From the College Principal 

Dear Parents, Carers, Students and Friends of the St Gregory’s College Community,

What a different start to Term 2! Normally we have the buzz of our students and staff returning after their two-week Easter break, but not this year. Our return to the College after the holiday break was very subdued and we yearn for the re-commencement of face to face teaching and learning across the College in the coming weeks.

As we move towards Week 3 of Term 2 (in a 9-week term), I am reminded of how special the St Gregory’s community is on a daily basis. In the first two weeks of the term, I have witnessed outstanding teaching and learning, and the commitment by our staff, our teachers and our parents in the online environment; I have watched our Grounds and Maintenance Team work overtime to ensure our College is looking fantastic; I have seen our College Finance Team reach out to support our families in financial need; and, I have worked alongside our leaders in the College who give so much of their own time to ensure the College is run well. I am truly blessed to be the Principal of this fine College!

Mother’s Day - On Sunday, our prayers and thoughts are with all our loving Mums! On behalf of the College, I would like to say a big thank you to all to the ‘mums’ in the College who provide so much love, compassion and modelling to the children. I hope Mother’s Day is a time you are spoiled, and you feel the love of your children and families, but also the constant love of Jesus. Happy Mother’s Day to all the Mum’s!

May & Mary - The month of May is marked with “alleluias” as we celebrate the Resurrection and live into the Easter joy we proclaim.  May is also marked by the Church in its dedication of the month to Mary.  We reflect on the remarkable role Mary plays in salvation history.  Her “yes” to God’s invitation forever changed the course of history.  Today, Mary offers us three essential pathways for living our faith.

Mary shows us how to listen.  Mary was a young girl living in a culture where she could have been stoned to death for having a child out-of-wedlock.  She knew the cultural and societal consequences of her “yes.”  She knew what could happen if Joseph didn’t understand.  She had reason to fear her parents’ reactions.  When the angel appeared to Mary, we read in scripture how she was deeply troubled.  Somewhere deep within she found the courage, inner strength, and grace to respond with full assent, “Let it be done to me according to your word.”  Mary shows us what it means to listen with full intensity to what God is asking, God’s invitations may very well demand everything of us.  Deep pondering, heart-centred attentiveness, and courageous listening are required of us, too.

Mary shows us how God’s word must be shared with others.  When Mary visited her cousin Elizabeth, they did not simply exchange a simple greeting, but one of deep faith.  God’s word is meant to be shared.  It cannot be contained within us if we are to be filled with the life it offers.  We must share it with others.  We are invited to ponder the word of God so that we might share it joyfully with others.

Mary shows us how to live in God’s word.  Mary lived moments of profound joy as well as profound sorrow.  From losing Jesus in the Temple to the journey to Calvary, Mary lived these sorrows and anguished deeply.  Mary formed and raised Jesus from the simplicity of her daily life.  She was a person in conversation with God, with the Word of God, and also with the events through which God spoke to her.  From the Annunciation to Pentecost, Mary appears as someone whose freedom is completely open to God’s will and shows us how to live in God’s word.

In this month of May, may we turn to Mary in our times of joy and sorrow and ask her to continue to show us the way to her Son.  As we strive to grow in faith and live more fully in God’s word, may we, like Mary, bring Christ to others.

Student Success – Since Monday 30 March, our students across the College have been learning in a totally new way to their usual day to day experiences. Online learning has presented many new challenges for our staff, students and families. We know that the experiences of online learning have assisted students in many ways to forge ahead, while for other students, the transition away from face to face learning has seen a regression in their learning.

This week I share with you the ‘Top 12 Tips for Student Success.’ These really sum up how students can move to become more successful. I share them with you because I believe that out of the adversity we are facing with the COVID-19 pandemic, ‘many ‘champion’ students will emerge, and these students are the ones who have adopted the ‘can do’ attitude and the realisation that their education can be controlled by their level of commitment and their state of mind.

1. Successful students persist. They concentrate on the task and work on it until they have completed it successfully. They ask for help when they get stuck.
2. Successful students have self-control. They act thoughtfully.
3. Successful students listen with understanding. They are open to hearing another point of view.
4. Successful students think flexibly. They are able to view a situation from many perspectives and their minds are open to change.
5. Successful students use problem-solving and decision-making skills. They are able to make a plan, monitor their thinking, evaluate their progress and work out new ways to proceed and learn.
6. Successful students strive for accuracy and precision. They know what level they need to reach and are not satisfied with sloppy work.
7. Successful students ask questions. They are curious and seek evidence. They analyse ideas. They use lots of strategies to solve problems.
8. Successful students think and communicate clearly and accurately, both in speech and in writing. They avoid dismissing new ideas.
9. Successful students create, imagine and innovate. They look for different i