Teaching and Learning in the Senior School

Study and listening to music

With end-of-year examinations coming closer, students should be taking opportunities to review their work and build some study skills.  We’ve had lots of advice about study in previous newsletters and other communications, but I wanted to share with you some current advice that would no doubt be of interest to parents who are tearing their hair out in an effort to get their youngster into some good study habits.  It centres around the question: Is it okay to listen to Music while studying?

A recent article in The Conversation considered some of the myths and facts around music as a study aid.  In sum, the evidence today is pointing to advice that it is probably fine to listen to music, but only if it fits certain criteria.  To read up on the criteria, check out the very short article here.

World Teachers’ Day

I have no doubt that every one of us could name a teacher who has had a profoundly positive impact on our lives.  This is why teaching, hand-in-hand with parenting, is such an important profession.  Even though we’ve all no doubt also had our fair share of run-ins with teachers, I can’t say I know a single teacher who has entered the profession with the intention of just looking out for themselves.  Opening yourself to the daily scrutiny of children, young people and their parents is hardly a short cut to life satisfaction!  It is in the forging of great relationships with children, young people and their parents that teachers find their ‘mojo’.  Being a teacher doesn’t make one any more nurturing, intelligent, empathic or capable than a person in any other job.  However, being nurturing, intelligent, empathic and capable are essential ingredients for great teaching.

In a world in which pretty much everybody is working in a way that runs counter to a healthy work-life balance, it is hard for people to envisage that teachers have anything other than a great run with their working conditions.  I could take that on and easily run a huge campaign against that perception, but I prefer instead to go back to a basic truth: we entrust to teachers the learning and wellbeing of our kids!  To me, that is the great worth of a teacher, deserving of great praise and support.

There is evidence that large numbers of teachers leave the profession within their first five years of employment.  We can’t afford to let this be the case because we need teachers.  Hence, we need our teachers to feel supported and appreciated.  This week we posted profiles on Facebook of St Gregory’s College teachers who are in that critical first five years of teaching.  I reproduce those profiles here as further recognition of the great work they do.  Thank you to them and to all of our wonderful teachers at Greg’s.

Louise Millar

Director of Teaching and Learning

Kaitlyn Dennis-Ward

Kaitlyn has been teaching Science at St Gregory’s for the past two years, and in that time has confirmed her own love of learning by continuing her university studies!  She is currently studying for a Master’s Degree in Religious Education at Australian Catholic University as well as a Graduate degree at UNSW in Physics teaching.  With her existing qualifications in Biology and Chemistry, Kaitlyn is fast becoming the formidable Triple Threat.  Kaitlyn became a teacher because she had such wonderful teachers as role models when she was a student.  She says she hopes to be that sort of inspiration herself.  Kaitlyn believes that building relationships is the key to working effectively in supporting young people in their learning and wellbeing.

Kerryn Doherty

Kerryn loves her teaching at St Gregory’s and is tickled-pink that she’ll be with us on the English department again in 2020.  Kerryn is qualified to teach English, Religious Education, Society & Culture, and Aboriginal Studies.  She is currently also studying at Australian Catholic University for her Master’s Degree in Religious Education.  Kerryn comes from a long line of teachers, describing teaching as being “in the blood”.  More than that though, Kerryn wants to make a difference in the lives of others.  She sees teaching as a meaningful vocation; one in which she can have both an immediate and a long-term impact on the life outcomes of the young people in her care.

Grace Potts

Grace has only just started on her teaching journey, having joined the St Gregory’s College Art Department at the beginning of Term 3 this year.  It’s a hard task coming in halfway through the school year, but already she has been able to see her students respond positively to her enthusiasm, her warmth and to the hours of preparation required to keep them working hard!  Grace became a Visual Arts teacher because of her own high-school Art teacher, who Grace says was inspiring and made her excited about going to every lesson.  Remembering how that felt, Grace tries to recreate the same atmosphere for her students.  She hopes to inspire them with new technologies and skills, so that they too can experience the creative outlet provided by engaging in the world of Visual Arts.

Adrienne Philips

Adrienne is our newest member of staff.  She commenced her teaching at St Gregory’s just over a week ago, after having completed a very successful practicum placement in the English Department.  We couldn’t let her get away after that!  Completing her undergraduate degree at Sydney University solidified Adrienne’s love of literature, and she saw teaching as a way-in to sharing that with others, which prompted her to pursue her Master of Teaching and Graduate Certificate in Religious Education at ACU.  Adrienne has grown up surrounded by family members in education, so in many ways becoming a teacher was not a surprise.  Adrienne hopes to inspire critical thinking in her students; something she sees as immensely important for navigating the world in which we live.  She says that she looks forward to learning more from her colleagues, as well as from the students in her care.

Emily James

Emily graduated from Charles Sturt University, Wagga Wagga with a Bachelor of Equine Science degree and a love of animal science.  She then went on to study a Master of Teaching (Secondary) at Western Sydney University with a focus on Agriculture, Science, Biology and Chemistry teaching.  We’re terribly lucky to have scored Emily on our Agriculture teaching team.  She has that great mix of commitment to her area of expertise, along with a dedication to improving the lives of young people.  Emily enjoys working with students because they are so bright and full of vitality, humour and hope. She agrees that it might be challenging to always manage that energy in a constructive manner, but there is endless potential for teaching to be fun!  Emily’s advice for other young people is pretty simple: Be genuine and try to always act in good faith in your interactions with others; be the type of person your dog thinks you are!

Michael Ivancic

Michael has been teaching for four years now; two of them at St Gregory’s College as a HSIE teacher.  Michael gained his initial degree in Accounting Law and spent many years following that in the business world, including owning his own small business and working as a Marketing Director in the Pharmaceuticals industry.  In a story that reveals just how lucky we are at St Gregory’s, Michael decided to join the teaching profession when he realised how truly inspired he was by his wife’s work as a “passionate educator”.  We’re lucky to have that passionate educator, Diana Ivancic, in the Junior School, and now Michael in the Senior School is doing his share to inspire a generation of students as well.  Michael hopes to have a positive impact on the lives of young people academically, emotionally and spiritually.  He feels that his particular background enables him to make connections for students between their learning at school and their dreams for future work and life.

Daniel Sciberras

Daniel has just about completed his first year of teaching since graduating from university with a Bachelor Degree in Biochemical and Molecular Biology and a Master of Teaching degree.  Daniel has been both engaged and challenged in his role as a Science teacher at St Gregory’s, feeling ultimately that the opportunity to see students grow and develop under his tutelage has proved to be the real driver behind his commitment.  Daniel became a teacher because of those teachers who supported him through some difficult times in High School; they showed him that teaching has the power to make a difference to others, and was therefore a meaningful vocation to pursue.  We might see the true scientist coming out in Daniel with his advice to young people today; Don’t believe everything you see!  Be critical of what social media especially presents to us as truth.

Michael Bullock

Michael has joined our PDHPE teaching team this year; finally returning to the school where he loved learning as a student himself!  Michael has a Bachelor of Science (Exercise Science) from the University of Wollongong and a Masters of Secondary Teaching (PDHPE) from the University of Sydney.  He has gathered many additional qualifications and has extensive experience in fitness, training and coaching, which made him the perfect person to take on the role of First Grade Rugby League Coach.  Michael’s sister and brother are both teachers (how lucky are we to also have Stephen on board!), so with their good example Michael was drawn to teaching as a way to educate others about health, and to bring smiles of understanding to the faces of