Head of Junior School
Dear Members of the St Gregory’s Family,
I trust that Term 3 has been a positive start for everyone. In the Junior School, it has been a busy start and we are all looking forward to the various events that are organised for this term. It was wonderful to see so many of you this week at the Parent Forums and we look forward to continuing to have parent input as we make this College go from strength to strength.
The Hidden Curriculum – What it means to be a St Greg’s student?
Whilst much is spoken about in schools in regards to curriculum and areas such as sport, one of the areas that is often overlooked is the schools ‘hidden curriculum’. The hidden curriculum is often unspoken, yet commonly understood messages that are communicated to students through the action, structure and relationships that exist within a school. Interestingly, the hidden curriculum can be a stronger voice to the students than the organised and obvious learning in the classroom.
The importance of this hidden curriculum became very clearly evident to me yesterday when I received an email from a parent from one of the local Independent Schools that we played in soccer. The parent stated that:
‘each boy came up to each parent after the match and shook our hands, thanking us for coming to the game. I am sure they were well aware we were the opponents parents. My husband and I were literally blown away. This shows so many great values such as: sportsmanship, leadership, discipline, teamwork. Importantly it positively represents the school name, spirit and values’.
The idea that each student in the Soccer Team would thank the opponents parents hands as well as the players seems to be just another day for us, but to families outside the St Greg’s community, this is a rare thing. Our Year 5 and 6 students ensure that this happens each game and are wonderful ambassadors for our school. Our Junior School may be new but the traditions that are passed down from the Year 7-12 boys are what makes this place great!
As we consider what it means to be a St Gregory’s College student, it is crucial that we understand what it means to be a ‘person of character’. Our Marist Attributes that are regularly referred to in the College diary are not just words, these are the attributes that we want our students to enact and action. We need to continue to engage our students in conversations about how they treat one another, their parents, other adults and members of our community so that they realise the importance of character and relationships above themselves.
We are all looking forward to Book Week next week and all the wonderful activities that Mrs Cosentino has planned for us.
As our St Gregory’s College motto states, ‘what you sow you shall reap’.
Joel Weekes
Head of Junior School