St Francis of Assisi College - Term 2 Week 1 - 2022

Mother's Day 

Mother’s Day is a time where we take time out to acknowledge and say thank you to the mothers, mother figure’s, wives, and grandmothers in our lives.  Whatever our own family unit may look like, mothers, or the mother figures in our lives, are often the glue that holds everything together.  As one of three boys, it is now with a family of my own, that I reflect on my teenage years growing up in Port Pirie, and truly appreciate the sacrifices my own Mum made, always without complaint, to ensure that we all had what we needed.  Balancing shift work as a nurse, feeding three growing boys, getting us to sport, being involved in our education and providing our family with as many opportunities as possible and no doubt lying awake at night, until we returned home safely, as we all started to drive around the mid-north as teenagers playing sport and socialising with friends.  I think we all have our own experiences and special qualities we love about our mothers, grandmothers, and special people in our lives. During Pastoral Care this week, students spoke about the qualities they see in their mothers, and mother figures in their lives, their responses included compassion, love, understanding, and unconditional love.

For centuries, the Catholic Church has set aside the entire month of May to honour Mary, Mother of God. The custom spans centuries, going back as far as the ancient Greeks. Mary’s journey as a mother, from a crib in Bethlehem to a cross in Jerusalem gives each of us an opportunity for reflection.

 Our spiritual mother, Mary the mother of God with the power of the Holy Spirit brought “the Word Made Flesh” to our world and our lives. The cause of our joy, Mary, is a figure in our lives that we can have as a mother to nurture us when we are suffering, and to join us when we are jubilant. She is the one that we can send our cries, our mourning’s, and our joviality. She hears all voices and accepts all people; she loves each and every one of us. Our mother celebrates our life with us at all times.

 Hail, Holy Queen, Mother of Mercy, our life, our sweetness and our hope.  To thee do we cry, poor banished children of Eve, To thee do we send up our sighs, mourning and weeping in this valley of tears. Turn then, most gracious Advocate, thine eyes of mercy toward us, and after this our exile, show unto us the blessed fruit of thy womb, Jesus.
O clement, O loving, O sweet Virgin Mary! Pray for us, O Holy Mother of God, That we may be made worthy of the promises of Christ.

Amen

Welcome to new families – Growing in Harmony

As I welcome all families back to start second term for 2022, we especially welcome new families to our community, hoping that they will enjoy being a part of our learning family.  Furthermore, I trust new students will richly experience our way of being at the College where:

• Every learner has a place.
• Every learner has a pathway.

Our College Motto, Laudato Si’, calls us to care of self, others and our common home, and I hope this will be the experience of our new students, and indeed for all members of our College community.

ANZAC Day – ‘Lest we forget’

It was terrific to see that St Francis of Assisi College was formally involved in the Riverland ANZAC Day commemorations. I believe ANZAC Day not only offers us an opportunity to acknowledge those Australian and New Zealand Army Corps soldiers who fought and died at Gallipoli in 1915, but is also a day of remembrance for all soldiers who have died while fighting for their country as well as their families whose lives have been significantly transformed by the supreme sacrifice.  Furthermore, ANZAC Day invites us as a community to acknowledge the commitment of our contemporary armed forces and their families; a day to say thank you with deep appreciation.

St Francis of Assisi College was represented at the Loxton Dawn Service by Max Cozens,  Aaron Kurian represented the college at the Barmera Dawn Service, and Riley Broad and Alissa Yard represented the college at the 10.30am service in Renmark. 

They shall not grow old, as we that are left grow old:

Age shall not weary them, nor years condemn.

At the going down of the sun and in the morning,

We shall remember them. 

St Francis of Assisi College Wellbeing Model

Staff participated in a very engaging training facilitated by Dr David Kelly from the Life Buoyancy Institute, to begin the implementation of the St Francis of Assisi College Wellbeing Model, David is also a Commissioner for Youth Mental Health.  In November 2021, the College Leadership Team worked with David to ensure that wellbeing is intentionally embedded:

• Into everything we do, not reliant on one person or one area of the curriculum.
• Across the entire community, and moment-to-moment support to community members.
• In a manner that is visible, transparent and accountable across the entire community and consistent with the Catholic Values of our College.

The intent of the Model is to provide:

‘A sustainable and cohesive method to implement a contextualized and evidence-informed wellbeing culture for the entire St Francis of Assisi College Community, including all community members, such as students, families, educators, leaders, and people connected to the College Community.’

The College Wellbeing Model is a ‘grass-roots’ model of wellbeing.  This means:

It has been mapped to the specific local context of the community, and by doing so, it draws from the wisdom, strengths and needs of the local community and the Riverland region of South Australia.

The model has been developed in response to the following key contextual factors:

• Laudato Si’ and integral ecology
• multiple community members
• diverse needs
• community and social context
• science of building wellbeing responsive communities
• science of wellbeing

School Board and Annual General Meeting

As the School Board Nomination period has come to a close, I am delighted to share our inaugural St Francis of Assisi College School Board Members:

Ex-Officio Members:

• President of the School Board                           Fr Paul Bourke
• Executive Officer of the School Board               Nathan Hayes (College Principal)
• College Finance Manager                                  Anthony Pickering
• Board Secretary                                                 Claire Smith

Nominated Members:

• OLOR Parish Pastoral Council Representative  TBC
• SFoAC Staff Representative                               TBC

Elected Members:

• Tanya Allan                                                         Paringa
• Ben Dring                                                           Renmark
• Paul Searle                                                         Paringa
• Tim Pfeiffer                                                         Renmark
• Michael Atsaves                                                 Renmark
• Prue Kempthorne                                               Barmera

Our inaugural AGM will be held on Wednesday 18th May, in the Collaboration Centre, whilst not a formal AGM as our first School Board will be formalised on this night, the College Team will provide updates on key progress, and key priorities of the College to date.

At the AGM the School Board Members will meet to elect the Chairperson, Deputy Chairperson and Chair of the Finance Committee.  The parent members of the Board bring an outstanding range of experiences, capabilities and a collective commitment in supporting St Francis of Assisi College to achieve our strategic priorities in the coming years.

We welcome as many parents and members of the College community to attend the AGM as possible!

Term 2 COVID Settings for Schools

Following on from my email to families this week I reiterate the new settings for schools, which at this point are in place for the first four weeks of Term 2:

1. Masks will continue to be required to be worn by year 7-12 students, staff and adults indoors. Masks are also strongly encouraged for Years 3-6 students.
2. Asymptomatic close contacts will no longer be required to quarantine. They will instead be required to take five Rapid Antigen Tests (RATs) over seven days and wear a mask when leaving home. To access free RATs, close contacts must register here and nominate on the form the collection point from which they will collect a free pack of RATs.
3. Close contacts who develop symptoms are still required to get a PCR test and isolate until a negative result is received.
4. Parents are permitted to enter school grounds and classrooms. Though parent meetings/events may generally resume as usual, schools should continue to hold parent meetings/events online where this can reasonably occur (such as for most parent teacher interviews).

Nathan Hayes

Principal 

He is not here; he has risen, just as he said. Come and see the place where he lay.”

Matthew 28:6

I often try to imagine what it would have been like to be one of the women who went to Jesus’ tomb that morning to find the stone rolled away. The women, who were sad about Jesus’ death did not stay home but instead “rose” and went out early that morning to perform a work of mercy, taking the perfumed ointments to the tomb. The stone in front of the tomb was rolled aside, not so Jesus could come out, but so that they could look inside and see that he was indeed gone. The angel spoke to the women, “Why do you seek the living among the dead?”

The women were frightened. Within their sadness and fear the women also felt something else: new hope. Without hope life cannot be found. Jesus opened his tomb so we may enter. Let us open our sealed tombs so that Jesus may enter our hearts. He is the beacon of hope that grants us life.

                                              I am the stone that was rolled away

                                           No power on earth could make me stay

                                       For mightier forces than those known to man

                                Were leaving the tomb and would soon shake the land

                                                          ~Edward Potts~

Catholic Education Week

May 9-15, 2022

Catholic Education Week is about celebrating the excellent teaching and learning across Catholic Education SA.

At St Francis of Assisi College this occasion is marked with a variety of activities throughout Week 2.

Year 8A have created letters to spell Catholic Education Week 2022, for display on the school fence from Monday May 9.

On Thursday May 12, St Francis of Assisi College will ‘switch off’ lighting and not use unnecessary electronic devices during periods 7 and 8 to reduce electricity consumption.

On Friday May 13, students will take part in a prayer service that explores our diocesan theme ‘who is my neighbour?’

After the prayer service on Friday May 13, Home Groups will take part in one of the following neighbourly activities: weeding the school grounds, cooking morning tea for College staff, picking up litter at Bookmark Creek or creating cards and messages for residents of St Catherine’s in Berri.

During the whole of Catholic Education Week, students of St Francis of Assisi College will run a food drive where everyone is invited to donate canned and/or long life food items. The students will take these goods to the Riverland Branch of the St Vincent de Paul Society as a contribution to their annual Winter Appeal.

Happy Catholic Education Week!

Nanda de Winter

Assistant Principal Religious Identity and Mission 

Pictured: House Leaders from Aqua (Ryan and Luca [absent]), Ignis (Samuel and Billie), Terra (Sophie and Aaron) and Ventus (Alissa [absent] and Riley) with Mr. Nathan Hayes (College Principal), Father Hau Le (College Priest) and Mr. Luke Cotter (Leader of Wellbeing).

Student Leadership 

This week our inaugural student leaders were formally inducted by Leader of Wellbeing, Mr Luke Cotter at our first College Mass this week, celebrated by College Chaplain, Fr Hau Lee where Fr Hau also blessed the students and their leadership badges.  The Mass signalled the formalisation of our student leadership and House naming process led by Mr Cotter throughout Term 1, where the voice of our students was at the centre of this important discernment to identify our first student leaders, and finalise our House names.

The leaders are representatives who work with and alongside the students and staff to share, listen, connect, voice, and undertake servant leadership. Already, the student leaders have begun forming two action groups in which the broader student population are welcome to join. In just their first few days as leaders, they were welcoming ambassadors at the College opening and have run activities to assist in fundraising for Project Compassion and Harmony Day. The leaders were excellent role models for their House teams at the Athletics Carnival in Term 1

The College community looks forward to seeing the plans they have as a Council and in their action groups as the term unfolds.

LifeChanger Foundation and Youth Mentor Program

The College is embarking on a partnership with LifeChanger within our Pastoral Care program. 

The LifeChanger Foundation identifies and develops inspiring mentors within communities and delivers holistic self-development workshops for teens, creating and sustaining safe and resilient communities. The workshops are based upon 5 Pillars to build self-esteem, self-awareness, positive self-identity, and resilience.

The 5 Pillars are:

• Health
• Skills
• Self
• Purpose
• Tribe

Students will engage in six Youth Program Workshops run by LifeChanger during Pastoral Care starting in late Term 2 and continuing through Term 3 that are centred around the 5 Pillars.

Mentors for the Youth Program 

The College seeks interested community members who would like to bring their life experiences to the program and become a mentor for our students. LifeChanger will train teaching staff and interested community members in a mentor training session on Tuesday May 10^th at the College.

Mentors are an integral part of the program and assist students in the Youth Program Workshops by interacting, sharing real life experiences, and creating a space that allows for individual and small group discussions.

Youth Program Workshop Dates

Friday July 1^st
Friday July 29^th
Friday August 5^th
Friday August 26^th
Friday September 9^th
Friday September 23rd

All mentors will require a valid Working with Children Check and will complete the full Mentor training program prior to the workshop sessions.

Please indicate your interest to the College via phone or email by Monday 9^th May.

More information can be found at here

College Communication

A reminder that if you have any concerns or questions or information to share regarding your child’s wellbeing or academics, please contact their home group teacher in the first instance via email.

Parents and guardians are also encouraged to contact their child’s subject teachers directly to discuss their child’s learning.

“Everything can be taken away from a person but one thing: the last of the human freedoms to choose one’s attitude in any given set of circumstances.”   Viktor Frankl

Luke Cotter
Leader of Wellbeing

NAPLAN

The National Assessment Program - Literacy and Numeracy (NAPLAN) 2022 for Years 7 students will begin next week. NAPLAN tests assess student knowledge and skills in writing, reading, language conventions (spelling, grammar and punctuation) and numeracy.

The results of the test provide information for students, parents, teachers and principals which can be used to improve student achievement.

Excessive preparation for NAPLAN is not recommended. Students can use the public demonstration site to familiarise themselves with the types of questions and tools available in NAPLAN available here

Students may also be withdrawn from NAPLAN by their parent or carer. This is a matter for consideration by parents and carers in consultation with the Leader of Learning, Natalie Meuret. If, after consultation, you decide to withdraw your child, you must sign a withdrawal form.

Later in the year you will receive your child’s personal NAPLAN report. The report will describe your child’s particular skills in reading, writing, language conventions (spelling, grammar and punctuation) and numeracy. The report will also show how your child performed in relation to national minimum standards. These describe the minimum acceptable standards for students across Australia.

If you have any questions about NAPLAN, please contact the College.

SEQTA Engage

SEQTA Engage is the learning management system used at the college. It is designed for parents and caregivers to have an overview of their child’s learning, assessments and academic progress.

It offers the opportunity to engage with the daily learning of the students, enabling greater collaboration and enhanced learning outcomes as parents and caregivers are provided a lens into what has been covered in the classroom each day.

Each student's parent/caregiver has their own SEQTA Engage account linked to their own unique email address. SEQTA Engage is available in web browsers, as well as an iOS and Android App.

With SEQTA Engage, you can:

1. Receive and send Direqt Messages

We use Direqt Messages to share important information with you, so please ensure you have this function enabled.

2.  Setup the dashboard

You can view the dashboard and select different options to view. This includes your child’s homework, unresolved absences and timetable.

3. View your child’s timetable

You can see your child's timetable anytime, and used Direqt Message to communicate with their teacher if/as needed.

4. Read Notices

You can view Notices anytime for information.

5. View your child’s assessment details.

You can see your child’s feedback and grades for assessment tasks for each subject

Natalie Meuret

Leader of Learning

Understanding Grief and Loss for Children and Caregivers (Care IMPACT Specialist Workshop Module 11)

Date/Timings: 10th of May 2022 (9.45am to 12.30pm).
Audience: Caregivers, teachers, support workers, practitioners and leaders who are seeking best-practice knowledge in understanding and intentionally responding to grief and loss for children (and caregivers, families and foster carers who support them) living away from their family of origin.
Delivery: Zoom Webinar
Registration: Click here

Motivating Others for Intentional Change (Stages of Change Model and Motivational Strategies (Care IMPACT Specialist Workshop Module 17)

Date/Timings: 14th June 2022 (9.45am to 12.30pm).
Audience: Caregivers, teachers, support workers, practitioners and leaders who are seeking best-practice knowledge in how to build shared motivation and intent with the people they support around change/growth, as drawing upon intentional practice (IMPACT), the Stages of Change Model and motivational strategies.
Delivery: Zoom Webinar
Cost: Free for Member Agencies. This is not available for non-member agencies or personnel.
Registration: Click here 

The College uniform is the most visible symbol of identity for students at St Francis of Assisi College. It is expected all students take pride in their appearance and ensure their uniform is well-fitted, clean, neat, and worn in a dignified and respectful manner during the school day, while travelling to and from school and at school related functions.

The Student Uniform Policy is available here

A couple of reminders about the College uniform:

• Formal College uniform to be worn Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Fridays and the sports uniform to be worn Mondays and Thursdays
• The sports jacket is not compulsory, it can be worn with the sport uniform, and can be worn over the academic jumper, not instead of, mainly on the particularly cold mornings.
• The academic jumper is the jumper to be worn with the everyday academic uniform, and as listed above, the optional sports jacket is not to be worn with the everyday uniform instead of the academic jumper.
• The rugby jumper is not compulsory, it can only be worn with the sports uniform.
• All garments are available at Yates Menswear (with the exception of the boys' sports shorts which are currently not in stock).