9 November 2022

From the Desk of the Principal

Yesterday was the day our Prep to Year 2 students have been waiting for....... Our new Junior Playground opened! A huge thank you to Jason and his band of helpers for finalising the installation, including the new edging and sand. There was a lot of joy there yesterday which I am sure will continue for years to come.

2023 Staffing

We are in the last stage of finaling our staffing for 2023 and allocating teachers to classes. I am awaiting the final tick of approval from Townsville Catholic Education which I hope to receive this week. I can confirm the following staff will not be continuing with us in 2023:

• Ms Gail Woodward (12 months leave)
• Ms Nola Hanna (Transfer to Marian Catholic School)
• Ms Jeni Gillman (Transfer to St Joseph's Catholic School The Strand)
• Mrs Caitlin Lansdowne (Transfer to St Anthony's Catholic College)
• Mr Alex Bluck (Returning to the Army)
• Mrs Mary-Anne Cameron (Retiring)
• Ms Evelyn Walsh (New adventures)

I can confirm the following staff will be joining us in 2023:

• Mr Chris Reiterer (Moving from Mary MacKillop)
• Ms Kim Van Adrichem (Transfer from St Michael's Catholic School Palm Island)
• Ms Bonnie Robson (Transfer from St Francis Catholic School Ayr)
• Ms Jessie Fraser (New Graduate)
• Mrs Michelle Weaver is moving from a part-time role to a full-time class role

Our 2023 Prep Teachers have been confirmed and we are excited to have Mr Chris Reiterer (Prep A), Ms Karena Davis (Prep B) and Mrs Sharon Griffey (Prep C) leading our Preps next year. 

Our whole school Transition Day will be held on Tuesday 29 November. Information about the day is attached below.

Enjoy the rest of your week.

Glenda Scrase

Principal

gscrase1@gstsv.catholic.edu.au

From the Desk of the Assistant Principal Religious Education

THE GOOD SHEPHERD WAY

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 Justice.

‘Truly I tell you, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did for me.’ Matthew 25:40

REMEMBRANCE DAY
On Friday 11th November the whole school will commemorate Remembrance Day with a special prayer service as part of our school assembly.  It will be a time to give thanks to God for the wonderful land in which we live and to remember those who have fought in wars around the world to defend our freedom.

Loving God, 
who embraces those who suffer from war, 
teach us your ways so that we may walk in your path, cultivating peace and compassion for those whom we encounter,
 inspired always by the loving model of your Son, 
our Lord Jesus Christ. Amen.

Rebecca Kershaw

APRE

rkershaw@gstsv.catholic.edu.au

From the Desk of the Assistant Principal Administration

Hasn’t term four just flown by? We are already in week six, students are busily completing assessment and learning new things, teachers are looking at writing reports, and people are starting to think about next year.
Transition to a new learning environment, including starting a new school or moving to as new year level, can be an exciting and nerve-wracking event in a child or young person’s life as it changes social connections that they have built.
Transitions, or change, are periods where we must adapt to new circumstances, expectations, people, environments, or routines. It is common for children to feel excitement, sadness, anger, anticipation, fear, or anxiety.
Our school runs a whole-school transition day, so students have the opportunity to become familiar with their new teacher and classroom, and all teachers work with their class to help prepare them for the next year level.
Parents can also assist their child with the transition to school, to a different school, and to a new year level:
•    Normalise changing year levels 
•    Talk about the new routine that might be in place
•    Reassure your child that they are ready for the new year level 
•    Remind students that they will still see their friends even if they are not in the same class. (Classes often work together, and students are together at lunch and snack breaks.)
•    Point out some of the exciting things associated with the new year level (e.g. Students moving from Year 2 to Year 3 at GSCS, will have access to the senior playground, exercise equipment and big oval, which have all previously been “out of bounds” for them.)
•    For students who don’t like change, remind them that not everything is changing (e.g. if they are at the same school, bell times, uniform, break times, assembly, etc all remain the same. If changing schools, point out similarities with their old school.)

SchoolTV has a number of resources about school transitions, which can be accessed by clicking here or by going to SchoolTV, under the Students tab on the Good Shepherd home page.

Remembrance Day
This Friday, our school will join with the nation to mark Remembrance Day.  Remembrance Day traditions began after World War I (WWI). Around the world, people pause in silence at 11am – the same moment that WWI ended on 11 November 1918. Today, wearing a red poppy, attending a memorial service, or observing a minute of silence are ways to honour and thank those who gave their lives, not just in WWI, but in all conflicts and peacekeeping missions
Thanks to our Defence School Mentor, Mrs Maree Brennan, our students will mark Remembrance Day by participating in the “Draw to Remember” activity, drawing what Remembrance Day means to them. You will see their wonderful artwork on the concrete areas near the Shed or displayed in classrooms.

Maxine Nolan

APA

mnolan@gstsv.catholic.edu.au

What's Happening In Our Prep Classes?

PrepA

Prep A - The Preps have enjoyed their physical sciences unit around movement. They have learnt that movement is the change in position of an object over time, from one place to another. They noticed that movement can sometimes be fast or slow depending on the resistance at play. The Preps were curious about how they can move their own bodies. They recognised that their skeleton and muscles allow them to move in many ways and identified many of the things, in and outside of the classroom which move. The Preps have been designing toys which move, using construction sets. The results have been very impressive.

PrepB

In Religion, Prep B have been recognising ways in which believers pray using words, actions, images and symbols. Students created their own cross to take home for their prayers. We have been learning how to participate respectfully in prayer and we have learnt how to make the sign of the cross. In October (the month of the rosary), Prep students were provided with their own beads and learnt the Joey Rosary. Students visited the Good Shepherd Community Centre and learnt about the symbols and significant artifacts in the church. They also learnt about the liturgical colours and seasons. We have exploring celebrations and rituals in the Catholic Church, such as baptism, Easter and Christmas. 

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PrepC

Prep C have worked so hard on some assessment pieces throughout the last week. This meant Fantastic Friday was thoroughly enjoyed by all. Students also got a lot of satisfaction from logging onto the school server and working on “paint” or google draw. They began work on a Christmas surprise for their families and enjoyed some paint and glitter craft for this. Swimming has been very popular and all students have behaved so well in the pool and on the walk over to the pool.

Awards For The Week

Birthdays Being Celebrated This Week!!

~Marley(PrepC)~Sienna(3C)~Joey(4B)~Ruby(5A)~Riley(5B)~Sophie-Rose(5B)~Lillian-May(6A)

Assembly

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

Our lucky Praise Note winners last week were: Bayelli(PrepA), Colton(1C), Levi(2A), Charlee(3A)      Ted (4A), Dante O'Brian(5B) Patience(6A).

The Good Shepherd Way

This week our Good Shepherd Way Gospel in Action value is Justice where we make the right choices.

Our Justice 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.

Library News

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.

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

You CAN recycle wherever you are - whether at home, work, school or around town. When you recycle one aluminum drink can, a milk bottle or a single newspaper you may not think you're doing much for the environment. However, you need to remember that millions of other people are doing the same as you. Together we can all make a big difference by recycling.

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