February has been a month painted in red – the colour of love, laughter, and a few too many heart-shaped chocolates! In our 2026 them: A Rainbow of Possibilities, we are reminded that love isn’t just about Valentine’s cards, but about kindness, friendship, and the joy of learning together. As one wise soul once said, “The more we share, the more we have” – and our school community has certainly proved that true.

As the long summer days roll on and the heat makes ice creams melt faster than homework excuses, our pupils have found their rhythm in school life, and it is wonderful to see such happy faces.

Next month we’ll be splashing into orange, the colour of creativity and imagination. So, get ready: if February was about hearts, March will be about ideas so bright they’ll practically glow!

And to our parents—thank you for keeping the rhythm going at home too. Between sunscreen, school shoes, and snack boxes, you’re the real conductors of this summer symphony. May your days be as bright as our rainbow and just a little less sticky than our classrooms after Valentine’s chocolate!

The Grade 7 class have started the year with a bang! They recently received their Grade 7 hoodie and are looking amazing! We hope this year is everything they wish it to be, there is something special about ending your primary school years with those that have walked it with you. In a few months their next adventure awaits!

Grade 6 Valentine’s Market a Sweet Success!

On Friday, 13 February, our Grade 6 learners hosted a truly spectacular Valentine’s Market fundraiser — and what a success it was!

The Grade 6s worked incredibly hard to prepare a variety of delicious, sweet treats and beautiful Valentine’s crafts. From mouth-watering cupcakes and homemade sweets to creative, heartfelt gifts, there was something special for everyone. The festive atmosphere was filled with excitement, laughter, and plenty of Valentine’s cheer.

One of the highlights of the day was the two raffle draws — one for the children and one for the adults. A massive congratulations to Che Goldstone (Grade 2), who won the children’s raffle prize! The adult raffle prize was won by Van Dace — well done!

We would like to extend a heartfelt thank you to all the Grade 6 parents who gave so generously of their time, creativity, and support to make the market possible. Your involvement played a vital role in the success of the event.

Finally, thank you to our students and families for your incredible support. Your enthusiasm and participation made the day both meaningful and memorable.

Well done, Grade 6 — you should be extremely proud of what you achieved!

Buzzing with Creativity in the Art Room! 

There has been plenty of creativity happening in the Art Room this term, with our Grade 4, 5 and 7 learners producing some truly eye-catching work.

The Grade 4 and Grade 5 classes recently went buggy for bugs!

Our Grade 4 learners explored the vibrant world of beetles using pastel on black card. The contrast between the bold, bright colours and the dark background made their beetles absolutely pop off the page. The results were striking, detailed, and full of personality.

The Grade 5 learners took a slightly different approach, combining water colours and fine liner pens to create their beautiful bug artworks. They carefully blended washes of colour before adding intricate pen details, resulting in delicate yet bold insect masterpieces.

Meanwhile, our Grade 7 learners have been diving deeper into the foundations of art. They have been learning about art elements and principles, as well as exploring colour theory. To bring their knowledge together, they created a unique collage of art elements using a leaf as their base. Each artwork cleverly demonstrated concepts such as line, shape, texture, balance and contrast, all thoughtfully arranged within the natural outline of the leaf.

It is wonderful to see our learners experimenting with different media, developing technical skills, and expressing their creativity in such imaginative ways. Well done to all our young artists for their hard work and enthusiasm! 

Interhouse Gala took place at the River Club on 5 February 2026.

The points were quite close for the first two strokes but by the end of the gala we had a clear winner.

Even though Musselcracker got an extra 10 points for the best war cry, they still came in 3rd place, just behind Yellowtail, with Red Roman in first.

The gala took place on a humid summers' day, with a few parents wishing they too could jump in the pool.

Well done to the kids that participated, and a special mention to all those that set new records.

Big thanks to River Club for always accommodating us so well. Overall, the event went swimmingly!

This term, St Francis College proudly introduced Water Polo as a new extra-mural offering. We’ve had a fantastic turnout, with players enthusiastically learning basic ball skills, treading water techniques, and the fundamentals of gameplay. It has been wonderful to see their confidence and teamwork grow each week. We are excited to see this dynamic sport develop even further at St Francis College. A heartfelt thank you to the River Club for generously hosting our practices and supporting the launch of this exciting new programme.

Grade 4 getting the school garden ready for the 2026 garden competition 👩‍🌾🧑‍🌾

Why did the turtle cross the road, to get to St Francis College!  Yesterday we were visited by a terrapin just before assembly. Luckily, we have a school, farm dam to release him to. What a privilege to have a special animal like this walk right onto our school field 🐢

On Friday 23 January all children were invited to ditch their normal school bag for something outrageous!

To enhance the interest and joy of Reading, we have launched headfirst into 2026 by encouraging the children to read books of interest and ability. The Grade one to grade six classes exposed their classmates to the various books they are currently reading by giving book reviews, which helped those unable to decide what to read, an idea of what is available.
The ECD department have been delighted in the different methods of storytelling and then completing an activity relevant to the book.

We have been practicing for the Kids Lit Quiz 2026, which will take place in Port Elizabeth in March. We have entered two teams and once again, look forward to the experience and challenge.

During the December holidays Maya Kotzé participated in the Provincial Champs as part of the Eastern Province Team. Well done, Maya!

Chess got off to an early start with the first SBDCU Trials taking place on the 17th January in Jeffrey’s Bay with 5 of our SFC players taking part. Maya Kotzé, Ricky Anderson, Mila Meyer, Beckett Anderson and Markus Kleynhans. There are 9 trails of which each child has to participate in 3 of them to be considered for the district team. Maya and Ricky were selected to play in the Spartans Bishops Inter- Provincial Tournament in May 2026. 

Congratulations also to Louis Benz from Grade 3 who played in a fundraiser last weekend and came third in his age group.  We are so very proud of you all! ♟️⭐

The Schools’ League will start after half-term. There are 9 schools in the league. We look forward to some stiff competition.

A number of children from St Francis College competed in the Eastern Cape Lifesaving event (EC Champs) over the weekend of 14 and 15 February 2026.

11 different events on the beach and in the water, both team and individual events were on offer. The events test the running, surf swimming, board and fitness of the children as well as stretch their endurance and resilience, building team spirit. 

Thank you to the parents, staff, governing body and pupils from Grade 4 to 7 that completed our Stakeholders survey.  

Our management team will be going through each recommendation and seeing what we can do to make the school better and better as we move into 2026.

A copy of the results will be emailed to the school community.