ST FRANCIS FEAST DAY

What a wonderful day this was. 

Obviously, with St Francis’ actual feast day occurring during a school holiday vacation period, the College has to choose an alternate date - and Week 5, Term 3 is a great time to celebrate it - as it is midterm and it provides an instant lift to our Year 12s who have just sat their HSC Trial Examinations.

St Francis reminds us of the importance of giving thanks to all those around us, as well as the beauty and importance of protecting flora, fauna and the cosmos. That St Francis could gather so many followers in such a short time and that his messages are still relevant for our modern world says so much - and they are terrific learnings for our young people here at the College.

Students were reverent during the beautiful mass celebrated by Father Bosco, and our Choir, singers, and musicians were in fine form during the celebration of the Eucharist.

Following the mass, our students were in great spirits and absolutely loved the rides, food offerings and various activities (many of which they could earn tickets from to exchange for prizes). Our community is very joyous, and our students continue to be a blessing.

I would like to especially thank all of our staff involved in the organisation of the day - there were so many moving parts (literally), but our staff kept up their energies and worked tirelessly for our students. Thank you.

BOOKWEEK 2023

Wow! What a fantastic morning it was. Our staff and students from K-6 dressed up and got heavily involved in our 2023 Bookweek event.

Thank you to the students and families who put so much effort and attention to detail into the incredible costumes. In our next newsletter, we will share some of the photographs of this awesome event - but thank you to everyone involved! I thoroughly enjoyed my first St Francis Book Parade, and the students seemed to have an absolute ball!

Year 8 into 9 Subject Information Evening

Thank you to all the parents/carers and students who attended Wednesday Night’s Information Evening.

A range of information was shared by key staff as the College spoke about the process for subject selections for Year 9 2024, important details regarding NESA guidelines and a gentle introduction to Stage 6 from 2026 onwards.

On the night, the importance of students finding areas they are passionate about was emphasised as these passion areas can ultimately lead to tertiary study and/or a young person’s career trajectory. The Year Group is a good one, and much commitment to studies and various subject areas was displayed.

Prayer

In keeping with our Feast Day last week, I share a prayer many of you would be very familiar with. May we all be instruments of peace. 

In a show of support for the amazing Matilda's, St Francis Catholic College was painted green and gold on Wednesday the 15th of August. Students and staff doned green and gold accessories and participated in a variety of activities including; creating supporter signs and soccer drills and games on the College Oval to celebrate the determination and success of the Australian Women's Soccer team. The College community entered the College via a green and gold balloon arch and danced to 'Watzin Matilda' over the PA during break time. Students could be heard supporting the Matilda's chanting 'Aussie Aussie Aussie' and 'Matilda's' throughout the school day. Thank you to all our students and staff who participated in the day, demonstrating outstanding College spirit.

First Aid Awareness Day - Year 8

First Aid knowledge and understanding is highly advantageous in all environments and can provide students with the skills to potentially manage an emergency situation should they arise. This course is compulsory for all students undertaking Year 8 PDHPE as it meets syllabus outcomes and requirements. There were many stations of thrilling and excitement inducing activities throughout the day for Year 8. Each station had an individual purpose to educate and benefit the students through teaching them about safety and how to potentially save someone else’s life.

CPR

Our special guests, Tammy and Rhiane from Royal Life Saving Service Australia had come to St Francis to instruct the students on how to perform CPR in a safe, respectful and efficient manner. They did this through teaching the students about DRSABCD which is an acronym to perform CPR in the most effective manner possible. They had also prepared practicals which include mannequins so that the students could experience a real life example/demonstration of performing CPR on a person.

Anaphylaxis/Asthma

One of the highly regarded teachers, Mr Baker had taught students about Anaphylaxis reactions and Asthma. He had taught that Anaphylaxis is a severe and life threatening allergic reaction that can be caused through common allergens such as bee stings, nuts and eggs. These anaphylactic reactions can be deadly as the throat can swell and the airways can close, resulting in a lack of oxygen resulting in death. However, he had also taught the students about how to administer treatments for an anaphylactic reaction which is to use an epipen on the outer thigh in a safe manner and he also gave students a practise epipen to give them a real life experience of using an epipen on themselves or someone else. Furthermore, he had also taught the students about a common respiratory disease, asthma. He had educated students on common causes of asthma attacks such as exercise, unclear air and emotions. He had also taught students how to issue puffers/inhalers/relievers whilst teaching them to recognise to call for an ambulance if the asthmatic still struggled to breathe after 4 puffs.

DRSABCD Worksheet

Several PDHPE teachers such as Mr Watson, Mr Zakaris, Miss Santucci and Mrs Kells had designed a booklet for students to fill out which summarised the content that was learnt throughout the day from identifying danger before CPR to common causes and treatments of asthma.

Sport

To link with the practical component of our PDHPE unit this term, groups also participated in sport sessions throughout the day of either basketball or netball. This was a fun way to encourage the students to exercise and move about after sitting down and learning so many fun things!

On Tuesday 15th August, Year 11 PDHPE and Sport, Lifestyle and Recreation students completed the HLTAID011 Provide First Aid Course facilitated by Royal Life Saving NSW. 

First Aid qualifications are highly regarded in any workplace environment and in some cases are a prerequisite to employment. They can add to rates of pay, are well recognised and provide students with the skills and knowledge to potentially save a life. 

Students engaged in both practical and theoretical learning in order to develop their first aid skills.

Below are some photos from the day.

Wishing Bella G the best of luck as she will be representing Australia in the World junior Aquatic championships in Israel.

All updates can be found on https://www.worldaquatics.com/news/3645279/two-weeks-to-go-world-aquatics-junior-swimming-championships-in-netanya-israel

Congratulations to Sienna M and Danielle M in Year 11 who competed in “2023 Ultimate Mic Battle” at Smithfield RSL on 13th Aug 2023, Sienna came 3rd and Danielle came 1st in their age group.