St Mary MacKillop inspired us to ‘walk in faith’ and to show our love to others through our actions. In this 200 year anniversary of Catholic Education in Australia, we recommit to our role of service to the poor in Catholic Schools. Here at Good Shepherd we are proud to have raised $2434.29 for Project Compassion in Term One. Our students held many events to raise money, demonstrating their commitment to helping the needy. 

Staffing News

We are excited to welcome back Ms Jane Edmiston to our Visual Art Department. She is replacing Mrs Alex Pallett who is moving to Western Australia with her family. We also welcome Mr Michael Roper to the Maths department. Mr Roper is a very experienced Maths Teacher and is replacing Mr Chitongo who has been at the College for the last four years.

Parent Engagement

Please join us with your son or daughter next Wednesday (28th April) for our Parent / Teacher / Student interviews. If you have not made your appointments or received a copy of your child’s report, please contact the College Office today.

Our next P&F Meeting is scheduled for the 4th May at 6.00 pm in the Library - I hope you can join us!

Each week in our Newsletter, we include an extract from our Annual School Improvement Plan. This is our road map for 2021 and what we want to achieve. Please contact me at the College if you would like to provide feedback on anything noted here.

Welcome to Term 2!  I hope you have had a good break and are ready for the term ahead.

Year 7 and 9 students will be participating in NAPLAN online 2021 in Week 4 of this term.

Year 12 students are starting Unit 4 work in all of their subjects.  It’s the last stretch of high school for these students.

Assessment calendars will be published at the end of Week 2.

Parent Teacher Interviews take place in Week 2.  Please may I encourage you to make an appointment with your child’s teachers?  We always look forward to opportunities where we can meet you.  Please remember that we are here to help.

Welcome to Term 2! I hope you have all had a chance to rest over the break, and are ready for an exciting term ahead. 

Staffing Changes

There have been some staffing changes over the holidays, these have impacted timetables for the term. 

• Mr Thomas Chitongo will be leaving us at the end of Week 1. He and his wife Jane will be moving to Charters Towers. 
• Mrs Alex Pallett is also departing at the end of Week 1. She is moving to Western Australia with her family. 
• Mr Trent Newcomb has moved to Alice Spring; he commenced a new teaching role there at the beginning of Term 2.
• Mr Mika Raijas will work part time this term, he will be at the College part time Tuesday - Friday.
• We welcome Mr Michael Roper to our Maths Department. Michael is an experienced Maths teacher who has spent many years teaching all levels of Maths in Catholic schools in NSW. He will be taking over Mr Chitongo’s classes as well as Mr Raijas’ Year 10.03 Homeroom.
• We welcome back a familiar face - Ms Jane Edmiston who will be rejoining the College Arts Department in Week 2.

Class Changes

Due to the new staffing arrangements in the Science and Technologies Departments, we have made some changes to our classes.  Please see below Term 2 class updates:

• Year 8 Science (02 & 04): Miss Gemma Kyle
• Year 9 Science: 9A Ms Alicia Walker; 9B Miss Yasmin Cook; 9C Miss Gemma Kyle
• Year 8 Humanities (04): Mr Lachlan Toal
• Year 9 Humanities: 9A Mr Lachlan Toal; 9B Miss Jan Luarca; 9C Miss Stephanie Spano
• Year 10 Science (02): Mrs Lynn Gillies-Hughes
• All Art Classes: Ms Jane Edmiston
• Year 8 Media (02) & Year 9 Media (01): Mrs Stephanie Whitehouse
• Year 8 Design/ICT: Miss Saskia Brown
• Year 9 11, & 12 Design: Ms Ann-Marie Lesca

All students will receive a new timetable in Homeroom on Tuesday morning.

Parent / Teacher / Student Interviews

Interviews will be next Wednesday 28 April, from 3:30pm - 7:00pm. Bookings must be made on the Compass Parent Portal before 12:00pm on this Friday, 23 April.

If you need assistance booking an interview, please contact the College Office as soon as possible.

ANZAC Day

Students and families are invited to join us for the following ANZAC Day Commemorations:

• 6:00am: Light up the Dawn at the end of your driveway. We’d love to see photos of our families participating in this. Please send them via Facebook message to the GSCCMI Facebook page before 12pm.
• 7:30am: Mass @ Good Shepherd Parish, 17 Stanley Street
• 9:00am: Assemble in carpark Cnr West/Isa St (near Brumbies) for the ANZAC Day March - this commences at 9:30am sharp.
• 10:00am: Service on Civic Centre Lawn.

Students are asked to wear their academic uniform for each of these. They should also bring a hat and water bottle for the March and Service as it can be very hot.

Year 11 Exam Block Date Change (Term 2)

Please note that the Term 2, Year 11 Exam Block has been changed to Week 6 (from Week 5). This is to allow for more learning and teaching time in the lead up to the exam block. At this stage it will only be a 3 day block from Wednesday 26 - Friday 28 May. Final dates will be confirmed when the Term 2 Assessment Calendars are published.

Staying Up to Date with What’s On @ GSCC

A reminder that the What’s On @ GSCC document is published every Sunday. This is posted to Facebook and emailed to all parents. All events listed on the document are also published on the School Calendar. 

School Photo Day

School photos will be taken on Wednesday, 5 May. If students were not at school when ID photos were taken this will be their last opportunity to receive a photo ID this year.

Envelopes will be sent home to families wanting to purchase individual or group photos in the coming weeks. These are then returned directly to the photographer on the day (at their photo).

Welcome back to Term 2 - I hope that all our students, families and staff had a safe and Holy Easter break and were able to refresh and revitalise for the term ahead.  We also have a few new students starting with us this term and I would like to extend a warm welcome to these students and their families into our College community.

As we move into Term 2, I would remind us all about our College theme of compassion and challenge you all on how it is that you can enact kindness or compassion to those around you.  This could be an act as simple as stopping and asking a stranger how their day is and really listen to their response or it could be volunteering to cook and serve at Jangawala. Remember - a kind gesture can reach a wound that only compassion can heal (Quote: Steve Maraboli)

Positive Behaviour for Learning - Parent Representative

Our College is currently reviewing our behaviour management processes at the College and are looking for a parent representative to provide our Positive Behaviour for Learning Working Group with input and feedback from a parent’s perspective.  The working group meets fortnightly on Friday mornings from 7:45am to 8.30am. If you would like to be involved with this working group, please contact me via email on pmorganson1@goodshepherd.catholic.edu.au to register your interest.

Year 8 Retreat

Year 8 students will have their annual retreat on Friday, 30th April in Week 2.  The theme for their retreat is Reaching Up - Reaching Out and focuses on identity. Ms McCarthy and her Homeroom Teachers Team have a range of activities for students to participate in for the day.  Please note that retreats are compulsory for all students to attend for personal and spiritual growth and development.  If you have any questions regarding Year 8 Retreat, please do not hesitate to contact Ms Kylie McCarthy on kmccarthy2@goodshepherd.catholic.edu.au.

Enlighten Education

In Week 2, Year 7 and Year 9 girls will be involved in the Enlighten Education Program which will focus on in-school modules that critically evaluate media and social messages about having a “perfect” body; reconnecting with core values and self-belief lost in adolescence; feminism; fashion labels and social labelling; managing money; study and workplace skills; personal safety; journal writing; stress management; and having healthy friendships. 

Change your World

I did a little Liturgy at St Joey's the other day and we spoke about the mustard seed that starts as one of the tiniest seeds in the World but grows into a tree that provides shade, protection and a home.

Don’t ever think because you are young you cannot influence people or make a difference. Everything you choose to do affects not only your life but others as well.

At Joey's we used how we treat dogs as an analogy. If you treat a dog with kindness and love that dog will be loyal and protect you with its life. However, if you treat that dog by kicking it you change somebody’s life.

The dog won’t bite you but it will take its anger out on somebody just walking past, somebody who has nothing to do with you. Domestic violence is often passed on by those who experience or witness it.  

You might not change the World by your actions today but you can start something that might influence the World around you; and you never know where after that.

As a child all Malala Yousafzai did was attend her father’s school, one of the few in Pakistan that educated young girls. Presumably he and the school did this to change the World these young girls lived in and give them options.

A cowardly Taliban gunman took exception and shot her in the head while she was riding to school. She survived and today passionately advocates for a woman’s right to education. 

Greta Thunberg convinced her parents at the age of 15 to make some lifestyle choices to reduce her family's carbon footprint. Then she began protesting outside parliament and called for student strikes and others soon joined in.

Jaylen Arnold was bullied for having Tourettes when he was 8 years old. He decided to make a stand and with help from a few adults devised a plan to create a website to educate the public about his disorders and the prevalence of bullying in schools and workplaces across the globe.

At just five years, Sophie Cruz gained attention when she gave Pope Francis a letter asking him to advocate for undocumented immigrants in the U.S., like her parents. Since then she has spoken at Supreme Court rulings, the Women’s March, and other events across the United States.

When Param Jaggi was 16 years old he created the Algae Mobile, a device that can convert carbon dioxide emissions from vehicles into oxygen.

These examples are extreme and not every student in the World will achieve World-wide acclaim. However, if you are passionate about something people will listen and they will help. 

There will be those that don’t, but don’t concern yourself with small-minded people scared to put themselves out there for fear of failing.

As anyone in our CIA Youth Group will tell you, your time is now - not tomorrow. You can change your World today by the choices you make. That may not change the World like the examples above but it will change yours (and also you) for the better.

Welcome back to Term 2, which again looks to be an action packed term for sports. This term we see the annual Good Shepherd vs Spinifex Netball Tri-series kick off in Week 3, our Athletics Carnival in Week 7, as well as the numerous MISSA and North West Sports on offer this term. We will also see our QISSN and Confro Teams ramping up their training as they look forward to competing in their respective tournaments in the first week of the June/July holidays.

Below, is a current list of sports that students are able to represent the college in at either Mount Isa or North West level. If students wish to compete in these events they are asked to come and see Mr Schofield at break times for more information.

The Library Homepage has been revitalised. Staff and students can now access Reading Genres and Curriculum Topics with greater ease.

The new Homepage is below. More topics will be added as the year progresses.

When you click on a topic, a list of resources in the Library is shown. This includes eBooks which have this symbol:

For Curriculum Topics, clicking the Database tab sends you to a list of databases with articles, reports and information about your topic. Clickview also features as a database. 

Winter Uniforms

The cooler weather is upon us this term.

Please note that if you would like to purchase any additional winter clothing for students our Uniform Shop hours are Tuesday 8am - 9am and Thursday 3pm - 4pm.

Don’t forget we also offer online ordering through a link on our website.