20 October 2021

From the Desk of the Principal

Our Year 5 students have had a wonderful time on their camp at Gumburu, Paluma. They are due home this afternoon and I am confident they will come home with many adventures and memories to share. Thank you to Mrs Bradbury, Ms Nott, Mrs Aili, Mr Tapau and Mrs Tyack for ensuring our students have had a wonderful few days together.

Last week I attended three days of Principal Meetings. As part of our meetings we looked at our Strategic Initiatives moving forward over the next five years. These initiatives help shape and guide the direction our schools are heading in. As planning for 2022 is well underway, I look forward to sharing our plans and goals for next year with you soon.

Our Tuckshop renovation is almost complete and Mrs Hislop is getting excited to move back into her new space. Tuckshop will be closed on Wednesday 27 October as we relocate back and will re-open all new and shiny on Thursday 28 October.

On Friday we will be raising money for Catholic Missions. Don't forget to bring some coins along for the Mini Fete commencing at 12:00pm in the Shed.

Glenda Scrase

Principal

gscrase1@gstsv.catholic.edu.au

From the Desk of the Assistant Principal Religious Education

Preps Visit To The Church

Last week the Prep classes visited the church and Fr Joseph talked with them about things that are used during Mass. The Prep children had lots of interesting questions.

In October each year Catholic Mission holds appeals to raise funds and awareness for their work with children, communities and Church leaders.

• Catholic Mission works with communities around the world to bring fullness of life to all people through a range of crucial projects. From catechism training to water and sanitation facilities, the initiatives they support address needs identified at the grassroots level.
• A core part of their work is the development and sustenance of children in some of the poorest communities around the world.
• Catholic Mission’s work with church leaders is all about equipping young men and women in developing countries with the skills and knowledge to lead their local faith communities towards peace and prosperity.
  

Funds raised this year will go towards programs aimed to improve education for children in the poorest communities in Bangkok, Thailand.
Check out the website:

What’s happening at GSCS for Mission Month?

• Friday 22 October to Thursday 28 October – Class Activities 
• Friday 22 October – Liturgy in the BBC during Assembly
• Friday 22 October – Mini Fete 12:00 to 1:00pm in the shed to raise funds for Catholic Mission
  

Class teachers will have been in contact with parents regarding the Mini Fete and which stalls each class will run. Children are encouraged to bring $5.00 (in coins) to spend on the day if they can and maybe a bag to put their items in. Parents are welcome to attend the Liturgy and Mini Fete. 

Let’s respond to Christ’s call to feed the hungry and clothe the naked.

The Good Shepherd Way is our Gospel in Action here at Good Shepherd Catholic School. It encourages students to live out the following ten values by thriving to follow the action associated with it:
•    Community - I connect and engage
•    Compassion - I show care and concern for others
•    Endeavour - I challenge myself to do my best
•    Hope - I see good all around me
•    Inclusion - I involve and accept others
•    Justice - I make right choices
•    Love - I share my good heart with others
•    Reconciliation - I am fair, forgiving and respectful
•    Service - I help and respond to the needs of others
•    Stewardship - I care for all of creation
Each week we focus on one of these values and an award is presented at assembly to a student in each class who has demonstrated the value that week.

This week we are focusing on ENDEAVOUR. 

 “But Jesus looked at them and said, “For mortals it is impossible, but for God all things are possible.”   Matthew 19:26 

Judy Bell

APRE
jbell17@gstsv.catholic.edu.au

From the Desk of the Assistant Principal Administration

Squid Game
It has come to our attention that a number of students are watching the Squid Game. This is very concerning, given the graphic nature of the film and given that it is rated 16+. Unfortunately, some students have been trying to re-enact parts of Squid Game in the playground, which is inappropriate and potentially dangerous. Please click the first link below for the common sense guide review which provides information for parents relating to this program along with the next link which is an article from DiGii social which helps to give practical tips for parents on how to talk to their children about the show.

Online issues continue to be a concern for many parents, and we regularly receive reports of students engaging in inappropriate online behaviour. Many of the social media platforms students engage with have age restrictions, which students are breaching. 
TCE Child Safety Co-ordinator Catherine Olsen said online issues were causing concern for a number of school communities, with unwanted contact online, Squid Game and primary students using Snapchat and Tik Tok.
Ms Olsen said Snapchat and TikTok continued to be a favourite amongst students, but it was important for parents to inform and educate themselves on how these programs work and what the risks may be.
National Online Safety, Commonsense media and the eSafety Commissioner are great reliable sources for parents to seek reviews for most apps, games and social media platforms. These reviews and guides can assist in helping parents decide what is or is not appropriate for their child. Please use these resources to help determine what is appropriate and safe for your child. the links below will take you to those sites.

Therapy Dog Training
Franki has started her training to become a Therapy Dog, and we hope she will be fully accredited by the start of school next year.
The benefits of having a therapy dog are numerous. According to Therapy Dogs Australia there is an increasing body of research into the positive impact that the human-animal bond can have on both adults and children. The research has shown that as animals are non-judgemental and provide an unconditional love, they can increase a person’s feelings of relaxation, increase social interaction, increase communication.
It has been suggested that communication between an animal (particularly dogs) and a person with social difficulties is easier than communication with other people. The reason for this is that dogs, unlike people, communicate through body language alone and not a unique and often confusing mix of verbal, subtle facial and body cues, and underlying social rules. 
Animals also have the unique ability to provide immediate feedback regarding a person’s mood, behaviour and method of communication. For example, if a child is making a large amount of noise and movement, the dog might shy away and may show a level of discomfort, however, once the child calms down, the dog then may proceed to show affection once again. Alternatively, a high energy person might find it difficult to have a calm and quiet interaction with a high energy dog, until they themselves are calm which can then encourage the dog to calm also. 
We have already seen the benefits of having Franki at school, as she has provided a calming presence for children experiencing high levels of anxiety or who are having difficulty regulating their emotions. Spending a few minutes throwing a toy for Franki to fetch, or simply sitting on the floor patting her, can provide a much-needed diversion for some students – and Franki loves every minute of it! 

Maxine Nolan

APA

mnolan@gstsv.catholic.edu.au

Continuing Enrolment 2022

Please return the Continuing Enrolment Form below by next week. Thank you.

What's Happening in Our Year 1 Classes

In the Catholic Church, October is known as the month of the Rosary. Over the coming weeks the students will be learning all about the prayers associated with The Rosary. This prayer includes the Creed, the Our Father and the Hail Mary and we will learn how to pray using Rosary Beads. 
We are also focusing on Catholic Mission. This year we are looking at ways we can help children from disadvantaged backgrounds get a chance to go to school, learn in the classroom, play with their friends and receive nutritious meals. We will be selling fairy floss and popcorn at our Mission Fete on Friday to help raise funds for Catholic Mission.
Year 1 also started swimming this week at Kylie’s Swim School. Over the course of two weeks, students will learn basic stroke development, floating, kicking  and water safety. With the wam weather upon us, everyone was keen to get in the water this week.
This term, the students are learning to write information reports. We will be looking at many interesting facts about animals including  whales, bees, wombats, snakes and koalas. 
Did you know that the Blue Whale is the biggest animal in the world? Whales live in all of the oceans on the planet, they can live in both warm and cold water. Whales are mammals and feed their babies milk. Different breeds of whales eat different food such as squid, fish and krill.

Awards For The Week

Birthdays For This Week

~Willow PrepA      ~Zebadiah PrepA     ~Declan PrepB     ~ Elena-Grace PrepC 

~ Rydah 2A              ~Darrien 6A               ~Shakira 6A          ~Kuiola 6A

Assembly

PrepC will be presenting our Assembly this Friday in the BBC at 8:40am.

Our lucky Praise Note winners for week 1 of term 4 were: Charlotte (PrepA), Sienna (1C), Eve (2C), Nima (3C), Zac (4B), Moraes (5A), Xandra (6A) .

The Good Shepherd Way

This week our Good Shepherd Way Gospel in Action value is Endeavour where we are encouraged to challenge ourselves to do our best.

Our Endeavour 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 Give My Best: Before School, Classroom, Eating Area, Playground. 

Congratulations to Myer, Abbie and Cole who were our GSCS Way VIPs last week.

FACE (Family And Community Engagement) Network News

We are currently organising our Christmas Mega Raffle and will be looking for donations and helpers with the raffle soon. Stay tuned......

Prep Trash and Treasure

Running Club

Running Club is held 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 on the link below.

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.

Tuckshop Closed Wednesday 27th as Our Newly Renovated Tuckshop Will Be Opening on Thursday!!!!!

We would like to thank everyone for your patience whilst we have been renovating the tuckshop. As we need time to move all the equipment back in and get organised we will be closing the tuckshop for Wednesday, 27th October. Thank you once again in anticipation. 

Environmental Tips

National  Water Week  - Caring for water and country
 Most of the earth's surface water is permanently frozen or salty.
Water regulates the earth's temperature.
Water freezes at zero degrees Celsius.
Water vaporizes at a hundred degrees Celsius.
Water is the only substance that is found naturally on earth in three forms: liquid, gas, solid.
A small drip from a tap can waste as much as 75 litres of water a day

Upcoming Events

Teacher Contacts

Community News