Link Up Term 4 Week 4 2021

Staffing News

This time of year always brings some changes to our staffing for the following year for a range of reasons. In sharing this information about departing staff, I wish to acknowledge their contribution to the College community and the learning program of our students.

Brian Horan has resigned from his positon at the College to continue work he’s been undertaking this semester at the Independent Education Union. This year marks 25 years of service by Brian to the St Francis de Sales community, during which time he has impacted on many many young people passing through his care. We congratulate Brian on his recent appointment and his many contributions to St Francis.

Jake Robson is leaving our community to take up a position of Head of House at St Peter’s College, St Peters. Jake’s work in our community has always been impactful for students and their learning, both through his classroom practice and his more recent role as 7-12 Director of Learning. We wish Jake every success in his new community.

Danielle McKinnon has been appointed to a position as Chemistry teacher at Prince Alfred College, Kent Town. Danielle’s work in the College has been highly valued for her exceptional teaching, her leadership of the College through the introduction of the SEQTA Learner Management System in recent years, and her more recent leadership of the Science Learning Area and staff. We know she will make a great impact in her new community. 

Josie Palombo has resigned her position as ESO Support in Home Economics to take up a teaching positon in Mount Gambier. We are grateful for the work Josie has done in supporting our students and staff in Home Economics in recent years and wish her well with this exciting new chapter of her professional life.

Sam Sachse has worked with us since 2017 as Youth Minister. Sam’s work with students in liturgies, retreats and sustainability initiatives has been of great value, especially in his strength area of music ministry working with our primary students and animating our celebrations.

Three other staff are taking some leave from their positions in the College during 2022, and our very best wishes to go Lyall Murphy, Alex Field and Hazel Hunter for what we hope will be a time of great renewal. Much work has been undertaken in recent weeks with regards to the engagement of new staff for 2022. I look forward to providing detail to you of the staff new to our community in a letter to all families in the near future.

Parent Community Group Changes
An upcoming meeting of our Parent Community Group will be considering the appointment of some senior positions to enable the group to continue its strong work in the College community into the future. This meeting will mark the end of a 10 year period of service to the College by Sue Werts. Sue has been an incredibly strong advocate for the importance of parental engagement in the learning of their sons and daughters and parental voice as a way of ensuring the strong home-school partnership. Above all else, Sue’s work has been about service to others and we are incredibly grateful to have had her commitment and leadership benefit the College for so many years.

Student Leaders
One of the most exciting aspects of Term 4 each year is the process which sees the appointment of the Senior Student Leadership Team for the following year. I am excited to be able to share with the community that the following exceptional group of young people will be working together next year to represent all students R-12 and to help our College community develop under their leadership:

• Aimee Brooks
• Amelia Edwards
• Stephanie Formby
• Macy Fox
• Tilly Lovelock
• Sophie McCallum
• Lucas Rutter
• Nathan Sachse
• Joseph Schembri

I am further delighted to be able to share the news of the appointment of Sophie McCallum and Lucas Rutter as our 2022 College Captains. I have no doubt that both Sophie and Lucas will represent the College with distinction next year, and provide great leadership to this team.

A busy few weeks
These first few weeks of Term 4 are always energy packed and this year has been no exception. Farewelling our 2021 graduating class of Year 12s at the whole of College liturgy on Friday of Week 2 was a wonderful celebration, the first of the official College celebrations that will culminate with the Graduation Dinner on the 18 November. Before that occurs, of course, there are the final Year 12 assessments and exams, which are running this week as I write to you. Our Year 12 students continue to be in our thoughts and prayers during this time, that they may be able to effectively present a true picture of their learning this year in these final assessments.

I wish to acknowledge our Year 3 to 6 students for their recent efforts in the Catholic Athletics Carnival at SANTOS Stadium, and our wonderful Year 6 Girls Knockout Basketball Team who in the last week have added their names to our students this year who have won through the SAPSASA Knockout Competition to become State Champions. Congratulations girls on your amazing performance.

It was also with enormous pride that I was able to attend the Graduation Ceremony at Bonython Hall at the University of Adelaide  Monday evening this week to see 56 of our students presented with their Children’s University Graduation Certificates. Our College’s involvement in this program over several years now continues to provide wonderful opportunities for our young people, whilst providing the crucial message that learning is a life-long and life-wide experience that does not just occur in a classroom at school. Congratulations to every one of our graduates, from those who entered Children’s University for the first time this year and qualified for their certificate with 30 hours of learning, right up to the amazing performance of Year 7 student Ashlee Peterson, who was recognised for an amazing 530 hours of accumulated learning across the years of her involvement in the program!

Well done to our Year 5 and 6 students for the way they engaged in their camp experiences in the last few weeks, and to our students and staff who attended and participated in Catholic Education’s Thriving People Indigenous Culture event in recent weeks.

The weeks ahead
We look forward in anticipation to the remaining weeks of our term and year and especially the opportunity that will present for us to provide transition opportunities for the large number of new students who are commencing to our College in 2022.

A final reminder also of the need for forms to be returned to the College today in order for our students aged 12 and above to access COVID Vaccination at the College on 15-16 November. The College was pleased to be identified by SA Health as a site to provide this opportunity for our students.

Gavin McGlaughlin
Principal

Being Well In Term 4

If the pandemic has taught us anything, it is that ‘being well’ is critical to functioning as a human. We are by nature social beings and as the eastern States emerge from their harsh lockdowns, here in SA we are dutifully living the new normal and anxiously awaiting the arrival and impact of Delta. The cost to wellbeing is as difficult to calculate as the diagnosis of wellbeing issues but we know that as the world looks forward to a post pandemic era, the focus on personal health and an appreciation for the plight of others is at the forefront.

For our young people at St Francis de Sales College, the idea of being double jabbed is new and different but indications are that they are taking this in their stride and accepting that life as they know it will mean living in a COVID world. It is encouraging that our young people have optimism for the future. Our newly confirmed Senior Student Leadership Team will ensure that student voice is a key feature of life at the College and as a College community we are in good hands with these outstanding young leaders.

Term 4 flies. The days turn into weeks seemingly in the blink of an eye. There are live performances, displays of student work, sports days, award nights, camps, graduations, exams, Christmas carols, reflection days and farewells. These events have had new life breathed into them since the restrictions have been lifted and there is much to enjoy before the school year concludes. Staying well, keeping energy levels up and remaining engaged are all very necessary for maximum enjoyment of these key events. Being well has many benefits.

As a postscript to this article, I urge parents and guardians to continue to monitor their children’s screen time and online activities. The children and adolescents of the current era are technological natives and are constantly engaging with the online world. The pitfalls of misuse are well known and the pressure to join in is powerful. The link below may assist parents to monitor and manage their child’s screen time.

esafety.gov.au/parents

Paul Fairlie
Deputy Principal - Community and Wellbeing

Learning Happens Everywhere!

It was wonderful to celebrate the achievements of so many of our students at the University of Adelaide this week as part of the Children’s University program. This model has a strong emphasis on experience as a significant learning tool, and acknowledges the value of different activities and environments outside of the classroom where great learning can take place.

Congratulations to the 56 students who were recognised for their hours of learning and volunteering at the ceremony in Bonython Hall on Monday evening. This highlights the more general premise that we are all life-long learners and that learning happens everywhere! Students are already adept at finding information and using the internet (and social media!) to build their knowledge, and it is important that we, as parents and teachers, help them to develop key capabilities that are transferable across various aspects of their personal, school and future professional lives.

Here at St Francis de Sales, our staff understand the value of formative experiences, and that process is as valuable as a product when it comes to deep learning and growth. Rather than just a focus on subject content, teachers are able to embed the underlying skills, capabilities and dispositions that will result in more holistic outcomes for the students in their care. At the heart of this mission, as articulated in the CESA Living, Learning, Leading Framework, is the desire to develop ‘thriving people, capable learners, leaders for the world God desires’.

We send our thoughts, prayers and blessings to our graduating Year 12 students as they leave our College and make their mark on the world! We thank them for their contributions over many years and hope that their time at St Francis de Sales has prepared them for wonderfully diverse adventures beyond our gate. Many have spoken of their mixed feelings about leaving school, knowing they will miss the routine and friends but also eager to begin their post-secondary journey.

The end of the year is fast approaching, with final activities, assessments and exams in progress or coming up. We encourage and expect all students to make the most of these last few weeks and put in their very best efforts to finish the year positively and productively. We know that, like us, families continue to support their child in navigating the many opportunities and challenges that are inherent in end of year activities and transition into the next year level. Please continue to be proactive in speaking with your child about how they are travelling and certainly contact the College if there are matters of concern or ways that we can further support them.

I wish every member of our St Francis de Sales community every joy and success as we begin the Advent season and prepare to celebrate the birth of Jesus.

God bless and stay safe.

Sonia Nelson
Deputy Principal - Learning

College Day

We all contributed to making College Day 2021 a great success, thank you to all of you. As is now our tradition, the day included a liturgy celebrating St Francis de Sales and Catherine McAuley, inflatable jumpy castles and Stalls of various kinds, and concluding with the Talent Show. As a College we raised $1,744 for Catherine House, a tremendous effort and show of generosity – well done!

Special thanks to some key people who put a significant amount of time into the preparation and operation of the day:

• The College Day Planning Team: Paul F, Jo, Janet, Rose W, Kate, Kayla R, Neva vR, Mitchell J and Anneliese C.
• Paul Mc, The Maintenance Team, John H, Lucas R, and ICT Team for set-up
• Fr Richard, Sr Shiji, Sam S, and all who had roles within the liturgy.
• Michele for managing the First Aid and money collection station.
• Jennifer R for being our photographer.
• Sarah S for the creation of the poster and promotions.
• Annie B and her team operating the Canteen.
• Staff and students who created and managed the Stalls.
• Lucas P and Bella J for their wonderful MC work.
• Senior Student Leadership Team
• The students who performed in the Talent Show

For this year’s College Day, held during the last week of Term 3, we were blessed with beautiful weather to celebrate the annual College tradition. The day was filled with activities and celebration, as the students and teachers were given the opportunity to gather as a community outside of the usual school-day format. Following this year’s College Day dress-up theme, the secondary school students showed off 70’s and 80’s fashion trends, whilst the primary school students glowed in an array of fluorescent themed costumes. Everyone had marvelous costumes; including the teachers, who joined in on the fun.

Throughout the afternoon, the year level classes were each given the opportunity to run a Stall. All year levels came up with fantastic Stall ideas; but it is safe to say that the most popular Stalls were the succulent plant Stall, and the face painting stand run by the Year 12s. There was a massive line, as students waited to get their face painted. By the end of the day, there were many students with dolphins, flowers, unicorns, and dragons painted on their face.

Without a doubt, the Talent Show was the College Day highlight for all students! MC'd by our Music Captains, Bella Jenke and Lucas Pantano, students of all ages were given the opportunity to show their unique talents to the College. Many danced and sang, but there were also some unique acts performed on the stage; including a comedy act, and a dancing act in which two students dressed up in giant dinosaur costumes; much to the delight of the audience, as there were many laughs.

Thank you all for participating in this year’s College Day! As a community, we are so blessed to be able to take a break from the usual school day and celebrate who we are as a community in a fun and stress free environment.

Kayla Riddle and Neva van Raalte
College Captains

Commemorative Tree

This year, the ‘Legion of Mary’ group who are connected to Our Lady of Mercy Catholic Church, Mt Barker, celebrate 100 years! As part of the Gathering Garden project, which is a joint College-Parish initiative situated on land adjacent to the Church, the College planted a blue gum tree in the garden, for the Legion of Mary group. Fr Richard led a ceremony involving some of the members of the Legion of Mary Group, and some of our Year 8 students.

A wonderful celebration of the longevity of the work done by the Legion of Mary, and the current environmental connection between the College and the Parish.

Student Leaders 

It has been an absolute pleasure working directly with the Senior Student Leadership Team this year, to plan and action activities to continually engage our students and community. They have shown terrific commitment and drive in living out their role, and I thank Kayla Riddle and Neva van Raalte, as College Captains, in their effective leadership of the Team. The other members of the Team include: Macy Fox, Sophie McCallum, Ashlea McGregor, Lucas Pantano, Amara Rourke, Lucas Rutter, Drew Brace, Madeleine Lipscombe, Harry Cates, and Molly Wheatley.

Some highlights of their actioned plans include: fortnightly Wellbeing Wednesday activities for R-12, assisting with Sports Day and College Day, taking part in Breakfast Club and College Tours, initiating and managing a ‘Student Feedback System’, and raising and lowering the flags each day as part of a roster system.

The Senior Student Leadership Team have followed in the footsteps of Jesus by leading by example, and working hard to continue to make our St Francis de Sales community a fantastic place to be in. They have been very positive role models and have set a high standard of leadership amongst our students. I thank them sincerely.

I congratulate the Senior Student Leadership Team for 2022, who were recently announced and presented to the College community. They are beginning to coordinate their plans for next year, and are preparing for the annual Student Leadership Camp held at Victor Harbor in Week 8 this Term. They are Sophie McCallum (College Captain), Lucas Rutter (College Captain), Aimee Brooks, Amelia Edwards, Stephanie Formby, Macy Fox, Matilda Lovelock, Nathan Sachse, and Joseph Schembri. I look forward to working with this group of students next year, and be part of their leadership journey.

Advent and Christmas

We are now in the final few weeks of the Church's Calendar. On Sunday, 28 November (end of Week 7), Advent begins. This marks the start of the new year in the Church's calendar. Advent is a time of expectation, waiting, hoping, and praying in the lead up to the coming of Jesus at Christmas. The Liturgical colour in Advent is purple, so in Week 8 and 9 each classroom Prayer Table will display this colour as a reminder of the liturgical season.  

Please see the YouTube clip below, which you may like to view with your family.

youtube.com/watch?v=S02KOlw7dlA

There are a number of activities that you can do with your Home Class or with your family at home, during Advent. More information about the two activities is listed below:

Jesse Tree 

During the Advent season, a Bible Story is read each day which relates to Jesus' family or God’s people. After the Bible story is read and discussed, an ornament is placed on a tree – the Jesse Tree. This is often done from the beginning of Advent to Christmas Day. Refer to below resource:

What is a Jesse Tree? youtube.com/watch?v=5qKuDIBvKf4

Advent Wreath 

Advent Wreaths are often used as a visual and symbolic way to mark the four Sundays before Christmas, and Christmas Day. You may wish to make a Wreath with your class or at home with your family. If doing this at the College, avoid using live-flame candles due to the associated risks. Instead, perhaps use three purple paper flowers, a pink paper flower, and a white paper flower to represent the candles. Refer to the two YouTube clips below:

What is an Advent Wreath? youtube.com/watch?v=hPHXooW6NfI 

How to make an Advent Wreath youtube.com/watch?v=_cunOkJlLe4

Thank you. Enjoy your Advent preparation!

Oreste Farrugia
APRIM

Hungry No More

Our College has been part of the Hungry No More volunteer program for a number of years now. On Sunday, 31 October, I was fortunate to be one of the volunteers assisting with the program. Hungry No More is a weekly service offered by the Uniting Church at Mt Barker, that provides a hot meal and a sense of community for people in our community who are experiencing great challenges and struggles in their life. This week, more than thirty people in need, accepted the service offered and enjoyed the food and company provided. The evening ran smoothly all-round. Dinner was a homely shepherd's pie with veggies on the side, followed by a dessert of apricot halves with custard and ice cream. Yum!

Hungry No More is a great way to get involved in the local community and offers the satisfaction of helping people in need. To volunteer for the service you do not need any prior knowledge or skills, only a free evening and a want to help those in need. It will leave you feeling closer to the local community and more compassionate for those around you who are finding life challenging at the moment. I would like to commend everyone who volunteered to participate in Hungry No More this year for the help you offered the community. 

Joseph Schembri
Year 11 Student

Knockout and Interschool Sport Finals

During the last couple of weeks of last term, and early this term, we have had a number of teams compete in the finals series for their respective sports. All students represented the College in an exemplary fashion and there were numerous examples of outstanding performances.

Year 6/7 Boys Netball – coached by Andy Gehling

During Term 3 these boys won their round-robin matches comfortably to make it through to the Grand Final Day at Priceline Stadium. There they won their three minor round matches all in tight contests. This took them to the Grand Final against Coromandel Valley for the second year running. In an extremely tight contest the game ended in a draw 22-22. Competition rules meant that both teams were declared winners. 

Year 6/7 Boys AFL – coached by Lyall Murphy, assisted by Nathan Sachse and Fletcher Duffield

On Tuesday, 14 September the Year 6/7 Boys Football Team competed in the Grand Final of the SAPSASA Knockout competition for medium size schools. The game was played against Woodcroft Primary at Thebarton Oval.

The team got off to the best start possible and kicked the first four goals of the game. Woodcroft then steadied and scored a goal just before the quarter time break. The second quarter was a much tougher contest with scores even, giving us a 3 goal lead at halftime.

Coach Murphy asked the boys for a big effort to start the third quarter and the boys responded kicking 3 goals to nothing. This dominance continued in the last quarter with us ending up 55 point winners, which gave us our first ever State Championship in football for our College! History Makers!!

The boys are to be commended for the way they played and conducted themselves throughout the competition.

Goal scorers - J Tongerie 2, C Foote 2, A Schmidt 1, G James 1, S Dellow 1, A Sanders 1, H Massie 1 and K Matthews-Hampton 1

Year 8/9 Boys Netball – coached by Eliza Lovelock, assisted by Emily Lovelock

During Week 9 of Term 3, our Year 8/9 Boys Netball Team played in the state netball final at Priceline Stadium. 

The lads hadn’t dropped a game in the lead up, but had been solidly challenged. Their playing skills and their heads were tested. 

We played the following minor round games:

St Francis de Sales 23 defeated Scotch 7
Modbury High 13 defeated by St Francis de Sales 27
Pedare 14 defeated by St Francis de Sales 30

This saw us fighting it out in the grand final against Modbury. The lads were shocked not to be handed the game after the previous result, and had to really work to get the 22 vs 20 win. After being rattled, they got their game faces on and pulled away for the victory in the final few minutes of the game. 

Eliza and Emily challenged the lads to play with skill, respect the other team and the umpires, to support each other and to keep cool heads. They were delighted that they did this very well, which ultimately won them the hardware.

Year 6 Girls Basketball – coached by Taylor Moffat, assisted by Mark Billington

During Week 3 of Term 4 our Year 6 Girls competed in the finals day for Basketball, held at our St Francis de Sales College Community Sports Centre. The girls played exceptionally well all day, led by Daisy Hocking and Emerson Beeching and supported brilliantly by the rest of the team. They easily won through the minor rounds and performed sensationally in the Grand Final against St Peters Lutheran to come away with a convincing win.

SACPSSA Athletics

On Monday, 1 November a team of athletes from Years 3 – 6 travelled to the SA Athletics Stadium at Mile End to compete in the Catholic Primary Schools Athletics Competition. We had a number of outstanding performances throughout the day with each athlete trying their absolute best.

Sports Awards Night

On Wednesday, 3 November we held our annual Sports Awards Night where we recognise the endeavours of our athletes throughout the year. Our Year 12 Basketball Academy students were in charge of the organisation of the night as part of their SACE Assessment and they did an amazing job. We honoured the Junior and Senior School Teams of the Year as well as recognising the individual achievements of Athlete of the Year, and the efforts in volunteering of our Sports Person of the Year. Huge congratulations must go out to all students who represented the College both in their school sporting events as well as their representation in the wider community. The Awardees are as follows:

• Junior School Team of the Year – Year 6/7 Boys AFL Team/Year 6 Girls Basketball (joint winners)
• Senior School Team of the Year – Year 8/9 Boys Netball Team
• Sports Person of the Year – Stephanie Formby
• Athlete of the Year – Taylor Moffat

St Francis de Sales After School Program R-3

Last term we held the Auskick program on Thursday afternoons. Each week we had 30 children participate in a range of skill drills aimed at improving kicking, marking, handpassing, tackling and game play. These drills were organised and run by a number of our dedicated Year 9/10 students. On the last day we played mini-games and each participant received a medal. It was a fantastic experience for all.

This term has seen the running of our Afterschool Mini-Tennis program. Organised by our very own tennis star, Elyse Edwards, and ably assisted by a number of senior students, we have had huge numbers attend on Thursday afternoons to hone their tennis skills. Next year in Term 1 we are planning to run a Woolworths Blast Cricket program here at the College so keep an eye out for further details.

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

It has been an exciting time of the year for our students in Years 5 and 6 as they headed off to their school camps over the last few weeks. Our camps are always carefully planned to develop memorable experiences for our students that promote the development of collaborative team building skills such as positive communication, active listening, and problem-solving skills. For our teachers and staff, it is wonderful to see our students undertake new and exciting experiences, and to the children grow and flourish, developing new and stronger relationships with their peers, and make lasting memories with their friends.

Our Year 6 students travelled to Wallaroo in Week 1 of this term. The Year 6 Camp is based near the lovely beach at Wallaroo and students had lots of opportunities to partake in many beach-themed activities. Some water-based activities were altered due to cooler weather conditions; however, students enjoyed many team-building activities such as geo-caching, pizza making, fishing, tribal games, beach activities, para-cording, and many others.

In Week 3, out Year 5 students headed off to the Nunyara campsite at Belair. Our students enjoyed many fun activities such as tree climbing, shelter building, billy cart racing, initiative pursuits (team problem solving) and more. On the final day we went on a beautiful walk to Belair National Park.

Thank you to all the staff who helped in the organisation of the camps and took time away from their loved ones to accompany our students on their camps this year. Thank you also to all the families for being great supporters of these events, and finally, thank you to all our students who were all fantastic participators and represented our College proudly.  

Alice Taylor
Acting R-6 Director of Learning
E-6 Literacy Leader

Student Reflections

"My favourite part was the fishing since it was nice and calming. I didn’t catch anything except for a few crabs, but I love crabs, so it was good! The wind was crazy and the waves were high, but we had a fantastic camp." Giselle, Year 6

"My favourite part at camp was the activities because I got to know my peers a bit more. My favourite activity was the Tree Climb because I saw the lovely view of the Adelaide Airport and it was peaceful, relaxing and an enjoyable challenge." Felicity, Year 5.

Farewell Liturgy for Class of 2021

On Friday 22 October we acknowledged our Year 12 students at the R-12 Farewell Liturgy in the College Sports Centre. 2021 College Captains Kayla Riddle and Neva van Raalte, and Fr Richard, led the liturgy which included the recognition of the 2021 Student Leaders and the introduction of the 2022 College Captains and Student Leaders. Reception students, Reuben Ellery and Payton Greenbank, alongside Kayla and Neva, presented the College candle and banner to conclude the liturgy with the traditional Renewal of Wisdom.

Following our liturgy the Year 12s dressed up in costumes representing the letter of their first name and enjoyed a light brunch before leaving to plan for the upcoming examinations. We are proud of their conduct and also contributions to the College and wish them the very best for the weeks ahead as they complete their examinations and assignments.

Year 11 students attend RAA’s Street Smart High

Last week, we joined with over 70 schools in South Australia’s largest youth road safety event, RAA’s Street Smart High. Our Year 11 students arrived at the Adelaide Entertainment Centre to improve their road safety knowledge, skills and attitudes.

The four-hour program included a simulated crash scene, real life stories from people whose lives have been affected by road trauma, and a demonstration on the importance of ANCAP star ratings when choosing a car. RAA Community Engagement Senior Manager, Ben Haythorpe, said it was vitally important to educate novice drivers about the risks and dangers they faced when they get in a car or on a motorcycle.

“People aged 16-24 years make up 13 per cent of the population but accounted for 21 per cent of all fatalities in SA over the past 2 years,’’ he said.

“Young people need to be exposed to road safety education consistently, and over many years, in order to develop positive road safety attitudes and behaviours.

“I’m confident road safety education is impacting positively on students’ attitude to risk taking on our streets and contributing to this long-term reduction in road trauma.

More than 60,000 year 10-12 students from over 80 schools across the State have attended Street Smart High since it began in 2009.

The event is supported by Think!Road Safety through the Department of Planning, Transport and Infrastructure.

Our students engagement and manners were exemplary and we were proud to attend this event with them.

Ros Mattner
Year 11-12 Leader of Learning and Wellbeing
SACE Coordinator

Student Refections

"On Tuesday 19 October the Year 11 students from the College attended the Street Smart High program that was held at the Adelaide Entertainment Centre. Street Smart High is a program that is built for raising awareness to teenagers about the dangers of driving on the road. The program had numerous activities and discussions that helped the Year 11s be more aware about the dangers on the road and how to minimise the risks. Personally, I had found the program very informative and extremely impactful about the dangers that comes with driving on the road." Aiden Summerton

"On October 19, our College participated in the RAA Street Smart High road safety presentation. A whole day event that included numerous stories and activities all about the safety of our drivers on the road. The presentation from the guest speakers were very touching and sad. Personally, my favourite activity would be when we went out on the floor to have a look inside the emergency vehicles, I also got test the sirens! Every activity throughout the day kept its focus of safety on the road." Bailey Vivian

Week 7, Term 4 is the week to mark in your calendar for the Semester 2 Dance production – This Is Me.

Despite the current restrictions our Dance Minis, Dance Crew, Year 8, Stage 1 and Stage 2, Semester 2 Dance classes will still be presenting their choreographed routines in a live, social distance seating format (limited numbers), along with presenting an exclusive ‘streamed’ performance.

This streamed performance will be made available via a private link that will be emailed to all students and parents/caregivers, approximately one week after the live performance. Please keep an eye out for the link to the streamed version of the performance which will enable all family and friends to view the Dance production of This Is Me.

Bookings will open shortly, and are essential for the live performances which will be held in the Performing Arts Centre in The Dell on Wednesday 24 and Thursday 25 November at 6:15pm.

The Dance students and I are excited to announce that we will also present a live performance for Junior School students. This is always a highlight in our performance calendar!

Peta Bojanic
Dance Teacher

Our Semester 2, Stage 1 Drama students are pleased to announce that they will be presenting their production of Scattered Lives by Sally McKenzie in Week 6, Wednesday 17 November at 6:15pm in the Performing Arts Centre.

Written by Australian author Sally McKenzie and first performed in 2002, Scattered Lives is a performance of true stories shared by refugees, who give an insight into the profound experience of what it is to seek refuge.

Due to the current COVID restrictions this does mean that the performance will only be able to accommodate a limited audience with social distance seating regulations in place, therefore bookings are essential. However, to ensure all family and friends can view this powerful verbatim theatrical experience the performance will also be streamed. Keep your eye out for the private link that will be emailed to students and staff after the live performance.

More information will be sent to the Stage 1 Drama students soon.

Peta Bojanic
Drama Teacher

Nathan, Year 12 student, has recently signed up as an apprentice through Statewide Group Training SA working as a carpenter with host employer Adelaide Hills Building.

He was able to obtain this apprenticeship by studying a Certificate I in Building and Construction Pathways at Adelaide Training and Employment Centre and has also completed a partial Certificate III in Building and Construction this year.

"I am grateful for this opportunity and glad that my hard work has paid off for me. I would like to thank my Mum, Mrs Ros Mattner and especially Mr Branden Hill for helping me achieve my goal of gaining an apprenticeship with Adelaide Hills Building," said Nathan.

We would like to thank Darren from Statewide Group Training SA for taking the time to visit St Francis de Sales College to sign up another one of our Year 12 students.

We wish Nathan all the best as his embarks on his career as a carpenter.

Pictured above L-R: Michelle, Nathan and Darren from Statewide Group Training SA

Thank you, R-12 Music Captains

As we near the end of the year, we would like to thank our outgoing R-12 Music Captains, Isabella Jenke and Lucas Pantano, for their excellent work and leadership in 2021. Both Bella and Lucas have been excellent role models to our younger students, giving of their time to support our ensembles and their peers. Our hugest best wishes to them both for the future!

We would also like to acknowledge and thank our Ensemble Captains for 2021:

Lucas Rutter – Heart’n’Soul Band
Nathan Sachse – JazZone Senior Vocal
Lucas Pantano – de Groove Small Jazz Combo
Tilly Lovelock – Musaic Senior Vocal
Max Maher – VoCo Small Senior Vocal
Harry Lovelock – Mixed Bag Band
Trinity Werts and Elizabeth Brazzalotto – The Voices R-6 Choir

Term 3 Music Concert – The Instrumental Student Showcase

On Thursday, 23 September, our fabulous instrumental students and teachers came together to bring us the Instrumental Student Showcase. Featuring students from Years 2-12, the Showcase is an opportunity for instrumental students to show off their musical growth. We were delighted to be able to see soloists perform, as well as our various College band ensembles. A feature this year were fabulous performances from The Tabor Tones, an a’Capella vocal group from Tabor Music, alongside Tabor musicians. Huge thanks to the team at Tabor College for their time and for showing our students a glimpse into their possible musical futures!

Being largely student-run, we would like to thank all students for their time, but in particular the Senior Music and Ensemble Captains, along with Ethan, Lachie and Harry for their stage crew support, Joseph Schembri for his assistance with sound and lighting, and finally, Lucas Rutter for his expertise in promo, sound and lighting. Thanks also to our instrumental teachers, in particular, our band leader Karen Redman. We also appreciate the hours of work that Bec Page puts into the musical growth of our students, as well as thank our staff for their support.

Semester 2 Music Concert – Tunes@Twilight

On Friday, 19 November, the College will present Tunes@Twilight, in the Mercy Courtyard at the College. Involved students will be invited to attend via Consent2Go. Please see C2G or visit.stfrancis.catholic.edu.au/tunes-twilight to register.

Upcoming Music Department Events

Please keep an eye out for Consent2Go emails regarding your child’s involvement:

• The Angelicus Carols Choir (R-6) at the Balhannah/Oakbank Community Carols (a recorded event).
• Music is Fun Band at the College as a part of Music classes for R-6 on Thursday, 2 December.
• VoCo, JazZone and Musaic Senior Vocal Ensembles, plus College student soloists and instrumentalists at the Mount Barker Carols in the Park on Saturday, 4 December.

Instrumental Program Vacancies

A reminder that there continue to be vacancies within our Instrumental Program. Please visit our website for more information.

Yours in Music,

Emily Lovelock
Music Support

We are winding down for this year with our last meeting scheduled for Tuesday, 23 November. This meeting will be our last meeting for the year and will be a meeting to vote on nominations for the Chair and Secretary positions for 2022. This meeting will also be the PCG’s End of Year dinner to celebrate our group and all the efforts of members and the College community for 2021.

We have been unable to follow through with many of the events planned for this year. However, we have continued to meet and plan for 2022. Although there have been some restrictions, we have still managed to co-ordinate a few activities this year. 2022 is looking good for the PCG and we are looking forward to running more activities.

Frankie’s Café is still unable to open. However, with the good news received recently with the easing of restrictions, we are hopeful Frankie’s can open again soon. We are planning for Frankie’s Café to be open on a regular basis in 2022 and will advise of upcoming dates in the near future. Frankie’s Café relies solely on volunteers, and it is a wonderful way to catch up, meet new families and enjoy a specially brewed coffee. We do require extra volunteers to support extra open days and to help maintain the success of the café. If you are available and would like to volunteer at Frankie’s Café, please contact us via email for more information.

Our last meeting for 2021 is on Tuesday, 23 November at 6:30pm. We welcome new members at any time throughout the year and are always looking for new ideas. We value all contributions. If you would like more information, please email Sue Werts.

We would like to thank everyone for their continued support.

Sue Werts
Chair of the Parent Community Group

During the school break we ran our first holiday program at Alive Catholic Early Learning. What a wonderful experience this was for our children with a different fun and engaging focus for each day. There was a wide range of learning experiences to stimulate participation and curiosity from exploring music and puppetry as a form of expression through to investigating how we can care for our environment and native animals. It was lovely to see how these learning opportunities were adapted and changed to meet the interests and developmental needs of the children in each learning space.

Our holiday program was a great way to lay a foundation for the term ahead as we built on the rich learning opportunities that were offered. Our pre-schoolers are currently investigating how they can express their thoughts and ideas in different ways including through art, sound, 2D and 3D construction, dance and drama. Our 3 year old program are finding out more about how their curiosity and questions help them to learn, our 2 year old program is inquiring into the life cycles of living things and how we are connected to nature and our children 6 months to 2 years are exploring why people make music and how we can use music to express ourselves. We are looking forward to making our holiday program a regular feature at the end of Term 1, 2 and 3.

Liz Schembri
Head of Early Learning