24 May 2023

From the Desk of the Acting Principal

This week is a busy one on the sporting field for Good Shepherd students.
Today we have about 40 Year 5 and 6 students attending the School Futsal Trials, which are being held at the Townsville Sports Precinct. On Friday, approximately 30 Year 4, 5 and 6 students and staff will travel to Palm Island to participate in the annual Obe Geia Rugby League competition and the Kathy Tarpaulin Netball Challenge.
The Obe Geia Challenge was established in 2009 by the North Queensland Toyota Cowboys, and along with the netball challenge, aims to bring communities together and promote the importance of inclusion in North Queensland. The events are held at no cost to students or the school ad we are honoured to be regular participants in both sporting events.
The day is enjoyed by all involved and features a strong cultural education component, with students having the opportunity to experience first-hand the beauty of Palm Island, its people and their culture.
We wish all players in futsal, rugby and netball the best of luck in their respective events, and trust that they will represent Good Shepherd well, displaying the highest standard of sportsmanship regardless of the final results.
This week we welcome Ms Rebecca Rowan to the role of Acting Assistant Principal – Administration (APA). Ms Rowan will be in this role until the end of term one, while I step in as Acting Principal while Ms Scrase is away. Ms Rowan will introduce herself further in this newsletter, but please say hello and make her welcome if you see her around the school.

Maxine Nolan

AP

mnolan@gstsv.catholic.edu.au

From the Desk of the Assistant Principal Religious Education

         Reminders

Pentecost

This Sunday (5th June) we celebrate the feast of Pentecost. Pentecost occurred 50 days after Easter Sunday or 50 days after Jesus rose from the dead.  Jesus had already gone back to Heaven so the disciples and new believers of Jesus were waiting to receive the Holy Spirit because that's what Jesus told them would happen.  Since Jesus wasn't with them any more the Holy Spirit would help bring them closer to God.

PARISH MASS DATES                                                    Friday 26th May at 10am
Good Shepherd Community Centre
2B and 4/5D will be attending.
Parents are also welcome to attend

Rebecca Kershaw

APRE

rkershaw@gstsv.catholic.edu.au

From the Desk of the Acting Assistant Principal Administration

Talofa lava parents, carers and students!
I am delighted to introduce myself as the newly appointed Acting Assistant Principal of Good Shepherd Catholic School. My name is Rebecca Rowan (most people call me Bec!) and I am honoured to join this vibrant community of students, parents, carers and dedicated staff members.
It has been wonderful getting to know students and staff in the shelter shed, playground, classrooms and office this week. I even think Franki is warming up to me! The warm welcome I have received from the whole GSCS community has provided me with great joy, gratitude and a sense of belonging.
Fa’afetai (thank you). I have particularly loved being approached by enthusiastic students with comments like “How do you like Good Shepherd so far?”, “I like your gold boots!” and “Do you love our school?”. I do, indeed.
A little bit about me….I have served as an educator with Catholic Education in Qld and NSW for over
25 years in various roles including classroom teacher, middle leader and system advisor - don’t worry, I’m still a Maroons supporter! With a particular interest in and passion for educating students from culturally and linguistically diverse backgrounds who are learning English as an additional language or dialect (EAL/D), I love learning about culture and language. My two teenage children attend local Catholic Secondary Colleges and my husband is a musician and mental health worker. They have Samoan heritage, hence the greeting in language. Do you or your family members speak another language at home? I’d love to know, so come and tell me all about it!
On the morning of my first day, Year 6 students Caprice and Connah introduced the GSCS Way Gospel value of ‘Justice’ as the focus for Week 6. As we approach National Sorry Day this Friday, it got me thinking about the importance of this gospel value and how it relates to the act of saying sorry.
Justice, as taught by Jesus Christ, goes beyond the mere application of rules and regulations. It is about treating others with fairness, equality and respect. Saying sorry is an essential part of justice because it acknowledges when we have done something wrong and recognises the hurt or harm caused to others. It shows humility, compassion and a willingness to make amends. When we say sorry, we take responsibility for our actions and seek to repair the damage caused.
As parents, carers and teachers we can model saying sorry with meaning and sincerity, so our children can learn to act with justice and compassion. The infographic below provides some tips on the type of language we can use to say sorry.

Together, let us strive to live out the Gospel value of justice and promote healing and reconciliation in our school, homes, community and beyond. 
Have a wonderful week ahead and please come and say talofa or hello when you see me around!

Rebecca Rowan

AAPA

rrowan6@gstsv.catholic.edu.au

What's Happening In Year 4/5

We have reached the halfway mark of the term. At the start of Term 2 the 4/5 students embarked on a voyage into imaginative narratives. Our English unit has centred around the text, Blueback by Tim Winton. The text looks at the importance of the ocean, the fortunes it can bring and relationships. As part of the ocean theme the students had fun creating short monologues based around various sea-faring superstitions e.g. Red sky in the morning, sailors warning. Red sky at night, sailors delight. Some students have also been very creative with their composition of sea shanties. Students have also looked at similes and how they bring a text to life. Our current science unit, Light and Shadows, has given students the opportunity to do a number of hands-on experiments to test and prove various elements about light. Did you know that when light travels through water it changes the appearance of the objects we see? Have you ever wondered how rainbows are formed? Some of our budding scientists may have also carried out these experiments at home. Torches are in high demand at the moment. The  4/5 students have developed their bible research skills and examined the leadership qualities of one of the old testament prophets, Samuel. During our HASS units the students looked at rules, laws and democracy. These topics tied in very well with our Deadly Learners sessions this term. 

Year 4/5

Speech Makers Competition

On Thursday these six students from grades 4,5 and 6 will be participating in the upcoming speech makers competition at Southern Cross. They have been working hard to create a captivating speech and are ready to showcase their confidence and public speaking skill.

We wish these students the best of luck for the competition. 

Josie Nelson

Year 6 Class Teacher

Wear it Yellow Day

Wear It Yellow Day 

An initiative of Children’s Ground As part of our National Reconciliation Week this year, on Tuesday 30th May we are encouraging all students and teachers to take part in a yellow-themed casual dress day. The National Reconciliation Week theme for 2023 is ‘Be a voice for generations.’ This theme encourages all Australians to be a voice for reconciliation in tangible ways in our everyday lives – where we live, work and play. That is why our school has chosen to participate in Children’s Ground’s ‘Wear It Yellow’ day. As part of ‘Wear It Yellow Day’, students will engage with National Reconciliation Week learning materials and have vibrant discussions about First Nations culture and history.  

Student Awards for This Week

Birthdays for this week!

~Oliver (Prep C)       ~Elloise  (1A)       ~Gabriel (2C)       ~Lachlan (3C)       ~Calum (3B)       ~Brody (3C)       ~Alex (4/5E)       ~Ally (6A)

Assembly

1C will be presenting our Assembly this Friday in the BBC at 8:40am

Our lucky Praise Note winners from last week are :  Kenzi (Prep C), Zoey (1A), Willow (2A), Ryder (3B), Kalanni (4/5A), Ted (4/5A), Zac (6B)

The Good Shepherd Way

This week our Good Shepherd Way Gospel in Action value is Justice where I make the right choices. 

Our Service prayer is also below:

The GSCS Way

The GSCS Way is our positive behaviour support program here at Good Shepherd Catholic School.

All in our community are encouraged to:

• Give My Best
• Show Respect
• Compassion and Care
• Safe Responsible and Fair

Each week we focus on a different area of our matrix.

This week we are focusing on: At the Library.

Parent Library Borrowing

Breakfast Club and Running Club

Both Clubs will run every morning. Breakfast Club will run from the Tuckshop from 8:10am and Running Club will be held on the Junior Oval from 8:10am as well.

Environmental News

Protect Our Turtles
•    All turtles lay their eggs on land.
•    Hatching turtles have an egg tooth at the end of their beak to help            open the egg.
•    Turtle shells are built into their skeleton.

Parent Portal

Parent Portal

If you have any problems accessing please send an email to the school office at rsmssn@tsv.catholic.edu.au. 

The Parent Portal allows you to:

• View your child’s timetable and the school calendar
• View up to date attendance information for your child
• Enter details of upcoming absences or explain past absences or late arrivals for your son or daughter
• Access your child’s Semester reports
• Make bookings for Parent Teacher Interviews
• View a news feed of school announcements, alerts and updates
• Provide consent for school events/excursions
• Communicate by email with your child’s teachers
• Update your contact details (email and mobile phone number).

The parent portal is a web-based system that can be accessed by clicking this link:

An app called Compass School Manager is also available for both iPhones/iPads (via the App Store) and Android phones/tablets (via the Google Play Store). When you have installed the app, search for “Good Shepherd Catholic School – Rasmussen”.
The browser version of the Parent Portal contains more features than the app.  Please click the link below to access the Compass website which has an online guide and video for the Parent Portal.

Tuckshop

Wednesday - Thursday - Friday

Please contact the school office or Ann-Maree at Tuckshop with any enquiries.

CUTOFF time to order TUCKSHOP
from FLEXISCHOOLS
is 8:30am.

PLEASE NOTE THAT ALL ORDERS ARE TO BE PLACED ONLINE AT THE LINK BELOW. Please visit the website to set up your account if you are new to Flexischools.

Flexischool How To Guides for Parents and Caregivers
• Online help is available any time at Flexischools via the link below.
• Phone between 8am - 12pm (AEDST) on weekdays or on the parent phone line (1300 361 769). 

How-To Guides for Parents
Flexischool has spent some time over the holidays developing some quick how-to guides for  parents. If you'd like to see these, please click the link below.
They include: 
•    Introduction to Flexischools;
•    How to Register; 
•    How to Top-Up;
•    How to Place an Order. 

Teacher Contacts

Community News