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Dear parents and carers
I hope you all had a wonderful Easter long weekend. It was certainly hard to return to work this week!
We had a superb experience last Thursday with our giant CAN line - we had over 1000 cans we were able to donate to the Vinnies pantry for those in need! I would like to thank all families for getting behind this initative.
Thank you for paying attention to the front carpark regulations I posted last week. It is essential everyone follows the rules to ensure all children are safe.
The top car park (Church Gate 5 entrance) has slightly different regulations and I draw your attention to these below:
The top carpark (Church carpark) is a “park and walk” or “park and collect” arrangement. In the morning, parents and carers are asked to park and walk their child to the gated play area and ensure they enter safely. In the afternoon, parents and carers are asked to collect their child from inside the gated play area.
Please also note that supervision commences at 8:30am every morning. There is no supervision on site until this time.
Thank you for your attention to these important safety protocols.
For parents and carers
- School holiday listening:
Would you like to know more about the teacher experience? Listen to the teacher Insights Podcast series that teachers from around our Archdiocese have been compiling to talk about the Catalyst program and teaching and learning.
https://teacherinsights.podbean.com/
- School holiday reading:
Would you like to learn more about the Catalyst program and the way we teach here at Good Shepherd? Check out our resources tab - I recommend starting with Knowledge Pack 1.0 https://catalyst.cg.catholic.edu.au/
Good wishes for the week ahead
Trazel
When you think about it, we are so very blessed and fortunate, in this hectic, chaotic, amazing, brilliant, sometimes terrifying, or awful yet always enlightening and rewarding life – our God chose to come and to be one of us, to journey with us, to experience human life in all its frailty, suffering and gloriousness.
What’s more, when Jesus was on earth, he didn’t throw his Godliness or his weight around. He didn’t and tell us what we had to do and how it would be – we have always had free choice – the awful things that happen to us – are because of our own and others’ choices, by the free will God has given each of us.
Jesus himself experienced that very same freedom of choice that exists for each of us when the religious leaders of the day had Jesus wrongly condemned and crucified. When those around him who knew better, chose not to stand up for what was right and good, they washed their hands of the matter or denied being part of it. Jesus suffered and endured all of it – his fate at the hands of mankind – all in a great sacrifice to save us all. He endured it with humility and grace and mercy.
Thank you to everyone who has been supporting Caritas by filling up their Project Compassion boxes. Now that Lent is over and the Easter Season is here, it is time to send back into school your Project Compassion box. Next week we will have a total of how much money has been kindly raised for Caritas.
Wow! Thank you to all our families for their kindness and generosity.
As a school community we were able to donate an amazing 1282 cans with every year level bringing in over 100 cans, three year levels each managing to bring in over 230 cans and some individual students donating a bag full of cans. Our St Vincent DePaul Conference members were so happy, relieved and grateful by your overwhelming generosity.
Kindergarten | KD - Denisse G | KH - Pransh C | KT - Ava C-K | KTC - Leo J |
Year 1 | 1D - Palkirat S G | 1L - Ruhab S | 1M - Lara K | 1R - Grace C |
Year 2 | 2B - Olivia J | 2C - Emmeline J | 2E - Sandhya A | 2FO - Sean G |
Year 3 | 3Ca - Eddie P | 3Ch - Abigail J | 3T - Darryl B | 3W - Ayla P |
Year 4 | 4BP - Jaden C |
4I - Ava B |
4R - Adeline C | 4T - Asher A |
Year 5 | 5DJ - Charlotte B | 5G - Emily L | 5Sc - Celina S | 5Sm - Jeszy A |
Year 6 | 6G - Mila T | 6K - Jayden W | 6M - Priyanka D | 6W - Mackenzie H |
Good Shepherd Memorial Garden
This term has been a busy one organising our Good Shepherd Memorial Garden. The garden is a reflective space where our school and our community can honour those men and women in the Defence Forces who have served our country and continue to serve. It is also a space where our staff and students can gather to pray, read, and enjoy being together in a beautiful respectful space. The garden will also be able to be enjoyed by our families when they come to our school.
Once the Memorial Garden is complete, I will share pictures about the incredibly significant and historical items within the garden. The students are excited about the garden and so am I. I feel very blessed to be able to organise and help produce such an important and prominent place in our school.
The Memorial Garden will be opened officially once it has been completed.
Taryn Ahern
DSM
We are excited to introduce a new member to our school community, Charlie! Charlie is a lovable Cavoodle who has joined us as the school's Emotional Support Dog. He will be working with Mrs. Olive, our Wellbeing Officer, to provide comfort, support, and companionship to our students.
Research has shown that interactions with therapy animals like Charlie can have numerous benefits for mental health, including reducing stress, anxiety, and feelings of loneliness. With Charlie's presence, we aim to create a more nurturing and supportive environment for our students to thrive academically, emotionally, and socially.
Charlie will be available during designated times throughout the week for students to spend time with him, whether it's for a comforting cuddle or just to have a furry friend nearby. Mrs. Olive will also incorporate Charlie into various wellbeing activities and programs to promote positive mental health practices among our students.
We understand that some students may have allergies or concerns about dogs, and we assure you that Charlie will be carefully supervised at all times to ensure the safety and comfort of everyone in our school community. If your child has specific concerns or requirements regarding Charlie's presence, please don't hesitate to reach out to us.
We believe that Charlie will make a wonderful addition to our school community, and we look forward to seeing the positive impact he will have on the wellbeing of our students. If you have any questions or would like more information about Charlie's role in our school, please feel free to contact Terree at
terree.olive@cg.catholic.edu.au