22 June 2022

From the Desk of the Principal

Congratulations to all of our students who competed in our Athletics Carnival on Friday. Stuart were the overall winners with Ross taking out the Spirit award. Thank you to Ms Foord for organising a wonderful day for our school community. Be sure to check out photos from the day on our Facebook page.

Today we held our Semester 1 Academic Awards where students were recognised for their academic achievements, their academic endeavours and for their demonstration of The Good Shepherd Way. Congratulations to all students who were acknowledged for their achievements this semester.

Friday sees us conclude our term and semester. I recognise how challenging the term has been with a number of illnesses affecting our students and staff. I thank you for all of your support and understanding as we have continued to work in partnership and navigate these challenges together. I wish you all a safe and enjoyable holiday break and look forward to welcoming you all back on Monday 13 July. 

Glenda Scrase

Principal

gscrase1@gstsv.catholic.edu.au

From the Desk of the Assistant Principal Religious Education

A Parent’s Prayer
Loving God,
You are the giver of all we possess,
the source of all of our blessings.
We thank and praise you.

Thank you for the gift of our children.

Help us to set boundaries for them,
and yet encourage them to explore.
Give us the strength and courage to treat
each day as a fresh start.

May our children come to know you, the one true God,
and Jesus Christ, whom you have sent.

May your Holy Spirit help them to grow
in faith, hope, and love,
so they may know peace, truth, and goodness.

May their ears hear your voice.
May their eyes see your presence in all things.
May their lips proclaim your word.
May their hearts be your dwelling place.
May their hands do works of charity.
May their feet walk in the way of Jesus Christ,
your Son and our Lord.
Amen.

Rebecca Kershaw

APRE

rkershaw@gstsv.catholic.edu.au

From the Desk of the Assistant Principal Administration

Semester One Reports
Semester One reports are now available to view on the Compass Parent Portal. Printed copies will not be sent home.
If you have any difficulty logging on or accessing your child’s report, please contact the school office for assistance.
Please take the time to read over your child’s report and discuss it with them. Ask them questions such as: What are the highlights? What are the areas for improvement? How are you going to approach your class work next term? Is there anyway I can help you with school? What is your favourite subject and what do you like about it? Did you have a positive approach and attitude?
Engaging in honest, non-judgemental discussions about their academic results with your child can help foster a feeling of support and encourage them to speak with you if/when they are experiencing problems. Remember not to compare your child with their siblings or other students. Every child learns at their own pace and in their own way, and it is important to encourage your child to keep learning and trying.

Holidays and Term 3
These holidays mark the halfway point in our academic year. I hope you have the opportunity to relax a little and spend time together. 
There are lots of activities available during the school holidays, including a range of free events. Click the link below to check out the Townsville City Council’s school holiday guide (which will be released on Saturday 25 June) for some ideas.

Term 3 is shaping up to be a busy one, starting off with Naidoc Week, Catholic Education Week and Mulkadee in the first few weeks. Some students will take part in the Challenge Games, the Life Education Van will be visiting, and we will enjoy a performance from Indigenous artist Dion Drummond. Later in the term we will celebrate Book Week and Good Shepherd Day.
Enjoy your holiday, and I look forward to seeing you for an exciting Term 3.

Maxine Nolan

APA

mnolan@gstsv.catholic.edu.au

What's Happening In Our Prep Classes?

Prep A: Engaging in a range of messy art activities is an important sensory and creative endeavour. Art promotes creativity, encourages neural connections in the brain, builds small muscle growth and control and develops problem solving abilities. The Preps are given regular opportunities to engage in painting, drawing, printing and a range of collage activities. Creativity takes on many forms and can be fostered not only through art, but through a range of construction kits such as lego, duplo, construct-o-straws, mobilo etc. These opportunities can boost self-esteem, improve thinking and decision-making skills, alleviate stress and anxiety, improve mood and social skills. The skill involved in building things can change the way children think and sharpen crucial skills. Designing and problem solving fosters a child’s ability to think “outside the square” and develop spatial skills, language, positional concepts and divergent thinking. Children can integrate construction into play scenarios and there is evidence that it can advance math skills in later stages of their education pathway. Building structures encourages children to test spatial relationships and mentally rotate objects in the mind’s eye and test and explore their ideas.

Prep B: This term we have been exploring numbers to 10. Students have learnt to count to and from 10 and make connections between numerals, number names and quantities. Prep B have been representing numbers on whiteboards in the form of tally marks, in a tens frame and with counters. Students enjoy representing numbers using playdough and other hands-on materials. We have also been learning how to sort objects based on their common characteristics (size, shape or colour) and have been learning to make simple patterns. Prep B enjoyed sorting everyday objects around the classroom and explaining how they sorted the objects.

Prep C have spent some time in maths sorting counters into groups and specifying how items were sorted. Students also sorted themselves into different groups – according to eye colour; house teams; likes and dislikes. We then talked about patterns and made two and three part patterns using clapping, counters and body movements. All Prep students enjoyed a picnic together to eat their snack on Monday in a culminating special event to celebrate the end of the HASS unit. It will be great for all students and teachers to recharge over the holidays and come back prepared for term three. Here are some students with their two part patterns

Semester 1 Awards

Congratulations to all of our Award recipients for Semester 1.

Awards For The Week

Birthdays Being Celebrated This Week & On The Holidays

~Elizabeth(PrepC)~Tanner(1A)~Jaxson(1A)~Maddison(2A)~Jaxon(2B)~Jeremiah(2B)~Jack(2B)

~Sophia(3C)~Olivia(3C)~Kelly(4A)~Kiara(5B)~Zakoda(5B)~Mia(5B)

Assembly

3A will be presenting our Assembly this Friday in the BBC at 8:40am.

There were no lucky praise note winners last week due to no assembly, this week's winners will be presented at Assembly on Friday.  

The Good Shepherd Way

This week our Good Shepherd Way Gospel in Action value is Stewardship where we care for all of creation.

Our Stewardship 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:  At Assembly, In The Community Centre.

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.

Parent Portal

Parent Portal

Each parent is issued with an individual login name and password for the parent Portal. You should have received an email with these details. 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. 

Library News

Eisteddfod 2022

If your child has entered in the Townsville Eisteddfod he/she needs to submit the finished item by Wednesday 3rd August. Please record name in pencil on the back of the finished item or attach the name on a separate piece of paper.

Please keep in mind the following details: 

Visual Arts (Any medium – Maximum size A3. Should be on paper or art board, unframed and suitable for hanging, no canvas.)

Photography- All prints must be mounted on thin cardboard only. Digital (Size : Min 5” x 7” Max 11” x 14”. Photos to be glued on a backing board.  No framed or matted photos. No enhancements.)

All written work should include a word count at the bottom of the piece.

Thank you

Geraldine Feaver (4A)

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

Motor vehicles are the single greatest source of air pollution in cities. Reduce air pollution and save petrol money by :

• Driving smoothly instead of braking at high speed
• Ensure tyres are filled to the maximum air pressure
• Have your car serviced regularly
• Try to carpool with someone
  

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