Jonathan E. Martin
Head of School jmartin@stgregoryschool.org www.stgregoryschool.org www.21k12blog.net Twitter:@JonathanEMartin
520-327-6395

Happy Autumn; how wonderful to feel a bit of briskness on our cheeks as we walk into school each morning.

Fall anticipates winter, and I want to take a moment to "anticipate" a development coming this winter, an enhancement, elaboration, and expansion of our reporting of your children's learning.   The Academic Committee, which is composed of department heads, administrators, representative teachers, and myself, approved this week a swift implementation of this new rubric, which will report on student progress in an a set of skills and mindsets which we think is most vital for our current an age, (a set, I should add, that is intended to evolve as needs change).

The list, which we are calling the Essential Goals for St. Gregory Students, (or the Egg), is a home-made list which blends items from two other lists.  One is the Seven Survival Skills identified in Tony Wagner's Global Achievement Gap; the other comes from our National Association of Independent Schools commission on Schools of the Future, and a list they developed entitled the essential capacities for the 21st century.

A draft our our set is available on my blog, here-- and we welcome your feedback upon it as we move it close to finalization.  Expect to see it this winter.

Phil Woodal
Middle School Head

Chef Kavo

It now has been about 90 days since St Gregory engaged the services of Kavo and Tunzi catering to operate the food service concession at our school. Chef Bob has done a remarkable job of organizing the kitchen and motivating the staff. The employees are delighted at his kind and mentoring approach. And many of our students and parents have commented on how much they appreciate the lower prices in our dining hall!

The Chef has over 25 years of experience and has won numerous awards for culinary arts as well as his dedication to public service. An interesting note is that Chef Bob and his wife hold season tickets to the Tucson Ballet, and Kavo and Tunzi supply the hors d’oeuvre for the Ballet opening night party!

One of the issues that have long plagued our dining hall is the service area design. Picture yourself at a ball park, during the 7th inning stretch, with 150 hungry teenagers crowding up to just 2 service windows to get their food. In the past, there were times when students didn’t even get to eat, as the lines exceeded the allotted time for lunch! In an effort to see that each student has an opportunity to consume a hot and healthy lunch, Chef Bob has set a basic menu of standard fare which is available every day. These "grab and go" items speed up service and provide a delicious alternative that students seem to enjoy. Of course, these items are not the only option. Every day, there are 2 hot lunch specials, including meat, poultry or fish, and a serving of vegetables. Additionally, there are always salads and a vegetarian pasta alternative. Finally, if a student still does not find something to her liking, she is welcome to ask for something special and the kitchen staff will be delighted to accommodate her wish, if at all possible.

Nutrition and healthy options are always of concern to Chef Bob and to the administration here at St Gregory College Preparatory School. In an effort to reach out to our community, we are posting a link to a brief survey regarding food service here at our school. This link is for the parents’ input. An additional survey is being simultaneously conducted among our student body.

Please click on the link to access our brief survey and offer your comments or suggestions.

Radium Girls offers a wry, unflinching look at the peculiarly American obsessions with health, wealth, and the commercialization of science. Tickets on sale now! Email lbodden@stgregoryschool.org for reservations.

On behalf of the Family Association I would also like to take this opportunity to extend a warm thank you to everyone who spent many hours hours making the Rummage Sale a tremendous success. For those of you who haven't heard the sale grossed approximately $23,000 for financial aid. Congratulations! We couldn't have done it without everyone who helped. Though it took an army to make it happen, I would like to mention a few special people.

Our incredible co-chairs Peter and Allison Megaw deserve an enormous thank you. They had the vision and the energy to put it together.
Cathy Rosenberg and the Parent Ambassadors who hosted a lovely Preview Party.
The entire Grainger family and Pam Bass who worked long and tireless hours.
Tina Roesler for doing an outstanding job with the boutique and advertising.
Deb Sandroff for her wonderful creative abilities and organizational skills.
Fred Roberts, Joanne Vigilant and the Kenya and Diversity Clubs for a long day of keeping everyone's tummy's full.
Kathy and Daryl Ross for systematizing all the transactions made during the sale.
Mark Berman for supplying his trucks and employees. We couldn't have done it without him.
Peter and Nancy Strong for organizing a hugely successful jewelry drive.
The St. Gregory Staff who helped wherever and whenever they were needed.
An big thanks goes to Karen O'Brien and her family for their late night cleaning skills.

Drawing by Isabella Catalano

On October 27 local artist, Matt Cotton, visited the middle school to give a presentation on Dia de los Muertos and offer a lovely puppet show.  Students made sugar skulls and heard about Tucson’s unique adaptation of the holiday—Tucson’s All Souls Procession Weekend.  For further information see www.mattcottenart.com and www.allsoulsprocession.org.

St Gregory College Preparatory School is pleased to offer secure, stationery racks for storing and locking your bicycle here on campus. Head of School Mr. Jonathan Martin is a big bicycle enthusiast and is planning to form a bicycle club for students and faculty alike.

Riding your bicycle to school is just another way to cut down on green house gasses. And it is wonderful exercise as well.

Check out our new bike racks behind building 100 in the middle school and on the southeast side of the theater in the upper school

Community Gardens are on the way!

We are thrilled to participate in the Community Gardens of Tucson program. In the lot between the middle school and the theater, there will soon be gardens growing! A total of 20 garden plots will be developed in time for winter planting. In exchange for use of the lot, the Community Garden has donated 6 plots for use by the school. This will be a fun project for classes in both the middle and upper school, as well as a great learning resource about the cultivation of food and the conservation of sustainable natural resources. Check with Mr. Rabinowitz for more details.

Water is our most precious resource.

Did you know that St Gregory College Preparatory School pays over $50,000 per year just for our water bill? Water is a very scarce and valuable resource in the desert. We all need to think about ways we can conserve water and think about the impact that we have on our desert landscape. Do we use our water resources wisely?

This year, we have installed the EcoBlue system in several of our boys’ rooms. This innovative system biologically degrades waste in our urinals, allowing us to conserve water by flushing the urinals only 2-3 times per day.

Can you think of any other areas where we might conserve water or make better use of this precious resource? Let us know by sharing your thoughts and observations with our Green Team faculty advisors, Mr. Rabinowitz or Dr. Morris.