Dear Parents/Carers,

Firstly, some wonderful news!  Mrs Katrina Borg and her husband Scott late last week  welcomed a baby boy, Luca Lorance Borg, to their family.  We would like to congratulate Mrs Borg and wish her all the best for her journey as a new mother to Luca.

Last Thursday, we revealed some images and video footage of the new Technology, Art & Science Centre. It highlighted for the parents who attended, the progress thus far. We also presented the updated College Masterplan and discussed proposed future development of the College. The building works are about 4 weeks behind schedule and a break in over the June long weekend and subsequent theft of copper pipe did not help. However, we look like taking possession of the new block in late August. There are 18 specialist classrooms within the new building and it is very exciting to see these nearing completion.

Friend Civil are making rapid progress on the development of Poziers Road and plan to construct two roundabouts at the intersection of Jardine Drive and Vinny Road during the upcoming student vacation period. All the roads surrounding the college are expected to be complete mid Term 4.

Construction of our next permanent block which will have two music rooms, music practice rooms, a dance studio, a drama room and a fitness gym will commence soon with tenders being finalised in the next few weeks.

We have also submitted applications to secure funding for two building works for 2020. We propose to build the College Hall and a block of general learning classrooms. Parents who attended the meeting on Thursday were shown the concept drawings of these facilities. We will learn about the success of our application sometime in Term 4.

New 3D models of the fully completed College have been developed by JDH Architects.  What the College may look like from various aspects can now be viewed on our Facebook page.

This newsletter will also include a summary what has happened on the first night of each of our Family College Partnership meetings. These meetings have been a wonderful way for Parents, Staff and Students to come together and work in partnership on important issues. I thank everyone involved for their generous support.

Enrolment applications for 2020 have been processed and families will be notified on Friday about the success (or otherwise) of their application. We received over 160 applications for 90 Kindergarten positions and 2020 will see us almost at capacity in Kindergarten to Year 5 with most year groups now having waiting lists. Year 7 enrolments were also strong with the year group most likely growing to 120. The growth has been as we predicted and the building program will meet the learning needs of students.

Academic Reports for Semester 1 are currently being written by teachers and will be available online via the parent portal in the last week of Term. Thank you to the staff and students for their hard work throughout the year to date.

Warm regards

Mr Simon Abernethy
College Principal

At SFCC, the safety of our students and their families is a top priority. Unfortunately over recent months it has become apparent that the structures and procedures put in place to ensure student and family safety are NOT being followed.

Please read the following sections to make sure you and/or the person/s who drop off or pick up your child/ren are assisting the College in ensuring the safety for all.

SAFETY ON JARDINE DRIVE

• There is a crossing on Jardine Drive.  Where possible we would like everyone to be using this crossing.  At the moment cars approaching the crossing are not slowing down and there have been several near misses. The crossing does not have traditional pedestrian crossing markings. The marking for the crossing have been dictated by NSW RMS and Liverpool Council. College staff are not permitted to supervise the crossing. Normal road rules apply in relation to the crossing.
  
  
• Currently we have lots of parents who cross Jardine Drive at the College driveway. This is a VERY busy location on the crest of a hill and therefore a very dangerous place to cross the road.  We have had the bus company call the College to advise several instances over the last few weeks when parents/students have run across the road nearly causing a bus accident which could potentially be fatal.  Please think about where you are choosing to cross the road.
  
  
• If you choose to drop your child/ren outside the school you are NOT to simply stop on the road outside the College gate, you must stop legally on the side of the road and advise your child/ren to enter the school via the path and gate and cross safely at the crossing.
  
  

SAFETY IN THE BUS BAY

The bus bay is exactly that - a bay for buses ONLY.

There is NO parking in the bus bay, NO drop off or pick up in the bus bay and NO parking across the busy buy entry or exit.

Staff have been monitoring the bus bay and last week on one day we had 42 cars use the bus bay as a drop off zone.  It is ILLEGAL to stop in a bus bay.

SAFETY IN THE CARPARK

We have had parents contact the College in relation to other parents not following our College procedures and car park rules in relation to this location.

Please ensure the following when in the College car park:

• The speed AT ALL TIMES is 10Km/per hour.
  
• The only place you can drop your child/ren off is in the DROP OFF BAY.
  
• It is not acceptable to drop your child/ren off in other parts of the car park, particularly near the crossing as soon as you drive in the gate.  Students have almost been hit when they dropped off and then are running across the crossing. This also holds up the traffic flow.
  
• It is not acceptable to drop your child/ren off when lining up for the drop off bay.  This has a huge impact on the traffic flow and is then causing cars to drive around and try and cut in.  The traffic flows if everyone stay in the line and patiently waits their turn to drop off in the bay provided.
  
• The car park is one-way. All cars MUST follow the clockwise direction of the car park.  No cars should be driving into the College through the exit gate to gain access to the bays in the first row. No cars should be driving against the flow of traffic.

The local Police and Council have been contacted in relation to some of these unsafe practices around the site and they have advised they will be conducting checks and monitoring the situation.

We ask that you please continue to support the College in ensuring the safety of our students and families.

Mrs Melissa Vella
Assistant Principal, Teaching & Learning

Inclusive Community Meeting - Family College Partnership (FCP) Meeting

Date: Monday 3rd June 2019

In attendance: Mr Simon Abernethy, Ms Tania Kolar, Mr Matthew Watson, Mrs Hannah Ma'Asi, Mrs Kate Acosta, Mrs Monika Prasad, Mrs Elizabeth Fonti.
Students: Chris M & Maya J.

This FCP group will focus on practices that promote inclusivity and an increased sense of belonging to the College.  Some areas raised and discussed in meeting one of this group:

• What are the ways in which people may feel excluded or disconnected from our community?
• How do we support families who do not speak English as their main language?
• How do we support families that may not be Catholic so they are comfortable enough to attend Mass and other celebrations?
• How do we better offer support to families who have students with significant physical, mental health or social needs?
• How do we better communicate what is happening at the College?
• Opportunities for parents, students and staff to get to know one another better?
• How do we best support families who are experiencing health issues or dealing with grief?
• What should transition points and ‘rites of passage’ look like when students progress through the College?

This group meets again on 26 August 2019.

If you have any thoughts or suggestions you would like to offer please feel free to see any member of the group who can pass these on.

Promoting Student Learning - Family College Partnership Meeting (FCP)

Date: Wednesday 12th June 2019

In attendance: Mr Simon Abernethy, Mrs Melissa Vella, Mr Shane Chapman, Mrs Kylie Jeymour, Miss Daniella Sultana, Mrs Biljana Marks, Mrs Josie Manno, Mrs Sarah Muiser, Mrs Ngoc Le Nguyen & Mrs Michelle Coe.

This FCP group will focus on the promotion of student learning in the College.  

Some areas raised and discussed in meeting one of this group:

• Understanding of depth in each subject, particularly assessments
  • Know how to better support from home
    
• Clearly articulated “learning intentions” and why they are learning the content/skill
  • Each child varies in their articulation of what they have learnt
    
• Opportunities to share student learning through various channels (eg. Facebook, newsletter)
  
• Identifying strengths, “where to next” and how to get there/parents can support
  
• Diary is a communication tool parents  ↔ teachers. Positive and constructive tool.
  
• Survey students on:
  • Interests, hobbies
  • The way they learn
    
• Knowledge of how teaching has changed (eg. Maths strategies)
  • Without this it is difficult to assist from home.
    
• Open classrooms:
  • Student centred “learning walk”
  • Faith and learning walk
  • Night?  Afternoon?  (time for working parents to attend).
    
• Year 6 to 7 transition
  
• Do parents know they can communicate with teachers in various ways (eg. email)
  • Remind parents because they are busy
    
• Suggestion box
  • Digital
• Clearly communicate with parents that we do things differently here - we’d love to hear suggestions

• Present this at the beginning of each year.

This group meets again on Monday 5th August.  

If you have any thoughts or suggestions you would like to offer please feel free to see any member of the group who can pass these on.

As the College is growing and changing we are constantly reviewing our processes, procedures and systems to ensure we are catering for the needs of all students.

One system which we review annually is our Award System, which differs from our Reward system which focuses on our Bronze, Silver, Gold and Medallion levels.

In the past the College has given Awards based on mid year reports at the end of Semester One and then conducted an End of Year Award Ceremony based on end of year reports.

After consultation with staff, students and feedback provided from parents in 2019 our Awards will be distributed as follows:

For our existing parents one notable difference will be that 100% Attendance Awards are no longer going to be distributed.  The Leadership Team has discussed this award and the many issues and concerns it has raised over the last two years. Attending school is compulsory and therefore awards for attendance will no longer be part of the College Award system.

We are excited to introduce another layer of our Award System now giving students three opportunities to achieve major awards throughout the year.

Congratulations to the following students on receiving their Silver Award at our Junior Years Assembly, which was held on Tuesday 11 June 2019.

L - R (pictured below with Mrs Agostino)
Tanisha S, Liam DS

Also, a big congratulations to the following students on receiving their Bronze Award:-

L - R (pictured below with Mrs Agostino)
Zara M, Phoebe S, Devika A, Evangeline K, Yashvi N

After a long bus ride, we had finally made it to Australia’s capital, Canberra. We were all extremely excited for our excursion! We began our day at The National Museum of Democracy, which was once Parliament House from 1927-1988. Two friendly staff guided through the museum. We were separated into groups and explored a room, learning about the past Prime Ministers of Australia.

Our next destination was the National Museum of Australia. We learnt about Australian animals and history. After this, we visited the Australian War Memorial. This was quite an interesting place. There were countless exhibitions of real aircraft and other war vehicles. There was even a movie explaining what happened in the battles of World War 1 and 2.  We also got to see the Poppy Wall, which had a list of all the soldiers who fought and died for our country in the war. A memorable building was the tomb of the Unknown Soldier, a resting place for the unknown soldier who died in the war. Then, we visited the New Parliament House. It was greater in size than the previous one. We got to see the two chambers (the Senate and House of Representatives), which is where the debates happen.

We later drove to our accommodation, Ibis Styles Eaglehawk, where we had dinner. We then went to FlipOut, where we jumped around on trampolines. 

On Friday morning, we set off for the AIS, the Australian Institute of Sport. We had a friendly greeting by two coordinators who led us through to Sportex. Sportex was an interactive sporting area which gave us a proper insight into athletic sports. It involved a considerable amount of technology which kept us entertained. We were also given the opportunity to participate in a range of different activities such as the Paralympians in a race but it was very safe and a great learning experience.  There was an area where you could play soccer against a touch screen sensor. We also had a tour around the Olympic swimming pool, gymnasium, volleyball court and a few other athletic areas. Here we saw professional athletes at work. Once the tour was over we were given a chance to purchase items from the gift store.

We then headed off for our second destination, the Electoral Education Office located in Old Parliament House. We watched a video about the requirements for voting and how being a democracy has given us these rights, to have a say. Next, we participated in our own election! We were given options to vote for our favourite fruits and then the votes were counted. Our guide drew up a graph teaching us how options that weren’t voted for were eliminated. This is called preferential voting.

Next, we went to Questacon. It was an amazing experience in the view of science and technology. It was interactive and there were many stations to explore. A few levels focused on the Earth, natural disasters, energy, robotics, physics and so much more! The majority of Year 6 also participated in the Giant Drop and it was a thrilling experience.

Afterwards, we headed home.

6 Blue and 6 Green had a brilliant time on our Canberra Excursion and a big thank you to the teachers who took their time out to supervise us all the way to the Nation’s Capital and back.

By Sneha S & Sebastian O

On Thursday, 13 June, Year 3 went on an excursion to Chinatown and the Chinese Garden of Friendship.  Our guides showed us around Chinatown and told us lots of facts. For example, the colour green means protection and red means good luck. Another fact we learnt was the five Chinese elements which are water, fire, earth, metal and wood. On the way to the Garden of Friendship, we saw a tree with gold and water dripping from the tree which represents the elements.  We found out a little bit of information about the good rush too.

As we entered the Garden of Friendship, we were told about a special treasure hunt we would be going on.  The tour guides told us six riddles and whoever got it right received a special key and there was seven keys.  One person got a key for participating in Chinese Whispers!

When we were entering the temple to play Chinese Whispers, girls had to put their right foot first and the boys, their left foot.  We were told that all students could not step on the wooden bar or use the opposite foot, or you will have bad luck for 700 years!

One of the keys opened an ancient book which was called The Jade Emperor and the Twelve Animals.  Later on we searched for water dragons which were alive! At the end of the tour, we made an origami rat which represents cleverness, talent and loyalty.

As we left the gardens to head back to the bus, we were given a bookmark to bring home as well as the rat we made.

Daisy and Angel, Year 3

Year 9, 2020 Compulsory Elective Info Night
Wednesday 19 June 2019

As students progress into the Senior Years Learning (Years 9-12) at St Francis Catholic College, they are required to select two Elective Courses they would like to study, in addition to the mandatory subjects.

This important decision will be facilitated by a number of presentations and discussions with the students and their teachers, culminating in a Parent/Carer/Student Elective Information Night.

This presentation will provide parents/carers and students with essential information to assist them in making the best possible decision regarding elective courses.

Date:  Wednesday 19 June 2019

Time:  6:30pm - 8:00pm

Venue:  College Hall

This information night is COMPULSORY for all Year 8 students and their parents/carers.  

If you have any questions or concerns, please contact Mr Shane Chapman via College Reception on (02) 4645 3400.

Throughout the course of the school year the PB4L (Positive Behaviours for Learning) team endeavours to promote the voice of students and the amount of student lead initiatives.

The 'Eddie's' is a playground leadership group that has been named after Blessed Edmund Rice.

The 'Eddie's' are students in Year Seven to Nine who have volunteered their time during breaks to promote positive interactions between the Kindergarten to Year Six students.

The focus of the 'Eddie's' is to encourage the Touchstones of Edmund Rice in order to foster positive interactions between students during break time.

The Touchstones of Edmund Rice are: Gospel Spirituality, Inclusive Community, Justice and Solidarity and Liberating Education.

Congratulations to Nikolas K of Year 5 and Michael F of Year 8 who competed at NSWCPS and NSWCCC Cross Country on Friday 14th June.

Nikolas placed 5th and will now compete at PSSA Cross Country State Championships on Friday 26 July.

Michael placed 11th and has progressed through to NSW All Schools Cross Country Championships on Friday 26 July.

Well done to both boys on their fantastic results and we wish them all the best at their next competitions!

The SEALS Committee is looking to spruce up our Herb Garden and give it a bit of a makeover.

We are looking to collect any wooden spoons that don’t get used or collect dust that could be used for a DIY project.

If you can donate any old wooden spoons to the SEALS Committee, please hand them in to Miss Cox or Ms Lyons.

Thank you,
The SEALS Committee