QUOTE: “BE LEAD BY YOUR GOALS AND NOT BY YOUR PROBLEMS!”
Dear Parents/Guardians;
The Long Weekend was certainly enjoyed by all if you go by the sounds of banter and laughter in the dorms and dining hall on Monday night/Tuesday morning. It certainly allowed the dorms to have a good airing in readiness as the boys re-grouped for the very busy final week back at the College.
It has been a huge term with the Half Yearly exams like a distant memory as all the boys are now well and truly into the second semester of work. Darren Frost and I have been pleased with the added maturity towards Senior Study found by many boys with only a few still being a little naïve about their responsibility and efforts in this important area.
The last week saw many assessments, capped off with a big effort from our boys on Friday night, doing the bulk of their packing and tidying up. Mind you, after they were finished, the excitement of the impending break, mixed with the male hormones of “Friday night before Footy” (particularly having not played for two weeks and even longer for some) made it more colourful than usual. It is entertaining, to say the least, to see how 171 sixteen or seventeen year olds amuse themselves with a wide range of activities and skills, (or lack of) on display!!.
On Wednesday morning 8th June our Sports, Leisure and Recreation class went on a kayak excursion certainly testing out their mettle as the day served up cold, wet weather for them. Despite the conditions they got stuck into a long paddle and bush walk. The PDHPE staff were very pleased with the boys’ efforts.
On Wednesday, Sam Clarke, Matt Hall, Tim Palmer and Gus Rae were selected to run in the NSW Combined Independent Schools Cross Country Carnival. All boys were happy with their performance in spite of the very muddy conditions at the Eastern Creek course.
Our commitment to the Matthew Talbot Hostel continued until the end of term with the following boys volunteering to serve the guests at Matt Talbot over the past two weeks: Friday, the 3th June: Harrison Holgate, Lachlan Aston, Henry Birtwistle and Ross Davey and our last group on Friday, 17th June seeing Clinton Slater, Andrew Raumer and Ben Chaplin. Well done, boys. Next term we will call for more volunteers from our boys to draw up the Term 3 and 4 Roster for this great experience.
A huge night of music was also held at the College on Friday night with all of our various Ensembles performing. Congratulations to all of these boys and the Music Staff for their dedicated and tireless efforts.
Saturday saw the last round of sport for the term against Scots and a host of other schools. We had some tough matches against some very good opponents which will be a good experience long term for our boys. Some of our boys were selected to represent the GPS in the representative games which take place this week. Congratulations to Sam Barclay (GPS 1sts), Josh Wilde (GPS 2nds) and Josh Kay, Tom Robertson and Tom Murphy (GPS 3rds) whilst Josh Schwager was selected to play in the GPS U/16 side in Rugby. Matthew Alessi was selected in the GPS 2nd X1 Football side. Good luck to all boys in your matches this week.
I would like to commend the boys for the way they were able to pack and clean up the dorms, a good effort. 
Good work on Friday night and then again on Saturday morning saw our boys well organized and commence leaving from 5.30pm with a huge sigh of relief from all. Of course, the odd pair of shoes, two bags, and millions of socks, have been left behind but all will be re-acquainted with them at the beginning of next term. Saturday night saw 21 boys remaining with boys departing on trains, planes and automobiles from first thing Sunday morning.
I have attached two lists of all of the locations our boys are involved in during their Ministry Week. I thought it would be interesting just to see the range of activities our boys are doing in what should be a wonderful experience for them.
We reminded our boys it is a normal but very important school week for them and any days of absence are to be phoned into the school, to my office please.
I do hope the stories your son shares with you from his experiences are enlightening for what has been a most successful experience in the past. Many thanks must go to Mrs. Mary Fogarty and Mrs. Helen Smith for their organization of this wonderful initiative. Each boy must ensure that these two forms must be handed back into the Director of Mission Office on the first day of their return next term.
There closes the end of another busy term in the lives of our boys. On their return at 8pm on Monday evening, 18th July our boys commence their final term of their Year 11 Preliminary Course. Time certainly is flying and we keep stressing the importance of making the most of the opportunities as they come up, for they pass by ever so quickly! I would like to thank you for your support and understanding throughout the past term and wish you an enjoyable break, if you get one , with your families and I look forward to catching up with you in Term 3.
Take care
Jeremy.