There has been a keen focus in classes this week as students settle into Term routines. Our Year 7s are settling in beautifully and becoming more confident as they navigate their way through the new demands of secondary school. They have been ably supported by their Year 11 Buddies who they met last week, which are aligned with their Houses. This is such a great initiative for building both House spirit and a sense of community across the College.

Sign-On Expo

This weekend we are having a stall at the Sign-On Expo at the Civic Centre from 10.00 am to 2.00 pm. If you are there, please stop by and say hello. We always encourage our students, especially any new ones to the College, to get involved in community events and organisations. I’m sure there will be many to choose from at the Expo.

NAPLAN

A large initiative that our Year 7 and 9s will be involved in this Term is a NAPLAN preparation program to improve Writing and Numeracy. The purpose is to build the literacy and numeracy skills that are so important for our students when they reach Senior school and need to complete their Queensland Certificate of Education orscore well in their ATAR pathway. Students will do extensive writing practice in their RE classes while learning the explicit writing skills in English. In addition to this, one lesson a week in Maths will be dedicated to refining numeracy skills in problem solving and understanding the literacy behind maths questions. Mr Wilkinson (Maths Curriculum Leader) and Ms Holland (English Curriculum Leader) are leading a strong team of teachers in this project and they are to be congratulated for their work in setting up the program in a short time-frame.

Covid Notifications

The College community is advised that we continue to have confirmation of positive cases of Covid, both amongst staff and students. We appreciate when Parents and Carers contact the College if their child tests positive or they become a Close Contact. While we are receiving multiple notifications each day, we will not notify each case but keep families informed via the Newsletter. 

Please ensure your son or daughter comes to school with a mask each day and that they are kept home if they are unwell. 

Have a blessed week.

Kathleen McCarthy

Principal

Assessment Calendars

Assessment Calendars for this term have been published and sent to students, parents and staff.

The calendar is also accessible via the College website under the Students tab, followed by the Studies & Assessment link.

The Exam Block for Year 11 will be held 22-25 March, and the Year 12 Exam Block 24 and 25 March- timetable to follow.

The Assessment Calendars are designed to:

• assist students to plan their study time
• help students to prioritise
• be an organisational tool
• communicate due dates to parents/carers and students

Assessment Calendars should inform the amount of study and assignment work needed at different points in the term and the commitments students make

 NB: Parents and students are encouraged to be mindful of the assessment due dates, and to arrange for specialist appointments/holidays and trips, around these dates. Wherever possible, students should also minimise paid work/casual employment, and cut back during busy weeks of the term. 

In Year 11 and 12, all absences from assessments must be approved by QCAA.  Please ensure that if it is absolutely necessary to be absent and that your assessment is not handed in at the stipulated time, that you have all appropriate supporting documentation and submit to Mrs Wood as soon as possible.

Please also see the flowchart below to help with navigating student absences, particularly for assessments.

Parents & carers with any questions or concerns in regards to subject curriculum or assessment are encouraged to contact the classroom teacher first. Following this, the Curriculum Leader for each Learning Area is available to speak with you regarding any concerns you may have.

After a busy start to 2022 students should now be settled into their timetabled classes, working hard and learning lots of new and exciting things! Subject changes for Term 1 will close on Friday. For students who change their mind about elective subjects after Friday, they will be allowed to do so at the beginning of Term 2.

Compass Parent Portal 

Last week, I included an introduction about the Compass Parent Portal in my article. The Compass Parent Portal is the platform Townsville Catholic Education uses for schools to provide up to date attendance, wellbeing and academic information to teachers and families.

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 see you to 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.

If you have not collected your login details from the office, please do so by the end of Week 3 (25/02/2022)

For returning parents, if you have forgotten your password please see the steps on the document below to reset it.

Compass School Manager - Smart Phone Application

If you have a smartphone, you can download the Compass App for free from the Apple App Store or Google Play Store.

If you do not have a smartphone, you will access the desktop site here: Compass School Manager Desktop Site

Compass Parent Portal - logging an absence

If your child is absent from school, you are able to enter this information directly using the Parent Portal (this replaces the need to call the office - absences can be entered at any time before 8:25am; you can also approve absences at a later time if you did not meet the 8:25am cut off). Please see the instructions below to assist you with this process.

Swimming Carnival - Date Change

Please note that the Swimming Carnival (previously on the school calendar for March 4) has been postponed into Term 3 and will be held on Friday 1st September.

School Immunisation Program

Queensland’s School Immunisation Program (SIP) provides parents with the opportunity to have their Year 7 and Year 10 children vaccinated for free through all Queensland state and non-state secondary schools. Vaccines recommended by the National Immunisation Program Schedule are available free of charge to registered vaccine service providers implementing school immunisation clinics.

Below are the details of the clinics that will be run at Good Shepherd this year.

The vaccines offered for all Year 7 students are:

• Human papillomavirus (HPV): 2 doses 
• 1st dose Wednesday 9 March
• 2nd dose Wednesday 14 September
• Diphtheria, tetanus, pertussis (whooping cough): 1 dose
• Wednesday 9 March

A reminder for Year 7 students to return their consent forms to the front office as soon as possible.

The vaccine offered for all Year 10 students is:

• Meningococcal ACWY strains: 1 dose
• Wednesday 23 March

Please note that the COVID-19 Vaccination is NOT a part of the school immunisation program.  If you have any questions about the program, please contact Amy Ryder at Mount Isa Child Health on 4764 0850.

Positive Behaviour for Learning (PB4L)

Last week we launched PB4L with our students and the College community has been buzzing with conversations about our 4 Be’s: Be Safe, Be Responsible, Be Our Best and Be Christ’s Light.

As part of our PB4L rewards system, we advised our community that we would be sending students and parents/carers a copy of a praise note to recognise students who are enacting our College expectations.  In the past 8 days of face to face learning, our staff have issued over 330 praise notes to students.  A huge congratulations to our Year 9 students who are leading the way with one third of praise notes being issued to their cohort.

Student Representative Council Nominations

This week we are seeking nominations from students in Years 7 to Year 11 who are interested in being a part of the Student Representative Council in 2022. 

The Student Representative Council (SRC) is made up of a group of students who represent their year level and present ideas, which benefit all students, to the Senior Leadership Team.  The SRC also informs its peers of any important information which affects the student body. Being on the SRC teaches skills which students can put to use in later life, particularly in terms of leadership. 

Please encourage your child to nominate if they are interested by completing the nomination form that I have emailed them.  If your child has already sent their nomination, please assist them with preparing a short 90 second video of their speech for their cohort.  Videos are to be emailed to me by 3pm on Monday, 21st February 2022.

Friends (or something more)

What’s the difference between a friendship and a relationship? 

Intimacy; either physical, emotional or both.

So why then do people in a relationship break up?

What normally happens is we meet someone and we feel an attraction. So, we form a relationship so we can be intimate with them and share ourselves and our secrets. However, do we know them?

As we get to know them we find that things ae not what they seemed and we don’t really like being in the relationship. For some it is too late and they find themselves trapped in a situation they cannot get out of, whether it be because of children, shame or fear.

Very few people experience domestic violence on the first date. Usually we are on our best behavior in the early stages of both friendships and relationships.

When you think about it; we’ve got things around the wrong way haven’t we?

There was a television show about 20 years ago called Average Joe. The premise was that 16 males would attempt to woo a former beauty queen who got to choose between them. 

What she wasn’t told was that they would be men the producers considered to be average in appearance (overweight, underweight, nerdy, awkward, etc.) While disappointed she began forming friendships and found she enjoyed their company. 

Halfway through the show, several handsome suitors appeared to compete for her attention. I remember the second series in particular because it came down to the final two; a buff boy and a skinny boy.

I remember you would start the series laughing and making fun of the average Joe’s but as you got to know them and discovered their personality that changed. When the buff boys arrived, I remember the girls all going ga-ga at how hot they were.

It was thought the show would prove the old saying that beauty was only skin deep, and that ultimately personality could triumph over looks. The skinny boy loved being around her, treated her with respect and was so genuine in his feelings.

When push came to shove she picked the buff boy. The relationship lasted about two minutes and later admitted he had only gone on the show to get a start on television.

The third series featured an average Joe from the first series coming back with a group of ladies considered to be not classical beauties. Halfway through a group of stunners arrived but he went with a lady from the first group that he had much in common with.

We should consider what we want in a relationship and wait until we find the person with those traits. How often do you hear ‘tall, dark and handsome?’ What about trust, loyalty, respect and compatibility?

One thing we know is that beauty fades, so if a relationship hinges on beauty what happens when you get to a point in life when you want something more. Intimacy can’t be taken back which is why most relationship breakdowns are painful.

You have given parts of yourself to someone you trust and that trust is now broken. So, what is the solution? At ACYF in Sydney there was a great talk given by a man which was one of the most popular sessions.

He spoke about making a mental list of what he was looking for in a person to share the rest of his life with. The only way he could find someone with those qualities was to spend time with that person to see if they had them.

But rather than go on dates if he found himself attracted to a lady he invited her on outings with friends to spend time together, as friends. That way he could get to know them and see for sure whether they had the qualities he was looking for.

When he did they formed a relationship and eventually got married. He spoke of having found a person he could trust with his thoughts and emotions, a lady he respected, a lady he enjoyed spending time with and a lady who supported him.

So, what are the values and qualities you are looking for?

School Based Traineeships

Congratulations to the following students who have recently commenced school based apprenticeships.  

Also, a big shout out to their employers for providing this terrific opportunity so Dean and Patrick can commence their careers whilst completing high school.

Dean English:  Certificate III in Engineering, Kretschmann Engineering

Patrick Wade:  Certificate II in Engineering (Mechanical Trade), Superior Machinery Maintenance

Work Experience

Work Experience applications are now open for the following students:
Year 10 (Rice and Mackillop Houses)
Year 11 - ALL Students
Year 12 - ALL Students

Cut-off date to apply:  25th February 2022

The placement dates are as follows:
Last week Term 1 (28thth March, - 1st April)
and/or  DURING SCHOOL HOLIDAYS
1ST Week:  4th – 8th April
2nd Week:  11th – 14th April (15th is Good Friday)

Please email Mrs Liesel Armstrong at  if you need assistance finding a placement.