St Francis of Assisi College - Term 2 Week 9 - 2022

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The Pursuit of Excellence

A pillar of St Francis of Assisi College is ‘Excellent Catholic Education’, for our student’s, embracing excellence has many benefits, both short and long term.  It is my view that in the world our adolescents experience today, it is important and useful, to differentiate between excellence, perfectionism and competing.

Excellence is the intrinsic motivation to do our best and reach our highest personal standard with the resources available to us at any given time.  Pursuing excellence can be challenging, and mistakes seen as a necessary part of learning and getting better.  As it is intrinsically driven, we are not placing unrealistic pressure on ourselves to not make mistakes to prove ourselves to others (perfectionism), and we do not have the need to compare ourselves to others, or ‘beat’ others to prove ourselves.

An important understanding for our adolescents, is that due to excellence being motivated intrinsically, we are not attaching our self-worth to our results, and we are not attaching ourselves to the opinions and approval of others.

This is a challenge for teenagers due to the developmental stages they are moving through. With that in mind, it is critical that as educators, parents, carers and influential adults in our young peoples lives, we choose our words and actions intentionally.  With this intentionality, we can support our young people to know they are enough, and they are unique and special as they are. 

Inaugural College Board Meeting

This week the school board came together for our first meeting, an important milestone in the stewardship of the College.  The range of experience, capabilities and commitment present among board members is outstanding and supports our commitment to providing an excellent Catholic education for our students and families.

In addition to the School Board, we have two sub-committees:

Finance Committee                                                    Chair: Ben Dring

Industry and Community Engagement                    Chair:  Prue Kempthorne

The Industry and Community Engagement sub-committee has been formed with a specific focus on developing sustained partnerships and pathways for the College.  These partnerships and pathways will provide opportunities for and limited to:

• Students to gain understanding of desirable skills from local industry and business, and an opportunity to develop these skills in the workplace.
• Career trends beyond the Riverland.
• Ensuring the College and our students are positively contributing to the Riverland.
• Students developing their real-world skills and capabilities throughout their secondary education.
• Ensuring our curriculum VET pathways are aligned to current and future employment trends.

The sub-committee will meet once a month at a time and location convenient to the group.  We are seeking additional people to join the sub-committee.  Please contact the school if you would like more information or to be part of the team.

Build Program Update

The initial design phase for Stage 2 of our building program has commenced, with our architects soon to present an initial cut of the proposed design.  Stage 2 consists of the senior school building, and additional specialist teaching facilities.

Further updates will be provided as we progress through the design process and begin construction.

Experiential Learning Opportunities

Recent Open Community Night was a terrific celebration of all that has been achieved in our short time as a College community.  Outstanding displays of rich learning and teaching was on display, and a terrific video clip produced by students Riley Broad, and Ali Finlayson gave firsthand insights from our students around their experiences at the College to date.  The images also highlighted the wide range of experiential learning opportunities our students have been able to engage with.  These have included state swimming, state cross country, Knockout Cup netball, soccer and basketball and regional sport carnivals.  Through such opportunities students develop valuable lifelong skills such as resilience, the pursuit of excellence, teamwork, and tolerance.

Nathan Hayes, Principal 

Wiradjuri man, and artist Glenn Loughrey says:

‘Country is the family name of Aboriginal people. While we have individual identifiers, our family name is the country where we were born out of the ground under a tree and where we will die and be buried under another tree.

We are born out of the ground and bring with us the traditions, language, culture, and trauma buried there through the lives of those who went before us – our ancestors. Our vocation as people of country is to live our life between our two trees in such a way that we honour our ancestors’ traditions, reconcile some of the trauma. Sorry business at the death of someone is process of reconciling and resolving issues left undone so that it is not carried on into the future.

Country is not just about dirt. It includes all we share our space with – all our kin or cousins – trees, flora, fauna, waterways, landscape and more. We are to live out the custodial ethic of responsibility and reciprocity with all – we are responsible for their well-being, and they are responsible for ours. We do not take more than we need. We do not destroy or dig up what is unnecessary to ensure the wellbeing of all.

By being born out of the ground under a tree we carry country in our body. Our body is country, and we can never be “off country”. Wherever we are, we have a custodial responsibility for the country we carry with us and the one we now walk on.’

Glenn’s description of country speaks of everyone’s responsibility to heal country; both internally and externally, both by First Peoples and latecomers. It is not just the responsibility of First Nations People.

Those who come from other places, first or 4th generation, also hold in their bodies the Dreaming of their ancestors. It comes with them. They are also of this place either by birth or by living on country. We are all of this place, and we all carry this country in our bodies.

Next week we celebrate NAIDOC week. Across Australia in the first week of July each year we celebrate and recognise the history, culture, and achievements of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples. NAIDOC Week is an opportunity for all Australians to learn about First Nations cultures and histories and participate in celebrations of the oldest, continuous living cultures on earth.

Loving God,

we thank you and praise you for who you are,

 for your unending love for us and your creation of these lands on which we now live.

We thank you for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples,

the First Australians,

who you placed as stewards and custodians of these lands and waters.

Amen

Nanda de Winter, Assistant Principal Religious Identity and Mission 

Casual Day – Last Day of Term

The last day of term will be a casual day with a gold coin donation towards the Variety Children’s Hair for Heart Fundraiser to support Riley B in Year 8 who is donating her hair to children battling cancer.

College Expectations on Casual Attire:

• Enclosed shoes suitable for PE and practical activities.
• Clothing attire that allows for full participation in physical activity.
  • Shirts and tops that cover the shoulders and chest i.e. no singlets and no scoop t-shirts.
  • Shorts that extend past the mid-thigh.
• Clothing that is free of obscene language or images.
• The College hair and make-up policy remains in place.
• Students not meeting standards will be asked to change.

Student Leadership Applications

Today is the last day to submit applications for Student Leadership positions in Semester 2. Please email me, luke.cotter@assisi.catholic.edu.au, if you require extra time to submit your application.

I will accept submissions on the weekend if you have contacted me prior and we have reached that agreement. You can DOWNLOAD the application form below.

Application_2022_Semester_2_.pdf

Immersion Days

In Term 3, all Year 6 stduents enrolled in a Riverland catholic primary school will visit the College for their second Immersion Day. Students from Government schools can register their interest to attend the August 2nd Immersion Day.

The College will share further communication via your child’s classroom teacher at all four catholic primary schools. If your child is enrolled at a non-Catholic school, please contact the College on (08) 8585 4500 or via email info@assisi.catholic.edu.au 

“Many of the truths that we cling to depend on our point of view.”  Obi Wan Kenobi

Luke Cotter, Leader of Wellbeing

Semester Reports

At St Francis, student reports will be available to parents and caregivers through SEQTA Engage and Learn on Friday, July 8. The College will not print and issue reports at the end of a semester unless a request is made to the school. Instead, student reports are uploaded to SEQTA. By accessing the Reports page, you will see your child’s report. Clicking on a Report icon will display a pdf record that you can download, view, save and print. Your PC or mobile device will need to be equipped with a pdf reader for you to be able to access your child’s reports. New reports will be added to the archive at the conclusion of each reporting cycle.

Open Community Night

Last Wednesday, June 22, was our first Community Open Night. This was an amazing night that showcased student learning. It was incredible to see all the work that our students have produced in their first semester. As a college, we are very proud of our students’ achievements and acknowledge the effort students have gone to in producing these remarkable pieces of work. An enormous thank you to all the parents and students who attended. For those who were unable to make it, please look at the photos below or head to our Facebook page to view the video, which captures some of the work that was on display.

Natalie Meuret, Leader of Learning

During Week 3-6 of Term 2, all students participated in a range of coaching clinics, aimed at promoting daily physical activity and involvement in a range of winter sport options in the Riverland. We identified earlier this year that a large proportion of our students were not involved in any community sport, which is a great vehicle to develop not only personal fitness, but a range of essential social and emotional skills that can be transferred into the classroom. The sessions were run during our weekly Friday morning Pastoral Care timeslot, where they rotated between Football, Soccer, Netball and CrossFit each week. Our intention was to include Hockey as well, but unfortunately, we were unable to cater for it with our current facilities.

Football was run by Mr. Sampson (Renmark Rovers), a Level 2 accredited coach who focused on developing confidence with fundamental skills and experiencing a game through modified rules to improve accessibility for all students. Soccer was run by Michael Cartwright (Renmark Olympic) and Jacob Trudgian (Barmera Pelicans), who both are high-level players with extensive experience in coaching youth soccer. Netball was run by Mrs. Meuret and Miss Linnett, both experienced players and coaches from the Berri Netball Club. CrossFit was run by Fusion Health Club, who brought a wealth of experience and knowledge in the areas of health and fitness, to educate our students and provide them with a fun fitness experience. We would like to thank our dedicated coaches for sharing their knowledge and giving up their time each week to support our students.

All sessions were filled with great participation and competition, with many students coming away from the sessions with a newfound interest. We hope to continue to build on these sessions and provide more community sports coaching clinics in the future, connecting with the various sporting resources we have in the Riverland.

Mr. Sampson and Mr. Prokopec

During Week 8 the College has another first with 2 boys teams and 1 girls team travelling to Loxton High School to compete in our first Riverland Secondary School 9-a-side football competition. All students competed fairly and developed their football skills and understanding throughout the day. A special mention to Via Naong, who won the Good Sport Award for our College. Thanks to Mr. Prokopec, Mr Sampson and Miss Camporeale for their organisation and provide our students with another great extra-curricular opportunity.

On Wednesday 29 June 14 students travelled to Edinburgh to compete against Playford and St Columba College in the Year 7/8 KO Cup Soccer Competition. These two schools are very large. St Columba is home to 1,400 students.

We lost our first game against Playford 6-1 and lost to St Columba 8-0. Both opponents were very tough being made up of players who all compete in high level leagues in Adelaide. The boys did a lot of learning throughout the course of the day and in the end played extremely well the first 10mins of game two before we ran out of legs after playing back to back 40min games. We had some really good passages of play and several opportunities on goal against Playford.

There were some great individual performances from Archie Preusker, Dino Atsaves, Jaxon Curtis, Soren Warnett, and Armaan Kharia, who was fantastic in defence. Ryan Prokopec scored our only goal for the day – a cracker of a goal of a fast switch to his left.  Arjun Dhaliwal absolutely menaced opposing strikers all day, which was very entertaining.

The lads had a super fun day and represented the College fabulously. Much to be proud about, with the way everyone conducted themselves on and off the pitch and their improvement by the end of the day. Many thanks to John Lyons and Aidan Prokopec for helping coach. Look out for 5-A-Side Soccer in week 9 of term 3.

Prokopec, Co-Curricular Coordinator 

Students have continued to develop their skills in rowing, working through the correct sequence of the stroke, the importance of timing and working as a crew to efficiently maneuver the boats. They have contested with the high river and experienced how fast it’s flowing. They have all handled the conditions well.

We are now seeking enrolments for the 2022/2023 Rowing Program. This will run from Week 2 in Term 3, through till Term 1 2023. Our goal Is to compete at a handful of regattas during the Rowing SA season. Training times will be finalised in Week 1, Term 3, once we have confirmed student numbers. Training sessions will continue to run outside of school hours and families will be responsible for transporting students to and from.

If you would like any further information, call the College on 8595 4500. Enrolments are due by Thursday 7th July.

Stephanie Turnbull, Rowing Coach

Our aim is to provide families with access to affordable Catholic secondary education of the highest quality. We believe finance should not be a barrier to enrol your child at St Francis of Assisi College. Financial concessions are available for school card holders and financial hardships.

College_Tuition_Fees_Flyer.pdf

St Francis of Assisi College is now welcoming enrolments for Years 7, 8 and 9 for 2023. Please contact Claire Smith, 8595 4500, if you, or families you know, are interested in enrolling at the College. 

College Information Packs and enrolment forms are available from the Administration Office. 

College blazers are an optional uniform piece.  They are available to order from Yates Menswear.  Blazers are not a stock item so a minimum of three are required to place an order, with an approximate delivery time of three weeks from time of order. 

Parents/caregivers can measure their own child for size, or Yates are happy to measure up and size your child. 

Price depends on the size ordered:

Girls Size

Y4 – Y10             $109.95

W9 – W12           $119.95

W13 – W17         $134.95

W18 – W28         $144.95

Boys Size

4 – 10                    $109.95

11– 17                   $119.95

18– 22                   $134.95

24 – 30                  $144.95   

St Francis of Assisi College is recruiting for a range of teaching positions, commencing January 2023. This is an exciting opportunity to be a part of the inaugural team during the initial period of rapid growth.

Full details available at:  https://www.cesa.catholic.edu.au/working-with-us/positions-vacant/job-detail/81494/teaching-multiple-positions-

Applications close:  5pm Friday 22 July 2022

The Clare Valley will soon host the very 1st Rubik Cubing event in regional SA, run by the WCA - the World Cubing Association! This event has been organised by local students. Students can be any age and any ability to compete.