Dear Families,

As we prepare for the Jubilee Year 2025, proclaimed by Pope Francis, we reflect on its theme: "Pilgrims of Hope." A Jubilee Year is a special time of grace, renewal, and spiritual growth in the Catholic Church, celebrated every 25 years.

What is a Jubilee Year?

A Jubilee is a year of prayer, pilgrimage, and mercy, offering a unique opportunity for Catholics to strengthen their faith. It is a time to seek reconciliation, deepen our relationship with God, and embrace acts of charity.

How Can Families Participate?

Prayer & Reflection: Spend time in prayer as a family, reflecting on hope, forgiveness, and gratitude.
Pilgrimage Opportunities: Consider visiting a designated Jubilee Church or a place of spiritual significance.
Acts of Kindness & Mercy: Engage in acts of service and charity to live out the spirit of the Jubilee.
Sacraments & Reconciliation: Use this time to reconnect with the Sacraments, especially Confession and Eucharist.

Prayers for Pope Francis

We continue to keep Pope Francis in our prayers as he remains in the hospital. This morning Pope francis released an audio message to everyone saying, "I thank you from the bottom of my heart for your prayers for my health from the Square, I accompany you from here. May God bless you and the Virgin protect you.”

You can read more here: https://www.abc.net.au/news/2025-03-07/pope-health-update-francis-audio-message-stpeter-s/105021130

SOGS Family Picnic Thursday, 13th March

Join us for our SOGS Family Picnic on Thursday, 13th March! This is a wonderful opportunity to meet other families and staff. Please bring your own picnic rugs, dinner and drinks (no alcohol permitted). A reminder that there is no teacher supervision at the adventure playgrounds, therefore if your child is wanting to use it, they must be accompanied by an adult. Students will be able to use the student toilets, whilst adults and toddlers will be redirected to the internal disabled toilet.

We look forward to seeing you there.

Church Carpark

Important Reminder: The speed limit in the carpark is 5KM/h. Please drive slowly, park only in designated spots, and turn LEFT only when exiting the school driveway. This keeps the traffic flowing at the end of the day as we know that families have many different after school activities and appointments to get to, but we also want to ensure that we keep everyone safe.

End of Day procedures

We kindly ask for your cooperation with the following school ground guidelines:

Playground Use: Please do not allow children or toddlers to play on the school playground at the end of the school day. This ensures safety for all students and allows staff to close the grounds properly.
No Dogs on School Grounds: While we love seeing your furry friends, we ask that dogs are not walked or carried into the school grounds. Some students have a fear of dogs, and we want school to remain a safe and comfortable space for everyone.

Thank you for your understanding and support in keeping our school a safe and welcoming environment for all students.

2026 Prep Enrolments Now Open

A reminder for existing school families with a child starting Prep in 2026 – enrolments are now open! This year, the enrolment form is digital and can be found on our website. Click the "Enrol Now" button to complete your application. Our recent Open Days for new families have been a great success, with many families joining us for school tours. Thank you to everyone who participated!

School Uniform

Thank you to those students who are wearing the correct school uniform. Please read through our Uniform Policy to familiarise yourselves with what items are accepted. I have also included the Top Schoolwear website with items for purchase. The Uniform shop will sell items from our school on the following afternoons at 2.30pm

17/03 Monday and 02/04 Wednesday

Term 2

23/04 Wednesday, 05/05 Monday, 21/05 Wednesday, 02/06 Monday, 18/06 Wednesday

30/06 Monday

The nForma Parent Portal App

We are now beginning to roll out new features on the Parent Portal, including the Absent module, Notices module and Forms module. From Term 2 we will begin phasing out Audiri, so please reach out if you are not sure of how to get onto the Parent Portal.

1.Download the app “nForma for Parents” from the App Store or Google Play (many families will have already downloaded the app to access children’s reports last year).

2. Log in using the email address you have registered with the school. If you are not sure of what this is, please email the office at info@sogsgpark.catholic.edu.au and we can check which address is on file.

3.Ensure that you have notifications switched on so that you will know when there are updates on the app.

4.Please complete the Chromebook Policy and Mobile phone/Smartwatch Policy if you have not already done so (we need this to be completed for every child as soon as possible).

Please don’t hesitate to reach out if you are unsure of any of these steps.

Elizabeth Sarpa Michelle Peel

esarpa@sogsgpark.catholic.edu.au mpeel@sogsgpark.catholic.edu.au

Parent Association Updates

The Parent Association held its first meeting last week to discuss the exciting events planned for this year. Keep an eye out for upcoming activities and opportunities to get involved. Our first event will be the ‘Guess the number of eggs’ competition. Students will be given the opportunity to guess how many eggs are in the jar. Each year level will have their own jar to guess from and whoever guesses the correct amount (or closest to) will be able to take the jar home and share the eggs with their family and friends.

We look forward to another great fortnight!

Carmela D'Amato

School of The Good Shepherd

BELONGING, COMPASSION and GROWTH

Issue 3 · 07 Mar 2025

In this issue