NEW BUILDINGS OPEN!!!

It has been very exciting to see our K-4 students move into their new classrooms and learning spaces over the past fortnight. 

I’m very grateful to all the staff who have prepared their resources and spaces in the new junior learning building. I’m also very thankful to our office and teaching staff, who have moved into new Administration and staff study spaces, respectively.

Building Stages 5 and 6 has been eight years in the making since the earliest days of St Francis. Our Stage 7 Library will be handed over in the coming weeks (currently delayed until Monday, Week 6), so it is wonderful to know that we almost have a complete College.

Stage 8 - our senior years' block - will not commence for a few years, but we will see a few demountables removed over the coming months and more play spaces made available. Ultimately, when Stage Eight is complete, all demountables will be removed, and another oval will be constructed.

OPEN AFTERNOON - CLASSROOM VISITS

We estimate over 200 families took advantage of our open afternoon viewing of the new facilities. It was great to see our excited students, often showing their parents/carers/grandparents or family members around their classrooms. Our students are very proud of the new spaces.

PB4L ROUTINES

Over recent weeks revised Positive Behaviours for Learning (PB4L) routines have been shared with our students from K-12. Obviously, new playgrounds and buildings have altered previous routines, but I’m pleased to say our students have been very understanding and accommodating as new changes occur. As you know, behaving in appropriate and kind ways to others is a hallmark of what we do at St Francis Catholic College.

PARKING DROP-OFF AND COLLECTION ARRANGEMENTS

As previously communicated, the new internal road and kiss-and-drop area is not available as yet. These are partially tied to stage 7 of the library's construction and its surrounds. The College is also waiting on advice from the council to ensure the neighbouring roads around the College are as safe as possible for our students and the local community. Existing arrangements will remain until further advice, and we appreciate parents' and carers’ understanding.

100 DAYS OF KINDERGARTEN

It was wonderful to see our Kindergarten students get involved in the festivities today and dress up as older people. They certainly do grow up quickly! So many students/families to great lengths in their costumes, including our own staff (many of whom were unrecognisable). It was a fun celebration!

Please remember that our St Francis Feast Day mass and celebrations will occur on Friday, August 23, Week Five. The day will be exciting and commence with Mass with Bishop Mascord celebrating. Then, our amusement rides and festivities will commence. 

Please note that there will be disruption to normal pick-up and drop-off arrangements.

More details about the event will be provided in the coming weeks.

TRIAL HSC EXAMINATIONS

I commend our Year 12 students on their approach to preparing for next week's examinations. The College wishes our students all the very best as they commence on Monday morning and continue for 11 school days.

This will be the first time that some students have sat 3-hour examinations and it will be a great way to trial and test various study habits and routines over the coming fortnight.

Prayer for our HSC students

Lord, lift our Year 12 HSC students as they prepare for their Trial Higher School Certificate Examinations next week. We invoke the intercession of St. Francis of Assisi, who embraced simplicity and sought wisdom through humility. 

St. Francis, who found joy in learning and understanding, guide our students in their studies. May they approach their exams with the same spirit of humility and reverence for knowledge that you exemplified. Help them to be calm and confident, knowing that they are held in your loving embrace.

Grant them clarity of mind, sharpness of memory, and the ability to answer questions with insight and accuracy. May they be blessed with your gifts of wisdom and understanding, so that they may excel in their examinations and fulfill their potential.

We ask this through Christ our Lord, who is the source of all wisdom and knowledge – Amen.

St Francis … Pray for us

Blessed Edmund Rice … Pray for us

Live Jesus in our Hearts … Forever

On Thursday 15th of August, the Church celebrates the Solemnity of the Assumption of Our Lady. This Solemnity is the oldest celebration of Our Lady and is a Holy Day of obligation. The original celebration, known as the “Memory of Mary” or “Falling Asleep” of Mary for it initially centered on the end of her earthly existence, is commonly known as her “dormition.” Soon the name was changed to the “Assumption of Mary,” as there was much more to the feast than the end of her earthly life. The belief that Mary had been taken up, body and soul, into heaven dates to the Apostles.

Mary was a strong, honourable woman, who was faithful to God. She spent her whole life serving God - being the Mother of Jesus, raising Him, believing in Him, and with Him at His death on the Cross. The Assumption marks her return to heaven to be reunited with Jesus. She is crowned as the Queen of Heaven and is seated at His right hand. Mary takes care of the whole Church and everyone who asks her to intercede. 

While the Blessed Virgin has entered into heavenly glory, Pope Francis states “this does not mean that She is distant or detached from us; the Assumption should bring eternal hope to the faithful… May we not be robbed of hope, because this strength is a grace, a gift from God which carries us forward with our eyes fixed on heaven. Mary is always there… she accompanies them, suffers with them, and sings of hope with them and brings victory over death.”

You are invited to attend this Solemnity of the Assumption of Our Lady, as it is a Holy Day of Obligation in our parish Mary Mother of the Church Macquarie Fields at 9am and 7pm, or your local parish.

The Critical Thinking Elective is a new CEDoW course that engages and enriches high potential and gifted and talented students. The course will challenge students to build, refine, and apply skills in critical thinking and problem-solving to a range of engaging real-world contexts which will extend their knowledge, skills and learning for Stage 5.  

Last week, Year 9 students (Anwin, Xanthe, Eva-Rose and Elina) attended an immersion day for the Critical Thinking Elective. Alongside other students from across the diocese, the students engaged in learning activities aimed to develop skills in interrogating information sources, evaluating the credibility of information and evaluating the strength of evidence presented and the validity of arguments drawn. 

This interactive day included opportunities for students to work collaboratively with students from other schools. The highlight of the day was when students listened to a presentation delivered by Professor Andrew Page (Chair of Epidemiology at Western Sydney University) to learn more about critical thinking as an essential skill for conducting quality research and acting on the conclusions drawn from it. The students gained a thorough understanding of asking quality questions and recognising the difference between open and closed questions which has set them up for their Term 3 personal interest project: 

Critical analysis of an area of interest that the public has misconceptions about, and reflection on the role of media portrayal in influencing public understanding. 

At the end of the term, I look forward to sharing their research and findings in a future edition of the newsletter.

Ms Maria Ramos
MY/SY Teacher and Critical Thinking Mentor

St Francis College Medallions

Congratulations to the following students who recents recieved their College Medallion:

Year 4 
Ivy K
Hannah P
Aerin T
Sosefina M
Chelina K
Jessica E
Amelia C 

Year 5
Max P
Vivian
Sebastian M
Carmen G
Martin D
Ethan J
Sara
Hailey P
Faye M
Katherina D
Joshua L
Irene S

Year 6
Nathaniel G
Stephen K
Akira S
Malia-Losa P
Elora C
Jaden T

Year 9
Sibella R

Year 10
Chelsea D

Year 11
Aarna V
Giselle A
Tegan D
Sneha S 

Year12
Nana A
Umang B