From the Head of Junior School

Dear Parents and Carers of the St Gregory’s College family,

This week marks the mid-point of Term 3, and it is safe to say that it is not the term that we had expected. 

Book Week is Coming . . .

The highlight of the week has undoubtedly been the launching of Book Week with the help of James Tedesco. I want to personally thank Mrs Cosentino and the Book Week committee for the wonderful plan that she has created in this online space. Some of our students this week met with author Anna Cidor over a Microsoft Teams session that was engaging them about reading, editing and stories. I can’t wait to see so many of the activities come to fruition in the coming week.

A Universal Experience this Year

As I consider the College, I feel sad for the students. I feel for the Kindergarten students who didn’t know that their first year of schooling would be partly from home. I feel for the rest of the student population, who have been separated from the lively chaotic tumult in which they thrive. I feel for the students missing out on camps, or on concerts, or even the normal everyday experience of coming to school. I feel for our community who are missing St Gregory’s and the day-to-day nature of our busy College. In saying that, I know that we are a resilient community, a connected community and a community that will do its best for the students. I thank each and every one of you for what you are achieving in these turbulent times!

Learning Fatigue – The Stretch!

A common observation about the rhythm of school life is that Weeks 5 and 6 are often the hardest. This makes sense given they are the weeks that are the furthest from a holiday break. Learning fatigue often sets in before the final stretch towards the holidays becomes a reality. My reflections on our current experience are that this is, even more, the case than usual. The mid-term fatigue is coupled with the challenges of increased screen time, feelings of frustration about being locked down, etc, etc. All of this is to say that we are entering a period where balance and grace are increasingly becoming important. I want to continue to encourage parents to be conscious of their child’s personal experience and feel comfortable taking steps to create the right balance for them. We are very aware that students will go up and down with their ability to engage with the remote learning experiences. Please keep the Classroom Teacher in the loop with this so that we can adjust expectations as necessary.

Our focus at the moment needs to be balancing the academic, pastoral and emotional wellbeing of the students. Given the current remote learning context, this is best achieved in partnership between parents and teachers.

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

Joel Weekes

Head of Junior School