Dear Parents and Friends,
Welcome to the final term of the school year. It is great to be back and focused full time on the boarding community after acting in a different role last term. I would like to thank Mr Prateek Kripal for his outstanding work stepping in as Director of Boarding last term, as well as all the boarding staff who filled in with additional shifts to cover the various absences throughout the term.
We are now two weeks into the term and already things have been extremely busy with your sons engaged in numerous activities, and with many more planned for the coming weeks. We will be attending a Sydney Kings Fixture, we have a number of finance talks for our Stage 4 (Year 7/8), and Stage 5 (Year 9/10) boarders, and our Year 12 class of 2025 will be heading on their Year 12 retreat. When you include work placement, Year 7 to 10 exam block, and various planned house outings, the end of the calendar year will be upon us very quickly. Watch out on our social media pages for photos at events.
Graduation
It is amazing to think that graduation was 4 weeks ago. Congratulations again to the young men that graduated as boarders from the College. It was an honour to be a part of the celebrations and share in what will be lifelong memories for you all.
On the night of our final boarders mass a number of awards were announced. We congratulate the following major award winners:
- Senan House Award – Harvey Gay
- Year 12 Academic Achievement – Patrick Bonnington (1st Place), Nicholas Platts (2nd Place), Daniel Canellis (3rd place)
- Director of Boarding Award for Service to the Community – Marcus McGuinness
- Director of Boarding Award for Leadership in Boarding – Daniel Canellis
- Vocational Student of the Year – James Croker
HSC Exams
Our graduating class have commenced their HSC exams. The boys are maintaining a tremendous level of motivation in relation to their study and preparation, and we continue to pray for them as they manage this challenging period in their lives.
2025 Boarding Leaders
During our recent Boarding Graduation Mass, we had the opportunity to invest our 2025 boarding leaders in front of the boarding community. We congratulate the following young men:
- Jackson O’Hehir – Boarding Captain (Lord Howe Island)
- Sebastian Sia (Lord Howe Island)
- Hugh White (Bowral)
- Archie Gay (Boorowa)
- Deklin Jarrett (Goonellabah)
- Preston Smallwood (Bilambil Heights)
We wish them all the best on this journey together and look forward to watching their progress.
Summer Sport
Our ISA summer sport season for Basketball and Cricket commences this coming weekend. All families have been emailed the season fixture lists by Mr Mitch Tyler. We look forward to seeing you around the venues on a Saturday supporting your son. If you have any questions in relation to Saturday Sport please contact Mr Tyler on mtyler@stgregs.nsw.edu.au.
2025 School Calendar Dates
The leadership team has been working extremely hard on the 2025 calendar over the past few weeks. I am pleased to confirm with you the following key dates:
Term 1 - Thursday 30 January to Friday 11 April
Term 2 - Tuesday 29 April to Friday 27 June
Term 3 - Tuesday 22 July to Friday 26 September
Term 4 - Tuesday 14 October to Wednesday 10 December
Term 1 Dates
Monday 27 January Australia Day Public Holiday
Tuesday 28 January All Staff Development Day
Wednesday 29 January BOARDERS ARRIVE
Thursday 30 January First Day of Classes
Friday 28 February BOARDERS FREE WEEKEND – Travel Day
Monday 3 March BOARDERS FREE WEEKEND – Travel Day
Friday 11 April END OF TERM – Travel Day
Friday 18 April Good Friday
Sunday 20 April Easter Sunday
Monday 21 April Easter Monday
Friday 25 April Anzac Day
Term 2 Dates
Monday 28 April All Staff Development Day, Boarders' Travel Day
Friday 23 May K-Yr12 Parent-Student-Teacher Interviews
Saturday 24 May Family Weekend
Sunday 25 May K- Yr12 Parent-Student-Teacher Interviews
Friday 6 June BOARDERS FREE WEEKEND – Travel Day
Monday 9 June King’s Birthday Public Holiday
Tuesday 10 June BOARDERS FREE WEEKEND – Travel Day
Friday 27 June END OF TERM – Travel Day
Term 3 Dates
Monday 21 July All Staff Development Day, Boarders' Travel Day
Friday 24 August BOARDERS FREE WEEKEND – Travel Day
Monday 25 August BOARDERS FREE WEEKEND – Travel Day
Friday 27 September END OF TERM – Travel (after Graduation Event)
Term 4 Dates
Monday 13 October All Staff Development Day, Boarders' Travel Day
Friday 14 November BOARDERS FREE WEEKEND – Travel Day
Monday 17 November BOARDERS FREE WEEKEND – Travel Day
Thursday 11 December END OF TERM – Travel Day
All of these dates, as well as key information and policies will be included in the 2025 Boarder’s Handbook.
Communication and Social Media
The Australian Boarding Schools Association 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-1. 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!
Everything to Jesus through Mary
Luke Morrissey
Director of Boarding