As we reach the end of another school year, as acting Principal I want to thank all of you for your support this term. Education is the key for a bright future for our children, so I am always grateful for parents and families who continue to support and are involved in their child’s education. We sincerely thank you for journeying with us. May each of you and your families enjoy a beautiful Christmas Season.

Sadly, we have a number of staff departing at the end of this year. We thank them all for their valued contributions to the Good Shepherd community and wish them all the best for their future endeavours:

Jacqueline Warren - Assistant Principal Religious Education
Lynn Gillies-Hughes - Teacher & Curriculum Leader
Louise Wiles - Teacher & Pastoral Leader
Trent Wilkinson - Teacher & Curriculum Leader
Jane Chitongo - Teacher
Julie Hutchinson - Teacher
Stephanie Massey - Teacher
Sue Morey - Teacher
Tahlia Morley - Teacher
Lyn Weaich - Teacher
Karen Mountney - Administration (Executive Assistant)
Mrs Laura Jackson will also be taking Maternity Leave next year.

With these changes to our staffing, we are excited to welcome the following teachers to our school community:

Karl Weaich - Maths Teacher 
Chris Jantke - Maths Teacher & Curriculum Leader
Anelda Phillips - Science Teacher 
Riki-Lee Demetriou - Science Teacher & Curriculum Leader
Sally Dawson - Humanities / HPE teacher 
Christine Strasser - Teacher / Librarian (returning)

Other staffing changes include:

Melissa Puxty will be replacing Jacqueline Warren as Assistant Principal Religious Education
Gemma Kyle will be acting Inclusive Education Middle Leader
Cassie Hosking will be replacing Karen Mountney as the Executive Assistant.

We also look forward to welcoming back College Principal Kathleen McCarthy in Term 1 2023. I will resume my role as Assistant Principal Administration at the conclusion of this school year.

Nigel Mitchell also returns from leave in Term 1 next year.

2023 Mulkadee Update

Townsville Catholic Education has announced that in 2023 the Mulkadee program will bring back the narrative driven format as it explores the thrilling tale of Robin Hood! Mulkadee provides a unique experience for students to learn from industry experts and culminates in a performance to a sell-out crowd of family and friends at the Townsville Entertainment and Convention Centre. The week long program will be on from 17 - 21 July 2023 (with the performance on Friday 21 July).

Some of the key dates to note:

• Student and teacher applications OPEN - 1st February 2023
• Student applications and video submissions CLOSE - 1st March 2023

Congratulations Year 12 Students

On Saturday evening we congratulated the Class of 2022 one final time as they formally concluded their secondary school journey. These graduates can be very proud of the hard work they have put in over their 13 years at school, and of the individuals they have grown up to be.

Despite the disruptions and sometimes disappointments from COVID 19 over their senior years, the Class of 2022 has proven time again to be dedicated people, who have individually, and collectively contributed to our College community.

Thank you also to the parents and carers. Supporting your children through secondary school is no easy task! I know you would have experienced countless sleepless nights, hours of study, counseling through the tough times and celebrations of the successes. It is through the love and support of families, that our students are able to thrive at school and be the wonderful young people they are today.

To our students, when you walked across the stage over the weekend and received your Graduation portfolios we were so proud of you. We are proud of your determination, your contributions and your accomplishments.

However, know that the results you receive at the end of the year do not define or limit you. Although we have reached the end of school, it is really just the beginning of what will be countless opportunities. So while you are eagerly awaiting your results from external exams, and your final tally of QCE points please remember that it is the choices you make moving forward, and how you decide to live your life now that really matters. 

I’m not talking about the big decisions (although they are important), I’m talking about the little things, how you treat people, the care and support you offer to others, staying in touch with your loved ones if you move away, just being good people, with kind hearts. Your futures are bright, with many opportunities now waiting for you, may God's love and guidance be with you today, and always.

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 2 December 2022.

I wish you a happy and safe holiday, and a blessed Christmas season!

Positive Behaviour for Learning (PB4L)
Week 8 Focus:  Pick Up & Drop Off Areas

As the year ends I would like to take the opportunity to thank my amazing Pastoral Team for all the work that they do to support our students to reach their full potential.  I truly believe that the academic success of a student lies in them being emotionally, socially and physically content and my team works extremely hard to ensure that every student in their care feels that way at GSCC. I am so grateful for the time, effort and support that the Pastoral Leaders and our Guidance Counsellor give at the grass roots level that makes my job a lot easier each day.

This year saw the implementation of Positive Behaviour for Learning (PB4L) behaviour management system and as successful as it has been for our community, we also acknowledge that we still have some areas in which we need to improve. Over the next few days, our PB4L Working Group will be undertaking some training to ensure that we can make the necessary improvements leading into 2023.  I want to thank our families for supporting our implementation of PB4L this year and I look forward to working with our families and community next year to support all our students.

As we move to 2023, the Pastoral Team will consist of the following allocations:

Year 7 Pastoral Leader Mrs Kate Thinee	Year 8 Pastoral Leader Ms Kylie McCarthy	Year 9 Pastoral Leader Mr William Morganson
Year 10 Pastoral Leader Mr Travis Roberts	Year 11 Pastoral Leader Miss Jan Luarca	Year 12 Pastoral Leader Mr Jordan Harries

Wishing all of our students and families a safe and festive holiday and I look forward to seeing you in the new year.  

God bless, Pelly.

Many people see Christmas as a wonderful time of celebration and an opportunity to spend time with family and friends. However, there are some that view it as a time of stress and hardship. This may be due to a combination of things: financial pressures, relationship issues and, quite often, loneliness, making it a very challenging time.

Often the true meaning of Christmas can be lost due to commercial exploitation, but there are a number of things you can do to create a magical Christmas, without the financial burden. Creating or maintaining traditions can contribute to a sense of comfort and belonging.

Unfortunately for some, there is also an ugly side to Christmas. Support organisations often report an increase in the number of calls from people seeking help due to their inability to cope during this time. If you, or a loved one, is finding that it is all too much, then it is important to reach out to a trusted friend, family member or medical professional.

In this Special Report, parents and care givers will be presented with a number of ideas on how to achieve a stress-free Christmas and where to seek help should you need it.

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:

Olivia and Danica are heading to UQ

Year 11 students Olivia Greenhalgh and Danica Taylor have each secured a place on the annual University of Queensland Young ChangeMakers Program, which commences this Sunday.

The program provides a unique opportunity for extension and enrichment.  Olivia and Danica will join with 200 other talented and like-minded students to discover, learn and engage with UQ’s academic community and student mentors.  The program is designed to ignite passion for leadership, academic achievement and community development in today’s global society.

We wish Olivia and Danica lots of fun and new learning experiences.

Olivia Greenhalgh	Danica Taylor

Hello Hunter Valley

Another two Year 11 students are heading off for a different experience, this time to the Hunter Valley region in NSW, during the school holidays.

Lisa Hennessey and Thomas Schlencker have been chosen from a pool of 85 applicants to attend the Australian Resources Industry Skills & Education (ARISE) program, a joint initiative between Qld Minerals and Energy Academy and BHP. 

Lisa and Thomas will have the opportunity to work on engineering projects which are specific to the mining industry.  They will also work closely with professionals from the BHP team at Mount Arthur Coal and will present their findings to senior management at the end of the program.

We’re sure Lisa and Thomas will thoroughly enjoy this amazing opportunity.

Lisa Hennessey	Thomas Schlencker

As this is the final newsletter of the year I’d like to wish our students, parents and community supporters a very enjoyable Christmas break and I look forward to working alongside you all in 2023.

Seasons Greetings

Gadalung (Summer) Program

On the 5th to the 9th of December I will be taking a group of students to attend the Gadalung Summer Program down at the University of Sydney. This program gives students the chance to experience university life, live on-campus in a college, explore world-class facilities and meet current university students and get to have a tour around Sydney.  Students will learn useful skills for their final years at school and get a heads up for what their life could look like at university and beyond.

Over the five days not only will they experience what life is like at university but they will also get to meet students from other schools around Queensland and make connections with mentors.

A year has passed since I stepped into the doors of the GSCC library as a Teacher Librarian. What can I say about GSCC’s library users? I can say that they lived the values of “Community” which is our College’s theme this Year. Being a community has been experienced by the library’s diverse user groups. Our students learned how to be a community by sharing the space and observing the space’s expectations. Groups of students came to the library regularly to be with their friends and other students came occasionally. Teachers also came to help their students with schoolwork during lunch breaks and during Homework help time. 

Students came to the library to play board games, do puzzles, or just hang out with their friends. Some used the Study Zone for quiet study, read in the Reading Area and other areas in the library, or did some printing. The library has also been there for those who just needed some thinking time or for those who just needed a book. 

A few significant changes were introduced in the library this year.The library was divided into zones to accommodate different user groups, classes, and activities. The Study Zone was created early in the year, followed by the Library - Class and Library – Print areas. Next, the Teacher Resource room was made available as another flexible library space for teachers and students alike. The library has also added to its fiction and nonfiction collection, (which needed an extra bookshelf), added more seating and acquired a library bulletin board in its facade.

Our library held a Reading Challenge, hosted Yr. 7 vaccinations, an Easter Egg Hunt fundraiser, a Historical Dress Up Day, Open Night activities, paper crane making with our Principal, Mrs. Kathleen McCarthy, and Book Week activities. Our school community also gathered here for morning teas, P and F meetings, school board meetings and teachers’  meetings. Of course, students also came for IT help. 

Thank you to the mighty efforts of my library assistants headed by Tawana Magurira, Elizabeth George and Savanna Scarsi and my other library helpers Kysah Clapham and Chad Hobbs, for helping me with book returns yesterday.

Below are some of the pictures of the year that was. 

International Men’s Day Dinner

Congratulations to Anesu Chahwahwa, Patrick Wade and Malachi Munns for their nominations for the Youth Leader category at the recent Mount Isa International Men’s Day Dinner. The College is proud of each student who serves as a role model for all young men within the College. 

A further congratulations for Year 12 student Anesu Chahwahwa for being the eventual winner of the award for his contributions to the school and wider community. Throughout his time at the College, Anesu was always willing to give all opportunities a try and led with great positivity and commitment to our College values. Well done Anesu and all the best for your future!

Booklists