Link Up Term 1 Week 4 2023

Welcome to our first Link Up of 2023. The academic year has started really well for our students and staff and our first month of school has been full of great moments of activity and celebration.

I hope you received my earlier communication introducing you to our 24 new staff for 2023. I know there has been some wondering about our number of new staff, who are mostly the direct impact of the growth of the College. We welcomed almost 130 new students to our community at the start of this year, many of course in Reception and Year 7, but there are in fact new students at every year level from Reception to Year 12. This increase in student numbers is reflected in our increase in staff. You may have noted we also have welcomed staff into new positions, which we are excited to have in the College to continue to serve students and families, including Allied Health positions in Speech Pathology and Occupational Therapy, and two of last year’s Year 12 graduates joining us sharing roles as Youth Ministers. This overall growth of our community, combined with a number of staff retirements at the end of last year, staff achieving promotions into senior positions in other school communities, and relocation of some staff to new roles, have resulted in our unusually high number of new staff. I again extend the warmest of welcomes to our new staff, who have all settled in wonderfully in the few short weeks they have thus far had, and likewise to all of our new students who I know have been welcomed by existing members in our community in a manner true to what we say about welcoming and belonging. I especially extend a welcome to families who commence with us this year with their first child in our community. We hope and trust that our partnership with you on your child’s educational journey serves you well.

That sense of welcome was evident when we gathered for our whole school Mass in Week 1 and of course again at our R-6 Heart and Leadership Assembly and 7-12 Academic Assembly in Week 3. It was a joy to present all of our new community members with their Heart Badge, as a visual reminder of the call upon us all to live out our College Heart Values in all that we do each day at school. Our Academic Assembly, always a highlight of our annual calendar, was a great opportunity to recognise the outstanding academic performance of our 2022 Year 12s and of our highest performing students across Years 7 to 11. You will find further details in the Deputy Principal - Learning article regarding the assembly. A highlight was the presentation of the St Scholastica Dux Shield to our highest performing Year 12 student of 2022, Lucas Rutter, who spoke inspiringly to the community about his experiences. We were also delighted to welcome back as guest of honour our Dux from 10 years earlier, Joel Byrth, who shared his reflections on his graduation year as College Dux 2012 and his story of life post school. Both Lucas' and Joel’s address to our College community can be read via the Latest News page on our website. Our congratulations also to our five award winners of the 7-11 Dux awards, but it is fitting for us to especially acknowledge our 2022 Year 10 Dux, Luella Koral, who has now been awarded the Year Level Dux award for four years straight since Year 7. An amazing performance!

A busy start to the year commenced early for our Year 12 students who, on the very first day of school, headed off to Victor Harbor for their Year 12 Retreat. Well done to all of our students who engaged so positively in their three-day retreat experience and to the staff who organised and supported them on that journey.

Thanks to all our families who made the most of the opportunity provided at the Parent Welcome evening to come in and spend time with their child’s teachers and make the connections which will be so important throughout this year. Congratulations to all our Years 3-6 students who participated which such great enthusiasm and spirit in our Swimming Carnival last week. We look forward to the participation of many of these students in the Courier Cup competition very shortly.

Best wishes go to our students departing on the Arts Trip to Melbourne next week, which we are sure will be an exciting and rewarding experience. For the rest of us these next few early weeks of Lent, having celebrated as a community Ash Wednesday this week, provide us with that annual opportunity to pause and reflect on our lives and how we can positively impact on the lives of others. One way we will be doing this of course is through our work together for Project Compassion.

Gavin McGlaughlin
Principal

I would like to extend my sincere gratitude to parents, caregivers, friends, and family members of the College who have welcomed me so warmly into the St Francis de Sales community throughout the first weeks of term. It is abundantly clear that the notion of Belonging for Life is deeply embedded and richly felt by students, staff and families.

This same spirit of welcome and belonging was certainly on display at the Parent Welcome Evening, which was held on Tuesday 7 February. It was wonderful to be able to welcome family members on site and into classrooms to meet teachers, connect with other parents, and establish partnerships in learning. This partnership is critically important and begins with ensuring that lines of communication between the classroom and home are established and sustained.

It is important for our students to know that their wellbeing isn’t simply defined as feeling happy or well, but rather, it is the product of them being able to consistently meet the challenges that they face socially, psychologically, and physically with adequate resources. A trusted Home Class teacher that knows their students holistically is an invaluable resource! Our Home Class teachers are the first point of contact for all matters relating to your child, and along with Year Level and Wellbeing Team form the “team around the student”.

Finally, I would like to personally thank all of our new parents and caregivers for charging us with the responsibility of caring for your children, particularly those who dropped their child off to school for the first time only a few short weeks ago. Traversing our beautiful grounds at recess and lunch and seeing the deep connections and relationships that our students have formed with each other in such a short time is a humbling experience. I sincerely hope that this spirit of welcome and belonging to the St Francis de Sales community is as palpable in your homes as it is in the school yard.

James Gill
Deputy Principal - Community and Wellbeing

As a new member of the St Francis de Sales community this term, I would like to extend my gratitude to the staff, students and families for the warm welcome I have received. Whilst I do not live locally, I look forward to getting to know Mount Barker more intimately, especially the coffee shops and other small businesses that the Hills have to offer. Prior to my current role at St Francis de Sales, I have taught and held various leadership positions at Mercedes College, Rostrevor College and St Patrick’s College (Geraldton, WA).

I would like to extend a special welcome to all of our new students and their families and trust that their association with our College will be successful and productive. I trust that your experience of welcome and hospitality over the first few weeks of the academic year has been similar to mine.

It was wonderful to be able to walk through the yard and visit classes over the last few weeks, and to see the happy smiling faces of our R-12 students. Many of the students I spoke with had exciting stories to tell from their holidays and there was a genuine feeling of anticipation and enthusiasm for the year ahead. I have been impressed with St Francis’ commitment to student wellbeing and understanding that each one of us is different and made in the image of God. As a leader of Learning within the College I know the importance of students having a sense of belonging and welcome at school, as this contributes greatly to a positive mindset and the understanding that they can be successful learners. In all, it was an enjoyable start to the term.

7-12 Academic Assembly

Last week, we held our annual 7-12 Academic Assembly where we celebrated the successes of our Graduating Class from 2022 and Year Level Duces from Years 7-11. On behalf of our College community, I would like to acknowledge the inspiring and heartfelt speeches from 2022 College Dux, Lucas Rutter and 2012 College Dux, Joel Byrth. Both spoke glowingly of their time at St Francis de Sales, the life lessons learnt, the friendships and, importantly, the knowledge, approaches and skills developed that help set them up for success at and after school. Our Heart Values are core commitments that Lucas hopes to take, and Joel has taken, beyond the walls of the College and into adult life.

Our congratulations also to the following students who were awarded the Dux award as the highest academically performing student in Year 7, 8, 9, 10 and 11:

Year 7: Shaun Ivenn Gador
Year 8: Grace Shepherd
Year 9: Caitlin Batge
Year 10: Luella Koral
Year 11: Keeley Smith

Vision for Learning

I am very much looking forward to working with staff, students and families in regard to the teaching and learning that takes place here at St Francis de Sales. I firmly believe that learning is a lifelong process, and it is core to what we do as a College. In my short time at the College, the commitment of staff to ensuring that every student has the right opportunities and support to grow and flourish is abundantly clear.

We have an ongoing commitment to our Vision for Learning and this year, part of our collective focus is ensuring learning is visible within the classroom and engaging and challenging students in their learning. As always, high learning outcomes for all students is an imperative, with staff focusing on knowing each of their students and the specific needs they have in our classrooms. In the second half of the year, we will introduce Learning Walks and Talks. During these visits into classrooms across the College, we will ask students questions such as: What are you learning? Why are you learning it? How are you doing? How do you know? How can you improve? Where can you go for help? The answers to these questions help gauge student agency and ownership of their learning, help teachers build their teaching capacity and allow insight into the learning taking place daily within the College.

Learning can take place anywhere, at any time, whether that be at school, at home, during sport or leisure pursuits or simply in our daily interactions with others. As humans, we will make mistakes, and it is easy to withdraw, stop, or get dejected when this happens. At St Francis de Sales, we help our students to be resilient and persistent in their learning. We help them understand that a mistake or failure is an important part of the learning journey and indeed, an integral part of challenging ourselves to improve and take calculated risks within our learning. As the academic year begins, I encourage all our students to ‘step out of their comfort zone’, to try something new or to do things in different ways, and with the support of teachers, peers and family, to actively seek new opportunities to learn and grow.

All the best for the coming weeks and a successful Term 1.

Paul Wadsworth
Deputy Principal - Learing

We have had a very positive start to the school year, and were fortunate to be able to gather together as a whole College community in Week 2 for our Beginning of Year Mass. In addition we welcomed many new staff, including two new members to the Catholic Identity Team this year – they are our new Youth Ministers Sophie McCallum and Nathan Sachse, who are both College graduates from 2022. They’ve already done so well in making the transition from student to staff member, and we look forward to the great journey that will unfold with them in their roles as Youth Ministers.

The theme of the Beginning of Year Mass was our 2023 Heart Value focus of Respect. A new tradition which we have started at the College is to have a primary and secondary student give a personal reflection after Fr Richard’s homily, about the Gospel reading and how it relates to the lives of young people. I was very impressed with the reflections that Peter and Holly presented at our opening Mass. So much so, that I’d like to share a snippet of what Holly wrote:

“………The new year brings new opportunities and experiences. With these experiences, comes fear and stress. But we must remember that with only a few words, God will bath us in his light. Just like he did on the first day of creation, God will pull you out of the darkness, pull you out of the fear, and show you never ending happiness. God will be their to help and to show you the way, not just on the first day, but every day. So let us all be guided by God this new schooling year, in his eternal light of creation.” Holly, Year 10 Student

Year 12 Retreat Student Reflection

“During the first three days of the school year, the Year 12 cohort embarked on their final Retreat for their time at the College. It was held at Adare campsite at Victor Harbor. On the Retreat students were given the opportunity to get to know each other, do some water activities at the encounter lakes, and spend some time together before starting the big year ahead. Students were given the chance to reflect on the 2023 Heart Value of Respect, and how it may be lived out in their life this year. The purpose of the Retreat was to reflect on our spiritual journeys, share significant experiences and stories with each other, and to reflect on the year to come. The Retreat gave me the opportunity to learn a lot from my peers, and to learn about what respect means to me and how can live it out. I am very grateful for all of the experiences I had on the Retreat and I look forward to this Year 12 year.” Aimee, College Captain

Lent and Project Compassion

It was wonderful to this year be able to celebrate Shrove Tuesday and Ash Wednesday in a more ‘normal’ manner, without the restrictions of COVID-19 that were upon us the last few years. The College community were able to feast upon perfectly cooked pancakes on Shrove Tuesday this week, just before the school day started. We then celebrated together as a whole College community, on Ash Wednesday, with a liturgy to begin our Lenten Season. This is the six-week period leading up to Easter and it is a very important part of our Catholic Tradition. It is a time to reflect deeply on the areas of our life that we need to work on, to help us to build better relationships with ourselves, others, and God. It is a time of intentional prayer, fasting, and assisting others in need.

Our service focus for Term 1 is the Caritas Project Compassion Appeal. The theme for this years Appeal is For all Future Generations. The Appeal officially began at the College on Ash Wednesday, and each year level will be participating in fundraising activities for the Appeal. The money we raise is much needed by people in poverty in Australia and Internationally. Your generosity is appreciated! As in previous years, we raise money through our four House Teams and the total amounts per House is converted into points for the Community Shield.

Please see the weblink below, which you may use to donate to Project Compassion through the House Team that your family belongs to:

fundraise.projectcompassion.org.au/o/st-francis-de-sales-college-mount-barker

I wish you well as we enter our Lenten Season, and I encourage you to reflect and pray during Lent and also to focus on what you can do for others in a very intentional manner.

In Peace,

Oreste Farrugia
APRIM

My name is Lia Hooper and I am the newly appointed Chair of the Parent Community Group (PCG) at St Francis de Sales College. I have been a member of the group for the last few years and decided to support its ongoing success in this new position.

The St Francis de Sales College Parent Community Group’s focus is to support the College community in line with the Heart Values. Additionally, the PCG supports and encourages the whole community with participation in events and activities that build a flourishing community.

I am originally from Scotland and moved to Mount Barker around 6 years ago and continue to love the community that this Hills has to offer. Rob and I have 4 sons and 1 daughter ranging in age from 14-24 - three of our boys are extremely lucky to have passed through the gates of St Francis de Sales. Above is one photo that captures our family - it's difficult to get them all together!!!

I have worked within the Media Industry for the last 13 years, specialising in Business Development and Coaching.

I would love to hear from any of you who would be interested in joining our group - commitment of time can be a huge challenge for us all, however please bear in mind that however big or small you can contribute, we would love to hear from you. 

Parents are incredibly important to the success of our school and how we interact within the community, your ideas, experiences and suggestions are invaluable.

So if you would like to make a difference, share ideas and of course have some fun please send me an email at PCG@stfrancis.catholic.edu.au. 

Our first meeting is Monday 6 March, 6:30pm at the College so reach out and let me know if you would like to come along and hear some more information about the group.

Lia Hooper
Chair of the Parent Community Group

R-6 Heart and Leadership Assembly

On Wednesday 15 February, the R-6 community celebrated our 2023 Semester 1 Heart and Leadership Assembly. It was an absolute pleasure to gather as an R-6 community for an event that is a wonderful and long-held tradition at our College. The purpose of our Assembly was to both warmly welcome all new staff and students to our College community as well as to celebrate and acknowledge those students who will lead us in the Student Representative Council (SRC) in 2023.

The Heart Badge every new member of our College receives, represents our College Heart Values of Faith, Perseverance, Compassion, Integrity, Respect, Wisdom and Justice. All of these Heart Values provide us with a connection to our patron, St Francis de Sales who we feel is with us in all that we do here at the College. We hope that these badges serve as a reminder to each of these people that they are truly welcome and belong here in our College community.

The R-6 SRC members also received their badges as an acknowledgement of all the work and leadership they will engage with this year in striving to make our College the best it can be. Our SRC students will be supported this year by our Year Level Leaders, Fran Nicholls, Lara Kelly and Michael Baker.

The Assembly was a wonderful celebration, and it was fantastic to see the students and staff so excited and proud to receive their badges. Thank you to all the family members who were able to join us for this event.

Alice Taylor
R-6 Director of Learning and R-6 Literacy Leader

Welcome back - we have had a busy start to 2023

It was exciting to meet and have onsite our new Year 7 students and Year 12 students on first day back, it was a great way to settle and transition into their spaces. The other grades returning on Tuesday was wonderful to have the buzz of our community re-connecting and enjoying their learning once again.

Our Year 12 students were presented with their 2023 Senior Jackets on their retreat to Victor Harbor in Week 1 and have settled into their routine of universal study periods and classes.

Year 11 VET students have been able to start their chosen VET courses and are finding the adult learning space somewhat different to their classes here at the College.

Year 10 students are embarking on a journey of reflection as they Explore their Identity and Future in our new SACE Pilot Exploring Identities and Futures. We wish them well for the upcoming Survival camp.

Year 9 students have settled well into the throws of learning and are enjoying their elective subjects they chose at the end of last year.

We are excited as we introduce the new Leadership and Identity Program to all our Year 8 students across the year hopefully engaging them in their leadership strengths and working in the project based learning space.

The Year 7 cohort are enjoying the view from the McAuley building and have shown understanding in what it means to be a junior secondary student. Teachers have commented on their commitment to their studies.

A reminder that we are undertaking the NAPLAN Practice Test for Year 7 and 9, next week. This will ensure all our students are ready for Week 7 when we join all students to complete the NAPLAN assessment tasks.

We encourage all parents and caregivers to ensure the NAPLAN Locked Down Browser is downloaded on devices and also a reminder that all students will need wired headphones for Tuesday 28 February.

Yours in Learning

Kim Bathe
7-12 Director of Learning

Years 3-6 Swimming Carnival

On Friday of Week 3 our Years 3-6 students walked over to the Mount Barker Mountain Pool to take part in our annual Swimming Carnival. We were blessed with a beautiful sunny day and the students started the day by participating in a number of novelty events which included tunnel ball, hose/cork collecting and wading. All the students enjoyed competing in a fun and friendly environment. We then started our formal races, with students across all year levels competing in Freestyle, Backstroke, Breaststroke and Butterfly. There were a number of outstanding swimmers who produced excellent results. These students will have the opportunity to represent St Francis de Sales College at the Barker District Swimming Carnival in Week 5 with more information to follow. Lyon blew the competition away and were awarded the House Sports Cup and Savoy were awarded the House Spirit Cup. A huge thank you to all staff and the many parent attendees for helping make the event a success.

NRL Clinics

Throughout Week 2 and 3 we were lucky enough to have some experienced coaches come along and take all our R-6 students through a range of Tag Rugby skill drills and games. Unfortunately, due to the heat, we had to take some of these activities indoors but the students were still able to get a taste of this exciting niche sport. Information was also distributed in regards to a League Stars After School program, which will commence in Week 5, and there is still an opportunity to register.

Knockout and Interschool Sporting Opportunities

Throughout the year we have a number of opportunities for students in Years 7 to 12 to trial for school representative teams. As these teams are nominated the coaches will place notices in SEQTA Notices with the relevant information for students. Parents can also keep an eye on SEQTA Notices through SEQTA Engage. If there are ever any questions about these activities please email Nadia Honner at nhonner@stfrancis.catholic.edu.au.

Nadia Honner 
Learning Area Specialist - Health and Physical Education and Specialist Sport Coordinator

2023 has started with great excitement, enthusiasm, and a really good ‘vibe’ in all of the Dance and Drama classes. The Years 8-12 Drama and Dance students have started working through some of the dramatic methodologies in Drama, and the Dance students are developing their Commercial Jazz technique; the genre of dance taught at the College. All Dance students have certainly ‘got their groove on’ as we start to develop a funky dance feel toward the choreographed routines for our 2023 Semester 1 theme for Dance. There is also a wonderfully dramatic feel toward construction of the ‘in and out of class’ performances for Drama. We will again be presenting the Dance and Stage 1 Drama productions (separate productions) at the end of the semester – keep an eye out for further information regarding times and dates! Our Drama and Dance students promise to deliver fun and exhilarating performances in Term 2.

Dance Minis (R to Year 2), Dance Crew (Year 3 to 6) and the new Dance Squad (Year 6 and 7) Dance classes have started with great eagerness! Tayla Ward (2018 Dance Captain), Max Maher (2022 Dance student) and Harry Baxter (2021 Dance student) will be instructing the students under my supervision every Monday afternoon after school during the term, with Dance Minis now being held at lunchtimes on Mondays during term.

Twenty one Senior Arts students are in the final preparations for this year’s much anticipated Arts Trip in Melbourne. Three days in Week 5 will be spent immersed in Arts based ‘industry’ styled workshops and activities which include a dance class with Chunky Move Dance Company, drama workshops at the Malthouse Theatre and tours of the National Gallery of Victoria and Arts Centre Theatres, along with attending the professional theatre production of & Juliet… and of course a little shopping thrown in! This three day event provides fantastic insight into professional, and post school study and career options and promises to be something special to remember!

Peta Bojanic
Dance and Senior Drama Teacher

A very fresh start to 2023 for our Music Department where we welcome our new music teachers, Sarah Dodd (Years 6-12), Nicole Moxham (Years 2-6) and Leanne Mibus (Reception and Year 1) to our Music family. With the amount of musical energy coming out of the classes in the first few weeks, there is no doubt that our students are enjoying the new energy that they all bring.

2023 promises to be another exciting year in music where once again our focus is giving every one of our students at St Francis de Sales College the opportunity to enjoy the richness and rewards that music brings.

We will be increasing our live performance opportunities for our instrumental and voice students with the staging of regular lunchtime concerts on the Music Deck and continuing to have our talented musicians and singers perform at Assemblies and Masses, something that was greatly received in 2022, and of course our many music concerts throughout the year.

We have certainly hit the ground running with our special event musicians and singers who are already working hard in preparation for the annual Catholic Schools Music Festival later this year where our Festival Choir will perform, under the direction of Nicole Moxham, and we are so excited by the fact that the internationally acclaimed music festival, Generations in Jazz (GiJ) returns to its pre-pandemic format of a weekend festival in Mt Gambier in May. Our jazz band, De Groove, and vocal group, JazZone, who were 3rd place getters in the Vocal Ensemble Division in 2022, are certainly looking forward to the experience that GiJ brings.

We look forward to entertaining you all in 2023…

Sarah Dodd, Nicole Moxham, Leanne Mibus and Aleks Bojanic
Music Department