This week the College will gather for our annual NAIDOC Week celebrations. We chose to mark this occasion in Term 3 this Year to allow more of our Senior students to attend and it promises to be a very special day. Please join us and celebrate the theme of ‘Get Up, Stand Up, Show Up”.

In Term 4 I will be taking long service leave. I haven’t done so since my daughter was born 16 years ago, so I think it is time. I’m looking forward to relaxing and spending time with family and my beautiful granddaughter. Our Assistant Principal Amy Webb will be stepping into the role for Term 4 and I’m very grateful that she has offered to do this. The College will be in very good hands.

For my Newsletter article today, I’m sharing with you my report to the P&F this week. It is an outline of our recent achievements towards our Annual School Improvement. We sure are a busy and vibrant College community. 

Principal Report - P&F 31/7/22

Area A - Mission and Purpose 

• School Improvement Agenda
  • Pre-Verification is on Monday 8th August
  • Verification held in September
  • Process:
    • Service team tours school
    • Service team hears evidence from SLT
    • Service team interview stakeholders (P&F members, Board, parents, teachers, school officers, students)
    • Service team develop a validation report
    • 2023 - Validation finalised and School Renewal Plan developed
  • School Improvement Plan for 2022 still being implemented with actions across all 10 characteristics 

• Catholic Identity
  • Laudato Si Student Environmental Action group formed - focus on 7 goals of Laudato Si (Pope Francis’ encyclical). Hoping to expand membership.
  • Catholic Education Week:
    • CEW Mass (Deus Caritas Award to Sophie Greenhalgh)
    • Good Shepherd Feast Day
    • Scholars’ Awards
    • Spirit of Catholic Education Awards (Fiona Coghlan, Yvonne Van Den Worm)
  • Year 9 Retreat
  • Year 11 Leadership - shortlisting of Leaders for 2023
  • NAIDOC this week 

• School-Parents-Church Community
  • NAIDOC Week
    • Welcome to Country/Smoking Ceremony by Traditional Owners
    • NAIDOC Liturgy
    • Elders’ Morning tea
    • Rotation of activities
    • All Year 6 students attending from St Kieran’s and St Joseph’s
  • Weekly Arili Thina Cafe - open from 7.45am to whole school community
  • Spinifex vs GSCC Rugby League competition
  • QMEA Girls in Mining
  • Try a Trade - TAFE and QMEA
  • Jangawala roster on the weekend
  • Mount Isa Campdraft volunteers - dedicated work of P&F
  • Rodeo Ball - volunteers still needed
  • Parent|Teacher|Student Interviews - well attended
  • Interschool Athletics
  • Combined schools staff - Student Protection workshop
  • Mulkadee Arts Festival - Drama, Dance, Guitars, Strings, Choir
  • School Musical coming up - ‘High School Musical’ 

Area B - Climate Conducive to Learning 

• A Learning Culture
  • Scholars’ Awards
  • Homework Program
  • PB4L progressing well - improvements in Level 1 and 2 behaviours
  • Buddy classes
  • Indigenous Education team - case management approach to improve engagement and attendance
  • Functional Behaviour Assessment - case meeting approach for Level 3 or 4 behaviours
  • Arrow Program and Time to Shine programs going well
  • Praise notes presented at Scholars’ Assembly & celebration excursion for 20 or 30+ praise notes
  • Student Support lists 

• Strategic Resourcing
  • Replacement staffing continues to be a challenge with Covid and Influenza cases
  • Full-time relief teacher and use of Leigh Harding to cover classes and assist with Senior Tracking in Fiona Coghlan’s absence
  • Inclusive Education meetings - to discuss student cases and allocation of school officers 

• Data Informed Practice
  • NCCD data upload - used to determine funding levels for students with special needs
  • Teachers - second round of PIVOT data
  • Staff wellbeing - Resilience Tracker
  • PB4L data
  • Trial school for Saasyan Web Monitoring (Student Protection) 

Area C  - Emphasis on Learning 

• Effective Pedagogy
  • CTJ Day - responsive planning and new Australian Curriculum
  • Focus on Writing- Writing Toolbox to be trialled by some English teachers
  • Professional development for staff:
    • Indigenous Education
    • Autism
    • Future Leaders
    • Spirituality programs
    • Senior Years Advisory Committee 

• Learning and Teaching
  • Cross marking in all KLAs leading into reporting
  • Buddy marking for reporting
  • Tracking team meetings 

• Coherent Curriculum
  • Review of Australian Curriculum - at CTJ day on 2/9/22 

• Professional Teaching Community
  • Leigh Harding returning to GSCC (Acting English Curriculum Leader)
  • New HPE teacher - Gemma James
  • New SO - ASL - Jaci Bertossi
  • Trent Wilkinson - replacing Amy Webb in Term 4
  • Amy Webb - stepping into Acting Principal role for Term 4
  • Positions vacant:
    • School officer - ASL for Industrial Arts
    • Science Curriculum Leader (replacing Lynn Gillies-Hughes who is retiring)
    • Maths teacher (replacing Lyn Weaich who is leaving to undertake post-grad study)

Year 10 Senior Education and Training (SET) Plans 

The Year 10 students have an opportunity in Semester 2 to trial subject selections for Year 11. This opportunity provides students with an idea of what to expect in Year 11 and 12. 

Different pathways are available post-schooling, and as such students need to assess their interests, strengths and talents to make an informed subject selection decision.

The subject selection that students make over the coming weeks will set them up for success in Senior Schooling. We have high expectations of our Seniors and we look forward to working with our Year 10 students and their families throughout the coming months, as students develop their Senior Education and Training (SET) Plans.

While we want students to choose wisely, we do acknowledge that knowing what they want to do at this stage is often challenging. The Semester 2 electives program will assist students in picking the right subjects for 2023.  Check out the Careers Ladders, which can be helpful too.

Students are asked to make a choice of six subjects (one Maths, one English, one Religion and three electives).  Students can consider one of the following pathways for Senior Schooling: 

•       An academic pathway (QCE and ATAR) must include at least 4 General Subjects (with a recommendation of 5 General Subjects). This pathway is best suited for students who would like to participate in tertiary study at university, as it will best prepare them for direct tertiary entrance into competitive courses. It is important to review course prerequisites when considering subject selections. QTAC can be a valuable site to visit. 

•       A Queensland Certificate of Education (QCE) pathway. This is best referred to as the vocational pathway, which can include any combination of subjects (fewer than 4 General Subjects). Students who select this pathway will have the flexibility to complete Certificates that are offered at the College or TAFE, work experience and participate in a school-based apprenticeship or traineeship. This pathway prepares students for further courses after school or entry into employment. 

Choosing the correct subjects for you:

1. Goals. What are you aiming for? Do you have a definite tertiary course in mind? If so, are there any subjects which you must do as pre-requisites for entry? 
2. Enjoyment. Take subjects you enjoy and in which you do well. 
3. Keep your options open. If you are not sure what you want to do after school, then you should keep as many options as possible open, and select a broad range of subjects. 
4. Find out about the subjects you are considering. Before finally deciding on your subjects, discuss your preferences with your parents, members of staff and students. Does the content, style of learning and assessment suit your interests, abilities and goals? 
5. Do some research. Make good use of Curriculum Leaders, teachers, the Careers Adviser, and resources such as: 

• Queensland Job Guide (Careers Room) 
• Queensland Tertiary Courses & the QTAC Tertiary Pre-requisites Guides Determine whether the subjects you are interested comprise any of the following: 

Pre-requisite subjects — must be taken for future courses or careers, Recommended subjects — not essential, but may make future courses easier, Useful subjects — not essential, but give a general background or help develop particular skills. 

• Talk to people in the industry

6.   Applied/VET Subject. Consider an applied or VET subject if: 

• You do not intend to go directly from Year 12 into a university course. 
• Your past results suggest that some General Subjects may be too difficult. 
• You are interested in the content of a particular subject because it relates to future employment or possible TAFE options.

Year 11 2023 Subject Preference Selection 

This Friday, I am going to send an Edval form to Year 10 students to indicate their top 6 subject preferences and two reserve subject preferences for Year 11 2023. 

The subject preference selection is sent online in the same format as students used to select trial subjects at the end of last Term; I will email students the webcodes needed to access the form on Friday morning. This form is unlike the Junior school elective selections, and there is no rush to be first in! 

Students should complete this form over the weekend in consultation with parents/guardians. The purpose of this form is to gauge students’ subject interest so that we are able to develop the best possible subject lines for them for next Year. Once we have developed the subject lines, we will share them with students and families.

All students study Maths, English and Religion in Year 11 and 12 so these appear on individual lines on this form. Please note that Maths and Religion will have their own subject lines next year. English is placed on two subject lines, this aims to provide more options for students in their subject selections. It is also important that students list their most preferred subject first on the form after the core subjects.

A reminder that this process is for the purpose of line generation only. It does not mean that you are guaranteed to study your top preferences for Year 11. For students who are unable to study top preferences due to line constraints, we will discuss your options during SET Plan Meetings in Week 7 (22-26 August). Bookings for these meetings will be accessible through Compass Conferences at the end of next week, I will email again once they are open.

Please take your time to carefully consider your options before submitting the form by next Tuesday, 9 August. 

Getting the Most out of Compass School Manager

Compass School Manager is the platform used across Townsville Catholic Education to record student data. The parent portal is there for families to use to engage with different aspects of their child’s education.

I will be sending the What’s on @ GSCC Document through Compass from now, and it will remain pinned to your newsfeed for the duration of the week.

What is Compass?

Compass is a school management solution that allows parents and carers to access up-to-date and meaningful information about your school and your child’s progress. Compass includes many different features, including the ability to:

• Monitor your child’s attendance, and enter an explanation for absence or lateness
• Communicate with your child’s teachers, and update your family contact details
• View your child’s timetable and the school calendar
• Monitor your child’s homework and assessment tasks
• Download and view your child’s academic reports
• Book parent-teacher conferences

Please note that you should not be paying school fees using Compass - this feature, although there, is not in use at the College.

If you haven’t done so already, the website linked below provides a wealth of information for families regarding the great features of Compass School Manager. I have also included some images of the most used features below.

Compass Guide for Parents and Families - https://www.compass.education/guide 

Compass Apps

You can download the Compass App on iOS and Android devices, simply search for Compass School Manager in the store.

Using the app you can:

• View the school news feed
• Receive messages from the school
• View your child’s timetable and the school calendar
• View Learning Tasks
• Book parent-teacher conferences
• Add Attendance Notes
• View academic reports

Compass Desktop Site

The home screen provides you with relevant alerts and news, as well as quick access to your child’s profile.

School Calendar

The tools you need to keep track of your students journey through the school gate each day

News

Recent school news items and information relevant to you. This may include newsletters, details of upcoming events.

Your Children

Provides you with a quick summary of available options and highlights a summary of upcoming and overdue tasks.

To access more information click on the relevant quick link or select Profile to access detailed information about your child.

Alerts

Custom notifications for items that require your action or attention. These may include excursion notifications, ordering options for school photos, absence notifications, survey, and student report availability.

Main Menu

Allows you to access other Compass and school resources. The Tools icon allows you to update your contact details and change your password.

Positive Behaviour for Learning (PB4L)
Week 4 Focus:  Playground / Oval

This week our College will be celebrating NAIDOC Day on Thursday, 4^th of August which is also National Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Children’s Day.  We are looking forward to a day of celebration of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people, their culture and achievements. We welcome all families to join us on this special day.

Please see the School TV Special Report on Celebrating NAIDOC Week.

A SPECIAL REPORT: Celebrating NAIDOC Week

NAIDOC week celebrates the history, culture and achievements of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people. It is celebrated by all Australians and is a great opportunity to recognise and learn more about the history and culture of indigenous communities.

NAIDOC stands for National Aborigines and Islanders Day Observance Committee. Its origins can be traced back to the Aboriginal rights movement, when on Australia Day 1938, protestors marched through the streets of Sydney to highlight the status and treatment of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Australians. Today, it is a week-long celebration held in July that consists of range of traditional and contemporary activities.

NAIDOC Week is an important event that helps build positive relationships between Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal people. It enables a deeper understanding of our differences and similarities. NAIDOC week is an opportunity for all Australians to eliminate bias and discrimination by reflecting and reconciling the wrongs of the past to facilitate hope and build a fairer future. Families are encouraged to join in and support young people in learning the significance of NAIDOC Week.

This Special Report offers suggestions on how families can celebrate NAIDOC Week together.

We hope you take time to reflect on the information offered in this Special Report, and as always, we welcome your feedback.

If you do have any concerns about the wellbeing of your child, please contact the school for further information or seek medical or professional help.

Here is the link to your special report:

A goal without planning is called a dream. A dream with planning is called a goal.

If you have a dream and you want to turn it into reality then put a plan in place to achieve it. Start with that goal and work your way backwards, putting in steps along the way that will help you achieve it. 

Sometimes dreams appear too far away and unattainable. Mankind thought that of the moon once until President John F Kennedy famously said in 1961; 

“We choose to go to the moon. We choose to go to the moon in this decade and do the other things not because they are easy, but because they are hard. Because that goal will serve to organise and measure the best of our energies and skills, because that challenge is one that we’re willing to accept.”

By pushing the limits of the most advanced technology of the time NASA achieved Kennedy’s dream when Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin landed on the moon on 20 July 1969; a dream had become reality.

That’s what happens to dreams when you make them a goal. You begin to put stepping stones in place to follow on the journey to achieve it, you push your limits, both physically and mentally which causes you to grow as a person. 

The dream that is now your goal begins dictating your decisions and this is where the dreamers and the doers are separated. You have choices every day, sometimes every hour, sometimes every minute and sometimes every second.

When you achieve a goal and look back you will see you have acquired discipline and shown courage. Like a lot of people I dreamed of doing a marathon because it was a challenge but it was never a goal.

Then after I retired from competitive sport and climbed out of the malaise that is retirement I moved that dream into a goal by planning the steps needed to achieve it. I had a training plan that I followed religiously and every decision made was based on achieving that goal.

Unfortunately most marathons are run in winter, so when the alarm goes off at 5:00 o’clock you have a choice; roll over and pull the covers up or roll over and get out of bed. How badly you want to achieve your goal dictates the decision you make - dreamer or doer?

There are always barriers that crop up to give us the choice to quit. I had to fit long runs in around 12 hour shifts at George Fisher. When you have a goal and are determined you find solutions rather than accepting excuses.  

I would leave my car at George Fisher some afternoons and run home (about 15km). The next morning I would get up at 5:00am and run back out to George Fisher in time to have a shower and the breakfast I had left the day before.

Sometimes we need help from others to stay on track and remind us of how important achieving our goal is. 

Duncan Armstrong went to Laurie Lawrence and asked him to coach him because he wanted to win an Olympic Gold Medal. At first Lawrence refused because he felt Armstrong wasn’t committed but eventually relented. 

One night Armstrong made a decision that took him away from his goal. The next morning when the alarm went off he chose to miss that morning’s session until rudely awakened by a bucket of ice cold water to the face and a wild-eyed Lawrence standing over him asking how badly he wanted that gold - Armstrong never missed another session. 

People thought Lawrence motivated Armstrong but motivation is internal; nobody can make you do what you don't want to and nobody can stop you from doing what you do want to. 

Lawrence helped Armstrong unlock what was already inside so that he believed in himself and the 46th ranked swimmer in the World in 1988 won the Olympic 200m gold medal in World Record time.

Emma McKewon missed the 2012 Olympic team and decided to quit. But over the next few months, including a trip to London to see her brother swim at the Olympics, she began to understand the level of effort necessary to become one of the World’s best swimmers.

“I guess I just knew that you have to be showing up to training every day and doing everything properly to be able to perform at the level I wanted to perform at.”

Like you and me Emma has days where she isn’t motivated and wants to roll over and pull the covers up. “I know that is completely normal, but I always try to find a way to get myself up and work on something to make me better and move closer to what I want to do.”

She makes the decision that helps her achieve her goal. We can do the same and it can be a goal such as buying a house, a trip overseas, losing 5 kilograms etc. Make a plan and turn your dreams into goals so that when a decision needs to be made you have the reason to defeat the excuse and move from a dreamer to a doer.

Firstly, I would like to remind you that you are invited to attend our NAIDOC celebrations this Thursday (4^th of August). We begin at 9am on the basketball court with a smoking ceremony, followed by a liturgy and special guests/ elders morning tea. After the morning tea, we invite you to participate in our  rotations where students and staff will have the opportunity to develop their  knowledge on Indigenous culture and history. Please let myself or Dorothy Frew know you can attend. We would love to have you there.

This Term brings more engagement opportunities for the Emerging Leaders. So far, students have had the opportunity to partake in assisting at St Joseph’s NAIDOC and Face Painting at the St Joseph’s Birthday Fete. Engagements are considered equally to the students academic and attendance achievements and are just as important in building leadership skills.This Term, we are offering the below engagements:

Saturday August 20^th: Park Run (7.00am) (Volunteering to host & family walk) followed by a family breakfast at the school.

Friday September 2^nd: Volunteers to help run the GSCC stall at the Multicultural Festival.

Furthermore, we have asked students to enrol in the Emerging Leaders Electives. The electives provide an opportunity for students to become engaged with their culture and develops their personal capacity as future leaders. I will be opening up H1 each Tuesday afternoon from Week 5 until Week 10 from 3.00-3.45pm to offer a space for students to complete the elective with help.

Rugby League - GSCC vs Spinifex

Last Thursday, the GSCC Senior and Junior Rugby League teams played Game 1 of our 3 game School of Origin Rugby League series against Spinifex State College. The week of training leading into the games was exceptional, as students from Year 7 through to Year 12 all trained with and against each other on the College Oval. 

Over the past 3 weeks, the determination and eagerness for our Under 13s team to play rugby league for the College has been outstanding to experience as a coach. Thanks to the desire of each of these players to represent the school, we were able to field an Under 13s side this year. Unfortunately, the boys lost their first game 20-14; however, the spirit and enthusiasm shown by each student was remarkable.

A-Tai Li-Downie and Coby Lewry both excelled given the responsibility of running the team’s attack, whilst William Oliver also stepped up to take charge of the side. The boys were also in the game until the final minute thanks to some tough defensive efforts led by the likes of Taige Pigliafiori and Abel Houng. Each player should be extremely proud of their efforts and we look forward to seeing how they progress over the remainder of the series. 

Our Under 15s team were comprehensively beaten by Spinifex, 38-16, but the scoreline does not truly represent the meaning of the game for these boys. This side had to rise to a remarkable challenge, that was, playing with only 14 players against a full opposition. The character, effort and respect to their team mates shown by each player was incredible, as the boys went into halftime leading. One non-negotiable for the boys was to give it their all for each minute of the game, and each player ensured that they did this throughout the contest. Well done boys. 

The GSCC Senior Rugby League team were able to provide a win for the College in their game defeating Spinifex, 40-16. After a hard fought first half, the boys were trailing 16-10 thanks to a few defensive lapses and errors coming out of our own half. Our captain Te Arawa Tapu was able to step up once again and control the side back to playing patient defensive football that saw the boys run away with the win. Special mentions to Patrick Wade and John Pekipaki who were both integral in maintaining and providing our dominance in the second half. 

All three grades will play once again this Thursday from 3:50pm onwards at Alec Inch Oval on Thomson Street. Please come down and support these boys as they represent the College with great pride, character and respect. 

GSCC Senior Rugby League would like to use this avenue to once again thank Brumby’s Mount Isa, 2Seas Catering, Mobilise, The Buffs Club, P & F Association and Robbie Katter: Member for Traeger for their valuable donations to our team. 

Hello everyone,

Saturday 6th August is the Mount Isa Rotary Rodeo Ball and we are urgently looking for volunteers for the 9pm to 1am slot.

This is one of our biggest fundraisers that we do each year and with a committee of over 300 members, we are asking for  help.  You see every parent and child that attends Good Shepherd Catholic College is a member of the committee via the P&F Levy that you pay each year.

If you have already advised us that you can help, thank you.  Please be sure to let us know if you can help with the early or late shift so we don't put you on the wrong one.  Below we have attached the volunteer induction link and information for you on how to register for 2022.

Please find below instructions for your online Volunteer Induction Course.

If you do not already have a user account:

• Please click on the following link and register a user account: https://userlogin.com.au/isarodeo
• Please select ‘2022 Mount Isa Mines Rodeo and Mount Isa Mines Indigenous Rodeo Program’
• Please select ‘Volunteer Worker’, ‘No to additional stall’ and ‘Items you’d like to upload’.

If you already have a user account, please follow the below steps (and video clip): 

• Login to your account via https://userlogin.com.au/isarodeo
• Click on the downwards arrow in the top right corner of the login page next to your user icon
• Click on the Profile button and then Edit Assignments
• Select the 2022 Mount Isa Mines Rodeo and Mount Isa Mines Indigenous Rodeo program and click Save at the bottom
• The program will now appear on your home page, and follow the prompts to complete your requirements

GSCC P&F

Some of the articles included in this weeks Careers Corner are:

Financial Support for Australian Apprentices
National Indigenous Training Academy
Careers in Tech
Study Assist

Careers Corner

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).