10 February 2021

From the Desk of the Principal

Congratulations to our 2021 School Leaders, Senior Students and Deadly Learners who received their badges at our Opening Liturgy and Leaders Induction on Friday. I am confident you will wear your badges with pride and do your yourselves and your families proud. Thank you to Mrs Bell for preparing such a special liturgy and celebration for our school community. Thank you also to Fr Dave, Fr Clement, Fr Joseph and of course Sherlock and Barbara for their parts in our celebration.

Last week we had visits from our Townsville Catholic Education Service Team as well as the Strategic Leadership Team. It was wonderful to have our SLT at our Opening Liturgy and even more special to have our Executive Director Jacqui Francis present us with our School Renewal Certificate for 2021-2025.

On Saturday our students were invited to sing the National Anthem at the opening of the new Woolworths here in Rasmussen. Thank you to Mrs Barter for preparing our students for this occasion. We are very fortunate to have so many wonderful partnerships in our school community and our partnership with Woolworths is an example of that. Did you know that Woolworths donates the bread to our school that is cooked at Breakfast Club each week? 

Tonight is our Parent Information Evening. If you are unable to attend, each class will be sending home information that is presented tonight to all families tomorrow. Please be sure to contact your child's teacher should you have any questions or concerns about the information presented.

Enjoy the rest of your week.

Glenda Scrase

Principal

gscrase1@gstsv.catholic.edu.au

From the Desk of the Assistant Principal Religious Education

Opening Liturgy
Our Opening School Liturgy was on Friday. Celebrating liturgically as a school community is always a very special occasion and a perfect way to start a new school year. 
Thank you to the students and staff members who assisted with the readings and procession. Thank you also to Fr Dave, Fr Clement and Fr Joseph for officiating. With Fr Dave retiring very soon, we will certainly miss his engaging homilies! I’m sure he will pass on some of his clever ideas.
It was wonderful to see the proud looks on the faces of our Year 6 students and Deadly Learners when they received their 2021 badges.

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Sacramental Program
There are thirteen GSCS students participating in the Sacramental Program this year – Sophia 3B, Sophie 3B, Nate 3A, Lucy 3A, Isabella 5B, Esiah 6B, Cynthia 3C, Eden 3A, Brax 3C, Ethan 5B, Sharaye 3B and Vincent 3A. 
We wish them all the best as they start their preparations to receive the sacraments of Reconciliation, Confirmation and First Holy Communion.
Reminders: 
Rite of Enrolment Masses are this coming weekend. Please attend one of the following masses –
Saturday 13th February 6:00pm at Good Shepherd Community Centre
Sunday 14th February 7:30am at Good Shepherd Community Centre 
Sunday 14th February 9:30am at Ryan Community Centre
Sunday 14th February 5:00pm at Ryan Community Centre
Groups start next week. A parent or other significant adult must attend these sessions with their child/children.

The Lenten Season  
Next week we begin the very important Church season of Lent. A number of classes will commemorate Shrove Tuesday with pancakes and each class will have a prayer service on Wednesday to observe Ash Wednesday – the start of Lent.
Shrove Tuesday
Shrove Tuesday  occurs the day before Ash Wednesday.  It is traditionally known as a day of preparing for the coming season of Lent. "Shrove" is the past tense of the word "shrive," which means to hear a confession, assign penance, and absolve from sin. Shrove Tuesday is a reminder that we are entering a season of penance.  As Lent is known as a time of abstaining from certain things, in many cultures pancakes were/are prepared and enjoyed, because in so doing a family depleted their eggs, milk, butter, and fat which were part of the Lenten fast. That is why Shrove Tuesday is often known as Pancake Day.
Ash Wednesday
Ash Wednesday signifies the beginning of Lent. Ashes are a symbol of penance made sacramental by the blessing of the Church, and they help us develop a spirit of humility and sacrifice. The ashes are made from the blessed palms used in the Palm Sunday celebration of the previous year. They are put on the foreheads of those who attend Mass or a liturgy on that day, as a reminder that their bodies are destined to return to dust too following their death. This represents a powerful symbol of mortality, and it spurs Catholics on to make a genuine effort to live out the spirit of the Lenten season in as dedicated a manner as possible. At an Ash Wednesday Liturgy or Mass the priest or presider will say to the person receiving the ashes “Turn away from sin and be faithful to the Gospel” and some school settings the students are told “Try to be like Jesus.”

Parish Mass
Saturday 20th February 6:00pm
Good Shepherd Community Centre
All GSCS families are welcome to attend.
The students in Prep C and 5A have been invited to help at the Parish Mass. A note regarding this has gone home.

Judy Bell
APRE
jbell17@gstsv.catholic.edu.au

From the Desk of the Assistant Principal Administration

Good Shepherd’s annual Parent Information Evening is being held tonight, with three sessions scheduled (5:00 pm, 5:30pm and 6:00pm). I would encourage you to attend a session in your child’s year level as it is a wonderful opportunity to meet the cohort teachers and gain an insight into what will be happening in your child’s class this year. It is also an easy way to meet other parents with students in the same year level. 
When you are in your child’s class, you may notice “learning intentions” displayed. These are specific statements about what students are learning to do in a particular subject. For example: I am learning to rearrange and regroup numbers to complete subtraction problems. These statements help guide student learning, track student progress, and help ensure all students know what they are going to learn and where they are heading. 
These learning intentions are accompanied by “success criteria”, which are discussed with the students and help them know when they are on the right track and have achieved what they are meant to from a lesson. For example, success criteria for the previously mentioned learning intention could be “I can accurately subtract two-digit numbers using regrouping”. Success criteria are the measures used to determine whether, and how well, learners have met the learning intentions.
Learning intentions and success criteria also help teachers to understand the impact of their teaching and learning activities, and when they may need to adapt or change these. They also help students understand what improved performance looks like. Regularly checking in with your children about what their learning intentions were today and if they feel they achieved them, can provide a valuable insight into your child’s learning.

Maxine Nolan

APA

mnolan@gstsv.catholic.edu.au

What's Happening in Our Year 2 Classes

The Year 2 students, teachers, and school officers have enjoyed getting to know one another these first couple of school weeks. We have welcomed new friends and learned about the Good Shepherd Way, the power of having a growth mindset, the magic word “YET”, being bucket fillers, and community importance. We have participated in scavenger hunts, craft activities, team-building challenges, and fitness games. Our refurbished classrooms have increased our ability to collaborate, and our latest technology has opened new ways of learning. We can’t wait to delve into the Year 2 Curriculum this week!

Awards For The Week

This Week's Birthdays

Assembly

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

Our lucky praise note winners will be drawn out at assembly.

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, in the Classroom, in the Eating Area, on the Playground.

FACE (Family And Community Engagement) Network News

Our first FACE Network meeting for 2021 will be held on Tuesday 16 February at 7:00pm in the Staffroom. Our agenda will be engagement opportunities in 2021. The meeting will conclude by 8:00pm. We hope to see many of you here.

School Fees Update

Townsville Catholic Education is in the process of implementing a new finance program into our school system.

School fees have been emailed out this week. We recognise that there are always glitches with new systems. If you have any queries about your school fees, please don’t hesitate to contact our Finance Secretary Sheridan Turner at sturner9@gstsv.catholic.edu.au

Year 3 to 6 Swimming Lessons

Year 3 to 6 Swimming Lessons commenced this week at Little Snapper Swim School and will continue for the next few weeks. Here are the remaining dates for students.

Year 3 and 4 students will be attending on the following Tuesdays:

• Tuesday 16 February
• Tuesday 23 February
• Tuesday 2 March
• Tuesday 9 March

Year 5 and 6 students will be attending on the following Mondays:

• Monday 15 February
• Monday 22 February
• Monday 1 March
• Monday 8 March

Tuckshop

Opening Hours

Wednesday - Thursday - Friday

Please place your order with Flexischool no later than 8:30am on the day you wish to order.

Can You Help?

Ann-Maree is always looking for helpers in the tuckshop, if you are able to spare some time please give her a call on our office number or email rsmssn@tsv.catholic.edu.au She would love to hear from you. 

Environmental Tips

Turn It Off - Artificial lighting accounts for 44 percent of electricity used in office buildings. Make it a habit to turn off the lights when you're leaving any room for 15 minutes or more. Same goes for electronics; switch off power strips and unplug electrical devices when you're not using them.

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