Dear members of the St Greg’s family,
Last weekend saw one of the biggest few days on the College calendar with Parent Teacher Interviews and our annual Boarder’s Family Weekend. There were record numbers attending the interviews and the conversations I had with parents had a few typical themes. Firstly, 'our child was known by their teachers.' It was very pleasing for me to hear that as I am a firm believer that you cannot teach a child before building a positive relationship with them. This is a focus and continues to have a good impact.
Secondly, the teachers were direct and constructive with their feedback. It is important for our partnership to continue to blossom, teachers have to be honest in their feedback, ensuring a ‘safe’ space is maintained, and from reports from parents, that was achieved.
Finally, just how smooth everything went. Over 5000 interviews were conducted from Kindergarten through to Year 12 and things ran to time!
The Boarder’s weekend was a celebration about all the great things about boarding. Football matches, morning tea, lunch, Mass, sibling dinner, movie and a parent function, allowed families to mix and enjoy the company of each other and the staff. It was a perfect day weatherwise, and the sport was played in good spirits. I want to particularly recognise and thank Mr Luke Morrissey and Miss Danielle Sherd for their incredible commitment and time to ensure the weekend was enjoyed by all.
Recent Parent Survey
Thank you to all the parents who completed these. 330 families completed the survey, allowing for a decent data set. I will send out a letter in the coming weeks, reporting specific data, but in summary, the community are very happy with the College and the direction it is taking. Parents were particularly positive in the areas of School Successes and Achievements, giving the College an average score of 4.3 out of 5, Strategic Foundations (school vision and structures) 4.26 out of 5 and Community Cohesiveness (the school and its communities) 2.29 out of 5. These are very pleasing results as it shows confidence and real partnership between staff and the wider community.
The survey also gave some clear direction on what the future needs to look like and a process has begun, in collaboration with Marist Schools Australia, on developing a strategic plan for 2025-2027. More information to come in the coming months.
How To Spend Less Time On Your Phone
If you want to spend less time on your phone, research suggests removing the colour from your screen and rearranging your apps could help you reduce your addiction.
The average adult spends about 5 hours per day on their phone and checks it up to 144 times daily. And research suggests that approximately 70 percent of apps designed to lessen usage don’t help change your behaviour.
If you want to spend less time looking at your phone, the most effective approach is shifting your phone to greyscale. Studies have found that it can reduce your daily phone usage by up to 50 minutes per day, help decrease anxiety, and increase overall well-being. But that alone isn’t enough.
While greyscaling your phone will lead to less time on it, research suggests it doesn’t help reduce how often you check your phone.
If you want to reach for your phone less often, you need to take action with some “self-nudging,” which are strategies that change your digital environment.
Removing notifications, turning off face unlock, shifting apps away from your home screen, hiding or deleting social media apps (and limiting to desktop use), and setting screen time reminders are all effective methods of self-nudging. It might also be helpful to charge your phone in a different room to avoid the typical doomscrolling that occurs early in the morning and late at night.
If you want to try Gray scaling your phone, here’s how to find it on an Apple device: Settings >Accessibility>Display & Text Size >Colour Filters>Switch to On and click Grayscale.
If you’re on Android: Settings > Accessibility > Colour and motion>Select Colour correction, scroll down, and select Grayscale.
Research suggests that many will switch their phones back to colour, so get comfortable with the uncomfortable. That’s when the positive changes happen.
In Memory
Please keep in your prayers the Delves family (Liam – Class of 2019) on the passing of Liam after a recent health battle. Liam’s service was held last week with scores of Old boys in attendance to pay their respects and to offer support to parents, Lee and Hazel.
Many thanks for your ongoing support and commitment to making St Gregory’s College the best place for our staff, you as parents, and of course the reason we are doing this, your wonderful children.
May Mary Our Good Mother, St Marcellin Champagnat and St Gregory continue to watch over our community.
Matthew Brennan
College Principal K-12