The end of the year has arrived and I want to take this opportunity to thank our staff for their unending commitment to their students and the continued improvement of the College in 2021. It has been a very successful year with high levels of academic excellence, parent engagement and strong partnerships with the Parish and the wider Mount Isa community. Our Annual School Improvement Plan has been finalised for the year. It lists our goals and our achievements against our goals. You can see a copy here: GSCC School Improvement Plan

Sadly we will farewell some of our staff as they take leave for a variety of reasons. We thank them all for their valued service to the GSCC community:

Emma Drover - Librarian
Mika Raijas - Manual Arts Teacher
Kate Millan - English/RE Teacher
Leigh Harding - Humanities Teacher and Middle Leader
Saskia Brown - Teacher and Arts Middle Leader
Joshua Schofield-Smyth - PE Teacher and HPE Middle Leader
Matt Keily - Lab Assistant
Morgan Daly - School Officer
Annette Ah Wing - School Officer

Jacqueline Warren is going on Maternity Leave and Louise Wiles will take 12 months leave.

We will excitedly welcome the following new teachers:

Jarvis Miller - Music Teacher/Cultural Leader
Jericho Young - PE Teacher/Sports Coordinator
Susan Morey - Junior/Senior Science Teacher
Dominic Jackson - Manual Arts Teacher
Christine Strasser - Librarian

The following existing teachers will move into Middle Leadership positions:

Emily Watson - Arts Middle Leader
Gemma Kyle - Emerging Leaders’ Coordinator
Travis Roberts - Pastoral Middle Leader
Jordan Harries - HPE middle Leader

We are also excited to congratulate the following staff who are welcoming new babies into their families over the Christmas/New Year period:

Jana and Divya Sivaloganathan
Jacqueline and Greg Warren
Joshua and Sophie Schofield-Smyth

Finally, we welcome Melissa Puxty to the Senior Leadership Team as Acting Assistant Principal - RE, while Jacqueline Warren is on Maternity Leave.

Thank you to all the students who donated to the Vinnies Christmas Appeal. We know that there are many families in Mount Isa who will go without this Christmas, so these hampers will be very much appreciated.

Christmas Mass Times:

Christmas Eve -  7.00 pm and Midnight
Christmas Day – 8:00 am

No night time Mass on Christmas Day (Saturday)
Usual Mass times Boxing Day

Finally, on behalf of the staff of the College, we would like to wish all of our students and families the happiest of holidays. We pray you have a Christmas filled with joy and that you are surrounded by those you love. Drive safely if you are travelling and see you all back in January next year.

God bless.

What a year we have had!  What a pleasure it has been to watch our students persevere and grow and achieve.

I would like to take this opportunity to thank all staff, students, parents and community members for your ongoing support throughout the year.  I’d like to make a special mention of the Curriculum Leaders who have made GSCC the place of learning it is!

Semester Two Reports will be available on Compass on Friday 3 December 2021.

Release of Year 12 results

I’d also like to remind all Year 12 students to register on the QCAA myqce Student Portal to be able to access their results from 9am on Friday 17 December 2021.

From 2020, QCAA no longer prints and posts Senior Education Profiles (SEPs) to all Year 12 students. Students may print their own SEP or they may request a printed copy of their SEP from the QCAA in the Student Portal. The request application will close on 31 January 2022 and SEPs will be posted during March 2022. Printed copies are free. SEPs printed by the QCAA are no different to those that students can print for themselves. SEPs printed by QCAA are not official documents and are provided for students’ convenience only. They must be authenticated by users by scanning a QR code on the SEP documents.

SEPs are issued as electronic documents stored in students’ learning accounts. These documents are official and can be downloaded as secure PDFs. Students can save their SEP on a computer or mobile device and provide it to third parties electronically or they can print it.

As we complete our final days at school for 2021, I would like to extend thanks to all GSCC staff, students, families and friends for the amazing contributions you have made to our College this year. We have been blessed with many wonderful opportunities this year, and are looking forward to what 2022 has in store for us! I hope that you all have a safe, happy and Holy Christmas and look forward to working with you all again next year.

Final Day - Schedule and BBQ

This Friday will be different to our regular school day. Please see the schedule below for details, and importantly please note that students will have an early finish at 1pm.

If you are able to attend the BBQ, please RSVP to me via email awebb1@goodshepherd.catholic.edu.au for catering purposes.

2021 Report Cards

On Thursday 2 December, students and families will gain access to Semester 2 Report Cards. These report cards are issued online, through the Compass Parent Portal. We will notify parents and students when report cards have been uploaded, and you will have immediate access to them at this time. Please see the documents included for instructions.

A reminder, that to access the Parent Portal, parents/carers must come into the front office to collect login information (office hours are 8am - 4pm Monday to Friday). We are unable to provide login details unless we can verify your details; this is important due to the sensitive and sometimes confidential information that you will have access to on your child’s portal. Please call the College Office if you are unable to attend in person and they can discuss verification options with you.

Do you have a passion for Netball, and are interested in coaching a team for the GSCC Netball Club next year? If yes - contact Nikki Dalla Vecchia before the end of term for more information. 

2022 - Important Dates

Well it only seems like yesterday that we had the Year 7 and 12 students arrive on the first day of 2021 and now here we are finishing another school year.

I would like to take this opportunity to thank the pastoral team for their work this year in supporting all of the students in their cohorts.  Their roles vary each day and can include welcomes in the locker areas, checking uniforms, monitoring student behaviour, supporting students on the challenging days and celebrating with them on the fantastic days.  I am so grateful for the individual care each pastoral leader provides our students and also how they lead their students to support one another and become a more cohesive cohort.

In 2022 there will be some changes to the pastoral leader allocations. This is due to the Junior and Senior Pastoral Leader rotations and Miss Louise Wiles taking 12 months leave.  We will also be welcoming Mr Travis Roberts to our team therefore our 2022 Pastoral Team will be as follows:

Our College Guidance Counsellor, Mrs Yvonne Van Den Worm, will also continue to support our students next year.  

On behalf of the pastoral team, we would like to wish you all a safe and relaxing holiday.  We wish you all a very Merry Christmas and Happy New Year. 

God Bless and see you all next year.

What a year 2021 has been! 

Students have had a fabulous year in English, and it has been amazing to see the growth and development of each child across the cohorts. The students should be incredibly proud of themselves for all of their achievements and hard work over the last 12 months! The pandemic has left much uncertainty for everyone, but the students and teachers have taken everything in their stride, and have embraced each opportunity and challenge. Reflection is an essential part of our lives, and it allows us to continue to grow and develop to become the best version of ourselves. I would encourage all students to reflect on their 2021 school year; consider what went well and what needs to be improved, set goals, and set yourself a challenge for the new year. 

We wish the year 12 students who graduated this year all the best for their future endeavours, and we look forward to hearing about their next chapter in the years to come. 

I would like to say a very big thank you to my team for all that they have done this year:

• Ms Leigh Harding
• Mrs Stephanie Whitehouse
• Mrs Claire Jones
• Ms Kate Millan
• Mr Travis Roberts
• Dr Stephanie Massey
• Miss Jan Luarca
• Miss Melissa Puxty
• Mr Nigel Mitchell
• Mrs Jacqueline Warren

Finally, thank you to everyone behind the scenes, parents, guardians, extended family and friends. We cannot thank you enough for the support and guidance you have given to ensure a successful year for all. 

For those leaving us, we wish you all the very best for the next part of your journey, and we thank you for being a part of our College community. 

We wish you all a very blessed, happy and safe holiday season, and look forward to the wonderful things 2022 is going to bring!

Emerging Leaders Incentive Scheme

This year we had around 70 students register for the program and 30 staff members (Leadership, Teachers and School Officers) sign up to be Mentors for the students. We are very proud and happy to announce that 67/70 students have achieved an incentive level for 2021.

"In 2021, Emerging Leaders like all of our GSCC students have been given many opportunities to contribute to the school and wider community. Some of the activities our students have been involved in include St Kieran’s Mini Murris, the St Joseph’s Fete, Jangawala, ANZAC Day March, National Literacy Day reading at St Joseph’s, school, rep and state representative sport, photo journaling and planting our Indigenous garden with family.
The Emerging Leaders program and the support from my mentor - Mrs Morganson; helps me to stay focused on my studies and to find ways to help others.
On behalf of all of the students on the Emerging Leaders, thank you to each of our Mentors for helping us achieve well at school and do our best."
Isabel de Waele - Gold Recipient

JUST A REMINDER TO OUR PARENTS/CARERS - ALL RECEIPTS FOR REIMBURSEMENTS FOR YOUR CHILD’S PERSONAL INCENTIVE GOAL (PIG) ARE NOW DUE. ANY QUESTIONS PLEASE CONTACT DOROTHY FREW AT THE COLLEGE

Awards Night

The College awards night was held on Wednesday 20th October, which saw many of our Aboriginal & Torres Strait Islander students receiving awards, ranging from cultural, leadership and academic awards.

Congratulations to all the students who did a fantastic job this year and being awarded for your dedication to your school work.

Indigenous Cultural Award

Our Indigenous Cultural Award encourages students to embrace their culture and is presented to both Junior and Senior students who relate well with their peers, lead by example and promote unity. Our Indigenous Cultural Award winners for 2021 were:

JUNIOR INDIGENOUS CULTURAL AWARD - PANTREA ADAMS

SENIOR INDIGENOUS CULTURAL AWARD - MALACHI MUNNS

QATSIF Young Indigenous Leader Award

Congratulations to Darcy Webber for being the recipient of this year’s QATSIF Young Indigenous Leader Award for 2021. Darcy was nominated for this award because of her outstanding leadership, involvement in both school and community engagements, and showing pride in her culture. Darcy has also shown resilience and encouraged others to be a leader.

We have had a wonderful and busy year with all our Deadly students and families and we would like to wish everyone a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year.

From Indigenous Education Team

Premier’s Reading Challenge

The Premier's Reading Challenge is an annual statewide initiative for Queensland state and non-state schools and home-educated students from Prep to Year 9, as well as children (aged up to 5 years) enrolled in an early childhood centre.
The Premier's Reading Challenge aims to improve literacy and encourage children to read for pleasure and learning.

Congratulations to the following students who successfully completed the Challenge.

They each read at least 15 books from May to August.  

A shout out to Reagan Tapp, who read a massive 40 books.

It is that time of year again that The Irish Club Mount Isa Eisteddfod holds their AGM.  We need help for 2022. We need a core group of 7 committee members to be viable for 2022. Otherwise, the Eisteddfod is not viable to run with the current committee. If you would like to volunteer your time and see some amazing Mount Isa Talent for 2022. Please join us for our AGM.