“The true meaning of life is to plant seeds for trees under whose shade we will never sit.” Greek proverb

Education has always been, and remains, the garden for growing trees. It enables them to grow strong, it shapes their capacity to flourish and eventually to provide the shade under which future generations will sit. A future which offers an ever increasingly complex, challenging and different world for which we as educators and carers realize the urgent need for a “good” education, to support, strengthen and guide young people in their growth and for their future, in other words, in order to thrive.

So, what do we understand to be a “good” education? We hear so much about “lifelong learning”, “digital worlds”, “multiple intelligences”, the importance of STEM subjects, literacy and numeracy, we see an ever-changing workplace of more robots, more youth unemployment, greater incidences of stress and anxiety. Indeed, the workplace of the 2020s in Australia is expected to have less demand for trade labour, less manufacture, less sales workers, less clerical and administrative workers and more; health professionals, carers and aides, business and marketing managers, educational professionals, hospitality and administration. As educators in Queensland, even our profession is going through significant change. We cannot even begin to imagine where the next generation will find employment as they commence what has, over the last few years, expanded from 40 years of work to 50.  We can however, prepare them for change. Not unlike trees of old we have to enable them with the capacity to evolve and to be able to meet the new demands of an ever-changing work environment. Students today need resilience, creativity, critical thinking skills, adaptability and an ability to work well in teams, and most importantly, they need to value a “good” education, one that goes well beyond the classroom and beyond their twelve years of formal learning. This is surely the best fertiliser to provide them with the strength to survive a rapidly changing world.

At Good Shepherd, we work hard to understand the needs of the young students in our care. We know that learning is not only about good curriculum, whether that be an academic pathway or a vocational one, it is also about excellent pastoral care and a focus on student and staff wellbeing, it’s about offering choices and ensuring we are closely connected to this community, It’s about exploring a dimension of faith that will support them in times of need and give fundamental purpose to their lives. Finally, it’s about rigor, a good work effort and a knowledge that nothing can be achieved without effort, whether this be in the classroom, in the workplace, on the sports field, on the stage or in the community. Truly a holistic education that serves students’ needs physically, intellectually, socially, emotionally and spiritually.

As educators, we have an enduring hope that what we teach our students in our classrooms, on the field, on the stage, or in the liturgy, will echo for a lifetime in their minds. That the seeds we plant, water and lovingly tender might grow love and passion in our students’ hearts. That the love of learning may feed their souls and enable successful and fulfilled lives.

Last Wednesday evening we held our Annual Awards Night. This was a wonderful event. My thanks to all who made it so and my congratulations to those students with whom we celebrated success, for they are preparing for the changes that will inevitably come; they are preparing to live successful lives, for they understand the value of a “good” education so they may one day provide the shade under which we might sit, the shade required to protect and support and grow the next generation.

Awards Night

Last week the College celebrated its Annual Awards Night, recognising the cultural, academic and sporting achievements of students this year. It was great to see so many parents and students attend to join with us. I wish to congratulate all our award winners on the night. Especially to our Special Award winners.

Set Planning
This week the SET Planning process has begun for Year 10 students. Parents have been emailed and sent a text message with details of how to book an interview. We look forward to working with you and your child to develop and support them to achieve their goals. We encourage you too book these interviews as soon as possible.

Elective Subject Selection - Year 8 & 9 Students

Over the next few weeks, Year 8 & 9 students will be sent their new webcode, and links to the online subject selection portal to select their preferences for elective subjects for 2019. It is important to note the following:

• Not every combination of electives is possible,
• Some subjects have a minimum number required to run,
• Some subjects have a cutoff capacity,
• Submission times are used to determine elective placements.

We endeavor to ensure that students receive as many of their main preferences as possible.

Cyber Safety

Earlier this year, a Global Social Media Report was compiled and there are some very interesting findings from this research:

• The number of internet users worldwide in 2018 is 21 billion, up 7 percent year-on-year
• The number of social media users worldwide in 2018 is 196 billion, up 13 percent year-on-year
• The number of mobile phone users in 2018 is 135 billion, up 4 percent year-on-year

At the beginning of 2018, there were almost 200 social media sites available online, and many more are created every month. This number is concerning, considering that it does not include services such as email, online gaming and chat sites.

As a result of the growing online functions available to young people, it is important that parents know how to support their children if they are experiencing harassment or bullying online.

Report Cyber Bullying

Step 1

The first step to take if you or your child are experiencing bullying, harassment or fraudulent activity online is to screenshot the concern and report it to the social media site. Below is a link to the Office of the eSafety Commission which outlines the policies, procedures and user guides for many of the popular social media sites. This will aid in the initial report.

Reporting Inappropriate Social Media Use

Step 2

After 48 hours you should receive communication from the social media provider regarding their action. If you are unsatisfied with their response, you can take your complaint a step further, filing a report with the Office of the eSafety Commission (link above). Parents can make a complaint to the eSafety Commission on behalf of a child.

Step 3

If the online harassment continues after these reports have been filed, you should file a complaint with the police.

Reporting is Key

It is important that reports are filed with the provider (and potentially the police) if any of the following breaches occur online:

• Cyberbullying
• Offensive and illegal content
• Image based abuse
• Fraud
  
  

eSafety - Complaints and Reporting

Please Note: If your complaint involves students from the College, please forward all relevant details to their Pastoral Coordinator as soon as possible.

With so many of us using social media today, sites like Facebook and Instagram can cause young people a range of problems.

Here are the top 10 tips to stay safe on social media:

1. Be selective with friend requests. If you don’t know the person, don’t accept their request.  It could be a fake account.
2. Use a strong password.  The longer it is, the more secure it will be.
3. Use a different password for each of your social media accounts.
4. Set up your security answers.  This option is available for most social media sites.
5. If you have social media apps on your phone, be sure to password protect your device.
6. Click links with caution.  Social media accounts are regularly hacked.  Look out for language or content that does not sound like something your friend would post. It is important to also report these posts.
7. Be careful about what you share. Don’t reveal sensitive personal information ie: home address, financial information, phone number.  The more you post the easier it is to have your identity stolen.
8. Become familiar with the privacy policies of the social media channels you use and customize your privacy settings to control who sees what.
9. Protect your computer by installing antivirus software to safeguard.  Also ensure that your browser, operating system, and software are kept up to date.
10. Remember to log off when you’re done.

Bishop’s Dinner

Last week, Bishop Timothy Harris visited Mount Isa, for the annual Bishop’s dinner, which was held at the Irish Club. The student leadership team and some members of the Catholics in Action (C.I.A) Youth Group, attended the evening along with members of the P&F committee and the Senior Leadership team. Bishop Tim in his address, spoke of some of the challenges facing the Church at this current time, and particularly in the media. He asked us not to forget about the wonderful things that we are doing, and have done within our communities, that reflect what it means to be Catholic.

At the dinner, Ann-Marie Eaton, president of the P&F committee was re-awarded the Mappas medallion, for her tireless work and dedication to the P&F committee, and for our Good Shepherd Catholic College community. We would like to take this opportunity to congratulate Ann-Marie on her achievement.

Christmas Appeal

Christmas can often be a stressful time of year for individuals and families, especially with the added financial pressures associated with the festive season. Every year, Good Shepherd Catholic College, the parish and Vinnies, with your support, helps families within the Mount Isa community celebrate Christmas. This Christmas, your support can make wishes come true, by helping to alleviate some of the pressures families and individuals may be facing during this season.

Each House group has been asked to participate by collecting or purchasing the following items. These donations can be left at the front office.

• Benjamin: Non perishable food and hamper items

These items are used for Christmas hampers that will be delivered to people in the Mount Isa community. Some ideas include; Christmas puddings, tinned fruit, milo, biscuits, candy canes, juice, pancake mix and pasta, or anything that doesn’t need to be kept refrigerated.

• Chisholm: Stationery in preparation for the 2019 school year

We ask that you clean out your desks and draws and donate any stationery items you may not use. These can include: pencils, pens, erasers, exercise books, notepads, rulers, textas, scissors, paper etc.

• MacKillop: Toiletries and Towels

Items include: Shampoo, Conditioners, Soap, body Wash, Toothbrushes, Toothpaste, Towels and other personal hygiene products.

• Rice: Toys and gifts for young adults/children

New and old for the Christmas Eve toy truck here in Mount Isa. Some ideas may include: plush toys, stationery games, sports equipment, colouring books, board games, dress-up costumes, nail polish kits and soap packs.

Thank you for supporting our Christmas Appeal for 2018 and helping to make a difference to the lives of people in our local community.

Upcoming events

• 31/10 - All Hallows Eve
• 01/11 Year 10 Mass & All Saints Day - all are invited to attend
• 02/11 - All Souls Day
• 07/11 - Year 11 Mass

Finally, as mentioned in last week’s newsletter, RCIA will commence again this Term. RCIA stands for Rite of Christian Initiation of adults (or young adults). The RCIA program generally runs on a Wednesday afternoon from 3.30-4.30pm. If you are interested in becoming Catholic or would like to complete any of the sacraments of initiation please contact myself or the Good Shepherd Parish office on 4749 8555.

With only 16 days until Graduation, Year 12 students often struggle to keep the motivation up during this time. It is important that through the last remaining weeks that they continue to make positive choices, and ensure they are still following the expectations of the College around uniform and being on time for classes.

We want each student to enjoy their final weeks of Year 12, this is often one of the most memorable times in a students life; however, we want those memories to be positive.

On Wednesday this week our Year 12 students attended a Life After School program which was run by Red Frogs Australia. The program covered practical aspects of surviving newfound independence and also examined the impact that major change can have on mental health. Through a series of real life examples, the Year 12’s were given useful tools and safeguards for coping with change as they graduate high school.

Graduation Update

This week, students were provided with a schedule for their final week of schooling at the College. This week sees us celebrating together and more importantly rehearsing for the many formal events that will occur.

Throughout the week, the following formal events will take place

Graduation Mass

Wednesday 14th November, 7pm at the Good Shepherd Parish

Graduation Assembly

Friday 16th November, 9:30am at Good Shepherd Catholic College LCC

Graduation Dinner

Saturday 17th November. Arrivals from 5pm - 7pm. Formal proceedings to commence at 7pm. Mount Isa Civic Centre.

A reminder that Graduation payments are due this Thursday, 1st November. If you have not yet purchased your tickets, or RSVP’d please do so as soon as possible so that we can continue with the preparations. Your assistance is appreciated.

Should you have any concerns about this please don’t hesitate to contact me at the College.

The Year 11 cohort have well and truly settled in to Term 4. As this is a shortened term, it is imperative that they maintain focus, implement effective study patterns and complete assessment tasks in a diligent manner. This term, the Year 11 exam block will begin in Week 7 on the 22nd of November and will continue until the 30th of November.

Social Justice Program

Today, the Year 11’s completed their social justice initiative for the semester by donating tinned cans to Jangawala and assembling ‘packs’ of shampoo, conditioner, soap and other items to the Good Shepherd Parish. The students have been collecting these items throughout Term 3 and Term 4, and it was fantastic to see these ‘packs’ come to life. I would like to say thank you for the donation of the tinned can items, which I will continue to collect until this Friday.

Congratulations

Congratulations to all students who received awards last Wednesday evening! The GSCC Awards Night was a wonderful opportunity to celebrate the exceptional achievements of Year 11 students this year.

Congratulations to Jordan Dew and Tara Gavan who have been accepted as Queensland Minerals and Energy Academy (QMEA) Student Ambassador Program in 2019, with only 20 Student Ambassador roles awarded. These two students will participate in a number of QMEA activities that are aimed at increasing understanding of the resources sector, develop leadership skills and provide opportunities for networking in this industry throughout next year. I would also like to extend commandment to those students who nominated for this program, as this displays courage and determination to seek such opportunities.

If you have any questions, or concerns, regarding your child’s progress or wellbeing as we draw closer to the conclusion of the year, please do not hesitate to contact me via email at jmartin7@goodshepherd.catholic.edu.au or by phone on 07 4749 9427.

Vocational Education and Training

Interesting video clip on the perception of vocational training.  Take 2 minutes to check it out.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IJQGn2AuYnc&trk=public-post_share-video-embed_share-article_title

INVITATION

Parents/caregivers, please feel free to make contact with me to discuss future career pathways for your children.  It might be that you want to know what subjects need to be studied to gain university entry, trade courses available during school or even work experience options.  Please email fcoghlan@goodshepherd.catholic.edu.au or phone 4743 2509.

FEE FREE TAFE COURSES FOR 2019

Students commencing Year 11 & 12 next year may be eligible to enrol in *fee free training at TAFE.

Courses and career outcomes may include:

• Cert II in Automotive Vocational Preparation  (auto electrician, auto air-conditioning fitter, auto electrical fitter, auto manufacturing technician, auto mechanic, auto parts interpreter, diesel fitter, vehicle body builder)

• Cert II in Automotive Electrical Technology (as above)

• Cert II in Engineering Pathways (Fitter and turner, metal fabricator, welder, machinist, patternmaker, moulder, locksmith, boat builder)

• Cert I in Construction (Carpenter, joiner, shopfitter, bricklayer, painter, solid plasterer, roof tiler, stonemason, plasterer, flooring technician, tiler)

• Cert II in Furniture Making (Cabinet maker, furniture finisher, wood machinist, upholsterer)

• Cert II in Electro technology (Electrician, electronics and communications, electrical instrumentation, air-conditioning and refrigeration, electrical fitter)

• Cert II in Health Support Services (Aged care assistant, ward support, assistant in nursing (AIN), patient service attendant, operating theatre technician, nursing support worker, nursing assistant, orderly, wardsperson, patient care assistant)

To enrol in any of the above courses, go to www.tafeapply.com  Use application code TQN1901.  Students will need a Unique Student Identifier (USI) to complete online application.  If they don’t already have one go to www.usi.gov.au to arrange. Takes about 5 minutes and they will need ID such as birth certificate.

All Certificate II courses attract 4 Qld Certificate of Education (QCE) points.  Cert I = 2 QCE points.

*fee free training is available to any student who has not already completed a TAFE/VETis funded course.  Contact Careers for clarification.

Good Shepherd Rocks out at the 2018 APEX Rock Pop Mime Show with three very different entries.  Congratulations to the three crews and especially the student creators and choreographers.

Seasons

Creator - Charlotte Coghlan

Choreographer - Amy Pemble

The Greatest Show

Preparation for ‘The Greatest Show’ began in Term 2 when Year 9 students Grace Heuir and Trysten Vyney were inspired by the recent hit film, The Greatest Showman. The girls were moved by the strong message within this film - be proud of your differences, and wanted to share this message and tell the story from the Outcasts’ perspective. With the help of Ms Sheridan Scott compiling the music and managing the team and Year 9 student Brooke Troxell who did an amazing job with the choreography, this Junior team presented a spectacular performance.

Ms Caitlin Conway came on board to assist with rehearsals and it was a whole team effort when it came to helping with costuming and make up with the guidance of Mr Peter Scott. The Greatest Showman won Best Choreography, Best Costuming and Best Overall act in the Junior Secondary Division. This is an outstanding achievement that all students involved should be proud of.

Creator - Grace Heuir

Choreographer - Brooke Troxell

Toybox

Creators and Choreographers - Isabell Fahey and Ariane Ventura

A massive thanks to the Banner crew and especially Juliette Tupperainen who drew all three banners.

The Scene Project is a participatory style project which involves schools in the creative process of performance, from rehearsal through to production. The Scene Project is about acknowledging students and teachers as artists and encouraging live performance in a professional space and manner.

In Term 4, student groups from Good Shepherd and Spinifex brought their work to the Civic Centre, then after all the student performances were done and dusted, a cast of professional actors took to the stage and presented their own interpretation of the scenes and led the groups in a forum, Q&A and discussion.

The students thoroughly enjoyed the process some comments included:

"On Monday, our year 11 and 12 senior drama class had the privilege of attending the Scene Project and presenting our take of the play Good Grief. Something that I enjoyed in the day was performing up on stage, it was such an amazing experience to be able to present our hard work in front of a different audience. A highlight of my day was being able to hear some feedback and receive compliments about my own performances from the actors and fellow classmates there. From the the project I've learnt that performance is really about being able to get into a character and just give it your all to able to provide the most entertaining and engaging act that will impact your audience; even if you mess up, keep your character up and dedicate your all to keep the performance as moving as possible"  (Frances Mangin, yr12)

"The Scene Project was an awesome experience! I loved that we all had the same script but each group has a different interpretation of it. Being able to showcase our work and receive feedback was very beneficial. My highlight of the day was doing the tech run, with everyone in our group coming together and getting excited. I learned that even our regional school groups have so much talent. Overall, I would like to say thank you to Queensland Theatre for coming out to Mount Isa" (Laura Szabadics, yr10)

"The thing I enjoyed the most was being able to see everyone’s different interpretations of the script. The highlight of my day had to be when we finally got to perform our's for everyone. What I learned about theatre was that it is important to reflect on past performances so that  we can learn from our experiences" (Helena Schlencker, yr10)

Last weekend was the 20th Clancy Corporation Lake Moondarra Fishing Classic, which is one of the richest freshwater fishing competitions in Queensland.  

Nick Thinee (yr11) entered in to the competition and then this week was proud to say that he had earned the following awards:
- Champion senior angler
- Heaviest senior sooty
- Champion team.

Mind you fishing must run in the family because Mitch Thinee (yr9) also did very well earning awards for
- Champion junior angler, which was a memorial Chris Rysanek plaque
- Junior biggest sooty grunter

Well done gentlemen and also congratulations to any other student who had a successful fishing weekend at the Classic.

World Challenge