Dear Families,

It’s been such a great term of learning and adjusting for all of our students however we are finding it hard to believe that we are already in week 6 and half way through the term! We are looking forward to the second half of this term as our students are well and truly into the routines of their new classes.

School Core Values

In the last newsletter I spoke about our core school value of BELONGING and we saw a wonderful, living example of that at our SoGS family picnic last Thursday. Although it was quite sunny and hot we had a great time catching up with families and students in a non formal, relaxing way. All staff present found it to be an enriching experience being able to chat with our families and we hope that our families felt the same. Thank you to those families that attended, and for sharing your precious time with us. We thank our students for leading our school song with Mr Steven and Mrs Grace and for showing true courage in singing in front of so many people. There truly was a wonderful sense of belonging and as Jesus said, “Wherever two or more are gathered in my name, I am there”!

Community Liaison Team

We are so pleased to introduce our Community Liaison team. This team will be working with our Community Leader, Mel Sanderson in creating lots of opportunities for parent and community engagement this year. Look out for information through Skoolbag throughout the year. Welcome Stacey, Matthew, Zara and Joanne!

Homework Research Group

This week saw the commencement of our homework process and launch of our homework policy. Once again, thankyou to our working group for their contributions, openess, honesty and ideas. The opportunity to discuss what processes look like and feel like is invaluable for us as educators as we get a glimpse into what others think and we are able to refine our own thinking. The homework that has been set out is the same in structure across all year levels with time set aside for Reading, Writing and Maths. Underneath each title is an explanation of the benefits of practicing these skills as well as some suggested activities for home. These have been adjusted according to the different year levels and what skills are being practiced. Our homework structure and policy highlights the importance of setting up good study practices in preparation for high school. Thanks again to our parent group in their assistance in developing this structure and policy alongside our staff.

We are now working on our reporting structures and would like your feedback also. If you would like to give some feedback on our current reports, please fill in this survey.

https://forms.gle/KiaYc6ListhYY7M56

School Photos

Our annual school photos will be taking place on Wednesday 8th March. This year we are using JMS photography for our photos. Rather than paying before the photos are taken and choosing a package, you will have the opportunity to go online after the photo day and choose your own photos and packages. This gives families the flexibility to choose what suits. Any questions or concerns then go through the photographers. More details will be given prior to Wednesday.

Students are all expected to be in their full summer school uniform. For those classes that have PE on that day, please wear your summer uniform and bring your runners in a separate bag.

Sibling Photos If you would like a sibling photo to be taken on the day, please fill in this google form: https://forms.gle/JUQ1kECEPPCiEaEJ8

Student Absence Notification

To assist us in managing the ongoing safety of our students, parents will receive a non reply text message if your child has been recorded as absent. Thank you to those families that have responded so quickly when they have received this message.

What to do if you receive a text message:

Log a skoolbag notification to advise of absence (preferred option)

or

Contact the school office directly on 9338 7686 to advise.

New EBA for staff

Last year I mentioned that there is a new EBA being finalised for educators across our state. At the moment, Catholic Education and the unions are in their final stages of finalising the EBA. I have been attending various webinars over the last few weeks regarding the changes that will need to be made. Our changes will need to go through a consultative committee made up of staff and union members and we can then advise our community of those changes. Any changes that are to be made will begin in Term 2.

Communication at SoGS

There are so many different ways that we communicate at SoGS and each platform has a different purpose. Read about our communication platforms by clicking on the image:

Do you know someone starting prep in 2024?

We held four very successful school tours last week. It was an opportunity to show off our beautiful school and to share the learning with new families.

If you have a younger child starting prep in 2024, please collect an enrolment form from the office. If you know of any new families who are within our zone, please share our new flyer with them. The flyer can be found on our School Community News page.

Have a great fortnight!

Carmela D’Amato

School of the Good Shepherd

Address: 88 Sth Circular Rd, Gladstone Park 3043

Telephone: 9338 7686

Email General inquiries: info@sogsgpark.catholic.edu.au

Email Principal: principal@sogsgpark.catholic.edu.au

School Office hours: 8:30am- 4pm

Learning Diversity

Lorna Stranieri

World Hearing Day is on Friday!