Term Three has been a great celebration of Parent-School-Parish-Community partnerships. Here is an overview of some our amazing events this Term:

• ANZAC Liturgy, Dawn Service and March
• Year Level Masses
• Girls for Mining Event
• Parent | Teacher | Student Interviews
• ‘Tradies for a Day’ Workshop
• Interschool Netball Competition with Spinifex State College
• North West MPX Expo
• Hospitality Dinner
• Qld Cricket and AFL Qld Workshop
• P&F and Board Meetings
• Year 6 Literacy Program with St Kieran’s
• Careers Week Guest Speakers
• Musica Viva Performance
• National Reconciliation Week
• Senior Phase of Learning Information Night
• Mulkadee Roadshow
• Parents for Student Success Morning Tea
• Year 11 Formation Day
• Business Breakfast

Eisteddfod Performances

Congratulations to the following GSCC students who participated in the Music Eisteddfod recently.

Reports

As we approach mid-year holidays, I would like to wish all students, families and staff a happy and safe holiday. I hope that students in particular, use this time to refresh and reflect on Semester 1 by asking themselves three simple questions:

1. What went really well for me?
2. What didn't go so well for me?
3. If I could do one thing differently in the next term in order to improve, what would be?

I look forward to welcoming you all back for next term.

 Scholars Awards Semester 1 2023

In Term 3 there will be a Scholars Awards Assembly held to recognise the academic achievement of students in the first Semester of the year. 

To be awarded a Certificate of Excellence, students are required to achieve an A standard in 50% (or more) of their subjects.

Semester 2  - Year 10 Subject Trials

A reminder that senior subject trial forms will open this Friday 12 June in Homeroom.

Last week, I emailed students their Webcode which allows individual access to the Subject Selection Form titled "Year 10 Senior Subject Trials (Semester 2)".  Students - please note that you all have a different Webcode, so you must use your code only. If you do not receive a Webcode on Thursday, please come and see me as soon as possible. A reminder that you won't be able to enter any information into the form until I open it tomorrow morning. The form will then remain open until 3pm on Wednesday the 14th of June.

Please note that the process is the same as it has been for Elective Subject selections:

STEP 1: Go to: my.edval.education

STEP 2: Enter your Webcode

STEP 3: Click on the relevant form (image example attached)

STEP 4: Select your senior subject trial preferences and reserves 

STEP 5: Click [Submit].  

There is no need to print and submit the paperwork, I receive all submitted forms electronically. Today, I would encourage students to check that their Webcode is working; however, another reminder that they won't be able to access the information in the form until I open it on Friday morning.

If you have any questions about this process, please don't hesitate to ask.

GSCC Website - School TV

It can sometimes feel challenging for parents to raise happy, healthy and resilient children and teens. What can help our families and schools is up-to-date resources aimed at providing information on key topics that relate to parenting and the wellbeing of our children.

SchoolTV has partnered with Townsville Catholic Education to deliver ongoing support to parent communities, teachers and school and pastoral support staff. The SchoolTV platform is integral as part of a whole school approach to student wellbeing.  It is now available to our parents and families. Each topic or edition addresses key issues using brief interviews with expert specialists, fact sheets, parent quizzes, recommended apps, books and much more. 

SchoolTV streamlines and brings together information from many reputable sources such as REACHOUT and beyondblue, Australian Psychological Society, Nutrition Australia, headspace and esafety Commission.  This provides a very reliable and accessible resource, saving parents time and confusion searching online across multiple sites.

Direct link: https://www.goodshepherd.catholic.edu.au/parents/schooltv/ 

Final Day - Term 2

With only two weeks remaining for Term 2, planning is well underway for our annual NAIDOC celebrations. Please see the schedule for the day below. Students will be dismissed from the Lumen Christi Centre at 1:10pm.

Parent Teacher Student Interviews & Semester Reports

A final reminder that Semester Reports and Parent/Student/Teacher Interview Bookings will open through Compass next Thursday (21 June). If you are unable to access your Compass Parent Portal please contact the College Office as soon as possible.

Year 11 Student Leadership Formation Day

Last Friday 9th June, our Year 11 students participated in the Student Leadership Formation Day which is their first official step towards their leadership roles as Year 12 students in 2024.

Leadership presents itself to us in many different ways and this year we approached amazing leaders within our community to address the cohort about their own leadership journeys and the important attributes that effective leaders possess.  We were so grateful to have the following leaders from our community who we believe would ignite and inspire the leadership qualities within our students:

• Father Mick Lowcock – Parish Priest - Good Shepherd Church;
• Mrs Kim McCosker – Indigenous Education Advisor, Townsville Catholic Education Office;
• Mrs Tammi Webber – Indigenous Education Advisor, Townsville Catholic Education Office;
• Mrs Kathleen McCarthy, our College Principal;
• Mr Bruno Cullen – Chairman Aust brokers and Krause Health and Safety, and;
• Maddison Dolzan and Malachi Munns, our College Captains.

Students were able to listen to each of our guest leaders share their stories and Ms Luarca and I then facilitated workshops to get students to think deeper about their leadership roles in the College.

A big thank you goes to all of our guest leaders and also to all the students that attended this very intentional day and gave their all. 

PB4L:

This week we are focusing on our sun safety at school, through homerooms teachers have been encouraging students to always wear a hat whilst outside and utilise sun safety equipment where possible. We are a sun safe school and with our climate it is really important that our students realise the impact of simple things like wearing a hat. 

Throughout the term we have celebrated many students who have accomplished 10 or more praise notes through our assemblies. Next week in Pastoral care we will have our last rounds of certificates for the semester. There has been a lot of positive behaviour and responsible actions around our school throughout this term. I am very proud of our students and especially proud of their attitude towards learning and engaging in our community. 

End of Semester 1 – Thank you

I want to take this opportunity to acknowledge and thank the GSCC  Pastoral Team for all of their hard work this semester.  It has been a very big start to the year with plenty of highs and lows, but this team does so much purposeful work in the background to ensure your student is safe and comfortable at school. This term we have also begun the roll out of our school Check-in Check-out program, which aims to settle our students and create goals for their learning. This is not for everyone, but for some students, we have found this very beneficial. Each day I am so appreciative of our Pastoral Leaders and Guidance Counselor on how they support our students to ensure that they feel happy, safe and inspired at school. 

I would also like to wish all our staff, students and families a very safe and relaxing holiday and I look forward to seeing everyone return recharged and refreshed for another amazing term ahead.

School TV: 

With the holidays fastly approaching, please see the attached article about boredom - these are some great tips on approaching boredom with young people and how to support them through this. 

SchoolTV article: https://goodshepherd.catholic.schooltv.me/content/blog/im-so-bored

Please do not hesitate to reach out to our pastoral team if you have any questions or concerns regarding your child's wellbeing.

R U OK? Conversation Convoy

Elevate Education

Last week, our Year 10 students undertook a Pastoral Care lesson that was facilitated by Elevate Education online via Zoom.  Elevate Education is a widely used educational company that offers targeted high impact seminars that help students improve their study techniques, increase motivation, build confidence, and lift exam performance. The “Study Sensei” lesson was particularly timely as our Year 10 students have completed their first Exam Block as senior students this week. The program offered some exceptional strategies to focus and improve study skills to best prepare for exams and complete assessments.

I look forward to hearing the subject choices that students are making for their trial Science and Humanities subjects next term also. Additionally, there are a number of students embarking on Work Experience placements next week, and I wish them all the best with these. 

PAST STUDENT SOON TO GRADUATE MED SCHOOL

Kieran Govender graduated GSCC in 2017 and will very soon attend another graduation - this time to celebrate achieving his Medical Degree.

Kieran was kind enough to visit the college recently to speak with students interested in a medical pathway.  He shared some great advice and important information to students from Year 7 to Year 12.

Thank you Kieran!

ANNUAL BUSINESS BREAKFAST

Last week we held  our annual business breakfast and welcomed guest speaker Bruno Cullen to speak on the topic of Healthy Workplace Culture.  Bruno shared some stories and advice based on his working life with Queensland Country Credit Union (now Bank) and Brisbane Broncos and his sporting achievements including playing Foley Shield when Mount Isa had its first ever win in 1969!

This was our biggest breakfast event to date and I’d like to thank all of those who attended and assisted in the lead up.  Our Hospitality students, aided by their amazing teacher Donna Cole, once again dazzled our guests with their breakfast delights.