Upcoming Sporting Dates

Regional Swim Sports- Tuesday 10th March
Whole School Cross Country at St Francis 9.15am-11am: Wednesday 1/4 (second last day of Term 1, day before Good Friday)
State Swimming Sports- Thursday 23rd April
Division Cross Country- Friday 15th May (for yr 3-6's qualifying on from our school cross country)

School Cross Country

Details regarding the event were sent out Wednesday, please check your emails.
You can find start times and distances below, we start with the boys in each year level first, followed by the girls in that year level.
We would love to see as many parents/ guardians and supporters there as possible.

Coffee storm will be available, should you like to purchase a coffee.

CROSS COUNTRY START TIMES
Race Time	Year Level	Distance
9.15am	6	3km
9.25am	5	3km
9.40am	4	2km
9.55am	3	2km
10.10am	2	2km
10.25am	1	1km
10.40am	Fdn	600m

While students have been and will continue to be presented with opportunities to practice for the cross country at school, supporting your child outside of school would be very beneficial.

Coffee storm will be available, should you wish to purchase a coffee.

Age groups

School Sport Victoria (SSV) stipulates that ages are determined as of 31 December for all individual events. If your child chooses to compete in an age group below their date-of-birth designated category, they must understand that they will not be eligible for ribbons, medals, or progression to subsequent competitions. This policy ensures fairness.

Division Swimming

Last Friday on the 27th of February, we had 26 students competing at the Divisional Swimming Sports at the Bendigo East Swimming Pool. We had a really successful day; it was a lot of fun. Five people made it through in their individual events. They were Seb, Eloise and Josh Rodda for backstroke, and Fleur Muling, Gus Arundell and Josh Rodda for breaststroke.

We also had a lot of swimmers who came second and third in individual events. They were... Will Cambell, Leo Mason, Charlie Rodda, Seb Rodda, Harper Lockhart, Eloise Rodda Jasmine Marshall, Lucy Fidler and Elke Cowan.

Well done to all these people.

We were also very successful in our relay events. In our relay events we had four firsts: these were the 10 girls, the 12 boys and the 11 girls freestyle relay teams and our open girls medley relay team. We also had three relay teams come second, and one relay team come third. All of the people that won events will move on to the regional competition in Swan Hill on Tuesday 10th of March. We would like to acknowledge Mrs. Coates for all the work she has put in and to Mrs. Zealley, Miss Ryan, and Mrs. O’Connor for their help on the day.

By Josh Rodda and Eloise Rodda

St Francis of the Fields Swimming Captains

Our students represented the school beautifully with outstanding effort and attitudes at the Division Swimming Championships. It was fantastic to see them supporting one another and getting behind each St Francis student, willing them all the way to the wall. Their encouragement, teamwork, and pride in representing the school were a credit to our community.

Individual Results

1st Place

Seb Rodda – Backstroke
Eloise Rodda – Backstroke
Josh Rodda – Backstroke
Fleur Muling – Breaststroke
Gus Arundell – Breaststroke
Josh Rodda – Breaststroke

2nd Place

Will Campbell – Backstroke
Leo Mason – Breaststroke
Charlie Rodda – Butterfly
Seb Rodda – Butterfly
Harper Lockhart – Butterfly
Eloise Rodda – Butterfly

3rd Place

Jasmine Marshall – Backstroke
Lucy Fidler – Breaststroke
Elke Cowan – Breaststroke

Relay Results

10 Girls – 1st - Charlie Rodda, Sophia Byron, Billie Fidler, Fleur Muling
10 Boys – 2nd - Archie Stagg, Harvey Rhode, Gus Arundell, Sebastian Rodda
11 Girls – 1st - Harper Lockhart, Lucy Fidler, Sienna Royden, Jasmin Marshall
11 Boys – 3rd - Banjo Place, Wes Sharp, Xavier Hogan, Will Campbell
12 Girls – 2nd - Bella Hope, Maggie Mansfield, Elke Cowan, Eloise Rodda
12 Boys – 1st - Tom Mason, Iden Lau, Quade Baker, Josh Rodda
Girls Medley Relay – 1st - Jasmine Marshall, Elke Cowan, Eloise Rodda, Bella Hope
Boys Medley Relay – 2nd - Leo Mason, Josh Rodda, Sebastian Rodda, Tom Mason

Congratulations to all students on their excellent performances and sportsmanship. We are incredibly proud of your efforts and the way you represent our school. All the best to our qualifiers ahead of Tuesday’s Region event!

Running / Cross Country Preparation

Each Monday and Wednesday recess, we will be offering the students an opportunity to improve their running capacity. We aim for these to be short, but effective. We hope to see more students join over the coming weeks! Students are encouraged to check the PE notice board outside the shed for any changes. Students' classroom teachers also have access to this information.

World Champion at Assembly TOMORROW

Tomorrow - Friday 6 March - at our assembly, we are incredibly excited to welcome Milanke Haasbroek back!

Milanke will be sharing her experience competing at the World Modern Pentathlon Championships, where she represented her country on the world stage and achieved outstanding success.

This is a wonderful opportunity for our students to hear firsthand about resilience, discipline, and what it takes to compete at the highest level of sport. We look forward to celebrating her incredible achievement together and being inspired by her journey.

Ford Bendigo Fun Run

Congratulations to the many students and family members who competed over the weekend, we love seeing our community out there giving it a go!

A special mention to Ada Emerson (1st) and Airlie Intamanon (2nd) for making the podium in the Women’s 3km, what an outstanding achievement!

Well done to everyone involved.

On Sunday, Zander O'Keefe took part in the Bendigo Health Fun Run. Zander completed the 3km run.

State Little Athletics

All the best to our students competing over the weekend! Go well.

Other important dates in 2026

Swimming

Divisional Swimming Championships: Friday 27 Feb
Regional Swimming Championships (Swan Hill): Tuesday 10 Mar
State Swimming Championships (Melbourne): Thursday 23 Apr
Junior Swimming: Tuesday 3, Wednesday 4, Thursday 5, Friday 6 Nov

Cross Country

Whole School Cross Country at St Francis 9.15am-11am: Wednesday 1 Apr
Division Cross Country (Year 3-6’s): Friday 15 May
Regional Cross Country (St Arnaud): Tuesday 2 June
State Cross Country (Melbourne): Thursday 16 July

Athletics

School Athletics Sports (3-6’s): Friday 24 July
Catholic Swimming Championship: TBC
Divisional Athletics Championship: Monday 14 Sept
Regional Athletics Championship: Monday 12 Oct
School Athletic Sports (Fdn- Year 2) on the oval 9.15-11am: Friday 30 Oct
State Athletics Championship (Melbourne): Thursday 5 Nov

PE Awards

Each assembly week, we present some tuck shop awards.

The criterion for receiving these awards is very straightforward. Students demonstrating outstanding sportsmanship, effort, and attitude will be the prime candidates for these awards.

Congratulations:

An addition to this week’s PE Awards is the presentation of several Spirit of Sport Awards. These awards recognise our Year 6 students who assisted and supported our kickboard swimmers at the school sports.

Their leadership, encouragement and willingness to help ensured all swimmers felt confident, supported and included on the day. We are incredibly proud of the maturity and kindness they demonstrated.

Congratulations to our Spirit of Sport Awardee’s:

Sophia Byron

Sporting News

Parents, if you have sporting news that should be shared in the newsletter, please send through a completed write up and picture to:

dcoates@sfstrathfieldsaye.catholic.edu.au

Danielle Coates - PE Coordinator

St Francis Basketball Club

The Winter 2026 Basketball registrations are now open. Students from prep thru grade 6 can register to play this season which runs for Term 2 and 3. The season starts April 20th. You can find more information on our website:

https://stfrancisbasketball.majestri.com.au/home

The registration link can be found on the above website or on the Facebook page 'St Francis Basketball '

Community Sporting notices

Learning and Teaching