From the Principal

A special Relic of St Francis

We extend our sincere thanks to our College Chaplain, Father Alex, for bringing a First Class Relic of St Francis of Assisi to our Feast Day Mass last Friday.

A First Class Relic is a physical part of the body of a saint, preserved and honoured by the Church as a tangible connection to their life and witness.

Having a relic of St Francis present at our Mass was a truly special opportunity for our students and staff to feel a close connection to our College patron.

It provided a meaningful reminder of St Francis’ enduring example of faith, humility, simplicity and love for all creation, and the Franciscan spirit at the heart of our College.

We are grateful to Father Alex for taking the time and effort to make this special moment possible.

As Term 3 comes to an end, I want to thank students, families, and staff for their commitment, energy, and hard work. There has been an enormous amount of activity in this quarter - our College Production, Feast Day, camps, music and drama performances, SACCSS sport, Write a Book in a Day, Languages, HPE and Humanities Week - just to name a few!

I wish our St Francis Catholic College community a safe and happy break, and I look forward to seeing everyone for what is shaping up to be a very busy final term for 2026.

Looking Ahead - Melton Campus

Looking Ahead - Cobblebank Campus

Early Dismissal this Friday 18 September

Please remember that students at both campuses will be dismissed at 2.30pm this Friday 18 September, the final day of Term 3.

Term 4 will commence for all students on Monday 5 October.

Campus Opening Days During School Holidays

The school holiday office hours for each campus are listed below:

Week 1 school holidays: Monday 21 September – Thursday 24 September

Melton Campus office open 8am - 4pm

Cobblebank Campus office closed

Friday 25 September: Public holiday – both campuses closed

Week 2 of school holidays: Monday 28 September – Friday 2 October

Cobblebank Campus office open 8am - 4pm

Melton Campus office closed.

Students completing VCE Practice Exams will attend Melton Campus on Monday 28 September as scheduled.

Year 7-10 ACER PAT Testing in Term 4

Students in Years 7-10 will participate in ACER Progressive Achievement Testing (PAT) during Week 2 of Term 4.

The testing schedule for both campuses is as follows:

Tuesday 13 October – Years 9 and 10

• Period 2 – PAT Reading (PAT-R) – 45 minutes

• Period 3 – PAT Maths (PAT-M) – 40 minutes

Wednesday 14 October – Years 7 and 8

• Period 2 – PAT Reading (PAT-R) – 45 minutes

• Period 3 – PAT Maths (PAT-M) – 40 minutes

What is PAT testing?

PATs are nationally recognised assessments developed by ACER. They provide valuable information about students’ current achievement levels and help teachers plan targeted teaching and learning programs.

These adaptive tests adjust question difficulty based on student responses, allowing for an accurate measure of each student’s learning progress.

Students are encouraged to be well-rested and attend school on their scheduled testing days. No additional preparation is required.

If you have any questions, please contact the Middle Years Curriculum Leader at your child's campus as listed below.

Melton Campus: Mr Ranish Nitesh Chand - rchand@sfcc.vic.edu.au

Cobblebank Campus: Ms Melissa Staley - mstaley@sfcc.vic.edu.au

Music Night and Awards Evening

Cobblebank Campus 2027 Student Leadership Cabinet

We are pleased to announce the newly appointed student leaders at Cobblebank Campus for 2027.

College Captains - Cobblebank Campus

Erin Navarro

Subha Billah

House Captains

Anthony - Captain: Quinn Hyde. Assistant Captain: Risha Baddam

Bernard -  Captain: Arfan Nijam. Assistant: Mansirat Kaur

Bakhita - Captain: Nitya Sharma. Assistant Captain: Chelsey Beckett

Catherine - Captain: Dawt Tu. Assistant: Hunar Gaur

Dominic - Captain: Adam Joseph. Assistant Captain: Ayanna Dhawan

Glowrey - Captain: Achraj Virk. Assistant Captain: Allayna Batta

MacKillop - Captain: Kanwar Sidhu. Assistant Captain: Rylee Cameron

Lawrence - Captain: Clorinda Denis. Assistant Captain: Alannah Porter

Area Captains

Academic Captains - James Taniman and Aish Aravinthan

Faith and Mission Captains -  Mackenzie Byrne and Senadee Dharmaratne

Culture Captains - Jasmeen Brar and Shavon Chikarakate

Environment Captains - Saryu Sharma and Achol Biar

Music and Arts Captains - Sophie May and Keisha Canon

Sports Captains - Nimar Sandhu and Ashley Lockie

Congratulations to all successful 2027 student leaders. You demonstrated great leadership potential during the application process, and I look forward to working with you in 2027.

Thank you to all students who applied. Please continue to develop and refine your leadership skills over the next year, and I encourage you to apply again for the 2028 cabinet.

Winners of the 2026 Hildegarde Literary Prize

Congratulations to the winners of this year's Hildegarde Literary Prize! 

The writing competition invites students from both campuses to submit original fiction, poetry or non-fiction responding to our College theme. 

This year's prompt, "To be brave enough to flourish is to be brave enough to…" challenged students to write about trying something new, leading, forgiving and trusting.

From a strong field of entries, four students have been recognised with a Junior and Senior prize awarded at each campus.

Melton Campus

Junior winner: Ira, Year 7 

Senior winner: Renee, Year 10

Cobblebank Campus

Junior winner: Kaitlyn, Year 7

Senior winner: Subha, Year 10

Congratulations to all four winners and thank you to every student who entered and every teacher who encouraged them.

Feast Day 2026

Our campuses were alive with celebration last Friday as students and staff gathered to celebrate our annual St Francis Catholic College Feast Day.

This year, the Feast Day Mass took place at three different venues at the same time. 

Cobblebank students from Anthony, Bakhita, Glowrey and Dominic houses celebrated Mass at St Anthony’s Church, while those in Catherine, Bernard, Lawrence and Mackillop houses celebrated Mass at St Catherine of Siena Church. 

Melton students celebrated Mass in Sheehan Stadium and the Performing Arts Centre. 

We are particularly grateful to Father Alex Clemente, who facilitated these celebrations, along with Father Jeff Salvador and Father Ronaldo who celebrated Mass with us in our various locations.

After Mass, students enjoyed lunch, and a host of fun activities before cheering on their peers at the annual talent show at each campus.

And as you will see from the photos a great day was had by all - even those who braved the dunk machine!

Year 9 Premier League Grand Finals

Congratulations to all teams who competed in the Year 9 SACCSS Premier League grand finals last Thursday.

Our Melton Girls Volleyball had a tough match-up against Emmanuel College, going point-for-point for the majority of both sets. Emmanuel took a lead in the second set, but Melton clawed back four points to win 26-24.

The Melton Boys AFL team played CRC Caroline Springs with the same dominant approach that has kept them undefeated this season, ending the match with a 38-point margin.

Cobblebank Girls Basketball had an extremely strong season, beaten only once by Marymede Doreen in Round 5. Unfortunately, despite their best efforts, Doreen once again claimed victory at the grand final with a 30-point win.

The Melton Boys Volleyball team travelled to Eagle Stadium to face first-placed MacKillop College. The team played well, but MacKillop defeated them in a nail-biting finish, 27-25.

Thank you to all the students who participated in this term's Year 9 Premier League season. We look forward to seeing you join the Senior Sport teams next year.

Melton Year 9 Premier League grand final games

Cobblebank Year 9 Premier League grand final game

Melton Senior Boys Basketball Champions

The Melton Senior Boys Basketball team were crowned Division 2 Champions after defeating Kolbe Catholic College by 30 points in the grand final last Tuesday.

The boys took an early lead, surging 20 points ahead in the first quarter, with the first ten pointsscored in under a minute. Kolbe mounted a strong comeback late in the second quarter but was unable to break through Melton’s strong defensive pressure.

The match ended 65-35.

Ring Magok was named Best in the Grand Final and took home the Peer Award for his outstanding performance.

We congratulate all team members on their efforts and extend a special thank you to our Year 12 students, who represented the College for the final time.

Merindah-Gunya Indigenous Painting Workshop

As part of the FIRE Carrier program at St Francis Catholic College, students at Cobblebank Campus participated in a painting workshop led by Indigenous artist Charlee Johnson of Merindah-Gunya, an organisation dedicated to storytelling through art and educating young people about the beauty of Indigenous culture.

We asked Cobblebank Culture Captain Akanksha to tell us more about the event.

“On Wednesday 9 September, Cobblebank students from Years 7 to 10 signed up to participate in a Merindah-Gunya workshop. The workshop dived deeper into an Indigenous artwork session. We learnt about the different meanings symbols carried when creating art and how they were used for storytelling. We created our own stories by drawing symbols, then shared with the class what each symbol meant in our story. I enjoyed how the students all took the time to come together and learn more about the history of our country, which we walk on today.”

Imra Banu

Project Officer, Indigenous Program

Art Teacher Climbs for a Cause

SFCC Art teacher Simon Simpson recently ran up 28 flights of stairs at the Crown Metropol Hotel with 25kg of firefighting kit while breathing from an apparatus on his back, all to raise money for mental health and cancer research.

With his team from the Country Fire Authority (CFA) Bacchus Marsh Brigade, Simon joined the annual Melbourne Firefighter Stair Climb. The brigade raised $12,018, contributing to the $1,093,383 total, which will go to Lifeline, the Peter MacCallum Cancer Foundation and 000 Foundation.

Simon has been a CFA member for 10 years. But the only thing burning for this fireman on the day of the stair climb were his legs after completing the race in eight minutes and thirteen seconds.

“It was an awesome event. It’s inspiring to see so many firefighters come together in a competitive spirit to push their mental and physical limits for charity,” said Simon.

The Melbourne Firefighter Stair Climb honours the 343 firefighters who lost their lives in the line of duty in New York on 11 September 2001.

Well done Simon!

You still have time to donate to Simon's fundraising page via this link www.firefighterclimb.org.au/climber/simonsimpson/.

Year 8 Humanities Medieval Incursion

Last week, Year 8 students at both campuses were taken back in time to the medieval period to discover what life was like. 

Students explored topics such as crime and punishment, weapons and armour, fashion and dress, and women's roles.

They interacted with a range of props and artefacts as presenters delivered workshops on key topics. At the end of the session, students could try their hand at being a chivalrous knight in a tournament-style activity.

We hope the students appreciated an interactive introduction to medieval Europe. 

Student reflections

"It was an educational day where we learnt a lot about medieval European history. The highlight for me was the knights fighting. We learnt about the different techniques that knights used when fighting, the different weapons and armour that were used and how it changed over time." Hamreet, Cobblebank Campus

The medieval incursion was fun. I enjoyed the archery, weapons, and armour, and I also liked being able to enjoy it with my friends. My favourite part was probably the tournament. Something I learnt is that if a king or queen gets punished they would kill them and put their heads on stakes in front of a bridge, which I didn’t know and also found really interesting." Mathio, Melton Campus

Year 10 Cobblebank Hospitality Excursion

Our Year 10 Hospitality students recently enjoyed an exciting and inspiring excursion to William Angliss Institute and The Hotel Windsor in Melbourne. 

Students explored the wide range of hospitality, tourism, and culinary courses available at William Angliss, gaining valuable insights into future study and career pathways.

The highlight of the day was a luxury high tea at The Hotel Windsor, where students gained a behind-the-scenes look at the hospitality industry. 

They also had the opportunity to engage in a valuable discussion with the Head Chef, who shared expert advice on planning and catering a high tea event. 

This experience will directly support students as they prepare for their Term 4 assessment task: organising and hosting a High Tea Charity Event in support of St Vincent de Paul.

The excursion gave students authentic industry experience, practical knowledge, and inspiration for their future careers in hospitality.

Turning Compassion into Action - our Homeless Winter Appeal

The Faith and Mission Action Team had a very busy and rewarding Term 3, leading our annual Homeless Winter Appeal across both campuses. 

Throughout the term, we held a range of initiatives to raise awareness of homelessness and encourage our students, staff and families to support people experiencing hardship in our local community.

The appeal began with our official launch, followed by the College Winter Appeal BBQ, Double Points Food Friday collection, Winter Sleepout and House collections.

Throughout Term 3, donations began arriving from each House in bags and boxes of all shapes and sizes. Our community generously donated new and pre-loved clothing, homewares, soft furnishings, books, hygiene products and food items.

During the final week of the appeal, members of the Faith and Mission Action Team came together to sort and count the donations. We were truly overwhelmed by the generosity of our students, families and staff.

An incredible 5,401+ items were collected!

This is an outstanding achievement and a wonderful reflection of the compassion and generosity of our College community. 

While we recognise that times are challenging for many families, our community continued to dig deep to provide support to those who need it most.

The Winter Sleepout was another important part of our campaign, providing students with an opportunity to develop a deeper understanding of homelessness and the challenges faced by people experiencing housing insecurity. Students participated in activities designed to build empathy, hear firsthand experiences and reflect on the importance of supporting others.

This week, two students shared their reflections on this year's Winter Sleepout.

“The Winter Sleepout, year after year, never ceases to bring me back down to earth. Sleeping on the floor after we spend the night learning about homelessness always makes me truly happy and grateful for my bed, whilst also making me more motivated to help those who are not as privileged.

"Throughout the night, members of St Vincent de Paul Conference, Maureen and Bianca, spoke to us about the harsh reality faced by those experiencing homelessness and what we can do to help. We then participated in activities that replicated some of the difficult decisions many homeless people must make every day, and created inspirational quote cards to accompany our donations in this year's Winter Appeal.

"Later that evening, watching The Pursuit of Happyness deepened my empathy even further. While uplifting, it is also a realistic and moving depiction of homelessness. The story follows a man who loses his home due to extreme financial difficulties and is forced to find safe places for himself and his son to sleep each night. Despite hitting rock bottom, he remains strong for his son and never stops believing in his pursuit of happiness.

"The Winter Sleepout reminded me that, while many people in our community are still pursuing happiness, those of us who have a roof over our heads, access to education, clean water, food and a safe bed at night have a responsibility to help those who do not. At the end of the day, we are all people on our own pursuit of one thing - happiness.” Erin, Year 12, Melton Campus

“The Winter Sleepout was a meaningful experience that built awareness and empathy. By engaging in different activities, we were able to experience a fraction of the stress and anxiety that people experiencing homelessness go through. I learnt a lot and will definitely be participating next year. I highly recommend others do too! Marianne, Year 11, Melton Campus

The Faith and Mission Action Team from both campuses would like to extend our sincere thanks to everyone for their continued generosity and support throughout the Homeless Winter Appeal. Every donation, contribution and act of kindness makes a difference and we thank you for helping us turn compassion into action.

Instrumental Music Soirees

Throughout 2026, our Instrumental Music students have showcased their hard work and talents at our Instrumental Soirees. These performances gave students the chance to share the pieces they developed throughout the year with their friends and families.

Throughout the year, we celebrated performances from students learning Percussion, Brass, Woodwind, Piano, Vocals, and Guitar, with each soiree highlighting the dedication and progress of our students and their instrumental teachers.

It has been fantastic to see students take to the stage, build their confidence as performers and celebrate their musical achievements with the support of their families and the wider College community.

Huge congratulations to all our students who performed throughout the 2026 Instrumental Soiree series, and thank you to our Instrumental Music Team and families for their continued support.

Readers Rise to the Challenge

The beginning of September marked the end of the 2026 Premiers’ Reading Challenge and we are pleased to announce that it has been our College’s most successful year to date. 

Between March and September, nine students completed the 15-book challenge. Another 25 students read at least 5 books.

We would like to congratulate Year 7 students Ebony, Kirat K, Lyla, Spoorthi, Gurdarshan Singh, Krithi and Teerdha, and Year 8 students Hunar and Tilly, on successfully completing the Challenge.

A fantastic achievement by all our participating students - congratulations on your commitment to reading. We hope you found a new author or favourite book along the way.

Italy Calls for College Football Captain

Year 11 Melton student and footballer Nick will take his talents overseas during the school holidays, travelling to Milan to train and play against elite Italian clubs.

Nick captained the Bulleen Lions FC Under-16 squad to victory on Sunday 6 September, defeating Hume City FC 2-0 for the Division 1 Boys Victorian Youth Premier League (BVYPL) Championship title.

Later this month, the squad will depart for northern Italy on an international tour program, established to give elite junior players the opportunity to train and develop against world-class European talent.

As a key player and captain of the Melton Senior Boys Football team this year, Nick was a model of good sportsmanship and a calm leader during difficult matches. He also volunteered his time to coach the Year 7 Boys' Premier League Football team in 2025.

We wish Nick all the best in Milan and look forward to hearing about his experience next term.

Success in the Ring

Well done to Year 8 Lawrence House student Ricky who represented Victoria in a boxing tournament in New Zealand recently.

Although his first-day match ended in a loss after a bout that could have gone either way, Ricky won on day two against a former NZ champion and recent international Golden Gloves winner.

Overall, the Victorian team had a successful tournament and brought the trophy back to Australia.

Jordan Reithofer

Lawrence House Leader