Weekly Reflection

It has been less than two weeks since the outbreak of hostilities in Europe.

Russia’s invasion of Ukraine has unsettled and upset us all as we watch the terrible footage of bombed cities and families cowering in underground bunkers.

We look to world leaders to bring an end to this frightful war and we offer our prayers for those undergoing needless loss and suffering.

A Prayer for World Peace

Lord Jesus,

You came that the world might know the peace that You have experienced with the Father eternally.

Yet, You taught us that in this life there will be wars and rumors of wars. Nations will rise against nations as violence works itself out in the world.

However, through You, the world may be saved. O Lord, send Your spirit into the hearts of all men, that the world might know true peace through Your abundant mercy.

Amen

Shaun Coates

Director of Catholic Identity

From the Principal


In 1989, Ian Kiernan started the first Clean up Australia campaign. Thirty-three years later, it has grown to become a national event that involves volunteers and schools all over Australia.

It was wonderful last Friday to see the number of students willing to clean up the environment around our College. A dedicated band collected several huge bags of rubbish. Sadly a large number of disposable masks were collected. If these masks end up in the oceans after being discarded, they can entangle sea life and destroy our environment.

In his Encyclical letter on Ecology and climate, Pope Francis urges us all to take responsibility for caring for the natural world as followers of Christ.

We are called to care for our physical resources and the living creators created by our God.

We are all custodians of our earth, and we have a responsibility to care for the beautiful surroundings that have been gifted to us.

Clean Up Australia is a one-day event that reminds us of this responsibility. One day a year, however, is not sufficient. In our everyday actions, we should ensure that we contribute to a sustainable future.
Marlene Jorgensen

Principal

Looking Ahead

Dates to remember
Monday 14 MarchLabour Day holiday
Monday 21 MarchYear 7 camps begin
Wednesday 30 MarchParents and Friends meeting
Tuesday 5 AprilParent Student Teacher Interviews 4pm-7pm
Thursday 7 AprilParent Student Teacher Interviews 4pm-7pm
Friday 8 AprilStudent study at home day. Term 1 concludes
Tuesday 26 AprilTerm 2 begins


Uniform Review Survey

In preparation for the transition to our new name, St Francis Catholic College, in 2023, we are reviewing the current school uniform. 

Once the review is completed, a working party of students, parents and staff will be formed to plan for a re-designed uniform.

Year 7 students will wear the new uniform at both campuses in 2023. Any changes for other year levels will be gradual so as not to burden families financially.

An essential part of the review is feedback from parents, guardians and students.

Parent and guardian feedback can be provided in two ways:

1. Complete a short survey - click this link to begin Uniform Survey

2. Attend the Parents and Friends meeting on Wednesday 30 March at 7pm.

Students have an opportunity to provide feedback through a survey or by attending a forum on Tuesday 15 March at lunchtime. 

Students can find further information regarding the survey and forum on Simon - Daily Messages.

Kerrie-Ann Matthews

Deputy Principal - Head of Cobblebank Campus

Give your opinion on Catholic Education in Victoria

I invite you to participate in the Enhancing Catholic School Identity Survey, which will assist us in better understanding how our Catholic identity is expressed in work and practice here at Catholic Regional College Melton.

The purpose of the research is to gain meaningful insights into our Catholic identity today and how such identity might be shaped for tomorrow.

Everyone’s input is important.

It’s best to finish the survey in one attempt, without having to come back later.

Your responses are anonymous and your personal data is treated confidentially in accordance with ethical and legal guidelines.

Only you will be able to view your individual results and this can be done once you’ve completed the questionnaires.

Instructions and passcodes to complete the survey are available below.

ESCI Survey Instructions

Click here to begin the survey: https://www.ecsi.site/au/user/

If you have any questions, please contact me at arowley@sfcc.vic.edu.au.

Amy Rowley

Director of Community Relations

2022 NAPLAN Information

All students in Year 7 and 9 will complete the 2022 NAPLAN assessment online.

On NAPLAN days, they will need to bring a fully charged CRC Melton device (Year 7 laptop, Year 9 iPad) and headphones.

Further information about the test will be sent home in the coming weeks.

NAPLAN key dates

Thursday 24 March – Coordinated Practice Test – All students in Years 7 and 9.

Monday 10 May – Friday 20 May – NAPLAN assessment window. Dates for specific tests will be provided in the coming weeks.

You can read more about NAPLAN online below.

NAPLAN information for parents and guardians

Artist in Residence Program

Last Friday, local artist Leanne Pagliaro visited the College as a guest Artist In Residence, running a full day workshop for 27 students from all year levels.

Leanne presented her folio to the students showcasing her successful artworks. She has exhibited at several galleries throughout Melbourne, including the Brunswick Street Gallery, Fitzroy Art Collective, Flemington Art Show, Mental Health Foundation Art Show and Whitehorse Art Show.

After talking to students about her career and work, Leanne conducted watercolour and soft pastels demonstrations, teaching the students a variety of blending techniques for portraits and landscapes.

Many beautiful artworks were created and the students all enjoyed themselves.

Below from left: Artwork by Jordan Rus, Year 11 and Kai Del Mar, Year 7

Below from left: Artwork by Isabella Fraser, Year 10 and Illyana Baraci, Year 12.

Below: Artwork by Amy Seymour, Year 12

Jennifer Segrave

Art Teacher

Ash Wednesday

Students and staff marked the beginning of Lent with a prayerful Ash Wednesday liturgy held in morning homeroom last week.

Lent is a time when we prepare as a faith community to meet the risen Christ at Easter. It is a time for us to turn away from what keeps us from living the Gospel and remind ourselves that we are called to live lives based on justice.

Over these 40 days, may the Holy Spirit give us the strength to act justly, the courage to love tenderly and the faith to walk humbly with our God.

International Women’s Day

Today we acknowledged International Women’s Day (IWD) at our annual College Swimming and Multisports Carnival where students and staff wore ribbons, had their faces painted and struck the pose for this year’s theme of Break the Bias.

IWD on 8 March celebrates the social, economic, cultural and political achievements of women. The day also marks a call to action for accelerating women’s equality.

Inspired by this year’s theme, Year 7 Bernard student OIivia created the artwork below that illustrates our community’s diversity and the Break the Bias cross-armed pose.

Imagine a gender equal world.

A world free of bias, stereotypes, and discrimination.

A world that is diverse, equitable, and inclusive.

A world where difference is valued and celebrated.

Together we can forge women's equality.

Collectively we can all #BreakTheBias.

International Women’s Day 2022

To find out more click here

Trish Griffin

Social Justice Coordinator

Harmony Week – Everyone Belongs


Art, craft and food demonstrations will be among the activities our Social Justice team has planned for Harmony Week from Tuesday 15 March to Friday 18 March.

Harmony Week is about inclusiveness, respect and a sense of belonging for all Australians regardless of cultural or linguistic backgrounds.

Students will complete activities in their homerooms to reinforce their understanding of Harmony Week and our annual Ks for Caritas event will also be held to raise awareness of the Project Compassion campaign that runs throughout Lent.

On Thursday 17 March, students are welcome to add something orange to their PE uniform or come to school in their cultural dress to highlight the importance of respecting each other and our differences.

Watch our social media pages next week for photos and updates on all the celebrations.

Trish Griffin

Social Justice Coordinator

Project Compassion – Anatercia’s story

We begin our annual Lenten Project Compassion journey by learning about Anatercia, a 12-year-old girl living in a small village in southern  Mozambique.

She began to take on more and more adult responsibilities as her mother has chronic health issues. She did most of the household chores and had to travel up to five hours every day to collect clean water. Water scarcity also meant that harvests were poor and there was never enough to eat.

With your support, Caritas Australia’s local partner, Caritas Regional Chokwe, was able to help Anatercia’s family to irrigate their farm to improve their food security. They also improved water access for households in the village, delivered sustainable farming training, and provided Anatercia with essential school supplies.

Anatercia’s health, education and quality of life have improved, along with the outlook of her whole community for all future generations.

Watch a short film about Anatercia’s story here.

Students and families can support the College Project Compassion campaign by donating to the appeal. Each homeroom has a collection box. In keeping with tradition, the class at each year level that raises the most will win a slab of soft drink!

Dinka Parent and Guardian Morning Tea

Our first Dinka parent and guardian morning tea for 2022 was held last Wednesday.

The aim is to connect with parents and guardians, provide them with information about what is happening at school and give them an opportunity to talk and ask questions in a friendly space.

Parents Garang Deng and Mary Anwat joined our Community Liaison Officer Abraham Jongroor, Principal Marlene Jorgensen, Deputy Principal Cheryl Bullen and myself to chat and share stories about their culture.

We look forward to more parents and guardians joining our next Dinka morning tea on Wednesday 23 March at 9am in the EAL Office.

To register your attendance for catering purposes please contact Abraham or Maria 8099 6000.

Maria Krajina

EAL Coordinator

Year 9 Food Studies

This week, Year 9 Food Studies students have learned about the design process.

They were asked to design and produce a creative and exciting pancake stack using a basic recipe.

Students were able to incorporate different fruits and flavouring ingredients to make their stack unique. And the results tasted as good as they look!

Jessica Attard

Technology Domain Leader

Wellbeing and Work Readiness Program

A Foundation House Wellbeing and Work Readiness program began at the College last week with a group of Year 9 students taking part in a meet and greet session with organisers Deng, Diana and Alberto.

The fun activities enabled the group to get to know each other in preparation for the 10-week program, focusing on identifying goals, pathways, and how students can achieve their employment goals.

Maria Krajina and Abraham Jongroor

EAL Coordinator and Community Liaison Officer

Sports Update

Our senior netball team played in the fourth round of competition last week playing their best game of the season and winning against Marymede Catholic College 26-6. The senior cricket team headed to Penola College winning 0/54.

Year 10 Premier League

This week our Year 10 Premier League teams competed at many different locations. The basketball and netball teams headed to Boardman Stadium in Sunbury, volleyball teams to Salesian College and soccer teams to Marymede Catholic College.

The results from Round 4 were:

Girls Netball: Salesian def CRC 22-23

Girls soccer: Marymede def CRC 5-0

Boys Soccer: CRC def Marymede 3-0

Boys Basketball A: Salesian def CRC 72-49

Boys Basketball B: Salesian def CRC 54-28

Girls Basketball: CRC def Salesian 42-20

Girls and Boys Volleyball: CRC def Salesian 3-0

Ella Higgins

Sports Assistant

SACCSS Senior Sporting Competitions

Senior Mixed Netball

The Year 11 and 12 senior mixed netballers embraced their early morning start on the bus last Tuesday with great tunes and lively conversation on the long drive to Werribee.

Upon our arrival, we were notified that we would be playing longer games in our round robin pool, starting against MacKillop College. After some initial confusion about playing a full game, the win was cemented by MacKillop in the second half, 31-8. It was a significant loss, however the team maintained their steady heads and displayed good teamwork.

After a break, our next game was against St Monica’s College, during which we were much more successful in our overall goal scoring and ensured the opposition did not gain a strong lead. The final score was 22-18 in St Monica’s favour.

We went into our last game against Kolbe Catholic College with our finals hopes dashed but resound to play the best we could. The game was fun, energetic and full of fantastic plays by the team. In the end we won 27 -9 and managed, to our shock, to score enough goals to beat St Monica’s percentage and make it to the finals.

The semi-final game was against Salesian College. It was a nail-biting final and very close until the end when Salesian won 21-18.

It was a very gallant effort by our senior mixed netballers on the day. Their energy was infectious and despite their losses, their teamwork showed they had each other’s backs.

It has been a pleasure to coach these young sportspeople over the past few years.

Rebecca Cassar - Netball coach

Senior Golf Tournament

Three Year 12 students represented the College in the SACCSS Senior Golf Tournament held last Friday at Werribee Park Golf Club.

It was an early start for James Norrish, Daniella Ahmet and Lachlan Farley, who played 18 holes in the hot and humid weather. All had a great day out interacting with students from other Catholic schools in the region and participating on the day.

Adam Cooper - Golf coach

Senior Tennis

The SACCSS Senior Tennis Competition was held at the Hume Tennis and Community Centre in Craigieburn last Tuesday.

The tournament started well with Year 10 student Lauren Martin winning two games, 5-0 and 5-2 and then losing her third 2-5.

Although she made it through to the finals, all games were stopped due to bad weather. We are hopeful that the finals will occur later. A huge congratulations to Lauren for her amazing effort!

Maria Krajina - Tennis coach


Senior Futsal

On Monday 28 February our senior boys and girls futsal teams headed to La Trobe Sports Stadium to compete in a one-day SACCSS tournament.

Despite creating a team at short notice, our girls’ futsal team set out with a positive attitude and determination only dreamt of by other teams.

They set themselves the challenge of scoring at least one goal in every game and realised this by scoring four goals in four games against some tough competition.

The grit showed by the girls proved they could mix it with the better teams in the competition. Although the results didn’t fall our way, the girls should be proud of their efforts and look forward to competing in senior soccer later in the year.

The boys’ team performed exceptionally well, winning every game and qualifying for the final as favourites.

However, celebrations were short-lived as CRC Melton fell short in the final against Thomas Carr College 4-6. Nevertheless, it was a proud day for both our senior futsal teams who played with great spirit and sportsmanship throughout the tournament.

Ella Higgins - Sports Assistant

SACCSS Junior Golf Competition

Last Friday, Ned Michael (Year 7), Findlay Donachie (Year 9) and Ajak Tong (Year 10) headed out to Melbourne Airport Golf Course accompanied by teachers Gemma Pentony and Shehani Smith for the SACCSS Junior Golf Competition

All students proudly represented the college, showing fantastic sportsmanship during the nine-hole game.

Findlay beat his score from last year (61) improving to score 49 and placed second overall among the boys entered. Ned did a fantastic job finishing with a score of 75.

Ajak made us proud as he tried his hardest without any knowledge of the game. He picked up the golf club and gave it a go, playing shots like a natural and winning a medal on the day for his sportsmanship.

A fantastic effort by all competitors!

Equestrian Success for Year 7 Student

It’s been a big start to the year for 7 O’Reilly student and equestrian competitor Sienna, who recently won a major prize a the Royal Canberra Show.

Sienna and her pony Owendale Beesting (stable name Kevin) were awarded the Champion Small Show Hunter Pony of the show. Quite the achievement for a petite 11-year-old. She also rode a Shetland pony for a friend and was awarded Reserve Champion Ridden Shetland of the show.

Sienna has been riding since she was four years old and has been fortunate enough to win some major awards in her young show-horse career including two Grand National titles, multiple equestrian State titles, Junior Equestrian Turnout wins at The Royal Melbourne Show and Show Horse Council Horse Of The Year championships.

She also recently started competing in dressage events and late last year was awarded Champion Interschool Primary Preliminary combination at Boneo Park.

Sienna loves both disciplines and will spend more time developing her dressage skills and experience over autumn and winter.

Like most young riders, she dreams of one day representing Australia at the Olympics, but for now, she continues to train hard (including most mornings before school), have fun and enjoy the journey the ponies are taking her on.

The next six weeks will be busy for Sienna and Kevin as they compete at COVID-postponed National Championships at Werribee International Equestrian Centre, Sydney International Equestrian Centre and the Sydney Royal Easter Show.

Good luck Sienna!

Photos by Lisa Gordon of Little More Grace Photography.

Maths Homework Club

Last Wednesday, the maths homework club got off to a positive start for 2022.

Teachers Doan Nguyen, Katy Huynh, Martin Attard and myself were able to help students with upcoming assessments and supported those who needed extra assistance with their work.

The whiteboard tables on the second floor of the Alexandria Resource Centre helped students chart their work in a large, visual representation. There was no problem that couldn’t be solved!

All students are welcome to attend on any given week (or multiple weeks) and help us add our numbers.

Please note that food is not allowed in the ARC, so students should eat lunch before attending. If the ARC is closed on a Wednesday, the homework club will be held in GL104 instead.

Can’t wait to see you there!

Justin Farrugia

Mathematics Domain Leader

Italian Club

Our Italian Club began last week with Year 7 students creating colourful masks for the start of the year. Students enjoyed using a wide range of material such as beads, feathers, crystals and coloured pencils.

Year 8 students learnt how to play the Italian card game of Scopa with Italian teacher Alessandra Vono teaching fellow staff member Gabriella Meathrel as well.

Students are welcome to take part in the Italian Club every second Wednesday (Day 3) at lunchtime in the Clairvaux Building from 1.20pm. Benvenuti!

Claudia Russo

Languages Domain Leader

Careers News

Parent As Career Transition Support (PACTS)


Melton Youth Centre will host a series of workshops to provide parents with up-to-date information about career transition to help them support their teenagers when making career transition decisions.

These sessions are designed for parents of students with disability, neurodiverse and mental health issues.

The three workshops will be held at the Melton Youth Centre, 193 Barries Rd, Melton from 6pm to 8pm on Wednesday 16, 23 and 30 March.

For more information or to book, click here: Melton PACTS Tickets

Melton PACTS Information

Time Management and Beating Procrastination Webinar

CRC Melton parents and guardians once again have exclusive access to Elevate Education’s Parent Webinar Series this year.

Tomorrow night (Wednesday 9 March), Elevate will run a free webinar on Time Management and Beating Procrastination from 7pm.

You can click here to register

Elevate works with our students, delivering high impact workshops on study skills, motivation, wellbeing, and exam preparation.

By tuning into their webinar series, you will learn how to support your children at home by reinforcing the skills they learn at school.

During tomorrow evening’s webinar, Elevate will show you:

  • How to avoid fights over homework and study;
  • Strategies to ensure your child is balanced, stress free AND productive;
  • The most common causes of Procrastination and how to avoid;
  • What types of work the top students prioritise to get top marks.

​​​​​​The webinar is run live online from 7-8pm (AEDT) where the presenter will share Elevate’s key research and skills, and will conduct a live Q&A so you can ask them questions directly.

Community Notices

Western Bulldogs Youth Leadership Project

Community Road Safety Forum

The City of Melton will host a Community Road Safety Forum, on Thursday 31 March at the Melton Library targeting new or younger drivers aged 16 to 21 and their parent and guardians.

The forum will include guest speakers from Victoria Police, Ambulance Victoria and the Road Trauma Support Services who will talk about the rules of the road, and share some life experiences about being involved in, or responding to traffic accidents.

Every young driver who attends will go in the draw to win free driving lessons and other prizes. Click below for more information or to register visit meltonlearning.com.au/events/roadsafetyforum/

Community Road Safety Forum

Useful Links

Keep up to date with College events, procedures, resources and information via the links below.

PAM – Parent Portal

Parent Handbook

Enrolment

Cobblebank Campus

Facebook

Instagram

Policies

Uniform

Library

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