Dear Parents and Carers,

I have noticed a growing apathy from students about wearing helmets when they ride their bikes to and from school. Even though it is a legal requirement in Queensland to wear an Australian Standard approved bicycle helmet, some students are still not taking the warning seriously. The fine for someone failing to wear a helmet is currently $154 and if a bicycle rider uses a mobile while riding their bike, the fine increases to $1161. What’s more important though is the danger to the cyclist. In 2022, 37 road deaths occurred involving cyclists and approximately 6000 presentations were made to emergency departments for bicycle-related injuries. Can I encourage our Parents to please speak to their son or daughter about the risks and check they are have a helmet and are wearing it to and from school everyday?

The Qld Government have a very good resource on their website: https://www.qld.gov.au/transport/public/bicycle-riding

Our Annual Awards Night is approaching quickly - Wednesday 8th November. This year we will be back in the Mount Isa Civic Centre and we are looking forward to acknowledging the many successes of our students. 

Vaping and E-cigarettes: If you are looking for some valuable information to share with your teen about the risks of vaping, here is a resource from the The Royal Children’s Hospital in Melbourne - https://www.rch.org.au/kidsinfo/fact_sheets/E-cigarettes_and_teens/. If you are concerned that your son or daughter may have an addiction to cigarettes or vapes, please reach out to their Pastoral Leader or our Counsellor Mrs Yvonne Van Den Worm. We can arrange some support.

Our Year 11s and 12s are on Exam block this week. Parents and Carers can support their students during this time by ensuring that they are getting plenty of sleep, eating well and have a study plan in place to help them be as prepared as possible. If you have any concerns about your son or daughter’s wellbeing, please do not hesitate to contact their Pastoral Leader or Homeroom Teacher.

This Friday we celebrate World Teachers’ Day. We use this opportunity to acknowledge and thank all of our staff who contribute to our students’ success everyday. Teaching and supporting students is a really challenging job and extends far beyond the 9-3pm hours we are sometimes criticised for. Teaching is more than an occupation, it is a vocation - a privilege where we get to make a difference in the life of a child and pass on a passion for reading, singing, studying the planets, exploring their faith or being a good human. Thank you to all of our teachers, school officers, office staff and our school cleaners who make our school a great place for our students to learn in. 

Have a blessed week.

Kathleen McCarthy

Drafting at GSCC

Assessments are an extension of the work completed in class, and allows students to demonstrate their application of the skills and knowledge they have acquired this term.  

Drafting is a very important part of the assessment process. When students submit drafts to their teachers for feedback and guidance, the submission should be the student’s best possible response to the task.  This way the teacher can provide the best possible feedback to the student.

Students are reminded to be organised to enable them to complete full drafts by the required date. Teacher feedback on drafts will vary from task to task and is generally subject-specific, thus meaning that how a teacher drafts in English will be different to how another teacher drafts in Maths. 

Sometimes assessments will see students respond in class under exam conditions, whereas for other tasks the assignment might be a ‘take home’. 

Year 7-10 students who are unable to submit assessments on time and have a valid reason for requiring a revised assessment date, should collect an extension form from the office, and complete and return the form to their teacher with any supporting documentation at least 3 days before the assessment is due.

In Senior School, planned student absences during assessment time require QCAA approval, and must be accompanied with supporting documentation.  

Drafting at Good Shepherd is a compulsory process that all students are expected to take part in. 

If students are struggling or finding the drafting process challenging I encourage them to make contact with their classroom teacher as soon as possible.

Term 4 Report Cards

At the end of Term 4, all students in Years 7 -11 will receive a Report Card. These reports will be uploaded to Compass on approximately Thursday 30 November. If you are unable to access your Compass Parent Portal, please contact the College Office as soon as possible so that we are able to assist you.

Reminder: Students in Year 12 do not receive a College issued report card in Semester 2. They will be issued with an electronic version of their Senior Statement via their learning accounts once all results have been finalised.

On the 15th of December, students will be able to access:

• Senior External Examination (SEE) results for Year 12 students released via Student Management
• Final subject results for Year 12 students are released via Student Management and Analytical Dashboard
• Final subject results and SEPs released via Student Portal

A reminder that students completing Year 12 in Queensland are now issued with an electronic senior education profile (SEP). Students are able to download, save and print the certificates and statements in their SEP when they access their results via their learning account in the Student Portal on the myQCE website.

The electronic documents are official. They feature a unique document ID at the bottom and a blue signature panel along the top. This  certifies they are authentic. Employers or further education providers can also check their authenticity with the QCAA.

Students may request a print copy of their SEP from the QCAA for their convenience if they do not have access to a printer. The following timeframes and request methods apply:

Details about the QCAA Senior Certificates and Qualifications for Year 12 students can be found here: https://www.qcaa.qld.edu.au/senior/certificates-and-qualifications/sep/sep-for-year-12-students

Upcoming Year 10 Exam Block.

A reminder that Year 10 students have an exam block on Monday 20 - Friday 24 November. The schedule will be released for this next week; however, it is important to note that all students will have exams in this block and any plans for time out of school during week 8 should be avoided.

Dates for your planning:

Term 4, 2023:

• Emerging leaders Showcase Monday 6 November
• Awards Night Wednesday 8 November
• Year 12 Graduation Mass Wednesday 15 November
• Year 12 Graduation Dinner Saturday 18 November
• Year 11 Retreat Saturday 11 - Thursday 16 November
• Year 10 Exam Block Monday 20 - Friday 24 November
• Friday 24 November - final day 2023

Term 1, 2024

• Year 7 and 11 Students return to school Monday 22 January
• New students to the College (Years 8 - 12) can attend an induction morning from 9am - 11am on Monday 22 January
• All remaining Year Levels return to school (8-11) Tuesday 23 January
• Australia Day Public Holiday Friday 26 January

Year 12 Farewell assembly: 

I am so very proud of the Year 12 class of 2023, they have worked tirelessly to be a great group of humans, and the way they conducted themselves right to the very end of their formal schooling is commendable. I am also proud of the rest of our College, who sat through this assembly so quietly and respectfully, it was truly a great assembly. 

I would also like to do a massive shout out to our 2023 student leaders who have led the College with utter respect and care for our community this whole year. Thank you our following leaders: 

Maddison Dolzan and Malachi Munns - College Captains

Liv Greenhalgh - Spiritual Leader

Zoe Ryder - Benjamin House Leader

Patrick Wade - Chisholm House Leader

Mikeal Kuskopf - Mackillop House Leader

Olivia Lee - Rice House Leader

I would also like to introduce and announce the 2024 student leaders to the extended community of Good Shepherd Catholic College: 

College Captains - Ally Haddon and Chelsea Barlow 

Spiritual Leader - Bernadette Feliciano 

Indigenous Leader - Cooper Munns

Benjamin House Leader - Tawananyasha Magurira 

Mackillop House Leader - Rilee Webber 

Rice House Leader - Darci Gillett

Chisholm House Leader - This position will be readvertised to the  current Year 11 cohort, and we will aim to fill the position before the end of the year. 

We are very proud of these up and coming leaders and have full trust that they will work well to continue a great sense of student pride and commitment to the College. 

SchoolTV:  Online reputation

Social media has become such an integral part of a teenager’s life that it can cause anxiety and lower their self-esteem. Modern teens are learning to do most of their communication whilst looking at a screen instead of another person. They are missing out on very critical social skills.

And dependant on what they are communicating online, it can affect their digital reputation. Friendships, relationships and even future job prospects are all at risk. As parents and guardians, It is very important that you are aware of what picture they are painting of themselves online.

Once information makes its way online it can be difficult to remove. Images and words can be misinterpreted and altered as they are easily and quickly shared around. Privacy settings on social media sites need to be managed in order to protect your child’s digital reputation

For more information please see the link below: 

https://goodshepherd.catholic.schooltv.me/newsletter/social-media-and-digital-reputation

Term 4 is off to a busy start with students and staff enjoying the library space. From lunchtime study sessions, to serious games of Chess and Scrabble, there is a space for all. During last term, the Premier’s Reading Challenge was run, where students had to read a minimum number of books to achieve success. GSCC would like to congratulate the following students for their amazing reading efforts, finishing over 100 books between them: Reagan Tapp, Rose Bower, Ruby Price and Savanna Little. 

With such a short term to end the year, don’t forget to return all of yourtextbooks and books to the library, otherwise your school account will be billed for the amount. 

Sports Awards Night 

A big thank you to all involved in last week's Sports Awards Night celebration. 2023 was another successful year and the night helped the College acknowledge all of our Athletes who competed this year. Congratulations to House Captain, Zoe Ryder and Benjamin for taking out Overall House Champions and Mikeal Kuskopf and Mackillop for winning the Jack Skinner House Spirit Award! Finally, congratulations to the following students who won our Individual awards. 

Interschool Sport

Last week was our final Inter school event as GSCC took on Spinifex in a won game, winner takes all Basketball match! Both sides played extremely well and demonstrated great talent across the board. This year, GSCC won both the Junior and Senior boys games. Thank you to Spinifex and their staff, as well as, Mount Isa Basketball Association for holding the event.

Congratulations to our Year 12’s on their successful journey thus far! Last Friday the College celebrated our students at our Farewell Assembly. As a school we laughed, cried and reminisced as we said goodbye to our graduates who have now begun their external exams. 

We want to wish our students the best of luck for their exams! And we can’t wait to continue the celebration in Week 7 for Grad Week. Students and parents are reminded that all students are expected to attend and actively participate during this time. We will see you all on Monday 13th November at school and see families at Graduation Mass on Wednesday 15th November.