05 March 2025

From the Desk of the Acting Principal

Dear Parents and Caregivers,

I would like to share how wonderful it was to see our Swimming Carnival take place on Monday, and I extend my heartfelt congratulations to all involved! Participating in the swimming carnival is not just an enjoyable day in the water; it serves as a valuable opportunity for our children to build confidence, feel secure in their abilities, and nurture friendships through encouragement and support. Rooted in the Gospel values of community, compassion, inclusion, love, hope, and justice, the swimming carnival is truly a celebration where every child is appreciated and uplifted, regardless of their skill level.

The sense of community is palpable as students come together to cheer for one another and celebrate shared successes. With compassion and inclusion at the forefront, we foster an environment where those who may feel nervous can receive support, ensuring that everyone feels welcome. This experience cultivates love and hope, highlighting the joy of participation and personal growth that stems from trying one’s best. Most importantly, it teaches the value of justice, reminding each child that they are equally important and worthy of encouragement. By embracing these values, the swimming carnival transforms into a moment filled with belonging, resilience, and joy that will resonate with them long after the event. When we witness our students unite, we can be confident that by uplifting one another, we are creating a space where everyone belongs—not only to the Good Shepherd family but also to God’s family, where each of us has a place.

In our last newsletter, I discussed the four preconditions for whole school improvement and highlighted our focus this year on ensuring a safe, orderly, and supportive learning environment. I am pleased to say that our students have consistently embraced this opportunity, demonstrating how routines can foster a sense of security that leads to increased productivity and creativity within the classroom. Our staff has collaboratively developed six standards to support the creation of these safe and nurturing environments, which I would like to share with you:

- Attendance & Punctuality

- Classroom Entry and Exit Procedures

- Uniform Expectations

- Personal Communication Devices

- Appropriate Language

- Zero Tolerance of Aggressive Behaviours

These agreed-upon protocols help ensure a safe, respectful, and supportive learning environment for all students and staff. By promoting standards in Attendance & Punctuality, we encourage students to develop a sense of responsibility and commitment to their education. Establishing clear Classroom Entry and Exit Procedures contributes to a structured and focused learning space, while Uniform Expectations foster unity and pride within our school community. Setting guidelines for Personal Communication Devices encourages meaningful engagement in learning and interactions. The expectation for Appropriate Language nurtures respect and kindness in our communications, aligning with the school’s values. Lastly, our Zero Tolerance of Aggressive Behaviours policy reinforces a culture of safety and care, maintaining an environment where every student feels secure and supported. By consistently adhering to these protocols, we create a positive, inclusive, and nurturing atmosphere that enables every student to flourish.

I would like to again thank everyone for generously donating uniforms and socks to the office. Also, it is not too late if you would like to volunteer with reading in our Year One and Two classrooms. Please reach out to the office and we will help you with the volunteer induction modules.

Just a reminder that our Grandparents Day will be held on Friday 14th March and I am looking forward to meeting you all.

With Blessings,

Annette

Acting Principal

apoulsen2@gstsv.catholic.edu.au

From the Desk of the Assistant Principal Pedagogy and Learning

NAPLAN

Students in Years 3 and 5 will be taking part in NAPLAN testing, starting on Wednesday 12 March, 2025. There are four tests, each taking no more than 50 minutes. Tests will be held at 9am on the following days:

• Wednesday 12 March – Writing
• Thursday 13 March – Reading
• Monday 17 March - Conventions of Language
• Tuesday 18 March – Numeracy.

At Good shepherd, we schedule all our tests for the morning session, beginning at 9am. It is extremely important that ALL students in Years 3 and 5 are at school on time on test days so as to not disrupt the test for themselves or their classmates.

Students who are absent for a NAPLAN test will be expected to complete the test at a later time, with “catch up” sessions scheduled every day during the testing period. All tests much be finalised by Monday 24 March.

If you have any concerns about NAPLAN, please speak to your child’s classroom teacher. All applications for withdrawal must be completed and returned to the school before Tuesday 11March 2025.

READING DEVELOPMENT AND INITIALIT

Developing key literacy skills is a priority, with our Prep to Year 2 students learning these essentials through participation in InitiaLit.

InitiaLit an evidence-based whole-class literacy program providing all children with the essential core knowledge and strong foundations to become successful readers and writers. InitiaLit is a three-year program, covering the first three years of school (Foundation to Year 2).

InitiaLit is a reading program that incorporates a synthetic approach to the teaching of phonics alongside a rich literature and vocabulary component. It involves thorough and consistent instruction across classrooms in a year level, and a reduction in the number of children needing support in higher grades. It is also aligned with the Australian Curriculum.

In each year level, InitiaLit includes whole-class teaching using a detailed scripted lesson plan, further literacy activities to consolidate the teaching, a Storybook session to provide opportunities to develop oral language, vocabulary and comprehension, and regular progress monitoring using curriculum-based assessments to identify the needs of children.

Outside of the classroom, one of the easiest and most important ways to support your child’s literacy development, is to read to them. Reading helps your child become familiar with sounds, words, language and the value of books, and can help lay the neurological groundwork for effective language use and literacy. That’s partly because books expose children to vocabulary and grammar that they wouldn’t normally hear – research from Ohio State University has found that reading even one book a day means that, by age five, children have heard about 290,000 more words than those who don’t regularly read books with a parent or caregiver.

NCCD – WHAT IS IT?

Each year schools are required to participate in NCCD – the Nationally Consistent Collection of Data on School Students with Disability.

The NCCD is a collection that counts:

• the number of school students receiving an adjustment or ‘help’ due to disability
• the level of adjustment they are receiving to access education on the same basis as other students.

Students are counted in the NCCD if they receive ongoing adjustments at school due to disability. This ‘help’ allows them to access education on the same basis as a child without disability. The NCCD uses the definition of disability in the Disability Discrimination Act 1992. Schools provide this information to education authorities. It is important to note that personal details, such as student names or student identifiers, are NOT provided to federal education authorities.

The data collected includes the student’s year of schooling, the level of adjustment received and the broad type of disability. For students who have more than one disability, the school uses professional judgement to choose one category of disability. They choose the category that most affects the student’s access to education and for which adjustments are being provided. Schools are required to have evidence of these adjustments being provided over at least a 10-week period. This information is then used to determine funding and work by schools. It ensures that support for students with disability becomes routine in the day-to-day practise of schools.

For more information about NCCD, please see the Fact Sheet for Parents, Guardians and Carers at the end of the newsletter.

SCHOOL TV SPECIAL REPORT: The Wellbeing Barometer - 2025

SchoolTV is a free resource available to parents of all students at Townsville Catholic Education Schools and offers a wealth of information on topics impacting young people and families today.

Each year, School TV also conducts a “Wellbeing Barometer” survey, which provides valuable insights into youth mental health and wellbeing. By capturing community concerns and understanding the nature of these challenges, schools are better positioned to support families, foster meaningful conversations, and strengthen relationships.

As part of an ongoing longitudinal study, this survey plays a pivotal role in tailoring support for students and their families. It offers a comprehensive view of students’ experiences, challenges, and achievements over a 12-month period.

By participating in this survey, you can help identify areas of strength, uncover potential concerns, and pinpoint opportunities for early intervention. The survey’s findings enable a deeper understanding of young people’s lives, supporting a more tailored approach to improving mental and emotional wellbeing. To take part in the survey, click here. 

Maxine Nolan

APPL

mnolan@gstsv.catholic.edu.au

From the Desk of the Assistant Principal Religious Education

Good Shepherd Catholic School supports

Caritas Project Compassion.

This week, Ash Wednesday began the season of Lent, it also marks the beginning of the annual Caritas Australia Project Compassion Appeal. Donations to Project Compassion allows Caritas Australia, the Catholic Agency for International Aid and Development, to work with local communities around the world to alleviate poverty, hunger, oppression and injustice.

We encourage you to put your compassion into action this Lent through your prayer, fasting and almsgiving by supporting Project Compassion. Each family will receive a Project Compassion box for their donations or you can donate online via the Caritas Australia website at: lent.caritas.org.au    

The theme of Project Compassion 2025 is ‘Unite Against Poverty’ and reminds us that the good we do today extends to impact the lives of generations to come. By donating to Project Compassion, Caritas Australia, the Catholic Agency for International Aid and Development, can work with local communities around the world to end poverty, promote justice and uphold dignity.

Each family will receive a Project Compassion box and/or a set of envelopes for their donations or you can donate online via the Caritas Australia website at: www.caritas.org.au/project-compassion

The World Day of Prayer is an international ecumenical Christian laywomen’s initiative. It is run under the motto “Informed Prayer and Prayerful Action,” and is celebrated annually in over 170 countries on the first Friday in March. The movement aims to bring together women of various races, cultures and traditions in a yearly common Day of Prayer, as well as in closer fellowship, understanding and action throughout the year.

The 2025 WDP program invites us into the knowledge that each one of us was made with care and love by God – “I made you Wonderful” Psalm 139:14. When we can receive this profound truth, everything in our life changes and we begin to radiate and shine from within. We also learn how to treat every other person as made wonderful by God. ​

Through World Day of Prayer, women around the world:

• affirm their faith in Jesus Christ.
• share their hopes and fears, their joys and sorrows, their opportunities and needs.

Through World Day of Prayer, women are encouraged:

• to become aware of the whole world and no longer live in isolation.
• to be enriched by the faith experience of Christians of other countries and cultures.
• to take up the burdens of other people and pray with and for them.
• to become aware of their talents and use them in the service of society.

Through World Day of Prayer, women affirm that prayer and action are inseparable and that both have immeasurable influence in the world. The motto of the World Day of Prayer is “Informed Prayer and Prayerful Action”.

Rebecca Kershaw

APRE

rkershaw@gstsv.catholic.edu.au

What's Happening in Year 2

Year 2 have been investigating technologies from the past and how they have changed over time. We have learned that most of the changes in technology have helped make our lives easier and it is faster to move between places and communicate with each other. Everyone was fascinated to learn about the advances in telephones, from plug in wires and rotary dial phones to smart phones with computers in our pockets. We made a phone line out of cups and string and were amazed at how well we could hear our friends talking over the string from 20 metres away.

Library

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 1, Week 5

This week our Good Shepherd Way Gospel in Action value is Inclusion where I involve and accept others.

Our Inclusion prayer is below:

Term 1, Week 6

The Good Shepherd Way Gospel in Action for Week 6 will be Justice where I make right choices.

Our Justice 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: In the Library. 

In Term 1, Week 5 we are focusing on: On the Oval. 

Enrol for 2026

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