Dear Parents/Carers,

Gifted & Talented Students

We have recently received numerous requests for references for our students to sit selective school entry examinations.

In previous newsletters I have provided an outline of my concerns about selective schools. Put simply, I do not think they cater well to the majority of the students that attend them and I do not think they are good for our education system generally. They are elitist and they may create a ‘brain drain’ out of comprehensive schools.

Students who are high achievers in comprehensive school settings suddenly may have a crisis of confidence as they are mixed with other high achievers from other schools and not all can be at the top of the class. Many schools that are promoted as ‘selective’ are in fact semi-selective, segregating a single top performing academic class from a school of underachievers who consider the one academic class as outcasts.

A significant amount of research suggests that parents should reconsider the once popular view that selective schools are something to aspire to. They may start with top performing students but they do not necessarily end up this way. 

The leadership team at the Catholic Education Office, Wollongong, share my concerns and as such have instructed me not to support applications for selective school enrolment. I would ask that parents not approach St Francis staff with forms seeking admission into selective schools. I liken it to buying a new Hyundai car, having your car serviced regularly at the Hyundai dealership, not ever raising an issue and appearing to be happy and then approaching the Hyundai dealer asking them forward your service history so that you get your Hyundai serviced at Ford. It doesn’t make sense. It is not in the dealer’s interest, and he/she won’t agree that it is in your car’s interest. 

Instead I would prefer that you have a conversation with me and our staff about your high performing student. I welcome conversation about how we can better meet their needs and extend their learning. This year is the first year we have employed a teacher who is dedicated full-time to working with building the capacity of teachers to deliver personalised programs for high performing students. Miss Issa is testing high performing students with recommended assessments such as the Cognitive Abilities Test (CogAT) and the General Ability Test (AGAT) as well as the Slosson Intellegence Test (SIT). These tests have been designed by universities and are well recognised tools to identify students who may be gifted and talented in a range of domains. 

A number of our teaching staff have also completed a mini-certificate of Gifted Education (mini-COGE) with the University of NSW. We have an ongoing commitment to work with the Uni of NSW to build the capacity of our staff. 

Once formally identified, personal plans are developed to extend or enrich each student’s learning. A range of programs are on offer to students at St Francis and we are expanding these programs rapidly. Some are working on accelerated Mathematics and writing  programs, others are involved in the Diocesan led Spliced program, some are accessing external competitions. Next term an entrepreneurial group will be established to work in partnership with Liverpool Council on a biodiversity program. Newly formed ‘clubs’ are now operating in the Creative & Performing Arts areas and opportunities for debating and public speaking will occur in Term 3. Consideration is currently being given to how ‘High Performance Classes’ in Years 7-10 will run in 2021 and to the staffing of these classes. 

Please rest assured that no matter where your child is academically, we are doing everything we can to accurately access their current learning needs, tracking their growth and progress and working to continually challenge them to improve and be life-long learners. 

Interschool & MISA Sport/Cultural Events

I am excited to announce that it is anticipated that MISA Sport of a Tuesday afternoon is set to return in Term 3 for Years 7-10. The MISA Debating Competition will also occur in Term 3 which is great news for our Year 7 and 8 Debating Teams.

Building Update

The scaffolding will be coming down on the Performance Centre next week. The focus this week has been erecting whiteboards, pinboards, doors and glazing.  I have attached a photo of the progress of the Hall, which is coming along nicely.

May God continue to bless you and your family.

Mr Simon Abernethy
College Principal

Due to COVID and it’s impacts in Semester 1 this year the Catholic Education Office has put in place some adjustments to the Semester 1 Academic Reports.

Please see below for further details:-

Kindergarten

Students in Kindergarten are only required ONE academic report for the year. This report will be distributed at the end of Semester 2 (Term 4).

Years 1 - 4

In these unprecedented times in education, traditional direct instruction has been altered due to the Coronavirus outbreak. Determining academic mastery is challenging in remote learning environments as conversations, observations and assessments are limited. 

Students from Years 1-4 will receive an Interim Report which reflects the engagement in learning undertaken during classroom and remote learning over the course of Term 1 up until the middle of Term 2, 2020. The Report will include only the Key Learning Areas of Religious Education, English and Mathematics.

Schools normally report on student progress and achievement against a five point scale. Due to the current circumstances and the need for schools to teach remotely, valid assessment of student learning has been challenging. Therefore, it seems more appropriate that student engagement in learning in the three Key Learning Areas is reported on for the period of Term 1 up until the middle of Term 2. This means there will be no A-E grades given for Semester 1.

Years 5 - 10

Students from Years 5-10 will receive reports based on the outcomes addressed in each subject during Semester One. This report will include a grade (A-E) related to each of the outcomes covered. Due to the remote learning period these may be limited.  The report will also include reference to work habits/ commitment to learning over the semester taking into account the period of remote learning. A grade distribution will not be provided in relation to Semester 1 as it would be of limited value due to the interruptions to the semester. 

Parent/Student/Teacher Interviews

Normally at St Francis we would hold two parent/student/teacher interviews per year, these take place at the end of Term 1 and Term 3.  Unfortunately due to COVID we did not have our Term 1 interviews as scheduled and so we have decided to bring forward our Term 3 interviews to Week 4, Term 3.  More information regarding the process for booking interviews will be sent out at the beginning of Term 3. 

The dates for interviews have been uploaded to the school calendar and are as follows:

Please note these interviews are COMPULSORY and at least one parent/carer must attend with their child.

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 2020 our Award structure would have been:

In light of COVID and the impact this pandemic has had on schooling in 2020 and academic reports in Semester 1, the College Leadership Team has decided that End of Semester One awards will not be distributed. 

This has been a very difficult decision and one like many others we hope never to need to make again. 

Please note that student achievement will continue to be celebrated via our Touchstone Awards, House Points, K-4 Stamp Charts & Years 5-12 Green Stamps.

Catholic Education Diocese of Wollongong (CEDoW) strives to create vibrant Catholic communities of faith and learning and believes this is best achieved when there is a genuine partnership between home and the College.

The Lighting the Way Together Parent-School Partnership Framework has been developed to support the creation and maintenance of this partnership. It outlines for Parents/Carers and schools the principles and expectations of the parent-school partnership so that together we can create:

• identifiably Catholic communities, inspired by the person and teaching of Jesus Christ, where all strive to act with hope, integrity, justice and compassion; and
• effective schools which enhance student learning and wellbeing.

This document is available to download below and is also available to download in the following languages. 

Please click the link below the language to download translation:-

Vietnamese
Vietnamese translation

Hindi
Hindi translation

Nepali
Nepali translation

Arabic
Arabic translation

Malayalam
Malayalam translation

Tagalog
Tagalog translation

On Friday 19th June, Courtney J represented St Francis Catholic College in the Grand Final of the CSDA (Catholic Schools’ Debating Association) Public Speaking Competition. 

Courtney, a Year 9 student at SFCC, was entered in the Year 10 competition and competed against 12 other students in the Zone Finals. 

She presented an engaging and thought provoking speech based on the topic, “When Things Fall Apart.” 

Courtney should be congratulated on the commitment and dedication she has maintained throughout the competition.

Four places were awarded out of the 12 students in the Final and we are very excited to announce that Courtney was awarded third place representing at Year 10 level. 

Well done, Courtney!

Miss Ramos, Mrs Kelleher, Mrs Sanchez, Mrs Vaga and Miss Shoard

Late last week we were advised by NSW Health that we are able to combine the Year 7 Vaccination visit that was cancelled due to COVID-19 restrictions, with the upcoming Year 10 Vaccination visit.  Therefore, both Year 7 and Year 10 Vaccinations will now take place on

Thursday 2 July 2020

Please ensure that you have returned your child's Vaccination Card to College Reception.

If your child is not receiving their vaccination, and you have not already done so, please email College Reception info@sfccdow.catholic.edu.au to advise in writing that your child will not be receiving their vaccination on the day.  

If you have any questions regarding the Year 10 Vaccinations, please do not hesitate to contact Donna Galvin at College Reception on 4645 3400.

By the end of last week we had accumulated 4 large containers of lost property.  All the items that had a name on them were returned to students on Friday afternoon. 

There were many items that were growing bacteria even the Science department would have trouble identifying and these items have been discarded.

Can we please ask that ALL items (drink bottles/lunch boxes, etc) are clearly LABELED with your CHILD’S NAME so they can be located easily and returned. This also assists when two items are exactly the same and we need to ensure that the right item goes to the right student.  Please assist the College in ensuring all of your child’s items are clearly labelled.