From the Head of Junior School

Dear Members of the St Gregory’s Family,

As I reflect on another week that has flown by, one cannot dismiss some of the wonderful things that have been happening around the Junior School. 

Year 5 Leadership and Team Building Day

On Thursday we had the opportunity to spend the day with our Year 5 students as they were tested with a range of team-building exercises as they head very quickly towards becoming the leaders in our Junior School for 2021. The day consisted of many initiatives and exercises that had them thinking about how to be an effective leader and also what makes an effective team. I want to thank Mr MacMaster for his chat with the students about leadership, Year 11 leaders who spent part of the day with Year 5 helping them with the initiatives and also discussing leadership and leading a Q&A session. Thanks also to Mrs Ivancic, Mr Edwards and Mrs Grados for their execution of the day. We look forward to seeing our Year 5 students move into Year 6 with a clear mindset on being our Junior School leaders. 

The Junior School Parent Forum

I want to thank all parents who attended the Term 4 Parent Forum. I want to thank you all for engaging with the PYP Parent Workshop and we hope that you get a great sense of where the Junior School is headed. Due to the technical difficulties with the video, we look forward to sending this out to all parents through Alison Buckley in the near future for all to enjoy. For parents who could not attend the Forum please stay tuned for the presentation and minutes of the Forum.

Parent Survey

I want to personally thank all parents who have taken the time to complete our survey about the Junior School. This information is meaningful as we look at what has worked to date and what we need to reflect upon as we grow as a learning community. Between the data that has been provided by the parents and also the data that has been compiled by the staff, we will look to design an action plan for 2020 as we continue to grow and strengthen as a community. 

Kindergarten 2021

It has been wonderful to have the opportunity to meet with the new Kindergarten students for 2021 this week and we are also looking forward to next week for the Kindergarten Transition Sessions. These sessions are a great way for our teachers to meet our new incoming students prior to their arrival in 2021. 

Each Kindergarten student will receive our very own ‘Welcome to Kindergarten at St Gregory’s College’ book as a part of their Orientation, as well as meeting their teacher and new classmates for 2021. Due to restrictions, we have had to rethink this year and our incoming Kindergarten families have had the opportunity to enjoy the Kindergarten 2021 Virtual Space to see a video and information on starting at the College.

I am sure that many of these new Kindergarten students will be a little nervous, but also know that our current students will make them feel very welcome. 

Boarders’ Free Weekend is Coming!

Our next Boarders’ Free Weekend takes place from next Friday. This day for the Junior School will be dedicated to Professional Learning for the staff as they gain accreditation as PYP Teachers. As many of you know, 2020 has been dedicated to having a strong student experience and we look forward to continuing our learning over Friday and Monday to ensure we are putting in place the best learning opportunities for our students with the implementation of the PYP. I know the staff are really looking forward to these Professional Learning Days.

Events on the Horizon

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

• 20 November – Kindergarten to  Year 6 Assembly at 2pm via Microsoft Teams
• 30 November - Kindergarten to Year 5 Move Up Day
• 3 December – Celebration of Learning via Microsoft Teams – Time to be advised
• 7 December – Year 6 Graduation Mass and Presentation
• 9 December – Semester 2 Reports Published to Parent Portal
• 10 December – Term 4 Concludes

I hope everyone enjoys the last five 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