It’s no secret that I love Christmas: the build-up of excitement, the gathering as family, huge feasts and the gift-giving of course. I always put my tree up way too early and drag my teenage and older children to light displays around town with Mariah Carey or Boney Maroney blasting on the stereo. I only recently gave up hope on any further Santa photos with them. However, apart from these commercial aspects of Christmas, my favourite ritual is the setting up of the nativity scenes (I have one for each room of the house). I am always filled with wonderment at the Nativity story and marvel at what it must have been like for Mary and Joseph on that first Christmas.

St Mary MacKillop told us in 1881, that “We can all meet together in spirit at the Crib of our loving infant and pray for one another”. 

This year our family will be getting together after being separated all year - a scenario similar to many on our staff and in our College community.  I hope everyone has an opportunity to reconnect with loved ones this Christmas and takes the time to remember ‘the reason for the season’. We also continue to keep in our prayers all of those people affected by Covid-19 across the world and those people who struggle at this time of year financially and socially if separated from loved ones.

As this is our final newsletter for the year I would like to wish all of our staff, students and families a very merry Christmas and a safe and joyous holiday.

 A Christmas Blessing

Whenever we gaze into a crib this Christmas season

May new hope and joy flood our spirit

Whenever we watch babies and young children playing

May a new energy delight our hearts

Whenever we are tantalised by the aroma of a bbq

May we unwind, relax and enjoy time off

Whenever the crush of family and friends overwhelms us

May the hospitality of our hearts expand

Whenever we provide a meal or bed over the holidays

May we experience love and appreciation

Whenever we spy our reflection in the mirror or pool

May we find ourselves to be images of God

Whenever we put our feet up for leisure

May the humble presence of the Incarnate One

companion us

Whenever we feel our distance from each other around the world

May the Christ child draw us into unity.

Amen.

(From Act, Love, Walk  by Ann L Gilroy rsj)

What a year we have had! What a pleasure it has been to watch our students persevere and grow and achieve.

I would like to take this opportunity to thank all staff, students, parents and community members for your ongoing support throughout the year. I’d like to make a special mention of the Curriculum Leaders who have made GSCC the place of learning it is!

Semester Two Reports will be available on Compass on Friday 4 December 2020.

I’d also like to remind all Year 12 Students to register on the QCAA Student Portal to be able to access their results from 9am on Saturday 19 December.

Starting the New School Year Appropriately

• If students intend on making changes to their appearance over the school holidays, it is important that they are realigned with College Expectations by day 1 2021. In particular, if changes are made to students’ hair these must be rectified by the beginning of ext Year. Please note:

• Hairstyles must be neat and tidy and no shorter than clipper number 2. No tracks, mohawks or extreme styles or colours are permitted.
• Hair must be kept out of the eyes and off the face.
• Hair longer than collar length must be fully tied up; half up/half down hairstyles are not permitted for students with long hair.

All nail polish, including shellac, gel and acrylic nails must be removed by the first day of Term.

Finally, a reminder that students are only permitted to wear the following jewellery items:

• One Wrist Watch
• One plain gold/silver Chain with a Crucifix/Christian symbol
• One Signet Ring
• One Earring in each ear. This can be a sleeper, stud or Birthstone earring and should be no greater than 3mm in diameter.
• Students must have no other visible piercings - clear jewellery is not permitted.

Happy Holidays!

I would like to wish all students and families a very safe and happy Christmas and New Year period. I hope that you are able to spend time with your family, relax and reinvigorate yourselves before returning for another busy School Year in 2021!

Term 1, 2021 will commence for Year 7, Year 12 and New Students on Wednesday 27th January; followed by students in Years 8 - 11 on Thursday, 28th January. It is also important to note that Year 10 students will start their two day Retreat on Thursday, 28th January.

Report Cards

Report Cards will be uploaded to Compass next Friday, 4 December. If you are having trouble accessing your Compass Parent Portal, please contact the Office this week and we will be able to assist.

As 2020 draws to a close, I would encourage students to reflect on their successes, and set goals for the year ahead. I hope you all have a wonderful holiday season. 

Advent is that time of the year when we prepare to welcome Jesus into our world and our lives again. It is a season of waiting and a time to prepare ourselves for the coming of Jesus. His arrival changes the world forever, it is God’s greatest gift to us. We know that this baby is Jesus the son of God - God made human. He will grow up to lead people, to teach, to heal, and to proclaim the word of God. This little baby, when he is an adult, will be crucified on a cross to forgive our sins and to show us that we can have eternal life with him in Heaven.

Lord Jesus, Master of both the light and the darkness, send your Holy Spirit upon our preparations for Christmas. We who have so much to do, help us to seek quiet spaces to hear your voice each day, We who are anxious over many things look forward to your coming of Christ our Saviour.  

AMEN

I would like to take this opportunity to wish you all the joy of Christmas. For many it will be an opportunity for families to come together, especially after the challenges that 2020 presented us with. Christmas and the birth of Jesus who came to give us a new way of being continues to remind us again year after year that getting back to the basics of family, hope, peace, joy and love is what Christmas is all about.

Take care and God’s Blessings to you all, see you in 2021!

Vinnie’s Christmas Appeal is still going, if you have anything to contribute, it can be delivered to the Good Shepherd Parish.

Term 4 College fees are due this Friday the 27th of November, 2020. It is a College requirement that accounts are paid in full by the due date unless you have organised a payment plan. If you are unable to make payment in full by this date, please call the College to discuss your options.

Year 8:04 Homeroom group has learned the importance and value of putting others first. We spoke about the importance of setting an example for others through a discussion around the saying “the standard that you walk past is the standard that you accept”. So, they made a collective decision to put together a Christmas hamper to give to local family/families who are struggling and for whom Christmas can be a lot of pressure and sometimes a time of sadness. Each of the students contributed to the hamper with food items, Christmas treats and gifts that will brighten a family’s Christmas experience. They all displayed their sharing and caring nature and were proud to have their photo taken with their overloaded hamper of goodies. Well done to all of these students. There were also some students who contributed but were absent for the photo, thank you to them as well.

I have noticed a lot of stress around Grade 10 and 11 students this week due to exams. Never really had that problem myself but that is a story for another day.

I spoke to a couple of young ladies recently on a course and we discussed controlling nerves and anxiety. Now both are good things because they show that you care about what you are going to do but neither contributes to how well you do it.

Floyd Mayweather Jnr is considered by some to be the best pound for pound fighter ever; undefeated in 50 fights. One of his biggest challenges was American-born Puerto Rican Miguel Cotto who could knock out an elephant by flicking it’s trunk with his finger.

WWE wrestler Triple H is a good friend of Mayweathers and was with him several hours before the fight. Triple H stood up and said 'All right man, we're going to let you do your thing.'

Mayweather looked at him and said 'If you want to hang out, man, I'm not doing nothing. I'm just watching TV.'

Triple H replied,  'Floyd, I don't want to be in your way. You've got some stuff to do to get ready for this fight.' 

Mayweather answered calmly, 'I've done everything I'm going to do. Nothing I do in the next little bit will change anything, so ain't no use getting worried about it. I'm going to watch this game, talk with you if you want, and then go win my fight.' 

Relate that to assessments and the same principle applies. My daughter Ella said to me after an exam this week that she had tried the thing I talked about with the footballers in the dressing shed before a game.

She put on her headphones and just relaxed. When she went in she was a lot calmer than she normally is. Nervousness burns energy and that energy is needed for your brain during the exam.

‘The football thing.’ Years ago before a game the coach would peel paint off the walls with plenty of colourful language to ‘inspire’ the troops. Problem was that when you got on the field that adrenaline fades and takes all your energy with it. 

If you are not fit and prepared no amount of inspiration will help. Look in a dressing shed today and players are calm, some laughing and chatting. The work has been done during the week and offseason and they are just waiting for the action to start.

If you have put the effort in during the term by completing study, homework and assignments your preparation is done, so relax. After all, do you perform best when happy or stressed? Easy question really.

Thank You to Mrs McCarthy for giving me the opportunity to be your Chaplain this year. I can’t explain how much joy you bring into my life.

Merry Christmas to you and your family and Happy New Year.

In what has been a strong end to the year, the next crop of GSCC Senior Rugby League players have been training hard in the spring heat. For the last month, Monday and Wednesday training sessions have seen the boys focus on the skill components of the game which has resulted in a solid foundation to build upon next year. One of the game’s greatest coaches Jack Gibson once said, “Talent is secondary to whether players are confident,” and the boy’s confidence has shone right through the month. 

It has been pleasing to see those stepping up into Year 11 and Year 12 take on leadership roles at training and guide those with less experience through the game’s fundamentals. Additionally, their welcoming nature and guidance has seen younger players from Year 9 make the step up into Senior Rugby League. 

The boy’s willingness to continue to turn up in 40-degree heat is indicative of their commitment and they are to be congratulated on the respect they have shown for GSCC Rugby League. Through this respect and passion for the game, these young men have been able to set themselves up for success next season. Well done and thank you boys.

On another matter, Rugby League legend and Mount Isa’s own, Carl Webb was this year diagnosed with motor neurone disease (MND), a rare condition that attacks the body’s nerve cells. It’s a debilitating and often fatal disease that affects breathing, moving and speaking. 

Last week, Carl successfully launched the Carl Webb Foundation to raise awareness, and funds to help others with MND in Queensland. Additionally, the Foundation seeks to deliver support programs and funds research into treatments and a cure for MND.

I kindly ask that the College community extends our thoughts and prayers to Carl and his family during this time. If you wish to donate or learn more about the Carl Webb Foundation, visit carlwebbfoundation.org.

In the event of a cyclone or severe weather impacting on our Catholic schools, regularly updated information will be available on the following:

• Townsville Catholic Education website www.tsv.catholic.edu.au LATEST NEWS section on homepage
• Twitter – you can follow us on www.twitter.com/tceo
• Facebook – you can follow us on www.facebook.com/TownsvilleCEO
• Listen to local radio stations (ABC in all regions) plus various local commercial stations for updates.
• Instagram – Townsville_Catholic_education If a decision is made overnight to close schools, this message will be broadcast from 7am, earlier if possible. 

Parents should be advised that on occasion it is difficult to call through to radio stations, so patience is appreciated if message broadcasts are delayed in any way. 

Please refrain from calling schools before 7.00am as this causes disruption to vital communication networks. 

Please refer to the above methods of communication as your first source of information. 

Please use your best discretion in the interests of safety at all times.