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Welcome back to Term 2!
New Community Council members
As part of the new Incorporation strategy at Catholic Education, we have restructured our Community Council. After a process of application, I am pleased to announce our new members. I appreciate in advance the time and commitment I know this fantastic team will bring to our school. Once we complete a short handover period, we will call for volunteers to support the various events which our Community Council leads including the clothing pool, canteen and other initiatives, as we continue to build our amazing school. The Council are passionate about fostering a thriving community and are here to listen to your ideas and concerns. Don't hesitate to reach out to them!
Council Chairperson: Ms. Christie Bibo
Council Secretariat: Ms. Gertrude Mutsinze
Council Treasurer: Ms. Jana Klein
Welcome to new staff, families and students to our community
I would like to extend a warm welcome to the newest addition to our teaching team. Mr Matthew Smith has joined our Year 6 team. Mr Smith brings a wealth of experience from over 20 years in Catholic Education, and we are thrilled he has joined us. His expertise and enthusiasm are valuable assets, and we're thrilled to have him on board.
We have 4 new families who have joined our community this term, and entrusted their children to us. I know they have had a successful start to their journey at Good Shepherd. Welcome to our school.
Upcoming events
Mark your calendars for these exciting events:
- Open Day Tours: Join us on the 13th May for Open Day tours. It's the perfect opportunity to explore our community, meet our staff, and learn more about what we have to offer. Bring your friends and family for a tour.
- Mother's Day Breakfast: Let's celebrate all the amazing mothers and carers in our community on Friday the 10th May for breakfast from 7:30am. We have special Mother's Day gifts available for purchase. Please see below flyer for more information.
- Photo Days: Smile for the camera! Get ready for our upcoming Photo Days on Thursday 9th and Friday 10th May. Students should wear their full winter uniform on their designated days, not their sports uniform. Please see below article for detailed information.
Staff professional learning and professional growth
Our staff undertook professional learning on Monday this week with MARSS, the Migrant and Refugee Settlement Service. The MARSS team were able to raise awareness to all staff about how we might better connect with our migrant, refugee and culturally diverse families in our community.
We followed this impactful professional learning with supplementary support from the Catholic Education EAL/D (English as an Additional Language/Dialect) coordinator, Sam Chrzczonowicz, to assist staff to meet the needs of all their students.
We have 2 staff currently undertaking their HALT applications. HALT stands for Highly Accomplished and Lead Teacher, and is a recognition of staff excellence in the classroom. This is a significant professional undertaking and is a nationally recognised qualification.
As always, we appreciate your continued support and involvement in our community. If you have any questions or suggestions, don't hesitate to reach out.
Good wishes for Term 2
Trazel
Welcome back! It is always so wonderful to see all the children after the holiday break; their smiles, as do yours, brighten the day.
This past Sunday, the Mass readings were about Jesus being the vine and us being the branches. In this parable Jesus is teaching his disciples about what they need to do after he is gone and why.
In this parable Jesus is inspiring, motivating, and challenging us to ‘step up to the plate’ and work for salvation of ourselves and others. He uses the analogy of a grapevine and garden for his lesson. Those of you who garden know that you need to prune and cut off the dead, dying or sick parts of the plant, otherwise those parts drain the rest of the plant of its goodness. In fact, gardeners pride themselves on pruning and keeping their plants fresh and healthy. They know that the best way to keep a flowering plant in beautiful bloom is to constantly de-head the dead flowers so that no more energy from the plant is going into those dead flowers, but instead is going into producing beautiful new blooms.
Jesus is challenging us to take a really good look at our own lives – to reflect on what is in our lives that is draining our goodness, and preventing us from doing our best and producing fruit. This can be confronting and challenge for us to do. Nonetheless, Jesus has complete faith in us that we can do this.
As we begin the new term, it is the ideal time to ponder this Scripture. We can reflect on what has been last term, on what was successful and on what was not. We can also take our reflection deeper by pondering the kind of person we were last term. Who we were as people to each other? Where God was in our lives? Did we share God’s love with others through word and action? Did we inspire them to follow God? It is also the perfect time to determine where we want to go this term – what kind of person do we want to be? How can we help Jesus carry out his mission?
Let us pray together:
God our Father, open our eyes to the splendour of your creation,
to the dignity of those who are made in your image and likeness,
and to the opportunities each day brings.
Create new miracles this day that, transformed by your Spirit
living within us, we may touch the hearts of those around us.
Help us all to walk more faithfully in your presence
and seek first your kingdom, with Jesus your Son.
Amen.
Kindergarten | KD - Ivy H-B | KH - Isabelle M | KT - Aahan S | KTC - Fox H |
Year 1 | 1D - Lyla K | 1L - Nianna P | 1M - Josipa S | 1R - Jasper J |
Year 2 | 2B - Ivy H | 2C - Eadie B | 2E - Henry C | 2FO - Hugo R |
Year 3 | 3Ca - Eve T | 3Ch - Alyssa A | 3T - Milena T | 3W - Alannah R |
Year 4 | 4BP - Charlotte S |
4I - Delilah W |
4R - Atticus H | 4T - Annika S |
Year 5 | 5DJ - Taya D | 5G - Hugo A R | 5Sc - Kwame A-T | 5Sm - Lincoln M |
Year 6 | 6G - Sienna C | 6K - Ebony H | 6S - Sebastian S | 6W - Noah M |
School photos - Thursday 9th and Friday 10th May
School photos will be taken next week on Thursday 9th and Friday 10th May (week 2), by a company called The School Photographer.
Please see attached flyer for how to order photos. A QR Code is supplied on the top right of the flyer if you wish to order through your device. If you prefer to order through their website, details are included in the flyer. If you do not wish to purchase photos online, you are welcome to phone The School Photographer's office and make payment over the phone.
Photos will be taken in full winter uniform. Please see our website for our uniform requirements: https://www.goodshepherd.act.edu.au/for-parents/uniform
*Changes are being made to the class order and days that photos will be taken. Please keep an eye out on the Compass app and our socials for the lastest information*
Sibling photos will be taken across both days. You may wish to dress your children in full winter uniform on both days.
The Year 6 Leadership graduation photo will be taken later in the year.
Each year the Community Council kindly organises Mother's Day packs for students to purchase.
Packs cost $8 and are purchased via our QKR! app under the Community Council section.
Kidsafe ACT will be launching a Youth Action Committee. Details of the program and how to submit an Expression of Interest can be found here: https://forms.gle/tk8TFBN4H7TvF6zz6