This week I am taking a couple of days off to celebrate my son’s 21st birthday. I’m a firm believer that it takes a village to raise a child and I am looking forward to celebrating this milestone with family, friends and loved ones who have in some way shaped him to who he has become. Schools and teachers are important members of this village too and I am especially grateful to the positive role models my children have had and continue to have during their Catholic education. 

Who are the people in your child’s village? Perhaps it is an Uncle, an Aunty or that family friend who has taken over the reins when parenting has been tough. We know that we need those people in our lives, but they are especially important in the life of a child. 

The Daniel Morcombe Foundation recommends talking to young people about who their five support people are. I think this is a great idea and I don’t think teenagers are too old to do this with.

As we approach Mid-Semester holidays, I hope that students use this time to refresh and reflect on Term 3:

1. What went really well for me? What should I do more of next Term?
2. What didn't go well for me this term? What should I do less of next Term?
3. If I could do one thing differently in Term 4 in order to improve, it would be?

Reports will be available at the end of Week 10, and as follows:

• Year 7-10 will receive interim reports.
• Year 11 will receive full reports, for the end of Unit 2 in most subjects and for the end of Unit 1 and 2 in the General subjects Maths and Science.

Parents are entitled and encouraged to contact the teachers to discuss their child’s progress. Please make use of the opportunities to work collaboratively with the teachers to best support your child in their learning journey.

RADII Surveys

On Friday 4 September, all parents should have received the link to our 2020 RADII surveys. We would appreciate it if all parents could take the time to complete this survey, providing us with valuable feedback. The email includes our schools specific survey link, this link is different for each school in the Diocese. 

As per the email sent by Dr. Jean Thompson, the Research Australia Development and Innovation Institute (RADII), on behalf of the school your child(ren) attends, is undertaking a review of the services it offers to the community. This online survey will take approximately 20 minutes to complete. The link to the survey is https://surveys.radii.org/surveys; however, you need your survey ID sent in the email to complete.

Please note: RADII surveys are compatible with most PC browsers. In particular, the survey is best viewed and optimized using Chrome version 60 and up.

If you have more than one child at the school, please respond about the child with the most recent birthday. 

If you have children at other Townsville CEO schools, you will receive a survey for each school. 

You can complete the survey from anywhere you have access to the internet.

Our Year 7s have been exploring the meaning of the Catholic Social Teaching – “The Common Good”. The Common Good states that every person should have sufficient access to the goods and resources of society so that they can completely and easily live fulfilling lives. (Caritas website) What it means also, is that we view the whole world as a community and so in allocating resources we need to be mindful of the implications for everyone. The students have been challenged by scenarios where they have to decide what is best for the common good of all.

Living life as a Christian is about living within a community, the Church is a community of people travelling together through life. We share a history, a belief in Jesus Christ as the Son of God. Ultimately we look out for each other. The Good Shepherd community (school and Parish) is a community that exemplifies that in so many ways; North West Queensland Indigenous Catholic Social Services, St Vincent de Paul, Centacare, Jangawala to name a few. In our College we have so many students that are very aware of those less fortunate and suffering in some way.  

There have been many effected by Cancer and so some Senior students have come together to organise Shave for a Cure and Rock the Chop to raise funds for the Cancer Council. This is purely a student led initiative which we are so proud to support.  

Well done Good Shepherd students, you truly are God’s hands in our community. We will do the shave/cut next Friday and on this day students are asked to wear their house colours (shirts) and donate to the cause. Or they may wish to sponsor one of the Seniors who are getting shaved. There will be more information next week on how to do that once we know who the particpants will be (they will be students from Years 10, 11 or 12).  

We are registered on the Cancer Council website. You can donate through this site also.

https://www.daffodilday.com.au/fundraisers/anne-mariehammond/good-shepherd-daffodil-day-appeal

This Term, our Year 9 English unit reflected upon the harrowing events of The Holocaust. Students read the novel “Once” and explored the themes of courage, naivety and the power of stories.

The novel study culminated in an assessment that encouraged students to showcase their writing skills by creating a short story. Leading up to their assessment task, students evidenced and honed their language and literacy skills in a number of ways, one being through the writing of a book review. Please enjoy the following book review by one of my Year 9 students, Mikayla Wills.

The book 'Once,' written by Morris Gleitzmann, is based in Poland in 1942 during World War II and The Holocaust. The main character is Felix, a 10-year-old Jewish boy who was dropped off at an Orphanage thinking his parents were coming back for him when really, they, and all the other Jews of the town, were taken to a death camp. After 3 years and 8 months, Felix decides to escape the orphanage to find his parents. Over the course of the novel, Felix uses his stories to help save his and others lives. Starting naive, Felix begins to learn what is going on around him and gains a deeper understanding of what the Nazi's are trying to do. Overall, it is an excellent book that remains engaging throughout.

Term 4 promises to once again be an enjoyable experience for all Year 9 students, as we pay our respects to some old favourites, through a study of Classical Literature.   

Term 3 is a very busy time in the Art room with the completion of Year 12 IA2 resolved artworks and also that of Year 11.

Year 12 have accomplished a high level of artistic achievement producing a very varied range of artworks including drawings, paintings, sculptures and other three dimensional works.

Year 11, not to be outshone, have also risen to the challenge of creating artworks under the genres of Gender Specific, Cultural, Abstracted Land and Repetition. Particularly inspiring was their collaborative installation work for Repetition. They worked well together as a team, going above and beyond to achieve this during their school holiday break.

Congratulations to both Year levels.