26 May 2021

From the Desk of the Principal

This week we celebrate 200 years of Catholic Education in Australia. A Diocesan mass was held at the Sacred Heart Cathedral on Monday where our school captain Matthew Milne had the role of reading a prayer of the faithful.

The mass can be viewed at the below link and Matthew's reading can be viewed at the 49 minute mark.

On Monday we also welcomed back our Adopt-A-Cowboy Kyle Feldt. Kyle spent some time visiting the Year 5 and 6 students and talking with them about persistence and resiliance. We always like having Kyle visit and wish him well against the Warriors on Friday night and hopefully in his selection with the Queensland State of Origin team.

Yesterday we had a number of students represent Good Shepherd at the Interschool Cross Country. Thank you to Ms Foord for organising the team and well done to the students on competing and giving it their best shot.

Today is National Sorry Day, a day where we remember and acknowledge the mistreatment of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people who were forcibly removed from their families and communities. Our students have spent time today reflecting and have each placed a purple flower on the mound outside the Library as purple is the colour that represents compassion and spiritual healing. We also have a number of staff from across Townsville Catholic Education schools attending TCEO Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Education Professional Development on Culturally Responsive Pedagogies here at Good Shepherd today. Two of our Deadly Learners, Isabella and Asha, welcomed our visitors with an Acknowledgement of Country and a Sorry Day Prayer. Thank you Isabella and Asha.

Tomorrow is the start of Reconciliation Week - a time for all Australians to learn about our shared histories, cultures, and achievements, and to explore how each of us can contribute to achieving reconciliation in Australia. We hope you will be able to join us at our Reconciliation Week Liturgy in the Community Centre at 9:00am.

Glenda Scrase

Principal

gscrase1@gstsv.catholic.edu.au

From the Desk of the Assistant Principal Religious Education

Catholic Education is celebrating 200 years in Australia, marking the bicentenary of the first Catholic school established in Parramatta in October 1820.
Since then, Catholic schools have grown to become the largest provider of schooling in Australia (outside government) with one in five school age students attending a Catholic school.
This represents 777,000 students in 1,755 schools across the country and employing over 100,000 teachers and staff.
The celebrations kicked off on Monday 24th May with masses held around Australia. This date is significant because it is the Feast of Our Lady Help of Christians.
A national theme, “Faith in the future” has been developed for the 200 years celebrations. The theme reflects the core purpose of Catholic education to form students in their faith, and to provide an education that enables our graduates to make a meaningful contribution to the world. The theme reflects our commitment to build on the great work of those who have come before us, and to provide a Catholic education for future generations of students in a world that is rapidly changing and poses new challenges for Catholic school communities. Yet, we have faith that we can face these challenges and continue to build on, and strengthen our mission of Catholic education.

Our Lady of the Southern Cross
 – pray for us.
St Mary of the Cross MacKillop, 
Patron of Catholic Education in Australia 
– pray for us.

Our School Captains, Matthew Milne and Emmi McCartney, accompanied Ms Scrase and myself to the Diocesan Mass held on Monday at the Sacred Heart Cathedral. Matthew did our school proud as one of the Prayers of Intercession readers. Thank you Matthew and Emmi for representing GSCS. 

National Reconciliation Week 2021 will be celebrated at GSCS with several activities and events. One of these is a school liturgy which will take place on Thursday 27th May at 9:00am in the Community Centre. Everyone is welcome. 

Reconciliation is a journey for all Australians – as individuals, families, communities, organisations and importantly as a nation.

This week is a special time for us to renew our commitment to reconciliation and walk together with courage as we step towards a unified future, in which we understand, value and respect each other.

The theme for National Reconciliation Week 2021 is – More than a word. Reconciliation takes action. It is a powerful reminder that what we do is far more important than what we say.

We are all disciples of Jesus and as disciples we are called to demonstrate love by opening our hearts and loving with both our words and actions. It could not be clearer; if we are unwilling to love everyone with our actions, then we cannot claim that God’s love lives in us.

Genuine love goes beyond saying we love people, beyond claiming we want equality, equity and unity for people. Genuine love is seen in our actions and attitudes.

God wants us to understand and respect one another, to be just and compassionate people to each other. We are all different but we all deserve to be treated equally with the same respect. 

Judy Bell

APRE
jbell17@gstsv.catholic.edu.au

From the Desk of the Assistant Principal Administration

Australian Curriculum Review
You may have heard on the news that the Australian Curriculum is under review, with public feedback now invited on proposed revisions. Responses will help ensure the Australian Curriculum continues to remain world-class and meets the needs of students.
According to the Australian Curriculum website, the Review aims to improve the curriculum by refining, realigning and decluttering the content so it focusses on the essential knowledge and skills students should learn and is clearer for teachers on what they need to teach.
An extensive consultation process has already taken place, with teachers, education stakeholders and curriculum experts given the opportunity to contribute.
Members of the public are now able to provide feedback on the proposed revisions to the Australian Curriculum. The consultation period for public feedback opened on 29th April and runs until 8th July. Feedback can be provided on a range of topics, including the learning areas, cross-curriculum priorities, and general capabilities.
The review of all learning areas is to be completed by the end of 2021 and the updated version of the F-10 Australian Curriculum, once approved, will be made for the start of 2022.
Feedback can be provided by completing an online survey. There are separate surveys for each learning area, the general capabilities and the cross-curriculum priorities. The surveys can be found on the Australian Curriculum consultation website: 

Wellbeing Team
Our Wellbeing Team, consisting of Inclusive Practises Teachers Deb Hocking and Charmaine Aili, supported by TCE Guidance Counsellor Lena Hewitt, Advisory Visiting Specialist (Hearing Impairment) Paula Jerome, Advisory Visiting Specialist (Inclusion) Morgan Lund, and Speech Language Pathologist, Tamara Bosnjak, are a wealth of information about various disabilities and learning difficulties students may have. 
If you are concerned about your child’s progress, please ensure you speak to their classroom teacher, who can then liaise with our Wellbeing Team to provide support and resources.

Maxine Nolan

APA

mnolan@gstsv.catholic.edu.au

Staff News

Ms Tegan Barter will be leaving our Good Shepherd Family next week. Ms Barter joined Good Shepherd Catholic School to cover a maternity contract in July 2019. She has spent time teaching Year 5 and has this year taken on the role of Music Teacher, Year 1 Teacher and Beginning Teacher Mentor.

We thank Tegan for her contributions to our Good Shepherd Catholic School community and wish her all the best in her future endeavours.

What's Happening in Our Deadly Learners

Deadly Learners is a great way for our Indigenous students to engage in and promote their identity and culture. The big question we have been discussing this term is ‘Why is it important to recognise and celebrate significant Indigenous National events?

As a group, we have brainstormed different events celebrated throughout the year including Reconciliation Week, Sorry Day, Mabo Day and Naidoc Week.

This week is National Reconciliation Week. The theme this year is ‘More than a Word’. It asks us to be brave and to take action towards a more reconciled Australia. To achieve this, we have had to understand our own history, culture and explore ways to help others understand it too. 

Today we were able to bring the whole school together for National Sorry Day. 
You will notice when you arrive at school, the students from every class have coloured a purple hibiscus flower to remember members of the stolen generations who were forcibly removed from their families. This is the official symbol for Sorry Day. When we can share culture and help people become more aware of our past, then we truly are doing our little bit for reconciliation.

Awards For The Week

Birthdays For This Week

~ Lachlan  1C                 ~ Romeo  2B                 ~ Jaxon  3A                   ~ Hunter  3B        

~ Ally  4B                        ~ Melanie  5B               ~ Jayden  6B                ~ Asha  6B                

Assembly

4A and 6B will be presenting our Assembly this Friday in the BBC at 8:40am.

Our lucky Praise Note winners for last week were: Jensen (PrepC), Zavier (1B), Jasmine (2B), Kelly (3C), Kiara (4A), Ayden (5B) and Jasmine (6B).

The Good Shepherd Way

This week our Good Shepherd Way Gospel in Action value is Justice where we are encouraged to make right choices.

Our Justice 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 Safe, Responsible and Fair: Tuckshop, Office, Assembly, Community Centre, Moving Around School and Pick Up Zone.

Congratulations to Chanel, Indee and Charli who were our GSCS Way VIPs last week.

FACE (Family And Community Engagement) Network News

Please note ALL books no matter if they are fully sold, part sold or unsold have to be returned to the office or your child’s class by this Friday 28 May.

Our next meeting will be held on Tuesday 13 July at 7:00pm in the Staffroom.

Just a Reminder - Service Road

Please do not drive down the service road of our school at any time unless prior permission has been given. This includes driving to and from OSHC. We thank you for your continued cooperation with this matter.

Running Club

Running Club is back each Tuesday and Thursday on the oval and is open to all year levels and age groups. Can you help us get to Tokyo for the Olympics?

Have You Enrolled For Prep 2022 Yet?

Students turning 5 by 30 June 2022 are invited to enroll for Prep 2022. Applications are available from our School Office. Alternatively they can also downloaded from our website at https://www.gstsv.catholic.edu.au/enrolment/enrolment-package/

Tuckshop

Wednesday - Thursday - Friday

Please place your order with Flexischool no later than 8:30am on the day you wish to order. You will find a menu on our webpage. If you wish to place an order of cupcakes for your child's birthday please place your order the week before.

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.

Environmental Tips

By using a reusable bag, you are not only reducing the amount of non-renewable resources necessary to produce plastic bags, but you’re also reducing the amount of money your community spends on clean up costs each year. Their durability also prevents them from ripping or tearing.

Upcoming Events

Townsville Eisteddfod

The Townsville Eisteddfod, held each year in September, is a great way for children of all ages to showcase their talents. 

Students who enjoy writing, art or photography are encouraged to enter in one of the following sections: Poetry, Creative Writing, Functional Writing, Visual Arts, Media, Photography (Digital). 

Entry Fee is $8 per entry and is due Tuesday 1st June.  Finished work is not due until Tuesday, 3rd August. If you are interested and would like to enter or want more information please see Geraldine Feaver (4A)

Teacher Contacts

Community News