Year Coordinators 2025

We are excited to announce that Mrs Kelly Russell will be the Year 7 Coordinator for 2025. Mrs Russell joined St Francis this year and has a wide range of leadership experiences in her previous schools. She is passionate about supporting and uplifting young people, and we look forward to her work in the coming year.

Year Coordinators and the Stage 3 Coordinator will be announced to the St Francis Community on Thursday next week. Look out for the Compass notification.

ILLUMINATE 2024

St Francis Catholic College had the opportunity to participate in the inaugural CEDoW ILLUMINATE 2024, held on Tuesday, 19 November, at the University of Wollongong. The event brought together over 900 students and families to celebrate the Creative and Performing Arts across the Diocese.

Representing our school, Jamie S (pictured), Aidan N, and Dylan C performed as part of the music showcases during both the matinee and evening sessions. Their participation highlighted their hard work and dedication to developing their musical talents.

We also had newly graduated Year 12 student Danielle M (pictured) performing. Danielle was recently nominated for the statewide NESA Encore showcase for HSC excellence - quite the achievement.

The theme ILLUMINATE, focusing on highlighting student talent, was reflected in the variety of performances, including dance routines, dramatic pieces, art displays, and musical acts. Events like these provide students with valuable opportunities to grow in confidence and share their skills with the wider community.

Participation required a video audition, with students selected by a panel of CAPA educators. Our students’ inclusion in the final program is a reflection of their effort and the support provided by our staff.

We acknowledge the contributions of Jamie, Aidan, and Dylan to this diocesan event and I thank Mr Roger Lee who worked with the Diocesan stage team on the Monday and Tuesday. I thank Ms Angela Bennett for her leadership and I thank the teachers who supported them and the Stage 5 CAPA students who went down and watched the matinee on the Tuesday. We look forward to continuing to foster the arts at St Francis Catholic College in future events.

Friends of Francis meeting 

The most recent Friends of Francis meeting occurred on Monday evening and I thank all the attendees for being there.

Data from the recent parent/carer survey was shared and conversations were had regarding upcoming social events, new additions to the playground and, of course, there was much conversation about traffic management around the College.

A number of parents/carers have put their hand up to be on the first Advisory Council to review the College’s new ‘hands off’ policy over the coming weeks.

We look forward to hearing more about upcoming social events and appreciate your support of the Friends of Francis in upcoming events.

Year 12 Formal

Congratulations to the Year 12 2024 cohort on the way they finished the year and the Year 12 Formal was a wonderful celebration to cap it off. To see the joy and pride of parents and carers as they watched their children was quite something. 

I commend the group on the way they presented themselves and their exemplary approach and behaviour. 

We look forward to seeing the students return at their celebration morning tea - when HSC results are released - on the morning of 18 December.

New parents/carers’ information evening

Our new parents/carers with students joining the college attended an information evening on Wednesday night. 

A highlight of the night was seeing our student leaders showing off all of the different combinations of our College uniform. School leaders were also able to share important information about SFCC's journey thus far and in building high behavioural, attitudinal and academic standards at the College. 

We look forward to further events, including Kindy orientation mornings and the Year 7 2025 Orientation Day on Monday.

Brisbane STEM success.

Students represented our College brilliantly in the national stem competition this week. Students were excited about being able to attend Brisbane to show off their team and/or individual projects. While not winning major awards, the students showcased their innovation, creativity and talent. Thank you

K-4 Christmas concert.

We are very excited about the upcoming K-4 Christmas concert. Please note that due to the overwhelming numbers experienced in 2023, this event will now become a ticketed event - with more information to follow. 

With the hall packed to capacity in 2023 it’s important to know that no supervision of students other than K-4 is provided on the evening - as staff attention is on the events within the Hall itself - safety needs to be a significant consideration. 

We are very excited about what our K-4 students (and staff) are currently practising and what they will perform on the night.

PRAYER

Loving God,

As we journey through November, we pause to remember and give thanks.
This is the month when we honour the saints who have walked faithfully in Your love,
And we pray for all souls, especially those who await the fullness of Your peace.

Inspired by St. Francis of Assisi,
We are reminded to see Your presence in all of creation,
To live with humility and simplicity,
And to serve others with joy.

Lord, help us be instruments of Your peace in our College community.
May we reflect Your light in our studies, friendships, and service.

Following the example of St. Francis, 

Guide our hearts to cherish the beauty of life,
And strengthen our commitment to care for the earth and each other,

We pray for our College that it may always be a place of love,
Where faith and learning grow hand in hand.
We entrust our lives to You,
Confident in Your mercy and love.

–Amen.

Over the last four weeks, our K-6 students have participated in the Heart Foundation's Jump Rope for Heart initiative. This initiative aims to raise awareness about heart health, encourage physical activity, and promote a healthy lifestyle. Every skip helps us contribute to vital research and education on heart health. Another key component of the initiative is also fundraising to support those affected by heart disease.

Thanks to the incredible efforts of our students and families, we’ve raised an outstanding amount so far! Currently, SFCC is ranked 4th in the nation for fundraising—a remarkable achievement!

We’re working towards a goal of $30,000 by November 25th. Please help us reach it and keep up the momentum of our students by donating here: https://www.jumprope.org.au/fundraisers/st-francis-catholic-college-edmondson-park

On Tuesday, November 19th, Ivy M (Year 5), Cooper L (Year 5), and Sophia L (Year 4) proudly represented SFCC at the CEO Basketball Trials. The students showed great humility and gratitude for the opportunity to compete alongside other talented athletes from across the diocese, and they were excited to represent our school.

Despite facing some tough competition, Ivy M was selected to advance to the MacKillop trials, where she will represent SFCC in the 2025 Wollongong Girls Primary Basketball Representative team.

We are incredibly proud of all three students for their hard work, dedication, and persistence. Congratulations on your outstanding achievements! Ivy, we look forward to seeing what 2025 holds for you!

In our History lessons, Year 3 is looking at the significance of symbols and crests used during important celebrations and commemorations. We were very excited to have Mr McMahon come and teach us more about our College Crest and all of its different parts that make it so significant. Mr McMahon also shared his own family crest with us!

https://www.esafety.gov.au/parents?utm_campaign=2410_parent_news_nov&utm_id=f17aa09d2bc16d85f9d8d5242f4dbf13&utm_medium=email&utm_source=eSafety_edm