Dear Families,

What a joyful and enriching week it has been here at School of the Good Shepherd. Catholic Education Week, beautifully coinciding with Harmony Week and St Patrick’s Day, has provided a meaningful opportunity to reflect on and celebrate our core values of belonging, compassion and growth. Throughout the week, our students have participated in a range of experiences that brought these values to life, demonstrating through both their words and actions how we can strive to be more like Jesus each day.

There has been a wonderfully positive and uplifting atmosphere across the school. It has been a pleasure to hear students offering compliments, encouraging one another, showing persistence in their learning and engaging in positive self-talk. Seeing these behaviours lived out so genuinely has been truly heart warming.

RECONCILIATION

A huge congratulations goes out to our Year 3 students who celebrated the Sacrament of Reconciliation last week. Their maturity and reverence was outstanding, and they demonstrated a sincere commitment to following Jesus’ example seeking forgiveness and offering it to others, even when it can be challenging. Thank you to our Year 3 teachers and Mrs Michelle Peel, our Religious Education Leader, for preparing the students so well.

NAPLAN

We also commend our Year 3 and Year 5 students who completed their NAPLAN assessments. They approached each task with resilience and flexibility, even when faced with some technical challenges. We are incredibly proud of their efforts and the positive attitude they displayed throughout.

SCHOOL PICNIC

Thank you to all who braved the unpredictable weather to attend our annual School Picnic. While conditions were not quite on our side, it was wonderful to see families and students enjoying time together connecting, mingling and welcoming new members into our community. Your support and spirit are truly appreciated.

ST PATRICK'S DAY CELEBRATIONS

This week our St Patrick’s Day celebrations, led by our Faith Team, were a highlight of the week. Students proudly wore a splash of green while learning about how St Patrick brought God to his people. The reverence shown during prayer, along with the heartfelt singing in unison, was incredibly moving filled with such passion and purpose, it was beautiful to witness.

In addition, as part of Catholic Education Week, our Year 6 representatives also attended the Schools Mass at St Patrick’s Cathedral, followed by a gathering at the Treasury Gardens where they joined other Catholic schools from across Victoria for a concert and a range of fun activities. It was a memorable and enriching experience for all involved.

YEAR 6 LEADERSHIP CONFERENCE

Also this week, our Year 6 student leaders had the privilege of attending the 2026 Melbourne Primary Dream and Lead Conference. This engaging experience inspired and empowered them to explore their leadership potential and develop the skills needed to lead themselves, our school and the wider community. Through keynote presentations and purposeful activities, they strengthened their confidence, independence and problem-solving abilities, while gaining a deeper understanding of the positive impact they can have as young leaders. We look forward to seeing their learning inspire our school community to be leaders too!

HARMONY WEEK

Harmony Week has been another special focus during Catholic Education Week; celebrating the richness of diversity and the importance of inclusion and belonging. Students created orange friendship bracelets and engaged in meaningful learning about acceptance and respect, recognising that our differences are what make our school and our world such a vibrant and special place.

HOLY WEEK CELEBRATIONS

Looking ahead to next week, we are excited to celebrate Holy Week at School of the Good Shepherd. Our students will lead paraliturgies in our school church at 2:30pm, throughout the week. We warmly invite families to join us for these special moments of reflection.

We hope you can join us!

Thank you, as always, for your continued support in nurturing our faith-filled, inclusive and wonderful school community.

Kindly,

Maria Tasevski

Acting Deputy Principal

Parish News