I N S I D E T H I S

I S S U E :

Headmaster’s

News

1

Mission 2

Year 11 News 2

Teaching and

Learning

3

Sports News 4

Other News 4

2 J U N E 2 0 1 7 V O L U M E 4 9 , I S S U E 8 U P C O M I N G

E V E N T S

29 May-5 June

Years 7– 10

Semester 1 Exams

6 June

Champagnat Day

Mass

8 June

Champagnat Day

Activities

9-12 June

Pupil Free

Boarders’ Free

Weekend

15-17 June

College Musical

22 June

Fiji Immersion

commences

23 June

Last day of Term 2

Headmaster’s News Dear Members of the St Gregory's College Family, 200 years ago, Marcellin Champagnat opened a home with two other young men he called ‘brothers’. The goal was to educate young people, importantly in religion. It was a time of great flux in France with the end of the revolution and the country in chaos. Their dream became a reality in the foundation of the “Marist” family of religious and lay men and women. Two hundred years later, the Missionary Sisters of the Society of Mary, the Marist Brothers of the Schools, the Marist Sisters and the Society of Mary (Fathers and Brothers) together with the many groups of Marist Laity throughout the world remember that significant moment of foundation, give thanks for the many blessings received and recommit themselves to doing Mary’s work in the midst of today’s Church and world. This is obviously an important year in the life of the Marist family, being two hundred years since that small group of men took their pledge to find the religious congregation of Marists. Their dream is what we give thanks for today as this is our reality. Feast of St Marcellin Champagnat The Feast of St Marcellin takes place on Tuesday 6 June. The College will be celebrating the day with Mass at 9.00am. The College will announce the Champagnat Awards and Marist Service Awards during the Mass. Parents whose boys will be receiving a Champagnat Award have been notified. All parents and friends of the College are welcome to attend this event. College Life The College continues to be a place of great energy and life. There have been many activities in recent weeks and importantly Year 7, Year 8, Year 9 and Year 10 have undergone their half-yearly exams. I have always believed busy young men stay out of trouble and St Gregory's College certainly attempts to do just that! It was a busy week last week with the dance at St Patrick’s on Friday evening as well as debating at Glebe and Bowral, followed by Saturday sport against St Augustine’s and finishing off with the Red Shield Appeal on Sunday. I would like to publicly recognise the incredible commitment that staff at St Gregory’s make to ensure opportunities for our boys. It is also amazing to see the involvement of our boys in the scope of activities. Recently, we have recognised boys playing softball and gridiron for our country and today we see a boy heading to Germany to represent Australia in skeet shooting and others getting black belts in martial arts. Our community is certainly an eclectic mix of talents and interests and that helps shape our wonderful community. Facebook Page It is well known amongst many in our community my ignorance with this medium. Bookface, as I know it, cannot be dismissed though when it is used properly. I would encourage those who have Facebook to join our page as it is regularly updated with stories and photos. The recent GIO Cup war cry received almost 40,000 views from Wednesday afternoon to Thursday morning. Please follow the link below to view our page:

St Gregory's College Authorised Facebook Page

May Marcellin and Mary continue to watch over our community, particularly next week during our Champagnat celebrations.

Matthew Brennan Acting Headmaster

St Gregory’s College

Campbelltown

Mission As I wander around the yard and in and out of classrooms, I often hear the things the boys are discussing – games and sporting results, friends and families, lessons and homework - all things that young people should be concerned with. Every now and again, I also hear discussions of a far more serious nature – about things that our young people need to be aware of but can be quite frightening in a world in which they soon are going to be the leaders. I was heartened to read a message from the National Director of Marist Education, Mr Frank Malloy, in his newsletter to us as a Marist community. I’d like to share some of it with you: “In this past week the world has been horrified by the events in Manchester. The attack on innocent people, mainly young girls enjoying a spring-time concert, and the devastation inflicted on families is acutely felt by parents and educators the world over.

In such circumstances, being a follower of Jesus is tough. The injustice of the attack bores into our very core and rages against the values we have been taught and have had modelled to us since we were children. We must seek to ignite in our communities responses that are filled with compassion, forgiveness, and hope. The young people in our care need help to think through such a tragic event. Do not the words of the Beatitudes, spoken almost 2000 years ago, echo resoundingly as we consider the terror. May the words of Jesus himself guide us and our school community during this time and drown the voices of hate and absolutism:

Blessed are the pure in heart: They shall see God.

Blessed are the peacemakers: They shall be recognised as children of God.”

Cathie Clarke, Director of Mission/RE Coordinator

Year 11 News

The young men of Year 11 have certainly had an overwhelmingly busy but undeniably productive start to the year. Senior school at St Greg’s brings with it added responsibility, higher expectations and a wealth of new opportunities. At this stage, it has not slowed down and the boys are to be commended for the wonderful job they are doing in balancing their academic studies with school life. Our Big Brothers continue to do excellent work with their Year 7 counterparts, joining them at the Year 7 camp, assisting with the Mums and Sons Breakfast and helping with Wednesday afternoon study. In addition, there are Year 11 boys who are committed to embracing the social justice mission of the College. We have a number of students volunteering their own time to visit the Reiby Juvenile Justice Centre and attend Claymore Homework Club each week as well as contributing towards one-off events such as the Red Cross Door Knock Appeal and the Anzac Day March. They continue to be great ambassadors for the St Gregory’s College community but more importantly are becoming fine young men and realising the importance of service to others.

Year 11 were also involved in the U-Turn the Wheel Program this term. The information presented by a range of different driver safety experts was invaluable, and undoubtedly gave the all the boys some food for thought in regards to their own safe driving practices. Their behaviour on the day was exceptional and many of the presenters commented on what wonderful young men they were. During the Term 1 holidays we had seven young men attend the Solomon Islands on an unforgettable Immersion trip. The amazing stories and the changed perspective they have brought back have been wonderful to hear and witness. Lastly, I would also like to thank you, the parents, for your continued support of the staff who work towards providing your sons with the academic guidance and pastoral support they require across a diverse range of subjects.

Jane Coupland, Year 11 Coordinator

Returning violence for

violence multiplies violence,

adding deeper darkness to a night already

devoid of stars.

Martin Luther King

Student Profiles

Congratulations to Samuel Prince (Year 12), Michael Watkin (Year 11), Charlie Lennon, Fred Fletcher (Year 9), Jacob Kerrisk and Ryan

Saggers (Year 8) who represented the College at the recent NSW Sheep Show in Dubbo.

Special congratulations to the following students for their outstanding achievements as shown:

Merino Sheep Judging: 2nd Samuel Prince and 4th Jacob Kerrisk,

Sheep Handling Competition: 5th Jacob Kerrisk, 6th Charlie Lennon and 7th Samuel Prince

Characteristics of Good Learners #6

Good Learners set goals, and identify strategies to achieve them – Part 4: Identifying strategies to achieve goals In the last newsletter, I suggested the SMART goal-setting process as a way of identifying meaningful goals for improvement. That is not, of course, the end of the process of self-improvement. Once goals are established, we have to have ways of achieving them. Without truly giving thought to strategies designed to meet goals, then the goal will remain ‘wishful thinking’ only. It is worthwhile to continue with an analytical process and organise ideas in a visual, logical form. I have started a sample below:

In addition to keeping your plan logical, you could keep in mind the following ideas, which I have summarised from Project Smart (https://www.projectsmart.co.uk/8-strategies-for-achieving-smart-goals.php):

Share your goals with other people. This will firstly ensure you are kept accountable to meeting your goals, and secondly will provide you with potential cheerleaders to help keep you on track.

Incorporate your actions into your calendar. This makes it less likely that you’ll be unable to find time to see through your plan. Complete at least one action per day, no matter how small.

Reward yourself each time you reach a mini-milestone.

Louise Millar, Director of Teaching and Learning

Goal: To increase the length of my written responses within a time limit.

Strategy Time frame What will success look like?

Lightning writing – each day I will time myself for 3 minutes of non-stop writing, and then count how many words I was able to write.

Every week day for 4 weeks

By the end of the 4 weeks I will be writing more in the 3 minute time frame than I was at the beginning.

Practice outlining a plan before writing, to prevent me stopping once I begin writing a response. Use past HSC questions and plan for 7 minutes.

Once a week for 6 weeks

I will be able to knock up an outline of my response within 7 minutes.

Teaching and Learning

Sports Events

MCS Rugby League and Football continues every Thursday 3 June

ISA Round 5 vs Kinross (home)

5 June

NSW CCC Team Championships

15 June

MCS Football and Rugby League Semi Finals

MCS Chess Championship (Years 10, 11, 12)

16 June

CCC Cross Country Championship

MCS Chess Championship (Years 7, 8, 9)

17 June

MCS Football and Rugby League Grand Finals

ISA Round 6 vs Oakhill (home)

Sports News

The College has had another fortnight of sporting success. Both MCS Rugby League and Football first grade sides have had back-to-back wins. Our grade and junior sides have also seen their share of success with both codes averaging more wins than losses across the board (full results available via the website). Off the field, the CSDA debating teams have also continued their success with back-to-back wins in the last fortnight. St Gregory's College First Grade Rugby League had their first GIO Cup game of the year on Wednesday, 31 May. The game was held at Campbelltown Stadium with 350 current

students, staff, parents and Old Boys attending to watch and support. Congratulations to the team, who produced a gripping 20-18 point win.

The College’s representative sporting program continues to flourish with five boys participating in the MCS Touch team, three senior students making the MCS Football team, four senior students selected for the MCS Opens Rugby League and three juniors making the MCS Under 15s Rugby League team. In addition to this, five boys will be running in the CCC Cross Country team after their recent MCS success.

Mitchell O’Brien, Acting Sports Coordinator

Other News

PERFORMANCE TIMES:

THURSDAY 15TH JUNE 2017 AT 7.30 PM

FRIDAY 16TH JUNE 2017 AT 7.30 PM

SATURDAY 17TH JUNE 2017 AT 7.30 PM

AT ST GREGORY’S COLLEGE CAMPBELLTOWN - BR LUKE HALL

TICKET PRICES:

ADULT: $15

CHILD: $10

FAMILY OF FOUR: $40

BOOKINGS: https://www.trybooking.com/PWLL

St Gregory’s College Campbelltown

Production of

Disney

Beauty and The Beast

Music by Alan Menken

Lyrics by Howard Ashman & Tim Rice

Book by Linda Woolverton

Licensed exclusively by Music Theatre International (Australasia). All performance materials supplied by Hal Leonard Australia

Featuring students from St Gregory’s College Campbelltown and students from St

Patrick’s College Campbelltown

TERM 2 – WEEKS 4-5