St Francis of Assisi College - Term 1 Week 6 - 2025

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Lenten Season and Project Compassion – Unite Against Poverty

This week we celebrated Ash Wednesday which marks the start of Lent; the season in which we prepare for Easter. Students are being encouraged in class to develop a communal action during the Lenten season to bring about change in our world. Fundraising throughout the six weeks of Lent will contribute to Caritas Australia’s Project Compassion Campaign. Once again, this Lent Caritas Australia calls us to support Project Compassion under the theme of ‘Unite Against Poverty,’ which is an expression of hope, and reminds us that the good that we do today will extend and impact the lives of generations to come. It invites us to make the world a better place by working together now and finding long-term solutions to global issues.

SFOAC Educators Professional Learning Day

On Friday 7 March, our educators gathered for a day of professional learning, with two focuses:

1. Training to support our whole of school wellbeing model, working with David Kelly from the Life Buoyancy Institute.  The training focused on strategies for ‘Activating Student Learning and Wellbeing’.

• The impact of our experiences can be viewed on a continuum of activating versus suppressing.
• Activating experiences are the messages or events that have the potential to grow (or activate) an individual’s capacity to learn, grow, engage, and connect.
• Suppressing experiences are the messages or events that have the potential to impede (or suppress) an individual’s capacity to learn, grow, engage, and connect.
• Every event in life has the potential to be either activating or suppressing in nature.

2. Launching our Communities of Practice initiative for 2025.
The Community of Practice initiative in 2025 aims to embed professional practice through the exploration of issues and topics related to student wellbeing and teaching pedagogy.
Communities of Practice are “groups of people who share a passion for something they know how to do and who interact regularly in order to learn how to do it better.” (Wenger, 2007)

Learner Conversations

Parents will receive information about the learning conversations in Week 10, including how to book an interview with your child’s home group teacher.  Home group teachers play a key role in supporting students pastorally at school, and this is why the initial conversations in Week 10 are with the home group teacher.

At St Francis of Assisi College, learner agency is valued, and we encourage students to attend and play an active role in these learner conversations, with parents / carers and home group teachers.

I do emphasise to parents that you are most welcome to contact the College if you would like to make a time to meet with a specific subject teacher, in addition to the home group teacher.

Please contact the College administration office with any queries.

Board Annual General Meeting – Monday 17th March, 7:00pm

Parents and carers are invited to attend the Annual General Meeting, held on Monday 17th of March, starting at 7pm in the Collaboration Centre (Year 7 – 9 teaching building).

Please refer to previous communication sent directly to families, or further below in the newsletter, regarding the process for nominations to the board.

College Swimming Carnival

Our swimming carnival is running on Friday March 14th, whole school events such as this are invaluable for our college culture.  There are opportunities for students to be involved and support their House, whether swimming is a strength, or not.  Already the excitement is building as students have been working on House murals, chants and the like, in readiness for the big day!  It has been terrific to see the ownership taken by our senior student leaders in each House, and this interaction students have with peers across all year levels within their House, is important to build connection and feelings of safety at school.

Visit from Catholic Education SA - Port Pirie Diocese Executive Team

On Thursday, March 6, we were pleased to welcome the Executive Team from Catholic Education SA – Port Pirie Diocese to our College. During their visit, the team took part in learning walks across classrooms, observing teaching practices and engaging with our students. It was a valuable opportunity for them to see firsthand the active and engaging learning environment within our school. A part of the Learning Walks process was for our educational leaders to meet with the Executive Team following the Learning Walks and collectively provide feedback and reflections on the experience.  Through this process, the Executive Team provided significant positive, specific feedback and reflection endorsing the outstanding work of our educators, and the engagement and openness of our students.  This was an excellent endorsement highlighting the importance and positive impact, of our students, parent, school partnership.We appreciate the chance to host the team and share the great work happening at our College.

Executive Team from the Catholic Education South Australia - Port Pirie Diocese
L-R: Mary Manning - Catholic Identity and Mission Consultant,  Justin Matthews - Assistant Director of Port Pirie Diocese, Nathan Hayes - SFoAC Principal, Geoff McManus - School Performance Lead, Nichii Mardon - Director of Port Pirie Diocese.
Photo credit - Jannette Fulham Photography

Mr Nathan Hayes, Principal 

NAPLAN

The National Assessment Program - Literacy and Numeracy (NAPLAN) 2024 for Years 7 and 9 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.

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.

Term 1 Student Progress Update Reports

Student progress update reports will be released through SEQTA on Thursday 13 March. To access these reports, click on assessments and the relevant subject.

The aim of this report is to provide parents/carers feedback about their child’s progress before a formal grade is given in the end of semester report. Feedback enables a student to monitor their learning and focus on areas of improvement. It also provides a starting point, for parent/carers to discuss their child’s attitude to learning, to ask about your child’s strengths and how they can be enhanced, to ask which subjects are most challenging for your child and why, and to focus on your child’s learning growth and progression rather than the grade. We hope you find these progress reports valuable.

Learner Conversations

Learner conversations will occur over two nights, 1 and 2 April, from 4-6pm at the College. These meetings will involve home group teacher, parent and child. Your child is an important part of this conversation as they reflect on their strengths and needs as they become a capable learner.

Further details will be provided on how to make a booking with your child’s home group teacher.

Mrs Natalie Meuret, Leader of Learning

Student Leadership Applications

A final reminder that applications for Year 7 Student leadership close on Monday 10th March at 5pm. Please email applications to luke.cotter@assisi.catholic.edu.au over the weekend.

There will be four successful Year 7’s (one from each House – Aqua, Ignis, Terra, and Ventus). These four students will be selected by Leadership staff through the below process:

• Reviewing Applications
• Shortlisting to a minimum of two students per House who will be notified by Friday Week 7
• Shortlisted students undertaking an interview (notes allowed) in Week 8
• The broader student body voting on their preferred shortlisted candidates
• College staff consultation

Please note that successful applicants will be selected based on their application, interview, vote results and staff consultation.

The successful applicants will be notified by Monday Week 9.

Click here to download the Student Leadership Application Form.

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 or through the College phone number - (08) 8595 4500.

Additionally, during Weeks 8-11 of Term 1, Mr. Cotter (Leader of Wellbeing) will be absent on Long Service Leave. In this period, Mrs. Trudgian (Wellbeing Coordinator) will take on the position’s role and responsibilities with support from the broader leadership team.

If you have any high-level queries or concerns that are unable to be resolved by your child’s home group teacher or subject teachers, please contact Mrs. Trudgian via email (isabella.trudgian@assisi.catholic.edu.au) or via the College phone (8595 4500).

Quote of the Week

Mr Luke Cotter, Leader of Wellbeing

Dear Parents, caregivers and families of St Francis of Assisi College 

We are excited to invite you to join two important initiatives aimed at enhancing the experiences of our students and strengthening the connection between the college, families, and the local community. The Industry and Community Partnership Group and the Parent Engagement Group have both been designed to provide valuable opportunities for involvement and collaboration. 

Industry and Community Partnership Group 

The aim of this group is to focus on developing sustained community and industry partnerships to create pathways for our students. By joining this group, you will be part of an effort to: 

• Help students understand the skills most sought after by local businesses and industries, offering them opportunities to develop those skills in a real-world setting. 
• Ensure that both the College and our students are actively contributing to the growth and success of the Riverland region. 
• Establish sustainable connections between the school and local businesses, providing vocational pathways for our students. 

We believe these partnerships will significantly enhance the education and career opportunities available to our students. 

Parent Engagement Group 

Our focus for this group is to develop a positive and welcoming school community. The Parent Engagement Group will create opportunities for: 

• Parents and families to meet and connect socially with one another. 
• Parents to meaningfully engage with their child’s education and have a voice in school activities and initiatives. 

We want to create an environment where all families feel involved and supported as part of our school community. 

Your Involvement 

We welcome all parents and caregivers to engage with these groups in a way that works best for you. Whether you are able to attend regular meetings, participate when you can, or offer help on an occasional basis, your involvement will make a difference. 

Expressions of Interest and Meeting Invitation 

We would like to extend an invitation to all interested parents, caregivers and families to register their Expressions of Interest for either one or both of these groups. EOI's can be submitted by emailing Emma Warner. Please provide your name, email address and group/s you are interested in being involved in.

In Term 2, we will provide further communication to invite interested parents, caregivers and families to attend an initial meeting to learn more about the work of these groups and hear about the 2025 priorities. The meeting will also serve as an opportunity to register your interest in becoming involved. 

In the meantime, if you have any questions, please contact Emma Warner at the College via email emma.warner@assisi.catholic.edu.au or phone 8595 4500.