This week, I was so thrilled to be able to celebrate the success of some of our wonderful students at Awards Night followed by the Commendable Achievement Assembly.

When reflecting on this year, I had almost forgotten that we began the year with home school, and online learning. Although the Covid-19 pandemic has interrupted school many times since its beginnings, I am so proud of how staff, students and families continue to be resilient and strive to succeed even through times of adversity.

As restrictions eased, we were able to breathe life back into our extra-curricular offerings. The cultural programs continue to grow each year, with High School Musical being a great success and our students excited to participate in the Mulkadee Arts Festival once again. We are always so impressed by the depth of artistic talent in our school, and I look forward to listening to some of these talents this evening.

On the sporting field students demonstrated determination, skill and sportsmanship. Whether it was through Interhouse or Interschool sports or student’s individual participation in Club or Representative sport, students tried their best and achieved some outstanding results. 

Our emerging leaders continue to shine through community and school engagement. We celebrated the past five years of this amazing program at a Showcase earlier this term, and are thrilled that it has been renewed for a further two years. 

For the students who consistently try their best, we will be holding a special Commendable Achievement Assembly this Wednesday. Because even though not everyone can receive an award tonight, it is important to acknowledge all of those students in Years 7-11 who have been nominated by their teachers as students who consistently work hard and strive to improve. 

I also took the opportunity to acknowledge two staff members who have been recognised by their peers for their dedication to the Good Shepherd Community.

During Catholic Education Week each year the nominees for the Spirit of Catholic Education Award are presented. This year, the College was proud to nominate two outstanding staff members for this award. Mrs Yvonne Van Den Worm received her nomination during Catholic Education Week, and we congratulate her once again. Our second nominee was unable to attend the awards in July, so tonight I want to acknowledge her hard work and commitment to the College. This staff member continues to work tirelessly to support our students, to achieve well at school and find rewarding post-school pathways. She is a leader in her field of Career Education and has a strong belief that all young people can succeed in their chosen career. 

Thank you, and congratulations to Mrs Fiona Coghlan.

The next teacher is an extremely hard worker, and has been nominated by her colleagues for the 2022 ‘GSCC Staff Contribution award’. This teacher has developed successful and relevant programs designed to engage the students and staff. She has led a number of initiatives for both teachers and  students, with a strong focus on wellbeing. Her work ethic and commitment to our school community is truly appreciated. Congratulations to the 2022 recipient of the GSCC Staff Contribution Award Miss Gemma Kyle.

As we celebrate together, we give thanks to everyone who contributes to our community. And as we reach the end of another school year, let’s look towards the future. This future is not a place we are going to but one we are creating. The paths we walk are not to be found, but made, and it will be all of us who create this future together.

Congratulations to all award recipients, we are incredibly proud of all of you. 

Congratulations, and good luck Year 12 students

This week we welcome back Year 12 students one final time before their graduation this Saturday. Exams are finished, and classes are complete. These young men and women are ready to go out into the world, and I know they will make a difference in anything they choose to undertake.

Congratulations Year 12s. You have worked hard, and should be so proud of yourselves!

End of Year

Year 7, 8, and 9 Assessments

It is expected that Year 7-9 students attend school until Friday 25th November (Week 8), even if all their assessments are completed.

There are lots of activities throughout the final week of the school year.

Please refer to the relevant assessment calendar for the last assessments due for Weeks 8:

Year 7 Week 8:

Year 9 Week 8:

Year 10 Exams

All the best to our Year 10s for their semester exams next week!

Senior Subject choices for 2023:

Year 10s are to ensure that they are in the correct subjects for the start of Year 11.  For any subject changes that need to happen before the start of Year 11, Year 10s are to contact Mr Wilkinson.

Year 11s are no longer able to make any further subject changes for Year 12.  Students or parents who have concerns are encouraged to contact the Subject Teachers, Curriculum Leaders or our Careers Officer.

Year 10 Exam Block
21st - 24th November

Year 10 exams will commence next week and best of luck to all! Students will have F1 and F2 as their rooms throughout the exams and may use them for revision. Please be respectful of students revising in these rooms prior to the exams.

A reminder that students should be arriving at the venue at least 15 minutes prior to your start time to be seated and read instructions so that exams can commence at the correct times. Please see below the schedule, which has also been emailed to Year 10 parents and students.

Years 8 to 10 Electives

A reminder that Edval web codes were sent out Monday and selection was open Tuesday at 5pm. If you haven’t selected your subjects yet, please do so as it closes Thursday 17th November. See again below the lines for electives:

Awards Night

A huge thank you to all involved in planning, the attendees, as well as our presenters and sponsors of the 2022 Awards Night. It really was a fantastic night to celebrate all our students' achievements and I hope you enjoyed it as much as I did. Thank you again and congratulations to all award recipients - all that hard work paid off!

GSCC Final Day Schedule 
Friday 25th November

Our short Term is almost at an end with under two weeks to go! Our final day schedule is a short one as per usual with a 1pm dismissal in Week 8 Friday the 25th November and we’d ask that arrangements be made for students to be picked up if required from our LCC. Gate 2 on Camooweal St would be the best place to park.

We’ll be hosting a BBQ at 12:15pm and all parents/carers are welcome to come and have a chat with us, or your son/daughters teachers before we break away for the holidays. Hope to see you there!

Positive Behaviour for Learning (PB4L)
Week 7 Focus:  Front Office & Tuckshop

Graduation Week

This week has been very busy as we are now in the last week that our Year 12 students are in our College community and culminates two big events of Graduation Mass and the Graduation Formal Dinner.  The preparation that goes into Graduation Week starts early in the year with the Year 12 Pastoral Leader who works closely with their homeroom teachers, the Senior Leadership Team and our Parish Priests to ensure that the week is celebratory and memorable.  I want to thank Mr Travis Roberts, our Year 12 Pastoral Leader, for all the work he has put in to the preparation of the events of this week as well as the support he has provided the students throughout this year. 

Additionally, I want to thank our parents and families for their support of our graduation week events and for encouraging their child to soak up these last days of high school. 

Last but not least, I want to thank our Year 12 graduands for making 2022 and the past six years memorable.  Personally, I have had the absolute privilege to watch these amazing students grow through the good days, the bad days, some times of failure but most importantly, many of the successes of their high school years. Each of these students make our College community extremely proud of all that they have achieved and we cannot wait to hear about their continued success in the future.

To the Year 12 graduands - Know that you will always be a part of the Good Shepherd Catholic College community and remember that it is not goodbye but see you later. God bless you all.

Emy commences her career

Congratulations to Year 10 student Emy Hopkins who has recently signed a contract to commence her school based apprenticeship.  

Emy will undertake a Certificate III in Hairdressing at Salon Bronze.

Congratulations Emy!

Clancy Corporation Work Experience Award Recipient

A big Congratulations to Anesu Chahwahwa who was awarded the 2022 Clancy Corporation Work Experience award. A wonderful achievement! Anuesu participated in a number of placements (Glencore Mount Isa Mines, Malouf Auto Group, and Diamantina Power Station) He was very proactive, always making sure that he did everything that was required of him and represented the school admirably. He received excellent feedback from all employers. One of his employers wrote “ Anesu was engaged, polite, punctual and keen to be involved and learn”. Well done, Anesu! 

And well done to all our Work Experience participants, who participated this year, we are so very proud of you all.

Work Experience

Week 5 saw two of our students participate in Work Experience placements. Jarrell Quinlan attended a placement at the Mount Isa City Council GIS department (Geospacial Information Science - computer science, 3D modelling, history, social media, field exploration, creating mobile, desktop and website applications) and Abigail Constantinou participated in a placement at Allied Health (Audiology, Clinical Measurements, Nutrition & Dietetics, Occupational Therapy, Podiatry, Speech Pathology, Physiotherapy) They both thoroughly enjoyed their placements and received wonderful feedback from both Employers.

Thank you to both the Mount Isa City Council and Allied Health for your wonderful support in affording our students with these invaluable opportunities.

For any questions about Work Experience please contact our Work Experience Advisor Liesel Armstrong on 4743 2509 or via email at larmstrong1@goodshepherd.catholic.edu.au.

Mount Isa held its Remembrance Day Commemoration on Friday, 11th November at the Civic Centre. Good Shepherd participated in the Commemoration by sending a delegation of students. The Year 11 students that attended were Lisa Hennessey, Kayne Capuno, Lexandre Dimarucut, Adithya Dias and Mark Pulman.

There were several speakers including Father Mick who also said a prayer, the Mayor and a representative of the Army. These speakers all spoke about the sacrifice of those who fought and died for Australia and the importance of maintaining peace in the world. The one-minute silence was observed followed by a bugle call and bagpipes.

The Commemoration was a moving moment with the Community which our School is proud to be part of.

St Kieran’s Christmas Fete

Our Year 10, 11 and 12 students volunteered to help out at the 2022 St Kieran’s Christmas Fete. Students helped set up stalls and raise funds for the event.

The stalls included Fish for a Duck, Wheel of Chocolates, Pick-a-Sticks, Beanbag Throw and other games children and their families could enjoy together. Students managed these stalls including the payments and the handing out of game tickets.

They were also given a chance to explore the other stalls available at the fete. Volunteering at the St Kieran’s Fete was a great opportunity for our GSCC students to work closely with the community.

The Year 12 cohort has had a busy start to their last week of schooling with a number of Graduation activities and preparations. On Monday, we were grateful to have Senior Sergeants Sean Wade and Michele White from Mount Isa Police complete a presentation on Safe Partying and Driving before completing a number of rehearsals for our Graduation Dinner. 

Thank you to Mrs. Webb for running our dancing lessons over the past few months. The students are all looking forward to showing their parents how graceful they are on the dance floor on Saturday night. For their final day together at the College, the students shared in a Pizza Lunch in their Locker Area for the last time before heading off to the Mount Isa Pool for an afternoon of relaxation and enjoying each other's company. Thank you to our Year 12 Homeroom teachers, Mr. Gono, Mrs. Nainima and Ms. Puxty for their help over the past few days. 

Wednesday will see the students journey at the College come full circle with a Reconciliation Liturgy and Graduation Mass at the Good Shepherd Catholic Parish in what promises to be a special day and night. A final reminder that our Year 12 Graduation Dinner is this Saturday night at the Mount Isa Civic Centre with arrivals starting at 5:30pm followed by formal proceedings from 7:00pm. I will be sure to report on both evenings in next week’s newsletter. 

Booklists