Dear Parents/Carers,

As Principal, I am very keen to establish relationships with local businesses, sporting groups and community groups that may be beneficial to our students and the broader school community. Last term, we started a very successful relationship with "Junior Stars Soccer Academy". This provided an alternative afternoon program that encouraged students to be active and develop their soccer skills.  

This term I am pleased to announce two more options for parents/carers. The first is the Music Bus. The Music Bus will travel to St Francis, operating outside of class time to provide small group music tuition for students who have an interest in learning a musical instrument and aims to develop a love of music in students from Kinder to Year 6.

We will be having a Music Bus Open Day on Friday 30th August. On this day, The Music Bus will be open for parents to visit from 8:00am to 8.45am, and then all students from Kinder - Year 6 will have an opportunity to visit the Music Bus for 10 minutes with their class throughout the day. Expressions of interest will be offered on the day and places will be made available on first in, best dressed basis. More information is included in this newsletter. 

We are also expecting to enter into a commercial arrangement with Kip McGrath Education, who wish to hire classrooms on Thursday afternoons to offer tuition and homework help. We have met with Fred and Emma Tanyous, the franchisees. Fred and Emma have operated a very successful Kip McGrath franchise in Liverpool and are now looking to establish a business in Edmondson Park. 

I am very confident that the teachers of St Francis will continue to work hard to meet the learning needs of students. We intend to continue with Homework Club, to volunteer one afternoon a week to assist students with assignments and homework help. Kip McGrath may however, provide additional days outside of school hours for students who require extra support or challenge. 

More information on Kip McGrath is included in this newsletter and an information night for Parents/Carers will be conducted at the College on Thursday 22 August from 7.00pm - 8.00pm.

Dad & Kids Sleep Out: Father’s Day Celebration

Following on from our highly successful Mother’s Day Movie Night, this year for the first time we will be hosting a night where Dads and men who are significant in the lives of our students have an opportunity to pitch a tent and sleep out on the College Oval with the kids. This will occur on Friday 30th August. Families will be encouraged to bring their own tents, set them up on the oval, enjoy BBQ burgers for dinner and some evening activities, and then wake up early Saturday to enjoy a bacon and egg roll for breakfast. More details and an RSVP will be provided in a note to go home to parents. 

Family Community Partnerships

Last week our Promoting Student Learning group met for their second session. It again was a great opportunity for Parents, Teachers and the College leaders to get together and discuss what is needed and what is possible. 

Parents requested an outline of events and approximate times for future sporting carnivals, better informing parents who work of periods when they may be able to see their children compete. We will aim to do this for carnivals in 2020.

Parents asked the College to consider a senior diary for students in Years 9-12 which was A4 in size and provided more space for students to write reminders for homework, assessments etc. We will aim to do this for students in 2020.

Parents wanted clarification about why Mathematics classes were combined in Year 9 and an explanation of the three levels of Mathematics (5.1, 5.2 & 5.3). Mrs Hughes (Leader of Mathematics) has sent a letter of explanation to Year 9 parents this week. 

Parents proposed that students demonstrate their learning in a learning showcase format where they are encouraged to show what they have learnt and communicate that to parents. This will be considered by the College for 2020. 

The College has initiated a number of events this term to promote student learning and involve parents, as follows:-

Friday 23rd August, students K-6 and Kindergarten students 2020 will be invited to participate in a Book Week parade. Parents and friends are most welcome to attend the parade and open classrooms. 

In the last week of term Parents/Carers will be invited to tour the new Technology, Art & Science building and Year 8 will present Romeo & Juliet and Year 9 will present their poetry/artworks. 

Facebook continues to be a very popular way to promote what is happening at SFCC.

The staff expressed frustration that there are still many parents who have not returned notes giving permission for their child’s photograph to be used in College publications and this makes publishing group photos impossible. Only very minimal photos of the Science Fair and Kindergarten’s 100th day of school, could not be posted as a result. Please ensure that all permission notes are returned in a timely manner.

The College will present an information night for Parents/Carers in Term 4 to explain the new Diocesan Social Media policy. This policy has implications for the way staff and students use social media and outlines expectations of parents. Email communication and protocols will also be presented on the night. 

The information nights for parents on literacy and numeracy have been well received. The College will continue to provide information to parents this semester. 

A digital suggestion box has been established and there is a link to it under the ‘Parents’ menu on our College website sfccdow.catholic.edu.au. This has been established to allow parents to make suggestions on how to improve the College. Please note that the users email address is required so that we can get back to you. Also please note it is not a ‘complaints box’ it should be used to propose positive changes. 

I would like to thank all members of the Promoting Student Learning FCP group for their valuable contribution. We have a third meeting scheduled for Week 7 later this term. If you have an ideas for our group please discuss with the members listed below or use the suggestion box link on our website. 

Parent FCP members attending were: Mrs Marks, Mrs Manno, Mrs Muiser, Mrs Le-Nguyen, Mrs Coe. 

Staff FCP Members attending were: Mr Chapman, Miss Laidlaw, Mrs Vella, Miss Sultana and Mr Abernethy.

Thank you for your ongoing support.

Mr Simon Abernethy
College Principal

Congratulations to our Award recipients
who were awarded their Bronze and Silver certificates
at our recent Junior Years Assembly:-

SILVER AWARDS

L-R (pictured below with Mrs Agostino)
Spoorthi R, Casey B, Illenia D

BRONZE AWARDS

L-R (pictured below with Mrs Agostino)
Isabella L, Jiya K, Trisha G

Congratulations to our Award recipients
who were awarded their Bronze and Silver certificates
at our recent Middle/Senior Years Assembly:-

SILVER AWARDS
L-R:  Sarah A, Mr Abernethy, Maya J

BRONZE AWARDS
L-R Back Row:  Mr Abernethy, Bella G, Jessica M
L-R Front Row:  Robert K, Emily J, Stephanie G, William T, Caitlyn T

Rohan from "Olympics Unleashed" was also on hand to present ribbons to some of our students following their success at the recent Western Regional Athletics Carnival.
(L-R - Nikolas K, Rohan, Stephanie G)

As part of NAIDOC celebrations, Honey from Year 7 shared her family story with the Middle and Senior Years students during the assembly. 

Please see Honey's story below.

My name is Honey and today I will be speaking about my aboriginal heritage. I come from a line of aboriginal women, my tribe is called the Wiradjuri tribe. The Wiradjuri tribe originated from NSW and even founded their own language. The Wiradjuri tribe was known as the rivers tribe because the land they lived on had three rivers going through it.

I found out that I was aboriginal last year after my family went to a funeral. We then heard the news that my great, great, great grandmother was aboriginal. Due to the discrimination they faced and the stealing of their children we did not find out until then. We then started to question how their aboriginal culture stayed secret for so long. Once we went further into our research we figured out that my great, great, great grandmother Bessie actually had 10 children, and when summertime came around she would actually not allow them to go into the sun for a long period of time. Her children could not go outside into the sun so that they would not tan. If Bessie’s children tanned it would then be obvious they were Aboriginal then unfortunately leading to them being taken from Bessie. This was called the stolen generation. 

The stolen generation lasted from 1910-1970.  It was a large time period of which children were taken away from their parents due to various government policies.

After finding out that I was Aboriginal I felt a sense of pride, knowing that I was a part of a community, a tribe, a culture, a family. This gave me a feeling of warmth, through my newfound knowledge of this beautiful culture I’m so lucky to be part of.

Honey P

Last Thursday we celebrated the Feast of Saint Mary of the Cross, Mary Mackillop, Australia's first saint. K-4 students came together to celebrate with a liturgy and 5-9 students held a prayer service during Pastoral Class.  

Mary Mackillop was an ordinary Australian. She was
 a woman who responded with courage and love to bring the Good News to the poor. One of her well-known sayings is, “Let love guide you in all your life.”  Mary Mackillop showed God’s love to others through her actions.

With love in our hearts, we too, can be like Mary Mackillop, called to be the face of God through our words and our actions.

Miss L Christensen
Religious Education and Mission Coordinator 

On 1 August, both Year 6 classes went to Mary Immaculate Primary School at Eagle Vale to celebrate the Bishop's Mass with eight other Wollongong Diocese schools. 

The following students represented our school and had special roles in the Mass:-

Olivia A and Sebastion O welcomed the schools that attended the Mass.
Mariah V and Jamie S sang in the Choir and

Noah P carried our school candle in the entrance procession.

After the Mass we had lunch and there was a live concert held by CYMW (Catholic Youth Ministry of Wollongong). The people that performed had wonderful voices and played awesome songs. 

After that, we were able to socialise with some of the other students from other schools. Then that concluded our day at Mary Immaculate Primary School and the Bishop’s Mass. 

We would like to thank the teachers that made this great day possible. It will definitely be one for all of Year 6 to remember and treasure forever. 

By Mariah V and Jacob T

The Soccer Gala Day was very fun and exciting. Everyone got to play 4 rounds of soccer.

The rounds were long and exhausting but fun and exciting. Every time a different team was playing, we all cheered on for each other. Cheering was just as fun as playing.

The other teams were as great as us, which made the Gala Day more exciting.

When there was no team playing, we would have time to practice which would make us better for the next round.

By Kaashvi G

On Tuesday 13th August  2019 Year 9 had the opportunity to participate in the ‘Olympics Unleashed’ Program.

‘Olympics Unleashed’ facilitates Olympians and elite athletes who are aspiring to compete at the Tokyo 2020 Olympics to visit schools to inspire and motivate students to be the best version of themselves in the classroom, on the playground, on the sporting field and as part of the community.

St Francis Catholic College had the privilege of hosting Rohan Browning.  Rohan is currently the 3rd fastest Australian in history over 100m with a personal best of 10.08 seconds and has participated at the Commonwealth Games.  As well as undertaking rigorous training, Rohan also is a lifelong learner studying a Law and Arts Degree.

Rohan’s presentation inspired and motivated students to focus on each task at hand, identify challenges and tick off their goals, manage time and focus on quality, learn from  previous experiences and to identify and set goals.

Some of Rohan’s key messages included:

• Good habits enable you to set a high quality for yourself.
• Approach each task with 100% total commitment.
• When you are a part of team, every member has a part, and it is important to play your part.

The Year 9 students really enjoyed the visual presentation and we all wish Rohan the very best for the Tokyo 2020 Olympics. 


Mrs Kellie Kells
Leader of Learning - PDHPE

On Wednesday the 31st July, the Year 7-8 girls Netball MISA Team attended the Wollongong Diocese Netball Gala Day held at Berkley.

The girls played well, showing determination and much improvement throughout the day. They worked well together as a team and showed great sportsmanship and encouragement towards one another. They won 4 out of the 8 games that they played.

Well done to the team, congratulations on your overall achievement.

Mrs Dearne Vaga

MISA Year 7 & 8 Netball - Week 4 Results

In Week 4 the Year 7 & 8 Netball girls MISA team played against Good Samaritan Catholic College.

The girls played well. They started the game out in front, and maintained their lead throughout. It was not a high scoring game as both teams defended well. The girls were able to maintain their win. The final score was 10-2.

Congratulations to the girls. Keep it up!

Last year we collected bottle tops for a College project (see picture below). Some of our current Year 2 students helped us begin this project.

We are now in need of more plastic bottle tops for this project to continue. If your family are able to collect any plastic bottle tops and send them along to College Reception, they will be gratefully received. All sizes and colours will be accepted.

Please send them in (washed and in a zip lock bag) to College Reception. 

There will also be a basket near the Return & Earn bins so that before placing the bottle in the bin, the bottle tops can be placed in the basket. 

Thank you for your help!

Miss Amanda Marshall

"Francis Fest" is being held during Week 10 of this term and there are a number of events planned during for the week.

One of these events is an initiative by our Student Leaders, St Francis Has Got Talent. This will be held on Thursday 26th September during school time. Students will need to audition to make it into the final showcase, each student that auditions will receive points for their House.

Not all acts will progress to the final showcase from this audition process, the acts selected will be made by the student leaders and some staff. This is an important conversation for our parents/carers to have with their children, so they are aware of this when entering this event.

We are also very lucky to have secured some famous musicians to support us on the day as guest judges!

Watch this space!!

Ms Tania Kolar
Pastoral Care Coordinator