College Newsletter | Term 4 - Week 5 | 11 November 2022

College News and Events

Mr Matthew Brennan - College Principal (K-12)

Dear members of the Greg’s family,

November is a month in the Church’s calendar when we remember in a special way those who have died. I recently read a beautiful reflection by Tony Clarke from Marist Schools Australia reflecting on those special ones in our lives who have passed away.

At any given time, most of the world believes that death isn’t final, that some form of immortality exists. Most people believe that those who have died still exist in some state, in some modality, in some place, in some heaven or hell, however that may be conceived.

As Christians, this is our belief: We believe that the dead are still alive, still themselves and, very importantly, still in a living, conscious and loving relationship with us and with each other. That’s our common concept of heaven and, however simplistic its popular expression at times, it is wonderfully correct.

We believe that we are still in communion with those who have died. Among other things, this says that we can relate to them, speak to them and be spoken to by them.

During this month, let us think of those who have lost loved ones, particularly those recently, in our community.

Senior School News and Events

Mr Joel Weekes - Assistant Principal

Dear Members of the St Gregory’s College Family,

As I reflect on another week that has flown on by, one cannot dismiss some of the wonderful things that have been happening around the College of late. With so much happening, it is always good to stop, pause and reflect on how lucky we are to be a part of such a loving, connected and vibrant school community. Events such as Badgally Beatz and Lunch on the Lawn have shown once again the power of a strong and connected community.

Year 12 – HSC Examinations

Our Year 12 students have now completed their Higher School Certificate (HSC) Examinations and each and every one of them should be proud of their efforts – what an exciting time of their lives! I congratulate our students for their dedication and commitment to their exams, and I thank the teaching staff for preparing our boys so well. Thank you also to the families of the boys for your ongoing support – this partnership will ensure our young men is a large part of the ‘growing fine young men’ philosophy that the College exemplifies.

Year 11 Retreat

Last week, all of our Year 11 students have been involved in the Year 11 Retreat for a three-day period. The Retreat took place at the Marist Centre at Mittagong, led superbly by Mrs Cathie Clarke, our Director of Mission and Ms Trudy Sawyer, our Year 11 Leader. Mrs Clarke and Ms Sawyer have been supported by an outstanding team of teachers at the Retreat venue, all lending their support, wisdom and faith to assist our young men to grow. As I visited the retreat, you could feel the energy and camaraderie between the boys and staff. I must congratulate our Year 11 students for entering into the spirit of the Retreat Week with an open mind and an open heart.

Lunch on the Lawn

It was lovely to see the sun out and many parents, grandparents and family members visit the College on Wednesday for the Senior School Lunch on the Lawn. Like always, plenty of KFC, Sushi, Krispy Kremes and laugher on display and it was lovely to wander around and feel the vibrancy. We are part of an engaged community and one of the real highlights for me are events like this that bring our community together in such a simple way. Thanks to all the families who made an effort to come and join in the lunch. I know that the boys really appreciate the time to eat, laugh and spend time with family and friends.

Remembrance Day – Friday 11 November

On Friday, although the College community will be on a Boarders Weekend and Staff Development Day, we hope that as a College community you will take the time to pause for a minute of silence at 11am.

At 11:00am on Friday 11 November, when we do stop to reflect in silence, with our thoughts on an acknowledgement of the incredible impact our veterans have had and continue to have on us, the inheritors of their legacy. We are so lucky and grateful to be members of a country that is safe, with freedoms that we enjoy .

Lest We Forget.

End of Year Examinations

The End of Year Examinations are fast approaching for our students in Years 7 -10. The Examination period runs from Monday 28 November to Friday 2 December. Students in Years 7-10 have been provided with their examination timetable this week. It is our expectation that all students are in attendance on each day of the examination period (unless illness or misadventure prevents attendance). I wish each student the very best for their upcoming end of year examinations.

Teacher Shopping

It is that time of the year as a College we are starting to look at classes for 2023. It is also the time of the year where parents start to wonder what classes their son or daughter will be in for next year. Teachers and timetables are yet confirmed for 2023. Teachers on classes will be confirmed in the coming weeks.

One thing that I need our whole community to know is that we will not allow ‘teacher shopping’ at St Gregory’s College. We have wonderful teachers at St Gregory’s who do their absolute best to ensure that the student experience is one that is the best it possibly can be. No requests for your son or daughter next year are to be taken to the classroom teachers. If you have a specific request that is essential for your son or daughters learning please let me know in writing. But there will be no guarantee that this will take place due to the variables.

Thank you for your ongoing support and friendship and the respect you have for what we try to do here at St Gregory’s. Our work is always in partnership and we are blessed to be a part of this wonderful community!

Have a lovely weekend to all St Gregory’s College families. Thanks for another terrific week we hope that you have an enjoyable Boarders Weekend!

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

Mr Joel Weekes

Assistant Principal / Head of Senior School

St Greg's Culture

Mrs Diana Ivancic - Head of Junior School

Last Friday was an awesome day at St Gregory’s Junior School. During the day, we welcomed over 400 grandparents to the Junior School, to participate in a liturgy, visit classrooms, share morning tea with their grandchildren and visit the Book Fair. Some grandparents had driven up to 5 hours to be there on the day. What a spectacular event, to see so many grandparents walking out the gates grinning from ear to ear.

Later that evening, we hosted 90 new Kindergarten parents for 2023 to a Cocktail evening in the Marion Centre. Amongst them, about ten Old Boys stood in awe, reflecting on their years past at the Senior School. The room stood still as the group of Old Boys joined by the group of Boarding students who were serving on the night, belted out the Sub Tuum, as we all watched with goosebumps. It was certainly something unique.

Earlier that evening, Charlize & Mitchel (Junior School Captains) welcomed our new parents with a speech. They shared:

“When people ask me what it’s like at St Greg’s, the first thing that comes to mind is…I can’t put my finger on it….
I love coming to school every day. It’s like coming to family. At St Greg’s, family is really important – it’s actually one of our Marist characteristics.
…Culture! That’s the word I was looking for Mitchel. What makes us different is the culture.
It’s a bit hard to put your finger on it exactly, but we know that you are going to love the St Greg’s culture. And it starts right here, right now, tonight.”

Culture is what people talk about when they walk through our gates. It is steeped in the rich Marist traditions we hold dear, and it is in the vines that will continue to grow into the history we have not yet made.

You will reap what you sow.

Mrs Diana Ivancic

Teacher Shopping

It is that time of the year as a College when we are starting to look at classes for 2023. It is also the time of the year when parents start to wonder what classes their son or daughter will be in for next year. Teachers are not yet confirmed for 2023, except for Kindergarten with Mrs Scott and Mrs Bowen. Teachers in all other classes in Years 1-6 will be confirmed in the coming weeks.

One thing that I need our whole community to know, is that we will not allow ‘teacher shopping’ at St Gregory’s College. We have wonderful teachers at St Gregory’s who do their absolute best to ensure that the student experience is one that is the best it possibly can be. No requests for your son or daughter next year are to be taken to the classroom teachers. If you have a specific request that is essential for your son's or daughter's learning, please let me know in writing. But there will be no guarantee that this will take place due to the variables. The ‘Move Up Day’ that we have planned for later this term will be the date we have selected to see the classes in action before we make concrete decisions for 2023.

When we are making classes for next year we keep in mind:

Friendships that are a positive for the learning of the child
Friendships that may possibly disadvantage the learning of the child in the class or any clashes of personalities that we can avoid
A good academic mix between the classes
Specific needs of the child that would suit one class over the other.

Kindergarten Orientation Afternoon

Our final Kindy 2023 Orientation was held on Tuesday afternoon, with all children coming together for a fun afternoon. The parents were put to work as Mrs Limbrey ran a Learning to Read Workshop for all our new parents. This was a great opportunity to learn strategies to help their child read and gain an understanding of the reading materials used at school and what the children will be doing in class. Thank you Mrs Limbrey for running this very detailed and insightful session!

Badgally Beatz

Tuesday 8 November was a magical night under the stars and the pink moon, with the Junior School choirs performing at the Badgally Beatz night. The Junior School Band also debuted, playing so confidently.

Ms Kath Wray organised a wonderful family night under the basketball courts. Our choirs, led by Mrs Limbrey and Mrs Tweedie, sang a variety of songs for family and friends. As Mrs Cosentino and I sat on the hill, we felt truly blessed to be part of this great community. We almost forgot where we were – singing along to great songs and watching the children singing and dancing in the audience. I can’t wait for the next one!

We were so very proud of you all.

2022 Christmas Appeal

Last week we were privileged to share a week of Retreat with the Senior class of 2023. In his evaluation, one of our young men wrote, ‘It gave me a chance to sort through things, to unwind and think about my life.’ Another wrote that the real strength was in ‘the sharing of stories which made us think, reflect and feel encouraged and supported.’ Another expressed, ‘I went in not expecting much, but am amazed at how powerful the experience was.’ One of the many themes we explore during Retreat is the notion of gratitude. Whilst we share with all of humanity the highs and lows that are part of being human, we have many social and economic advantages by being born in this country, living in this city and being a part of the Greg’s community. It is humbling to hear our young men speak of their gratitude to their families, teachers and fellow students. In return, we encourage them to reach out to those who are less fortunate and need our support.

Maths Enrichment

Maths Enrichment has been a focus at the College for the past few years now and is led by one of our amazing Mathematics teachers - Mrs Hackett.

The ”More than Maths” Relay took place last term on Friday 9 September. Students from the Maths Enrichment Group were joined by other students, staff and parents as well as Brother Ernest and Brother Peter to take on the challenges.

Nine teams were given an hour to work on thirty problems which included traditional maths questions, logic problems as well as a few riddles. Each team included a student from Stages 3, 4, 5 and 6 as well as any two other people. Students recruited teachers, ex-students, and parents to join their teams. The Marian Centre was buzzing with energy as the teams worked together to solve as many questions as possible in the time.

Mr Andy Tran from the University of Sydney’s School of Mathematics and Statistics joined one of the teams for the Relay and then presented a talk about his journey from high school mathematics and maths enrichment activities to his Ph.D. research, where he is using mathematics to develop less invasive ways to diagnose coronary artery disease.

Following tiebreakers for both first and third, the final placings were as follows:

1st – Dominic Curtin, Jordan Messer, Hollins Eastgate, Leon Leejo, Chris Maumill, Viduk Ambegoda, Mr Porteous
2nd – Josh Federico, James Palpal-Latoc, Kaleb Belak, Jack Cullen, Mr Cullen, Mr Kawa
3rd – Harrison Speechley, Domenico Cocco, Nuala Fashoyin, Mr Tran, Mrs Champion, Mr McGovern
4th – Ben Kelly, Daniel Canellis, Ben Lang, Rynal Lal, Mr Kripal, Brother Ernest, Mr Hackett

The tiebreaker question was… what are the next two numbers in this sequence?

4 6 9 18 38 74

The Junior School Mathematics Enrichment Group, under the guidance of Mrs Hackett and with support from Mr Perna, have spent the last few months investigating the Junior School Pick Up process. Students spent hours collecting data, analysing data, and hypothesising, to determine the most ideal time to pick up a student at the Junior School.

The investigation was entered into the Australian Association of Mathematics Teacher’s National Mathematics Talent Quest. Not only did the students win the NSW entry, but they have just received notification that they were successful in being awarded first place Nationally. Students from the Junior School Maths Enrichment Group will attend an awards ceremony online next week. We are extremely grateful for the work that Mrs Hackett does with Maths Enrichment in the College, and we congratulate the students for their success.

If you would like to view the entry, please use the following link:

https://sites.google.com/stgregs.nsw.edu.au/investigating-with-mathematics/home

World Teachers’ Day was celebrated on the 28 October. This year’s theme was “Hats off to our Teachers”. To thank our teachers and staff for all they do, the College organised a morning tea to enable all staff to stop and enjoy a well-earned break.

“Our teachers have shown great resilience during challenging times, all so they can give our students the best future possible”

Ms Judith Tolomeo

Director of Teaching and Learning

Wellbeing News!

As we come to the back end of this term, I continue to remind students that they need to finish the year with strong focus and dedication. This is also expected in the way they wear their uniform and navigate around the College.

I express my ongoing attention to getting the little things right! This term, students are working to the end of year exams that are fast approaching. The next 3 weeks of school are very important as we constantly remind students to set achievable targets.

Another important reminder is the use of Opal Cards on buses. The College needs to make sure we keep all bus services running to best support students getting to and from school. Unfortunately, of late, students are not tapping onto bus services, so we are urging all students to consistently tap onto the bus services each trip as priority.

Senior School Director of Studies News

Upcoming Events

Monday 21 November - HSC Minimum Standards Catch-up Term 4
Wednesday 23 November - Year 11 Awards Assembly (8.45am)
Wednesday 23 November - Year 11 Information Evening (7.00pm - Online)
Thursday 24 November - Year 10 Exams begin
Friday 25 November - Year 9 Exams begin
Monday 28 November - Year 7 – 8 Exams begin
Friday 2 December - Year 7 – 10 Classes Conclude
Wednesday 7 December - Year 11 Classes Conclude
Thursday 8 December - Year 7 – 10 Exams Returned
Thursday 15 December - HSC Results Published

Lionel Pemberthy & Riley Keogh (Year 12)

Lionel Pemberthy Award

On Monday, the College was privileged to have Lionel Pemberthy visit and meet Riley Keogh, the winner of the Year 12 Lionel Pemberthy Award for Contribution to the Profile of the College in the Rural Community.

Lionel had a significant role in maintaining the College as a working cattle farm in the 1970s – 1980s. During this time, the College won a range of rural community shows including the Royal Easter Show exhibits.

The role of Agriculture in the academic life of the College and our students’ links to rural communities have always been an important connection with the foundation of the College.

Year 11 Award Assembly and Information Evening

On Wednesday 23 November there will be a Year 11 Awards Assembly in the morning and an Information Evening Online that evening. The Awards Assembly will be live-streamed and the evening event will take place on Teams Live.

Stage 5 Electives and Stage 6 Course Selection

Our Year 10 students were given their Course Offers on Wednesday 9 November. The College will offer 33 courses next year and this is the first time that Work Studies will be offered in Year 11. Students will have until Week 2, Term 1 2023 to make any course changes.

Year 8 students will receive their Elective Offers next Wednesday 16 November.

HSC Minimum Standards Testing – Catch-up

On Monday 21 November, Year 10 and Year 11 students who have not yet passed their HSC Minimum Standards tests will have another chance to satisfy these requirements. Students must satisfy tests in Reading, Writing and Numeracy before they can receive their HSC.

PAT Testing

Recently, our Year 7 – 10 students completed PAT testing in Reading and Mathematics. It was pleasing to see the growth in all groups across all areas despite the challenges that COVID presented in the last few years. Our growth in Year 9 – 10 Reading and Year 9 Mathematics were particularly impressive and reinforce our results in NAPLAN this year. It seems that boys at St. Greg’s are bucking state and national trends in Literacy and Numeracy.

Year 7 – 10 Semester 2 Examinations

The College has emailed all Year 7 – 10 students and parents/ carers timetables for Semester 2 Examinations. These will take place:

Year 7 – 8: Monday 28 November – Friday 2 December
Year 9: Friday 25 November – Friday 2 December
Year 10: Thursday 24 November – Friday 2 December

If your son is absent for exams, please contact the Academic Care Leader before the day of the exam. In Years 7 – 9, send the Academic Care Leader a medical certificate (Stage 4 – Mrs. Ursino Lursino@stgregs.nsw.edu.au ; Stage 5 – Mr. Duggan Gduggan@stgregs.nsw.edu.au ). In Year 10, send a Student Assessment Form (available on Sentral Portal) and a medical certificate to the Director of Studies (Rbombardiere@stgregs.nsw.edu.au ).

For cases of Illness/Misadventure, students will receive an estimate based on their other assessments and classwork. In other cases, including early holidays or if no documentation is supplied, students will receive a zero for the task and a Letter of Concern (Year 7 – 9) or an N-Determination Warning Letter (Year 10). There will be no formal opportunities to complete tasks early or for catch-up exams.

The final day of school for all Year 7 – 10 students is Friday 2 December. During the last day of school, students will complete their last exam. It is a College expectation that students attend the final College Mass for the year. Remote Boarders will pack down their rooms and leave. All other students will attend Pastoral Awards and final day activities in the afternoon.

Students will be able to collect their exams on Thursday 8 December. Further details will be provided closer to the date.

Reports will be available on Sentral Portal from Wednesday 14 December.

Mr Riccardo Bombardiere

CCC Basketball State Champions!

Junior Basketball Team – CCC State Champions!

St Gregory’s Junior Basketball Squad (Year 7 and 8) played very strongly to win the PDS Gala Day competition in Term 3. After winning this tournament the boys qualified for the NSW CCC State Championships. The Championships were held at Bankstown Basketball Stadium on October 31 and November 1. The team were confident going into the competition as they had won everything before them at the PDS level, but there was a sense of the unknown going up against the best Catholic school teams in the state.

Our first game was against All Saints Catholic College Liverpool. We were a bit rusty in this first game and went into halftime just behind. The boys game out firing in the second half to win 30-17 in a great comeback. Our next match was a strong win against La Salle Academy Lithgow. The Lithgow boys were a little daunted by the size and skill of our team. We overheard one of them declare “OMG!” when we walked past them pre-game! We ended up winning 29-7 with La Salle putting in a strong effort, improving as the game progressed. Our next game was against the boys from the Hunter – St Pius X High School Adamstown. By the third game of the day, we were warmed up and all boys in the squad contributed to a 38-12 victory. We had two games to play on the Tuesday morning against McCarthy College Tamworth and St Francis de Salle Academy Leeton. It was a simple equation, win both games and we would go through to the final against the top team in Group B. The team really kicked into gear against McCarthy. All team members got time on the court, and we were able to put up 55 points in twenty minutes. The game ended 55-19 and it started to dawn on the boys that they had an excellent opportunity in front of them. We needed to beat Leeton who had performed strongly against the other teams in the pool, the game had a classic Semi-Final feel to it. The first half was cagey and neither team really got a grip on the game, we were actually rushing a bit and needed to take stock at halftime. The second half was a dominant display from the boys. The game lifted in intensity, but the team got back to good habits on both end of the floor. We ended up winning the game 25-9 against a team with a similar record. We had finished the Group A pool games with 5 wins and a for and against percentage of 277%, scoring 177 points and conceding just 64.

The boy’s performance in the pool games saw us face off against St Edwards Gosford in the final. The game was a contrast of styles. St Edwards featured some excellent shooters with experience at the NSW Country representative level, and they were intent on shooting from distance. While they managed to hit numerous three-point shots they were struggling with our relentless full court press and the speed and strength of our team. While St Edward’s continue to launch three-pointers we continued to dominate in transition and inside the paint. The team was brilliantly marshalled in the final by Kyan Wilton alongside the offensive and rebounding dominance of Kingston Tutani. Ethan Matthews leadership on the defensive end and Jackson Woolford’s propensity for pulling in rebounds and scoring important late baskets propelled the team to a win. What was most pleasing was the performance of one of two Year 7 players, Nile Bushby. Starting the first and second half of the game Nile came up with numerous massive plays at both ends of the court.

Well done boys, I couldn’t be prouder of this group of special players and fine young men. All members of the squad contributed to St Greg’s first CCC Basketball State title in any age group that I can remember. It’s safe to say we we’re all very pleased. Onwards and upwards!

Team members: Nile Bushby, Dylan Chew, Zoran Croft, Lochlan Farrow, Ethan Matthews, Azor Ruiz, Brad Smith, Jack Smith, Kingston Tutani, Kyan Wilton, Jackson Woolford.

Coach – Mr Benedict Limbrey

Sport Week Wrap Up - Term 4, Week 5 2022

Summer sport is in full swing with 3 rounds already completed. Most teams have made a successful start to the season, in particular it has been great for the boys involved in cricket to have a steady start to the season after a very disruptive last few seasons with Covid and the rain.

Mrs Sligar and the Berg Shield Cricket team made a fantastic start to their campaign with a convincing victory in their opening round against Patrician Brothers Fairfield. Mr Morrisey and the Downie Shield team have their first match against Bede Polding Windsor this coming Tuesday 15th November

Both the Junior (Years 7/8) and Intermediate (Years 9/10) Basketball squads attended the NSW CCC Basketball Championships and were terrific across both days of the tournament. The Intermediate side went through the first day undefeated and were beaten in a thrilling contest in the quarter final. The Junior side were terrific all the way through their pool matches qualifying first and progressed to the final. Up against a tough St Edwards side from Gosford the boys managed to win 30-24. What a fantastic achievement for Mr Limbrey and all the boys involved.

The U13, U15 and U17 Rugby League teams had their matches against Illawarra Sports High School a few weeks ago. With wet conditions all three games were low scoring affairs. In fact the U13 and U15 matches were both Nil all at halftime. The U13 boys went on to lose 12-0 to square up the ledger with Illawarra Sports at a game apiece this year. The U15 boys managed a last minute try to win the game 6-0. Finally, the U17 squad played a back-and-forth game they came right down to the wire with Illawarra snatching victory 15-14.

PDS Sport Reports

Round 1-2

PDS Basketball Rd 1

Year 9

Mr Limbrey

Win 54-25

The boys took on Parramatta Marist in our first game of the PDS season. The team was on a high as the majority of them had competed in the champion PDS Gala Day squad in Term 3. We were looking forward to continuing our strong form. Alas, the opening to the game featured its fair share of rust! Once we got moving the boys clicked into gear to record a comfortable 54-25 victory. There are definitely some areas we can continue to work on moving forward, and that we will!

Kingston Tutani - Molloy

Year 10

Mrs Giles

Loss 30-32

With a new look team this season the first round was always going to be challenging. Throughout the first half it was obvious that we were learning how to work together and get the most out of each other. Early in the second half Parramatta started to pull away, getting ahead by 8 points, but we kept fighting and managed to be down by only two at the final siren. It was a great effort by all considering that it is the first year in a PDS team for most of the boys.

Deklin Jarrett- Kilian

B Grade

Mr Perna

Win 56 - 17

Great first round game. Strong performances from all players with some excellent teamwork on display.

Steven Moran-Briggs + Kilian

A Grade

Mrs Giles

Win 60-25

After the success of last season it was important to come out and make a statement that we were ready to continue this good form and we did just that. Our defense was solid and we were making all the right choices on offense. We had scored 17 points before Parramatta were able to hit the scoreboard. Parramatta came out hard in the second half and started to peg back our lead but then we stepped up our defense with a very fluid full court press. Excellent start to the season with a 35 point win.

Jake Wright- Donovan

PDS Basketball Rd 2- All teams had a Bye

PDS Cricket Rd 1

Year 8

Mr Bingham

Washout

Year 9

Mr Newell

Win

Gregs 4/91

Doms 1-/71

Great first up performance for the Year 9 team with a tight win against St Doms. Setting a competitive total of 91 with Jack Jobson scoring a 49 not out, well backed by Khai Hughes with 19 not out. Bowling needed to be good to secure a win and the team kept to task and bowled St Doms out for 71. Cohen Kvackovski 2/9, Jack Jobson 2/10 and Khai Hughes 2/16.

Jack Jobson- LAURENTIAN

Year 10

Mrs Sligar

Win

Gregs 2/53 Greystanes 4/21

After only three overs of play, a rain delay shortened our first round of the season to just 8 overs each.
St Greg's managed a very solid 2/53 highlighted by Ashton Haycock (21) and Matthew Fitzgerald (25 not out). Greystanes were restricted to 21 runs off their 8 overs by great work in the field and the bowling highlights of captain Jacob Malvern with 3/4 (2 overs), Matthew Fitzgerald 0/3 (2 overs) and Ashton Haycock 1/7(2 overs).
Special mention to Jackson Mills who demonstrated the determination of the players and officials to get a game in by borrowing a broom from a friendly neighbour so that the water could be swept off the pitch and play could resume.

Matthew Fitzgerald - Laurentian

3rd Grade

Mr Kripal

Washout

2nd Grade

Mr Gilheaney

Washout

1st Grade

Mr Morrisey

Win

Gregs 9/147

Doms 10/70

A cracking start to the Cricket season for our First XI Boys. Debutants included Tom Dzevlin, Jack Spragg, Peter Reardon, Pat 'Leroy' Ward, Jerry Wagg, and Lachlan Stanley (injured). We were lucky to get a game in, the rain was relentless. However, the boys were keen. They proved this with some nice batting, Spragg making a handy 25 runs, Blake Truman scoring 32 and Andrew Salian top scoring with 50. Our bowlers did not let our batsmen down, wrapping up Dom's in the 18th over for 70, Jack Spragg taking 3/11.

Andrew Salian - Molloy

PDS Cricket Rd 2

Year 8

Mr Bingham

Bye

Year 9

Mr Newell

Win

Gregs 3/154

Greystanes 9/35

Batting first, it was a slow start. After seeing the opening bowlers off the runs were scored freely with Jack Jobson 84 and Ben Harrison 23 setting up the innings brilliantly. With an imposing target set it was on to the bowlers to contribute and that they did. Bowling Greystanes out for 35. Top bowling from Nate Baxter 3/11 and Thomas Geale 2/1.

Jack Jobson- Laurentian

Year 10

Mrs Sligar

Bye

3rd Grade

Mr Kripal

Bye

2nd Grade

Mr Gilheaney

Washout

1st Grade

Mr Morrisey

Win

Gregs 2/91

Greystanes 87

A convincing win for St Greg's. Despite some sloppy fielding, St Paul's were all out for 87 after 18 overs. Impressive bowling from Lachlan Stanley with 2-3 off two overs. Not a great start from SGC, with Jerry Wagg gone in the first over. Harrison Quinn made the way for an early trip home, scoring a quick fire 37. The total was reached in the 6th over, with Greg's finishing on 2/91/

Harrison Quinn- Molloy

Berg Shield

St Gregory’s College Campbelltown v Patrician Brothers Fairfield

Tuesday 1 November 2022

The first innings saw St Gregory’s take up the bat. With plenty of boundaries as well as commitment to pushing for every run possible, St Greg’s was able to achieve 3/143 in the 20 overs. Top scorers were Ashton Haycock (46), Matthew Fitzgerald (36) and Giles Consunji (31 not out).

The St Greg’s bowlers and fielders were equally keen so impress and were able to restrict Fairfield to just 18 runs. Best bowlers were Archie Gay (3/0), Jacob Malvern (2/4) and Matthew Fitzgerald (1/1).

Around the Farm

Riley Keogh, Year 12 Primary Industries, Agriculture and Show Team member won the Lionel Penberthy award this year. Lionel was kind enough to attend the college to get a photo with Riley. Lionel spoke of the “old days” on the farm at St Greg’s. He would come in over the Christmas break to help feed the stock, help with show team training and one of his highlights was getting the students to compete at Sydney Royal and win the Heavy weight carcase competition.

Riley was a worthy winner of this prestigious award, and it was fantastic to see Lionel at the College again.

We thank Lionel for his continued support of the Agriculture students.

The boys have been busy the past few weeks around the farm. Year 9 have been learning to operate the tractor and its implements. Year 10 have been vaccinating lambs, tattooing the 2023 stud cattle show team, slashing paddocks, weeding, weighing and drafting cattle. Year 11 Primary Industries have been lamb marking and out on work placement. Year 8 have been learning about GPS cows and tracking our Shorthorn Montana!

The 2023 Sydney Royal Steers have also arrived and are being broken in. We are impressed with how quiet they are and how well they have taken to being handled. We thank the following studs for their continued support of our show program- RB Simmentals (Wagga Wagga), Palmerston holdings (Gloucester), Lopresti Family, Southern Cross Speckle Park (Tumut), Vaccaro Family and Keigho (Gunnedah).

Miss Hayley Mahoney

Leader of Learning Agriculture

Do you bite your thumb at me, sir?

It’s perhaps not a question you hear very often in 2022, but as a class in Year 8 English have recently learned, the sentiment is most certainly still understood! In tackling Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet, a Year 8 class has learned that whilst the words and actions used might be different, insults have pretty much remained the same. To “bite one’s thumb” at someone was an antagonistic act in Shakespearean England and would have been received with a great degree of offence. The class was tasked with re-enacting the much-loved scene. This was met with much hilarity and a lot of giggling. All agreed that the gesture of “biting one’s thumb” was indeed provocative and made sense. When acted out, in person, this notion could be seen and understood far more palpably than the reading of the scene alone could unlock.

The class reinforced their love of acting when next, they took on the famous “balcony scene”. Budding Romeo’s and Juliet’s acted out impassioned declarations of love from the sweeping staircase outside the front of the 0100 block. Visitors might well have been shocked by the vision they would have stumbled across, but one thing is for certain: thespian culture is certainly alive and well at St Gregory’s College in 2022.

Mrs Lee Ursino

2023 Combined College Musical Auditions

Dear Actors, Singers, Dancers or any Oz enthusiasts of St Patrick's and St Gregory's Colleges,

The last time we attempted to journey to Oz, it didn’t quite go to plan. This time it will be different!

Our search for the full cast of our 2023 Combined College production of “The Wizard of Oz” has commenced!

So, follow both your ‘brain’ and heart’, and journey with us along the yellow brick road to the wonderful land of Oz in 2023!

If we have sparked your interest, use the ‘courage’ you have been gifted and visit The Wizard of Oz auditions page here. You've got two weeks from today - Auditions close on Tuesday 22nd November. Good luck!

Spanish in the Junior School

Our focus this term has been on Cultural celebrations and why it's important to cultivate these. Spanish speaking cultures have many celebrations that include music, food, dance and religious messages.

After celebrating Spanish culture through our Spanish Festival, we decided to keep learning about many more celebrations that have a day or two dedicated to them. The students have been able to learn about Mexico’s Dia De Los Muertos, Peru’s Festival of Light and Colombia’s Flower Festival in Medellin to name a few.

This exposure to Latin and Central American traditions has encouraged conversations about their own cultural journeys and family traditions. We have found some to be very similar.

Throughout this term we have also been able to start expressing how we are feeling at the start of each day. We can now greet one another in Spanish and add a little extra with ‘me siento…’ which means, ‘I am feeling…’

It is great to see how Spanish is slowly growing in our school. Children are even correcting one another when we make mistakes and applying new words in their sentence writing.

Mrs Paula Grados

Year 1 Poetry

Recently, Year 1 has been learning all about Poetry and how we can use this to express our feelings and emotions. We learnt how to write acrostic poems, senses and simile poems and poems using adjectives. Here are some of our wonderful poems.

Winner at the Macarthur Nature Photography Competition

Evie Simpson 4M won the Macarthur Nature Photography Competition. A joint Camden, Campbelltown and Wollondilly Councils Award, Evie was awarded 1st place in the Australian Plants division and won $200 in prize money.

Evie’s photo has apparently been chosen as the cover photo for the upcoming Camden Council magazine that will be delivered to every residence in Camden. How exciting to have a published photographer in our midst!

Congratulations Evie!

Independent Primary Schools Sporting Organisation (IPSSO)

The Junior School has had a full few weeks of sport.

Click below for a full wrap-up.

IPSSO Results Week 4

On Wednesday, 2 November 2022, our teams competed against Wollondilly Anglican College.

Junior Basketball

Score SGC 28 - 2 WAC

Special Mention

Audrey Oldfield for her defensive pressure and dribbling skills in offense.
Cooper Tarantola for scoring an impressive 14 points.
Reece Hodson for the perseverance and resilience he displayed throughout the game.

Junior OzTag

Score SGC 12 - 3 WAC

Special Mention

Taylah Kenney for excellent support play, which led to her scoring 3 tries.
Armando Traino for scoring 2 tries and looking for support players.
Patrick Males for excellent decision-making in defense.

Junior Cricket

Score SGC 2/76 - 6/49 WAC

Special Mention

Bryce Krol for a wicket maiden over.
Eli Piaud and Gabriel Yousseph for great outfield catches.
James Dash and Patrick Ursino for blasting some big 4’s at the end.

Junior Girls Soccer

Score SGC 1 – 2 WAC

Special Mention

Polly McGovern for her excellent defence throughout the game.
Olivia Sheedy for her incredible determination in the midfield in attack and defence.
Indiana Vaccaro for incredible attacks throughout the game and her domination in the midfield.

Senior Basketball

Score SGC 26 - 17 WAC

Special Mention

Dylan Sheil for his excellent decision-making skills with the ball.
Genna Hokayem for her shooting accuracy, which leads to valuable baskets.
Mateo Parcio for his perseverance throughout the game which saw him dominate on both sides of the ball in the last quarter.

Senior Oz Tag

Score SGC 8 - 3 WAC

Special Mention

Zane Mallinson for utilising his speed and agility on the field.
Clare Murray for her impressive support play resulting in 2 tries.
Mitchell Harding for stepping in at the last minute with a solid game performance.

Senior Cricket

Score SCC 96 - 32 WAC

Special Mention

Austin Belak for his great effort bowling and fielding.
Lucas Spragg for his dominant display of hitting.
Lenny Ursino for his constant enthusiasm and encouragement of his teammates.

Senior Girls Soccer

Score SGC 0 - 3 WAC

Special Mention

Keira Eagles for pressuring opposition players throughout the game.
Ivy Smith for her outstanding effort and teamwork skills.
Isabella Palumbo for her consistent pressure in defence.

IPSSO Results Week 5

On Wednesday, 9 November 2022, our teams competed against Broughton Anglican College.

Junior Basketball

Score SGC 36 - 6 BAC

Special Mention

Stella Herbert for her excellent passing skills and valuable scoring shots
Audrey Oldfield for her tremendous defensive pressure all game
Coby Ornowski for his game management on both sides of the ball.

Junior Oz Tag

Score SGC 19 - 6 BAC

Special Mention

Patrick Males for great defensive reads
William Mumford for his accurate tagging
Piper Lane for taking on feedback and instantly applying it to her game

Junior Cricket

Score SGC 7/51 - 2/83 BAC

Special Mention

Patrick Ursino for bowling a much-needed maiden over
Gabriel Yousseph for taking our only 2 wickets
Bryce Krol for hitting some valuable runs

Junior Girls Soccer

Score SGC 1 - 2 BAC

Special Mention

Indiana Vaccaro and Georgie Wilson for excellent defence and attack all game.
Cara Jones for her excellent attack and determination.
Eva Luximon for her strong defence and never giving up.

Senior Basketball

Score SGC 44 – 8 BAC

Special Mention

Geena Hokayem for her intercepts and scoring shots
Baxter Snushall and Dylan Shiel for their teamwork that led to valuable turnovers and scoring shots
Anthony Michael for his skillful use of the ball in offense.

Senior Oz Tag

Score SGC 20 - 9 BAC

Special Mention

Orlando Siller for scoring 5 fantastic tries.
Ashley Colbourne for scoring an amazing hat trick of tries.
Finn Dumesny for his length of the field try and for his great try saving tags.

Senior Cricket

Score SCC 53 – 41 BAC

Special Mention

Lenny Ursino for his great effort with both bat and ball.
Oliver Trevitt for his excellent display of power hitting.
Viduk Ambegoda for a solid inning with the bat.

Senior Girls Soccer

Score SGC 3 - 1 BAC

Special Mention

Mikayla Faro for her fantastic passes and strong defence.
Charlize Anastasio for her determination and excellent performance throughout the game.
Tayah Bowen for her prolific finishing in front of goal

Our Summer IPSSO Trials for 2023 will commence in Week 7 on Wednesday. Coaches and staff will facilitate trials during grade sport time for the remainder of this term and into early Term 1, 2023. Teams will be finalised in Week 2 of Term 1, 2023.

Here is a guide to when trials will be conducted for each sport:

Cricket, Girl’s Soccer and OzTag will commence in Week 7
Basketball will commence in Week 8

Please ensure your child brings the appropriate equipment required for the trial they want to participate in. If your child is not participating in a trial, they will be doing regular-grade sports

Wollongong Diocese Sport

Well done to Dylan Sheil, Coby Ornowski and Lawson Sutton on their attendance at their Wollongong Sports Trial this week.

Congratulations to Humza Khan and Lucas Spragg on their selection in the Wollongong Cricket Team.

Congratulations and good luck to Kingston Nifo, Denham Tsagalas and Thomas Stephens, who will attend the Wollongong CDF Sports Awards Night tonight.

Swimming Carnival 2023

Thank you to the Years 2-5 families that have completed the google form sent out last week. If you have yet to receive the email about our Junior School 2022 Swimming Carnival containing the google form link, please get in touch with the Junior School office at your earliest convenience. The deadline for the form to be completed is Tuesday, 15 November.

Mr Darryl Howe

PDHPE Teacher/Sports Coordinator

K-2 Athletics Carnival

On Wednesday 9 November, students from K-2 enjoyed their sports carnival.

It was sheer joy watching the students participate in running races, tug-o-war, gumboot throwing and relays. It appeared that all students were enjoying themselves, cheering for their teammates and supporting their House teams.

Thank you to the energetic and dynamic coaches from Motiv8 sports that organised and ran the carnival for us.

Thank you to the staff who supported all the students and ensured they all participated and had a great day.

And thank you to the parents who came to support their children and our school. It makes it so much more enjoyable when parents support the staff by following the expectations and respectfully remain within the areas assigned. It was truly appreciated.

And in case you missed it, the winning team was Kilian!

Principal's Thank You Cocktail Evening

Invitations have been sent for this yearly event via email to all our 2022 Volunteers.

If you did not receive it, please contact Ally Buckley at abuckley@stgregs.nsw.edu.au

Celebrity Sports Dinner Silent Auction

For the first time in Celebrity Sports Dinner history, we are opening up the Silent Auction to the entire College Community!

There are fabulous prizes on offer and we would encourage you to have look and share with friends and family.

Keep and eye out for the post on our Facebook page with the link to the items.

We have hampers, experiences, jewellery, sporting goods, gym memberships and even a Ben & Jerry's Ice Cream party for 100 people!

Stay tuned!