From the College Principal 

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

As we conclude the fourth week of Term 4, I am reminded of the commitment of many of our students to their studies and their co-curricular activities. I am inspired each day to see the majority of our students working hard in the classroom and beyond, serving the College community, and representing their families and the College with great pride. Being a St Gregory’s student is an honour and we want to ensure every student understands and values what it means to be part of this special community.

It certainly can be deflating and demoralising when some of our students lose sight of the St Gregory’s College ethos. Selfish behaviours and a lack of respect for self and others can become the norm for some students. Over the last few weeks, a small number of our students have let down their families, their mates and the College by their actions. We are all aware that these students need to re-think what it means to be a St Gregory’s College student, and how positive actions speak much louder than words.

As we move into this middle part of Term 4, my hope for every student is a time of being settled and committed to their learning. We need students who are conscious of their behaviours and how they can impact others in both a positive or a negative manner. We also need our students to take responsibility for everything they do – own it and ensure that these responsibilities are not farmed out to others.

To all the students (the majority) who day in and day out do the ‘right thing’, I say thank you! Continue to be students building a positive future for yourselves.

YEAR 11 – END OF PRELIMINARY COURSE AWARDS – On Friday 1 November, at the Senior School Assembly, the College had the opportunity to acknowledge, acclaim and affirm students from across the Senior School for their achievements in a range of pursuits – in Year 11 in their academic studies at the conclusion of their Preliminary Course; our Year 10 students who received awards for their Community Service; students involved in Agriculture and the Show Team across 2019; and students who were the recipients of awards for this year’s Science Competition. It was a great opportunity for all of us to witness the determination, dedication and commitment these students have shown to be able to receive these significant awards.

At the Assembly, as part of my address to the student body, I concentrated on the meaning of success – something our Year 11 students who walked across the stage last Friday experienced due to their commitment. I was taught from an early age that the only place you will find success before work is in a dictionary.

Throughout the Preliminary Course, our Year 11 students have been finding their feet – exposed to new curriculum, being challenged by tougher assessments and more responsibilities; and importantly being challenged to strive to be the best they can be academically.

I offered five suggestions to all students present that I would think are components of the success many of our Year 11 students have experienced in their courses to this point.

1. Discover Your Strengths and Weaknesses. One of the most important elements of success is truly understanding your strengths and weaknesses. Each one of us should take some time to review our strengths -- things like our creativity, our communications skills, our work ethic -- as well as your weaknesses -- things like our time management, procrastination levels, perfectionism. It is probably really easy to develop a list of your strengths, but much harder to really examine your weaknesses. The key with this tip is to find a way to maximise your strengths while overcoming or minimising your weaknesses.
2. Establish Your Academic Goals. Each student should start each term with certain academic goals you want to achieve -- perhaps a certain grade or the achievement of an award or place in class. But your goals do not need to solely be about grades; you might set an academic goal of improvement in a particular skill, topic or unit. The important thing is to have some goals -- goals that are a bit of a stretch for you so that you can strive toward achieving them and then celebrate accomplishing them once the term is over. Without any type of goals, you'll find it easy to not be engaged in class, miss or not commit to your assignments, and eventually find yourself in a place you don't want to be.
3. Develop a Time Management System. Of all the things high achieving ‘successful’ students say, the one thing repeated over and over again is the importance of managing your time. Whatever method you use, you need to not only have a system of keeping track of important dates and deadlines, but also a system for prioritising your time. Having a strong sense of your time needs also gives you the ability to better see if you can handle additional responsibilities -- and the power to decline offers that are going to seriously hurt your academic performance.
4. Stay on Top of Your Assignments. Start early – when you receive the assignment. Don’t procrastinate and put it off until near the deadline. Seek assistance early from your teachers to give you direction. See each assignment as a learning opportunity rather than a task. Be proud to hand up your work on the due date knowing that you have done your very best.
5. Establish a Study Routine. One of the best ways to improve your academic performance is to establish a study routine -- a time every day that you set aside to read and review your notes, and work on your homework and assignments. Not only will you get more accomplished, you'll be better prepared for your classes, and actually have more free time to do other things. Most experts say that for every hour in class, you should devote at least 30 minutes outside of class for studying. Besides just setting aside time each day, you should also find the best environment for you to study – make it a place where you can concentrate without distractions.

YEAR 12 – HIGHER SCHOOL CERTIFICATE EXAMINATIONS – Our Year 12 students have now completed their fourth week of the Higher School Certificate (HSC) Examinations. I congratulate our students for their dedication and commitment to their exams, and I thank the teaching staff for preparing our boys so well. Thank you also to the families of the boys for your ongoing support – this partnership will ensure our young men approach their exams with an appropriate balance. The HSC Examinations conclude on Monday 11 November, and the HSC Results and ATAR Results will be available on Tuesday 17 December. The College will prepare a communique for our College community following the analysis of the results.

YEAR 11 RETREAT & INSIGHT WEEK – This past week, all of our Year 11 students have been involved in the Year 11 Retrea