19 June 2024

From the Desk of the Acting Principal

Week 10 , Term 2

Wow! I can’t believe Term 2 is almost finished! Today we celebrated our students by acknowledging their academic achievement, academic endeavour, and commitment to following the GSCS Way at our Semester 1 Awards Ceremony. Congratulations to all students who were recognised today.

The rest of the term has also been eventful, with students taking part in a range of activities including the inaugural Spelling Bee, Speechmakers competition, Obe Geia football challenge on Palm Island, the cross country and field events. Still to come this week are our Athletics Carnival, Bill Nettle Cup and the NQ Netball Cup. Students have represented our school with respect, integrity, and good sportsmanship, and we are very proud of everyone who participated in these events.

As many of you already know, I am currently on long service leave visiting friends in the United States. During that visit, I hope to meet some of the students and staff from Our Lady School in Festus, Missouri, who some of our students were writing to last year.  I will return at the beginning of Week 3 next term, with my first day back on Monday 22^nd July.

New Principal Majella Lynch-Harlow will officially commence on 8^th July, although I am sure she will be spending time at the school before then!  She is excited to start and looking forward to meeting all our students and families. Make sure you say hello when you see her!

Enjoy your break from school, and I hope you have the opportunity to relax and spend time with loved ones over the next couple of weeks. 

Maxine Nolan

AP

mnolan@gstsv.catholic.edu.au

From the Desk of the Acting Assistant Principal Pedagogy and Learning

Talofa lava parents, carers and students!

Please see below for what’s happening around our school this fortnight.

Curriculum News 👩‍🏫

As we conclude the first semester of schooling for 2024, I am delighted to inform you that the academic reports for Semester One have been released and are now accessible through our school Compass portal.

The information contained in this report is a summary of your child’s achievement to date. Reports are provided twice per year and are one of a number of ways that the school communicates your child’s achievement and approach to learning. Reporting provides an opportunity for students, families and teachers to maintain authentic learning conversations and partnerships. 

I encourage parents to talk through the report with their child. This is an excellent opportunity to reflect on your child's progress and achievements so far this year. 

When reading the reports, here are a few tips to help you make the most of this information:

1.     Celebrate Successes: Start by acknowledging and celebrating your child's achievements. Highlight their hard work and dedication in subjects where they have excelled.

2.     Identify Areas for Growth: Look for subjects or skills that need improvement. This is a chance to set goals and discuss strategies with your child to address these areas.

3.     Understand Teacher Comments: Pay close attention to the comments made by teachers. They provide valuable insights into your child's behaviour, participation, and attitude towards learning.

4.     Set Realistic Goals: Work with your child to set achievable goals for the next semester. This could include improving grades, enhancing study habits, or participating more actively in class.

5.     Encourage Open Communication: Maintain an open line of communication with your child's teachers. If you have any questions or need further clarification on the report, do not hesitate to reach out.

6.  Support and Encourage: Provide continuous support and encouragement. Your involvement and positive reinforcement play a significant role in your child's educational journey.

These questions could also be used to guide these conversations.

• What are you most proud of? 

• In what way were you able to use your character strengths in your learning? 

• Which of the teacher comments do you appreciate/value the most? 

• What might be a goal for the remainder of the year? 

We are proud of the hard work and dedication shown by our students and are committed to supporting their growth and development. Thank you for your continued partnership and support.

Sports News ⚽️ 🏀 🏈 ⚾️ 🎾 🏐 🏉 🎱

This Friday, a number of our Year 5 and Year 6 students will be representing our school in rugby league and netball at two popular annual events on the NQ school sporting calendar. The Bill Nettle Rugby League Cup Challenge will see 24 teams from across Townsville and Bowen compete at Jack Manski Oval, while the NQ Netball Cup will take place at Murray Sporting Complex.

We wish all our competitors the best of luck on the day and know they will represent our school with pride and good sportsmanship, while walking away with wonderful memories, friendships and skills.

School Events 📅 

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

From the Desk of the Assistant Principal Religious Education

WORLD REFUGEE DAY – THURSDAY 20^TH JUNE

Each year on 20 June, the world celebrates the strength and courage of people who have been forced to flee their home country to escape conflict or persecution.

Refugees are vulnerable and in need, and are often misunderstood and maligned, and often have very little or nothing of their possessions and little food, they often must leave their homes with nothing or with what they can carry. They suffer cold, hunger, trauma, despair, disease, violence, and loss. The awareness day is to help public understanding of refugees as well as raising support and help.

Across the world, agencies, both governmental and non-governmental, work tirelessly to help refugees, but with people being made refugees daily, more help and awareness is constantly needed, to ensure that refugees are treated fairly and provided for, rather than being neglected or shunned, and there are projects to re-settle and provide for refugees. So World Refugee Day highlights all of this.

Rebecca Kershaw

APRE

rkershaw@gstsv.catholic.edu.au

Library

2024 Challenge Games - SAVE THE DATE!!!!

The Challenge Games are happening again this year on Wednesday 24th and Thursday 25th July. It provides two days of fun, friendship and participation in a range of sport and fun activities for school students who have a disability. Activities include running, jumping, throwing and team events plus many other fun/novelty activities. Good Shepherd will be participating again this year and we will be sending information home to those families soon.

Story Dogs

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.

The Good Shepherd Way

Term 2, Week 9

This week our Good Shepherd Way Gospel in Action value is Service where I help and resopnd to the needs of others.

Our Service prayer is below:

Term 2, Week 10

The Good Shepherd Way Gospel in Action for Week 10 will be Stewardship where I care for all of creations.

Our Stewardship prayer is 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 assembly. 

In Term 2, Week 9 we are focusing on: At the office. 

Prep Orientation 2025

Environmental Tips

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. 

Lost and Found

Teacher Contacts

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.

Community News