Upcoming Sporting Dates

Palmers Gymnastics (Year 5 & Year 6) 26th November
Palmers Gymnastics (Year 3 & Year 4) 27th November
Palmers Gymnastics (Year 3 & Year 6) 21st November
Junior (Fdn - Yr2) Athletic Sports Morning - 27th November
State Cricket - 27th November

F-2 Athletics Morning

On Thursday, 27th of November the students in Fdn - Yr2 will be having a ‘Mini Athletics Morning’ held on the school oval. We will focus on participation and encouraging students to do their very best while enjoying the morning.

The students will participate in a variety of events starting from 9.15am and finishing just before 11.00am. The students will compete in modified running events, hurdles, long jump, shot put and discus.

Please note, there is no ‘winner’ awarded as such, as mentioned above, the focus is purely around participation and enjoying the activities.

We encourage the students to wear their house colours on the day:

Clare- yellow

Francis- green

Backhaus- blue

Mackillop- red

this can include ribbons, face paint, coloured t-shirts etc. The students will participate in their year level.

It would be great to see as many parents there as possible cheering and encouraging the efforts of all students.

We hope it will be a nice day for the event.

We will also have a coffee van for you to enjoy!

Divisional & Regional Cricket

On Wednesday the 7th of November, 4 teams (2 boys & 2 girl's teams - 2 A’s and 2 B’s) set off to CMC to represent the school in cricket. Everyone was pumped and nervous and the captains were ready to take charge and lead the teams to victory. In the A’s boy team, the first team we versed was Marist and we got smashed for the first game which lowered our confidence and that meant we couldn’t make it to the next stage, but we held our heads high and still smashed the rest of our games. The boys B team weren’t as lucky as the B girls who just lost in the grand final. The girls A's were the only team to move on undefeated and moved on to regionals where they won all rounds and the final by a solid margin, they will compete at the STATE CHAMPIONSHIP now. The girl’s 2nd team won all their pool games and came second in the semifinals.

Everyone had a great day, all thanks to Mr Taylor and Mr Hartney for selecting the teams and thanks to all the coaches, Mr Hartney, Ms Ryan, Mrs Zealley and Mrs Exell and thanks to Mrs Coates for all the behind-the-scenes organisation.

By Eddie Perry & Bailey Stratton

Congratulations to all our cricketers! We hope you enjoyed the experience and sharpened that hand-eye coordination throughout all the training and game opportunities!

We wish our girls all the best as they battle it out at the State Championship today!

State Athletics

On the 6th of November, 28 students from our school competed in the State Athletics Championships. That was the most people from our school competing since 2017. All six of our relay teams made it as well as four people who only did individual events.

Overall, the day was a success, two of our relay teams made it to the finals (Grade 4 girls and Grade 5 boys). The Grade 4 girls were our most successful coming fifth, and every relay team bet their PB by at least 2 seconds, some by a whopping 5 seconds!! Josh Rodda competed in 1500m and 800m, Lotti Child competed in 1500m and 800m, Milanke Hasbrook competed 1500m and 800m, Lyla Edwards competed in 1500m and 800m, Ada Emerson competed in 1500m and 800m, Makayla Jackson competed in Long Jump and Triple Jump. Hannah Miller competed in Triple Jump. Adelaide was in the 100m sprint and went through to the final. Bella was in the 200m and Tilly competed in discus.

All the students who represented our school competed extremely well and we would like to thank Mrs Coates for training us and putting in her efforts so we could compete at our best. Thanks also to Mrs Flood & Mrs Zealley for their support.

By Mackenzie Jackson, Makayla Jackson, Elliot Kelly & River Davies- Track & Field Captains.

Sport has a special way of teaching lessons that reach far beyond the sporting arena. Over the many months leading up to States, our students have learnt about dedication, consistency, showing up, even when things don’t go perfectly, giving their best, being a supportive teammate, celebrating others’ success, showing humility in defeat, and taking pride in their own efforts. Each of our 28 students represented our school incredibly well, it was such a privilege to watch them compete and give their all! I hope this is an experience they all look back on fondly and I’m grateful to have been able to go on the journey with our wonderful students!

A special mention to our relay emergencies, who attended many training sessions and stepped in to compete when needed. Your dedication and team-first mentality greatly contributed to the team’s overall success, and for that, we are all incredibly grateful.

Thank you: Lyla Edwards, Archie Dubyna, Elke Cowan, Nash McMaster, Audrey Brown, and Harvey Edgley.

Finally, a big thank you to Mrs. Flood for assisting with preparing the students.

Results

PB = Personal Best

200m	Relay- 4 x 100m
Bella Hope- 12th PB	12/13yr Girls - 11th PB Layla Hand, Ivy Pinner Makayla Jackson, Mackenzie Jackson 12/13yr Boys - 12th PB Connor McCormick, Jude Place Lenny Anderson, Elliot Kelly 11yr Girls - 16th PB Tilly Stewart, Albie Tyler Poppy Baker, Bella Hope 11yr Boys - 7th PB Quade Baker, Nathan Nzegwu Jenson Chambers, Logan Chambers 9/10yr Girls - 5th PB Airlie Intamanon, Hannah Millar Ada Emmerson, Adelaide Ciancio 9/10yr Boys - 12th PB Lohan Bulota, Banjo Place Will Campbell, Toby Chandra Thio
100m
Adelaide Ciancio- 5th PB
800m
Ada Emmerson- 14th
Lotti Childs- 13th
Lyla Edwards- 4th PB
Milanke Haasbroek- 6th
Josh Rodda- 11th PB
1500m
Ada Emmerson- 8th PB
Lotti Childs- 13th
Lyla Edwards- 4th PB
Milanke Haasbroek- 7th
Josh Rodda- 9th PB
Triple Jump
Makayla Jackson- 10th
Hannah Millar- 7th
Discus
Tilly Stewart- 13th
Long Jump
Makayla Jackson- 6th

Regional Basketball:

On Tuesday the 11th of November the grade six girls’ basketball team competed at the regional basketball in swan hill. After a long bus ride, we arrived at Swan Hill stadium to prepare for our first game.

First up we played Saint Mary’s, Echuca who were strong, but we managed to win (). Next up we had our hardest pool game against Sacred Heart, Mildura. They were tough and competitive, but we managed to take our second win of the day. Our third game of the day was against Kyneton Primary; they were one of our easiest opponents of the day and we managed to take another strong win (4-58).

After winning all our pool games we warmed up in preparation for a semi final against St Therese’s. All game we fought hard with intensity, but they managed to take away the win (23-18). Thank you to Dan Rogers for all the time you have given up coaching us. Also, a big thankyou to Mrs Zealley for your support and Mrs Coates for your support and organising everything, it is really appreciated by all of us.

By Chloe McSwain & Eme Arundell- Basketball Captains

Congratulations to our girls, they represented the school beautifully and displayed outstanding sportsmanship. They’re wonderful players, but the way they conducted themselves is a real credit to them.

A big thank you to Clinton McSwain and Dan Rodgers for generously giving their time over many weeks to coach the girls, and an extra thank you to Dan for coaching them so brilliantly on Tuesday. Also, Mrs Zealley for your support of the girls.

State Laser Run, Triathle & Obstacle Laser Run Championships

Last weekend, Milanke Haasbroek took part in the State Laser Run, Triathle and Obstacle Laser Run (OLR) Championships, an exciting event that offers young athletes the chance to experience Modern Pentathlon’s dynamic pathway sports. Across the day, athletes competed in a range of events, including:

Laser Run – run laps combined with precision laser shooting
Triathle – laser shooting, run, and swim
Obstacle Laser Run (OLR) – a new, fast-paced format combining an obstacle course with the Laser Run

A huge congratulations to Milanke, who had wonderful results:

Laser Run (U13)- 1st
Obstacle Laser Run – Ninja/Obstacle (U13)- 1st
Triathle – Swim, Run, Laser Shoot (U15)- 1st

Milanke showed fantastic determination across all three disciplines, demonstrating focus in the laser shooting, great strength and agility on the obstacle course, and excellent endurance in the run and swim components. We are incredibly proud of her achievements and the way she approached each event with confidence and a positive attitude.

Well done, Milanke!

Gymnastics Achievement

On Sunday 16th November Emily Rupe (1SF) represented Palmer’s Gym in a friendly gymnastics competition against the Deniliquin Flipstars. Emily’s team came 2nd on apparatus, 1st on the ninja warrior course, and 1st on the trampoline. They ended up being the overall champions in the 5 – 7 year old age group.

Congratulations, Emily!

PE Awards

Each assembly week, we present a tuck shop award.

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:

Sam Palmer
Pippa Fishley

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 Newsletter

Term 4 Week 7 · 20 Nov 2025

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