Boarding News

Dear parents and friends,

It is a little hard to believe that this time last week I was wandering in the footsteps of Saint Marcellin Champagnat in the French countryside just outside of Lyon. A little over a week before that I was in the Holy Land, following millions of pilgrims before me in the footsteps of Jesus, along the shores of Galilee and down into Jerusalem.

The great fountain of all knowledge, Wikipedia, suggests that ‘a pilgrimage is a journey, often into an unknown or foreign place, where a person goes in search of new or expanded meaning about the self, others, nature, or a higher good, through the experience. It can lead to a personal transformation, after which the pilgrim returns to their daily life’.

I’ve been fully aware that I have returned to my daily life this week but what is still becoming apparent is how I have been transformed. That is a conversation for another time and place but one thing I do know is that in education, we are in the business of transforming lives. Marcellin Champagnat lived this mission acutely and this is a mission that staff at Marist schools all around the world are proud to continue to this day. We aim to transform minds and hearts, we dare to challenge mediocrity and apathy and most importantly we want all young people to know that they are loved. It is a simple and beautiful message, as vital and pertinent today as it was 200 years ago. As we celebrate World Teachers’ Day this week, it is worth taking a moment to stop and celebrate a young French priest (and teacher) who dedicated his life, at times against all odds, to bring education to young people the world over. His is a remarkable story and an even more remarkable legacy for which we should all be truly grateful to share in.

Ad Jesum per Mariam.

Max Spencer

Director of Boarding

Community Service in Boarding

Community service is a crucial and critical aspect of any community that relies on the volunteering of its individuals to allow it to thrive. This is certainly the case when it comes to boarding here at St Gregory’s College. This willingness to serve is a theme that runs throughout the school year but was extremely important on first weekend of term 4 for our annual Sports Dinner, 24 hour ‘Walk for Cancer’ and Mater Dei Country Fair pack up.

On Friday night our boarding boys were ready to go to serve their community for the Annual Celebrity Sports dinner. One of the services that our students become expert in while here at St Greg’s is the art of car parking. Whilst this is not a science, it is a precise and delicate operation to park nearly 450 cars in an area with few set car spaces. This is where our year 9/10 students come to the fore. Without fuss our boys were briefed and fluoro vested ready for the monsoon of cars that flooded campus. These boys did themselves and the community proud and offered so much more than a parking service, but a friendly face to greet our guests on the night.

Another extremely important job on the night was one that often goes unseen, that is the back of house duties. Under the expert guidance of Mrs Santa Maria, ten of our year 7-10 boys helped plate hundreds of meals for our hungry guests. These boys were fantastic once again and are to be commended on their hard work and positive attitude. Well done gentlemen and thank you to Mrs Santa Maria for coordinating these boys.

Not to be outdone were our Year 11 boys who were a much more visible face for the night. These boys did an excellent job welcoming and escorting our celebrity guests to their table as they were introduced. To go with these logistical and operational responsibilities we also had a number of boys with extremely important speaking roles on the night. Harry Ellis, Lachlan McGufficke, Jerry Fisher and Lindsay Munro did a wonderful job in asking questions of the headline celebrities, Anna Meares and Peter Sterling at the pre-dinner question and answer session and Jerry said grace at the main event. An exceptional effort from all involved.

On Saturday evening we had fifteen Year 11 students travel to Campbelltown Sports Complex to participate in the 24 hour walk for cancer. This is a tradition that our year 11 students have been involved in over the past few years and the experience continues to be a rewarding and valued experience. Well done boys for supporting such a worthy course and supporting those in our community that have been in some way affected by cancer.

To cap off an extremely busy weekend in terms of community service for our boarding students, we had 21 years 7-9 boys travel to Mater Dei school to help pack down their Country Fair. It was so pleasing to be able to help this wonderful school on their main fundraising day of the year. A comment from one of their volunteers was that we were like a ‘group of angels in the form of teenage boys’ as we got off the bus. It was evident how exhausted these volunteers were after a day that started at 4:00 am so our boys taking time out of their Sunday afternoon to help was extremely well received.

I would like to thank and congratulate each and every one of our boarding students on their support of the entire St Greg’s family and extended community. The values learnt through the service of others is an asset you will use well into your adult life and I am extremely proud of the way you conducted yourself when asked to ‘give back’ to your community.

Logan Hawkins

Junior Boarding Coordinator

Term 4 - Staffing Information Reminder

Next term Luke Morrissey will be absent as he is taking some well-earned long service leave. The Morrissey clan will be heading off on a trip around the country and we all wish them well for a safe and thoroughly enjoyable extended break.

I will fill-in for Luke during his absence however one slight catch is that during Week 1 of Term 4 I will be overseas myself with a Marist staff pilgrimage to the Holy Land, Rome and France. As a result, Logan Hawkins will be the main point of call for Week 1 of Term 4. Logan is available on 0448 410 910.

Spotlight on Fingal!