A couple of weeks ago, I was in the drive-thru at McDonald’s when the lady behind the counter told me that the car ahead of me had already paid for my order as an act of kindness. I was totally taken aback and filled with joy at the generous act. It was such a small gesture (worth no more than the cost of two coffees) but it absolutely made my day. It really made me committed to paying the gesture forward and offering someone else a gift like this.

In Fr Mick’s reflection on readings from the Sixth Sunday of Easter he talked about kindness and that kindness has the potential to lead to long lasting friendships and that it can have an infectious effect on others. (That is one type of contagion we could all get behind at present!) Fr Mick also talked about making room for others and the Holy Spirit in our life. In times of uncertainty, we should trust in God and allow God’s spirit to be activated within us. We can do this by demonstrating kindness and gratitude to others. God’s spirit can be found in the ordinariness of our lives - we just have to be open to it. The full video of Fr Mick’s reflection can be found here on the Good Shepherd Catholic Parish Facebook Page. We keep Fr Mick in our prayers as he travels to Bowen this week for his Father’s funeral.

We are very much looking forward to the return of all of our students next week. There is a notice going home to Parents and Guardians this week with important details about the return. A most sincere thanks to all of our families for your support during the last few months. The threat of COVID-19 is far from over and we will continue to be vigilant in our social distancing and hygiene procedures for some time to come. As more restrictions are lifted, we will communicate to all Parents and Guardians about changes to events and activities.

Thank you to all of those who attended our Parents and Friends’ Association meeting on Tuesday night. We would particularly like to thank our P&F Association for their generous sponsorship of new equipment for our Design and Technology Centre which is due to open in a few week’s time. We look forward to many more Parent Engagement opportunities this year, now that some restrictions have been lifted. 

Each week we will profile a section of our Annual School Improvement Plan for 2020. This is the document that guides our plans and priorities for the year. We prepare this document based on initiatives set by the Townsville Catholic Education Office and through consultation with our school stakeholders: parents, staff and students.

One week back with our Seniors and it has been a smooth transition for most. I am so proud of the way our young men and women cope, adapt and soldier on. The work they have completed independently has been of a high standard and this is a very good thing. We will see these Year 12 students finish this year and go out into tertiary study or the world of work, or both. The skills they have, which have been honed during this episode of online learning, will stand them in good stead for the future.

We are also so grateful for our Cert II Hospitality Students and Mrs Donna Cole who have been opening up the College Cafe each Wednesday morning to deliver hospitality services, what a lovely treat this has been! Well done and thank you for your service.

Spread the word - Good Shepherd Open Night - Save the date

The College’s Open Night has had to be rescheduled due to the current restrictions that are in place. This event will now be held on Friday of Week 2, Term 3. This is a fantastic opportunity for us to showcase the amazing facilities and experiences our students have at Good Shepherd - help us spread the word. 

Breakfast Club

Mr James Coghlan, our College Chaplain, will be running a breakfast club each Wednesday morning to allow students to share breakfast with their peers and have an opportunity to have a chat with Mr Coghlan and their peers. 

The Breakfast Club is a way to improve student interactions and will be accessible from the grassed area outside the Drama Room.

Late Arrivals to School

We are seeing an increase in students arriving late to school each day.  Students are considered to be late to school when they are not at Homeroom at 8:30am. Any student who is not here at 8:30am must sign in at the College Office. Students who do not have a note (or phone call) from a parent or guardian will receive a lunchtime detention. Students who are late on multiple occasions will receive an after school detention.

Mobile Phone Policy

We have a strict Mobile Phone Policy at the College that must be adhered to at all times. The policy states that: “Mobile phones are not to be used at school and students are discouraged from bringing them. However, students who choose to bring their mobile phone to school, must comply with the following expectations:

• They are not to be used at all during College hours ‒ from the first bell for Homeroom to the final bell at 3:00 PM.
• Mobile phones should be switched off and handed in at the Office.
• They should not be kept on a studentʼs person, or in a studentʼs locker.
• Should a parent need to contact their child during the day for any reason, they should contact the College Office and a message will be passed to the student.

Students who are found to be in breach of the Mobile Phone Policy will be required to sign their devices into the College Office before 8:30am for the four (4) consecutive days following the breach (they may collect the phone from the Office after 3pm each day), they will also receive a lunchtime detention.”

More serious consequences will apply to students who repeatedly breach the policy.

National Reconciliation Week 2020

National Reconciliation Week (NRW) 2020 will be celebrated entirely online, a way of life we have all become very familiar with in the past couple of months.

This year’s National Reconciliation Week theme is In this together and encourages all Australians to reflect on the part they play – whether big or small – on our journey towards reconciliation.  2020 marks twenty years since 250,000 Australians walked across the Sydney Harbour Bridge and the across bridges in all capital cities and many other cities and towns around the country.

The anniversary dates which mark National Reconciliation Week (NRW) are significant milestones for reconciliation: 27 May - the 1967 Referendum, and 3 June - the High Court Mabo decision.

Our College will be celebrating National Reconciliation Week with activities in pastoral care lessons in Weeks 6 and 7.

As emailed to all parents on Friday (08/05/2020) and included in last week’s College Newsletter, Parent/Teacher/Student Interviews are unable to proceed as normal. If your child had an interview requested on their Term 1 Report Card and you are yet to discuss their progress with the classroom teacher, we ask that you email your child’s teacher/s to arrange a time for a phone or Zoom interview. All phone/Zoom interviews should take place at an agreed upon time before  Wednesday May 27, 2020.

A reminder that all teaching staff email addresses are available in the 'Our Staff' section of the College Website, all you need to do is click a teacher’s name and it will open their email address in your preferred email platform.

Please note: If you have already been in communication with your child’s teachers, you won’t need to participate in another interview.

Return to school for all students is on Monday 25 May

We are so excited to have all students return to school on Monday! There will be another small timetable change on Friday; however, this will only impact some classrooms, teachers and lesson placement will remain the same.

All students will receive their new timetable on Monday morning during Homeroom, they will use this to make sure they are organised and ready to learn in each lesson. Students are able to continue to use their Compass schedules in addition to their printed timetable.

Below is a reminder of our College bell times. Students should arrive at school no later than 8:25am and must be at their Homerooms by 8:30am.

Acting APRE Anne-Marie Hammond begins this week

Welcome to Anne-Marie Hammond who officially begins the role of acting APRE this week, while I am away on Maternity Leave. Anne-Marie has held a variety of leadership positions at schools across the Townsville Diocese and brings a wealth of experience to the College Leadership Team. 

Religious Education Curriculum Update

Teachers from all over the Diocese, as well as the Religious Education Advisors at TCEO, have been working tirelessly over the last few months to finalise Unit Shapes which will guide what is taught in each of our RE classes. The Townsville Catholic Education Religion Curriculum Unit Shapes have been developed from the Brisbane Catholic Education Religious Education Curriculum Guidelines. Brisbane Catholic Education Religious Education Curriculum. These Unit Shapes will be further developed to suit our context here at Good Shepherd and rolled out over the coming year. Below is an extract from the Rationale behind the Teaching and Learning of RE in the Townsville Diocese.

Religious Education is charged with interpreting the signs of the times and to “reread the memory of faith”, recontextualising so that students can engage in an open narrative and dialogue with the richness of the Catholic tradition and their personal experiences and contemporary cultural contexts so that a rich post-critical belief is nurtured.[1]

It is important in Religious Education that a rigorous and robust curriculum is planned and implemented. There is a direct correspondence between learning and teaching in Religious Education and other curriculum areas. The key variance from other curricula lies in the number of forces that shape and direct Religious Education. The Religious Education Guidelines draw heavily from a range of Church documents including the Catechism of the Catholic Church and Vatican documents on education and related disciplines and statements from Bishops and educational agencies.

Catholic schools aspire to provide religious literacy and faith formation and give witness to, and support students on, the path towards a personal integration of faith and life. It is our ultimate goal that students will articulate their faith and live as open and authentic witnesses to the mission of Jesus and become agents of cultural change in the world. The school’s task is fundamentally a commitment to provide a pathway for a synthesis of culture and faith, and a synthesis of faith and life.

Religious Education in Catholic schools needs to remain grounded in the tradition of the Catholic Church while being responsive and relevant for all students.[3]

Children and young people benefit from Religious Education, the learning area at the heart of the Catholic school. When Religious Education brings faith into dialogue with life it has the capacity to be a source of wisdom, a stimulus to lifelong learning, a means to personal transformation and a call to missionary discipleship.[4]

The critical aspect of the school's role is to educate students and to focus on a growth in knowledge of the Catholic Tradition in a way that is educationally sound and sophisticated yet conveys a sense of the nature of Christianity, and of how Christians are trying to live their lives.

[1] TCE Religious Education Shape Paper 2019 - 2023

[3] Australian Catholic University

[4] (NCEC Framing Paper, 2017, p.5)

Students have been busy in Humanities and Social Sciences this term. We are well into our units and are starting assessment items. Below are some extracts from our Humanities teachers on what their classes have been getting up to:

Ms Jan Luarca with an overview of Year 7:

This term the Year 7’s have been learning about Ancient Rome and how it became one of the most successful empires in history. We have studied famous figures such as Emperor Augustus and Julius Caesar, and events such as the volcanic eruption of Pompeii. We have also been learning about Ancient Rome' Social system and how this is compared to our current society. With this unit, our Year 7’s have the opportunity to explore other civilisations and how it has developed over time.

Mr Greg Blake on Year 10, 11 and 12:

This term has been a very interesting one to teach with students being absent for the first three weeks. Year 11 and 12 have now returned but Year 10 are still online learning. Year 10 has been looking at the Second World War, it has been really interesting learning about why the war began and the countries that became involved in the war. In Year 11 Legal Studies we have been looking at Civil Law and the role that law plays in our community. In Year 12 Legal Studies we have been investigating Human Rights and are currently examining the United Nations Declaration of Human Rights. Year 11 Modern History has been learning all about the Russian Revolution and what happened in Russia during 1917-1924. Year 12 Modern History has been dealing with Terrorism. This is an interesting topic which is very relevant to the world today.

Currently Good Shepherd Catholic College is looking for an Assistant Tuckshop Convenor. Please see the Position Discription and link below to apply. 

Apply here: https://applynow.net.au/jobs/ni/TCE487