St Gregory's College Newsletter

From the College Principal 

Mr Lee MacMaster

FROM THE COLLEGE PRINCIPAL

 

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

 

We have now completed Week 5 of the academic year and we have experienced a very settled start to the year. Our staff and the majority of our students across the K-12 campus have adopted strong routines and we are maximising learning opportunities by our students being on task and engaged in their lessons. Every day is an opportunity to learn new things and this is the mindset we need our students to adopt – be open and flexible to learning; be willing to take risks in learning new things and consolidating past learnings; and, respect the learning of others in the class. 

 

I thank our parents and carers who consistently reinforce and support the educational opportunities we offer at St Gregory’s. We always work in partnership and as the first and foremost educators of your child, we appreciate the encouragement and mentoring you constantly provide.

 

DEATH & FUNERAL OF MR MARSHAL MCMAHON – College Headmaster from 2001 – 2007 - The St Gregory’s College community mourns the recent passing of Mr Marshal McMahon (previously Brother Joseph), who passed away peacefully on Friday 12 February with his wife Teresa by his side.

 

Marshal was the Headmaster of St Gregory’s College from 2001 to 2007. Joe, as he was more affectionately known, was strong of mind but soft of heart. 

 

Marshal was a Brother for 32 years and during that time was Sydney Province Vocations Recruiter, Headmaster of Marist College Canberra and then St Joseph’s Hunters Hill. Afterwards, he was the Headmaster of St Gregory’s Campbelltown (2001 – 2007) and he taught at Parramatta Marist High. He was 79 years of age.

 

Marshal was so much more than the Headmaster of the College; he was a man of deep faith, a revered leader, a thoroughly compassionate human being and a deeply treasured friend.

 

We keep Marshal's wife Teresa, and the extended McMahon family in our prayers.  

 

Marshal’s funeral was in the St Joseph’s College Hunters Hill Chapel on Monday 22 February. A very fitting farewell to a great man. 

 

 

LENTEN PERIOD – Last week on Wednesday 17 February, Ash Wednesday marked the commencement of the Lenten period in the Church’s liturgical calendar. On Ash Wednesday, the College community gathered for liturgies, with students and staff receiving the sign of the cross in ash on their foreheads, a mark of sorrow and repentance for sin. As was explained during the moving liturgies, this period of time leading up to the Easter period gives us all an opportunity to look within and to challenge ourselves to renew and revitalise our spirits. The ashes on Ash Wednesday are a stark reminder for us all of our life journey from our origins to our eventual passing.

 

For our students at St Gregory’s College, the messages of the Lenten period will not be lost as each student will be challenged to reflect and look closely at their life. The messages and stories in the Gospels of Matthew, Mark, Luke and John are vivid reminders for us all of God’s love for us – his only son Jesus lived the human experience and eventually died on the Cross. His resurrection brings us all hope and his love is poured out for each of us.

 

This week, we continue our Lenten journey with the account of the Transfiguration, and the affirmation from God that Jesus was, indeed, his beloved Son. This is despite the suffering awaiting him.

 

As we journey towards Easter, it is a good time for all of us to reflect on what it means to be loved by God. How does that love transform you, and through you, transform the world? How can we better experience that love in our lives, and better embody that love in the world?

 

Lent is also a time when we give of ourselves to others. Once again, this year, the College will be supporting the Marist Lenten Appeal. This is a real opportunity for St Gregory’s College students and families to open their hearts with love and hope to the needs of the world. 

 

COLLEGE MUSICAL – 2021 – The College Musical for 2021 is well underway with casting completed and rehearsals now regularly scheduled. The St Gregory’s College & St Patrick’s College Musical, ‘Xanadu’ will be a fantastic production this year with a great cast of performers, vocalists and musicians from both schools. 

 

I congratulate our young men participating this year and wish them every success and happiness in their roles for the show. A special congratulations to Jordan-Leigh Estephan and Elliot Power for scoring lead roles for the production.

 

The College Musical will take place in early June this year at St Patrick’s College Campbelltown. 

 

COVID-19 UPDATE – As you are all well aware, the College continues to follow and implement the guidelines and protocols provided to us from NSW Health and Catholic Schools NSW. These guidelines sometimes force us to cancel College events due to not being able to run events safely or due to organisational issues preventing the event from achieving its purpose. We will always try to minimise cancellations.

 

A number of other College events have been postponed, again in the hope that delaying the event until later in the term/year will allow the event to run as it is intended.

 

We are pushing ahead with many scheduled College events and have COVID safe measures in place to support the event and keep all participants safe. At these events, checking in with the COVID app, sanitising and social distancing are the norms.

 

Thanks for your support with our College events and for assisting in helping keep our community healthy and safe.

 

THANKS & CONGRATULATIONS TO ……… 

  • Our Kindergarten teachers, Mrs Louise Limbrey and Mrs Kristy Scott and the Kindergarten Teacher Aides for completing their Kindergarten Best Start Assessments and then welcoming our 52 new students to the College. A great start to their next thirteen years of schooling!
  • Mr Ric Bombardiere, Mrs Louise Millar & Mr Pat Newell for an excellent Year 11 Preliminary Course Information Night recently. Strong attendance by both the students and their parents on the night sets the students up for success as they begin their HSC journey.
  • Mr Darryl Howe (Leader of Learning – PDHPE – Junior School), our IPSSO coaches and the students in the Junior School representative teams. Keep up the great work and enthusiasm.
  • Mr Jamie Cook (Leader of Sport and Co-curricular), our MCS Sports Coaches and the students involved in representing the College on Thursday afternoons in Basketball and Cricket currently. Many of our teams have now qualified for the finals. We wish them every success.
  • Mr Luke Morrissey (Director of Boarding) and the staff who assist him with our ISA Basketball and Cricket teams each Saturday during the summer season. The students love representing their College and the coaches provide wonderful mentoring.
  • Our Leaders of Learning, Academic Care Leaders and Year Leaders have set a very high standard since the start of term. This is greatly appreciated, and we will see significant rewards for these continual high standards.
  • Our Junior School leaders – Mr Weekes, Mrs Ivancic, Mrs Limbrey, Ms Wheeler and Mrs Bowen for their excellent start to the year. Their consistent high standard of planning and preparation is outstanding and has a huge influence on the culture of the Junior School.
  • Mrs Alison Buckley for her great start with the Year 7 and Kindergarten – Year 6 Parent Forums recently. These forums serve as information sharing sessions. We can certainly learn a lot by collaborating with and listening to the parents and carers. Our Year 8 – 12 Parent Forum takes place on Monday 8 March (Brother Luke Hall - 7pm).
  • Mrs Maria Santos and Ms Lydia Khoury for their leadership of the 30th Annual Gordon Fetterplace Public Speaking Competition on Friday 12 February. Their energy, passion and dedication towards public speaking and the growth of our students in this pursuit was again clearly evident on Friday night. Thanks also to the many staff members and past students who supported the night. This was another great example of the outstanding culture that has been built up at St Gregory’s College over many years. It was a privilege to attend on the evening and to witness our students from Year 5 to Year 12 give their all with their speeches.
  • Our outstanding Show Team! Great success recently at the Rydal Corriedale Sheep Show winning many ribbons for our quality sheep and for the students who displayed their handlers skills and knowledge. We placed as the overall winning school! Hopefully further success this coming weekend at the Royal Canberra Show for our Show Team with our cattle.

COLLEGE SWIMMING CARNIVAL – SENIOR SCHOOL – The College Senior School Swimming Carnival on Friday 12 February was a great success thanks to the participation of the students, the great staff efforts and the wonderful organisation of our Leader of Sport and Cocurricular, Mr Jamie Cook. We were blessed with fine weather on the day, and while the COVID restrictions did not allow the usual chanting and cheering, the students and staff enjoyed the day out. 

 

Congratulations to our ‘champion’ swimmers who had a go on the day – for the majority of the boys getting in and competing was the most important element. Of course, our very best swimmers shone on the day, with a couple of new records to Will Winsor (Year 12) and Jaxson Smith (Year 8). Our College Swim Team will now prepare to compete at the upcoming MCS and ISA Swimming Carnivals. Well done boys and good luck at the upcoming carnivals.

 

COLLEGE OPEN DAY - The College Open Day on Sunday 21 February was an outstanding success! Great weather, big crowds, happy parents and prospective students, and amazing support from our College community on the day. At the Junior School and then at the Senior School, we had outstanding contributions by staff in attendance on the day, the parent volunteers were amazing, and the students who supported the day by being tour guides or as part of curriculum / extra curriculum areas (Junior Choir; College Band, Show Team; etc.) were fantastic. What a great way to showcase our College! Thank you to all involved on the day, and a very special thanks to Mr Paul Brooks, Deputy Principal, Mrs Kate Stott (College Registrar) and her team, Mrs Daniela Romeo (Junior School Registrar), the College Leadership Team, the College Grounds and Maintenance Team, our Leaders of Learning and their staff, and all our participating staff members who supported the day and enriched the experiences for the prospective families who were in attendance.

 

Enrolment procedures are well underway for Kindergarten - 2022, and for Year 7 – 2022. Please contact Mrs Stott or Mrs Romeo if you have children wishing to enrol at the College for 2022. 

 

HIGHER SCHOOL CERTIFICATE 2020 – HIGH ACHIEVERS - It is a pleasure to share with you the link to our '2020 Higher School Certificate High Achievers' publication. The College had a stellar year of fine academic achievements in 2020 and this publication highlights the outstanding performances of our Year 12 cohort. I hope you enjoy reading through the publication.

https://online.flippingbook.com/view/1787788/

 

 

TERM DATES – 2022

  • Leadership Team Meeting – Thursday 20 January 2022
  • New Staff Induction Days – Friday 21 January & Monday 24 January 2022
  • Senior & Middle Leadership Planning Day – Monday 24 January 2022
  • Staff Professional Development Days – Tuesday 25 January & Thursday 27 January 2022
  • Term 1 – 2022 – Friday 28 January to Friday 8 April (11-week term)

Please note: New Year 7 – Year 11 Boarding Students arrive @ 11am on Thursday 27 January; and Returning Boarding students (Year 8 – Year 12) arrive at 2pm on Thursday 27 January.

  • Term 2 – 2022 – Tuesday 26 April to Friday 24 June (9-week term)
  • Term 3 – 2022 - Monday 18 July to Friday 23 September (10-week term)
  • Term 4 - 2022 – Monday 10 October to Wednesday 7 December (9-week term)

__________________________________________

 

Note 1:  Public Holiday – Wednesday 26 January 2022. 

Note 2:  Easter Period – Good Friday – 15 April 2022 – Easter Monday – 18 April 2022.

Note 3:  Student Free Days (Term 1) – Friday 4 March 2022 (Staff Professional Development Day) & Monday 7 March 2022 (Staff Professional Development Day).

Note 4:  Student Free Days (Term 2) – Friday 10 June 2022 *Senior School only (No Staff & No Students in the Senior School & No Students in the Junior School / Staff Professional Learning in the Junior School) & Monday 13 June 2022 (Queen’s Birthday Public Holiday). 

Note 5:  Student Free Days (Term 3) – Friday 19 August 2022 (Staff Professional Development Day) & Monday 22 August 2022 (Staff Professional Development Day).

Note 6:  Student Free Days (Term 4) – Friday 4 November 2022 (Staff Professional Development Day) & Monday 7 November 2022 (Staff Professional Development Day).

Note 7:  ANZAC Day – Monday 25 April 2022. 

Note 8:  Year 12 students conclude classes on Thursday 22 September 2022. Year 12 Graduation Day – Friday 23 September 2022.

Note 9:  Year 7 – 10 students conclude classes & Semester 2 Exam Block on Friday 2 December 2020.

Note 10: Year 11 students conclude classes on Wednesday 7 December 2022. 

Note 11: Kindergarten – Year 6 students conclude classes on Wednesday 7 December 2022. 

Note 12: Staff Professional Learning Days on Thursday 8 December & Friday 9 December 2022.

 

FINAL THOUGHTS 

  1. Please don’t forget the upcoming Student Free Days at the College – Friday 26 February and Monday 1 March are both student-free days. The College recommences on Tuesday 2 March.
  2. Please only use the Western Entrance for student drop off and pick up. The main entrance off Badgally Road is not to be used for this purpose. There is a high potential for accidents resulting in student/staff injuries if parents and carers persist in using the main College entrance and not following our instructions.
  3. Students in the Senior School have been warned about ‘excessive requests for toilet breaks during class time.’ Please discuss this matter with your son. Staff have been advised to not permit this to occur except in emergency situations. Toilet breaks by students mid-lesson are highly disruptive.
  4. Please keep in your prayers and thoughts our Marist Brothers community at St Gregory’s. Our fifteen Brothers who reside here at the College are outstanding men of service and faith. Brother Luke Smythe, our wonderful Marist Brother of over 70 years at St Gregory’s is very unwell and in need of all our prayers and thoughts.

 

I wish you God’s blessings always. May Mary, our Good Mother, Saint Marcellin Champagnat and Saint Gregory continue to guide us each day and inspire us on our journey together.

 

Quae Seminaveris Metes – “You will reap what you sow."

 

 

 

 

 

 

Mr Lee MacMaster 

College Principal (K-12)