Link Up Term 1 Week 8 2022

Thanks to you all for the role you have played in the four week period since our last Link Up was published; perhaps the most challenging time for us all during our management of ongoing education through this pandemic. The College deeply appreciates the partnership with families that has enabled us to continue to meet the directives that have been provided to us around operation, communication and staffing. I have no doubt that you understand the challenges that have been presented, but I remain equally confident that we will together work through this phase, as we have the previous, and as we will the future.

In the last month staff have had the first of a series of meetings that will occur this year focused on our Vision for Learning priority for 2022 of student agency, voice and leadership. This focus for us as a whole staff has arisen from the feedback we received from students in the Live-Learn-Lead surveys they undertook in the second half of last year. We look forward to both the work staff will together undertake, and engaging our students with how we can operate better in the space of student agency, striving to ensure our students are more connected and have more ownership over their learning journey. 

As previously advised, a significant change to our out of class literacy intervention program has occurred with the introduction of the MultiLit suite of programs in 2022. Testing has been undertaken to identify students across Years 1 to 7 requiring additional literacy support and many families will be aware of this through contact made from program coordinator, Emily Lovelock. Some may be aware that the College has indeed been advertising recently for an additional Education Support Officer to work with Emily to ensure we maximise the success of the intervention for these students across this first year of the program. 

We were delighted last week that our Year 7-12 Sports Day was able to occur. As always, the day was characterised by wonderful spirit, competition, support of one another and celebration of performance. I congratulate every student on the way that they contributed to the success of the day, acknowledge all of our highest performers as Age Champions (details of which can be found in the Sports Report), and of course our overall winning houses of the day, with Lyon claiming the Spirit Cup and Savoy being our overall House Champions. 

As I write to you today, our Year 3, 5, 7 and 9 students are undertaking their 2022 NAPLAN practice tests in preparation for the real assessments next term. The practice tests are about providing students an opportunity to become familiar with the format for the online tests, and to ensure the College’s ICT capacity. I thank all of our students in Years 3, 5, 7 and 9 for the way they have engaged in this process. 

Today also marks the day of the start of our latest building project, the extension of the learning neighbourhoods in Years 1 to 6. We welcome Sarah Constructions as our partners in this process and look forward to delivery of the project by the middle of the year.

I’m pleased to advise the community that Sr Shiji will be taking some time from us, from the end of next week to return to visit her family in India. I know that many of you are very aware of the positive contribution Sister has made to our community since commencing with us in May 2019. Sister is obviously very excited to have this opportunity to return to India for the first time since coming to Australia and be able to reconnect with her family. We wish her every blessing for what will no doubt be a joyous time. 

As we head into these final weeks of term, again with some uncertainty that a new State Cabinet may clarify in coming days, I simply wish you and all of your extended family every best wish to stay well, and be well. 

Gavin McGlaughlin 
Principal

Tough Times Call For Tolerance, Patience and Resilience 

These are tough times. As we limp towards the end of Term 1, we are feeling the full effects of living with COVID and are reminded daily of the impact. For each of us, our resilience is being tested with many things beyond our control. These challenges are compounded by fears of what may lie ahead including health concerns for family members. With such drastic changes to the life that we are most familiar with, concerns for individuals and their wellbeing has reached a zenith. 

We live in hope that these tough times will not last for much longer and while our patience is tested, if we can dig further into our reservoir of resolve, every day our resilience is building. We need to be accepting that things cannot and do not always work in our favour. This isn’t an easy concept for children and young adults to accept or understand. We actually have to teach kids to be resilient and to believe that tough times don’t last but tough people do. 

The final weeks of Term 1 will be busy but the joy of Easter, the fresh air of autumn, the quality time spent doing fun activities with family and the cycles of the seasons help us to maintain a rhythm for life. We will get through these tricky times together. 

The Learning Curve diaries that our Year 3-12 students have been issued with for 2022 are deliberately chosen for the powerful messages of positivity. Students are challenged to Create the Type of Life I Want For Myself. Each week in the diary is underpinned by PERMAH+ principles. These are: 

• Positive Emotions + Gratitude
• Engagement + Mindfulness
• Relationships + Empathy
• Meaning + Purpose
• Accomplishment + Optimism
• Health + Strengths 

Teachers are using this resource to help students understand their character strengths and respond to the challenges they face with an array of weekly activities.

Another focus on Wellbeing occurs each term when our students complete the Pulse Check In administered in Home Group and overseen by Catholic Education SA. The Pulse data gives valuable insights into how well St Francis de Sales students are engaging with their learning and connecting to their school. The data is used to help build an individual profile for each child at the College and helps maintain the inextricable link between wellbeing and learning. Please feel free to contact the College to learn more about your child’s Pulse Data.

Paul Fairlie
Deputy Principal - Community and Wellbeing

Learning Reviews 30 and 31 March

We are very much looking forward to our discussions with you in the up-coming Reception-Year 12 Learning Reviews next week. Families who went online to request meetings should now have their schedules. It is not too late to still log in and organise times, so we would encourage you to take this opportunity to discuss the progress of your child so far this year.

Reception-Year 6 reviews will conducted via MS Teams, with an email meeting request link being sent on Monday to the person listed on the Edval Interviews program according to your schedule. 

Years 7-12 reviews will also be held via MS Teams but organised via the student’s MS Teams account. This means that at the time of the meeting, a Teams ‘call’ will come through on the student’s device so that the teacher, parent and student can collaboratively discuss learning progress. 

If a phone conversation is preferred please contact Denise Bergamin at the College on 8393 1000 to arrange this or email Learningreviews@stfrancis.catholic.edu.au. 

With the 1:05pm early finish on the Thursday, OSHC is also available for families who need this service.

Interim reports for Years 7-12 will be available to students and parents/caregivers after school on Thursday 14 April via SEQTA Engage. If you need to organise a login or are having difficulty accessing this parent portal, please contact the College for assistance.

Every blessing to you as we journey through Lent in the lead-up to Holy Week. Although the term has had its fair share of disruptions, we thank students and families for their resilience, perseverance and energy! Go gently, safely and God bless.

Sonia Nelson
Deputy Principal - Learning

Project Compassion 

We continue to support the Caritas Project Compassion Appeal throughout this term. We have recently held the Crazy Sock Day and Crazy Hat Day as fundraisers, with Crazy Tie/Scarf Day to go. Given that the fundraising that we do as a College is House Team based, we have set up a Caritas fundraisng page per House, on the Caritas website. Families are able to donate to Project Compassion via their House, using the links below. Bringing coins to place in the physical money boxes is also able to be done. The money we raise is much needed by people in poverty in Australia and Internationally. Your generosity is appreciated!

SAVOY fundraise.projectcompassion.org.au/t/st-francis-de-sales-college-savoy-house
PADUA fundraise.projectcompassion.org.au/t/st-francis-de-sales-college-padua-house
GENEVA fundraise.projectcompassion.org.au/t/st-francis-de-sales-college-geneva-house
LYON fundraise.projectcompassion.org.au/st-francis-de-sales-college-lyon-house

UN Youth Australia Conference

Year 9 students, Cara and Jasmine chose to represent the College at this year’s UN Youth Australia Conference, held over the weekend 18-20 March. The conference was held at Nunyara Conference Centre at Belair. Below is a reflection of their experience from Cara.

"We were ecstatic that we had the opportunity to attend UN Youth’s SACON. We learned about various things within this year's topic of international law, that affect not only us, but the world around us. Throughout the weekend we engaged in an interactive learning style that was designed for everyone, no matter the background knowledge you had or your expertise, everyone could participate and learn from the experience. 

We had the honour of being in the presence of guest speakers such as Honourable Justice Bleby, Mr Joel Lisk and Ms Juliette McIntyre, who spoke about both international and space law. It was a wonderful opportunity for those interested in law and diplomacy, as well as other components. 

We had the opportunity to participate in Interactive Problem Solving (IPS), which was fun! In IPS we worked together in groups (in this case Canada, Denmark and the Russian Federation) to discuss our plan that would get us as close to our goal as possible. For our event, the situation was the three states fighting over a block of land in the arctic, and our goal was to gain the land. 

One of the highlights of the event was MUN or Model United Nations. It was a great way to not only look at the objective of your own individual country, but bring ethics into play, looking at both your section of the picture, and the whole thing. Throughout MUN we heard wonderful debates from both perspectives, needless to say we had to abstain a few times! 

Of course it wasn’t just diplomacy. While we definitely strengthened our knowledge on the theme topic, as well as our communication and leadership skills, we grew socially as well. Whether it be through the 80s-00s social night (and somehow being confused by the Just Dance Macarena), or gathering different cultural, social and economic perspectives! 

We would like to thank the College for the opportunity to attend this event, and learn from the trained facilitators (who were once delegates in the same position as us), in an environment where we could respectfully and collaboratively discuss our opinions and ideas. We are grateful we got to use our voices and be involved in leadership, diplomacy and advocacy!"  Cara, Year 9 Student

International Women’s Day Breakfast 

On 9 March, I had the pleasure of taking our College Captains, Lucas Rutter and Sophie McCallum, to the International Womens Day Breakfast, which was held at the National Wine Centre in Adelaide. We are grateful to the Mt Barker Rotary Club for sponsoring us to attend the event. 

The food was delectable, and the keynote speaker (Dr Trudy Lin) very inspirational. She is the SA State Recipient Young Australian of the Year 2022. Dr Lin is a special-needs dentistry consultant at the Adelaide Dental Hospital. Her message and passion for acceptance of diversity was evident in her speech. Sophie, Lucas and I enjoyed the experience and were inspired by Dr Lin.

I wish you well in the latter part of Term 1, as we come close to Holy Week and Easter.

In Peace

Oreste Farrugia
APRIM

As we near the end of Term 1, it is clear the impact of COVID-19 is going to continue for some time yet. Unfortunately it has become a daily exercise for the College to be notified of a positive result for one of our children, which then results in not only impact to the family involved but also to our highly dedicated staff. I am sure the contact tracing ability of College staff is now up there with the best in the world. It is critical that we continue to support the teachers and Education Support Officers who have done a remarkable job ensuring the standard of education for our children remains at the usual high standard.

I commend all staff at the College for the incredible work being undertaken to not only remain at work but to also continue to educate our children. I am almost certain the daily Rapid Antigen Testing is becoming somewhat frustrating, so from the Board we again thank you for the extra miles being put in.

The College Annual General Meeting (AGM) is fast approaching and will be held on Tuesday 24 May. We will have several board members leaving this year with Rosie Lillas, Megan Woodward and myself all finishing up at the AGM. We will have a number of vacancies to fill so if you are interested in joining the Board, please contact Lisa Andrew, Assistant to the Executive at info@stfrancis.catholic.edu.au who will put you in touch with me. It is a highly rewarding way to participate in the ongoing success of the College. I have been a Board member for five and a half years and I have enjoyed it immensely. 

Please keep an eye out for further information regarding the AGM in your email inbox in the near future. We have an outstanding, diverse group of people so if you are looking for a way to be involved in your child’s education, please consider joining the Board.

Thank you and kind regards

David Kyriacou
Chair of the College Board

Meet Sophie McCallum - College Captain

As a leader I describe myself: as dependable and encouraging. The student leaders can depend on me for assistance and guidance on any task, as I am committed to being a leader who others can rely on. I believe that it is extremely important to encourage others to reach their full potential, achieve their goals and dreams in all aspects of their lives. Further, to encourage all to be themselves, being proud of who you are, and learning new ways to care for yourself as well as others.

The best thing about attending St Francis de Sales College is: the shear amount of opportunities, and the welcoming College community. As students we have the privilege of a range of subjects, from the academics of Science, Maths, Psychology, English, etc, to the Arts, Music, Photography, Visual Arts, and many more, to the practicals of Physical Education, Dance and wood work. Further, we have many music groups and clubs that give students opportunities to meet like-minded individuals through a range of year levels, due to the College being an Early Learning to Year 12 school.

The College is a supportive and welcoming community, where students are able to express themselves in an inclusive environment and spread kindness throughout.

I started at St Francis de Sales College in: Year 4, coming from a very small country school of approximately 60 students from Reception to Year 7. It was a massive change for a 9-year-old, however, I was welcomed with open arms by both students and staff and have been at the College ever since.

My goal for this year is: to reach my full potential in my schoolwork, while remaining positive and grateful, and making a difference in our College and broader community.

What extra-curricular activities/hobbies do you enjoy outside of school? Out of school I love being in nature, going to the beach, and on hikes. It is very important to me to spend quality time with family and friends. I also love to listening to music, dancing, singing and playing piano.

Meet Lucas Rutter - College Captain

As a leader I describe myself: as a leader I describe myself as someone who tries their best to be a friendly and approachable person who students can trust and feel comfortable talking to. I don’t take myself too seriously, but I am driven to make this College an even better place for everyone through a commitment to working hard and standing up for fellow students. I continue to build my confidence in being a voice to represent everyone, especially those who may be still developing their bravery to stand up for themselves.

The best thing about attending St Francis de Sales College is: the rich connections students can build with all members of the College, between students, teachers, and support staff. With predominantly smaller class sizes, students feel valued and supported by the people around them, making it easy to create lasting friendships with a broad spectrum of individuals, while attaining a quality and well guided education.

I started at St Francis de Sales College in: Year 8 in 2018.

My goal for this year is: to be a positive role model for all students. I am only the second male among ten College Captains appointed in the past five years, so I hope to inspire other young men to step up and embrace leadership. Leading isn’t only for those in formal roles, it can simply be exhibiting leadership qualities underpinned by our College Heart Values in interactions with other people. I would be so happy if, through my leadership, I give even one person the courage to put themselves out there and be an even better version of themselves, stepping up and leading their peers with pride.

What extra-curricular activities/hobbies do you enjoy outside of school? I am a keen musician; I’ve played the saxophone for over seven years and I really enjoy playing in the College and community bands. In addition, I’m one of the College’s Music Captains responsible for technology and promotion, a role through which I have developed production skills including sound, lighting, and video editing for music events. Outside of school, I enjoy photography, bike riding and camping with my family.

Year 7-12 Sports Day

This year our annual Year 7-12 Sports Day was held on Thursday, Week 7. The day started with a House Parade around the track with music and cheering. It was wonderful to see all of the students get into the spirit of the day by wearing bright colours and crazy costumes.

Throughout the day the students were involved in various novelty games, indoor competitions and athletic events, culminating in the continuous House relay. All students participated enthusiastically in the novelty events and the indoor hybrid game, and there were a number of outstanding results in the athletic events. The final relay saw Savoy take an early break and then maintain the lead for the whole race. Congratulations to Savoy for winning the House Sport Cup and to Lyon for winning the House Spirit Cup. Well done to all the Age Champions (see below) and a huge thank you to the staff and Year 6 volunteers who assisted in the running of a successful day. 

House Sport Cup – Overall Points 

Savoy – 1735
Padua – 1527 
Lyon – 1438 
Geneva – 1315 

Age Champions 

Year 7 – Jed Sinkunas and Airlee Bell
Year 8 – Riley Humphrys and Cecilia Birt
Year 9 – Charlie Jones and Sienna Fox
Year 10 – Noah Roberts and Summer Henderson
Year 11 – Benjamin Murphy and Stephanie Formby
Year 12 – Jack Sullivan/Charlie Wyatt (joint) and Layla Harris 

Barker District Swimming Carnival 

On Tuesday, Week 8 we sent a small but enthusiastic team to compete in the Barker District Swimming Carnival at the Mountain Pool. The students competed really well in all events and represented the College superbly. A huge thanks to teachers Mark Billington and Catherine White for managing the team, and to Year 8 and 9 students Leni Newham, Lily Jenke and Lainie Jackson for volunteering their time to assist with various duties.

Knockout and Interschool Sporting Opportunities 

Throughout the next two terms we will have an increased number of opportunities for students in Years 6 to 11 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

We have had an eventful start to 2022. Having joined the community in my new role as 7-12 Director of Learning and also as a new member joining the St Francis de Sales community it has honestly been a whirlwind.

It was exciting to meet and have onsite our Year 7 and 8 students along with the Year 12s returning in Week 1. Blended teaching; face-to-face and online was the new normal for first two weeks and the Year 9, 10 and 11 students did a fabulous job of managing school work online. 

Week 3 saw the return of 9-11 students and it was a delight to see our 7-12 spaces filled with students excited to be around their friends and College community. A credit to our students who have shown resilience in many areas.

7-12 Highlights 

• Our Year 12s were presented with their 2022 Year 12 jumpers in the first week back during Home Group and have settled in to their last year with calmness and enthusiasm. 
• Year 11 Vocational Education and Training (VET) students have been able to start their chosen VET courses and the whole cohort made the College proud on the recent visit to St Francis Xavier Cathedral in Adelaide City. 
• The Year 10s are embarking on a journey of reflection and career information during Personal Learning Plan using a new Careers website that will support learning and career pathway options. 
• Year 9 students have all settled into the throws of learning, learning about ANZAC Day in Humanities and Social Sciences and celebrations in Religious Education (RE) such as Lent and Easter. 
• Year 8 students have been working hard in our Project Based RE classes designing and creating park benches for our Church garden. The designs are looking fantastic. 
• Year 7 highlights have included reuniting with friends after the break, making new friends as we welcome new students to our cohort and a fantastic upgrade in the McAuley Building, with new carpet in all learning spaces, new lockers, and a fresh lick of paint. 

We are approaching the NAPLAN testing for all our Year 7 and 9 students and thank all parents for their support in having students ready to go when the official sessions are held in May. 

Kim Bathe
7-12 Director of Learning

In Weeks 6 and 7, students across R-4 were lucky enough to be involved in swimming lessons at the Mount Barker Mountain Pool. Students had daily 45 minute sessions over the week led by qualified swimming instructors. During each session, students practised crucial water safety skills and well as being given lots of opportunities to develop core swimming skills. It was wonderful to see our students have lots of fun as well! 

‘My favourite part of swimming lessons was when we had to dive down under water and grab a sink toy. We got to go in the deep end too. It was really, really fun!’ Ivy, Year 2 Student

Today, students in Years 3-6 will have had their 3-6 Swimming Carnival where students have the opportunity to play lots of fun water games with their peers and for those who chose, to compete in some races. It is a wonderful community event where students can earn points towards their House Team. I’m sure a fantastic time was had by all!

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

Week 5, Term 2 is the week to mark in your calendar for the Semester 1 Dance production – The Mixed Tape. With our fingers crossed we hope restrictions will ease further, so that our Dance Crew, Year 8, 9, Stage 1 and  2, Semester 1 Dance classes (and hopefully Dance Minis when they are able to commence), will be able to present their choreographed routines in both a ‘live’ and an exclusive ‘streamed’ performance for family and friends in Week 5.

Two evening performances will be held – one on Wednesday, 31 May and the second on Thursday, 1 June at 6:15pm in the Performing Arts Centre at the College. A performance for the Junior School students will also take place on Wednesday 31 May, during lessons 6 and 7.  So…grab your best 80’s outfit, crimping iron and leg warmers and get ready to tap your toes as the Dance Minis, Dance Crew, Year 8, 9, Stage 1 and 2 Dance students take you back to the days of pressing play and record on the cassette deck to secure your favourite song from the radio on your ‘mixed tape’.

More information will be made available soon about how to book seating (and access the streamed version) for this widely anticipated event..... Watch This Space! 

Peta Bojanic
Dance Teacher

With the lifting of some of the COVID-19 restrictions, our Music Department has certainly hit the ground running. Our bands and ensembles are working toward some exciting events this semester including our Term 2 Music concert together with the recording for our entries in Generations in Jazz and also RockFest 2022.

Festival Choir is starting to take shape in the lead up to the Catholic Schools Music Festival later this year with songs from ABBA and the Village People keeping things fun. Our Instrumental Program is also growing where we are now also able to offer an exciting new opportunity to learn double bass and cello with our new tutor, Gustavo Quintino direct from Brazil.

If students are looking to learn an instrument we have limited vacancies in drums, guitar, electric bass, voice, brass and woodwind. There has been great excitement within our Year 5 cohort over the past couple of weeks as students have all been able to take home either a saxophone, clarinet or flute as part of our Year 5 Woodwind Immersion Program, where lesson time is certainly heard all over campus. Music is fun and should be experienced by everyone and we are so fortunate to be able to offer a musical experience to each one of our students.

Bec Page, Amy Waters and Aleks Bojanic
Music Department

The Parent Community Group (PCG) has started the year, albeit slowly, but well. With just one meeting able to be held on MS Teams, we are hoping to resume face-to-face in April. We had a few new faces at our last meeting and I would like to extend Justin, Alana, Narelle, Margeaux, Rachel, Coralie, Mel and Mardi a warm welcome. Already there have been some great ideas brainstormed and we are all excited for the future of our Committee.

We are busy organising the Mother’s Day Stall for 2022, and look forward to putting some more events and activities on during the year.

We welcome and value new members at any time throughout the year and we are always looking for new ideas. My inbox is open - let’s chat!

If you would like to join the PCG or would like further information, please email PCG@stfrancis.catholic.edu.au.

I would like to thank everyone for their valued contribution so far, and continue to look forward to an exciting year ahead. 

Emma Petersen
Chair of the Parent Community Group