Dear Parents & Friends,

I am very pleased to announce that St Francis Catholic College is one of only six schools across Australia and New Zealand and the only school in NSW to be endorsed as ‘Middle Years School of Excellence’. 

Adolescent Success is an association for teachers, schools, businesses and other educators who care about young adolescents and education in the middle years. It presented the College with this award earlier this month as a reward for our ongoing commitment to the middle years best practices outlined by the position paper from Adolescent Success.

St Francis was required to complete a rigorous
self-assessment of current practices and visioning which lays out a foundation for ongoing growth and success.

The Adolescent Success Middle Years school of Excellence program aims to:

• Acknowledge and celebrate schools that are committed to implementing the essential attributes and characteristics of successful middle schooling practices
• Provide these acknowledged schools that support young adolescents with the resources to support their continuous improvement journey. 
• Grow a network of schools that can learn from and support each other.

I was very pleased to present the plaque acknowledging St Francis as a Middle School of Excellence to two of our Middle Years Leaders, Chelsea and Vevina at our recent Mother’s Day liturgy. 

Congratulations to our hard working staff and students on receiving this prestigious award!

May God continue to bless you.

College Principal
Simon Abernethy

Laudato Si Week began last Monday. Laudato Si’ Week, is a celebration of Pope Francis’ encyclical Laudato Si’ and a call to action for Catholics around the world.  The 2022 theme is 'Listening and Journeying Together.’  The Australian Catholic Bishops Conference promotes the celebration of Laudato Si Week from 16th-24th May and invites Catholic parishes, schools and communities to take part in opportunities for prayer, reflection and conversation.  

The seventh anniversary of Pope Francis’ Encyclical letter Laudato Si: On Care for our Common Home takes place on May 24th. Laudato Si Week is celebrated annually in appreciation of the 2015 Encyclical letter in which the Pope says, “The entire material universe speaks of God’s love” (#84). Pope Francis has helped Catholics understand the connection people have to the whole of creation and that caring for Earth's community is central to the mission. “All of us can cooperate as instruments of God for the care of creation, each according to his or her own culture, experience, involvements and talents” (#14).

We can make our homes places of action and awareness of our call to look after our common home as we journey together and listen to the call.

Some home activities may include:

• Write a persuasive letter to a friend or relative about reuse, repurposing, or recycling as a theme
• Conduct a home auit live out reuse, repurposing, or recycling in their homes
• Go on a walk around your local area and appreciate the nature
• Do an extra cleanup of your home especially in the gardens or yard
• Discuss the notion of a sustainable lifestyle with your family
• Do not turn on the lights in your home (let the sunlight in)

A Pray for Our Earth

This prayer was published in Pope Francis’ encyclical Laudato Si’

All powerful God, you are present in the universe and in the smallest of your creatures. You embrace with your tenderness all that exists. Pour out upon us the power of your love, that we may protect life and beauty.

Fill us with your peace that we may live as brothers and sisters, harming no one. O God of the poor, help us to rescue the abandoned and forgotten of this earth, so precious in your eyes.

Bring healing to our lives, that we may protect the world and not prey on it, that we may sow beauty, not pollution and destruction. Touch the hearts of those who look only for gain at the expense of the poor and the earth.

Teach us to discover the worth of each thing, to be filled with awe and contemplation, to recognize that we are profoundly united with every creature as we journey towards your infinite light. 

We thank you for being with us each day. Encourage us, we pray, in our struggle, for justice, love and peace. Amen.

St Francis…Pray for Us

Blessed Edmund…Pray for Us

May Jesus Live in Our Hearts…Forever

This Thursday (26th May of May) marks National Sorry Day. As an Inclusive Community, we, at St Francis Catholic College acknowledge the Dharawal people, the traditional custodians of this land on which we learn, grow and reflect upon. We pay our respects to Elders past and present. Every year on May 26, National Sorry Day remembers and acknowledges the mistreatment of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people who were forcibly removed from their families and communities, which we now know as ‘The Stolen Generations’.

National Sorry Day is a day to acknowledge the strength of Stolen Generations Survivors and reflect on how we can all play a part in the healing process for our people and nation. While this date carries great significance for the Stolen Generations and other Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples, it is also commemorated by Australians right around the country. 

We remember and recognise the people of the Stolen Generation and all those who were directly or indirectly affected by this terrible time in our history.

We are reminded that God’s dream for humanity is one of justice and equality, of compassion and understanding, of forgiveness and mercy, to be shared by all peoples on earth. We pray that we walk together in a spirit of reconciliation and unity.

National Sorry Day also marks the beginning of The National Reconciliation Week. The 2022 theme, “Be Brave. Make Change” is a challenge to all Australians to Be Brave and tackle the unfinished business of reconciliation so we can Make Change for the benefit of all Australians. Here at St Francis Catholic College we are committed to the ongoing reconciliation with our First Nations People. 

LIVE is an afternoon retreat for students in Years 7-12 and is run by Catholic Youth Ministry Wollongong (CYMW). LIVE aims to draw young people into responsible participation in the life, mission and work of the Catholic faith community and to forge a sense of community and spirituality amongst them. This is achieved through the use of live music, games, a talk related to the chosen theme, small group activities, team building activities and faith formation and spiritual development. The event ends with dinner.

                                       The details of the LIVE event are as follows:

                                             Date: Thursday 16th June (Week 8)

                                                     Time: 2.45pm-6pm

Theme: Still Waters

All students in Years 7-12 are invited to attend this free event. 

If your child will be attending, please provide permission via Compass by Friday 3rd June

Bronze Awards

Congratulations to the following students on achieving their Bronze award recently:

Year 1
Mikaela U
Angus T

Year 3
Alexander P

Year 5
Justin E

Year 6
Alexandra L
Ayesha L
Nancy A
Steven K

Year 7
Irene J

Year 8
Lyla D
Sanya S
Aarush C
Hargune S
Angelina T
Annika L
Pocholo A
Daniel S

Silver Awards

Congratulations to the following students on achieving their Silver award recently:

Year 2
Rufina A
Nathalia P
Mia A
Emma C

Year 3
Joshua A
Martin D
Rosaria S

Year 4
Malia P

Year 5
Ritvik S
Manya K
Aaron B

Year 6
Laverne D
Lucas F
Myles S
Christian D
Shanina R

Year 8
Serwah A

Gold Awards

Congratulations to the following students on achieving their Gold award recently:

Adison P, Tyrah N, Sinchana S, Nirvan N, Alexander F,

Mia C, Luca M, Anita G, Sebastian B

On Monday 23rd and Tuesday 24th May, student representatives attended our Primary and Secondary Diocesan Cross Country Carnivals hosted at Narellan Sports Hub. Due to the weather conditions making the usual track in Nowra unsuitable to race saw some different challenges for our runners in competing on primarily track conditions for this race. 

On Monday, our secondary students were in action, with Adrian V (17s), Alina A (15s) and Nikolas K (13s), with Stephanie G (15-absent). From previous Cross Country success, Stephanie, in her absence has been nominated and is pending as a wild card entry, whilst Nikolas was successful in placing second in the 13 boys category and will be representing the Wollongong Diocese at the upcoming CCC Cross Country Carnival in Eastern Creek in early June. We wish him all the best for this event and congratulate all competitors on their achievements at the carnival.

On Tuesday, our primary students took the track. The following students should be congratulated for their efforts on the day; Liam P (8/9’s), Luke S, Daniel D and Sian V (10’s), Noah F and Victoria G (11’s) and Alexander F and Gordana P (12’s). These students represented our College with pride and showed great sportsmanship throughout the carnival.

Sport Coordinators,
Amber Meadley, Sebastian Diaz 

Have you heard of Children’s Day?

During Weeks 2 and 4, the Japanese Club celebrated Children's Day by creating Koinobori (koi streamer kites) to display in the Japanese classroom. 

Children's Day (known as 'Kodomo no hi' in Japanese) is a national holiday which takes place annually on May 5. It is a day set aside to respect children's personalities and to celebrate their happiness. The Koi fish was chosen as the symbol of Children's Day because it is considered the most spirited fish by the Japanese, as it is full of energy and power to battle its way up strong currents. Japanese households will hoist colourful koi streamer kites outside of their homes to symbolise each family member. The black koi, which is the largest on the kite, represents the father of the family. The red koi represents the mother, and the last koi (often coloured blue) represents the child. Additional koi are added for each younger sibling.

These creations by students in the Japanese Club will be displayed in our Japanese Room for all to enjoy. 

Wishing everyone a happy Kodomo no hi!

Sincerely 
Ms Tooby