families have now settled in and the vast majority are happy, comfortable and in routine. Over 25 new staff have added great value to our community. I am very proud of the cooperation and welcome they received from existing staff and the fantastic contributions they have made to make SFCC a better place. 

In this edition of the newsletter, I have included an article from the Australian Catholic University publication ‘Alum’ (Issue 11 2018), which discusses the virtues of Selective Schools. It remains a concern of mine, that some of our parents aspire to their children enrolling in Selective Schools and pay money for their kids to sit the selective school exams. Please read the article by Associate Professor Philip Parker & Menios Constantinou as it highlights concerns with the notion of ‘selectivity’.

St Francis thrives on diversity and meets the needs of our academically gifted children by regularly modifying school work to make learning more challenging and extending student knowledge. We have an identification process through Slosson testing and highly capable students may be offered opportunities to be in programs such Spliced, University of Wollongong Science Fair, Mini-Archies Art Competition and the DaVinci Decathlon.

Results of Parent Communication Survey

Recently we sent out a Parent Communication Survey to examine issues around how the College communicates with parents and the preferences of families.

Some parents asked in the survey why our Parents & Friends Committee is yet to be established?  Since its establishment, the College has been investigating an alternative structure to a Parents & Friends committee. The common experience of P&F committees is that they are often poorly attended, focused on fundraising and rely on the same group of parents to do much of the work. Last year a 'Principal's Advisory Group' was presented as an option. The answer is that approval to move away from a traditional P&F model required the approval of the Bishop.

This approval has now been given and we will shortly be establishing a Family College Partnership. More information on this will be presented early Term 2. 

A summary of the results are presented below:

• Approx. 85% of parents who responded to the survey were mums
• Percentage of parents to respond from each year group:

Kinder= 43% , Year 1= 29%, Year 2= 30%, Year 3= 27%, Year 4= 19%,
Year 5= 24%, Year 6= 27%, Year 7= 27%, Year 8= 25%, Year 9= 22%

• Parents who had students start in 2017, 2018 & 2019 were equally represented roughly 1/3 each.
• ¾ of families have English as their main language. ¼ have languages other than English as their main language. There is no real dominant language other than English with numerous languages spoken at home including Amharic, Arabic, Fijian, Hindi, Malayalam, Ilonggo/Filipino, Indonesian, Nepali, Polish, Samoan, Shona/ Ndebele, Spanish, Tagalog, Tamil, Telugu.
• Approx. ¼ of families have their children read/translate information from the College.
• Facebook remains the most popular Social Media tool with approx. 75% of parents ‘liking’ the St Francis Facebook page. 1/3 using it regularly, 1/3 using sometimes & 1/3 not using it.
• 97% of parents have downloaded ‘Skoolbag’. The vast majority of parents use Skoolbag to access the College newsletter & notes.
• 82% of parents read the newsletter every fortnight. 11% read the newsletter once a month. The remaining 7% read it infrequently.
• The information in the College newsletter is:
• Easy to Read & Understand: 90% mostly, 10% sometimes
• Interesting & Informative: 75% mostly, 24% sometimes, 1% not really
• Relevant to Your Child: 61% mostly, 38% sometimes, 1% not really
• Most parents access the College website infrequently once their child has enrolled. They find information on the website easy to read, understand & find. 40% say it is mostly relevant to their child, 45% say sometimes, 15% not really relevant to their child.
• 83% of parents access student reports using the parent portal. 88% use the parent portal to book parent/teacher/student interviews. 66% of parents check their child’s attendance using parent portal. Most parents are open to other forms of communication on the parent portal.
• 96% of parents prefer notes/consent forms coming home via email or Skoolbag. 70% also want a hardcopy to come home with their child.
• 95% want their school fee notice to be emailed. 10% would like them sent by post. (meaning some want both)
• 80% of parents want urgent messages from the College sent via SMS text messages & 75% want it sent via Skoolbag.
• 91% of parents have attended at least one parent information evening in the last 12 months. Week nights Monday – Thursday receive greater than 75% support. 90% of parents suggest they attend these nights because the want to be involved for their children. 76% say these nights are highly relevant. Approx 80% see this as an opportunity to network with other parents.
• 98% of K-4 parents would raise an issue with the class teacher as the first port of call. Parents of students in Years 5-9 would firstly go to Homeroom teacher (50%), Subject teacher (27%) or Year Coordinator (15%).
• Do you feel comfortable raising concerns with the College: 82% mostly, 17% sometimes. 1% No.
• If concerns are raised the College has listened and tries to respond appropriately: 70% mostly, 27% sometimes, 3% Not really.
• Do you believe that the College listens to feedback & suggestions from families? 68% mostly, 28% sometimes, 4% not really.
• Do you feel comfortable offering feedback & suggestions? 71% mostly, 21% sometimes, 8% not really.
• Do you think a formal suggestion box email would make it easier for families to offer suggestions? 75% yes, 20% not sure, 5% no.
• Overall do you feel well informed about your child’s learning/progress? 66% mostly, 25% sometimes, 9% not really.
• Overall do you feel well informed about College news & events? 83% mostly, 16% sometimes, 1% not really.
• Overall do you feel well informed about College policy & information? 83% mostly, 15% sometimes, 2% not really.
• Overall how well does St Francis communicate with families? 66% great, 28% good, 6% needs improvement.

As a result of the survey, what do we continue to do?

• Provide the newsletter digitally via email & Skoolbag.
• Provide photos and news stories on the College Facebook page.
• Provide promotional material & infrequently accessed info for parents on the College website.
• Provide notes & consent forms via Skoolbag, Email & provide hardcopies.
• Deliver academic reports & parent/teacher/student interview bookings via the parent portal.
• Deliver school fee notices digitally via email.
• Send urgent messages from the College via SMS text & Skoolbag.
• Continue to promote with K-4 families the notion of the class teacher being the first port of call for concerns.
• Continue to promote with 5-9 families the notion of the class teacher being the first port of call for specific academic concerns, the Pastoral Class teacher for specific Pastoral concerns & the Year/Stage Coordinator for general overall concerns.

What will we change as a result of the survey?

• Introduce a formal suggestion box email for parents, students and families.
• Commence a Family - College Partnership Group which will be a consultative group and allow parents/carers and students to work in partnership with the College Leadership Team.
• Conduct an information evening in Term 2 to update families on the progress of building works, the College master plan, future building projects, College facilities and developments.
• Promote the online translator function on the College newsletter.
• Increase support for students & families who have English as an additional language dialect.
  

Have a great student vacation break!

Mr Simon Abernethy
College Principal