Dear Parents and Carers,

We have had a sad start to the year with the passing of our friend, teacher and colleague Keith Fainges. I am in Brisbane this week with Ms Ann-marie Lesca to attend his funeral. Please take some time to read the dedication to him written by our Chaplain James Coghlan.

The staff of the College have been busy preparing for our Year 7 students and ensuring that their transition to secondary school is a smooth one. Our Year 7 Pastoral Leader is Kate Thinee, so please contact her or your child’s Homeroom Teacher, if you have concerns about their introduction to the new year. Our Year 12 students will form buddies with our 7s and provide friendly pastoral support too. We wish our Seniors a positive and successful year.

Our returning students will face 2021 with excitement and perhaps some trepidation, knowing that their work will be harder this year and expectations greater. Starting the year with good study habits and a regular homework routine, will stand them in good stead when the assignment load increases. All students will engage in a goal-setting activity early in the year to assist them in planning for a year of strong academic growth. 

We are pleased to welcome the following new staff to the College:

Tahlia Morley - English/HPE

Yasmin Cook - HPE/Science

Stephanie Whitehouse - English/Art

Lyn Weaich - Maths

Emali Nainima - Food and Fibre Technology

Colin Ryder - Groundsperson

Karen Mountney - Office Administrator

Angela Phillips - Executive Assistant to Principal

In 2021, we will focus on the theme of Compassion. At Good Shepherd we are inspired by the charism of the Good Shepherd which challenges us to reach out and support those in need. Throughout the year we will reflect on the Gospel value of Compassion and what it means for us here at Good Shepherd Catholic College. 

This year, we are looking forward to continuing our strong partnership with parents and the parish. Our hard working P&F and Board are a terrific support to our school community and we look forward to expanding their membership. We will also find more ways to share the work of these groups with the whole school community.

I will leave you with a prayer to begin the start of the year. May 2021 be a year filled with joy, love and blessings for all of our staff, students and families.

Welcome back to our returning families, and a very special welcome to our new students and families!

The beginning of the year is a great time to reset and create new aspirations for the year ahead.  Students, this is your journey, and we’re so excited to offer our support and watch you grow as you travel this path in 2021.

We offer a Homework Help Programme on 4 afternoons each week, to assist students who may need additional support on a once off or on-going basis.  Please look out for details of when our Homework Help starts.  Parents/carers, encourage your child to make the most of this opportunity.

May I also take a moment to introduce our wonderful Curriculum Leaders?

Please feel free to contact the Curriculum Leaders or myself at any point.  We are here to help.

May 2021 be a successful and happy year for you all.

Welcome back to all families, students and teachers to the 2021 School Year. This year, we welcome a number of new staff to our College and look forward to all that they bring to our College and community. I would also like to especially welcome our Year 7 students and any new students who join our College community.

Timetable/Daily Organisation

By now, all students should have received their 2021 timetable. A reminder that the timetable works on a two week cycle (Week A & Week B) - There are five lessons each day of 1 hour in length. Morning Tea is our larger break of the day, and runs from 10:50 am to 11:30am, with Lunch beginning at 1:35pm and finishing at 1:55pm. It is important that students arrive to school by 8:25am to ensure they are ready to enter Homeroom at 8:30am. 

Subject Changes

If students in Years 8 - 10 have reconsidered the elective they wish to study this year they will need to complete a subject change form and return it to Mrs Webb as soon as possible. 

For students in Years 11 and 12, any subject changes need to be discussed with Mrs Wood (Deputy Principal Teaching & Learning). 

Please note that no subject changes will be permitted after the conclusion of week 2.

ID Photos

Student ID Photos will take place on Wednesday 3 February (Week 2). Please ensure that students are in their best full formal uniform for this day. Students in Years 10 - 12 will require their blazers.

School Calendar

Term 1 is packed full of events and activities for students and families. The Good Shepherd Catholic College Website includes information about all upcoming events. If you have a ‘gmail’ account you are also able to add our School Calendar to your Google Calendar. Click this link to access.

Week 1 - 3 Overview

Welcome back to all our returning students and an extra warm welcome to our Year 7 students and any new students starting their journey within the Good Shepherd Catholic College Community this year.  Our Pastoral Team has been working together to ensure that all our students have a fantastic start to the year and have organised wonderful pastoral support programs for each of their cohorts.

2021 Pastoral Team

The 2021 Pastoral Team is a group of dedicated staff who are looking forward to working with our students and families to provide the best support to encourage student success. Our Pastoral Team are as follows:

Year 7 Mrs Kate Thinee

Year 8 Ms Kylie McCarthy

Year 9 Mr William Morganson

Year 10 Mr Jordan Harries

Year 11 Ms Louise Wiles

Year 12 Ms Nikki Dalla Vecchia

We are also very fortunate to have our full time Guidance Counsellor, Mrs Yvonne Van Den Worm, to support our students.  Please feel welcome to contact your child’s Pastoral Leader or the Guidance Counsellor at any time if you have any concerns regarding your child.   

College Expectations

As a College, we expect students to walk with us, to be a part of our community and to follow our mission and vision. I would like to remind students of our four College expectations:

1. Respect all people and things
2. Be in the right place at the right time
3. Come prepared to learn
4. Follow instructions the first time

As signed by students and parents in the enrolment agreement, Good Shepherd students must be prepared to follow these expectations. 

 Uniform Policy

We have very clear uniform expectations at Good Shepherd which are outlined in our College diary. Students must arrive and exit school each day in the full uniform, which includes their hat and diary.  Students are permitted to wear their sports uniforms on days in which they have a practical lesson but we ask that students also check their timetables to see if they have a practical lesson in the Science or Technologies subjects on the same day, as they will be required to wear their leather shoes for those classes.

If your child is unable to wear their full academic uniform, please communicate this with the Homeroom Teacher via email or a note in your child’s diary.

 If students are not adhering to the College Uniform Expectations the following steps will occur: (this does not apply to students who present a note from a parent or guardian)

1. Student will be issued a lunch-time uniform detention. Failure to attend the lunchtime detention will result in a Wednesday afternoon detention.
2. Three (3) uniform detentions within a two week period will result in an afterschool detention (Wednesday afternoons 3pm-4pm).
3. Continued breaches of the uniform policy or failure to attend a Wednesday afternoon detention will result in the student being withdrawn from class until a meeting is able to take place between the student, parent/guardian, Pastoral Leader and myself.

Welcome back everyone to 2021.  This year our theme will be the Gospel value of Compassion.  Compassion comes out of our belief that we are all made in the image and likeness of God and that we have inherent dignity.  We are challenged to see the face of Jesus in every person we encounter.

Some thoughts on compassion:

• True compassion means not only feeling another’s pain but also being moved to help relieve it.  (Daniel Golman)

• Compassion is the wish to see others free from suffering. (Dalai Lama)

• Justice is the social manifestation of Compassion (Blessed Edmund Rice charter)

• But you Lord are a compassionate and gracious God, slow to anger, abounding in love and faithfulness. (Psalm 86:15)

• Be a gift of love and compassion for one another.  (St Mary of the Cross MacKillop)

• If you want others to be happy, practice compassion.  If you want to be happy, practice compassion.  (Dalai Lama)

As 2021 unfolds, we will explore the notion of compassion as a College community.  

Fr Mick in addressing the staff earlier this week, challenged us to take a moment at the end of each day to ask ourselves:

“Who showed me compassion today?”   

“How did I show compassion today?”

And he reminded us that compassion is born out of love, it comes from the heart.

Anyone, Anytime

The Bible is split into two parts, the Old Testament and the New. The birth of Jesus is the point of change; in other words everything before his birth is the Old Testament and everything after is the New Testament.

You can create the Old and New Testament for your life anytime you want and the first day of school can be that time. If you want to change something you make that choice and all that came before is the old and anything you do in the future is the new.

What you do from now on can’t change the past but it can change the future. 

A lady by the name of Michelle couldn’t walk to the letterbox without getting puffed. She made a decision to change her life and joined the ISA RATS Triathlon Club. Michelle started walking each day and some club members invited her to go riding with them and to the pool.

She was embarrassed because she was always last but the others kept encouraging her and reinforced that they were once where she was. Gradually Michelle was able to jog 100m before needing a rest and in the pool could swim a 50 metre lap without stopping.

Soon it was 200 metres and 2 laps and before long she could run a kilometre without stopping and swim for 400 metres. Michelle started her first triathlon of 150 metres swim, 5 kilometre ride and 1 kilometre run.

She finished without stopping once.

Michelle then set her sights on the Julia Creek Dirt’n’Dust triathlon which is an 800 metre swim, 25 kilometre ride and 5 kilometre run. I was on the sidelines watching and a bit of Julia Creek dirt got in my eye and they started watering as I remembered where she had started from.

Since then Michelle has participated in triathlons in France, Holland and Great Britain. I say participated because she did not go in them to challenge others but rather to challenge herself.

When she decided to change the decision was easy, staying committed was the hard part. Her body was used to a certain lifestyle that didn’t involve exercise and so it fought her all the way. When her muscles were tired and all the instructions from her brain were saying “roll over and go back to sleep” she got up.

When her friends said come out and have a drink and stay out late she said no. Some friends didn’t like it but her real friends understood and supported her through her change because they knew it was important to her.

That’s what happens when you change, you leave something behind. Not only did Michelle’s real friends support her but she found new friends in the triathlon club that supported her. See, when you change you might leave somethings behind but you then find new things.

One of my best friends Shane King now lives in Brisbane and his son Trent finished school in 2019 and tried a few jobs including an apprenticeship with a shonky business. Shane said to him anytime you want a job you tell me and I’ll ring Uncle Mark and you can go up to Mount Isa.

A few weeks later Trent came home and said “can you call Uncle Mark?”

They drove up that weekend and Trent became an apprentice diesel fitter. At the end of the year he returned to Brisbane and caught up with some old friends from school.

At the end of the week when he was returning to Mount Isa he told his father that he was so glad he had left Brisbane and gone to Mount Isa. All his friends were out of work or working casual or part time and had no money.

The night he spoke to his father was Trent’s rebirth; and scary as it was to leave his home and friends he did. He now has a bright future, new home and new friends.

We all have the power to change our circumstances, no matter how bad they are, and as soon as you do people will help. A young man several years ago was heading into Grade 10 at Good Shepherd and realized he was going nowhere.

He decided to change the direction of his life by studying and not hanging out with people who took him away from the study he needed to do. His marks improved enough for him to be Dux of the school and gain a spot at University to study Engineering, an occupation he is now employed in.

Change is hard and takes courage and only you can make it happen. Your Old Testament has already been written and can’t be changed; you decide today how your New Testament will be written.

Good morning staff and fellow students,

We are Amie (Pemble) and Jake (Russell), and we are your school captains for 2021. We would firstly like to say a huge welcome to all of our new students starting their high school journey. We are so excited to watch you grow into the great Good Shepherd students we know you can be and achieve only the best while you are here. As for the rest of you who are returning to Good Shepherd, we also welcome you back to another year of learning and hope you can live out the theme of this year which is compassion. We both hope you can all lookout and support each other to make this the best possible year.

Last year was quite difficult due to Covid with the online learning and not being able to participate in our sports and arts events throughout the year, so this year we plan to make it up to you by ensuring that this year is filled with opportunities for you to participate in school life. These opportunities include our carnivals and interschool sports events, science week and in the Arts with a musical and Mulkadee.

As a final piece of advice on behalf of the student leadership team, we encourage you to always get involved. Be sure to ask questions to your teachers, your friends, and if you get really desperate you can even ask your parents. But most importantly, show compassion. 

Now let’s make 2021 OUR year!

In sad news for Good Shepherd Catholic College staff and students, popular  teacher Keith Fainges passed away on Saturday, 16th January 2021. 

Keith completed a Bachelor of Computer Science at Queensland University of Technology but decided a decade later that teaching was his goal.

After completing a Bachelor of Education at the University of Queensland, Keith arrived in Mount Isa in 2004. He and wife Karen raised their daughter Jessica in Mount Isa and after her graduation she began work in early education in the city. 

Sadly Karen passed away in 2015, though Brisbane born and raised, Mount Isa remained Keith’s home. 

During his time at Good Shepherd Keith touched the lives of many students, particularly those interested in IT. He was a rabid lover of technology, so when the school obtained a 3D printer Keith was in his element and all new staff received a small Yoda figurine as a welcome. 

Star Wars and Lego were passions of Keith’s and he loved the Warhammer game as well as dressing up and participating in medieval games. For the 2014 Mount Isa show, Keith worked together with fellow Lego enthusiasts Phillip Kemp to build a city made from 60,000 pieces.

The city covered 33 metres and included show rides, buildings, a Back to the Future  DeLorean and a moving railway train with 21 metres of track.   

Keith encouraged students with like minded passions and was instrumental in assisting students form a team that competed in a nation-wide gaming competition. He also organised the interschool chess competition.

The youngest of Jim and Marjory Fainges’ five children, Keith was born and raised in Everton Hills in Brisbane and his love for games and figurines no doubt comes from his parents.

Marjory is a renowned Australian researcher and historian on the subject of the Australian Toy Industry; a subject she has lectured on internationally. Jim’s passion was building model railways and designing scale models and he was lucky enough to work as a professional Model Maker for the Department of Main Roads.

In the 1970s Keith and his two brothers joined his mother operating puppets made by their father in shows at shopping centres throughout south-east Queensland under the name Panaroo Puppets. The Queensland Museum holds a collection of 1,000 articles in the Fainges Toy Collection covering the period 1930 to 1970. 

Keith’s decision to go back to study teaching may have been influenced by his mother having to forego a scholarship to be a teacher when her family relocated to Brisbane from Melbourne. 

Intelligent and well-read Keith was a hard man to beat at trivia nights and will be sadly missed by not only the staff and students of Good Shepherd Catholic College but the entire Mount Isa community.

College Principal Mrs Kathleen McCarthy stated, “Mr Fainges was a much loved staff member. His passion for technology, his ‘dad jokes’ quirky sense of humour, deep faith in God and friendly nature endeared him to everyone. He taught at the College for 16 years and over that time taught thousands of young people from the Mount Isa district. Some of the subjects he taught over that time included Aerospace Studies, Digital Technologies and more recently Information, Communication and Technology.  His passing is not only a great loss for the school, but also for the whole community.”

Keith is survived by his daughter Jessica.

What’s New?

Our library had new carpet laid over the holidays and the space is looking wonderful!

The Non-Fiction shelves have been moved to one area, opening up more space for students to read, study and play board games during the Breaks.

A new trolley will house our Picture Book Collection.

Students are welcome to borrow books from their first day and we encourage students to add titles to the Wish List of future purchases.

Resources need to be returned from 2020.

Students who forgot to return textbooks, library books and computer equipment last year have until Thursday 4 February to address the situation. Many students believe they have returned their resources, but due to some mix-up, have in fact returned another student’s books.

It is a timely reminder to always write your name in textbooks and to frequently check that you have your copy and not someone else’s.

Students who return resources in a damaged condition that are unable to be repaired will be billed for the cost of the item. 

Please contact the Librarian on ph. 47432509 or email edrover@goodshepherd.catholic.edu.au if you have any questions about our lost or damaged resource policy.

International Love Your Library Day

Our first promotion and competition of the year will be International Love Your Library Day, which falls on Sunday 14 February. More details of the contest and prizes will be announced next week. 

Welcome back to Good Shepherd Sport in 2021. There are new staff, new ideas and plenty of new opportunities for students to get involved in the various sporting endeavours that are offered by the school. We will have a busy term with sports and to ensure the students are getting the relevant information regarding their sporting interest, we will display important dates weekly in both school notices and the school newsletter. 

NORTH WEST REGIONAL TRIALS

First up are the NW regional trials individual nominations. Nominations are open to any student who thinks they might have the ability to play for the region. Forms need to be signed by both parents and coaches,  and you will need to travel to the various venues (if selected) for the trial dates. Student nomination forms will only be sent away if they have displayed relevant skills for the selected sport. 

Nomination dates for the following sports and due dates are displayed below

-‘Mount Isa’ (highlighted) nominations will go straight to trials, coaches will finalise trial dates and locations - Students will be notified when confirmed

-‘North West’ nominations will go through the school and then on to Linda Ashburn 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 trials, not team trials

If you want an individual nomination form please see Mr Schofield before the closing dates.

GSCC SWIMMING CARNIVAL

Advance notice that the school swimming carnival will be held on Thursday of Week 6 (04/03/20).

RUGBY LEAGUE UPDATE

Confraternity training will recommence in Week 3 of Term 1. Training dates will follow in next week's newsletter. For further information please see Mr Roberts.

GSCC Netball

The Good Shepherd Netball Club will be holding QISSN and Academy tryouts during Week 2 on Wednesday 3rd and Friday 5th of February after school from 3.15pm-4.30pm. 

For all other teams grading will be held during Week 3 on Tuesday 9th and Thursday 11th from 3.15pm-4.30pm.

Any students interested in playing netball for Good Shepherd are asked to come and receive a form from the front office for further information.

Welcome back to Term 1 of 2021. The year has started with sadness of the passing of Keith Fainges who was very much a dedicated teacher in the Technology Department. He will be very much missed by staff and students.

We welcome Emali Nainima to the department who will be teaching Years 7 - 10 Food and Fibre Production.

Congratulations to Laura and Dominic Jackson on the arrival of their son, George Colin Jackson on the 28th December 2020. 

The Technology Department look forward to a great year of giving our students the opportunity to learn new skills.

If you have any questions about the subjects your son or daughter is studying in the department please don’t hesitate to contact myself and their teacher.

We are very much looking forward to offering our students many career opportunities including work experience, traineeships and apprenticeships, TAFE, guests speakers, University information and more.

This year Mrs Liesel Armstrong will be joining our Careers Team as the Work Experience Coordinator.  Liesel will be the point of contact for all things relating to work experience and she will be in touch with parents this term to explain the process.  These opportunities commence from Year 10.

Should you have any enquiries regarding work experience you may contact Liesel directly via email at larmstrong1@goodshepherd.catholic.edu.au.

You are invited to send all other careers enquiries to Fiona Coghlan at fcoghlan@goodshepherd.catholic.edu.au

Above: Liesel Armstrong

During the first few weeks of the term we will be flexible with access to the uniform shop and will open the shop when required.  From Week 3 we will revert to uniform shop opening hours (Tuesday 8.00 am - 9.00 am and Thursday 2.30 pm - 3.30 pm).   Bucket hats, socks and ties are available from the College Office during Office hours (8.00 am - 4.00 pm).  You may also place an online order via our website which will then be processed and passed on to your student.  

The P&F AGM will be held on Thursday 4th February at 6pm in the Library.  All are welcome to attend and we look forward to seeing new faces with fresh ideas to help support the school community.