From the Director of Boarding

Dear Parents and Friends,

The business end of the term is fast approaching. Everyone is extremely busy with assessment tasks falling due across most subjects and the commencement of winter sport season increasing the number of afternoons the boys are training and playing. Since the last Newsletter we have seen the conclusion of the ISA Summer Sport season, MCS Cricket and Basketball Grand Finals, Rugby League and Rugby Union trials, ISA Swimming competitions, and the general day to day activities of our Boarding routine. 

Vale Brother Luke 

It was with great sadness that the College farewelled Brother Luke and celebrated his life. Much has and will continue to be said on the significant contribution Brother Luke made to St Gregory’s College. His involvement in Boarding and Agriculture over many years was amazing. The Boarding community proudly contributed to the organisation of the day. I was particularly proud of the Stage 6 (Year 11 and Year 12) students who participated in the funeral as the choir. It was wonderful to hear them sing with such reverence and skill. Our Year 10 Boarders did a wonderful job assisting with car parking, and greeting guests, and it was tremendous to see everyone being able to join in the guard of honour. In years to come, as old boys of the College, I am confident the students will remember the magnificent honour it was to be a part of the celebration of Brother Luke’s life.

Blogs

The College is moving towards the implementation of Blogs for up to date and interactive communication with parents and friends of the Boarding community. The Stage Boarding Coordinators, Mr Kripal, Mr Bullock and Mr Halaifonua have done a wonderful job starting these blogs. We would welcome any feedback in relation to these and hope that you find this an easy and visually pleasing way to see what your sons are up to while they are at the College.

Please subscribe to each of the Blogs at the following addresses:

Stage 6 (Year 11 and 12):  https://pkripal.wixsite.com/website-5

Stage 5 (Year 9 and 10):  https://mbullock21.wixsite.com/website-2

Stage 4 (Year 7 and 8):  https://thalaifonua.wixsite.com/website

Sport Wrap

The shortened version of the ISA Summer competition has come to an end. Congratulations to our 1st XI cricket team for their efforts in Division 1 for the season. We knew that this would be a difficult proposition playing against other school’s full-strength teams, however, despite the difficulties, there were no complaints from the boys and their cricket improved throughout the season. In Division 2 of the basketball, several of our teams would have qualified for the semi-finals, however, in a shortened season it was a 1st and 2nd qualifier Grand Final only. Our 1st V Basketball team was successful in qualifying for this game, however, were outclassed by a very good St Andrew’s Cathedral College team on the day. A big thank you to Mr Sam Hackett for all his work with the team and Mr Fox for his wonderful job in overseeing the Basketball program. 

Congratulations to all our Boarders that participated in MCS Basketball and Cricket Grand Finals. It was wonderful to see so many of our boys being central to the success of these teams.

Several Boarders have been selected in representative sides in recent weeks. Congratulations to Matthew Canellis (Boorowa) for his selection in the NSW Combined Catholic Colleges Opens Cricket team. Matthew will be competing this week in the NSW Schoolboy Championships in Maitland. Good luck Matthew.

Congratulations also go to James Sykes (Canberra) and Joshua Sykes (Binalong) for their selection in the MCS Touch Football team. James and Joshua will compete at the NSW Combined Catholic Colleges Open trials to be held in Nelson Bay next week. We wish both boys every success in the tournament.

Finally, the 1st XIII squad for the upcoming Rugby League season was announced at a College Assembly last Friday. Boarding students make up a significant portion of the squad again this year, which continues to be a wonderful tradition. 

The Boarding students in the squad are; Thomas Carroll (Springvale), Cooper Cross (Boorowa), Thomas Fletcher (Coonamble), Charlie Guymer (Temora), Cody Parry (Tamworth), Jack Rule (Cronulla), James Sykes (Canberra), Joshua Sykes (Binalong), Sipiliano Vaohea (Groote Eyelandt).

On the Road

I spent last week in the beautiful town of Hay at the Isolated Children’s and Parents Association (ICPA) Conference. The Conference is an important part of the wonderful work the hundreds of volunteers do to support Children in isolated areas to improve access to education. Numerous Members of Parliament, Stakeholders and Council members spoke eloquently about the issues that face isolated children. It was fantastic to see two former families central to the work that the ICPA are doing. Monique Watkin (Boarding Schools) and Tim Fletcher (Tertiary Education) are both members of the State Council in charge of these portfolios. Monique’s presentation in relation to the impacts of COVID on Boarding schools was very moving and met with huge applause by the Conference.

The Conference also provided the opportunity to catch up with some former families. It was wonderful to see the Nicholson’s, McCarten’s, Fitzsimmons and Villata’s and I look forward to catching up with more families as our Country visits expand. 

Upcoming Visits

We have locked in the following dates for some ‘Past, Present and Future Families’ country visits, and will be adding more to the itinerary in the near future.

Our families are our best form of marketing. It would be wonderful if you can spread the word through your communities and contacts to as many people as possible to make these visits a success. If you know of any families that might be interested in considering St Gregory’s please reach out to them or me so I can get in contact. Marketing material for all current families will be sent to assist with spreading the word for us.

We are also planning evenings for Cronulla, Wollongong and Newcastle in the coming months. If you feel we are missing any areas, please get in contact so we can discuss a plan.

Spencer Family Visit

It has been wonderful to catch up with Max Spencer and his family on a couple of occasions this term. They enjoyed eating in the new Dining Hall, attending Mass and watching the Marist College Canberra Rugby Trial. It was fantastic to see how relaxed Max is and to hear how much they are enjoying their move to Canberra.

Communication and Social Media

The Australian Boarding Schools Association produce a quarterly magazine called ‘Lights Out’. It is a wonderful resource that has lots of interesting stories relative to Boarding. The e-version of this resource can be accessed on the ABSA website - https://www.boarding.org.au/our-community/lights-out-journal. You can also sign up to the website to receive notifications. It is a wonderful resource, and I would encourage all of our Boarding families to make use of it.

A reminder about our Facebook and Instagram accounts. These sites are live so please make sure you get onto them if you have accounts. If it is your first foray into social media, (I do not blame you) perhaps your sons can assist you!

I hope you enjoy time with your son this coming school holiday period and look forward to their return to the College on Sunday 18 April, ready to commence Term 2. 

Please note that Boarding Houses will not open until 5pm on this day and the Dining Hall will not be available for meals.

Kind regards,

Mr Luke Morrissey

Director of Boarding