From the Head of Junior School

Dear Members of the St Gregory’s College family,

Welcome to the end of Week 6 which brings us to the end of another wonderful week at the College. There have been so many great things happening at the College in the last fortnight that have made for such a positive buzz around the Junior School. With only 3 weeks to go, I trust that your families enjoy the ‘downhill run’ before the frantic Christmas rush.

Classes for 2021

Our Classroom Teachers for 2021 Classes are as follows.  We look forward to an exciting 2021 as it quickly approaches. 

I would also like to take the opportunity to thank Mrs Robyn Bowen who will take over Mrs Mazzo’s leadership role of ‘Leader of Learning – Religious Education K-6’ for 2021 due to Mrs Mazzo going on maternity leave next year.

A Time for Professional Development

Over the Boarders’ Free Weekend the Junior School teachers were busy learning about all things PYP (Primary Years Programme), which is our approach as a school to lead our learning and teaching philosophy. We spent the two professional learning days looking at our learning approach and our way forward as a Junior School. The teachers had time planning for 2021 by ensuring that we were developing engaging new units and reflecting on prior units. It was an extremely valuable two days and I want to thank the staff for their professionalism, dedication and input into these vital days. 

We look forward to implementing this newfound knowledge for the benefit of the PYP for our students, teachers and parents. I would also like to take this opportunity to thank the parents and carers who joined the Parent Forum two weeks ago to learn more about the Primary Years Programme.

Kindergarten Transition 2021

It has been such a positive experience to have our 2021 Kindergarten students join us over the past two Thursdays as they prepare for ‘big school’ next year. Our staff really enjoyed the time to meet the ‘new recruits’ and start making some personal connections with them. We have a high number of younger brothers and sisters of current families for 2021, so it was also nice to see the similarities and differences in the younger siblings. To help aid with the transition in 2021, we have extended the half days for next year’s Kindergarten groups and parents will find out their son or daughter’s teacher by the end of that first week. 

Congratulations to the Kindergarten students on their transition days and a big ‘thanks’ to the staff for all pitching in to make these afternoons so positive for the students.

First Girls to Move Through the Junior School

It was an absolute pleasure to host our first girls that went through the Junior School this week. They have all returned from St Patrick’s College in Campbelltown to talk to our current Year 6 students in regards to transitioning into High School. As much as it was lovely to see the girls, we are so extremely proud of what they have achieved already in High School and for Year 6 to hear the successes and challenges of starting High School. The girls were like rock stars as they spent time with the students over the lunch break, even having the chance to catch up with their old Kindergarten buddies . . . who have now grown!

Events on the Horizon

As we race to the end of the year, we still have a few events on the horizon:

• Monday 30 November 2020 – Move Up Day – Current Year K to 5 students
• Thursday 3 December 2020 – Celebration of Learning (Event will be live-streamed to parents) Time to be Confirmed
• Friday 4 December 2020 – K to 6 Assembly (live-streamed via Microsoft Teams)
• Monday 7 December 2020 – Year 6 Graduation Mass and Morning Tea
• Wednesday 9 December 2020 – Year 6 Fun Day
• Thursday 10 December 2020 – Term 4 Concludes

I hope everyone enjoys the last couple of weeks of the school year!

As our St Gregory’s College motto states, ‘You will reap what you sow’.

Mr Joel Weekes

Head of Junior School