What a week of celebration we are having to mark Catholic Education Week. We started the week by having our APRE Ms Mel Puxty attend the CEW Mass in Townsville. At the Mass, Year 12 student Sophie Greenhalgh accepted her Deus Caritas Est Award with other senior students from across the Diocese. 

Yesterday we celebrated Good Shepherd Feast Day - a fun, faith-filled day to reflect on what it means to be a Catholic school community inspired by the spirit of the Good Shepherd God. Students attended Mass in the morning, and then joined in activities in House and Year Level groups. 

Today we have acknowledged the top academic achievers for Semester One at the College. Our Scholars’ Award Assembly has an important place in our Catholic Education Week as it reminds us that as Catholic Christians, we are called to be our best and to develop fully our gifts and talents. Congratulations to all award winners.

Congratulations to Ms Yvonne Van Den Worm and Mrs Fiona Coghlan who are this year’s GSCC recipients of the Spirit of Catholic Education Awards. These awards were presented at a special ceremony in Townsville this week. Our Counsellor and Careers Officers play an invaluable role in supporting all of our students and embody the ethos and values of Catholic education.

This Friday we finish the week with a Combined Catholic Education Mass at St Joseph’s Primary School. Our Student Leaders and Student Representative Council will be attending and taking on some responsibilities during the Mass. We have a strong community of Catholic schools in the West and are privileged to work alongside Fr Mick Lowcock and Fr Emene Kelemete in the Good Shepherd Parish.

Our final Catholic Education Week event is this Sunday when Good Shepherd Catholic College will cook and serve for the needy at Jangawala. If you are able to prepare a meal, please email our Assistant Principal Religious Education Ms Mel Puxty. (mpuxty@goodshepherd.catholic.edu.au).

Last week I had the pleasure of joining Ms Motteram and Mr Miller at Mulkadee for a few days. It was an incredible experience and I was so proud of every single one of our Arts students who participated in Choir, Strings, Guitar, Band, Drama and Dance. It was a spectacular final Variety Show and a number of students had lead or solo roles. Congratulations to all of you for letting your light shine on the stage for an audience of over 4000. 

(Missing from the photo is Thomas Schlencker. Students who absent due to illness were Lisa and Jessica Hennessey, Jayleigh Brown and Will McIntosh)

State Cross Country Championship

Recently I reported on the successes of Conner Boshoff in the State Triathlon held earlier in the year. Last weekend Conner competed in the State Cross Country Championships where he finished a very respectable 19th out of 40 athletes in the 18 and 19 years’ division. His time was 31:02 minutes for an 8 kilometre event. He narrowly missed out on a medal the next day when he completed a 1500m time trial in only 4:49 minutes. Congratulations Conner!

If your son or daughter has recently achieved success in their chosen sport, arts or cultural endeavours, please email me so we can celebrate it in our community.

Have a happy Catholic Education Week!

Managing time effectively:

As we progress through the term, exam and assessment due dates are approaching.  If students don’t manage their time effectively they will begin to feel stressed and overwhelmed. Some simple tips to ensure students are able to fulfil both study, work and social commitments include:

•       Creating a weekly planner, clearly setting out all of the week’s commitments (also including some time for rest!)
•       Using the Assessment Calendar to keep track of due dates
•       Prioritising! If there is an upcoming due date, students should start the project early. All assessment is planned weeks in advance, so time should be prioritised accordingly.
•       Multi-tasking is key. With multiple subjects, and assessment for each, students will achieve more if they are working on more than one task at a time. Creating a study planner can assist with the division of time spent on these tasks.
•       Asking for help! Parents, teachers and friends are all great support systems through these busy times.
•       Factoring in some time to relax. This is important for a healthy life balance.

If you have any questions or concerns regarding your child’s school work please contact their classroom teacher. If you need to discuss the matter further please contact the Curriculum Leader for the subject of concern.

School Photos

School photos were distributed in Homerooms last week. If students were absent last Wednesday (21/7), they can collect photos from the College Office. If there are any issues with your order, or you would like to purchase additional photos please contact Academy Photography directly on 1800 816 224 and they will be able to assist you.

All family photos are at the College Office ready for collection.

ID Cards

If students were absent for school photos in Term 1 and did not receive an ID card their card should be in the College Office (we used Term 2 school photos to have them printed).

If there are students new to the College, or who missed both photo days and they don’t have an ID card at the office please let me know via email so I can make arrangements to have a photo taken and card printed.

Change to Year 12 Exam Block

Please note, the Year 12 Exam Schedule has changed. The updated schedule is below:

What’s on @ GSCC

Each week, we publish the ‘What’s on @ GSCC’ document. This is a fantastic way to keep up to date with College events and activities. I send the file in an email to all parents, as well as a post to Facebook. You are also encouraged to keep up to date using our online school calendar. 

Positive Behaviour for Learning (PB4L)
Week 3 Focus:  LCC / Assembly

Change of Date:  PB4L Rewards Outing 

Unfortunately, due to staff shortages at the Mount Isa Ten Pin Bowling we have had to postpone our rewards outing until Friday 5th August in Week 4. Updated permission forms will be provided to eligible students this week.

In this edition of SchoolTV - PHYSICAL ACTIVITY & EXERCISE

In the last decade, children’s participation in physical activity and exercise has been in decline. In this digital age, children are using computers and mobile devices, not only for learning, but for relaxation and recreation purposes. This sedentary lifestyle is having a detrimental effect on today’s youth. The key is finding the balance.

Research shows, that regular physical activity and exercise leads to changes in the brain. It improves cognitive function, elevates mood, enhances learning and improves academic outcomes. Playing sport helps kids develop fundamental movement skills impacting positively on their confidence, self-esteem and ability to develop social skills. Parents play an important role in helping children establish positive habits that will benefit their children in the long-term.

In this edition of SchoolTV, parents will discover practical advice relating to the benefits of regular physical activity and exercise, as well as tips on how to get their kids motivated and moving more.

We hope you take time to reflect on the information offered in this edition of SchoolTV and we always welcome your feedback. If you have any concerns about your child, please contact the school counsellor for further information or seek medical or professional help.

Here is the link to the Physical Activity & Exercise edition of SchoolTV

Mulkadee

Last week saw the departure of 22 students on their way to a week full of dance, drama and musical events in Townsville. Intensive workshops with industry professionals led the direction of student learning and accompanied an astounding amount of 800 students in a 2 hour performance of Band, Guitar, Strings, Choir, Drama and Dance. The week consisted of students being engaged in a variety of practical activities that extended their skills and talents in their chosen discipline. 

When students weren’t busy rehearsing and practising at the Townsville Entertainment Centre they were staying with the other out of town schools within the Diocese. It was a fantastic experience for the students and it was rewarding to be involved and to witness the amazing work that the students completed. 

A big thank you to Ms Catherine Motteram for looking after myself and the fantastic bunch of students. The time and energy that she has put into the students to be ready for this amazing event is highly appreciated. Thank you also to Mrs Kathleen McCarthy who attended the Mulkadee workshops and the concert on Friday night. The students felt appreciated and highly encouraged from her support and attendance. A special thank you also to Mel Hodgetts for being the behind the scene helper, Catherine and I appreciated the racing around and organising of the costumes and props for the performance.

What an amazing experience for everyone. Involvement in the Arts has an assortment of benefits. Mulkadee is an opportunity for students to extend their passion within the Arts and to unleash their skills and creativity in their own personal growth. Bring on Mulkadee 2023!

Careers Newsletter

Please see below link to this week’s Careers Newsletter.  Articles include:

• JMC Academy Songwriting Competition - $2500+ in prizes
• University Open/Virtual Days
• Defence Force recruiting

Careers Newsletter

Interschool Athletics Carnival

Last week, 65 of our students competed against Spinifex State College in the Annual Inter School Athletics Carnival. GSCC students excelled in each event they participated in and demonstrated great sportsmanship and enthusiasm throughout the day. This year, Good Shepherd came up short as Spinifex won the Junior, Senior and Overall trophy on the day. Regardless of the result, GSCC competed to the end and represented the school with pride. Congratulations to Spinifex, their students and staff for their massive achievement.

I would also like to acknowledge the following students who received Age Champion and Runner up Age Champion Awards during the day. 

12 yrs Boys Age Champion - A-Tai Li-Downie
15 yrs Boys Runner Up Age Champion - Ryder Soper
16  yrs Boys Age Champion - Jamaron Mothe
16 yrs Girls Age Champion - Pantrea Adams
Open Boys Age Champion - Anesu Chahwahwa
Open Girls  Runner Up Age Champion - Abby Benson

Thank you to our staff, families and Mount Isa Athletics for your support in what was a great day for Mount Isa Sport. Students who placed in their event and are eligible for North West, will be contacted in the upcoming weeks in the North West Trials in Longreach on the 20th to 21st of August. 

Term 3 will see our boys competing in even more sport, as we take on Spinifex in our Rugby League School of Origin Tri-series starting Thursday 28th of July. The teams  have been steadily preparing for the competition and are very excited to see their hard-work pay off this week.  Come down to Alec Inch oval to support our teams for Game One.

Game Times:

• 13 Boys = 2 x 20 min halves (5 min half time)
• 15 Boys = 2 x 25 min halves (5 min half time)
• Open boys = 2 x 30 min halves (5 min half time)

Acknowledgements

The Sports Department would like to acknowledge and congratulate the following students on their representative achievements.

North West Representative - Cross Country: Conner Boshoff

Michael Morgan Cup - Rugby League Official: Patrick Wade

Michael Morgan Cup - Rugby League  Players: Patrick Krause, Riley Eggmolesse, Cole Finter, Ryder Soper, Heidi Fenton, Kya Garrett

McDonalds Junior Netball Carnival - Players: Rilee Webber, Trinity Ottaviano, Chelsea Barlow, Ally Haddon, Teuila Kohlhase, Demsi Parslow, Zoe Ryder, Laura Thinee, Shardae Munro-Pomare, Amy Wishart, Hannah Cama, Jamisynn Roberts, Gwen nel, Ruby Rixon, Aaliyah Poihipi, Molly Krause, Liane Van Lelyveld, Griffynn Roberts, Amaris Ogunlola, Hennessy Reyes, Grace Littlemore

Good Shepherd Striders Running Club                

When: Thursday mornings. Recommencing Week 2, July 21 ,2022.
Where: GSCC Oval (Enter via May St Gate).
What time: 7:00am - 7:40am.
What is it: Athletics /endurance running and or walking training.
Who is it for: All students and teachers.
Permission: Students will need to collect a permission note from the office.
Cost: Free.
How often: Come occasionally or as many sessions as you like.
Equipment: Running shoes, comfortable clothing, water bottle.
Prizes: Weekly lucky door prize of $10 canteen voucher.
Information: See Mr Guest for any information/ questions. 

Term 3 2022 Training Program:

Week 2:
800m repeats x 4 x 1 set - 2 min walk/ jog between repeats).

Week 3:
500m repeats x 3 (x 2 sets - 2 min walk/ jog between repeats, 400m walk/ jog between sets).

Week 4:
Pyramid: 200m, 400m, 600m, 800m, 600m, 400m, 200m. (1 min walk/ jog between repeats).

Week 5:
400m repeats x 4 (x 2 sets - 2 min walk/ jog between repeats, 400m walk/ jog between sets).

Week 6:
300m repeats x 5 (x 2 sets - 1 min walk/ jog between repeats, 200m walk/ jog between sets).

Week 7:
Pyramid: 200m, 400m, 600m, 800m, 600m, 400m, 200m. (1 min walk/ jog between repeats).

Week 8:
200m repeats x 5 (x 3 sets - 1 min walk/ jog between repeats, 200m walk/ jog between sets).

Week 9:
3000m (alternate striding 100m, jogging 100m)

Week 10:
600m repeats x 5) x 1set - 2 min walk/ jog between repeats).

Census day will be next Friday 5 August 2022.

Please find a Privacy Notice below in relation to Census.