Dear Parents & Friends,

The other day, a visitor to our school enquired about the significance of the San Damiano Cross which is displayed in every classroom of the College. It has become a cherished symbol for Franciscans because St Francis prayed before a large Romanesque wooden cross when he is said to have received the commission from the Lord to rebuild the Church. This started his vocation which led to him becoming a saint.

The original cross is a very impressive size (approx. 2 metres tall) and now hangs in the Basilica of Saint Clare in Assisi, Italy, near to the Basilica of St Francis and a replica in its original position in the church of San Damiano nearby.

The San Damiano Cross was one of a number of crosses painted with similar figures during the 12th century in that area of Italy. The name of the painter is unknown, but it was made around the year 1100. The purpose of an icon cross was to teach the meaning of the event depicted and thereby strengthen the faith of the people.

The San Damiano Cross depicts the crucifixion of Jesus. Jesus is the central figure and is represented upright in full stature while the surrounding figures are smaller. The bright white of his body contrasts with the dark red and black around it and accentuates the prominence of Jesus. 

The smaller figures painted around Jesus are of characters and events named in the bible story leading up to the crucifixion of Jesus. They help those who witness the cross to remember the story. 

 
Students are encouraged to take a closer look at this very special cross next time they see them in the classrooms.

May God continue to bless you

Simon Abernethy

Just a reminder to all families that if you are picking your child/ren up early and they are in K-4 you will need to send an email to their teacher, prior to the pickup day/time explaining why they are leaving early. This will allow the teacher to organsie them to be sent to the College Reception with their bag ready for pick up.

If your child/ren are in years 5-11 you will need to write a note in their diary explaining their early pickup and the time they are to leave. Your child/ren will then show their class teacher, at the appropriate time and will be allowed to leave to meet you at College Reception.

We would also like to remind you that if there is a change in the way your child/ren are getting home or picked up, all notifications should be made before 2:00pm. This allows our College reception enough time to pass on the information to students/teachers.

On Tuesday 1^st June at 6.30pm parents who expressed an interest in being involved in the Family College Partnership (FCP) group gathered with Mr Abernethy to form the FCP 2021 Social Committee. The parents all have children across a range of grades and came together in unison to begin the discussions of potential social events that could be held at the school this year. With COVID 19 and the restrictions that were put in place by the government, there was a definite loss of community feeling and inclusiveness with parents not being allowed on school grounds. We understand that things could change at any time, but as a group we identified the need to get the school community together and create some fun social events where we can bring back that spirit.

So the task was set to think of some enjoyable events that would incorporate not only the students but also the parents and teachers. These events are planned to run in the second half of this year. The brainstorming thinking caps came on and the ideas began to flow and a unanimous decision was made for 2 events for this year. The first event will be for parents only and the second with be for the whole family.

For the parents we will be holding a Trivia Night. So parents, please save the date for Friday 20^th August approx 7:30pm. This will give you all plenty of time to organise babysitters, get your teams of 8-10 together for a fun night of laughs and good healthy dose of competition. There will be lots of fun activities throughout the night and ample opportunity to meet other parents in our school community. We hope that you can come and enjoy what we believe is going to be a great night out and a fun way to meet some new faces. To make the night as successful as possible we would like to make a call out to any families or friends of families that have local businesses in the area. We ask that you consider being a sponsor, donating a prize or a voucher. We would like our first social event to go out with a bang. The more support and sponsorship we can get the better the night will be. Details of the event, how to register and how to donate will be released soon via Compass so please stay tuned.

The second event will be later in the year towards the end of October when it warms up a little. The idea for this is a Sunday Family Fun Day. Think jumping castle, games, food and fun with your family and friends. A day out to meet parents, meet teachers, meet students. Get out and enjoy the sunshine, participate in all that we will have to offer. Details of this event are still to be organised and we will more than likely put a call out for help needed from fellow parents/carers on the day. More details regarding this event will be released at a later date.

The committee will meet regularly to plan these events with the next scheduled meeting booked in for 13^th July. Funds raised for these events will also help the Care Committee in their drive to help for those families that maybe going through a tough time and need a bit of help.

On behalf of the social committee we look forward to creating some fun events for everyone and hope as a school community you all support our efforts and get involved. You won’t be disappointed!

By Lina Sammut

Bronze Awards

Congratulations to the following students on acheiving their Bronze award at our recent assembly:

Year 1
Nicholas M

Year 2
Irene S

Year 3
Amara C
Jonathan F

Silver Awards

Congratulations to the following students on achieving their Silver award at our recent assembly:

Year 3
Ajaswi A
Isabella F
Kenisha S

Year 4
Evie K

Gold Award

Congratulations to Trisha P, Brodie D and Evie K on acheiving their Gold Awards.

Congratulations to Bella G who competed in the NSW All Schools Swimming Championships on Friday 28th May. Bella performed exceptionally well placing 1st in Girls 15-16 200m Butterfly, 2nd in 50m Freestyle, 50m Butterfly, 200m Freestyle, 400m Freestyle and 5th in 50m Backstroke.
This is an amazing achievement Bella and the staff and students of St Francis are extremely proud of you!

On Friday 21st May, the year 11 St.Francis English Advanced class had the privilege of watching ‘The Tempest’ by Shakespeare, performed at Parramatta Riverside Theatre. 

Undergoing this experience was both exciting and enthralling. A play about love, magic, betrayal and forgiveness, The Tempest is one that had the whole class engrossed in the experience. It began in a violent storm where a ship crashed on an island in Italy. On this island was a father and daughter who lived with a sprite named Ariel and on the ship was a Royal Family. The father caused the storm (the tempest) and once his daughter, Miranda, found out, she was outraged. The plot continues along the journeys of these newly introduced characters to this strange island. Along the way, there is an attempt at murder on the King of Naples, a drunken scheme to kill Prospero and a romance between Miranda and the King’s son, Ferdinand. The play concludes where amnesty is made and the characters all set sail for home.

Overall, along with my classmates, we agreed that the play was performed spectacularly and we all really enjoyed the experience. 

We later went to an amazing restaurant to eat where we all got the chance to better get to know each other and create stronger relationships. We left that excursion with new knowledge of a Shakespearean play as well as better bonds and friendships. 

By Aaliyah S

On Thursday 27th of May, The Saint Francis Mock Trial team had the privileged opportunity to attend Hurlstone Agricultural High School to compete in Round 3 of the NSW Law Society competition. Cooper N, Maya J, Courtney J, Oscar L, Shandesh B and myself were the defence team on an invigorating civil case regarding property damage and council participation. As the defence, St. Francis represented Burwood Council and had to defend their liability. The civil case was around a dispute between an individual with root damage to her property and the Councils response to said issues. As the Council we had to prove we were not liable or negligent. We originally responded to the solution effectively, yet after the Plaintiff (Hurlstone Agricultural) hired a third party plumber, the solution, a root blocker, was further tampered with and influenced the growth of more tree roots, thus causing more damage. The council simply does not take responsibility for another person's damage. After the trial, we received feedback from the magistrate who is a trained and well-experienced solicitor. St Francis was commended on our professionalism and Witness performance which ultimately saw our triumph over Hurlstone. Hurlstone proved to be tough competition, but we won the Round with pride 201-197. This experience is one that I am beyond grateful for as it is allowing us to meet new people, build teamwork and critical thinking skills and provide an insight into the Australian Legal System. I am looking forward to what the next round has to offer.

By Aaliyah S

Throughout Term 2 Kindergarten and Year 5 have been working together during their Pastoral lessons focussing on a buddy program called 'Better Buddies'. Students have 'buddied' up and through a variety of activities with their buddies have focussed on the values of  caring for others, friendliness, respect, valuing difference, including others and responsibility. This Better Buddies Program compliments our SFCC pastoral programs and enables our students to feel safe and cared for, valued and respected. Later on this term Year 5 and Kindergarten will participate in a combined liturgy reflecting on the values they have learnt and the relationships they have established. 

Please find attached the June 2021 project update for the Edmondson Park Commuter Car Park project.

We thank you for your patience as we build a new multi-storey car park with approximately 1,000 additional spaces.

Keeping you up to date

We will continue to keep you updated as the project progresses. If you have any questions, please contact us though the following channels:

• call our project Information Line: 1800 684 490
• email us at projects@transport.nsw.gov.au
• visit our website.

Kind regards,

The Commuter Car Park Program Team