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Jonathan E. Martin
Head of School
jmartin@stgregoryschool.org
www.stgregoryschool.org
www.21k12blog.net
Twitter:@JonathanEMartin
520-327-6395
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- High Demands and Expectations
- High Nurturance, Care, Affection and Support
- Exemplary Role Modeling
- Participatory Family Decision-Making, Respecting and Cultivating Voice
- Careful Instruction in Empathy
The evidence is clear, our speaker explained Wednesday: these parenting practices, in combination, are research-proven pathways to maximizing the odds of raising a "good kid"-- one who is confident, altruistic, compassionate and respectful.
Our speaker was David Streight, the Executive Director of the 300-plus member association, the Center for Spiritual and Ethical Education, of which St. Gregory too is a proud member.
But it is not just parents and guardians who can implement these practices for the good of our youngsters; educators can too, in schools that have the commitment, like St. Gregory, to their students' moral and character development. No method available to schools, Mr. Streight explained, is more effective for exactly this purpose than a strong and effective advisory system, where faculty and students come together for advising and reflection upon scholastic, school community, and ethical issues.
Mr. Streight's day with our faculty was very positive, and our planning is advancing upon a full implementation for the coming year of this new program. Expect to hear more in April, and then again, of course, in August as we launch advisory.
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Message from the Director of College Counseling
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St. Gregory Student Wins National Academic Award
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Hawks are expected to pack the house this Friday in El Mirador when Gilbert Christian brings its highly-rated boys’ and girls’ basketball teams to town for games that will have a huge bearing on state tournament qualifying.
Boys’ JV will take to the court at 4 p.m. The varsity girls play at 5:30 and boys’ varsity at 7. Come out and cheer on your Hawks!
The Lady Hawks are coming off two nail-biting wins, a 36-35 victory over Valley Union on Saturday and a 43-39 win over St. Augustine in overtime on Tuesday to put them in position to qualify for the state tournament.
The Gilbert Christian girls are the defending state champions, which makes this game critical for the Lady Hawks’ chances of making state.
“It should be a fantastic game, and it is crucial for keeping us on the road to state,” said Head Coach Michelle Berry. “We want everyone to come out and watch some great basketball and support our Lady Hawks.”
The boys continue to roll through a season in defense of their back-to-back state championships. They are 19-2 and unbeaten in conference play (pending the result of Thursday’s game with St. David) with their only losses to a pair of 4A conference teams in the Mountain View High School holiday tournament last month.
Gilbert Christian, formerly known as Surrey Garden, will arrive at El Mirador ranked No. 1 in the state 1A power rankings with the Hawks No. 2. This game shapes up to be a possible preview of the state championship game next month in Prescott.
Like the ladies, the boys had a nail-biter in their last home game against Valley Union before the largest and loudest crowd of the season in El Mirador. The Hawks pulled out a 53-48 victory. Assistant Coach Darrell Patton is hoping for more of the same atmosphere when Gilbert Christian arrives.
“In all of my years I have never seen a crowd as loud and spirited as the fans we had in El Mirador on Saturday,” Coach Patton said. “The energy had the feel of a state tournament game. We will absolutely need that support and energy on Friday night against Gilbert Christian.
“This is a rare opportunity to see the No. 1 & 2 teams battle it out. They have already called and informed us that they are bringing a fan bus to the game. We need to pack the gym and support the Hawks. I would love to have the first standing room only crowd at El Mirador.”
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Visitors to the French Class
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Vive la Suisse! On Thursday, January 21 the French 3 class had a visit from Andy and Miriam Kalusivikako, both from Switzerland. The couple was in town to visit relatives and to research the possibility of spending a year in Tucson. Miriam is a physician's assistant and Andy is a recent graduate in political science and international relations. Andy spoke to the students about the geography, history, politics, and food of Switzerland. The class was joined by Swiss native Edouard Mattille and Spanish teacher (and French speaker par excellence) Luigi Catalano.
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Volunteer Opportunity: Clean Out the Costume Shop
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This Saturday
Volunteer Opportunity-Costume Shop Cleanup
January 30th, 9:30 - noon
All students welcome - be prepared to get dusty!
For more information contact Lisa Bodden at lbodden@stgregoryschool.org |
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Seventh Graders on the Low Ropes Challenge Course
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The seventh graders spent two days on the low ropes challenge course this week to expand their understanding of teamwork and leadership outside of the classroom. While each grade level spends two to three days on the challenge course each year, no two programs are ever the same. A significant difference with this group is that relative to last year as sixth graders, this year the students were a bit taller, a bit wiser, and better able to brainstorm and problem solve the different challenges put before them. Another difference is the school’s renewed commitment to leadership development with our students. During the program much discussion revolved around the type of leadership behaviors that were needed for a group to be successful. The important point is that while not everyone may be seen as a leader, everyone can display leadership behaviors to further the good of the group. Last week each seventh grader completed a survey regarding their upcoming challenge course program. The survey had questions about leadership development, working with peers outside of class, and the anticipated challenges of the program. In two weeks students will complete a post-program survey regarding the connection between the challenge course experience and what they are doing in the classroom. Over time I hope to gather data that not only endorses the use of experiential education to compliment classroom learning, but to also identify how this is accomplished. Now that the St. Gregory Leadership Institute is in place, this is just one example of how we are looking at the importance of leadership development in our students.
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Spring Event March 5, 2010
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