Good Shepherd Catholic Primary School eNewsletter (2024)

Mark Your Calendar

Friday, July 19 - Prep to Year 2 Athletics Carnival

Monday, July 22 - Pyjama Day

Tuesday, July 23 - Catholic Education Week Liturgy - 1.45pm

Wednesday, July 31 - Real Talk Parent Night (Years 3-6) - 6.30pm

Friday, August 2 - Green and Gold Day

Friday, August 30 - Pupil Free Day

Friday, September 13 - Last Day Term 3

Sports Uniform Days

Tuesday - Year 6

Wednesday - Years 3 and 4

Thursday - Years 2 and 5

Friday - Prep and Year 1

From the Principal - Christine Ioannides

Dear Parents and Caregivers,

New Community Members

We'd like to welcome some new families and learners to Good Shepherd.

PB Eric Murgolo

1B Larissa Paudyal

1G Folajimi Akomolafe

1Y Michael Murgolo

2B Maya Toscan

2G Ayomide Akomolafe

3G Maveric Ross

We'd also like to welcome Natalie Moon into Ignatius 3 Yellow each Monday working with Jess.

USQ Research Project

Our Hildegard 5 learners and their teachers will be involved with a research project for the remainder of this year. The project fits beautifully with our Explicit Improvement Agenda around the teaching of Mathematics, as the project is looking at “Understanding individual differences that influence math achievement”. We look forward to working with the team and learning from their results.

Prep to Year 2 Athletics Carnival

Thank you for being so understanding and patient with us last week as we had to cancel the P-2 Athletics Carnival and transfer it to this Friday. The weather is always so difficult to predict. We look forward to seeing many parents and grandparents attend this week to cheer on our youngest learners. A large thank you to Eliza for her preparation.

Driveway Exit onto Springfield Central Boulevard

It has come to my attention that some of our parents walking to and from Good Shepherd, are using the driveway exit onto Springfield Central Boulevard. This is a vehicle only exit from our property. There is no footpath on this exit. Please stop this as it is very dangerous. Just last week a high school student on an electric scooter was injured, through no fault of the driver at the top of that driveway. Please, if you are walking to school, use the pedestrian entry gate on the far side of the carpark to come into the school.

We want to ensure that all of our families are safe.

Thank you for your assistance in this matter.

Vision and Mission

Last Wednesday our writing group worked with two consultants on our new vision, mission and vision for learning and teaching. Over three days they have collated all the responses from parents, staff and learners, grouped them into defined topics and then worked on the wording of the three statements, including graphics. These are still being refined but, when completed, we will look forward to presenting them to you. We have come a long way since our small beginning eleven years ago.

2025 Budget/Building

You would all be well aware of the population growth around Springfield. This has brought with it new enrolments across all the schools in the area including Good Shepherd. We have been given permission to have a fourth Prep class in 2025 and over the coming 2-3 years we will see the final building phases to complete our school. This will include 2 new classrooms and a library and administration block to the front of our school.

This week we have been working on the draft budget for 2025. Hopefully we will be able to increase the resources offered to your children, including human resourcing, to assist in providing the best educational experience we can to the Good Shepherd community.

100 Days of Prep

Today our three Assisi classes celebrated 100 days of Prep. This year, rather than honouring how ‘old’ they are, they are acknowledging how much ‘brighter’ they have become. It was lovely to see them all dressed up in brightly coloured clothing. They have definitely grown and matured since that first day back in January.

Shepherd Awards

Congratulations to the following learners who received their award at Monday's Assembly:

Have a wonderful fortnight!

Christine

Around the School with Acting Assistant Principal - Naomi Doyle

Semester 1 Progress Reports

Semester 1 reports have been available on the Parent Portal since the end of last term. If you haven’t yet accessed them, please do so and make sure to download a copy for your records.

Please contact your child’s teachers if you have any questions regarding their reports. If you are having any issues accessing the reports from the Parent Portal, please contact the school office. We will be having our Semester 2 Parent- Teacher interviews in Week 8 of this term. These will occur on Tuesday 27 August and Wednesday 28August. Booking information will be in our Week 6 newsletter.

Junior Athletics Carnival

Our Prep to Year 2 Athletics Carnival will be on tomorrow. The carnival will commence at 8:50am and conclude at 1pm. Parents and grandparents are more than welcome to attend. Please see the timetable for the day.

If you wish to take your child home after the Athletics carnival, they will need to be signed out with their parent/guardian at the First Aid tent.

District Athletics

On Thursday 25 July and Friday 26 July, some of our Hildegard 5 and 6 learners will compete in the District Athletics Carnival at the University of Queensland, St Lucia. We wish them every success! Thanks to Eliza, Jess and Anita for accompanying them.

Education Students from University of Southern Queensland and Swinburne

This term we welcome seven pre-service Education students from USQ and Swinburne Universities. These students are gaining valuable experience at Good Shepherd and learning from the experience of our teachers. We welcome Stacey and Mary-Anne in Nagle, Sophie in MacKillop, Shannon in Assisi, Amy in Ignatius 4, Vania in Hildegard 5 and Chelsea in Ignatius 3.

Dance Lessons

This term our Assisi, MacKillop and Nagle learners are having dance lessons every Monday from Creative Dance Industries. These learners are welcome to wear their sports uniforms on Mondays. Dance is a strand of the Arts curriculum from Prep to Year 6. The term’s learning will be culminated with a Dance concert for all parents in Week 10. Details to come.

Term 3 Lunchtime Clubs

This term, we will have some new lunchtime clubs for our learners. Please see the following details:

Winter Uniforms

With the weather being very cool at the moment, we have noticed many learners coming to school without jumpers or jackets. Please ensure your child has their jumper or jacket each day. It makes it very difficult to concentrate when feeling cold. We also have many unnamed uniform items in our Lost property. Please ensure that your child’s uniform pieces are clearly named, so if they are misplaced, we can return them.

Carpark Etiquette

As Christine mentioned, our enrolments at Good Shepherd are increasing. Whilst this is wonderful for our community, our traffic is also increasing. Please be patient with our staff and other drivers during pick up and drop off times. We do the best we can to ensure the safety of our community. Please don’t cut lanes during these busy times as it slows down the flow of traffic.

Have a wonderful fortnight everyone!

Kind regards

Naomi

Naomi.Doyle@bne.catholic.edu.au

APRE News with Cheryl Waites

Pyjama Day

On Monday, July 22we are inviting our learners and staff to wear their pyjamas to school to support The Pyjama Foundation. This organisation supports children in foster care with education support and empowerment programs. Our school’s goal is to raise $1000 to assist with training future Pyjama Angels that work with children and young people in care. Instead of a gold coin donation, we are asking families and friends to visit our school’s fundraising page either via the QR code or the website link - https://fundraise.thepyjamafoundation.com/st/8247/13815

Catholic Education Week

Next week, it is Catholic Education Week for all of Queensland. Catholic Education Week is celebrated every year – and it is a time when we celebrate all that is truly unique and special about Catholic Schools. The theme for this year is ‘Communities of Faith, Hope and Love’.

To celebrate our community of faith, hope, and love, we will have a whole school liturgy in the church on Tuesday, July 23, at 1:45 pm. Parents, friends, and all others within our school community are invited to join us in this celebration.

Real Talk Parent Night - Years 3 to 6

In Week 4, our Year 5 and 6 learners will spend a reflection day with Real Talk Australia on topics related to Relationships and Sexuality Education. Based on Catholic values, Real Talk provides up-to-date resources, interactive games, and personal stories as part of its presentations. Its aim is to help young people understand God’s amazing plan for love and life.

All parents of learners from Years 3-6 are invited to a parent information session on Wednesday 31 July at 6:30 p.m. in the staffroom. Areas that Real Talk can discuss are cyber safety, puberty, relationships and sexuality education. Please ensure that no children attend this session, as it will allow for open conversations. If you have any concerns, please feel free to contact me.

Please register - https://forms.office.com/r/La664Bngm0

Green and Gold Free Dress Day

We are turning green and gold on Friday 2 August in support of the Australian Olympic team competing in Paris. This day is about painting the country in our national colours and celebrating Australia’s sporting achievements on the Olympic stage. All members of our community are invited to wear green and gold and show their support for the many great athletes and their teams that represent Australia.

Our Lady of the Southern Cross Parish News

Southern Cross Kids will resume Children’s Liturgy on Sunday 21 July during the 9am Mass. Please note that Southern Cross Kids will only be offered for Primary School-aged children (Prep-Grade 6). As was started last term, children will be led out of the church to the Hub (next door) by SCK volunteers after the Holy Spirit song and will be led back to the church in time for the distribution of communion. To prevent distraction, please ensure that your children do not bring electronic devices.

Fortnightly Prayer

God bless.

Cheryl

Curriculum with Acting PLL - Breanna Brosteanu

I’d like to introduce myself as Acting Primary Learning Leader as Naomi continues to remain in the Acting Assistant Principal role. My name is Breanna Brosteanu and I have come across from Our Lady of Lourdes Sunnybank where my role was Learning Enhancement Teacher. I have been blessed with the wonderful hospitality of the Good Shepherd community and thank you for your greetings and kindness as I’ve transitioned into the school routines. Please say hi if you see me around the school!

NAPLAN Individual Student Reports

Individual Student Reports (ISR) for NAPLAN 2024 have been distributed to our school this week and will be sent home to parents by the end of the week for learners in Year 3 and Year 5 who participated in NAPLAN.

What is NAPLAN?

NAPLAN is a national literacy and numeracy assessment undertaken by students in Years 3, 5, 7 and 9.

Literacy and numeracy skills are the critical foundation for all learning and for the ability to participate effectively in society. NAPLAN questions assess content linked to the Australian Curriculum in English and Mathematics.

NAPLAN tests are only one aspect of each school’s assessment and reporting process. As they are held once every 2 years for each student, they cannot replace the extensive, ongoing assessments made by teachers about student performance. Your child’s teacher will have the best insight into your child’s educational progress. Along with other school assessment reports, NAPLAN individual student reports can be used to discuss your child’s progress with their teacher.

How does NAPLAN assess students?

NAPLAN tests are online assessments delivered to schools across Australia. These tests adapt to each student’s responses, providing more accurate results and an engaging experience. The questions primarily focus on literacy and numeracy skills learned in previous years, with some additional content from the current and following year. These questions have been designed so that they can be answered using strategies that students have learnt in previous years. This ensures students of all abilities can show their capabilities.

How do I read my child’s NAPLAN report?

The NAPLAN report shows a proficiency scale for each assessment area (numeracy, reading, writing, spelling and grammar and punctuation) with a student’s result shown as a black dot on the scale.

There are 4 proficiency levels:

• Exceeding: The student’s result exceeds expectations at the time of testing.
• Strong: The student’s result meets challenging but reasonable expectations at the time of testing.
• Developing: The student’s result indicates that they are working towards expectations at the time of testing.
• Needs additional support: The student’s result indicates that they are not achieving the learning outcomes expected at the time of testing. They are likely to need additional support to progress satisfactorily.

The report continues to show each child’s achievement against the national average for their year (shown as a black triangle) and the range of achievement for the middle 60% of students in their year level (shown as a light shaded rectangle). NAPLAN is a valuable tool that can give useful insights into a student’s performance, but individual reports should be interpreted with care as they reflect the student’s performance on the day of testing.

Watch this video here on reading NAPLAN student reports.

For more detailed information please read the parent and carer FAQs below:

Challenging Maths Tasks

Here are some NAPLAN style questions for your ‘Sweaty Brain Time’ this week:

Have a wonderful fortnight ahead!

Breanna

Student Support Team

Advocating For Your Neurodivergent Child

As a parent you are frequently required to advocate for your child. This interactive webinar will explore strategies to help parents advocate for the implementation of reasonable supports for their child across various contexts and settings.

When: Wednesday, 24 July 2024

Time: 9.30am - 11.00am

Where: Online Webinar

Get Tickets

Caroline and Cathy

Defence Club News

It has been lovely to see some of our Defence kids around the school playground, and those who have come along to Defence Club. We’ve had a great catch up and I’ve loved hearing about all the exciting activities our kids got up to over the school holidays.

I know this is a time when posting orders are starting to come out (my husband included), and this may be a time where kids are aware that changes are coming and may be feeling unsettled. We spoke about how we may be feeling about change and have created our own ‘How I Feel Wheel’, so we can talk about and recognise what these feelings are and how we can approach them.

DMFS South Queensland

ADF Family Health Care Program

Did you know that ADF families can access funds to maintain a healthy lifestyle? The ADF Family Health Program provides reimbursem*nt for physiotherapy, dental, specialist appointments and more of up to $800 a year per dependent!

For more information on how to register, visit ADF Family Health.

The ADF Family Health Program is open to recognised dependents of Permanent ADF members, and Reservists on continuous full-time service

Education Assistance Scheme (EAS)

Defence recognises that some children may experience disruption to their education each time they move for a posting. Financial support is available to help minimise the disruption to education caused by posting.

Financial support available under the Education Assistance Scheme includes:

• Tutoring
• Tuition and boarding school allowance
• Tertiary accommodation
• Loss of scholarship compensation
• Reunion travel

For assistance with your application, send an email to education.supportprograms@defence.gov.au or visit the EAS information on our website.

Kookaburra Kids Defence Program

The Kookaburra Kids Defence Program is dedicated to supporting the unique needs of children of serving and ex-serving ADF families.

Brisbane – Camps and Activity Days Camps

19 - 21 July - Adventure Alternatives Camp

9 - 11 August - Kokoda Camp

Activity Days

24 August - Summer Land Camels

For more information, contact Kookaburra Kids

Find Out First!

DMFS South Queensland has an Eventbrite page for each location. Tickets for all DMFS events are only available through Eventbrite. Events are uploaded at different times throughout the month. To avoid missing out on tickets, follow the page to receive an instant notification when events are released.

To opt-in to receive notifications directly from our Eventbrite page, all you need to do is:

• Follow the DMFS Brisbane/Canungra, Amberley or Darling Downs Eventbrite page.
• Register your details.
• Download the Eventbrite app.
• Enable push notifications.

DMFS South Queensland - Brisbane, Canungra, Amberley and Darling Downs

Defence Member and Family Helpline - 1800 624 608

It is now even easier to join the DMFS mailing list....

Be the first to know about upcoming DMFS events and activities so that you don't miss out on tickets! Stay up to date with community information and stay connected with what's on in your community. By joining our mailing list, you will receive a monthly update straight to your inbox. It's as easy as scanning the QR Code.

If you are a serving member and your child would like to join our Defence Club, please complete the Consent Form that was sent home and return to your child’s classroom teacher, or email to ksartori@bne.catholic.edu.au

We meet every Thursday at second break in The Library. This is a space for students to meet other students at school who also live the military life.

Karen

Mercy Hospitality News

Qkr! Payments - Please Note

There has been some confusion with the QKR! Payment Buttons.

There is NO option to add credit to your child’s account. Tuckshop only operates on pre orders through the QKR app, and we only prepare what has been ordered on that day.

To PLACE ORDER please select the correct Morning Tea or Lunch Menu, Date, your Child’s Profile and the items that you wish for your child to receive.

To PAY FOR OVER THE COUNTER items during Special Events (eg; coffee, sausage sizzle)

To make DONATIONS to school during Special Events or Fundraising.

Please contact Aga, if you need more clarifications with any QKR App or Tuckshop queries.

Qkr! App Instructions

General News

BCE Connect App

A must for all parents! Please ensure that you have loaded the BCE Connect App on to your phone. BCE Connect provides a platform to securely access school information, making it easier to keep track of all things school related and stay in touch. Directions for setting up the App can be found on the Parent Portal. or view the video on how to get started at BCE Connect App How to Get Started

BCE Connect V4 - Release

What to expect

• For users with automatic updated on their device, BCE Connect will automatically update to the new version.
• For users with manual updates on their device, please find the update steps listed below.

• How to manually update apps on your iPhone or iPad
• Open the App Store
• Tap your profile icon at the top of the screen
• Scroll to see pending updates and release notes
• Tap Update next to an app to update only that app or tap Update All
• If no Update option appears, App is already running the latest version.
• How to manually update apps on your Androiddevice
• Open the Google Play Store app
• At the top right, tap the profile icon
• Tap Manage apps & device
• Tap the app you want to update (Apps with an update available are labelled Update available)
• Tap Update
• If no Update option appears, App is already running the latest version.

Additional Resources

The Logging an Absence video for BCE Connect V4 is now available – Logging an Absence.

2024 Commonwealth Census - Collection Notice

The Commonwealth Census for schools is being held on Friday, August 2. Please read the Collection Notice below on how the Government collects information from schools. The Collection Notice is also available to read on the Parent Portal.

Community News