Principal's Welcome

Dear Families,

I write to you in this week’s newsletter entry as Acting Principal during Mrs D'Amato's leave. Mrs D'Amato has been sending us updates of her trip as she enjoys spending time with her family, visiting many beautiful places and churches. 

At the end of week 8, our Staff engaged in a Spirituality Day with a focus on strengthening the Catholic identity of School of the Good Shepherd in dialogue with faith, life and culture. One of our learning intentions was to begin the process of operationalising one of our core school Gospel values of ‘BELONGING’. We engaged in scripture reading, followed by prayer, mediation, dialogue, reflecting and acting. As Christians we are called to live out the Gospel values. This means we do more than profess our values, we practise them. We walk our talk - we are clear about what we believe, inspired by the person and teachings of Jesus, the Good Shepherd. We spent a great deal of time unpacking the Gospel value of ‘belonging’ to ensure that our intentions, words, thoughts and behaviours align with those beliefs. This is operationalising. We can’t live out values that we can’t name or identify specific observable behaviours that align with that value. Our teachers have now begun planning learning experiences which will invite student input and voice to operationalise our school value of belonging from the perspective of a student. Furthermore, we will be holding a parent/family workshop in term 4, Tuesday 21st November, in the evening to seek the input and voice of our families to operationalise the value of ‘belonging’ from the perspective of our families and community. Stay tuned for more information on this awesome opportunity for family engagement. 

-This week we have many opportunities for family engagement which include:

A whole school assembly on Wednesday 13th September at 2:00pm - 2:30pm on the Tiger Turf hosted by our Prep classes.

-Celebration of Learning on Wednesday 13th September at 2:30pm - 3:25pm in all classrooms Prep - Yr 6. This will be an opportunity to celebrate all of the learning our students have engaged in this term with a focus on “Belonging In A Community - Learning to live well with others” (Civics and Citizenship, History).

-End of Term 3 Conversations (Parent/Teacher Interviews) Thursday 14th September 3:45pm - 7:15pm and Friday 15th September 9:00am - 1:45pm. If you have not yet done so, please book in your interview time using the ‘School Interviews’ information sent out on Seesaw notifications.

Special Announcements:

We are thrilled to announce that one of our leaders Melanie Sanderson and her husband Dave are expecting a new addition to their family. This is an incredibly exciting time in their lives, and we could not be happier for them. 

Friendly Reminders:

Last day for students in term 3 is Thursday 14th September. Friday 15th September is a student free day as Parent/Teacher Interviews will be held during the morning. Students are not required to come to school. This Thursday 14th September is the last day of term for all students. Students are invited to dress up in football colours in celebration of the upcoming AFL grand final whilst we are on school holidays - NO gold coin donation required.

To comply with the new EBA that has been voted on and agreed upon. Beginning Term 4, our students will be finishing at 3.25pm Monday to Thursday and 3:00pm Friday.  There will need to be further changes made in 2024 which will be communicated at the beginning of term 4. 

If you have not already done so, please take the time to fill out the 20min MACSSIS survey that was sent via email. MACSSIS stands for: Melbourne Archdiocese Catholic Schools School Improvement Survey. All members of our community have the opportunity to complete the survey - families, students (Yr 4/5/6) and staff. The data collected from this survey provides vital information to inform us about what we are doing well and where we can improve as a school. Your feedback and voice is truly valued and appreciated. Families have until the 15th September to complete the survey. Thank you to those families who have already filled in their MACSSIS survey. 

On our community links page, you will find an expression of interest to contribute to and purchase our school cookbook which will be made up of our favourite recipes! Sharing a meal always brings people together and allows us the opportunity to share stories, share our experiences and share any worries. We welcome all recipes from all cultures and backgrounds! 

On behalf of Carmela, myself and all of our staff, we want to thank all of our students and families for a wonderful term 3. We have had many celebrations and engaged in many rich, exciting learning experiences. We hope you have a restful and enjoyable school holiday break. 

Should you need to contact us during the school holidays, please do so via email: 

We look forward to seeing you all back next term on Monday 2nd October. 

Yours faithfully, 

Jemma McVeigh

School of the Good Shepherd 

Address: 88 South Circular Rd, Gladstone Park 3043

Telephone: 9338 7686

School Office hours:  8:30am- 4pm