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Dear parents and carers,
As we move ever closer to the end of the year, I want to draw your attention to a singificant award we have here at Good Shepherd: The Melissa Dunbar Humble Achievers Award.
The Humble Achievers Award is presented to long serving volunteers of the Good Shepherd Community. It is awarded in memory of Melissa Dunbar. Melissa dedicated many hours of service over the years to the Good Shepherd family. She was instrumental in organising countless fundraising and community building events. The intent of the award is to recognise humble, enthusiastic and supportive volunteers that provide generous service over time.
Members of the Good Shepherd Community are invited to nominate volunteers that fulfil the essence of The Humble Achievers Award. Once you have submitted the form below the nominations will be considered by a panel representing the Community Council, School Leadership team, Good Shepherd staff and the Dunbar family.
The recipient will have their name engraved on ‘The Humble Achievers Award’ plaque and receive an appropriate gift.
The award winner will be announced in our End of Year Mass, Thursday Week 9 at 12 pm.
Melissa Dunbar award link:
https://forms.gle/p2r5PYhVHYpcBExt8
Good wishes for the week
Trazel
2025 Sacraments Parent Information Session
Thank you to everyone who was able to make it to our 2025 Sacraments Parent Information Session.
Some key take aways from this were:
- God loves people unconditionally.
- The Sacraments are physical, visible signs of God’s love for God’s Church – all those blessed people who follow God.
- The experience of The Sacrament of Reconciliation in current times is very different to how the Rite of Reconciliation was experienced when many of us were younger. The key theme and significant message is: God loves people unconditionally – flaws, mistakes, sins and all!! God is ever present in people’s lives and is ever ready to embrace, forgive and give grace and mercy to all those who are sorry for their wrong deeds and sins.
- The Sacrament of Confirmation is an empowering Sacrament whereby people’s gifts and charisms, given to them through Baptism, are strengthened by the Holy Spirit. This in turn means they will bear much fruit for the benefit of themselves, others, and God’s Church. People can use their Spirit-strengthened gifts to bear fruit such as kindness, faithfulness, gentleness, goodness, peace, self-control, love, joy, patience and in doing so make a real difference in the lives of others.
- The Sacrament of Communion is a blessed Sacrament whereby Jesus, in love and generosity for his Church, gives the gift of himself to those who believe every time they celebrate Mass and receive Communion. Receiving this gift nourishes us spiritually and reminds people Jesus is ever-present and always loving. It likewise reminds us that Jesus made a huge sacrifice all those years ago and continues to be constantly present for us and in us now because we are worth it and He wants us to be saved.
Good Shepherd students who are Catholic, as part of their spiritual journey, are invited to receive these Sacraments. Year Three students focus on First Reconciliation (Term 1). Year Four students focus on First Communion (Term 3) and Year Six students focus on Confirmation (Term 2). If your student has missed receiving any Sacraments, they will need to contact the Parish Office to organise a time to speak with our Parish Priests and to discuss Sacrament preparations. More information about the process and logistics involved with each Sacrament will be communicated early in 2025.
Let us pray together:
Dear Unconditionally Loving Lord
I ask You for the grace to open my heart and receive Your love more and more each day. Please reveal to me any unhealed hurts or wounds within me that are impacting my full receptivity to the love You offer me freely at every moment.
Amen.
Thank you!
Our friends at Vinnies Gungahlin Conference are so happy and grateful with our pantry donations. They make such a difference to families in need in our Parish and community.
Please whenever you can, pop in an extra grocery item into your shopping trolley, to donate to your grade’s pantry collection.
As the inspiring St Teresa of Calcutta said:
| Kindergarten |
KD - Lia R |
KH - Harper N | KT - Lily S | KTC - Fox H |
| Year 1 | 1D - Lewis B | 1L - Mohid E | 1M - Isla C | 1R - Anvika G |
| Year 2 | 2B - Isabella B | 2C - Penelope B | 2E - Tyler Mc | 2FO - Anayat K |
| Year 3 | 3Ca - Amelia B | 3Ch - Bormy H | 3T - Bezaleel A | 3W - Isla HB |
| Year 4 | 4BP - Sana D |
4I - Ava K |
4R - Adau K | 4T - Dominiq G |
| Year 5 | 5DJ - Zion A | 5G - Ben E | 5Sc - Hayden R | 5Sm - Rosabella D |
| Year 6 | 6G - Analise J | 6K - Urvi K | 6Sb - Mackenzie H | 6Sm - Emma K |
Seeking expressions of interest for the SCC Secretariat Role
Parents, guardians, and carers are invited to express thier interest in undertaking the role of Secretariat for the School Community Council Executive. Information on how to apply can be found on Compass. Or if you would like more information, please contact Christie Bibo at gscouncil1@gmail.com.
Community Council Meeting
A reminder that our final Community Council meeting for 2024 is tonight, from 6pm in the Staff Room. All members of the school community are welcome and invited to attend. Please register your interest at gscouncil1@gmail.com.
Colour Run - claim your prizes
Don't forget that if you fundraised for the Colour Run that you need to log back into the portal and select your prizes. The portal will close on Friday 15 November and after this time you will not be able to receive a prize to support all your fundraising efforts.
Seeking volunteers - Christmas Carols event
Christmas Carols is coming up on Tuesday 3 December - our final whole school community event for 2024! We need your help to deliver it, it's a big one! If you are able to volunteer, please email Christie at gscouncil1@gmail.com. We will have two rosters, one for set up and one for pack up. Please indicate in your email which one (or both) you are able to assist with. We will ensure you don't miss seeing your children perform.
Thanks
Christie Bibo
 If your child tells you they're part of the TC group at school -- I want a warning flare to be going off in your head.
I want you to start leaning in and really paying attention to how your child speaks about and treats their peers. I want you to ask yourself if it's possible that your kid may be one of the 'mean kids' at school. And if they are one of the mean kids - I want you to be CONCERNED about that. Let me back track for a moment. WHO ARE THE TCs? TCs (stands for 'too cool') and is the name given to 'the cool group' usually in Upper Primary and high school (typically grades 7-10). TC groups may be at the top of the social leader board at school HOWEVER they operate in a really unhealthy way. Here's how TCs operate ... 1. They see their cohort as a hierarchy with them at the top and are invested in staying at the top (which means using strategies - bullying or relational aggression - to keep others below them). 2. TCs often have rules. LOTS of potentially unspoken rules. Where you can sit. Who you can talk to. Even how you wear your hair. If your group has lots of rules --- that's a red flag. They're not interested in being friendly with everyone in the cohort. It's very much 'who's in' and 'who's out'. 3. They can be very good at fooling adults. Because they're strategically bright and charming in front of adults and CERTAIN peers. But they tend to use relational aggression (exclusion, rolling eyes, mocking, laughing, whispering etc) to others when adults aren't in the room. 4. There's a clear leader in the TCs and you're not allowed to have a different opinion from the leader. That's another big warning sign. If the leader says something or someone is lame -- you all agree with it. 5. You feel like you could be kicked out of the TC group at anytime. Unhealthy friendship groups make you feel like you're walking on eggshells -- one wrong move and you could be dumped. There's not always a huge amount of loyalty in these groups and it's actually very stressful being in them. 6. You have to choose between being loyal to the group and being loyal to your own values. It's a lonely place to be when you're betraying yourself in order to fit in. But don't all kids want to be popular? Aren't the TCs just popular? Well .... It's helpful to understand that there are two different types of "cool" or popularity at school. TWO DIFFERENT TYPES OF POPULARITY Status popularity (think Regina George's group in Mean Girls)
Likeable Popularity (think Zendaya, Harry Styles, Hamish Blake)
Anyone still reading? Some households have cool as a currency. In other words, your kids being cool is very important to you. Some parents really prioritise wanting their child to be in the popular group or TCs at school. If that's you -- think about why that is. Maybe you think school is easier if you're at the top of the tree. I'm not sure it is, though. And also -- I think we should care about the price being paid by other kids. It's not just 'kids being kids' if your child is monstrous at school. And I'm a little tired of hearing how parents are being told their kids are behaving in awful ways towards their peers and parents are just shrugging it off. WHY BEING A TC IS A RISKY POSITION AT SCHOOL Ultimately, TCs are disliked by their cohort and if/when they fall on their face, there's not much support waiting for them. We want to prioritise teaching our kids to have likeable qualities which is all about being kind and empathetic, being a team player, being fair and acting with integrity. It's better for everyone. WHAT TO DO IF YOUR CHILD IS A TC If your child is a TC I'd be doing a few things including prioritising modelling inclusivity, putting a family emphasis on kindness and empathy, helping them find different friends outside of school, talking about their personal values and how they are played out at school, get them talking about the downsides of their friendship group and what they benefits might be of being with people who help bring out their best self. I highly recommend reading Dr Mary Kaspar's The Popular Girls for more on this very topic! I also have a webinar called The Friendship Reset which can be helpful if you think your child needs a reset on friendship. It's here: https://rebeccasparrow.com/friendship-reset/ Bec x |
