From the Deputy Principal/Head of Senior School

Staffing

At the end of this term we farewell two members of staff who have given outstanding service to the community of St Gregory’s College over significant periods of time. 

Mrs Daniela Romeo

Daniela commenced her employment in April 2013 as the Professional Assistant to the Headmaster and then took on the dual roles of Professional Assistant and College Registrar from 2015 to 2016. During this period she dedicated her time to building the enrolments of the College and supporting boarding families and day boys. Daniela then returned to her role as Personal Assistant to the Headmaster until the end of 2017.

In 2018, Daniela started the exciting venture of building the culture of the Junior School Administration Team in her role as the Personal Assistant to the Head of Junior School. Throughout the ensuing years, Daniela has been a great asset to the College as the Junior School has grown. Daniela’s attention to detail has ensured the efficiency in administration, communication and events are executed in the most professional manner possible. Her commitment and dedication to the College has not gone unnoticed and we applaud her for her tremendously efficient and consistently high standard of work.

Daniela is a kind-natured, approachable and professional person, alongside being a wonderful colleague and friend to many. A large part of Daniela’s role has been in her support of others, and we as a College community are certainly fortunate for having her presence in our community. 

We wish Daniela God’s blessings for the next stage of her life and we sincerely thank her for the outstanding contributions she has made to St Gregory’s College over the last nine years. 

Mrs Romeo will be replaced in her role as the PA to the Head of the Junior School by Mrs Sandra Landrigan. 

Mrs Louise Millar

Mrs Louise Millar leaves St Gregory’s College to take up the position of Director of Teaching and Learning at OLMC Parramatta.

Mrs Millar commenced her employment at St Gregory’s College in 2006, working as a Boarding Coordinator for two years before moving into the role of Literacy Support Teacher and Senior English Teacher from 2008 to 2013. From 2014 to 2016, Louise held the positions of Coordinator of Professional Learning and Teacher Development and Staff Mentoring Facilitator. In 2015 she also held the role of Assistant English Coordinator. In 2017, Louise was appointed to her current position of Director of Teaching and Learning. Throughout all of this time and in all of these different roles, Louise has been a remarkably effective, committed and dedicated teacher, colleague and mentor to so many staff and students.  

Louise is a remarkable educational leader. She has been a wonderfully caring and compassionate colleague to all staff members, a dedicated and inspiring teacher and a commensurate professional in all of her dealings and interactions with staff, students and families. Her passion for education and lifelong learning, her engaging and entertaining presentations to groups of staff, students and parents and her incredibly positive and enthusiastic approach to getting the best out of all situations will be among the many fond memories that will remain after Louise finishes her time at St Greg’s.

As a College, we sincerely thank Louise for the outstanding contribution, service and commitment that she has consistently displayed throughout her sixteen years at St Gregory’s College. We take this opportunity to extend our best wishes to Louise as she embarks on her new role and we wish Louise and her family God’s blessing for the future.

Mrs Millar has been replaced in her position of Director of Teaching and Learning by Mrs Judith Tolomeo.

Marist Service Awards

As part of the celebration of the Mass for the Feast of St Marcellin Champagnat on Friday 6 June, a number of members of staff were recognised for their service to Marist education, through their work over ten, twenty, twenty-five and forty years across Marist ministries. A brief citation was read as each of these staff came forward to receive a certificate to acknowledge these milestones. We sincerely congratulate and show our gratitude for the wonderful service given by each of the following staff.

Ten Year Service Awards 

Mr Brendan O’Flynn

Mr Brendan O’Flynn commenced teaching at the College in January 2011. He is a Technologies teacher working with great dedication and commitment to inspire his students. He leads a fantastic team of staff as the Leader of Learning – Technologies. Mr O’Flynn was also a live-in boarding supervisor for three years. Apart from his passion in his teaching area, Mr O’Flynn is actively involved in a wide range of activities beyond the classroom as a sports coach and he is also an avid participant in outdoor education, which makes him very well suited to another one of his roles as the Coordinator of the Duke of Edinburgh program. 

Mr Peter Smith

Mr Peter Smith commenced at the College in April 2011. Coming to St Greg’s from a management role with a sports equipment company, Peter then joined the Property and Facilities team at St Greg’s. Mr Smith has made a tremendous contribution to the great work of the Facilities Team and his role is integral to keeping the College functioning and always looking fantastic. Peter also plays a vital role in supporting the work of the Technologies department in maintaining and servicing equipment. Peter is a gentleman and humble man and truly deserving of our recognition. 

Mr Edward Stefanski

Mr Edward Stefanski commenced at the College in January 2011. Arriving as an inspired and passionate Old Boy of St Greg’s, Edward has a particular passion and love for the Sciences, including Agriculture. Mr Stefanski is a teacher that inspires and challenges students to always give of their best. He is also an extremely committed and tireless advocate of the College’s agricultural program, including being a fantastic contributor to the incredibly successful Show Teams, where he has devoted a phenomenal amount of his own time to provide wonderfully enriching experiences for a wide range of students. 

Mr Baldino Vetrano

Mr Baldino Vetrano commenced at the College in January 2011 as a Languages Teacher and he also held the position of Year Leader. For three years, he took on the role of Executive Assistant to the Deputy Principal, prior to moving into the position of Pastoral Care Coordinator and then to his current role of Director of Students. Mr Vetrano is well known to all members of the College community. He is passionate about student wellbeing and a wonderfully positive mentor to students who may stray and need to be guided back to the righteous path of being good Christians and virtuous citizens. 

Twenty Year Service Awards 

Mr Paul Fox

Mr Paul Fox has been a member of the College’s Boarding community, first as the Boarding Coordinator for Fingal House and also Live-In Supervisor since January 2001. Notably, Mr Fox has never missed a day of work and throughout the last two decades, he has been a stalwart for the boarding program at St Gregory’s College. Paul has been incredibly generous with his time in giving great service to the community, not just in the boarding program but also being actively involved in sport and other activities, including being the coach of the ISA First Basketball Team for many years.

Miss Karen Kissick (nee Vardy)

Miss Karen Kissick (nee Vardy) was first employed at St Gregory’s College on 27th April 2001 and she recently retired from work on 30th April 2021, after giving just over twenty years of extremely dedicated service. Miss Kissick was, for two decades, the College’s Print Room Manager, as a very diligent and dedicated employee and someone who always took great pride in her work. She was always supportive and helpful and unfailingly committed to helping others. We thank and congratulate Karen for her outstanding service and we wish her a happy and fulfilling retirement. 

Mr Lee MacMaster

Mr Lee MacMaster commenced as the Principal at St Gregory’s College in 2019. Prior to St Greg’s, he was the Principal at St Andrew’s College Redlynch (Cairns) for seven years. Before this, his work in Marist education included five years at St Joseph's College Hunters Hill from 2007 to 2011 as the Director of Teaching and Learning and twelve years at Trinity College Lismore from 1995 to 2006 as the Assistant Principal – Dean of Studies. We acknowledge Mr MacMaster as an incredibly enthusiastic and passionate educational leader who gives himself selflessly and wholeheartedly to St Greg’s and as someone who is always present and engaged with all aspects of the College community.

Mrs Lucy Willoughby

Mrs Lucy Willoughby commenced at the College in January 2001 as the College Receptionist, a position she has held continuously for the last two decades. Over the years, Lucy’s role has encompassed a wide range of responsibilities within the broad area of Student Services, including student awards. Mrs Willoughby has been the very friendly, warm, responsive and welcoming first point of contact for the thousands of people who have called or visited the College over all of these years. She is an unassuming and humble person, who always strives to give of her best and make you feel valued and respected. We commend and thank Mrs Willoughby for her outstanding work and dedication to making St Greg’s such a welcoming place. 

Twenty Five Year Service Awards 

Mrs Anna Blacklow

Hundreds if not thousands of students and staff have benefited enormously from the incredibly efficient, committed and extremely gracious and humble Mrs Anna Blacklow. Mrs Blacklow has been the mainstay working behind the scenes without fanfare or expectation of recognition as an incredibly loyal and passionate member of staff. In her current role managing the College laundry, she has provided wonderful service and always worked for the betterment of the members of this community. It certainly is not just those in the boarding community who should be highly appreciative of Mrs Blacklow as she has gone above and beyond to serve all in the community. Having commenced at the College in February 1996, Mrs Blacklow has more than twenty-five years of continuous service – an amazing achievement!

Mr David Gray

Commencing at St Greg’s on 29th January 1996, Mr David Gray is the Leading Hand for the College Cleaning Team. Mr Gray is a very humble and unassuming man, but he certainly takes great pride in his work by always ensuring that the College is spick and span. David works the late shift and he would frequently be the last person on-site and awake, often here into the early hours of the morning. Whilst he rightly gets a little frustrated when respect isn’t shown for the work of him and his team, he doggedly goes about his duties because he really does love this place! He is quick-witted and loves a joke, but the maroon and sky blue runs deep in his veins, almost as much as the Myrtle Green and Cardinal Red of his beloved South Sydney Rabbitohs! Our sincere thanks and gratitude are extended to Mr Gray as we acknowledge his outstanding quarter-century of service.

Forty Year Service Awards 

Mrs Sharon Mulholland 

Mrs Sharon Mulholland commenced her employment at the College in 1981, four decades ago! Sharon is a very dedicated and committed staff member, someone who is highly valued and most definitely very loyal given her continuous commitment to serving this community. Mrs Mulholland has worked as a Laboratory Assistant and provided outstanding service and support to the Science department. In addition, she has been a valued team member of the College’s Support Staff. Although Sharon would not be well known to some members of the College community, she is always there working away with great tenacity and an enduring commitment to her work, never looking for acknowledgement and always being very humble. It would be difficult to calculate the number of students and staff who have benefited directly and indirectly from Sharon’s work, but we would like to assure her that this has been greatly appreciated. Above all, her enduring commitment and dedication has been first class! We warmly congratulate and most sincerely thank Mrs Sharon Mulholland for her outstanding contributions to the St Gregory’s College community over the past four decades.

Mr Paul Brooks

College Deputy Principal/Head of Senior School