1 February 2023

From the Desk of the Principal

Welcome back to the 2023 school year! It has been a wonderful start to our school year. We extend a warm welcome to the newest members of our Good Shepherd Family -almost 90 new students and 11 new staff - Chris Reiterer (Prep A Teacher), Kim Van Adrichem (1C Teacher), Jessie Fraser (2C Teacher), Bonnie Robson (4/5A Teacher), Marissa Priestley (4/5C Teacher), Julia Marciniak (Internal Release), Connor Crump (School Officer),  Gonca Kucukakin (School Officer), Stephanie Hetherington (School Officer), Tim Doyle (School Officer) and  Danielle Jenkin (School Secretary).

Opening Liturgy and Leader Induction

This Friday we will be holding our Opening Liturgy and Leader Induction in the Community Centre. Our Year 6 School Leaders will be presented with their badges. We are very blessed to have Fr Dave joining us to preside. We look forward to having families and friends join us from 8:45am.

Parent Information Evening

Next Wednesday we will be holding our Parent Information Evening. There will be two sessions run in our classrooms - Session 1 is at 5:00pm and Session 2 is at 5:30pm. We hope that you are able to join us but if not, the information presented will also be sent home. 

Annual School Improvement Plan (ASIP)

Last week we welcomed our Townsville Catholic Education Service Team - Laurence Hosking (Education Consultant), Anita Livingston (Religious Education Adviser), Katherine Nelson (Learning and Teaching Adviser) and Krista O'Connor (Indigenous Education Adviser). During their visit with our Leadership Team, they went through our goals in our 2023 Annual School Improvement Plan. We have three big goals this year with strategies on how we intend to achieve these goals. Our goals and strategies are:

Catholic and Christian Formation of our Good Shepherd Catholic School Community

• Provide authentic, meaningful and engaging liturgical and prayer experiences for our school community
• Establish a Catholic School Identity Advisory Committee

A school culture of learning and growth

• Professional Learning Plans for all Staff; Professional Learning Communities; Solutions Focused Culture that shares and reflects on good practice and challenges
• Data competent staff
• Retaining a Wellbeing focused, Resilient Workforce
• Capacity building of parents to engage and assist in student learning
• Enact true reconciliation by building the cultural capacity and competency of all in our school community

Improving student academic outcomes

• Our students will show expected or greater level of growth in NAPLAN results and our PAT Data indicates growth in all students

• Proficient staff who use effective pedagogies and practices to improve student engagement and outcomes

• Students who actively engage, participate and risk take in their own learning.

We look forward to working in collaboration with our school community to achieve these goals in 2023. Enjoy the rest of your week

Glenda Scrase

Principal

gscrase1@gstsv.catholic.edu.au

From the Desk of the Assistant Principal Religious Education

Greetings. My name is Rebecca Kershaw and my role at Good Shepherd Catholic School is as the APRE – Assistant Principal – Religious Education. I have been on staff for the past 3 years and have thoroughly enjoyed my time getting to know all our children and their families and supporting and nurturing them on their personal faith journeys. I look forward to getting to know all our new and returning students and families better this year.

Opening Liturgy

Our Opening Liturgy will be held on Friday, February 3, in the Good Shepherd Community Centre, at 8:40am. Our School Captains and Sports Captains will be presented with their badges at our liturgy and our new Year 6 students will take their leadership pledge. All families and community members are welcome to attend.

Mini Vinnies

Notes will go home tomorrow with interested Year 5 and 6 students to join our Mini Vinnies Group for 2023. Mini Vinnies is the Primary School section of the St Vincent De Paul Society. A commitment to be involved for the whole year is required by students who wish to join this group. Interested students need to return their permission note as soon as possible. 

Breakfast Club

The Good Shepherd Breakfast Club will be held Monday - Friday at 8:10am-8:25am in the shelter shed. The Breakfast Club has had a great response from the students and school community.  As you know breakfast is the most important meal of the day and it helps students to concentrate and focus on their learning.  Toast will be available free of charge for all students. The Woolworths at Rasmussen are kindly donating bread for the program on a weekly basis.  We thank them for their generosity and support.  It would be wonderful if families in could assist by donating some spreads for the program; vegemite, jam and honey (the honey in a squeeze bottle if possible) this term. These can be left at the Office.

The Feast of the Presentation of the Lord – Thursday, February 2

On February 2, we observe the Feast of the Presentation of the Lord, honouring Jesus Christ’s presentation in the Temple when he was a young child. The feast of the Presentation of the Lord takes place 40 days after Christmas. According to Jewish law, if the firstborn child was a male, the infant would be given, or consecrated, to God. This feast commemorates how Jesus, as a baby, was presented to God in the Temple in Jerusalem. This presentation finds its complete and perfect fulfillment in the mystery of the passion, death and Resurrection of the Lord.
February 2 is early in the New Year and is a wonderful reminder that God is with us.  He is the Light that has come to dispel our darkness.  Moreover, we belong to Him and are His beloved children.  He came to save us, He loves us, and He always walks with us.

Rebecca Kershaw

APRE

rkershaw@gstsv.catholic.edu.au

From the Desk of the Assistant Principal Administration

Meet Franki, Good Shepherd's Wellbeing Dog

Here at Good Shepherd, we are lucky to have Franki, our wellbeing dog, who spends three days each week at our school. Franki’s role in the school is to offer support and comfort to students and staff as they need it, and to be a calming, friendly presence. 
Franki will be introduced to each class in the coming weeks.  During our introductory visits, students will learn a little about Franki, and we will discuss the best way to approach her, as well as general information. Franki also attends assemblies, and most other school events.

Having a dog in school has numerous benefits. However, no student will ever be “forced” to interact with Franki – it is completely voluntary at all times. Some people just don’t like dogs or have an allergy or phobia of them. If your child does have an allergy or phobia, please complete the form attached to this newsletter and return it to your child’s teacher as soon as possible. 

Compass Parent Portal

The Compass Parent Portal is open to parents of Good Shepherd Catholic School. Each parent is issued with an individual login name and password for the parent Portal. Parents who are new to the school, or have never logged on to Compass, should have received an email with these details on Tuesday. If you have not received the email, please check your “junk” email folder.
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 the below link. It is available under the parent tab on our school home page.

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.  The Compass website has an online guide and video for the Parent Portal at the below link.

SchoolTV

SchoolTV is a fantastic FREE resource that can be accessed via our school homepage, under the parent tab (next to the Compass Parents button).
The SchoolTV platform is an integral part of a whole school approach to student wellbeing. It covers a huge range of topics, with each topic or edition addressing key issues using brief interviews with expert specialists, fact sheets, parent quizzes, recommended apps, books and much more. 
SchoolTV streamlines and brings together information from many reputable sources such as REACHOUT and beyondblue, Australian Psychological Society, Nutrition Australia, headspace and eSafety Commission. This provides a very reliable and accessible resource, saving parents time and confusion searching online across multiple sites.
Sometimes raising happy, healthy and resilient children and teens feels like a huge challenge – SchoolTV might be able to help! Take a look and bookmark the page.

Maxine Nolan

APA

mnolan@gstsv.catholic.edu.au

What's Happening In Our Year 4/5 Classes?

We are so excited to be back at school! The 4/5 classes have been getting to know each other, making new friends and learning about our class routines. We have also worked on our communication skills through collaborative games and group work. We’ve been reviewing the GSCS Way and Zones of Regulation and have learnt a lot about ourselves and others.
In Year 4/5, we revised place value up to 5-digit numbers and recalled our addition and subtraction strategies. 

4/5A  shared a recount of our holidays with the class. 
4/5B students have created self-portraits using wax oil pastels and had a special visit from Sherlock and Barbara on the first day of term. 
4/5C have learnt a new movement framework called Bluearth that encourages children to move more. 
4/5D students used some imagination to retell a holiday event and creatively decorated name plates to hang in the classroom.
4/5E created some art pieces featuring photographs of themselves in a hot air balloon. They hope to soar to great heights this year!

Awards For The Week

Birthdays for this week and January!

~Leo(PrepA) ~Maja(PrepB) ~Hunter(PrepC) ~Lara(1A) ~Aubrey(1B) ~Jhett(1C) ~Leo(1C) ~Ethan(2A) ~Hudson(2A) ~Zeleta(2A) ~Cooper(2B) ~Lexie(2B) ~Ned(3A) ~Kathain(3A) ~Levi(3C) ~Dakota(4/5A) ~Jax(4/5A) ~Blake(4/5A) ~Jazmyn(4/5B) ~Bentley(4/5B) ~Noah(4/5B) ~Nima(4/5C) ~Olivah(4/5C) ~Imogen(4/5D) ~Mason(4/5D) ~Willow(4/5D) ~Nate(4/5E) ~Lucas(4/5E) ~Joshua(4/5E) ~Marley(6A) ~Layne(6A) ~Lucas(6B) ~Jack(6B)

Assembly

Opening Liturgy and Leadership Induction will be this Friday in the BBC at 8:40am.

There were no lucky Praise Note winners last week. 

The Good Shepherd Way

This week our Good Shepherd Way Gospel in Action value is Compassion where I show care and concern for others.

Our Compassion 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: In the Classroom.

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

Wetlands prevent flooding by holding water much like a sponge. By doing so, wetlands help keep river levels normal and filter and purify the surface water. Wetlands accept water during storms and whenever water levels are high.

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 contact the school office or Ann-Maree at Tuckshop with any enquiries.

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. 

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