10 August 2022

From the Desk of the Principal

Well done to our 70 students who competed at the Interschool Athletics Carnival at the Red Track yesterday. It was wonderful to hear so many reports of the fantastic sportsmanship displayed as well as our students following The GSCS Way and giving their best. Thank you to our staff and families who supported our students at this event.

At last week's Assembly we invited our Students of the Week to proudly make their way to the stage for a group photo. It was wonderful to see our students following The GSCS Way and celebrating others' achievements by clapping for them. We will continue to invite our students up to the front each week for a group photo which we will share on Facebook.

This week we have been focusing on keeping our Shed area clean. We are encouraging our students to be lined up in a clean area when the bell goes at each break. The year level that shines the most for the week chooses the bell song for the following week and the year level that shines the most for the term wins a pizza party. All students have had a great start to our new challenge.

Enjoy the rest of your week.

Glenda Scrase

Principal

gscrase1@gstsv.catholic.edu.au

From the Desk of the Assistant Principal Religious Education

Mini Vinnies Parklands Visit

Last Saturday, I took a group of Mini Vinnies members to visit the residents at Parkland Retirement Village. We spent the morning talking to the residents and handing out the cards and pictures that Prep had made for them as their Act of Kindness during Catholic Education Week. The residents LOVED these and were very grateful to Prep for making them. We then joined in playing Bingo with them. It was a lovely morning with the residents and we can’t wait to see them again soon.

ASSUMPTION OF MARY OUR HOLY MOTHER
On Monday 15th August the Church celebrates the Feast Day of the Assumption of Our Lady when according to our faith, the Holy Mother, “having completed the course of her earthly life, was assumed body and soul into heavenly glory”.
The Assumption signals the end of Mary’s earthly life and marks her return to heaven to be reunited with Jesus. While the bodies of both Jesus and Mary are now in heaven, there is a difference between the Assumption and the Resurrection. Where Jesus arose from the tomb and ascended into heaven by his own power, Mary’s body was taken up to heaven by the power of her Son.
For this reason we use different words to describe each event. One is the Ascension of Christ and the other, the Assumption of Mary.

To keep the program going in our school, we are asking families if they could assist by donating a spread or more for the toast (vegemite, jam and squeeze honey if possible) this term. All donations are gratefully received and can be left at the Office. 

Rebecca Kershaw

APRE

rkershaw@gstsv.catholic.edu.au

From the Desk of the Assistant Principal Administration

Safety Reminder

Thank you to all those parents who are doing the right thing at pick up time and either lining up in the Drop Off Zone or parking and walking across to collect their children.

A couple of reminders:
All students being picked up are required to wait in the Drop Off Zone – not the bus stop, down the road, or at the corner.
•    If you are in the Pick Up Zone line up, you must wait until you are at the path for your child to get in the car. Please do not call for them to get in the car if you are not in this area, as it is unsafe for children to be walking through the line-up of cars.
•    Please pull as far forward in the Pick Up Zone as possible before your child gets in, so other cars can also pull into the pick up area. 
•    Children must wait until the car is fully stopped before attempting to open the door etc. We remind students of this every day, but your help in reinforcing this is appreciated. Too many students grab hold of the door handle when the car is still moving!
Thank you for your cooperation in keeping our students safe.

Screen Time
“Kids these days are always on their phones!”
“If I want their attention, I disconnect the Wi-Fi.”
“They were up all night on the computer.”
These are just a small selection of the many comments we hear each week from parents/carers about their child’s screen time. 
According to SchoolTV, many parents have reported excessive screen time as the number one health concern affecting children, especially now in the hyperconnected world we live in. The World Health Organisation (WHO) recommends that there should be no screen time at all for children under two, less than an hour a day for children aged from two to five, and less than two hours for five- to 17-year-olds. 
These guidelines have been disputed by experts and often ignored by families. One thing the experts do agree on: parents must play an important role in modelling a positive approach to using screens and assisting children to navigate the content they access.
So how much screen time is too much? The federal government’s e-Safety Commission website says there is “no magic figure. The right amount of screen time can depend on a range of factors like your child’s age and maturity, the kind of content they are consuming, their learning needs and your family routine. “
They recommend paying attention to the quality and nature of what they are doing online, and your involvement, as they are just as important as how much time is spent.
Consider your child’s screen use in the context of their overall health and wellbeing. For example, is online time getting in the way of their sleep and exercise? Is it impacting on their face-to-face connections with family and friends? The answers to these questions will guide you and help strike the right balance of online and offline activities for your child.
Signs that your child’s online activity may be having a negative impact on them or on your family include: 
•    less interest in social activities like meeting friends or playing sport
•    not doing so well at school
•    tiredness, sleep disturbance, headaches, eye strain 
•    changes in eating patterns
•    reduced personal hygiene
•    obsession with particular websites or games
•    extreme anger when being asked to take a break from online activity
•    appearing anxious or irritable when away from the computer
•    becoming withdrawn from friends and family.

For more information on monitoring your child’s screentime, click the below link to visit the eSafety Commission website, or click the SchoolTV link below.

Maxine Nolan

APA

mnolan@gstsv.catholic.edu.au

What's Happening In Our Year 1 Classes?

We have been learning about acts of kindness in Year 1. The students always try to share compliments and spread positive messages to brighten people’s days. We put this into practice during Catholic Education Week by creating cards for the residents of the Good Shepherd Nursing Home. 
This was a great opportunity to practice our literacy skills and put these skills to use in a real world scenario. The students worked with enthusiasm to brainstorm thoughtful and kind messages to write in their cards. They also spent time carefully decorating their cards with the hope of making someone smile. We hope the residents enjoy them as much as we enjoyed making them.

Awards For The Week

Birthdays Being Celebrated This Week

~Lettalia(PrepA)~Holly(PrepC)~Harrison(3C)~Kalanni(4A)~Desmond(4A)

Assembly

1A will be presenting our Assembly this Friday in the BBC at 8:40am.

Our lucky Praise Note winners last week were: Elloise(PrepB), Alex(1C), Averley(2B), Mason(3C), Nate(4A), Indiana(5A), Jordie(6B). 

The Good Shepherd Way

This week our Good Shepherd Way Gospel in Action value is Inclusion where I 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.

Parent Portal

Parent Portal

If you have any problems accessing please send an email to the school office at rsmssn@tsv.catholic.edu.au or call the office on 4774 0477.

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

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

Australia is a marine nation. We have one of the largest ocean territories in the world, and it drives our climate and weather, generates employment, provides food and resources, and offers lifestyle and recreational opportunities. When you look after our oceans you are looking after the future.

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