Welcome Mr Damian Sligar
Assistant Principal - Religious Education, Identity & Mission

We warmly welcome our third Assistant Principal to the St Francis Catholic College community. Mr Damian Sligar commenced work at SFCC last week.

Damian has been appointed as the Assistant Principal, Religious Education, Identity & Mission. He will work closely with Mrs Melissa Vella (Assistant Principal, Teaching & Learning), Mrs Rita Agostino (Assistant Principal, Pastoral Care) and myself as the senior leaders of the College.

Damian has over 29 years of experience in Catholic Education and has held numerous roles as a Middle Leader at both Magdalene Catholic College and Mt Carmel Catholic College.

At Mt Carmel, he spent a significant period of time in the position of Acting Assistant Principal.  He is currently studying a Masters of Theology and Leadership with the Broken Bay Institute and has completed a Bachelor of Science and a Diploma of Education with Macquarie University, a Graduate Certificate in Physics with ACU, a Graduate Certificate in Educational Studies (Educational Leadership) with University of Newcastle and a Certificate in Religious Education with the Diocese of Wollongong.

Damian is an active member of the Parish of St Paul’s Camden, he contributes to the Parish Pastoral Council, is a member of the Parish Sacred Music and Liturgy Committee.  He is a Cantor at Sunday Mass and has facilitated Sacramental classes.

Damian is very keen to meet our students and families. If you see him around the College, please feel free to introduce yourself and make him feel welcome.

Reflections on St Francis & the San Damiano Cross

Last week, College staff met at the Botanical Gardens at Mount Annan for our annual Spirituality Day. During the day, I shared with staff a reflection on the life of St Francis, in particular the significance of the San Damiano cross, which we have on display in each of our classrooms. I have included a summary (below) for parents/carers and students who may want further insight into this.

As a young man Francis was searching for purpose and meaning. Francis had money, fame & privilege. He was a soldier, a playboy & a noble; but in the end he was not happy. He was searching for more.

One day while walking near the church of San Damiano, an inner voice called Francis to go in & pray. He had heard this voice when he spent a year in captivity, held to ransom by enemy Perugian soldiers. When he heard the familiar inner voice, he obeyed and entered the run down dark & damp small stone church. 

When he entered the church he would have been confronted by a huge hanging crucifix above the altar. It is a large cross, almost two metres high and approximately 13cm thick. The crucified Jesus is life-sized, especially compared to Francis who stood about 5 feet (150cms) tall. In it’s presence you feel compelled to kneel down before an image of the crucified Saviour.

Francis began to pray most devoutly. He heard a tender, compassionate voice then spoke to him:

“Francis, do you see that my house is falling into ruin?
Go & repair it for me.”

Trembling & amazed Francis replied “Gladly I will do so, O’Lord”.

These words filled him with the greatest joy and inner light because in spirit he knew that it was indeed Jesus Christ who had spoken to him.  Francis immediately took various pieces of cloth of different colours from his father’s merchant supplies and sold not only them, but also the horse he was riding.

He returned to the church at San Damiano, found the poor priest, and told him what he proposed to do. The priest was astounded by his sudden conversion. Francis had a reputation as a hard partying playboy & at first he did not believe it & refused to accept the money. Francis begged the priest to let him stay on so that he could go to work on repairing the church at San Damiano. Eventually the priest agreed but still refused the money as he was concerned that Francis’ father would seek for it to be returned. Francis’ heart was good, his soul open.

The presence of God must have been enormous in the chapel that day, or moment of the night, when Francis first approached. There is a moment of true grace. If you close your eyes, can you see the two of them, Francis and Jesus? What must Francis have experienced or had written on his heart to sway him to such radical change? He was different from the moment he stepped foot into the church, and he went on to perform many public miracles.

Later in life he experienced stigmata on his hands and feet. He experienced tremendous pain and his health deteriorated.

Francis was a legend just before he died. He could have asked to be laid to rest anywhere. Eventually he requested his Franciscan Friars to return him to the church at San Damiano, the home of St Clare and the Poor Clare nuns.  Perhaps he wanted to be inspired by the Cross one last time? It was here, during the latter stages of his illness, Francis wrote ‘The Canticle of the Creatures’.

Francis’ good friend Clare & the sisters of the Poor Clares cared for Francis right up until his death in 1226. It is the same cloister in which Clare died, in 1253. The bodies of both St Francis and St Clare were transferred to new Basilicas that were built for each them. St Francis was made a saint just two years after his death by Pope Gregory IX, who had become a friend of St Francis.

The original crucifix that was hung over the altar at the church of San Damiano was moved to the Basilica of St Clare. Today, a full-size replica hangs above the altar in the church at San Damiano.

It is quite imposing in a little stone church. Admist all the spendor and wealth, Francis was baptised in a fountain that we saw at the church of San Rufino in Assisi. It was here he received the Holy Spirit, but it was at San Damiano in this poor, crumbling, forgotten church ruin that Francis truly met God.

BUILDING WORKS UPDATE - STAGE 2 COMMENCES!!

God bless,

Mr Simon Abernethy
College Principal

With the current weather warnings, the College will assess the conditions on a day to day basis and make the most appropriate decisions in regards to keeping students indoors, should the air be smokey or the wind and temperature be extreme. 

Students that suffer from asthma and other respiratory concerns in particular, are encouraged to speak to their teacher should they feel unwell. The HALL is always open to any students who would prefer to be indoors if a decision is made to go outside at break times. Our Leader of PDHPE also assesses the conditions each day to make a decision about sport/prac lessons.

The decision about remaining indoors is assessed and made before each break and so we ask that parents refrain from calling the College Administration to ask about weather arrangements. If your child is suffering significantly from the weather challenges which may put their health at risk, please keep them at home where they can be monitored closely on these extreme days.

Mrs Melissa Vella
Assistant Principal - Teaching & Learning

It is that time of the year when teachers are beginning to organise classes for 2020. Our Orientation Days will see us welcome over 250 new students to the College for 2020.

There will not be any opportunities to choose particular teachers or list multiple friends to be in your child’s class. However, if you have any concerns about your child’s learning and their class for 2020, please contact Mrs Melissa Vella via email (melissa.vella@dow.catholic.edu.au) to make an appointment to discuss your concerns. 

This must be done before Monday 2nd December 2019.

If any families/students are not returning to the College in 2020, we would ask that you notify College Reception as soon as possible to info@sfccdow.catholic.edu.au so that we can adjust our numbers for 2020 and offer places to students who are on waiting lists.

Kind regards
SFCC Administration

Congratulations to all of our Middle Years/Senior Years Students
who received Awards at our recent Middle/Senior Years Assembly.

In particular we wish to congratulate Noah P on receiving his Gold award.  This is an amazing achievement - Noah is SFCC's second Gold award recipient.

Well done to all our award winners (photos below)

Silver Awards

Miguel R, Lyla D, Angelina T, Chloe S
Josh V, Angelina-Rose M, Caitlyn T,
Nathan V, Courtney J, Michael K,
Maria C, Sienna K

Bronze Awards

Oscar L, Anthony C, Shandesh B, Aleksandar F, Aryaman C
Mirelle D, Payal K, Isabella C, Taylah H, Sherika L
Arya G, Ava C, Umang B, Nicholas C, Joel K, Gian-Claudio M,
Rithik K, Marissa M, Jaide M, Jade D, Joshua G, Christopher M

To support Catholic Mission in 2019, St Francis will be holding a GOLD COIN MUFTI DAY FUNDRAISER on Friday 29th November 2019.

Students are invited to wear appropriate mufti clothes, with enclosed shoes and a hat (this does not need to be the College hat).

If a student wears mufti clothes we ask that they bring in a GOLD COIN donation.

This money will go to support Catholic Mission’s inspiring projects - this year centred on Ghana.

Kind regards
Miss Lisa Christensen

Last Monday, 11 November, students and staff of St Francis stopped to remember the men and women who have served and are still serving in our Armed Forces.

The whole College joined in with a prayer service, including a minute of silence.

Each student also created a poppy that was used to form the wall display pictured above. 

Lest we Forget

On Thursday 14 November the Wollongong Diocese launched the SPLICED book and website for Gifted Education.  This was a coming together of all of the work that students across the Diocese have been completing over the year.  This year St Francis had ten students whose achievements were recognised at this prestigious event.

During the launch, the students had time to chat to guests about their projects and were congratulated by guest speaker Mr Peter Turner, Director of Schools, for their outstanding work.

The following students are to be commended on their commitment to their individual or group projects:

Ellie M (Yr 5) - The Colours of Life
Jacob T (Yr 6) - Destruction of a Star, Supernova
Sneha S (Yr 6) - Nyctophilia
Nicholas D (Yr 8) - Beautiful Personalities of the Stars
Isabella S, Keira B & Aimey A (Yr 8) - Agathokakological
Courtney J, Oscar L & Nereena S (Yr 8) - Imperfection: The key to a perfect world.

If you would like to see in detail the students' projects please access the website spliced2019.dow.catholic.edu.au

Mrs H Lyons
Diverse Learning Teacher

WE BROKE THE 100!!

Any many would know, our goal this year has been to have 100 students attend a LIVE retreat afternoon. We are pleased to announce that we achieved this goal on Thursday 7th November with 115 students (and 20 staff) attending out third and final LIVE event of the year, focusing on the theme “Who Are We?”. This makes us the first school in the Diocese to reach triple digits!

As part of this event, students in Year 3 upwards were invited to a lunchtime concert under the sails. Many of our K-2 students also enjoyed the music from the from under the carline marquee. After school, the final part of LIVE took place with our Year 6-9 students participating in an optional retreat afternoon where the theme “Who Are We?” was explored in greater depth. Students were treated to afternoon tea, a game, live music, a talk, small group discussion, worship and burgers for dinner. 

LIVE will return to St Francis in term one next year. Keep an eye out for the date.

Finally, a reminder for our Year 6-9 students who enjoyed LIVE and want more before LIVE returns next year. The CYMW team run a non-school affiliated event called LIVE Local - a youth group which runs from 7-9pm each Friday night of the school term at St John’s Campbelltown.

Please speak to Miss Flegg if you would like more details about this.

Miss Jessica Flegg
Youth Ministry Coordinator

Congratulations to our highly successful students who were presented with awards at the annual Diocesan CDF Sports Awards held in Wollongong on Friday night.

Nikolas K - winner of a Primary Sports Council Medallion.
Bella G  - winner of a Secondary Sports Council Medallion
Michael K - who was awarded the very prestigious Secondary Sports Council Blue Award.

Fantastic work! Well done.

On Wednesday the 23rd of October the inaugural (first ever) St Francis Catholic College cricket team participated in the Diocesan Secondary Cricket Gala Day.

The enthusiasm and energy of the team was evident right from the onset with all members of the team arriving early on the day in order to warm up and practise ahead of our first match. The trend for the day was set in the first match of cricket with the St Francis boys showing a real eagerness to give it their best, despite many of them not having played competition cricket before.

As the day went on, each of our matches saw the boys continually hold their heads high and encourage one another despite coming up against formidable opposition players from other schools within the Diocese.

The boys batted, bowled and fielded with plenty of energy and determination to improve with each and every match, in which they did so.

Thank you to the students that represented St Francis Catholic College on the day for the way that you conducted yourselves. Thank you also to the parent/carers who transported the students to and from the venue and assisted throughout the day. Finally, thank you to Mr Arthur Watson (Mr Watson’s Grandfather) for umpiring on the day.

Mr Matthew Watson

Please ensure that students are bringing their water bottles with them to the College, especially when they are scheduled to do Sport or PDHPE.

It is especially important as the weather heats up that students stay hydrated and cool during physical activity.

Miss Jessica Flegg
Sport Co-ordinator

Last weekend, Phoebe S from Year 1 represented her athletics club at the State Relay Championships at Sydney Olympic Athletics Centre at Homebush.

Her team finished 12th in the state.  

Congratulations Phoebe!

In Semester One, our Year 6 students were invited to enter into the 2019 Write4fun competition - Just keep writing.

This is an annual writing competition where students are given free reign in what they would like to write about. Students were encouraged to let their imaginations run wild and have the option of composing a short story or a piece of poetry. The competition is an Australia-wide competition where students from all grades were welcomed to enter. 

We had several participants who entered from our Year 6 cohort; Tejas A, Meghana S, Neva N, Aram B, Habron M and Sneha S. 

Of these participants, three students were selected as finalists and were given the opportunity to have their short stories published. These students were Tejas A, Meghana S and Aram B.  

We are incredibly proud of these students and are looking forward to entering more students in 2020, across multiple grades.

Mrs Siobhan Moore
Leader of English

Winter

As the sun fades into the darkness, bitterness arrives to join us with a freeze
welcoming the unpleasant climate to cover the area with a breeze.

Carrying out the snowballs with hands ice - cold
Brisking weather dashing through the sky with a slight - cold.

Rain falling drastically, pouring with anger.
Frigidness skimming through the wind in hunger.

A tremendous climate beginning within an instant
Gathering a pile of snowflakes and flinging them straight into a distance.

Downpours, wetness, and freezingness spreading around
Leaves falling from the tree and leaving them flying down.

Tasting the plain flavor of rain.
Feeling the harsh drops with pain.

A high temperature occurring massively in the air.
Toughness drying clothes that are been soaked to wear.

Spending lots of money on jumpers, pants, and t-shirts
Wearing soft, comfy clothes and enjoying the snow and the creatures.

By Meghana S
Year 6

Purple beast

I chased him through the jungle. The purple beast he shouted. It looks like he banged into everything he saw. Must be night but for me, all I can see is bright gold.I chewed him up but with every bite, I can feel my tooth shaking like it’s trying to escape, but like every victim, it stays for another meal. As everything in this Jungle tries to run like a coward way from me.

I run in the jungle using what you call knuckle-walking. Chasing any lion. King of the jungle they say.More like a citizen of the jungle. Not even they stand in the path of the purple beast. I shall rule. That is what the monkeys thought when they shouted the purple beast. I was called gorilla king by the gorillas but I would rather be called the lord of the Jungle. As I chased the car I could see bright light beyond the Jungle. The path got more narrow by the second. I caught the car at the edge of the Jungle. I could not believe what I saw.

It was horrific, I could see the disgusted faces on the men. What were they wearing? Some kind of camouflage suit, but it was too bright to see. So may cars and bulldozers.”THEY ARE GOING TO DESTROY THE JUNGLE,” I shouted. I think they heard me but to them, it’s a roar. I need to warn the entire jungle. I rushed through the narrow path but I felt something on my shoulder. I looked and it was a dart. What monsters. All I can remember is I fainted on the walkway. What is going to happen to me? Will they bring me to a science lab to be tested.

My eyes slowly opened, blind to the fact the person was talking,” we need to dance,” I think he said. I was in a cart with iron bars. I realized the cart started to move on a stage with people sitting in sits in front of the stage. I shook my head, alright now I am fully awake.”$100 here.$200 there,$300,$500 there,$1000 to him,$2500 to her,$5000 to him. Anyone else, nope well that's it,” the men said. Well, this is it. The end of the purple beast’s reign of terror. 

They rolled the cart to the person who spent $5000.They opened the cage to push me using a stick, into the connected cage but I saw a small opening of the connection. I pushed the cages open and sprinted out of the tent and luckily I was only at the campsite. I rushed to the jungle and through the narrow path. Everything was terrified but then I remembered about the Gorillaz. I am their king after all they shall obey. We shall go to war and win but then all of a sudden, the most tragic thing happened. My tooth came out. Something finally escapes me.

By Aram B
Year 6

A Grave Mistake

How lazy can someone be? You might’ve heard of gas explosions, a leaking radioactive material, a plane crash because of a simple technical snag. I wonder if you’ve heard of someone sooo lethargic that they wouldn’t set up a single evacuation plan? This is the true story of how my life got flipped turned upside-down because of a piece of paper.

I was casually strolling down the pathway and admiring the mere drop of sunlight glistening in the vast horizon. The pitch darkness swallowing the fiery ball of light itself. The stars reigning across the firmament. Another peaceful night. Just when I was adoring the last trickle of the sun, an ear-bleeding, blood-curdling shriek followed by a tremor sent me sprawling. I peeked around the corner expecting a terrorist, but I couldn’t believe my eyes. A blaze the size of a skyscraper had found its mark in the newly constructed Dragon Cliff Pillar! The humans backed away, pure terror etched on their faces plastered with dumbfoundedness. I’ll admit, I’m not a brave soul, but the people who were capturing the scene on video - that was way past the line. Fury and adrenaline coursed through my veins as my brain clouded with courage while my heart pumped. I charged at the building without a plan or a leak of thought in my mind.

The inferno had disintegrated and had inflicted pure devastation upon the building. Catwalks were dangling and the reception was in ruins. My soul echoed a thought: ‘Run back while you have the chance!’ but the scream nearby urged me to help. I sprinted and parkoured around the building locating the user of the scream. I wrecked the door and saw six adults with a group of children caked in soot, huddled in a corner with the adults protecting them. I shouted to them, but my voice crackled like sandpaper. I gestured towards them and to the window and signed T-R-A-M-P-O-L-I-N-E in ASL. Fortunately, they understood and stumbled out the window, diving into the oncoming trampoline. I inspected the room again. When I charged the window, the roof suddenly collapsed and trapped me underneath it. I shifted my weight, hoping to be able to push the bricks off my back. Cinders and flames danced across the room and the skin was peeling off my back. The bricks pressured my spine to breaking point and the flames parched my face. Hoping for the worst, I lied down…

“...brave martyr, Matthias Adamson, helped a group of people to escape from the building. The cause of this destruction was because of the manager forgetting to add an evacuation plan to the building. But here’s something that will twist your togas… there was no dead body found…”

By Tejas A
Year 6

On 23 October 2019 Danielle V and Lourdes E attended the CDF Public Speaking Event at Mary Immaculate Primary School.

The Year 5 students had a variety of topics such as:-

"what makes an Australian?"
"what happens when it all runs out"
"every child matters"
"competitive sport"  AND
“unless someone cares an awful lot nothing will get done”. 

The Year 6 students also had a large variety of topics including:-

"Human rights and wrongs" 
"It’s complicated" 
"Should graffiti be considered as artwork?" 
"There is no “I” in team" 
"Miracles are real" AND 
“sometimes you will never know the value of a moment until it becomes a memory” Dr Seuss.

Danielle V (Year 5) chose the topic, “What makes an Australian?” She spoke about Aussie slang, the food they eat and clothing, and how we are not just those typical stereotypes everybody thinks about Aussies, and NO we do not ride kangaroos to school.

Lourdes E (Year 6) spoke about the topic “It’s Complicated”. It was a free choice topic so she decided to talk about how dinner is so complicated these days. She also spoke about how when families go out for dinner and they have little children, its CRAZY! 

Even though both girls did not place they experienced something they may not be able to experience again.

This competition can help Danielle as she will be doing public speaking for Year 6 next year. It can also help Lourdes as she can put her name down for MISA debating next year for Year 7.

Danielle V (Year 5) & Lourdes E (Year 6)

“Google Code-in” is a contest for students aged 13-17 that runs between the 3rd of December 2019 and the 24th of January 2020.  

The contest is designed to introduce students to open source software and coding, skills that aim to develop creative and innovative thinking.

Organisations are chosen by Google provide a list of tasks for students to work on during the contest period.

Each task has mentors from the organization assigned should students have questions or need help along the way, providing a unique contest experience.

Students have the opportunity to win the following:

• Participants who complete at least 1 task get a digital certificate!
• Participants who complete 3 or more tasks receive a t-shirt too!
• At the end of the contest, each organization will choose six finalists to receive limited edition Google Code-in jackets! 
• Two finalists from each organization will be grand prize winners and go on a trip to Google Headquarters in California!

To sign up or for more information, please go to the following link - Code In Link

Code Camp has already taught more than 50,000 students in Australia and is a great way to spend time over the holidays as kids have lots of fun with friends while learning important new skills including logic, creativity, problem-solving, app development and game building.

It’s fun and engaging, and gets them prepared to take on the digital world of the future.

This season from 22 - 24 January 2020, St Francis will be hosting "Spark" and "Web Builders".

Book now to take advantage of the $20 Early Bird discount (automatically applied at checkout!)   Bookings can be made via this link: www.codecamp.com.au/sfcc

Warmest regards,

St Francis & Code Camp Team