From the Deputy Principal/Head of Senior School

Staffing

Several new members of staff have recently joined the St Gregory’s College community. We welcome each of these staff and wish them all the very best as they commence their employment. 

Mrs Sarah Bowen - Human Resources, Risk and Compliance Coordinator

Mrs Sarah Bowen commenced her employment at St Gregory’s College in June as the Human Resources, Risk and Compliance Coordinator. She was previously employed at Newington College, having held the positions of Payroll Manager, Human Resources Administrator and Payroll Officer over a period of nine years.

Mrs Bowen has also previously held various coordinator and leadership roles at the University of Sydney across areas including teaching and learning, admissions and communications. Beyond this, Mrs Bowen has also worked as a Legal Administrator at the Australian Stock Exchange and Production Editor at CCH Australia.

Initially completing an undergraduate degree of a Bachelor of Arts, English Literature and History through Macquarie University, Mrs Bowen went on to complete numerous other qualifications, including a Certificate IV in Human Resources, Certificate IV in Accounting, Certificate IV in Massage Therapy Practice and a Diploma of Medical Transcription.

Mrs Bowen brings with her an exceptionally strong reputation of professionalism, integrity and resourcefulness. Her extensive and varied experiences across a range of human resources, industrial relations, finance, accounting, legal, risk and compliance, customer service and communications functions, both in the higher education sector and school settings provide very strong foundations for her work in the vital area of the human resources, risk and compliance at the College.

We extend a very warm welcome to Mrs Bowen to the St Gregory’s College community. We congratulate her on this appointment and take this opportunity to wish her a very happy and successful time in her new role.

Mrs Sandra Landrigan – PA to the Head and Assistant Head of the Junior School

Mrs Sandra Landrigan will be well known to many in our community as she previously held the position of Retail Area Manager for Noone Pty Ltd, the contractor operating the College Uniform Shop, for more than five years. Throughout her time in this role, Sandra established excellent relationships with staff, students and parents and she provided outstanding customer service. 

Sandra comes with a vast array of previous experiences across three decades from a wide range of areas, including sales consultancy, project management, member services, retail management, accounts and finance. In many of these roles, Sandra has led teams and she has contributed significantly to change management, training and development of staff. 

Apart from her many paid employment experiences, Sandra has been a very active and involved volunteer in school and sports associations where she has led numerous events including fundraising and major logistical operations for representative sporting teams. 

We congratulate Sandra on her appointment and take this opportunity to wish her a very happy and successful time in her new role as the Personal Assistant to the Head of the Junior School and Assistant Head of the Junior School.

Mr Jim Renshaw – College Farm Manager 

Mr Jim Renshaw commenced as the Farm Manager on Monday 26 July, replacing Mr Rick Nieuwenhuis who had worked at St Gregory’s College for 23 years. 

After completing a Bachelor of Management (Farm Business) from the University of Sydney – Orange Agricultural College he completed a range of short courses in areas such as Wool Classing; Welding; Cattle Care; Chemical Use; Holistic Resource Management and Applied Grazing; and Low-Stress Stock Handling. 

Mr Renshaw was recently employed by the Goree Pastoral Company in Mudgee where he has a range of responsibilities including livestock management, property maintenance, pasture improvement and fodder cropping. Prior to that, Mr Renshaw worked for more than 10 years as the Property Manager at Bundarbo Station in Jugiong; a well-developed livestock and cropping enterprise of over 3200 hectares, with more than a thousand cattle. In this position, he was responsible for, among other things, the daily management of the property; the maintenance of plant, vehicles, and other infrastructure; budgeting and accounts; record keeping; and the supervision and mentoring of staff. 

Throughout his career, Mr Renshaw has both owned and managed a wide range of large properties across New South Wales in regions such as the Central West, Hunter and South-West Slopes. He brings a diverse range of experiences having worked exclusively in the Agricultural sector for his entire career. His extensive experiences range across all aspects of farm management, including livestock management of cattle, sheep, and other animals; pasture improvement and fodder cropping; dryland cropping; fencing, planting, spraying and harvesting of crops; stock and station agency work as well as contractor services to farm businesses. 

We extend a very warm welcome to Mr Renshaw as he joins the St Gregory’s College community. We congratulate him on this appointment and take this opportunity to wish him a very happy and successful time in his new role.

Mr Renshaw replaced the longstanding Farm Manager, Mr Rick Nieuwenhuis. An article recognising the outstanding contributions of Mr Nieuwenhuis will appear in the next edition of Hearts and Minds.

Ms Judith Tolomeo - Director of Teaching and Learning

Ms Judith Tolomeo has been appointed as the Director of Teaching and Learning.  She was most recently the Curriculum Coordinator at Mount Carmel Catholic College, a position she has held since 2014. Previously, Ms Tolomeo was the PDHPE Coordinator at Good Samaritan Catholic College, Hinchinbrook from 2003-2013 and prior to this she held positions at schools overseas and in Australia, including being the PDHPE Advisor in the Southern Region of Sydney Catholic Schools. 

Ms Tolomeo has completed a Bachelor of Applied Science and Graduate Diploma of Education from the University of Western Sydney as well as a Post Graduate Certificate in Sports Education from the same institution. She is currently completing a Master of Theology Degree through the University of Newcastle. 

Throughout her extensive teaching career, Ms Tolomeo has taught a range of courses in the PDHPE area across Stages 4, 5 and 6, including the mandatory PDHPE course, Community and Family Studies, Physical Activity and Sports Science and Sports Lifestyle and Recreation. She also has had previous experience teaching Agriculture and Science.

Apart from her school leadership positions, Ms Tolomeo is currently part of the Teacher Expert Network (TENS) with the NSW Education Standards Authority (NESA) and she has also held roles including being the Newman Coordinator, NAPLAN Group Leader, Diocesan Program and Policy team member as well as being an experienced HSC marker. She is also a member of the Marist Association of St Marcellin Champagnat.

We welcome Ms Tolomeo to St Gregory’s College and wish her all the very best as she takes on this senior leadership role, replacing Mrs Louise Millar who finished at the end of last term.

Mr Paul Brooks

College Deputy Principal/Head of Senior School