Mission

One of the greatest joys in my role as Director of Mission is to work with our Student Leaders. In this COVID year we were unable to gather as we normally would at our spiritual home in Mittagong, instead spending our time here at the College. Miss Kent and I, along with our 16 elected leaders, were able to spend an inspiring and productive three days of learning and planning for 2021, focussing on the Christian model of Servant Leadership and the needs of our community. 

The roles of the Student Leaders for 2021 was also determined, as follows:

Following is a short account from our Student Leaders of their experience during these planning days:

For three days from Sunday 18 October to Tuesday 21 October, the Student Leadership team of 2021 was given the opportunity to work with Mrs Clarke and Miss Kent in a Leadership retreat here at the College. Although the “camp” looked slightly different this year, due to the well-known global pandemic, the experience was just as effective for us as a group. Being able to properly get together for the first time as a whole Leadership team and have the opportunity to share our ideas and hopes for the next 12 months was great. Not only did we all learn more about each other as people and bond as a group, throughout the three days a great amount of personal reflection and discovery also took place.  Individually we learned to identify our strengths and embrace our different ways of leading rather than trying to fit into a pre-set “Leader” checklist. Individual confidence, enthusiasm and aspiration was built during this retreat and an overarching excitement about the opportunity to lead next year is shared throughout the whole Student Leadership team.

 We thank Mrs Clarke and Miss Kent for giving up their time to support and guide us through this first step of becoming leaders and we are all looking forward to what will be an awesome year ahead. 

The 2021 Student Leadership Team

The Christian model of Servant Leadership is one which our students explore in many ways throughout their time at St Gregory’s. An important element of this is the Community Service Program in Year 10. Below is a report written by one of our Year 10 students about his experience of community service this year. It is encouraging to know we are working alongside families and parishes in developing fine young men such as Declan. A sincere thank you to Miss Kent for her work in enabling this program.

Community Service is an initiative offered at our College to help students work towards social justice. Here, boys put into practise the Gospel values and Mission statements which are at the heart of our College. The purpose of this project was to develop a culture of service and solidarity within our College community, which provides boys with the opportunity to develop leadership skills and exercise responsibility.

Throughout the year, boys in Year 10 have been encouraged to ‘give back’ to the community – whether it be at home, school, or in in the outer community. Jesus is often described as a servant in the New Testament because he spent his whole life serving others, despite being worthy of worship. We are all called to serve others as Jesus did. The Year 10 2020 theme is Respect Myself, where we “love one another” through service and unity.

Year 10 have been granted many opportunities to participate in Community Service. Two activities that the College has been involved in for many years are The Claymore Homework Club and Touch Footy/Volleyball at Reiby Juvenile Justice Centre. These activities which have been successful in the past had unfortunately been cancelled for Year 10 this year due to COVID-19 restrictions. Due to the challenges of the year, the requirements for Community Service were amended and a greater emphasis was placed on community service at home and in the College.

Despite the challenges of the year, boys have managed to fulfil the requirements of the project and develop their skills during these activities. Some ideas such as mowing the lawn, vacuuming the house, or any other activities that are not a part of one’s normal duties were common among students when completing tasks at home. At the College, boys were offered the chance to assist in family tours on the College Open Day, being a referee for Junior School sports, participating in the ANZAC Day service, being involved with the virtual Red Shield Appeal promotion and many more.

I personally found the Community Service experience very valuable. I was challenged to step out of my comfort zone for the good of others in my community. I met the requirements of a Community Service Medallion, which is 5 home and 5 school activities (although, a lot of boys did 8 home and 2 school activities). From the start of the year, I was constantly motivated to give back to the College, which I did by volunteering at the College Open Day and being a reader/writer for Year 12 Trials to name a few. Although I’m no MasterChef, at home I took the opportunity to prepare meals for my household every now and then as my Community Service. Another requirement for a Medallion is to fill out a journal entry of all the activities you have done. For me, these journal entries allowed me to reflect on the tasks I had done, highlight the challenges I had faced and identify that I am serving God by serving others.

Finally, on behalf of Year 10, I would like to thank Miss Kent for her commitment to the Social Justice Project, constantly providing us with ideas and for checking in on our progress throughout the year. I encourage Year 10 to continue to ‘give back’ to the community because it is a great feeling to serve when our College gives so much to us. It is important to recognise that our contribution to serving others makes a big difference. At the start of the year, a wise person asked us, “Are you a thrower of starfish?” Hopefully, we can all confidently say, “Yes”, because as we have discovered, everything we do matters.

By Declan Byrum (Year 10)

Cathie Clarke

Director of Mission