28 August 2024

From the Desk of the Principal

Week 8 , Term 3

Dear families, 

Happy Fathers Day!  

It was wonderful to see our hall and classrooms overflowing with Dads, grandfathers, uncles and other family members today as we celebrated our Father's Day liturgy and open day.  This was an opportunity to delight in your children and build stronger connections with their teachers and our school.  Thank you Mrs Kershaw for leading a beautiful liturgy and to all who contributed to the morning.

For those who were unable to be present, I can assure you that you were in the hearts and minds of your children as they enjoyed their morning activities.  Thank you to the many who attended and took part in the learning walks, craft and games with their children and also shared their kind attention with other children who were missing their loved ones.  It's mornings like this where we can truly appreciate what a special school we have at Good Shepherd!

Prep Orientation Sessions

We will be having several orientation sessions for our 2025 Prep students and their families - the first of which was held this afternoon. If any of our existing families have not yet put their enrolment forms in, please let us know so that we can get this completed as a priority as our classes are filling quickly.  If you know of any families with children who are turning 5 by the end of June, please encourage them to come for a visit and experience a school tour and try out one of our orientation sessions to learn more about our school.

POLICY UPDATES

Enrolment Terms and Conditions
When a student is accepted for enrolment at our school, parents/carers/guardians sign a Student Enrolment Agreement which contains important terms and conditions. These terms and conditions are updated from time to time, and were last updated earlier this year.
 
The Conditions of Enrolment are available on our school website here. Please contact our Principal Ms Majella if you would like to discuss the information contained in these documents.
 
Media/Photography/Video Consent for students 
 
During the enrolment process, parents/carers/guardians consent to the use of images of their child. The consent is outlined below. Parents who wish to withdraw this consent should contact the school.
 
Photos, video footage and work samples of students are used regularly by the school for the purpose of acknowledging the efforts of the student/school, or for promotion, marketing or advertising the school or Catholic Education. Parents consent to the student being photographed or filmed for school, Catholic Education or Townsville Catholic Diocese related communication or for education purposes. Parents understand this may include media (e.g. television, radio, publications), school publications (e.g. newsletters, year books), online media (e.g. websites) and social media (e.g. Facebook, Instagram). Please note the student’s name and voice may be included with the photograph/video. Parent’s understand it is their responsibility to notify the school if they do not wish to consent to the student’s photograph/ video appearing in any or all of the above, or if they wish to withdraw this authorisation and consent.

God bless,

Majella Lynch-Harlow

Principal

mlynchharlow3@gstsv.catholic.edu.au

From the Desk of the Assistant Principal Pedagogy and Learning

Week 8 Term 3

Pupil Free Day

Friday 30^th August is a Pupil Free Day. While our students are having a “day off”, all teachers and school officers will be at school, undergoing professional development in order to further assist students on a daily basis.

Teachers will be focussing on the Australian Curriculum V9.0 English, which will be implemented across the school next year. Version 9.0 Humanities and Social Sciences (HASS), Health and Physical Education (HPE), and Science will also be implemented in 2025, with V9.0 Mathematics already being taught across the school. This implementation plan is aligned with that suggested by the Queensland Curriculum and Assessment Authority (QCAA).

As part of Friday’s professional development, teachers will be mapping the changes between the current version 8.4 and the new updated version. They will be identifying aspects such as the text types explored in each year level and the cognitive verbs students are required to know, understand and implement across the various learning areas.

Cognitive Verb Focus – Identify

This week’s cognitive verb focus is “identify”.

To identify is to locate or recognise the various components and distinguishing features of something. For example, the author of a book might be identified by the features of the book, such as the language, tone or messages conveyed — Dr Seuss books are easily identified by their distinguishing features, including similar tones and themes. 

A process of identifying may include:

• determining what needs to be identified
• recognising and naming the various features or factors
• providing an answer.

Cognitive verbs are categorised using Marzano & Kendall’s four elements of the cognitive system: retrieval, comprehension, analysis and knowledge utilisation (2007).  The cognitive verb identify is part of the retrieval element of cognitive process. This element involves the ‘activation and transfer of knowledge from permanent memory to working memory’. 

The cognitive verb identify appears the Australian Curriculum across multiple learning areas beginning in Prep and continuing through to secondary school.

Maxine Nolan

APPL

mnolan@gstsv.catholic.edu.au

From the Desk of the Assistant Principal Religious Education

FATHER’S DAY

We celebrate Father’s Day this Sunday, 1^st September. We think of the strength of a father, his guiding hand, his wisdom, his help. God the Father gave up his only Son, Jesus Christ, so that we might be saved through him. He provides an example of the very vocation of fatherhood. Fathers are to sacrifice their lives for their families.

They do this by:
• Being the spiritual leader and guardian of their families.
• Praying for and with their families.
• Being a courageous witness to the Gospel.
• Providing care and support for their families.
• Serving as an example of goodness and truth.
• Leading with courage and accountability.
• Laying down one’s life for another.

Today, in a special way, let us be grateful for:
• Our fathers, by birth or adoption, who love us and support us through life.
• Our Church leaders, who take on the paternal role of guiding us through life.
• And God our Father, who will always teach justly and grant us boundless mercy.

Last weekend our amazing Tuckshop coordinator Mrs Ann-Maree Hislop was presented with a Silver Kangaroo Award from Scouts Australia. The Silver Kangaroo is one of the highest accolades in Scouts, and is awarded for eminent achievement and exceptional service to Scouts Australia by an Adult Member in an active Leadership role, over a long period, in a number of roles at various levels within the organisation, or for a unique and highly valued contribution to the wellbeing of Scouting.

Well Done Mrs Hislop we are so proud of all your hard work and dedication!

Rebecca Kershaw

APRE

rkershaw@gstsv.catholic.edu.au

What's Happening in Deadly Learners

Deadly Newsletter Week 8

We’ve had a wonderful term celebrating many significant dates including NAIDOC Week, National Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Children’s Day and Indigenous Literacy Day.

Our Great Book Swap is taking place next Wednesday 4th September.

If you would like to donate any pre-loved books, they can be dropped off at the front office or in the collection tub at the Deadly Door.

This year our school has been allocated to the ‘Yari’ (yar-ee)’ house which means Humpback Whale in Yawuru language.

Did you know that Humpback Whales can live for up to 80-90 years?

All money raised at our Great Book Swap will go directly to the Indigenous Literacy Foundation whose purpose is to invest in Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander remote Communities to provide the tools and resources they request to shape the direction of their children’s literacy future.

All First Nations Families are invited to join us at our Term 3 Big Mob Brekkie on Tuesday 10th September. Keep an eye out for invitations coming home later this week.

Stay Deadly!

Guidance Counsellor

Hi Everyone,

My name is Marissa. I'm the Guidance Counsellor at Good Shepherd and you can catch me here on a Monday, Tuesday or a Wednesday so please drop in to the wellbeing building for a chat.  

Friendships and Belonging:

It is not always easy for children and teenagers to always know how to manage friendships. Learning how to make new friends and keep them involves a number of skills every young person needs to understand and develop. For some these skills will come very naturally.  For others, this can be much harder to navigate. Friendships are full of ups and downs and it is better for kids to learn how to manage and build their own friendships, even though as an adult carer you may be tempted to interfere. This school TV resource offers some tips for parents as their children learn to navigate their way in the world from a social perspective.

 https://gstsv.catholic.schooltv.me/newsletter/friendship-belonging

Library

Eisteddfod 2024

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 3, Week 7

This week our Good Shepherd Way Gospel in Action value is Love where I share my good heart with others.

Our Love prayer is below:

Term 3, Week 8

The Good Shepherd Way Gospel in Action for Week 8 will be Reconciliation where I am fair, forgiving and respectful.

Our Reconciliation 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 the office. 

In Term 3, Week 7 we are focusing on: At the tuckshop. 

Prep Orientation 2025

Environmental Tips

Save the Koala

The Australian native Koala is now threatened with extinction in many parts of Australia. Koalas are protected by law but their homes and food aren't. Koala babies are called 'Joeys'. They are marsupials and have two thumbs on their front paws for climbing. There are a number of Koalas living on Magnetic Island.

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

Sony Camp - Saturday 14 September - Monday 16 September, 2024

Townsville Grammar School is hosting its seventh annual Sony Foundation Children's Holiday Camp this year. It is a unique respite program that sees high school and university students take on the responsibilities for the care of children with a  disability, allowing their families to have a valuable weekend off. For more information, click on the barcode on this brochure or email Mrs Aili or Mrs De Daunton if you have any questions.