It was wonderful to see so many families attending our Term 3 Parent Teacher Student Interviews this week. If you have any follow up questions or require any further clarification about your conversations, please do not hesitate to email the teachers involved. 

This Friday we look forward to welcoming our prospective Year 7 students to the College at our Annual Open Night. If new families have not filled out an Enrolment Form, these are available at the College Office or from the Registration desk on the night. We encourage families to also book a Personalised Tour with the Principal at a time convenient to you. Please contact Siobhan Russell on 07 4743 2509 and she will arrange a time.

We are sad to hear that Ms Jade Marinelli has tendered her resignation from the College. She has been offered an exciting opportunity at St Mary’s, Toowoomba and we wish her every success. Ms Marinelli has been an outstanding leader at the College and she will be missed by the staff, parent and student community.  Her contribution to the Creative Arts will be long remembered, especially the many students who she has taught in Music or taken to events such as Mulkadee.

Catholic Education Week Celebrates 175 Years

This year, Catholic schools in Queensland are celebrating 175 years of Catholic Education. While some of the official events have been cancelled in light of COVID-19 restrictions, we will still be marking the event with activities at the College. On Monday, we will be honouring Darcy Ryder, Year 12 recipient of the Deus Caritas Est Award winner for 2020. He will be presented with his award at the Catholic Education Week Mass in Townsville with other schools. Some of his family will also be attending.

On Wednesday we will also be celebrating the Scholar’s Assembly, acknowledging all of those outstanding academic achievers in the College. Ms Nic Beltramelli, our Learning and Teaching Adviser from the Townsville Catholic Education Office will be in attendance and assisting with awards. Unfortunately due to restrictions, we will not be able to celebrate this event with the whole College community. The third big event that we are planning to mark the 175th anniversary is a social gathering of the staff of all of the local Catholic schools. This is an opportunity for staff to get to know each other and build a stronger community of people dedicated to Catholic education in Mount Isa and Cloncurry.

Assessment Calendars

Assessment Calendars have been distributed to students at the beginning of Week 2. These are also accessible via the College website under the Students tab, followed by the Studies & Assessment link. 

The Assessment Calendars are designed to:

• assist students to plan their study time
• help students to prioritise
• be an organisational tool
• communicate due dates to parents/carers and students

NB: Parents and students are encouraged to be mindful of the assessment due dates, and to arrange for specialist appointments/holidays and trips, around these dates. Wherever possible, students should also minimise paid work/casual employment, and cut back during busy weeks of the term. 

Parents and Carers with any questions or concerns in regards to subject curriculum or assessment are encouraged to contact the classroom teacher first. Following this, the Curriculum Leader for each Learning Area is available to speak with you regarding any concerns you may have.

Scholars’ Awards

In Week Three’s Scholars’ Assembly, the College will celebrate the Semester One academic results of our students. To be awarded a Certificate of Excellence, students are required to have achieved an A standard in 50% (or more) of their subjects. Congratulations to all the students who have worked to the best of their abilities in Semester One!

College Photo Day

Our College Photo Day is scheduled in Week 4 on Wednesday, 5th August.  It is important that students arrive at school in their full academic uniform and well-groomed for their photos to take place.  Any students who were not present in Term 1 when ID photos were taken will have the opportunity to get these done on this day along with classroom photos.

In the lead up to Photo Day, we would like parents to give us their preference as to what they would like in their photo packs.  Attached is a link to a Google form for families to be able to give us their preference:  

https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSetuzihLaZAWs4T9Vs8jBXJMdRelsIdQw25dioi6_aMtuqLCQ/viewform

In the Google form you will note that students have two options

1. Individual and Homeroom class photos
2. Individual and Whole Year Level photos

Please note that the second option of a Whole Year Level photo will be automatically included for Year 12 students.

Subject Changes/Selections

It is that time of term again, where we remind students of the appropriate process for applying to change out of a subject. This specifically applies for senior students at the College, and students in Years 8, 9 & 10 that have chosen certain electives. Students may collect an ‘Application to Change Subject’ form from the front office. They must then consult with their current and Curriculum Leader, and future teacher to commence the process. Their teacher will then sign the form to accept the change. Once this step has been completed, the student will need to take this form home to their parents for consideration. In many cases, students will be wishing to change senior pathways, and we must ensure that parents are also aware of the implications of this.

Once this process has been followed, the subject change may then be processed. Mrs Wood (Deputy Principal Teaching and Learning) processes all Year 11 and 12 subject changes, and Mrs Webb for changes in Years 7 - 10. Once approved, the student will be issued with a new timetable in homeroom. Students are not permitted to change classes until they have received their new timetable to ensure that this process has been followed correctly and all have been informed. 

We will be allowing one more week for subject changes this term for students in Years 8, 9 & 10. Any requests to change elective subjects must be completed by Week 3 Friday or they will have to wait until Term 4. Please note that some classes are at capacity, and therefore any requests to move into those won’t be approved.

Catholic Education Week is being celebrated from Sunday 26th July 2020. The theme for this year is ‘A Spirited Tomorrow’. In Queensland there are more than 310 Catholic schools, 20 000 staff and 149 000 students across five Dioceses. We recognise that each one of us has a place in shaping the future of Catholic Education.

Let us pray:

God of this brand-new day, you have filled the world with life through the gift of the Spirit. As we celebrate 175 years of Catholic Education in Queensland, we ask that you continue to pour out your Spirit upon us all, so that each one of us will be strengthened to take your Word into our world.  AMEN

Heads up for Feast Day! We will celebrate our very own brand of Catholic Education in Mount Isa next Friday 31st July when our students and staff will come together to celebrate our Good Shepherd Catholic College community. The students can wear house colours and pay a gold coin donation for the privilege. Please remember that they must wear closed in shoes, sun safe shirts and hats.  Girl’s shorts must be of a reasonable length.

Worldwide Marriage Encounter

Last week the Year 9 students participated in our ‘Team, Challenge, Retreat.’ This took place over two days; the first day focusing on team building and reflecting on how we participate, contribute and grow as we work with others, and the second day centered around setting ourselves a common goal - to complete the 13km walk to Lake Moondarra. The students brought enthusiasm and an incredibly positive attitude to both of the days, and it was great to see so many of them to really support each other and encouraged each other (especially when we hit the 10km mark on day 2) I am incredibly proud of how each of them really engaged in the retreat and it is great to see the leadership skills that they are already displaying.

It has been a busy start to Term 3 for our Year 8’s. The first week was a four day week with their Retreat Day held on the Friday. This only allowed the students three days to get back into the swing of things and into their daily routines. 

Friday saw the students enjoy various sessions throughout their retreat and participated in group activities with their peers. There were four sessions held throughout the day and included activities around the topics of Self Image, Worry, Kindness and Meditation and self-reflection. The students enjoyed their lunch of Subway and Pizza before heading off to the movies in the afternoon session.

A great day was had by all and I would like to thank the following people:

• My homeroom teachers: Ms Millan, Ms Edminston, Miss Kyle and Mr Fainges for preparing and facilitating workshops for the day;
• Students: Pratik Seegoolam, Tala Aukuso, Ryan Philp, Preston Lehmann, Tawanna Magurira, Sarah Pierce, Jorja Kelly and Rachel Horton for their help during Liturgy;
• Ms Hammond and Mr Coghlan for their help with the meditations and reflection;
• Father Mick and Father Emene for joining in the activities with the students throughout the day; and
•  Ms Pye and Ms Denton for collecting our lunch.

Week 3 will be a busy week with us celebrating Catholic Education Week and various activities will be taking place during the week. Next Friday will see the whole school involved in the Good Shepherd Feast Day with morning liturgies held at school followed by fun activities. 

Thank you to the parents who attended the Parent Teacher Interviews on Tuesday evening.  It was great to see the amount of parents showing an active interest in their child’s academic progress. 

On Wednesday, 29th July we will have our Scholars assembly. Congratulations to those Year 8 students who received these awards which recognises all the hard work and dedication that has been put into their school work.

It has been a lengthy time without sports this last Term. However, as restrictions begin to ease and competitions start back up we are looking forward to an exciting Term of sporting competition and carnivals. 

Firstly, we would like to continue showcasing our talent in the upcoming North West and MISSA trials that will be promoted in this newsletter as the nominations arise. Please see this week's North West trial nomination dates below for the respective sports. 

-‘North West’, nominations will go through the school and then on to Linda Asburn (Regional Sport Officer) and further details will be sent back once the nomination is accepted.

-Unless stated, nomination dates involve both Boys and Girls in different sporting codes.

-All nominations are for individual, not team trials.

This Term we will have a big focus on House Sporting events, for example - this Friday during first break we will be holding a House Touch football competition on the Oval. May the best house win!

After School Supervision on Tuesdays

From Week 3, the Library will be open to students after school on Tuesdays in Weeks 3, 4, 5, 6 and 8. The students will be offered limited assistance with their assignments and homework while being supervised by the Librarian, Miss Drover. 

Students may use this time to do personal activities such as reading, colouring and board and card games. However, they will not be permitted to use their mobile phones.

Students will be asked to sign in for safety purposes and expected to remain in the Library from 3 – 4pm, unless they have a signed note from a parent outlining if they have to leave early. Alternatively, parents can call the College Office to request that their child leaves early.

Writing Competitions

Congratulations and best of luck to the students who entered their work in two recent Writing Competitions, Jacaranda Writing and Kidz News Writing Contest. Our College submitted 13 entries.

Premier’s Reading Challenge

It is not too late to sign up for the Challenge! Students in Year 7 – 9 are required to read 15 books from May to August. 

From next week, during 1st Break, Miss Drover will be reading a selection of shortlisted Picture Books, which students can add to their reading tally to assist them reach their challenge total.

Week 2 and 3 Library Raffle

To celebrate the release of Suzanne Collins’ new book, The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes (4th book in the Hunger Games series,) the Library is holding a raffle with the prize being a hardback, Songbird and Snakes journal.

Student receive an entry in the draw simply by borrowing a library book. Bonus entries are also offered if students borrow another book written by Suzanne Collins, a book from the dystopian genre or a book with the words or picture of a bird or snake on the cover.

Top Library borrowers for July

1. Anesu Chahwahwa – Year 10    
2. Charlie Klowss – Year 7
3. Deepali Sharma – Year   Mariana Taylor – Year 7
4. Gyllin Liad – Year 10   Zac McClymont – Year 7   Fiona Pan – Year 8
5. Grace Elliott – Year 12  Ella McClymont – Year 7  Winsome Mock – Year 7

At last week’s Year 8 Retreat we spoke about The 10 Commandments and how they are basically the rules that Catholics follow. In other words they are the values they live their life by.

Catholic or not you need to decide what your values are. What values do you want to live your life by and what sort of person do you want to be known as. The reason it is important is because your values impose themselves on your decisions.

If honesty is one of the values you live by, when you get in a situation where the temptation is to lie; your value influences you to tell the truth. 

If you value intelligence and knowledge, when you have the choice between studying for an exam the following day or playing video games your values shape the decision.

If you value health and fitness you choose fruit instead of chocolate (most of the time).

Your values also shape your friendships. If you want to be an honest person known for your integrity then you don’t hang around with criminals, in other words surround yourself with like-minded people so your values become ingrained.

Always remember though that there are times that you will fail and that is okay because everyone fails and everyone sins. When you do it is important to take responsibility, learn from it and move forward. 

Happened to me this week and I am sure it will happen again; and each time I make a mistake I try to learn from it. Which means I should be pretty smart by now.

So what are the values you want to live your life by?