The sporting and cultural life of the College is alive and well this week with Netball, Rugby League, Basketball and Rock, Pop, Mime activities happening. Our teachers and volunteers take on these responsibilities in addition to their teaching and our students are the ones that benefit.

We also have a number of students participating in the JCU Heroes in Health program which runs for two days this week. Thank you to our Careers Officer Mrs Fiona Coghlan who has promoted this to our students. Each of the students involved have expressed an interest in pursuing a career in Health, so this opportunity will be crucial for them.

Our Year 7 and 12 combined Mass was held on Wednesday this week - a beautiful time to share and celebrate our faith together. We are always grateful to Fr Mick, Fr Emene and now Fr Vitalis for their contribution to the religious life of the school.

Transition Days: Next week we are excited to welcome all of our new Year 7s for 2022. If you know someone who has a child ready for secondary school, please tell them our Good Shepherd and encourage them to contact the College to pick up an enrolment form or to have a tour of our beautiful school.

Have a blessed week.

Awards Night

Awards Night is a fantastic event that showcases the year that was, and gives us an opportunity to celebrate the successes we have had. 

Awards Night will take place on 20 October 2021 (Week 3, Wednesday).

The Year 12 General Subject Awards and Dux Scholar Award will be presented at our first Scholars Awards in 2022 after we have received the students' final results. 

Lists of the Awards Recipients have been emailed to students on Monday this week.  Please refer to the Year to Date result on your student’s report for eligibility, and direct any queries to Pastoral Leaders.

Invitations to parents of recipients have been sent too and RSVPs are due to Mrs Amy Webb by Friday this week.

2021 Awards Night - Wednesday 20 October

On Monday, students received an email including the 2021 award recipients (from Mrs Michele Wood). If your child is receiving an Award at our Annual Awards Night next week, you would have received an email invitation from me (also on Monday).

As you would be aware, there are still a number of COVID-19 event regulations to which we must adhere. To ensure we can celebrate with the maximum number of students and families, the following requirements are in place:

• Students will have a set number of tickets available for guests,
• All tickets will be allocated to a seat - please ensure you check this carefully on the night (there will be ushers to assist),
• All guests in attendance must sign in using the Queensland Government Sign in App available at both gate entry points and at the door to the Lumen Christi Centre.
• Please RSVP to me via email before 12pm this Friday, 15 October. I will need names of both guests in the RSVP email please.

I will email families later in the week to advertise any additional available tickets.

We understand that this is a milestone that the whole family would like to share in, so we will live stream the awards for those who are unable to attend. The link for this will be posted to Facebook next week.

Students receiving an award do not require a ticket, but should inform me as soon as possible if they are unable to attend the ceremony.

Congratulations goes to both students and their families, as achieving success is a team effort!

2022 Elective Classes (Year 8 - 10)

Over the coming weeks, students in Years 7 - 9 will have the opportunity to hear from the Curriculum Leaders of the Arts and Design & Technology. It is important that students take note of what these teachers say, so that they are able to make good decisions about their elective class choices for 2022.

In Week 5, I will send students their elective subject choice forms (these are online forms). Here, they will select their preferences for elective subjects for next year. It is important that students complete their forms promptly, as practical subjects have a capped number of students, and they fill in order of form submission.

The elective subjects for 2022 are:

Year 8
English/Languages
Italian
Arts
Drama
Music
Visual Art
Design & Technology
Food and Fibre Production
Engineering Principles and Systems (Metalwork)
Materials and Technologies Specialisations (Woodwork)
Digital Technologies

Year 9
Arts
Drama
Music
Visual Arts
Design & Technology
Food and Fibre Production
Engineering Principles and Systems (Metalwork)
Materials and Technologies Specialisations (Woodwork)
Digital Technologies

Year 10
Vocational Education and Training (VET)
Certificate I Hospitality
Arts
Music
Drama
Visual Art
Design & Technology
Food and Fibre Production
Engineering Principles and Systems (Metalwork)
Materials and Technologies Specialisations (Woodwork)
Digital Technologies

There will also be a QCE preparation course available in Year 10, with Literacy and Numeracy short courses on offer.

Positive Behaviour for Learning (PB4L) Effective Behaviour Surveys

This week staff, students and parents were asked to complete an Effective Behaviour Survey to give feedback about the current behaviour management systems within the College.  This feedback will provide our PB4L Working Group with some information on what our behaviour management priorities should be in terms of the roll out of PB4L in 2022.  The survey can be accessed from your email address that is registered with the College. 
I thank you in advance for your assistance in providing this information and if you have any questions regarding the survey, please do not hesitate to contact me on 47432509 or via email on pmorganson1@goodshepherd.catholic.edu.au.

Queensland Mental Health Awareness Week - 9th to 17th October 2021

As mentioned in my newsletter article last week, we will be acknowledging Queensland Mental Health Awareness Week during Week 2 in which there will be activities in homeroom classes each day. The 2021 theme 'Take time — for mental health' recognises the importance of taking time to engage in activities that boost our mental health and wellbeing, and seeking help when needed. When we take time to look after our mental health and wellbeing we are able to improve our resilience to help us cope better with the everyday stresses of life, and reduce the risk of mental illness. 

Here are some tips to take heed of this year’s theme and take steps to promote better mental health for your child or yourself by engaging in the building blocks of wellbeing.

• Get healthy— being active and eating well is good for your mind as well as your body
• Keep learning— learning new things can make you more confident as well as being fun
• Show kindness— practising small acts of kindness, volunteering time, or simply helping a friend in need can help you feel more satisfied with life
• Connect— spending time with other people is important to everyone’s mental wellbeing
• Take notice— paying more attention to the present and the world around you helps relieve stress and enjoy the moment
• Embrace nature— connecting with the outdoors and taking care of the planet is the best recipe for world wellbeing

College Retreats

At Good Shepherd Catholic College, we believe that retreats play an important part in the social, emotional and spiritual development of each and every child. We hold various year level retreats encompassing a variety of structured experiences which aim to nurture their personal development and spiritual growth through developing understanding and empathy. Each retreat experience provides every student opportunity to develop into responsible young adults equipped with the skills to handle any of life’s challenges.

Our Junior Retreats are one day retreats held at the Good Shepherd Parish and focus on relationships, community and understanding oneself. 

In the senior years the retreats aim to deepen the exploration into the student’s own spirituality and provide time for self-reflection and personal growth. These retreats are held over a number of days and are normally conducted outside of Mount Isa.

For any student, retreats can often be an emotional time as they start to explore their own lives, relationships and spirituality. Our Pastoral Leaders and teachers work closely with all students during these retreats to provide the support and guidance they need in order to gain the most out of every experience.

A reminder to all parents/carers is that your child’s attendance at retreats is compulsory and is a term of agreement which was signed in your child’s enrolment contract with the College.

TAFE - Done and Dusted!!!

Congratulations to all of our TAFE students for a terrific year of learning. 
The year 11/12’s studied for a Certificate II qualification in a number of subjects including: 
Auto, Engineering, Health, Cosmetics, Electrical and Plumbing.

PLACES are still available for 2022.  If you are in year 10/11 you may now apply.  

Contact Mrs Coghlan for more information.

JCU Heroes For Health

This week 6 of our Year 11/12 students are attending a two day workshop hosted by James Cook University at the hospital.  They will be shown through the various occupations in a health setting and even get to participate in some hands-on work such as suturing/stitching (not on patients of course!)

Work Experience

Last term many of our senior students attended work experience during week 10 and during the school holidays  Many thanks to the following host employers for affording our students with such a wonderful opportunity.

Copper City Vet Clinic
Glencore, Mount Isa Mines
Malouf Auto Group
Mount Isa City Council
Mount Isa Veterinary Surgery
North West Hospital Health Service - Allied Health
St Kieran’s Catholic Primary School
St Joseph's Catholic Primary School
Barkly Highway State School
Commerce North West
Sunset Caravan Park
The Mount Isa Underground Hospital 
The Coffee Club
Mount Isa Pharmacy First
The Boss Shop
Brumbys
Harvey Norman
Alliance Safety Equipment
Coles Mount Isa 
Macrae News
The Skin Coaches
Sanctum
Redearth Boutique Hotel 
The Outback at Isa 
The Xtra Mile
MAK Diesel
Remote Control Technologies Pty Ltd

The Applications are now open for Term 4 Work Experience.  Please contact Mrs Liesel Armstrong to organise your placement.  larmstrong1@goodshepherd.catholic.edu.au 

Face Your Fear

‘Here we go round the prickly pear’ is the opening line from T.S. Elliott’s poem The Hollow Men. Prickly Pear is a species of cactus and Elliott was highlighting how we circle around what we want but never reach for it. 
Fear stops us and in Franklin D Roosevelt’s 1933 inauguration address he said ‘the only thing we have to fear… is fear itself. ‘
The reason you don’t reach out for what you really want is your fear. 
Your fear that you are not good enough to achieve what you really desire, your fear that people will laugh or judge you, your fear that if you get what you reach out for it will not be what you thought and fear you are not good enough and may fail.
So, if you don’t reach out for what you want you can never be disappointed. However, you will never achieve what you want to or what you desire. 
You see the thrill of victory cannot be felt unless you risk the agony of defeat.
The easy option it to stay safe, to not do things because your friend isn’t doing it, to not do things because it is too hard, to not do things because you might fail, to not do things because people may laugh at you or judge you or to not do things because you are too scared.
If I changed decisions I made in the past I wouldn’t be where I am now – which means I might not be married to my beautiful wife and have two lovely daughters. But there are decisions that I would change if I was young again.
Decisions I made because I was too scared to leave my comfort zone. It is the reason I didn’t travel overseas until I was 53 and when I got home I told my wife I couldn’t believe I hadn’t done it sooner.
I can’t turn back time but I wish I knew then what I do now. 
I wouldn’t not do things because my friends weren’t doing them. I would do it despite them not doing it to show myself and them that I was my own person. Rather than your fear making you follow them your courage might give them the courage to follow you. 
I wouldn’t not do things because they were too hard. I would do it to show myself that I had the courage to face adversity and stare it down. You see hard things are not put in our way to stop us but to allow us to find our courage and strength.
I wouldn’t not do things because people might laugh at or judge me. I would do it to show that I was strong enough to withstand their judgement. Any first step is courageous no matter what others may think.
I wouldn’t not do things because I might fail. I would do things because I might succeed. As Michael Jordan said “I’ve failed over and over and over again in my life and that is why I succeed.”
I would not do things because I was too scared. I would do things because, though I was scared, I was not afraid to face my fear. Nelson Mandela said “the brave man is not the one who does not feel afraid but he who conquers that fear.”
Showing courage does not necessarily mean facing a Lion with a pocket knife or tackling the biggest bloke on the other team; although they do require it. 
Showing courage and overcoming fear is as simple as speaking in front of your class, nominating for a position despite the risk of not being elected, going on a trip even when none of your friends are, admitting you are not as good or as smart as you thought you were and so you need help.
Courage requires you to step outside your comfort zone, so take a little step out and expand yours. The reason your friends might not want you to take that step is because when you do you will realise they are too scared to leave their comfort zone and want your company within it.
Sometimes the hardest step is the one away from those holding us back but many times there are others waiting to follow someone brave enough to take that step.

Every Wednesday morning from 7.00am - 8.30am. Parents and Friends are invited to The Arili Thina Cafe to purchase your morning coffee and breakfast.

By doing so you are supporting our Hospitality students to achieve their competencies towards their Certificate ll in Hospitality. 

There are a range of coffees, cold drinks and breakfast food available. Please see our Menu. Our students are becoming fantastic baristas. Come see for yourself how good they are.