As we approach the assessment phase of the Term, we encourage our Parents and Carers to sit down with their children and discuss a plan for their study and preparation for exams. We always tell the students it is never too late to make a big effort with their school work. Our Homework Program is open four afternoons a week and if they haven’t been so far this term, it is a good idea to start attending. We are very grateful to our staff who supervise these sessions and provide one-on-one support to our students.

SchoolTV - Did you know that all Parents and Carers can access a one-stop shop wellbeing resource for adolescents called School TV from our GSCC website? It contains fantastic information about how to support your son or daughter while at school. I strongly encourage all families to jump into the School TV website and browse through the resources. The good news is that they update them every month. Here is a link to an example of some information on Exam Jitters in the School Survival section of School TV.

Have a blessed week.

Drafting at GSCC

Assessments are an extension of the work completed in class, and allows students to demonstrate their application of the skills and knowledge they have acquired this term.  

Drafting is a very important part of the assessment process. When students submit drafts to their teachers for feedback and guidance, the submission should be the student’s best possible response to the task.  This way the teacher can provide the best possible feedback to the student.

Students are reminded to be organised to enable them to complete full drafts by the required date. Teacher feedback on drafts will vary from task to task and is generally subject-specific, thus meaning that how a teacher drafts in English will be different to how another teacher drafts in Maths. 

Sometimes assessments will see students respond in class under exam conditions, whereas for other tasks the assignment might be a ‘take home’. 

Year 7-10 students who are unable to submit assessments on time and have a valid reason for requiring a revised assessment date, should collect an extension form from the office, and complete and return the form to their teacher with any supporting documentation at least 3 days before the assessment is due.

In Senior School, planned student absences during assessment time require QCAA approval, and must be accompanied with supporting documentation.  

Drafting at Good Shepherd is a compulsory process that all students are expected to take part in. If students are struggling or finding the drafting process challenging I encourage them to make contact with their classroom teacher as soon as possible.

Elective Subject Selection

The time is here! At 4:30pm this Friday (5/11) I will sync all Year 8 - 10 Subject Selection Forms. Before Friday, all students will receive an email with their Webcodes. They then need to log into my.edval.education, enter their webcode, choose the relevant subject selection form and submit their subject preferences.

On the forms, students will be given the following information:

When completing this form, you are required to select one subject from LINE A and one subject from LINE B. You should discuss your elective choices with your parents. 

You are NOT allowed to study a subject on more than one line. 

You must select a reserve subject for each Line. Subjects will fill in order of form submission. We will contact you if you did not receive your first preference.

If you have any questions about subjects, please speak to the Curriculum Leader, or you can access the Junior School Curriculum handbook on our school website. 

Submission of this form is considered confirmation of subject choice.

The Elective Subject Lines for 2022 are as follows:

Dates for your planning:
Term 4, 2021:

• Year 12 Graduation Thursday 18 November
• Year 11 Retreat Sunday 21 - Wednesday 24 November
• Year 10 Exam Block Monday 22 - Friday 26 November
• Friday 26 November - final day 2021

Term 1, 2022

• Year 7 and 12 Students return to school Monday 24 January
• All remaining Year Levels return to school (8-11) Tuesday 25 January
• Australia Day Public Holiday Wednesday 26 January

Headspace Parent Information Workshop  -  11th November

On Thursday 11th November, we have the wonderful opportunity of having Headspace Schools delivering Mental Health and Wellbeing Workshops for our Year 7, 8 and 9 students.  In addition to these student workshops there will also be a parent/carer workshop from 5.00 – 6.30pm which will cover the following information:

Parent and Carer Session: Supporting young people- Notice, Ask, Connect 

• Understand mental health and wellbeing in young people
• Notice changes that a young person might be going through a tough time 
• Identify strategies to connect and communicate with young people 
• Increase knowledge about how to support a young person and where to access professional support

If you would like to attend the workshop, please click on the link in the attached flyer or via email to pmorganson1@goodshepherd.catholic.edu.au.

As part of our review of our behaviour management process, in 2022 we are introducing Positive Behaviour for Learning (PB4L) to replace components of the Responsible Thinking Process that we currently use.  This week I sent an email to all parents/carers with three documents in which our PB4L Working Group requires your feedback to assist us with its implementation.

Two of these documents, the College Expectations and Behaviour Matrix, have already been sent to you previously and we are seeking further feedback as both these documents have been updated. 

The third document is the intended PB4L Referral Process which will replace our use of the Responsible Thinking Centre (RTC).  The green steps are for minor behaviours that can be addressed by all staff; the orange step is for repeated minor behaviours that need to be referred to a Pastoral or Curriculum Middle Leader; and the red step is for major behaviours that require an office / SLT referral.  Please note that the referral process will also align with a reviewed Behaviour Management Policy.

If you have any feedback or questions regarding any of these three documents, please do not hesitate to email me on pmorganson1@goodshepherd.catholic.edu.au.

Your feedback and advice is vital and greatly appreciated by the PB4L Working Group.

How do you know you are not worthless?

There are two courses I run. The first is one I designed myself and is about building resilience and confidence and the second is the Nationally recognised Seasons for Growth.

My course starts by asking who you want to be as a person and what values do you want to live by to achieve this?  The rest of the course branches out and one section concerns goal-setting with the difference being any goals set are to be achieved by following your values.

So, if you have the chance to achieve your goal but to do so you must ignore one of your values then your goal goes unachieved. Who you are as a person is the priority and not what you achieve.

It is for this reason the goals we set are not dependent on others and so the wording is very important. Rather than have a goal of “I want to be selected in the team” we say “I want to achieve this average, or this score.”

The first goal is dependent on the opinion of others and the second is not. One of the points I drive home to our Youth Group is that your worth as a person should not be dependent on the opinion of others.

Yet I see so many young people get upset because this or that person said something about them. The first question I ask is “is that person important in your life” and invariably the answer is no.

My response is always the same “so why does their opinion matter?” The only people whose opinion matters (on the type of person you are) are those closest to you who love you and are honest with you.

Recently some people made a choice that made me doubt my worth and it hurt me terribly. I questioned who I was and whether I was a failure.

It is human nature that you question your worth when you are rejected, however that is when you go back and ask that vital question – “Who am I and what are my values?”

That’s when the second course Seasons for Growth kicks in. When I heard about this course I was rapt because for years I had been explaining to the Youth Group that we are part of nature and just as everything in nature ebbs and flows and (because we are part of it) so do we.

We will never be happy all the time or sad all the time but rather fluctuate and we need to remember that. When we suffer depression and down periods; the tide will turn.

The program deals with change in our life because of loss, whether it is the loss of a partner, child, separation, non-selection, not getting the grade we wanted, not getting the job we wanted (or being dismissed) etc.

The first season is Autumn where you receive the bad news and shock sets in as things begin to change; like the leaves falling from a tree.

Then comes Winter where animals and plants just hunker down and try to survive until winter ends. It is curling up in the foetal position under the covers and blocking out the World and any light as we wallow in self-pity and doubt.

Then like the first budding flowers and leaves the first tendrils of Spring start to seep in and we begin to come alive again. We see the way out and the change that is happening in us that will put us on our feet again.

Then Summer comes and we are back to where we want to be; enjoying life and feeling valued and worthy. We have overcome the loss and found ways to deal with our loss that allow us to function and be happy again.

Loss happens, change happens, doubts happen. Surround yourself with good people you can trust so that when you are under the covers hiding from the World and your fears they will make sure you know you are worthy and that you need to throw back the covers and take in the sunshine.

Our latest Newsletter features the following articles:

Career as a Data Scientist

Australian Jobs 2021

School Leaver Information Kit

Following the Harvest Trail 

Gig Economy

Gap Year Opportunities

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.