St Gregory's College Newsletter

From the College Principal 

Dear Parents, Carers, Students and Friends of the St Gregory’s College Community,

 

Wow! Where did that year go! The year has passed in the blink of an eye! It is hard to believe that I am sitting down to write my final College Newsletter article for the close of the 2019 year – the end of my first year as Principal of this great College. It only feels like last week that I was sitting at my desk writing the first Newsletter for 2019 – surely not!

 

At the outset of this final Newsletter for 2019 and on a personal note, I would like to say thank you to the St Gregory’s community for supporting me as the College Principal, for your honest feedback, and for your friendship over my first year at the College. I very much look forward to continuing to serve the College over the coming years.

 

It has been an absolute privilege for me to again lead the College over the past year and to witness the continuing growth of our school. I am not sure if you agree with me, but I have a strong sense that our College has ‘grown’ considerably during the past twelve months and we are continuing to develop and foster - a great culture of teaching and learning, a strong sense of community and service to the wider community, and a wonderful spirit of that epitomises our patron, St Gregory, and our founder, St Marcellin.  This year, as a College we have continued to be very proactive in many areas, always with the benefit of having a ‘rear vision mirror’ so we can see where we have come from, and with the ‘headlights’ on so we can assess where we need to go and how we might achieve our potential as a College over the coming years.

 

COMMENCEMENT OF THE NEW LITURGICAL YEAR & CHRISTMAS

The new Liturgical Year began on Sunday 1 December. Advent is a time of preparation. In the Catholic Church, Advent is a period of preparation, extending over four Sundays, before Christmas. The word Advent comes from the Latin advenio, "to come to," and refers to the coming of Christ. This refers, first of all, to our celebration of Christ's birth at Christmas; but second, to the coming of Christ in our lives through grace and the Sacrament of Holy Communion; and finally, to His Second Coming at the end of time. Advent as a season has two distinct phases.  The first phase from the 1 December through to the 15 December emphasises our conversion to the reign of God and our preparing for the second coming of Christ.  The scriptures and prayers up until 15 December make no reference to the Christmas story. From the 15 December through to Christmas the Church’s liturgy celebrates what is known as the Christmas Novena, nine days of Masses including the Fourth Sunday of Advent that prepares us to celebrate the first coming of Christ at Christmas.  During this time the familiar characters of the Christmas story appear in the prayers, preface, and scriptures. 

 

Howard Thurman (1899 – 1981) was an American writer who has left us with powerful thoughts and insights about Christmas. In his book, “The Mood of Christmas and Other Celebrations”, he wrote these stirring words:

 

When the song of the angels is stilled

When the star in the sky is gone

When the kings and princes are home

When the shepherds are back with their flock

The work of Christmas begins:

 

To find the lost

To heal the broken

To feed the hungry

To release the prisoner

To rebuild the nations

To bring peace among others

To make music in the heart.

 

Those of us who believe that Christmas is a holy event understand that the imperative to do these ‘works’ comes from our belief in Jesus Christ who set this example of living by the way he lived his life. Our relationship with him dictates that we live the same way.

 

COLLEGE STRATEGIC PLAN & PRIORITIES 2020 - 2022

Over the past semester, the College Strategic Plan for 2020 - 2022 has been taking shape. Thank you to the many parents, staff and students who took part in the Strategic Planning feedback surveys and to the parents who took up our invitation to attend one of the Parent Forums to hear your views about the College both now and into the future. The College Leadership Team has been diligent in reading and sifting through all the feedback provided and with the assistance of our Facilitator, Ms Philomena Billington, have formulated the final strategic priority areas for the next three years. I will be in a position later next week and then again, early in 2020 to provide you all with a full and detailed document detailing our Strategic Plan for 2020 – 2022.

 

The draft St Gregory’s College Strategic Priorities for 2020 – 2022 are as follows: -

  1. An Authentic and Engaged Catholic College in the Marist Way
  2. A Learning-Centred College
  3. A Respectful and Unified College Community
  4. A College with Sustainable and Contemporary Processes and Facilities

 

I have used many of our assemblies with students and meetings with staff over the past year to continually emphasise the importance of developing a strong, inclusive and progressive culture in our College. Each student, staff member and parent must feel ‘ownership’ in the College, by doing so this enhances all we want our College to be and to stand for as we move forward. A lack of ownership causes dissatisfaction and disengagement with what is on offer. I have stressed in a variety of ways the following key points about St Gregory’s College: -

 

  1. St Gregory’s is a great school because it has a mission and vision which is clearly being lived out each and every day. You can see it and you can feel it. It is not just words on a sign or in a prospectus.
  2. St Gregory’s is a great school because it is characterised by students who are known, loved and well cared for.
  3. St Gregory’s is a great school because it is characterised by students who are provided with opportunities to grow and prosper every day.
  4. St Gregory’s is a great school because it is a place where students learn respect through being treated with respect.
  5. St Gregory’s is a great school because it is where students are happy to learn; happy to mix and form solid friendships; and, happy to go beyond the expected.

 

We are indeed fortunate that these five indicators are very much part of the culture at St Gregory’s. We still have many things to work on over the years ahead, but we will be proactive and dynamic in addressing each and every issue that we are made aware of. Please continue to support us by providing constructive feedback and engaging with the College thr