From the College Principal 

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

We have now completed Week 4 of the term! The weeks seem to pass quickly, and we will soon be at the midpoint of the term. With only 15 weeks remaining this year, the lofty goals we have set ourselves as individuals and as a College this year need to be kick-started and actions put firmly in place to ensure success is achieved in 2020.

As I write this newsletter article, I am very mindful of the situation with COVID-19 all around us. Each day we are hearing news about schools needing to close due to positive COVID-19 cases. To each of those communities, to the families and students impacted by the pandemic, my prayers and thoughts go out to you all. Our College community at St Gregory’s is not immune to this pandemic. We must always be on high alert in terms of our health and hygiene protocols. I thank each member of our College community for your ongoing support in these challenging times.  

A recent report in The Sydney Morning 

Herald 

highlighted the youth mental health challenges many students faced during lockdown and are continuing to deal with following the online learning period. The report stated that in March this year, Kids Helpline received over 9000 calls a week or one every minute. In mid-April, UNICEF Australia surveyed over 1000 young people aged 13 to 17 years on how COVID-19 was impacting them. The report, titled “Living in Limbo”, found that almost half of the young people surveyed said that COVID-19 had increased their stress and anxiety. It said: “Australia’s young people have been cut off from social support networks, must complete major education milestones online, and are also impacted by job losses, either themselves or their parents and carers. All of this is taking a toll on their mental health and their hope for the future.”

The survey showed a decline in young people’s ability to cope since the beginning of 2020. Nearly all young people said that their education had been disrupted. Fewer than 40 per cent of those surveyed had a good idea of how to access psychological support services and around 25 per cent felt isolated and unsure about support options.

A recent ABC News article on the stress experienced by students as a result of COVID-19 highlighted:

• increased worries about the future and increased anxiety due to changes to learning and assessments
• concern and anxiety that marks will be below their expectations due to the disruption to normal learning
• increased suicidal thoughts and instances of self-harm
• anxiety over the impact on school results, especially on ATAR scores and future study plans
• anxiety for their future including post-school study and employment prospects due to the economic downturn
• anxiety loss or drop in family income
• ceasing social and sporting activities outside of school and cessation of school sport and extra-curricular activities.

We are aware that many of our students need close monitoring and extra care during this stressful time. We know that spending time building strong relationships with a student is critical in supporting their mental health and their wellbeing. We want the students to know the teachers really care about them! Providing outstanding care for the wellbeing of our girls and boys across the College is an absolute must – every day!

FEAST OF THE ASSUMPTION – On Saturday 15 August the Church will celebrate the Feast of the Assumption of Mary which is a Holy Day of Obligation. The Assumption of Mary is a 

doctrine which teaches that after the mother of Jesus died, she was resurrected, glorified, and taken bodily to heaven. The word assumption is taken from a Latin word meaning “to take up.” As a proud Marist College, we need to be constantly reminded of the amazing sacrifices and commitment of Mary, the mother of Jesus. It is our task as members of the St Gregory’s community to be willing to say yes to God’s call in all we do, just as Mary did in accepting her role as mother of Jesus. It is truly inspiring to work at St Gregory’s among many of our staff, students and parent body who accept the challenges of life each day and ‘take up’ the opportunities in all they do to spread God’s love and understanding.

The Feast of the Assumption of Mary is also the patronal feast of Marists all around the world. We pray for our Marists Brothers as they reflect on the importance of Our Mother Mary to Marcellin Champagnat as he went about setting up the Institute of Brothers, under the name of Little Brothers of Mary.   

Our Superior General, Brother Ernesto Sánchez, invites us to look at Mary's example: "As Marists of Champagnat, we want to live according to Mary's heart and, like her, bring forth the light of God. Thus, we will be able “to form homes that are a light on the hill for those around us."

SEMESTER ONE ACADEMIC AWARDS – Year 7 – 11 – This week at our Academic Assemblies we rightly acknowledged and affirmed our highest performing academic achievers from Year 7 to Year 11 at the completion of their Semester 1, 2020 studies. Please find below extracts of my address to the students at the assemblies.

“In almost all cases today, the students who have walked across this stage have been students who have made sacrifices to ensure they are successful. They are hardworking, dedicated students driven to be the best they can be. Their successes are built on strong foundations – such as, great support from their parents and their peers, the willingness of these students ‘to go the extra mile’, and a strong culture of resilience from each student – the ability to bounce back and move on and upwards.

For our students who have received academic awards, I think you all realise that engaging in your learning has significant rewards. What you give each lesson, each day, each week, comes back to you in significant rewards. You are students who recognise the need to study, to do your best, to seek and take teacher’s advice, to complete your homework and assignments on time and to love what you learn. You recognise that learning can be fun and can set you up for life if you give all you have to the process! Students, never be frightened to succeed academically – be proud to achieve your ‘personal bests’ in all you do. Be aspiration! Set your goals high and aspire to reach them at all times.

Today is also our opportunity to also say thank you for raising the bar and continuing to grow the strong academic culture in the College.

Today we also spare a thought for all the students in the Year 9 & 10 cohorts who achieved their PBs in Semester 1 – their personal best because they too put in huge efforts. They too are high achievers and we are should never downplay the students who work hard, achieve their dreams, but probably don’t receive the public recognition of walking across this stage today.

To our students sitting in the audience today listening to the words but not knowing how to improve their academic results, my advice is simple. Start with a positive attitude to your learning – want to learn rather than seeing learning as a chore. Develop a love for learning knowing that education is powerful. See your teacher as a valuable asset to your learning, someone who is taking you on a journey to new and exciting places. Don’t be afraid to have a go and along the way make some mistakes that you learn from. Don’t stop halfway – finish the job – go the whole way. That takes courage and determination, but the rewards can be pretty sweet. Don’t make excuses and remember one of my favourite sayings, “You can either have excuses or you can have results - but you cannot have both.”

Your academic results are the combination of hard work, resilience, commitment, sacrifice and a desire to be the best they can be. Successful students have not relied on excuses – their successes are built around positive actions.

Remember, there is no such thing as cheap success. If we want to succeed, we have to pay the price. And the road to success is long with a lot of obstacles. No wonder most people stop at one point or another after running into the obstacles. Only a few people have the persistence to keep moving forward, and these are the few people who succeed.

I conclude my address by thanking our wonderful staff at St Gregory’s who educate students from their heart. They give everything they can give to provide you with opportunities so you can be the best you can be. Today I wish to personally thank our staff for their love and dedication to their work as educators. You do an amazing job each and every day!

As Nelson Mandela often said, “Education is the most powerful weapon which you can use to change the world.’ Let’s make sure we heed these famous words and make a difference in this world through education.”

CHAMPAGNAT AWARDS – 2020 – During the recent Year 7 – 12 assemblies, the Champagnat Awards (Certificates & Medallions) for 2020 were presented. Normally these prestigious awards are made during the Feast of St Marcellin Champagnat Mass in early June, but due to COVID-19 restrictions at the time, these awards were delayed. I congratulate each student who received a Champagnat Award this year. To be recognised by the staff in this way is testimony to the impact you make each day. You are fine young men, with strong minds and gentle hearts. A list of Champagnat Award recipients for 2020 appears in the Director of Mission section of the newsletter.

REMINDER - STAFF PROFESSIONAL LEARNING DAYS – TERM 3 – A reminder that Staff Professional Learning days will take place on Friday 21 August (end of Week 5, Term 3) and on Monday 24 August. On these two days, the College will not be open for student supervision. Classes will resume on Tuesday 25 August.

It should be noted that many Year 12 students have scheduled Trial HSC examinations on both Friday 21 August and Monday 24 August, and thus must be in attendance for these scheduled examinations.

CATHOLIC SCHOOLS DEBATING (CSDA) –Once again, congratulations to our CSDA Debating teams for Rounds 2 & 3 of the debating season against Rosebank College (4 wins to St Gregory’s – 6 wins to Rosebank College) and St Ursula’s College (7 wins to St Gregory’s – 3 wins to St Ursula’s College). Thanks once again to our Debating Coordinators and coaches - Maria Santos, Lydia Khoury, Greg Bond, Glenn Nelson, Michelle Arentz and Michael Ivancic for their continued mentoring and support of the boys. This Friday night we take on Santa Sabina College in a home ‘online’ debate via Microsoft Teams. We once again look forward to a great evening of student debating.

PARENT FORUMS – TERM 3 – The K-6 Parent Forum (Monday 10 August) and the Years 7 – 12 Parent Forum (Monday 3 August) were both successfully held recently online via Microsoft Teams. It was great to have so many parents join both Forums. The online format is proving popular as it allows more parents to participate.

My sincere thanks to Alison Buckley, our Parent Engagement Coordinator for her dedication to ensuring the forums run well (great support from Don Perna also!), and for setting up great agendas and guest speakers from our staff for each of the forums.

My input into both forums this term included the following matters: -

1. Update on COVID-19 protocols and procedures at the College
2. Reminder about the Term 3 Staff Professional Learning Days (Student Free Days)
3. Update on the College Strategic Priorities & our 2020 Annual Planning
4. Discussion of the new Parent Code of Conduct (For feedback from parents)
5. Update on the College Master Plan

Alison will distribute the minutes of the forums to all parents, along with a link to the recorded video of the forum and documentation for your consultation and feedback. 

END OF TERM 3 REMINDER - A reminder that all classes conclude in Term 3 on Friday 25 September at 3.05pm for our Kindergarten – Year 11 students. All students are expected to attend classes until the end of Term 2.  We all need to finish each term strongly and work in a sustained fashion until the last period of the final day of term. I request that parents/carers wishing for their son/daughter to finish the term prior to Friday 25 September write to me to in advance to request leave for your child. 

PRAYERS & THOUGHTS – Please keep our Year 12 students in your prayers and thoughts as they move towards the conclusion of their studies. Trial HSC examinations begin on Monday 17 August for two weeks, followed by Industrial Technology Major Works (Timber, Metal & Multimedia) and folios which are due in late August, and Visual Arts Body of Works which are due mid-September. 

The College is currently planning our end of Year 12 Graduation events. This year due to COVID-19, the graduation events will span two days – Friday 25 September (last day of Term 3) and hopefully, Friday 20 November for an outdoor Graduation Mass and Graduation Dinner to follow in the Brother Luke Hall. Let’s keep our fingers crossed that these events can go ahead and we can farewell our Year 12 students in a manner befitting the St Gregory’s College traditions.

Finally, thank you again for your ongoing support, encouragement, friendship and wise counsel. The support you provide assists me greatly. 

I wish you God’s blessings always. May Mary, our Good Mother, Saint Marcellin Champagnat and Saint Gregory continue to guide us and inspire us on our journey.

Lee MacMaster  

College Principal (K-12)