Welcome to Good Shepherd Primary School Amaroo

I warmly welcome you to Good Shepherd Catholic Primary School Amaroo, where we, in partnership with the Holy Spirit Parish, strive to make Jesus’ vision and mission central in our lives. We value and respect the sacred dignity and uniqueness of each individual. Our school celebrates our diversity and strives for excellence and success for all. We promote the safety, wellbeing and inclusion of all children.

Good Shepherd Catholic Primary School is a Kindergarten to Year 6 Catholic primary school located in the northern suburbs of Canberra, ACT. There are four classes per Year Level. In partnership with the parish of Holy Spirit Parish, we work to provide quality Catholic education through effective teaching and learning experiences that will enable our children to engage successfully in today’s rapidly changing twenty-first century environment.

Good Shepherd Primary School primarily serves children living in Amaroo, Bonner, Forde, Jacka, Moncrieff and Taylor. While the school population is predominantly Catholic the school does accept enquiries from families of other faith backgrounds that support our ethos.

We work in partnership with the Archdiocese of Canberra and Goulburn and this enables us to be supported by system wide policies as well as ensuring that we are part of an inclusive community based on the life of Jesus Christ.

As Principal, I feel privileged to be part of the Good Shepherd story. We have a strong sense of community at Good Shepherd. With a dedicated staff, a supportive parent body and an active and visionary Community Council, the school is part of a vibrant and supportive parish led by Fr Mark Croker.

As educators, we acknowledge that we share the responsibility of education with parents. Learning is a partnership and we will warmly welcome your participation and support.

At Good Shepherd we offer our students the challenge of achieving personal excellence in all areas of school life and encourage them to become independent learners, equipping them with the skills necessary for life-long learning. This is a community that encourages all students to value and respect themselves and others in their journey of faith, learning and life.

We warmly welcome enquiries from all prospective families seeking a Catholic education and will happily arrange tours on request. Please contact us for further information. We hope to share with you the difference that a Catholic education at Good Shepherd can make to your daughter or son.

God bless,

David Austin

Principal

Thinking of enrolling in 2021?

Visit the enrolment page to download a prospectus or book a virtual tour.

Click Here

Latest News

Booking for Confirmation Masses in Term 3

01 Jul 2020

We are very pleased to announce the new dates for the Sacrament of Confirmation. Please visit the parish website www.holyspiritgungahlin.org.au/confirmation-2020/ as soon as possible to book the new date and time for your child's Confirmation, keeping in mind our restriction on numbers. A letter will be sent home with these details.

Please ensure to return the tear off slip with your child's Confirmation Saint Name and Sponsor Name to the parish via email or to your classroom teacher.

Holy Spirit Weekend Mass 27-28 June

26 Jun 2020

Please note that you are still required to book to attend Mass in person. If you do not book, we will be forced to refuse entry. We are sorry to have to do this however we do need to be strict about the numbers to adhere to government rules. If you are performing a Ministry at Mass, you do not need to book as these numbers have been factored in.

Book here: https://www.holyspiritgungahlin.org.au/latest-news/mass -bookings/
If are not able to book online, please contact the parish office on 02 6242 9622.

For those who are not able to attend in person at this time, please continue to join us for Mass on Sundays at 9.30am via Zoom using https://zoom.us/j/824036573.

Youth Mass – For Young People and Their Families only!
Join the Holy Spirit Gungahlin Parish community on Sunday 28th June for our Youth Mass (5:30pm) and Youth Gathering (6:30pm)! Exploring the theme ‘Dream Again’, this is a chance for you to come back into the heart of our Church and have fun, faith and fellowship with our young Church. Food available and families welcome. Further information available by clicking here.

Mass this weekend

Please follow this link to make a booking to attend Mass in person.

Parish Newsletter
This weekend’s newsletter is now available online. Click on the link here to access it: https://www.holyspiritgungahlin.org.au/27-28-june-2020-13th-sunday-ordinary-time/

Sacramental information for Eucharist and Reconciliation

23 Jun 2020

If your child is in Year 3, 4 or 5, baptised Catholic and you would like them to receive the Sacraments of Reconciliation and Eucharist, please read the attached note from Holy Spirit Parish.

First_Eucharist_and_Reconciliation_Invitation_to_Parents_2020_1_.pdf

Vinnies Food Pantry donations

15 Jun 2020

Gungahlin Vinnies Conference will not be accepting food donations for the Food Pantry at this time during the pandemic. For the time being, please do not send any food donations to school. We will let you know when this changes.

You may like to instead use the money to purchase items for our Winter Woollies drive this Friday or make a monetary donation at https://www.vinnies.org.au/

Reconciliation & Eucharist Information Night

10 Jun 2020

Holy Spirit Parish are holding an information night for students in Years 3, 4 or 5 who are interested in receiving the Sacraments of Reconciliation and Eucharist later this year.

This information night will be held on Tuesday 30th June at 6:30pm via Zoom. There will be more information to come including a link to join the meeting and further dates.

If you have any further questions, please email Anthony O'Connell anthony.oconnell1@cg.catholic.edu.au or Louise Johnson sacraments@holyspiritgungahlin.org.au

Winter Woollies appeal 2020

10 Jun 2020

COVID-19/Winter Woollies Crisis Appeal

Vinnies has launched a COVID-19 Crisis Appeal to raise funds for the additional need we are already seeing due to COVID-19.

This new crisis, this terrible pandemic, nothing our modern community has experienced, will increase the need for the work of Vinnies in serving the poor and needy.

To help in this time, Good Shepherd will continue to hold our annual Winter Woollies clothing drive. As usual, we are asking families to donate adult size scarves, new gloves, new socks, new beanies, blankets, jackets and sleeping bags for the homeless and those doing it tough in Canberra this winter. Students can bring in donations into classrooms from next week until Friday 19th June. On Friday 19th June we encourage all students to wear their Winter Woollies to raise awareness for the appeal.

We know families are under a lot of pressure at the moment. But if you are in a position to help, we kindly ask you to support our appeal. Every donation, small or large, will make a difference to people who are doing it tough in our community.

Thank you for your support which will make a big difference to people in need in our local community.

Book Club Orders

04 Jun 2020

All orders are due in by tomorrow afternoon. I will be sending the order off after school. Thank you, Mrs Aitken.

Confirmation Connection Prayer Night

02 Jun 2020

Tonight we invite you to participate in our Confirmation Connection event via Zoom.

Details of the event:

Tuesday 2 June 6:30pm

https://us02web.zoom.us/j/86363268286

In preparation for this event, you may like to prepare a special prayer space in your home. This can be very simple using a coffee table or bench space, laying a cloth, displaying a cross, a candle and anything else you feel creates a prayerful space. There will be an opportunity for parents to light a candle with their children during the event.

This event is intended to be a prayerful and reflective opportunity. Information about the Confirmation Masses will be provided at a later date.

Virtual Cross Country Years 2-6 Weeks 5 and 6 Results

02 Jun 2020

Please find attached the link to complete the form to sumbit times for weeks five and six. Results for weeks five and six must be submitted by Thursday the 4th of June. These will then be collected and the top performing student and the most improved student from each age group and gender will be shared with School Sport ACT. This will then be celebrated on the SSACT Facebook page and website.

https://forms.gle/KtuHPoUWs5jfpzms6

Confirmation Connection Prayer Night

27 May 2020

Next Tuesday 2 June at 6:30pm we invite you to participate in our Confirmation Connection event via Zoom.

In previous years we have gathered together in the Church for prayer night in the lead up to the children receiving the Sacrament of Confirmation. Even though we are currently unable to physically gather in these large numbers, and we aren't sure when we will be able to arrange for the candidates to receive their Sacrament, we believe it is very important that we maintain connection in any way we can. Our Confirmation Connection prayer event will be an evening where we can all join in prayerful support of all involved in preparing the young people for this major step in their faith lives as they prepare to receive the Gifts of the Holy Spirit.

Details of the event:

Tuesday 1 June 6:30pm

https://us02web.zoom.us/j/86363268286

This event is intended to be a prayerful and reflective opportunity. Information about the Confirmation Masses will be provided at a later date.

As we all eagerly await the latest announcements from the government that will allow us to proceed with planning our Sacrament of Confirmation Masses, please keep the students, their families and those preparing them in your prayers.