18 May 2022

From the Desk of the Principal

Thank you all for your warm welcome backs after my long service leave. A special thank you to Mrs Maxine Nolan and Mrs Rebecca Kershaw for taking such wonderful care of our school during my absence. Thank you also to Ms Amanda Marshall, Ms Elle Niland and Ms Jeni Gillman for assisting in the office during my absence.

I hit the ground running on my return on Monday. I was invited to a civic reception along with our school captains to formally welcome Queensland's 27th Governor Dr Jeannette Young. Unfortunately, Paige was unwell and unable to attend so it was just Thomas and I. Dr Young presented Thomas with a special commemorative coin and we were also able to collect one for Paige.

This week I have been concluding the first round of interviews and offers for 2023 Prep students. If your child is due to start Prep in 2023 or you know of someone who is due to start, please ensure you drop your enrolment forms in as soon as possible. 

Enjoy the rest of your week.

Glenda Scrase

Principal

gscrase1@gstsv.catholic.edu.au

From the Desk of the Assistant Principal Religious Education

What is National Reconciliation Week

National Reconciliation Week (NRW) is 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.
The dates for NRW are the same each year; 27 May to 3 June.
These dates commemorate two significant milestones in the reconciliation journey— the successful 1967 referendum, and the High Court Mabo decision respectively.
Reconciliation must live in the hearts, minds and actions of all Australians as we move forward, creating a nation strengthened by respectful relationships between the wider Australian community, and Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples.

Mini Vinnies

On Saturday 14th May, several of our wonderful Mini Vinnies visited the residents at Parklands Aged Care facility. I’m not sure who enjoys the visits more – the students or the residents! We are already planning and looking forward to our next visit.

Rebecca Kershaw

APRE

rkershaw@gstsv.catholic.edu.au

From the Desk of the Assistant Principal Administration

Naplan
Most students in Years 3 and 5 have completed their Naplan testing for 2022, with only a handful of catch-up tests to be done. After Friday, the Naplan testing window closes and students who have not completed their tests will be marked as absent. This means that the tests they missed will not be given a score on their Naplan report.
I would like to congratulate all our Year 3s and 5s for their efforts during Naplan, for giving the tests their best shot, and for persevering when they found questions hard. Thank you also to Mrs Bradbury, Mr Bluck, Ms Christie and Ms Marshall for preparing our students so well for the tests!

Car Park Safety
Thank you to all those parents and carers who follow the “rules” when it comes to collecting children from school. I have noticed a significant decrease this week in the number of people calling for children to walk across the carpark to them.
Our staff will continue to act in the best interests of your children, in an attempt to keep all children safe.

Parent Portal

As mentioned last week, the Compass Parent Portal has now been opened to parents of Good Shepherd Catholic School. Each parent is issued with an individual login name and password for the parent Portal. You should have received an email with these details earlier this week.

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. 

Maxine Nolan

APA

mnolan@gstsv.catholic.edu.au

What's Happening In Our Year 6 Classes?

Year 6 has been investigating food waste in our community. We have linked up with OzHarvest who have sponsored us on our journey to become more sustainable. OzHarvest is an Australian leading food rescue organisation working towards reducing our waste as a country and also helping out our Australians in the food crisis. We have been cooking a recipe a week that focuses on using up something that would otherwise become waste or using products that have a large shelf life. Here are some photos of our year 6 students and their first cooking lesson.

Awards For The Week

Birthdays Being Celebrated This Week

~Ruby(PrepA)    ~Emmet(PrepB)   ~Archie(1A)   ~Gabriel(1B)    ~Ariana(2A)    ~Brody(2A)  

~George(2B)      ~Vincent(4B)          ~Leila(4C)      ~Alex(4C)         ~Mackenzie(6B)

Assembly

2B will be presenting our Assembly this Friday in the BBC at 8:40am.

Our lucky Praise Note winners last week were: Jazmyn(PrepA), Maddison(PrepC), Arianah(1B), Araya(2B), Shania(3C), Sahara(4B), Scarlett(5A).  

The Good Shepherd Way

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

Our Inclusion 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: On The Oval.

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.

Library News

Book Fair has been open this week for parents in the library between 8:00am and 8:30am and 2:30pm to 3:30pm each day next week. Please find below the Book Fair flyer which can be used to also order online for your convenience. Friday is our last day of the Book Fair, there are some wonderful books and other items.

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.

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. 

Environmental News

World Bee Day 20th May
We all depend on the survival of bees.
Bees and other pollinators, such as butterflies, bats and hummingbirds, are increasingly under threat from human activities.
Pollination is, however, a fundamental process for the survival of our ecosystems. Nearly 90% of the world’s wild flowering plant species depend, entirely, or at least in part, on animal pollination, along with more than 75% of the world’s food crops and 35% of global agricultural land. Not only do pollinators contribute directly to food security, but they are key to conserving biodiversity.

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