Mr Nathan Hayes will lead St Francis of Assisi College.

Nathan has extensive regional Catholic education experience including nine years in leadership roles.

He and his wife Tamara and three children are settling into the Riverland community.

Nathan is visiting local towns meeting young people and parents, engaging with the local Catholic primary school principals, developing the secondary education plan, overseeing uniform design, working closely with the builders to progress construction plans and much more.

The process has also begun to recruit and build the inaugural staff team of quality leaders and educators, and establish strong parish, community and industry partnerships.

Nathan is based at the temporary school office at 129 Renmark Avenue, Renmark, and openly invites contact at principal@assisi.catholic.edu.au. 

The College will open with Year 7 and 8 in 2022. 
Year 9 will commence in 2023 with a year level added annually until we grow to be a Year 7 to 12 learning community by 2026.

The College has been named after St Francis of Assisi, reflecting its founding principles aligned with Integral Ecology and the aspirations of Laudato Si', Pope Francis’ teaching on our call to care for ourselves, each other and our common home, Earth. 

St Francis remains an inspirational figure for people of all faiths. Many of the stories that surround the life of Saint Francis show that he responded with deep care to those who were vulnerable and had a great love for animals and the environment.

St Francis of Assisi lived a joyful, hope-filled life “in simplicity and in wonderful harmony with God, showing the inseparable bond between concern for nature, justice for the poor, commitment to society and interior peace.”

Pope Francis has invited us through Laudato Si' to praise all of creation; to be stewards of the talents we have been given, to share these gifts with each other and to walk gently on the Earth. 

The Year 7 to 12 College enables a strengthened Catholic education pathway from Reception to Year 12 and beyond for families and young people of the Riverland region. 

The positive partnerships between all Catholic schools will ensure a continuation of quality Catholic education and values. Equally, St Francis of Assisi will offer strong transition support for children from all regional primary schools whose families are choosing a Catholic secondary education with us.

The College will develop a wide range of partnerships with community, government community agencies, industry, other schooling sectors, Catholic Education SA, tertiary providers, local parishes of all faiths, and, most importantly with families, to cater for the diverse learning and post-school pathways for students. Contributing to the local and broader community are central to the Colleges ethos.

Thank you to the members of the local Catholic school communities who have been meeting regularly as part of an Advisory Committee, providing valuable regional insight and parent perspectives to planning, including consultation to develop the College values, emblem and uniform.

We will be seeking volunteers for future committees to ensure parental involvement in creating our exciting new community and culture throughout 2021.

Nathan warmly invites interested parents to email principal@assisi.catholic.edu.au if you’d like to be involved as development continues throughout 2021.

Nathan Hayes will lead an engaging student transition process throughout 2021. Student voice is a College Pillar and throughout 2021 the Year 6 and 7 students at the Riverland Parish Primary Schools will play a key role in shaping the school culture at St Francis of Assisi College.  Across 2021 there will be formal transition experiences for our students starting in 2022. True to our aspiration of providing individualised student pathways, the transition experiences will ensure every student will have the best possible start to the school year.

St Francis of Assisi College will provide excellent Catholic secondary education.

Learning will be contemporary and innovative in its design, including core subjects and a comprehensive range of elective options. Literacy and numeracy will be integral across all curriculum areas.

Students will have a voice in planning personalised learning tasks, in consultation with parents and teachers.

A specialised middle-school curriculum will prepare young people for the SACE and multiple pathways in senior years. A focus on entrepreneurship will be a key feature of the creative learning program. 
Students will benefit from a custom-built Year 7 to 12 STEM and Arts Centre, Food Technology Lab and Design Technology workshop, which will be established for 2022. Students will access on-site spiritual cultural and sporting activities via curriculum and co-curriculum programs.

Blended learning
Advances in technology have led to innovations in digital learning and teaching. Students will benefit from accessing the strengths of both online and face-to-face learning, and from an innovative technology plan that will enable blended and highly interactive learning throughout the College.

Faith

Compassion

Integrity

Acceptance

Care

We are designing a school relevant for today and for the future. Buildings will be light-filled and provide creative opportunities to suit the many and varying learning needs of young people.

There will be collaborative spaces, quiet spaces, tutorial spaces, student meeting rooms ‘make-a-space’ concepts and state of the art technology. The ‘added extras’ such as ‘heat n eat’ bars encourage independence and trust, and combine the holistic approach to student learning and developing capabilities. 

Specialist care has been considered in our administration centre with two consulting rooms deliberately placed for students and families to access localised, integrated allied health and educational consultants.

Our sustainability focus has influenced school design with excellent north/south orientation and sun analysis, strategic shade, deliberate choice of materials, and consideration of waste management, water retention, solar, etc. School veggie gardens and permaculture will be a feature of the curriculum and co-curriculum program

St Francis of Assisi’s comprehensive fee strategy will reflect our commitment to provide a Reception to Year 12 pathway for Catholic Education in the Riverland.  The fee structure will be commensurate with those of the existing Catholic regional secondary schools in South Australia.  The underlying principle of access to all underpins this approach, and finances will not be a barrier for families to access a Catholic education.

An upfront fee structure 
To avoid unforeseen costs throughout the year, all tuition costs will be included within one set annual fee. The annual fee includes an annual student diary, stationery, student ID cards, year level camps, retreats, swimming lessons, excursions, textbooks and any general educational events organised by the College. 

The fee also includes a personal laptop computer for each student, replaced every 3 years.

*Year 11 and 12 subject-specific camps, excursions or VET-related fees may incur additional costs.

Bus services will be available for students across the Riverland to travel to and from the College.
Routes will cover as much of the region as possible as we endeavour to ensure a secondary education is accessible across the Riverland.

More information about our heavily subsidised service will be provided in early 2021.

Further, if families are experiencing hardship, additional financial transportation support can be arranged with the school.