Feast of the Assumption

On Monday, the Church celebrated the Feast of the Assumption. This is an important feast day for us as a Marist community as we celebrate Mary wholly going to Heaven. Below is an extract from an article written by a Jesuit priest based in Melbourne, Fr Andrew Hamilton SJ, and his explanation of the importance of this feast day.

The Catholic belief that Mary was taken into heaven has a long history. Though not mentioned in the Scriptures it appears in other early Christian writings. It became widespread in the fifth century when a fierce debate about how to account for Christ’s divinity and humanity arose. The description of Mary as the mother of God affirmed both his divinity and the earthy reality of his human life. It also deepened devotion to Mary as mother, as one who was without sin, as someone to whom we could pray, and as example of the Christian life.

In this world belief that Mary was taken into heaven, either before or after her death, was natural. Like Son, like mother. In the Western Church Mary was believed to have been taken to heaven before her death. In the Eastern Church she was believed to have died and then to have been taken to heaven. The belief was expressed in devotions, in liturgical celebration, in art and in theological exploration. It was part of Catholic life.

Although Mary was often represented in popular art as unshakeable in her faith and as totally self-possessed, as a model of conduct and self-control, and so a reliable companion in prayer, she could also be prayed to as a sister who shared our hardships. In the austere masculinity of church ministry, too, Mary represented the ideal woman and mother.

The feast of the Assumption is for all Catholics. Its meaning has been caught in a later feast instituted by Pope Francis for a more inclusive Church, Mary Mother of the Church. It focuses on Mary’s links to us as well as to God, and points to the links that unite all Christians and all Churches. The Feast of the Assumption enlivens our hope that we shall be with Christ as Mary now is. It promises that after the struggles and losses of this life that we shall find happiness and companionship with God.

Image: Guido Reni, The Assumption of Virgin Mary (1638-9), Alte Pinakothek, Munich (Germany). Wiki Commons images

Senior School Academic Award Assembly

It was wonderful to see so many students recognised for their efforts in Semester 1, 2022. Many thanks to Mr Bombardiere and Mrs Johnstone for their coordination of the assembly and all staff who worked behind the scenes to make it possible. It is an important keepsake for families and a copy of the assembly can be found below:

Year 7-11 Semester 1 Awards Assembly 12th August 2022 - YouTube

Year 12 Retreat

I had the privilege of attending the Year 12 Retreat on Tuesday and Thursday evenings for Mass and dinner. What a great opportunity for our young men to reflect on their schooling and to ‘take stock’ of where they are. To have the retreats at the spiritual home of the Marists in Australia, The Hermitage in Mittagong, is a great bonus. I left both retreats with a real sense of optimism and gratitude. Optimism as we have a wonderful group of young men about to contribute positively to society in a few short months and gratitude that we have staff willing to give up their precious family time to give the young men this life-changing experience.

Parent Article

Please find below eleven great suggestions that parents can work with the College to support our most precious gifts. I urge you to read and print off a copy for your future reference.

11 ways parents can support our efforts to boost students' mental health;

1. Foster self-acceptance. Parents may provide a powerful impetus in promoting self-acceptance and high self-esteem by encouraging young people to pursue interests and skills while also stressing the value of setting realistic objectives and developing efficient methods to achieve them. Parents can facilitate a positive self-image that will help young navigate challenges more effectively.
2. Discuss difficult emotions. Understand social norms and provide them with the skills necessary to tackle difficult emotions when they surface. Talk to your child about their feelings and encourage them to express them in healthy ways, such as through art, music, or writing. Look for ways to check in with your teen. When they open up to you, you can respond with “I understand”, “it sounds like a difficult situation”, or “that makes sense”. Remind them that you are there for them, no matter what, and that you want to hear how they are feeling and what they are thinking. Being aware and taking notice of the little things teaches us to be conscious of our mental and emotional states. Talking about what we are grateful for is also known to promote positive wellbeing. As parents, we can share what we are grateful for.
3. Build Relationships. Research shows that healthy family relationships can reduce the chances of a teenager experiencing mental health issues. Making time for the important people in our lives and having positive relationships with friends, family, peers, and staff is essential for mental wellbeing. Encourage your child to make new friendships and maintain an active connection with their friends. This connection helps them develop a sense of belonging. Help them foster meaningful relationships with others by encouraging them to be active members of the school community, a sports team, volunteer, or just by making time for family. Understanding how to resolve conflict in relationships is also crucial.
4. Promote healthy coping skills to deal with stress and anxiety. If your teen feels frustrated, work with them to brainstorm solutions to problems. Ask your child how they will resolve conflict for themselves. They also need to understand everyone gets stressed at times, and some stress is good stress and helps us to perform at our optimum. Talking about the worst-case scenario can also help put things in perspective.
5. Ensure sufficient good quality sleep. Sleep is essential for positive mental health. The most significant influence on good quality sleep is mobile phones and social media, which may ‘ping’ all night long. When teenagers become stressed or down, they may also sleep more, turning their sleep patterns upside down. They might sleep all day and be awake all night. Getting young people to readjust to a circadian sleep pattern will significantly improve their mental wellbeing. Quality sleep is so important for so many aspects of life. Family expectations of no technology in bedrooms is one way parents can ensure their child gets sufficient, quality sleep. This is critical to good learning, good decisions and positive wellbeing.
6. Limit screen time. Interacting virtually through texting, social networking, or gaming sites is the new norm. Add to this online bullying, increased exposure to violence and inappropriate body images; it is not difficult to understand why today’s kids struggle to establish and maintain good mental health. Excessive screen time leads to inactivity, wasted time causing stress with school assessments, lack of time building face-to-face relationships and most importantly, lack of sleep. This is one of the biggest challenges for parents but can have the biggest impact on mental health.
7. Avoid power struggles. With the world feeling unpredictable, and right now, teens might be struggling to be in control. As difficult as it can be in the moment, empathise with their desire to assert control rather than attempting to overpower their opinions. Never discuss an issue while you are angry. Walk away, take a breath; you can talk with your teen about it later, and you will have a much more productive conversation when you are both calm. This shows your teenager how you manage your emotions.
8. Encouraging them to be active. Whether through sport, dance or any other physical activity. Co-curricular activities at school and beyond provide many opportunities and have been linked to a decreased risk of mental illness. Encouraging your child to get involved in activities they are passionate about can help them feel more connected to their school and peer group and enable them to develop confidence and feel valued for their abilities. The outdoors is a great place for promoting wellbeing.
9. Volunteer together. It is gratifying when we give our time and energy to help someone else. It provides us with a sense of meaning and purpose. Volunteering or giving time to a cause your child feels strongly about and showing kindness will help your child understand empathy. Helping them find ways to contribute to their community will ensure they feel valued and can help build stronger relationships with parents.
10. Modelling positive mental health. Parents can support the school’s efforts by modelling healthy habits for their children. Parents should take care of their own mental health, practice stress management, and make time for leisure activities. By modelling these behaviours, parents can show their children that taking care of their mental health is important and that while we may have stressful days, we can work through them.
11. Work in partnership. Work with the school and other professionals to support your child’s mental health. The most important thing parents can do is be aware of the signs and symptoms of mental illness. Mental illness can manifest in many ways, so it is important to be vigilant for changes in your child’s behaviour. If you are concerned about your child, talk to your child’s teacher/year leader or a College Psychologist. Seek professional help if you are worried about your child.

While some of these suggestions are challenging to implement, it is far more challenging to resolve complex mental health issues once they arise. Prevention is a far better option. A child’s good mental health is a very elusive concept because kids are constantly changing, growing and developing, so we need to be flexible depending on a child’s needs.

Let’s partner together, parents and educators, to ensure our children have the knowledge and skills to manage their wellbeing, tackle challenges and thrive in school and life. 

By working together, we can help your child thrive.

May St Marcellin, St Gregory and Mary our Good Mother continue to watch over our community.

Character . . . What it means to be a St Greg’s student?

Whilst much is spoken about in schools, particularly through the media, regarding curriculum and areas such as sport, one of the areas that is often overlooked is the schools ‘hidden curriculum’. The hidden curriculum is often unspoken, yet commonly understood messages that are communicated to students through the action, structure and relationships that exist within a school environment. For many parents, it is this ‘hidden curriculum’ that makes you feel that a school is the right fit for your son or daughter. Interestingly, the hidden curriculum can be a stronger voice to the students than the organised and obvious learning in the classroom. What is the type of student that makes a St Greg’s student – what is their character?                                                                                                               

As I walk the corridors in the Senior and Junior School, move through the playground, visit the various events in the school or simply watch the students move about their business at the end of the day – it’s clear to me that there is a distinct culture that has built over time in this school over the 96 years. The importance of this hidden curriculum became very clearly evident to me when speaking with two parents recently. One at the ‘Trivia Night’ and the other who I spoke to at the recent Parent Forum.

The parent at the Trivia Night stated that:

‘each of the 6 students boys working at the Trivia Night either at the canteen or delivering pizzas to tables, did so with a such manners that it made me so proud to have my son at this College. This is why we love this school’

The second parent from the Parent Forum stated that:

‘You must be so proud of the students in the Junior School. I love the culture of how the teachers and students interact with one another – a mutual respect that can be felt when you come onsite’.

Both of these examples were not shocks to me as we are lucky to see these interactions each day at Greg’s. Nevertheless, is still refreshing to hear these positive comments as it consolidates that this is witnessed from a parent’s perspective.

As we consider what it means to be a St Gregory’s College student, it is crucial that we understand what it means to be a ‘person of character’. Our Marist Attributes that are regularly referred to in the College diary are not just words, these are the attributes that we want our students to enact and action. We need to continue to engage our students in conversations about how they treat one another, their parents, other adults and members of our community so that they realise the importance of character and relationships above themselves.

Celebrating Student Success

One thing that we love to do in both the Junior and Senior Schools, is to celebrate the successes both inside and outside the school. At morning line up on a Monday morning, in Year Meetings or at Assemblies, it is always special to be able to celebrate these successes in one way or another.

If your son or daughter has achieved something that we can help them celebrate and praise, please let us know at the College. Simply contact me at jweekes@stgregs.nsw.edu.au as I would love to share this celebration.

Have a wonderful term ahead and I look forward to seeing many of you at the events, experiences and opportunities provided to our students this term.

As our St Gregory’s College motto states, ‘You will reap what you sow.’

Joel Weekes

Acting Deputy Principal/Head of Senior School

Year 6 Religion Unit – Mary

This term, Year 6 are studying the Religion Unit of Mary. Year 6 students were very proud to share the qualities they associate with Mary our Mother.

PYP Exhibition

The PYP (Primary Years Programme) Exhibition has been launched! Last week our PYP Information evening, parents were put through the challenge of unpacking the Central Idea: Issues of inequality can be improved by acting on innovative thinking. And they did brilliantly!

Our Year 6 students are now diving into the Unit of Inquiry where they will explore an area of learning that interests them. This will require collaboration, communication, organisation and deep thinking. They will be teamed up with a mentor who will guide and support them through the process. These mentors include Junior School and Senior School Staff members who have volunteered to support these students.

The PYP (Primary Years Programme) Exhibition will take place on October 20 (Term 4 Week 2). All community members will be invited to come along to this celebration of learning. Throughout the process, Year 6 students and their mentors will keep their website updated. You are welcome to take a look. I can’t wait to see the learning that evolves in this process!

2022 Exhibition (google.com)

Class Parliament – Year 5

Over the past few weeks, Year 5 have engaged in the Unit of Inquiry Systems that can provide order and influence our lives. After weeks of learning about our Democratic System and Preferential Voting, the students formed parties, ran a campaign, delivered speeches, and hung campaign materials. They were visited by Mr Peter Sidgreaves MP and Mr Greg Warren. In addition to this, the students ran a Polling booth where Years 3 -6 cast their votes. Election day is not complete without an Election BBQ, which was well received also!

On Thursday, Mr Perna came from the Senior School to assist in counting the votes, live. The tension was palpable as the votes were counted. At the end of the vote, the Prime Minister was announced – Jennifer Bartlett from the SGSP (St Gregs Sports Party). Jennifer was very grateful and said she could not have done it without her team.

Mrs Diana Ivancic

The competition supports The Kids Cancer project, raising vital funds for cancer research. The Kids Cancer project aims to support bold scientific research that has the greatest chance of clinical success in the improvements of treatments of childhood cancers. Their vision is for one hundred percent survival of children with cancer while eradicating the harmful impacts treatment can bring.

Teams from Years 7, 8, 9 and 10 in the Senior School spent all day on Tuesday 16 August planning, developing and writing their book. The teams consisted of:

• Year 7: Dean Margaritis, Harrison Rooney, William Walsh, Michael Yousseph
• Year 8: Anthony Day, Cody Danjoux, Ethan Matthews, Giles Consunji , Mitchell Williams , Oliver Askew, Tristan Chanthivong, Isaac Filipo
• Year 9: Nick Larsen, Ethan McGlynn, Brayden John-Bowen, Jack Vella, Luther Meznaric, Jack Elliot, Jason Lee
• Year 10: Willem Kroh, Lloyd Hartmann, Maxwell Dunshea, Jack Halkyard, Liam Hindmarsh and Luke Romeo

On the day students, were given a set of parameters for the story. Stories had to be between 3,500 and 5,000 words and all teams were assigned five random words that had to be included at least once in their story. There had to be identifiable Australian content and the target audience for the book being 10-16 year old patients in children’s hospitals.

Teams worked tirelessly all day to ensure all aspects of the task were completed. This included an illustrated front and back cover, a summary of the story, a reader age recommendation, and of course the final production of the “book”.

The students are to be congratulated for their efforts and teamwork demonstrated throughout the day, and we certainly look forward to sharing their stories in the coming weeks.

Ms Judith Tolomeo

Director of Teaching and Learning

Social media News

TikTok's Stalking Feature

The Australian Privacy watchdog currently has TikTok under investigation. As we have shared on numerous occasions, there are some big risks with TikTok use. This investigation confirms that the Office of the Australian Information Commissioner (OAIC) agrees: “We are considering privacy concerns raised in the Internet 2.0 report in line with our regulatory action policy.”

The OAIC said, "platforms and apps must be transparent in how they treat their users’ data and protect their privacy, particularly for vulnerable users such as children, and should only collect the reasonably necessary information to deliver the service. TikTok checks its users’ device location at least once an hour; continuously requests access to contacts even if the user originally denies it; maps a device’s running apps and all installed apps; and more as part of broad permissions asked of users"

We thought it would be appropriate to explain how a teen uses TikTok and another creepy feature of the app that is being exploited by many.

This is by an anonymous student- 17 years.

Let me paint a picture for you: You are at a mixed school event where you are introduced to several like-minded students within your year group who you instantly get on with. Afterward, you realise, much to your dismay, that you did not grab their name or details and worry that this now means you will not be able to speak with them again. Insert social media! Your modern-day superhero is here to save the day.

You grab your phone, start looking up the event you attended, and then scroll through the users following the account. Halfway down the list, you notice a recognisable face and realise it was the keynote speaker at the event. Clicking on their account, you start looking through their posts and find one with a comment saying: "wow, you're amazing!" Clicking on this account, your search has finally started to pay off, for the commenter is none other than one of your newly met friends. However, the search is not complete just yet. You head to their recent post and notice it was taken at the event featuring the friends you were with and all their handles! You briskly follow each person and then spend the next two hours scrolling through each of their accounts, learning more about your friends via their social media accounts and the content they create.

Depending on who you are, this may appear highly absurd or a very logical way to find people online. For me, and I assume quite a lot of Gen Z's, this is a relatively routine that is undergone, something that, more and more, is becoming a normal part of the human experience. And due to the increasing trend of stalking other users' social media accounts, popular apps such as TikTok have responded to this trend in their unique ways, which leads me to the climax of this post...How do social media, specifically TikTok, take advantage of the 'stalking' culture?

This feature is not new and can already be seen on LinkedIn. However, as TikTok has recently reinstated the viewer's list, let us consider why we should or should not get behind this. This would be handy advice for an aspiring content creator hoping to work with brands on TikTok by promoting their business through their account. Users could use the function to monitor whether brands were viewing their performance and then proceed to get in contact with these brands in hopes of partnering on a collab. Another way this could be useful (and please bear with me on this one) is to check whether a love interest has been viewing your account, and you could use this as a way of scoping out their interest in you (just trying to be creative in the different ways this could be used ;D). However, this has not been the update of their dreams for some. Having your 'stalking' tendencies visible for other users to view may be the cause of embarrassment or turn someone off using the app.

How do I set up this function on TikTok? To view the profiles who have recently listed your account, follow these steps:

1. Head onto your TikTok

2. Press on the Profile icon

3. Click on the three-line menu icon on the top right-hand of your screen

4: Select Settings and Privacy

5. Specifically clicking on Privacy, go to Profile Views

6. Lastly, turn the Profile View History toggle on

How do I make sure my Profile View History is turned off?

If you are not wanting to partake in this function and want to ensure that no one is able to view your name on their Profile View History list (which also means you cannot view accounts that have recently clicked on your profile), then follow these steps:

1. Head onto your TikTok 2. Press on the Profile icon

3. Click on the eye icon positioned on the top bar

4. Locate the gear icon and view the options

5. Turn the Profile View History toggle off

6. No one now will be able to see who you have 'stalked' Is the 'Profile View History' worth it?

I do not have this app feature turned on, nor do I believe the function is currently useful because only accounts with the Profile View History in use are collated in your list. Hence, this does not provide an unambiguous representation of every user who has visited your profile. Is there value to this feature in terms of safety? When questioning the reasoning behind viewing who has seen your profile, the only reason I would enable this feature is to monitor who has been visiting my account to ensure that there are no unsafe 'stalkers' trolling my account. Examples would include users creating fake accounts of you by posting the videos you have created and/or users analysing locations you are seen posting in and using this information against you.

Wellness news

Black Dog institute and the Future Proofing study @ St Greg’s

‘Harnessing science to create a brighter future for young people.’

Launched in 2019, The Future Proofing Study aims to prevent depression and anxiety in young people. This ground-breaking initiative will engage up to 20,000 Year 8 students and follow them over a 5-year period.

Why does the study exist?

During adolescence, 50% of all mental health problems emerge, and these can have lifelong consequences. We believe that prevention is better than cure.

We also know we can prevent depression in 22% of young people at risk. However, the major problem is providing these prevention interventions easily and universally. The study aims to discover how we can use smartphones to deliver preventive interventions on a large scale. Comprehensive, technology-assisted data collection and analysis will also help to determine what triggers the development of mental health symptoms.

St Greg’s has been involved in this program since it was launched in 2019. Our students are now in Year 10 and we have seen the growth such a study has on our students. The data collated over the years is promising and the Black Dog Institute has been impressed with our results.

In Week 8 this term, our Year 10 students will again be assessed by the Future Proofing team, let’s hope we continue to deliver promising mental health data.

Kind regards

Mr Vetrano 

Director of Students 

Upcoming events

• Friday 19 August - Stage 6 Couse Selections due – Year 10
• Monday 22 August - ICAS Science Test – Year 7 – 10 student volunteers
• Wednesday 31 August - Stage 5 Electives Information Session (Digital) - Year 8
• Wednesday 31 August - PAT Testing (to be completed by Thursday 1 September)
• Monday 12 September - Year 11 Final Examinations begin
• Wednesday 14 September - Stage 5 Electives due – Year 8
• Friday 23 September - Year 12 Graduation

Year 7 – 11 Semester 1 Academic Awards

Congratulations to all the Year 7 – 11 students who were presented with Academic Awards on Friday 12 August.

Students were presented with awards for being placed first, second or third in their courses. This is a fantastic achievement when many of the courses are completed by 180 students.

Families can access the video of the presentation of awards on the College’s YouTube Channel.

Stage 6 Course Selections

Over the last four weeks, our Year 10 students have been involved in their selection process for Stage 6 courses for next year.

During Week 2, they attended the College’s Stage 6 Course Selection Information Evening and Expo. In addition to information about the HSC and different ways of approaching senior studies, students were involved in specific course breakout sessions and each Faculty presented a Stage 6 display in the Course Expo.

In Weeks 2 – 4, students attended workshops run by Leaders of Learning and Senior Teachers in which they found out more about individual courses. Students and families were also invited to view the College’s Stage 6 Course Selection Digital Space which provided information about the process of selecting courses. This can be accessed via the website or the QR code in the Timeline infographic (right).

In Week 4, students and parents were involved in Course Selection Interview in which they met with a member of the Leadership Team or Leaders of Learning to discuss their potential options.

Course Selections were due this morning and students will find out about their courses for Stage 6 next term.

Stage 5 Electives

Over the next few weeks, our Year 8 students will select their electives for Year 9 – 10.

On Wednesday, 31 August there will be a Stage 5 Elective Information Session. Based on our learning and surveys from last year, this will be an Online Session that will be available from 7.00pm. Parents will be sent further information about this session closer to the event.

Students will also be involved in workshops at school on Wednesday 24 August and 31 August. Families are also invited to view the Digital Space for further information.

Our Year 8 students will make their elective choices by 8.30am on Wednesday 14 September.

HSC Minimum Standards Catch-up Tests (Year 10 - 12)

Students who have not yet passed their HSC Minimum Standards Tests will have another chance during Week 9.

The College will hold a Coaching Clinic during Homework Help Club on Monday 22 August (3.15pm - 4.15pm).

The Minimum Standards catch-up tests will take place on Friday 2 September during Periods 1 - 3. Students will need to bring their laptop (fully charged) and pens/pencils. Parents/Carers and students have been sent an email if they will be involved in the Catch-up.

This link provides further information about HSC Minimum Standards https://educationstandards.nsw.edu.au/wps/portal/nesa/11-12/hsc/hsc-minimum-standard/online-tests.

Year 11 Final Examinations

During Week 9 – 10, Year 11 students will complete their final examinations. Students and families will be sent a timetable of these exams early next week and each course will issue students with an Assessment Notification that provides details on what students will need to study. Students will only need to attend school for their examinations.

Early in Term 4, students will be able to make final adjustments to their Courses for the HSC and they will begin their studies for the HSC.

Again, we wish the Year 11 students the best of luck in these exams.

Year 12 2022 Graduation

A letter was sent to all Year 12 boarding families this week outlining the events for our boarding community in Graduation Week. Please ensure you have read this letter which has key details about the week’s events, including; the Final Boarders Mass on Thursday 22 September and the Graduation Day on Friday 23 September.

Boarders' Travel

Please remember next weekend, Friday 26th August to Monday 29th August is the Boarder’s Free weekend for this term. A letter was sent to all boarding families this week outlining the changes to boarder’s travel, including new travel dates, for the remainder of 2022. Please ensure you contact Danielle Sherd if you have any questions in relation to travel.

Tour to New Zealand

We have had approval from Marist Schools Australia to run a combined Rugby League and Rugby Union Tour to New Zealand in the April School Holidays in 2023. A letter will be sent to all families in Year 10 and Year 11 in the coming days to express interest in your son participating in this Immersion opportunity. I am hopeful that a large number of boarding students will be interested in this tour.

Year 5 Experience Day

The College held its first-ever Year 5 experience day last week with 160 potential students for Year 7, 2024 attending the College. It was wonderful to see so many potential boarding students taking up this opportunity. Thank you to all the families who travelled to allow us the opportunity to show you and your son around the College. We had families from Ellerston, Gunnedah, Harden, Wombat, Tamworth, Warren, and Hargraves to name a few. It was fantastic that my own son, Toby, was able to be a part of this day and meet some of the young men he will be living within a few years’ time.

Farewell

This week sees our Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Liaison, Mr. Craig Ashby finishes his time at the College. Mr. Ashby is heading back to Coonabarabran for personal reasons. Mr. Ashby has done a wonderful job working with our indigenous boarding students and supervising in our Year 7 boarding house. We wish him all the best on his next adventure and hope he remembers fondly his time at St Greg’s. He will be missed in our community.

On the Road

We have been busy out in the community again with a very successful road trip to Moree and Tamworth as part of the NSW Boarding Schools expo. Thanks to all those families that were able to catch up with myself and Mr. Paul Brooks, and for spreading the word about our college to those in your area you know would benefit from attending our wonderful College. We had some very successful leads throughout the week, several of which have already resulted in enrolments or applications for enrolment. We will have more events in the coming months as Mr. Brennan comes to visit a number of areas. When dates and venues have been finalised, I will communicate this with you.

ISA Wrap Up

This weekend sees the end of the last round of Rugby and the winter ISA season as we take on St Patrick’s College, Strathfield at the College. After some early success through the season, the last few weeks have been tough as we have played against strong teams, with squads low on numbers due to injuries. We have a number of players back on the paddock this weekend for the last game and we look forward to a strong showing on our home ground. It will be the last opportunity for our Year 12 students to represent the College as they move towards graduation, and I look forward to a large crowd coming along to support the boys.

After the free weekend, we will begin preparations for the Summer season with the students having the opportunity to play basketball, touch football, and cricket.  

Social Activities

A recent bye in the Isa competition, and some more freedoms as we manage the ever present COVID, has allowed the community to attend a number of outings in recent weeks. The boys went to the Parramatta v Penrith, which was a fantastic evening (even though the wrong team won!), and then went to Luna Park on Saturday. Last weekend we also had the opportunity to attend our first social with a girl’s boarding school in almost three years. The boys had a wonderful afternoon at Pymble Ladies College with a BBQ and games. We look forward to more of these events in the coming months.

Our vertical team’s competition is reaching the final stages for 2021/22. The jostling for spots on the ladder is tight and a new winner will be finalised by the end of Week 9. There has been significant movement in the ladder since the release of the recent Semester 1 reports, the Bush Pigs being the biggest movers due to some outstanding academic success. I wish the boys well in the coming weeks of competition.

Congratulations

Our Year 12 students have just successfully completed their Trial HSC exams and retreat week. We look forward to assisting them in their final weeks at the College as they prepare for their graduation and the HSC exams.

Congratulations to Tyron McMahon, Trae Fitzpatrick, and Bowen Brown on their recent Australian Indigenous Education Foundation (AIEF) Graduation. It was a pleasure to escort these young men, with Mr. Paul Brooks to the Sydney Opera to celebrate this wonderful moment in these young men’s lives. Thankyou to AIEF for the wonderful support they have provided these young men and the college in the last six years, to allow us the opportunity to educate these fine young men.

Communication and Social Media

The Australian Boarding Schools Association (ABSA) 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!

The wonderful Boarding Coordinators have also set up blogs you can follow showcasing what your son is up to while in boarding. These blogs can be accessed here:

Years 10 to 12 – pkripal.wixsite.com

Years 7 to 9 - https://thalaifonua.wixsite.com/juniorboarding2022

Ad Jesus Per Mariam

Mr Luke Morrissey

SPORT NEWS

Parramatta Diocese Athletics Championships.

After two years of cancellations, the College Athletics Team finally got a chance to showcase their ability at the PDS Athletics Carnival today at Homebush. It was the first year in the new competition, where the number of schools in attendance increased from 9 to 28.

After a fresh start at 6am, the bus got away and we arrived to sunny skies, which lasted most of the day despite the poor forecast (of rain).

The boys had some outstanding performances during the day, with our distance runners absolutely dominating the 800 and 1500’s, winning the double in the 13’s (Cooper Clugston), 14’s (Max Anastasia), 15’s (Dwayne Lyons), and 17+ age divisions (Joel Offord), and we were 3rd in the 16s (Liam Walsh). It wasn’t the same in the sprints however, we will have to get Mr Harrison back for some sprint training and relay changes, which were ordinary to say the least.

In the field, we had a number of terrific results including 1st place to Kingston Tutani in the 13’s High Jump, along with a 2nd in the 100m. We managed a 1st place to Owen Fishlock in the 14’s High Jump and in the 16’s Lachlan Stanley had an excellent day with 1st in the Shot Put, 2nd in the Javelin and Discus. Jake Wright took 1st off Oliver Kaluzyn in the 17+ High Jump, with Oliver also placing 3rd in the Discus and Long Jump. Tom Fletcher also used his size to his advantage to take 2nd in the shot put, with absolutely zero technique. There were also plenty of 4th, 5th and 6th place finishes from fields of up to 20. 

There is no overall winner of the day or age champions announced in this new competition, however, I would be confident we would have taken home the senior boys at the least. All boys did their best and that’s all we can ask, including several who stepped up to fill spots from students who did not end up attending. We also have a number of boys progressing to the CCC Carnival in September as part of the PDS team.

Thanks to Julie Sligar and Greg Serone who were at the Long Jump all day, Greg spent most of his day raking sand to Olympic standards.

Mr Bullock, Mrs Sligar and Mr Serone

Bill Turner Cup – Round of 32 vs Thomas Anglican College.

Our Round 16 match vs Thomas Hassell was filled with angst and excitement. We went into the match without our captain Matthew Parkin and left fullback Luke McElhone due to Covid. But we also welcomed back Declan Malone from a knee injury who filled the defending role perfectly.

Thomas Hassell, an emerging football school, arrived with several coaching staff and trainers to the game as Mrs Birkenhead and I had to look from side to side, as they walked past us to the changerooms.

Nonetheless, the St Greg’s team was ready to rip into our warm-up and bury the pre-game nerves.

Our size, speed and strength were on show from the opening whistle, with Luka Mandalinic, Mervyn Stone and Xavier Dalpra pressing, squeezing and channelling the opposition into positions where they frequently turned the ball over. St Greg’s were quick to counter and had numerous opportunities in the opposition box without success.

The midfield of Malone, Anastasio and Kamufisa were dominant, all game long. They delayed, disrupted, and forced numerous turn overs and quickly provided multiples ball to teammates in open play. Our defence was solid all game. They impeded Thomas Hassell’s attacking balls and if they did break the line, Matthew Fitzgerald was so strong in goals. Matthew actually provided numerous clearance kicks which put Greg’s in attacking parts of the field and, to be honest, we should have had 3 goals on the board by the halftime break.

With our first subs taking place with 5 minutes to go before the break, Merv Stone was swapped from right to left wing, against a smaller opposition and seconds later, Merv belted the ball into the back of their goal, and we took a slim advantage into the break.

Overcoming adversity was one of our key points the team addressed before the match. I am more than happy to say the young Greg’s men, meet and overcame their fears and continued to demonstrate great sportsmanship throughout the second half. We continued to press and overcome the opposition to have the dominant share of possession with the score line not changing in the second half.

The opposition coach was quick to point out our MVPs with Chewe Kamufisa, Max Anastasio and Chase Parker all getting nominated for Bill Turner “Star Awards”, which occur in the final games of this competition. I would have to agree with the opposition coach but would hand out awards to all Greg’s players for their effort, determination, support and pride.

We now take on Bede Polding Catholic College in our Round 6 “Final 16” match on Thursday 11 August, with a bus load of spectators to cheer the boys on.

Go Greg’s!

Jamie Cook and Jo Birkenhead.

Bill Turner Cup – Round of 16 vs Bede Polding Catholic College

To have a full and fit squad for our game,with no injuries and covid free, created some selections issues ahead of our match against Bede Polding. With a strong midfield and attacking line-up, we went to a 1-3-5-2 formation. Plenty of physical contests allowed St Greg’s to apply pressure in the final third of the field, and soon enough, after a cross into the box, Max Anastasio opened our accounts, with a deft first touch and left footed side kick, to bury the ball into the back of the net.

Our strong contingent of 60 supporters cheered in celebration as the boys gathered on Max.

Most of the flow of the game was in St Greg’s favour, as we frequently countered the opposition long ball. At times, we rushed our counter attacks and lost possession of the ball, which is one area that will need to be addressed before our next game.

On one occasion from receiving an opposition long ball, Jet Jeffress found himself in space 30 yards out from the opposition 18-yard box. He took the long option, and drove a right to left curling shot, which travelled over the keeper’s outstretched arms and into the back of the goal. Another loud cheered from the crowd as the boys gathered on Jet. The atmosphere was amazing.

Dominant performances from captain Matthew Parkin and Chase Parker eliminated most of the opposition long and through balls and permitted St Greg’s to play forwards into the opposition half. Jet Jeffress and Yianni Pavlakis made solid contributions to the team’s defensive efforts.

The midfield dominated their opposition. Declan Malone, Chewe Kamufisa and man of the match, Max Anastasio, disrupted opposition possession, intercepted passes, tackled, and bombarded Bede Polding all game. Their ability to break the opposition lines was sensational to watch and gave St Greg’s a majority of the possession of the game.

Xavier Dalpra was a dominant figure up front. He created passing options forward, created chances for his teammates, and attracted opposition players with his deft touches and runs. A very smart footballer who contributed so much off and on the ball. Very well supported up front by Lachlan Suffell and Merv Stone, the opposition were frequently checking their shoulders as the front three applied excessive amounts of ball pressure. These young men have so much football ahead of them in the National Premier League. Excellent cameo performances by Finn Miller, who outplayed his opposition on the right wing. He created frequent 1 on 1 opportunities and delivered numerous balls into the box.

We did concede our first goal of the competition in the second half. Some less popular passing options from both teams, led to a bouncing, spinning high ball in our box, and a lack of communication led to two players and our goalkeepers waiting for the ball to bounce, when an opposing player, got a faint edge, and rolled the ball into our goal with 6 minutes to go.

This turn of momentum generated some frantic moments of football, but the young me from Badgally Hill took the win and will now face Narrabeen Sports High School in the quarterfinals of the competition that’s stretched from North Queensland to the ACT.

As the boys ran to the stands to meet their peers, I cannot praise the boys enough as they represented the College in an astounding manner. Super proud of the boys and the way they get things done.

Next Game: Quarter Finals vs Narrabeen Sports High School.

Valentine Sports Park

12.00pm Friday 19 August

Jamie Cook and Jo Birkenhead.

Peter Mulholland Cup – Round 2 vs St Dominic’s College

Before we cover the match report, we would like to say a huge thank you to the College community who came together today in support of the boys. There are a number of people we have to acknowledge who made it possible to FINALLY have a home game on MCS1 and give the boys memories they will take with them forever. 

Firstly, to the College maintenance team, you blokes are absolute legends to go above and beyond to get the field to a position where we could finally have a run on it, Gerard and his team we appreciate all the effort you went to. 

To Mr Cook and the Leadership Team for supporting the side in every way and making sure the boys were looked after and prepared and helping with all of the organisation involved with hosting a game at the College, thank you. 

To all the staff supervising and watching we thank you for spending a spending a rare sunny afternoon on the hill to watch the boys go at it today, what a wonderful example of school spirit and whilst we didn’t get the biscuits, we all were thankful for the cheering and chants, hugs and support post game.

So, to the game..

The boys were pumped to run down those stairs for the first time all year, and despite a warm-up heart attack moment when we nearly lost our two back-rowers minutes before kick-off, the boys stayed focussed and ready to rip in.

After an early try to St Dom’s we regrouped and found some field position before Tom Fletcher barged his way over in the corner. Shortly after Tom Fisher ran a lovely line and went through a hole to make the score 8-4 at halftime. It was a fast-paced game despite the soft ground and a high-quality one at that, with very few handling errors.

We came out in the second half determined to continue the job, and after some early ball down their end, Tom Fletcher again dragged several defenders across the line for his second try. Unfortunately, the goal-kicking boots weren’t on today and the score was 12-4 with 20min to play. 

Our discipline then let us down with the penalty count blowing out to 8-2 and giving St Doms an easy get out of their own end almost the whole second half, we didn’t see the ball down their end again. St Dom’s went over a couple of times and the score was 14-12 with about 7min to play, it was still anyone’s game. Unfortunately, more penalties resulted in more ball for them on our line and they scored in the corner to make it 18-12 where the score stayed to the buzzer. 

It’s the second devastating loss by a small margin in two games but this one was different, every boy on the field gave everything they had, and we couldn’t be prouder of their effort and attitude today. There were outstanding performances across the park. St Dom’s were just the better side on the day.  

Peter Mulholland Cup – Round 3 vs Bass Hill High School

This afternoon the First XIII travelled to Bass High school for our final game of a very frustrating season. 

I don’t think the boys trained on a dry track all year thanks to the relentless rain, and a two game MCS season didn’t give us the prep we probably needed before the National Schoolboy Cup (now Peter Mulholland Cup) competition where we compete against the top 16 sides in the state. Nevertheless, the boys were excited and were desperate to go out with a win. 

I’m not sure if any staff have spent any time at Bass High before but let’s just say I’ll never say Blacktown Patrician Brothers is a hostile environment again, it looks like Joeys in comparison to Bass.

After warming up, Old Boy, former First XIII member and Bulldogs player Joe Stimson gave the boys some advice and we were ready to rumble against a MUCH bigger side. 

The first 10 minutes was a grind and the boys worked very hard to defend against a strong forward pack, but Bass burrowed over after a set on our line and went up 6-0. We finally got some ball down the other end late in the half and some great pressure from Cody Parry resulted in a try on half time where the score was 6-4.

The second half didn’t go exactly to plan, and a couple of line breaks resulted in Bass tries, we found ourselves down 16-4 with 7 minutes remaining. But the boys never gave up and started playing some football we knew that they had in them all year, we scored with 3 minutes to go and Cooper Cross converted it, making it 16-10. 

We had two more sets with the ball and after a Bass mistake on their line, and just 40 seconds on the clock we moved the ball wide and Patty Cleary went over the line, he was smart enough to move the ball in 10m before putting it down to give Crossy a chance to tie the scores. Cooper lined it up and in the face of some horrendous abuse by the supporters on the sideline he slotted it over the black dot to tie it up at 16 all. That’s where it finished, and despite not getting the victory it sure felt like one. 

In just a five-game season with one win, our combined total deficit against was just 10 points across four games. We were so close but so far this year, but the boys will be back in 2023 with several Year 10 boys making their debut this year and even more year 11s back again.

Until then, thanks to all the staff for the support and encouragement, please congratulate the boys if you see them, they play above their weight every game (certainly today!) and have been a pleasure to work with all season. 

Special thanks to:

Coach: Mr Tom Morrison

Manager: Mrs Rebecca Burke

Trainers: Mr Stephen Bullock, Mr Pat Newell and Mr Matthew Coffey (plus Valerie McEwan).

NSW All Schools Softball

Joel Byrne (Year 10) and Oliver Stewart (Year 11) were recently selected into the NSW All Schools Softball team and will travel to Perth to compete U18 Australian Softball Championships. A massive achievement by these hard-working students for their persistent efforts across a difficult few years.

Well done gentlemen.

PDS Sport Reports

Round 1 Matches:

PDS Touch Football vs Blacktown and St Dominic’s

PDS AFL vs Blacktown

Round 2 Matches

PDS Touch Football vs Parramatta Marist and Bye

PDS AFL vs St Dominic’s

Latest Sport Information – 2022 NSW CCC calendar dates

To ensure you remain up to date with the latest sport news, please use the following link to access the Catholic Schools NSW Sport website. They are also on Facebook – might be worth to follow.

Trial dates for several sports are already confirmed for 2022 and I would recommend you investigate the dates and venues for your respective sports.

Student registrations for some events are closing shortly. Please act now.

CSNSW website - https://csnsw.sport/

PDSSSC website- https://www.secondarysportparra.catholic.edu.au/

Yours in Sport

Mr Jamie Cook

Leader of Sport and Co-Curricular

Jamie.Cook@stgregs.nsw.edu.au

Become a Citizen Scientist - Virtual Reef diver

In science classes, students helped research scientists on the Great Barrier Reef collect data by classifying images of the reef.

Escape Room Activity – STILE: Breaking Glass

Working in groups, students competed in an escape room activity, having 45 minutes to crack open the safe by completing ten challenges related to the science, history, and applications of glass. Students used their problem-solving skills to crack a series of codes online and in the lab. The challenge was to see which group were the first to crack open the safe and reveal the secrets of glass.

Year 9 Planetarium Excursion

On Wednesday 17 August, Year 9 travelled to Wollongong Science Centre and Planetarium for a day of interactive activities and planetarium show. The boys were able to explore two floors of interactive science exhibits, discovering how object’s move and behave, along with testing their own reaction times in simulations.

During the live Science show, the boys observed experiments using an incredibly cold substance - liquid nitrogen. They discovered what happens when liquids boil, learnt about frostbite and found out why the Sydney Harbour Bridge shrinks on a cold day. Science concepts included thermal contraction/expansion, boiling points, pressure, temperature, and the effects of freezing, cryogenics, and changes of state.

In the Planetarium, students were taken on a journey through the solar system discovering the planets and constellations in our night sky.

STEM Challenge – in groups the boys participated in a rocket challenge. They designed and constructed their own rockets, and then headed to the launch station to test their creations, with the aim of landing in a specific zone.

Year 7 Reptile Show

Entertaining and humorous Ranger Mick from the Australian Reptile Park returned to the College on Friday to take the boys on an evolutionary tale of Reptiles. The boys were able to get up close and handle a giant Burmese python, children’s python’s, lizards, turtles, funnel web spiders, cane toads and Rosie the Alligator. The boys learnt about the adaptations of reptiles to their environment, the preservation of Australian ecosystems and the life of reptiles. To see some great photos of this day, please head to our Facebook page.

Mr John Dinnen

Leader of Learning - Science

Stage 4 students were spoilt with a real treat. Matthew Lin, artist, illustrator and graphic designer spent two days at the College, running workshops on story through art. As he expertly guided the students through the sessions, the atmosphere in the room was electric. The students loved the opportunity to learn from an expert whilst also having a lot of fun.

The early part of the week was host to the Spelling Bee semi-finals. Each Stage was represented, and students battled it out to earn a place in the Grand Finals on Friday. When the finals came, the field was wide open. Reigning champion (joint with Ethan Kenney, in 2021), Jason Lee, looked set to continue his streak of good fortune, and if his fan club was anything to go by, he seemingly had it in the bag! And yet, things didn’t quite go the way anyone had imagined. In an extremely tightly contested competition, it was Ethan Kenney (Yr 8) who came out on top, with Sam Smith (Yr 11) as runner-up. Special mention must be made of Charlize Anastasio from Year 6, who, as the crowned Junior School champion, was invited to join the Senior School finals. She performed admirably and will be a force to be reckoned with in the future. All award recipients have been identified below, along with the tremendously challenging words they had to spell.

The competitions saw an increase in participation this year and we even had a staff entry section. The art, writing and slam poetry challenges all received outstanding submissions, a testament to the dedication of the students and the staff who encouraged them to have a go.

The Slam Poetry competition was won by Nuala Fashoyin, Yr 5, with her incredible piece, Both Eyes Open.

The Art competition was taken out in Stage 6, by Morgan Rickert with an incredible piece ‘Bonnie’. The Stage 5 winner was Taj Barrington with an equally compelling piece, ‘What People See’.

The Flash Fiction writing competition was a difficult field to judge, with so many wonderful entries. This year, however, it was John McDonald (Stage 6), Matthew Fitzgerlad (Stage 5) and Leon leejo (Stage 4) who took home the glory. And in the staff category, Ms Joanne Davison was crowned champion, with a beautiful piece on friendship.

Finally, the week ended with a whole school engagement opportunity. The Book Week team had invited two incredible poets and performers, from Bankstown Slam Poetry, to showcase their talent and share ideas in an assembly. Sara Mansour and Bilal Hafda treated us to some thought-provoking and compelling recitations and the crowd was hooked. Using their fingers to snap their respect, students were wowed by the lyrical wizardry of both performers and justifiably so. Sara and Bilal went on to run workshops with our Stage 3 students.

Book Week is always high energy and lots of fun, but sometimes the main goal can be missed. The simple desire the committee has is to promote a love of literacy and learning throughout the College. For some, this is represented as a continuation of their existing passion. For others, it may be the kickstart they needed to get back on track with their reading schedule or their writing. Whichever applies, loving literacy and embracing the spoken, heard and written/drawn word is key.

Finally, such undertakings never just happen. The Book Week Committee would like to thank the following:

• The students of the college for engaging and having a go.
• The Year 12 cohort, especially the Student Leaders.
• The teaching staff, who are unfailingly supportive.
• The maintenance team, who transform spaces as requested.
• The IT team, who manage all our specific needs and those of our guests.
• The Junior School Book Week team for liaising with us and for helping create a wonderful experience.
• The Admin team, who promote the events, print materials and help us manage bookings.
• The Leadership Team for supporting the event in every way.

Spelling Bee finalists

• Stage 4 Winner – Ethan Kenny (Year 8) (Overall champion)
• Stage 4 Runner-up – Michael Yousseph (Year 7)
• Stage 5 Winner – James Palpal – Latoc (Year 9)
• Stage 5 Runner-up – Jason Lee (Year 9)
• Stage 6 Winner – Sam Smith (Year 11) (Overall runner-up)
• Stage 6 Runner-up – TIE! – Michael Elasi and William Sinclair (Year 12)

Slam Poetry winning submission

Both Eyes Open

By Nuala Fashoyin

 

Dreams entail a compromise

Of this you can be sure

And they’ll disappear before your eyes

When greed makes you reach for more.

So hear me now, a tale of caution

To keep your blinkers upon that prize.

For dreams can drift you on an ocean

If you do not keep wide your eyes.

 

Hope was a girl, eager, bright,

Who applied for a famous dance school.

Accepted she was; a lifetime delight

And she thought that she was really…

Cool…..cool, cool, that word?- What does it influence?

The boasting, the bragging,

I wonder, Geez

Hope needs to breathe.

The auditioning for movies;

Hope’s whole life was a dream.

All her wishes: Granted

New clothes, shoes and purses: Tick

She even got a new Garden-

I beg your pardon!

 

Until one grey morning

Yawning, Hope was.

Two letters in the mail.

Oh my gosh!

Hope’s hands almost slipping from the envelopes, and…..

Hail.

Not good.

One letter- a role for a film

And the other, to start school.

The pressure, the pressure, the pressure……

 

Gone, lifted off Hope’s shoulders-

The next day on the set of the film

Ring, Ring.

It’s the phone.

Hope’s hands clutching tight on her dress as she inspects the familiar number.

Fear pumping through her veins.

A woman. She speaks.

 

“Hi, I’m Jane...” BEEP!

Hope immediately hangs up, breathing with worry for the rest of the day.

 

Chick, chick goes the door,

An envelope slides across the floor.

It’s Jane from the phone

Telling Hope that her acceptance has been withdrawn.

Wait! What??!

Forlorn.

Hope is panicking, panicking, panicking.

Being rejected from a famous dance school.

What?! Why?! How?!

Oh. She’s not amateur now.

 

Accepting that role,

Getting all heady

Means she’s professional now,

Before she was ready.

She shut her eyes,

Lost focus: High Hop(e)in’

She’d dreamed to the stars

But forgot to keep BOTH EYES OPEN.

Mrs Lee Ursino

Academic Care Leader

Stage 4 (Years 7 & 8) 

The students participated in Science, TAS (Metal) and Agriculture lessons throughout the day. The day concluded with a barbeque where we welcomed many of our future families to join us. The boys also engaged in some friendly Basketball games on the new Basketball Courts.

There was certainly an exciting buzz around the College felt by staff, our student leaders and the Year 5 boys.

The following boys were selected as student leaders to assist with the day. We were very proud of how friendly and welcoming they were to the Year 5 students!

Year 7

• Brodie Dorahy
• Dustin Nott
• Ethan Handunneththi
• Harrison Rooney
• Jimmy Smith
• Jordi Elkin
• Marshall Anderson
• Max Morris
• Michael Youssef
• Rhys Barrington
• Travis Munro
• William Walsh
• Xavier McMahon

Year 11

• Adam Fordham
• Alex Gorey
• Cameron Salter
• Daniel Melendez Rivera
• Dominic Lustri
• Jack Headley
• Jack Noy
• James Zorbas
• Jayden Susnjara
• Joel Offord
• Jordan Sewell
• Joshua Federico
• Macs Rubain
• Oisin Chretien
• Oliver Stewart
• Orran Foster
• Ryan Polsen
• Sam Batten
• Steven Moran-Briggs
• Thomas Anderson
• Toby Drinnan

Dreaming Storywalk

Our students visited three different classrooms to explore a different Dreaming story with different teachers. It was such a treat for our teachers to work with students outside of their class and for our students to engage with teachers that they may not have experienced before.

As part of the Story Walk, each class competed against one another with a door decoration to match their Dreaming Story. After much consideration, 1M’s door was declared the overall winner this year and they will be celebrating with a pizza party shortly.

Take a look at their amazing creations below!

Great Book Swap

On Wednesday, 27 July we held our very first Book Swap for the Indigenous Literacy Foundation:

“The Indigenous Literacy Foundation (ILF) is a national charity working with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander remote Communities across Australia. We are Community-led, responding to requests from remote Communities for culturally relevant books, including early learning board books, resources, and programs to support Communities to create and publish their stories in languages of their choice.” (ILF, 2022)

Our families donated over 400 pre-loved books for this event, with our students donating a gold coin to take a book home. This event raised $434.70 for this very worthy cause. It was also a great way for our students to share their love of stories and encourage others to buy the books they enjoyed and donated.

‘Paint your Dream’ Art Competition

Our ‘Paint your Dream’ Art Competition had over 40 entries and they were all amazing. Senior School Visual Arts Teacher Ms Jane Keily visited our Library Art Gallery to judge the entrants and she was amazed. Ms Keily took photos of some of our talented student’s work to demonstrate some of the art techniques and artists that the senior school students work with. High praise indeed.

Congratulations to: Xara P in Kindergarten, Alessia S in Year 2 and Alessia F in Year 1, Emilia B in Year 3 and Zoe K in Year 4, and Joya Z in Year 5 and Rose W in Year 6.

‘I had a dream’ Writing Competition

Creative writing is an art form and our students continue to develop their skills in this area. We had ten entries in this competition for students from Years 3-6. Some of these stories were reflections on loved ones, some were fantasy candylands and others were deep, dark ventures into the unknown. Although not every entry could win a prize, all entrants have the gift of writing.

Congratulations to Emily S in Year 3, Tyler C also in Year 3, Ruby I in Year 6 and Mikayla F in Year 5.

Bankstown Slam Poets and Slam Poetry Competition

Our Senior School Book Week Team, Mrs Lee Ursino, Mr Greg Bond and Mrs Terezija Quinn organised an exciting and intensive Slam Poetry Workshop for not only our Senior School, but also our Year 5 and 6 students. Slam poetry is a form of performance poetry that uses emphasis on particular words, repetition, sounds at times and is the poet must perform their poem with passion. The topics usually chosen are global issues such as sustainability and equality.

Bilal and Sara from Bankstown Slam Poets led each of our Year 5 and 6 classes in workshops aimed at developing their poetic creativity and the performance elements of slam poetry.

Our annual Slam Poetry competition saw some great entries from three of our Junior School students, with each winning a prize. Congratulations to First Place, Nuala F in Year 5, 2nd Place Lennox Ursino in Year 6, and Third Place, Ruby Isbister in Year 6.

Both Eyes Open

By Nuala Fashoyin

 

Dreams entail a compromise

Of this you can be sure

And they’ll disappear before your eyes

When greed makes you reach for more.

So hear me now, a tale of caution

To keep your blinkers upon that prize.

For dreams can drift you on an ocean

If you do not keep wide your eyes.

 

Hope was a girl, eager, bright,

Who applied for a famous dance school.

Accepted she was; a lifetime delight

And she thought that she was really…

Cool…..cool, cool, that word?- What does it influence?

The boasting, the bragging,

I wonder, Geez

Hope needs to breathe.

The auditioning for movies;

Hope’s whole life was a dream.

All her wishes: Granted

New clothes, shoes and purses: Tick

She even got a new Garden-

I beg your pardon!

 

Until one grey morning

Yawning, Hope was.

Two letters in the mail.

Oh my gosh!

Hope’s hands almost slipping from the envelopes, and…..

Hail.

Not good.

One letter- a role for a film

And the other, to start school.

The pressure, the pressure, the pressure……

 

Gone, lifted off Hope’s shoulders-

The next day on the set of the film

Ring, Ring.

It’s the phone.

Hope’s hands clutching tight on her dress as she inspects the familiar number.

Fear pumping through her veins.

A woman. She speaks.

 

“Hi, I’m Jane...” BEEP!

Hope immediately hangs up, breathing with worry for the rest of the day.

 

Chick, chick goes the door,

An envelope slides across the floor.

It’s Jane from the phone

Telling Hope that her acceptance has been withdrawn.

Wait! What??!

Forlorn.

Hope is panicking, panicking, panicking.

Being rejected from a famous dance school.

What?! Why?! How?!

Oh. She’s not amateur now.

 

Accepting that role,

Getting all heady

Means she’s professional now,

Before she was ready.

She shut her eyes,

Lost focus: High Hop(e)in’

She’d dreamed to the stars

But forgot to keep BOTH EYES OPEN.

Match the Teacher to the Dream Competition

The Match the Teacher to the Dream Competition saw over 80 students compete to match a teacher’s name to a picture of their dream or something that would be on their bucket list. Of these, five students guessed all 17 teacher’s dreams, but only one winner was randomly chosen - Congratulations to Christopher B in Year 5.

Junior School Spelling Bee Finals

It has become very clear that we have many exceptional spellers in the Junior School. On Thursday 28th July we held our first whole school Spelling Bee Finals and all of the students below were spelling words far above their expected grade level. We may even have to make it more difficult next year!

Soon to become an Annual event, our K-2 Spelling Bee and 3-6 Spelling Bees saw the following amazing spellers participate in the finals in front of the whole school and their parents and carers:

• Kindergarten: Xavier P, Luke B, Dylan J, Luke S, Xara P, Ricci Y
• Year 1: Scarlett F, Adriana G, Karas Z, Makenzie O, Jake H, Ayla C
• Year 2: Stella J, Alexa C, Abigail D, Harrison S, Ben M, Marcello T
• Year 3: Arabella G, Lincoln W, Stella H, Addison D, Merin J, Mikayla F, Ian R, Charlize A

Following an incredible show of spelling prowess, the following students were awarded prizes:

• Kindergarten Winner : Xara P
• Year 1 Winner: Karas Z
• Overall K-2 Winner: Marcello T
• Year 3 winner: Arabella G
• Year 4 winner: Addison D
• Year 5 Winner: Tied first place Mikayla F and Merin J
• Overall 3-6 Winner: Charlize A

Epic Book Character Parade takes over Friday!

On the last day of our Book Week, Friday 29 July, we had an amazing turn out for our annual Book Character parade. Not only did we have the largest number of students participating in costume, but we also had our largest community numbers to watch our parade. Thank you to all of our family and friend visitors.

Continuing with the Book Week Theme of ‘Dreaming with eyes open’ our staff, and many of our students, drew on Dreaming stories for their costumes. This theme also easily lent itself to any character from imaginary stories, so we had lots of inspiration to choose from.

Our teachers and students loved parading around our Courts for the very first time and one student from each class was randomly selected to choose a prize from our prize table. It was once again, a fabulous community event. We hope that you enjoy the many photos from pour Parade.

Authors at Greg’s

Our final Book Week event proved to be the very BEST!

Each Kindergarten, Year One and Year 2 class were visited by author and illustrator Chris Collin who laughed, sang and taught our students how to imagine and illustrate stories. By all accounts, Chris was a fantastic addition to our program and our students used many of the activities that Chris demonstrated during the live sessions to create their own ‘funky chickens’ and other art.

At the same time, our Year 3 and 4 classes were treated to the very energetic, very talented and seriously funny Nat Amoore’s acting, writing and creative thinking talents. Nat’s sessions were followed by a book signing, which was a fabulous opportunity for our students to ask Nat questions about her stories, her writing and her life. We can’t wait to have Nat back again!

Many thanks to all of our teachers, whom without their enthusiasm and energetic support these events could not take place. Special thanks to Mrs Kylie Clarke, Mrs Cheryl Dodson and parent helper Mrs Jones for their commitment and assistance in organising everything for another very successful Book Week.

Mrs Rachael Cosentino

Acting Assistant Head of Junior School

Winter IPSSO

IPSSO Results Week 3

On Wednesday, 3 August 2022, our teams competed against Wollondilly Anglican College.

Junior AFL

Score: SGC 15-16 WAC

Special Mention

• Eva Luximon for her great use of the ball 
• Indianna Viccaro for her tackling pressure
• Audrey Oldfield for her effective clearing kicks

Junior Boys Soccer 

Score: SGC 0 – 0 WAC

Special Mention

• Joshua Suffell for his strong control in both midfield and defence.
• Patrick Ursino for a wonderful performance in goal, saving many shots from the opposition.
• Ryan Delaney for his skill and pace down the right wing.

Junior Netball

Score: SGC16-0 WAC

Special Mention

• Cara Jones great defensive efforts which led to valuable turnovers 
• Ivy Bushby for her on point shooting. 
• Addison Day for her game awareness and intercepts. 

Newcombe Ball  

Score: SGC 2 sets - 1 set WAC

Special Mention

• Mia Stevens for her high energy and enthusiasm.
• Mitchell Hayes for his powerful and accurate throws.
• Gabriel Yousseph for his game awareness. 

Senior AFL

Score: SGC 20-20 WAC

Special Mention

• Denham Tsagalas for encouraging his teammates to do well
• Keira Eagles for her significant mark, which, prevented a certain point scoring opportunity for Wollondilly in the final seconds of the game.
• Charlize Potts for her defensive pressure all game that led to valuable turnovers.

Senior Boys Soccer

Score SGC 1-1 WAC

Special Mention

• Lawson for fantastic goalkeeping skills throughout the game
• Mitchel H for his encouragement to his team on the field; thank you for stepping in as captain for the match
• The entire team, despite being down players, all the boys played a fantastic game

Senior Netball 

Score: SGC 11-14 WAC

Special Mention

• Geena Hokayem for her shooting accuracy 
• Amelia Howe for her sure passes and intercepts 
• Stephanie Welsh for being team minded and willing to step up when needed

Volleyball

Score: SGC 2 sets - 1 set WAC

Special Mention

• Sean Hindmarsh for his commitment and urgency to get to the ball. 
• Nuala Fashoyin for her remarkable improvement with serving. 
• Annie Jacob for taking on feedback and applying it in the game. 

IPSSO Results Week 4

On Wednesday, 10 August 2022, our teams competed against Oran Park Anglican.

Junior AFL

Score SGC 49-16 OPAC 

Special Mention

• Taylor Masterson for her willingness to get the ball in traffic
• Hunter Clark for his effective tackling efforts
• Indianna Vaccaro for her effort all game

Junior Boys Soccer 

Score SGC 3 - 1 OPAC

Special Mention

• Eli Piaud threatened up front all match and scored a very decisive goal 
• Kye Harding had a strong and dominant game in the middle, giving us plenty of attacking opportunities
• Bryce Krol was solid in defense during the second half - he won every contest and shut down their attack, keeping them out of the game

Junior Netball

Score SGC 14-7 OPAC

Special Mention

• Olivia Sheedy for keeping her cool when things weren’t going our way and overcoming it to score six goals. 
• Evie Simpson for getting the ball back down our end of the court and being strong in defense. 
• Taylah Kenney for her creativity in attack and defense. 

Newcombe Ball  

Score SGC 2-0 OPAC

Special Mention

• Gabriel Yousseph for his application and encouragement of the other players 
• Cleo Lane for her ball catching skills and enjoyment of the game.
• Siena Austin for her encouragement and active participation in the game.

Senior AFL

Score SGC 85-6 OPAC

Special Mention

•  Harrison McInerney for his excellent marking skills and defensive efforts
•  Sienna Caruana for her effective ball use
•  Jake Stephens for filling in and being a strong contributor.

Senior Boys Soccer

Score SGC 0-3 OPAC

Special Mention

• Zane Mallinson for playing fantastic in Centre Mid.
• Anthony Issa for doing his best to defend the goals. He was outstanding.
• Rylan Miller for playing a solid defensive game.

Volleyball

Score SGC 2 sets - 0 OPAC

Special Mention

• Noah McKinnon for his effort and determination to save the ball. 
• Nicola Blyton for her consistently strong ball skills each week.
• Oliver Trevitt for his agility and fancy footwork on the court. 

Senior Netball

Score SGC 11-12 OPAC

Special Mention

• Tayah Bowen for her continuous motivation to the team on the court.
• Ivy Quig for her significant intercepts. 
• Lucy Stewart for her great passes and moving to the ball. 

IPSSO Results Week 5

On Wednesday, 17 August 2022, our teams competed against St Peter’s Anglican Campbelltown.

Junior AFL

Score SGC 22-10 SPAC

Special Mention

•  Evangeline Palumbo for her tackling and effective ball use
•  Georgie Wilson for her excellent use of the ball and for breaking away from would-be tacklers
•  Zane Wagstaff for his determination throughout the game.

Junior Boys Soccer 

Score SGC 7 - 3 SPAC 

Special Mention

• Kye Harding for his dominant performance in midfield.
• James Dash and Ryan Delaney for their excellent defence that stopped many attacking raids.
• Johan Jackson for his determination to win the ball and feed the ball through to the forwards.

Junior Netball 

Score SGC 32-2 SPAC

Special Mention

• Taylah Kenney- excellent shooting skills 
• Evie Simpson- great team player, encouraging and supportive 
• Stella Herbert- great defence, also very encouraging and supportive of her team

Newcombe Ball  

Score SGC 1-2 SPAC

Special Mention

•  Cleo Lane for her support and great catches
•  Georgia Maurioldo for her great serves 
•  Max Miguelez for his great catches and throws over the net

Senior AFL

Score SGC 75-1 SPAC

Special Mention

• Charlize Anastasio for her excellent marking skills when in the forward line 
• Isabella Palumbo for her determination to get the ball in traffic 
• Sabah Paki for her accuracy on goal 

Senior Boys Soccer

Score SGC 4-2 SPAC

Special Mention

•  Rylan Miller for his solid display in defence.
•  Oliver Halkyard for his constant attacking threat.
•  Mitchell Harding for his control of the midfield and calmness under pressure.

Volleyball

Score SGC 2-1 SPAC

Special Mention

• Ruby Harrison for her encouragement and passing skills 
• Nuala Fashoyin for her great focus when serving
• Oliver Trevitt for his effort and great work near the net

Netball 

Score SGC 19-8 SPAC

Special Mention

• Geena Hokayem shining in defence the second half, reading the play to take many turnovers
• All-rounder Makaela Shaw for her athleticism, passing and ability to find space up and down the court
• Rose Webb for confidently taking rebounds and loose balls in the circle and making considered choices in her passing.

Wollongong Pathway Representative Sport

Western Region Athletics Carnival

On Friday, 5 August, our Junior School Athletics Team competed in the Wollongong Western Region Athletics Carnival at Campbelltown Athletics Centre. The team displayed solid performances throughout the day and represented the College with great pride and humility.

Special mention to Ivy Smith and Keira Eagles for being awarded age champions and Taylah Kenney, Hunter Clark and Denham Tsagalas runners-up age champions in their age category. The College ended up taking out the Girl’s overall point score and the overall school points school for the meet!!!!

Thank you to Mrs Buckley and Mr Kearns for managing the team and to Mr Smith and our parent volunteers- Kate Stephens and Kristy Eagles, for officiating at the Carnival.

Well done to the following students who qualified and competed at the Wollongong Diocese Primary Athletics Selection Trials on Tuesday, 16 August, at Kerryn McCann Athletics Track, Wollongong:

Zane        Mallinson

From this selection trial, the following students qualified to represent Wollongong at the Mackillop Athletics on Monday, 19 September:

• Denham Tsagalas
• Keira Eagles
• Eva Luximon
• Taylah Kenney
• Hunter Clark

Good luck to the following students who will be representing Mackillop at NSWPSSA trials in the coming weeks:

• Cricket- Lucas Spragg and Rose Webb
• Softball- Chris Blyton

Independent Catholic Primary School Rugby League Cup

On Thursday, 4 August, our Junior School Rugby League Team competed at the 2022 ICPSC Finals Day at Albion Park.

Unfortunately, we lost to Corrimal 20-12 in our first game. We regrouped and showed remarkable resilience and determination to win our second game against St Mark’s Dubbo 16-14 despite being down by 12 points with 9 minutes to go!!! Because we did not win both games, our journey in this competition ended. We wish Corrimal the best of luck next week at the State Finals.

After the carnival, the team was asked to nominate their players player. This player was someone who represented the College with great pride and true sportsmanship. Someone humble in both victory and defeat and someone their teammates felt upheld the standards of the College.  Congratulations to Finn Dumsney for being voted players player for our journey through the tournament.

On behalf of the College, we are all incredibly proud of how you represented us as a team on these gala days. Your resilience, humility and determination are an inspiration to us all.

Mr Darryl Howe

PDHPE Teacher/Sports Coordinator