22 February 2023

From the Desk of the Principal

Shrove Tuesday and Ash Wednesday

Yesterday our school community received pancakes for Shrove Tuesday. Shrove Tuesday is the day when people went to confession to prepare themselves for Lent, which begins today, on Ash Wednesday. Shrove Tuesday was the last chance to indulge before the 40 days of fasting, and also an opportunity to use up the food that couldn't be eaten during Lent. Today marks the start of the Lenten period leading up to Easter. We thank Fr Clement for joining us in leading our whole school Ash Wednesday Liturgy today.

Grandparents Day

Next Tuesday 28 February we look forward to welcoming our Grandparents and Older Special Friends to a special celebration here at school. The celebration will commence with a whole school liturgy in our BBC at 9:30am followed by the opportunity for our Grandparents to visit our classes. We hope to see many of you here.

Swimming Carnival

Next Thursday 2 March our Swimming Carnival will be held at Long Tan Pool. A timetable for the day is included in the Upcoming Events section below. We hope to see many parents and friends join us for this day.

A special thanks in advance to our PE Teacher Ms Alisha Foord for all of the wonderful work and planning she has already done to ensure we have a fabulous event for our school community.

Tuckshop

Our wonderful Tuckshop convenor Mrs Ann-Maree Hislop is looking for volunteers to assist in the Tuckshop. You will receive a $10 voucher for your child each day you can help. If you are able to help, please contact the Office or Tuckshop.

Enjoy the rest of your week.

Glenda Scrase

Principal

gscrase1@gstsv.catholic.edu.au

From the Desk of the Assistant Principal Religious Education

The Lenten Season

Next week we begin the very important Church season of Lent. Our school will commemorate Shrove Tuesday with pancakes and each class will have a prayer service on Wednesday to observe Ash Wednesday – the start of Lent.

Shrove Tuesday
Shrove Tuesday  occurs the day before Ash Wednesday.  It is traditionally known as a day of preparing for the coming season of Lent. "Shrove" is the past tense of the word "shrive," which means to hear a confession, assign penance, and absolve from sin. Shrove Tuesday is a reminder that we are entering a season of penance.  As Lent is known as a time of abstaining from certain things, in many cultures pancakes were/are prepared and enjoyed, because in so doing a family depleted their eggs, milk, butter, and fat which were part of the Lenten fast. That is why Shrove Tuesday is often known as Pancake Day.

Ash Wednesday – 23rd February 2023
Ash Wednesday signifies the beginning of Lent. Ashes are a symbol of penance made sacramental by the blessing of the Church, and they help us develop a spirit of humility and sacrifice. The ashes are made from the blessed palms used in the Palm Sunday celebration of the previous year. They are put on the foreheads of those who attend Mass or a liturgy on that day, as a reminder that their bodies are destined to return to dust too following their death. This represents a powerful symbol of mortality, and it spurs Catholics on to make a genuine effort to live out the spirit of the Lenten season in as dedicated a manner as possible. At an Ash Wednesday Liturgy or Mass the priest or presider will say to the person receiving the ashes “Turn away from sin and be faithful to the Gospel” and some school settings the students are told “Try to be like Jesus.”

PARISH MASS

Friday 3rd March at 10am
Good Shepherd Community Centre
Prep C and 4/5B will be attending.
Parents are also welcome to attend.

Rebecca Kershaw

APRE

rkershaw@gstsv.catholic.edu.au

From the Desk of the Assistant Principal Administration

SchoolTV: The Wellbeing Barometer - 2023
Last year proved to be yet another challenging year. According to School TV, the ongoing impact of the pandemic, the rising cost of living, growing social polarisation and a host of other issues, has
impacted and overwhelmed many families who are trying to recover, rebuild and adjust to a new kind of  "normal".

Throughout such difficult times, it is important that parents and caregivers continue to build relationships, foster connections, enable understanding and break down barriers as they navigate a pathway towards better mental health and wellbeing for young people.

Therefore, SchoolTV is seeking your participation in a short survey. It is intended to act as a
barometer to help gauge the state of student wellbeing within the community. The information
gathered will enable schools to focus on some of the key issues and highlight where further
assistance may be required. With mental health concerns on the rise, it is evident that many young
people may need some extra support and parents and caregivers play a vital role in enabling a child’s ability to thrive. 

See below to access the surveys. SchoolTV can also be accessed under the Parent tab on our school website.

There are surveys for primary and secondary students, and you are invited to complete one or both.
Refer to the link below to access the surveys.

Naplan Reminder
If you have a child in Years 3 or 5, they will be taking part in Naplan, starting on March 15 (week
eight of school). If you have any concerns about Naplan, please speak to your child’s teacher as soon as possible. Parents can choose to withdraw their children from some or all Naplan tests, however you must complete a form for this to happen. If your child is away on the day and has not been officially withdrawn, they will be required to complete the test during a catch-up session.
There are four tests, for writing, reading, conventions of language and mathematics. Writing must be conducted on the first day of the testing period (March 15) and is paper based for Year 3 students
only. All other tests, including Year 5 writing, are conducted online via the Naplan Secure Browser.
Tests take no longer than 50 minutes and we schedule only one main test session per day. Students
requiring catch-up tests may need to complete more than one a day, however there will be a
significant break between tests.

Please note that students who have been withdrawn from Naplan should still attend school on the
test days.

Remember to Log In to the Compass Parent Portal
All new families and those who have not accessed the Compass Parent Portal before should
have received an email in the last couple of weeks with your log-in details. If you have not
received the email, please check your “junk” email folder. It is important that you have
access to Parent Portal, as this is the only place your child’s school reports are published to.
The Parent Portal also 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, provide consent for school
events/excursions and communicate by email with your child’s teachers.

Click below to access the surveys. SchoolTV can also be accessed under the Parent tab on our school website.

Maxine Nolan

APA

mnolan@gstsv.catholic.edu.au

What's Happening In Our Year 3 Classes?

Year 3

In Year 3 this week we heard about a surprise Mrs Nolan had helped arrange after a special request from our teachers in writing. We found out that we would be writing to some pen pals all the way in the USA. We have been planning our letters, drawing some pictures to include and gathering some photos to send as well. This week we will send our first letters to a Year 3 class at Our Lady Catholic School and we are beyond excited. We hope it's not too long before we get some replies!

School Photo Day - Monday 13 March 2023

Don't forget we have our school photo day coming up on Monday 13th March.  Parents can either order on line or bring the correct money on the day in the envelopes that will go home with your student/s on Wednesday the 22nd of February.  Sibling forms can be collected from the office. 

Awards For The Week

Birthdays for this week!

~Jade (PrepA)  ~Harrison (PrepC)   ~Alora (1B)   ~Lily (1C)   ~Beau (2A)    ~Callyn (4/5A)   ~Harry  (4/5E)

Assembly

4/5B  will be presenting our Assembly this Friday in the BBC at 8:40am

Our lucky Praise Note winners last week were: Karina-armari (PrepB), Alora (1B), Keanu (2C),    Keona (3C),  Amelia (4/5D),  Sienna (4/5E),  Riley (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: In the Eating Area.

Parent Library Borrowing

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

Between 200 and 350 million people live within or adjacent to forested areas around the world, relying on the various ecosystem services provided by forest and forest species for their livelihoods and to cover their most basic needs, including food, shelter, energy and medicines.

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. 

Teacher Contacts

Upcoming Events

Community News