30 November 2022

From the Desk of the Principal

It is hard to believe we are publishing our final newsletter for 2022. To be honest, I am looking forward to putting 2022 behind us. In just over ten years of being a Principal, I have found this year to be one of the more challenging. The Covid restrictions at the start of the year meant that we missed our Pupil Free Day gatherings and opportunities to build strong relationships from the start of the year. The two week delayed start, as well as the restrictions around isolation when household members were infected, meant we were seeing long absences of both staff and students. It was definitely one of the most unconventional starts to a school year and one that I hope is never again repeated.

This year also saw a lot of staff changes as staff relocated or completely left the profession. In total we saw six teachers and five school officers leave our Good Shepherd Family. We thank Stacy Smith, Meg Cloake, Sonia Foster, Catherine Ahern, Elle Niland, Donna Moate, Melissa Fuller, Stephanie Heilbronn, Jennifer Stevenson, James Tapau and Michele Ryan for their contributions to our school community over their tenures.

We also saw a number of new staff members join our Good Shepherd Family in 2022 - Karena Davis, Amanda Christopher, Alyssa Romano, Adeleah Evans, Colleen McLaren-Womal, Susan Karambasis, Amanda Marshall, Caitlin Lansdowne, Jamie-Lee Wyness, Vicky Fusco, Mollie Larney, Kynan Kershaw, Alex Bluck, Georgia Keoiskie, Sharon Griffey, Saskia Brown, Michelle Weaver - and I thank each of them for what they have brought to our family this year.

I would like to say thanks to each of you for your continued support this year as we have navigated the challenges the year has thrown at us. Thank you for your understanding when we have had to join classes together when relief staff have been unavailable, thank you for continuing to support school events, thank you for continuing to be promoters of our wonderful school.

I would like to finish our final newsletter by wishing our departing Year 6 students and departing staff all the best on their next adventures. Thank you to our school leaders for their outstanding leadership this year and thank you for the legacy you leave behind here at Good Shepherd. Thank you to Nola Hanna, Jeni Gillman, Caitlin Lansdowne, Alex Bluck, Mary-Anne Cameron, Evelyn Walsh for their contributions to our school community and for the legacy they have also left behind.

Thanks again from the bottom of my heart for your continued support in 2022. I am so grateful to lead a community of students, staff and families who are truly committed to achieving the best outcomes for the members of our Good Shepherd Family. I wish you all a happy, holy and restful Christmas and New Year break and look forward to welcoming you back to the 2023 school year on Monday 23 January.

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 Service.

Christmas Blessing

Dear Parents, Caregivers and Friends,

Sending prayers and hearty Christmas greetings to you. May you receive the most special of God’s blessings during this amazing Christmas season!

Merry Christmas. May God bless you and your families richly throughout the year.

Rebecca Kershaw

APRE

rkershaw@gstsv.catholic.edu.au

From the Desk of the Assistant Principal Administration

Seems like only yesterday I was writing my first newsletter for 2022, and here we are, at the end of the school year. To say it has been interesting is an understatement! Despite the challenges of a delayed start, the year has been full of highlights: Monday’s Christmas Concert, last week’s Good Shepherds Got Talent, mini-fete, Rainbow Run, swimming and athletics carnivals, the Academic Awards ceremonies, are just a few of the many standout events from this year.
Another significant event is, of course, tonight’s Rite of Passage for our Year 6 students. I have spoken to many of them over the last couple of weeks and the reflection is almost the same each time: I can’t believe I’m finishing primary school! Moving on to high school is a big transition, but one which they are all ready for. High school offers a range of new opportunities and experiences, and my advice for all our Year 6 students would be “step out of your comfort zone”. Challenge yourself to be better, to do more, to try new things, and to make the most of every opportunity. Regardless of what high school you attend, you will get out of it what you put in, so make sure you put in your best.
Finally, I wish you all a happy, Holy Christmas and a wonderful New Year. Enjoy any time you get to spend with family, take time to relax and recharge, and I look forward to seeing you all again in
2023.

Maxine Nolan

APA

mnolan@gstsv.catholic.edu.au

What's Happening In Our Year 6 Classes?

Year 6 students worked hard throughout the term learning about Chemical and Physical changes. We undertook a few experiments which consisted of them predicting the outcomes, testing their theories and thinking about changes they would make. Students were extremely interested in finding out the way a baby nappy holds liquid with a hands on experiment using green water. They concluded their work with testing ways they could evaporate water the quickest! Some of the ideas were quite creative!  

Awards For The Week

Birthdays for this week and December!

~Sophia (PrepC)  ~Rohan (PrepC) ~Riley (1B) ~Ayden (1B) ~Madeleine (1B) ~Bailey (1C)     ~Emersyn (1C) ~Arianah (1B) ~Charlotte (1A) ~Calai (1A) ~Jax (2A) ~Zavier (2C) ~Mackenzie (2C) ~Alexander (2C) ~Chanel (3A) ~Amelia (3A) ~Maverick (3C) ~Eve (3C) ~Sofia (4A) ~Zachary (4C) ~Lachlan (4C) ~Hudson (4C) ~Charlee (4C) ~Jack (5A) ~Ferisita (5A) ~Theodore (5A) ~Adam (5B)  ~Roary (6A) ~Gracey (6B) ~Gemika (6B) ~Piper (6B) ~Wynta (6B)

Assembly

End of Year Liturgy will be this Friday in the BBC at 8:40am.

Our lucky Praise Note winners last week were: Kenzie (PrepB), Harrison (1B), Zavier (2A), Logan(3C), Ebony (4B), Indigo (5A), Kaelan (6A).

The Good Shepherd Way

This week our Good Shepherd Way Gospel in Action value is Service where I help and respond to the needs of others.

Our Service 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: Moving Around the School

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.

Environmental News

Coastcare -  Protection of the Reef is a common cause for the good of all. Remember, whatever flows down our drains flows into our rivers and ultimately out on the Reef..

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

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. 

Teacher Contacts

Upcoming Events

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