Our School - Our Crest and Motto

Our Crest and Motto tell us something about our school, our spirit and what we try to achieve at the College.

The shape of the crest is the traditional SHIELD. A shield can be seen as protective armour or something that guards or defends. Both our faith and our education can be seen this way. Education is not only what is learned at school, but what is learned during life through contact with others, and through literature, the lessons of history, through appreciation of art, and through our own thoughts and experiences along the way.

There are four symbols on the crest:

The ornate M, after the style of medieval illuminated manuscripts, is always a part of the crest of schools affiliated with the Marist Brothers and reminds us that St Francis was established initially as a Marist School. The M stands for Mary, Mother of God. Mary is also the Patroness of Australia, a protector of us all.

The BOOK is a symbol of the Book of Knowledge or Learning. It also symbolises the Word of God, on which we model our lives.

The LAMP symbolises the light shining in the darkness. Knowledge dispels ignorance in the same way that light dispels darkness. Developing our minds and intellects through what is done at school ensures that we are not condemned to ignorance about important matters or make poor decisions because of lack of information or understanding.

The SOUTHERN CROSS situates us in our part of the world and symbolises our Australian heritage. Australia was named by the early European explorers during their sea voyages to this part of the world. A Portuguese seaman, Pedro De Quiros, set out to find the Great South Land. Coming across a land mass in 1606, he named it Austrialia del Espirtu Santo-Australia, land of the Holy Spirit. The symbol of the Southern Cross in our sky every night reminds us of this blessing bestowed on our land in an earlier part of our story.

The colours of the College Crest are blue and white.

The College Motto is Virtute et Constantia-translated as Courage and Perseverence. Courage-meaning moral goodness, integrity, gallantry. Perseverance meaning-constancy, firmness, consistency, steadfastness and self-discipline. Reflecting on and trying to follow these virtues will help us, not only during our time at school, but throughout our whole lives.