InFocus Edition 2 2022

GoodShepherd InFocus

The Good Shepherd

Lutheran Primary School

53-57 Plymouth Road

Croydon Hills Vic 3136

Phone: (03) 9726 2900

Email: goodshep@gslps.vic.edu.au

Web: www.gslps.vic.edu.au

Principal

Mr Greg Schneider

InFocus Editor

Mrs Penny Soong

From the Principal

If our aim is to help our children thrive, then relationships matter

Over the years you have regularly heard me talk and write about Good Shepherd’s “Learning That Matters” approach to learning and teaching. We are guided by the key question, “What do our students need to thrive in today’s and tomorrow’s world?” This approach to learning and teaching has set the framework for the development of our School programs, the evaluation of student learning experiences, and the professional learning of our staff. It has provided us with a lens for carefully evaluating all that we do.

In recent months, as I approach the end of my time as Principal of Good Shepherd, my thoughts have frequently returned to the relationships I have been blessed to develop over the years; relationships with my colleagues, relationships with school families, and the relationships with the many students who have journeyed through our school. People have often asked, “What will you miss most in your retirement?” Without question it will be the relationships and the personal connections that have been established and nurtured over the years.

There is much research that confirms just how important relationships are for a quality life. Positive psychology expert Jaime Weisberg says, “I think we all intuitively know that if we think about the happiest times in our lives, they usually include other people.”

“The quality of our relationships is the single biggest predictor of our happiness – more so than business success, physical health, wealth, status or fame” – Jen Maser.

If our aim is to help our children thrive, then relationships matter – and following the last three years, maybe relationships matter even more than ever.

One of our Six Key Areas of Learning at Good Shepherd is the area of “Wellbeing Learning” – living well and relating with others. Having the emotional support of others, feeling connected and having a sense of belonging contribute to a sense of self-worth, positivity and increased contentment and happiness. What a wonderful foundation for learning in so many other areas of education and life.

As I look to my future, I will very fondly remember and treasure the relationships I have been blessed to have developed with so many of you over the years. God has a plan for us all, and in 1997 His plan led me to Good Shepherd. I feel incredibly privileged to have served you as Principal during these past years. I sincerely thank you for your support and care as we have worked together to do our best to provide an environment where our children can thrive.

All the very best for the future.

Blessings,

Greg Schneider Principal

Community News School Captains

Congratulations to our School Captains for Terms 3 and 4, 2022.

Term 3 Hannah Bolonghe and Archie Hattwich

Term 4 Katie Lloyd and Seth Jorna

Staff Farewells Welcome

We welcome the following Staff Members to Good Shepherd

Mr Greg Schneider

Ms Jacinta Fry Parental Leave

Miss Lauren Payne

Mrs Katrina Farley

Mrs Jane Schneider Mrs Marie-Claire Stamford

Ms Jasmyn Dhillon

Mrs Sue Tuffin

Mrs Sarah Derham

Mrs Stephanie Witbreuk Parental Leave

Mrs Tina Miller

Miss Ashley Payet

Miss Emilie Fogarty Teacher Assistant

Ms Kara Large Drama Teacher

Mrs Amanda Biggs Year 5 Teacher

Mr Nick Johnson PE Teacher

Around the School Prep

Letterland Day

On Wednesday 27 July the Prep students came to school dressed up as a character or object that started with their favourite letter of the alphabet.

The Letterland Dress Up Day was a funfilled way to celebrate the Preps reaching the end of the Letterland Phonics Program. Throughout the year, the students enjoyed learning new sounds and meeting a new Letterland character each week.

There was an abundance of creative costumes on show! There were Preps dressed up as Annie Apple, Clever Cat, Vicky Violet as well as lots of superheroes, mermaids and princesses. The students enjoyed parading down the catwalk to the Letterland theme song.

A wonderful day was had by all.

Prep 100 Days of School

Our Prep children enjoyed a very exciting day celebrating their first 100 days of Primary School. They looked wonderful dressed up as “old” people. There was plenty of grey hair on show and many needed the aid of a walking stick!

The Preps spent the day completing a range of activities that focused on the number 100 and enjoyed a grand celebratory lunch together.

Book Week

To celebrate Book Week, Jack’s Beanstalk made its way to our Library Resource Centre, families donated books to 123Read2Me and students entered the Favourite Book Character colouring competition. There were fantastic classroom and whole school activities, culminating in our Book Week Dress Up Day to celebrate our love of books.

Year 1 Science Incursion

On Tuesday 6th September, the Year 1 students enjoyed an incursion called “Create it!”

Working with their team of fellow designers, students put their creative minds together to design and build mind-blowing contraptions. This incursion was a project-based learning experience with emphasis on students developing teamwork, critical thinking, problem solving, creativity, communication and presentation skills.

Year 2 Sleepover

On Friday, 14th October the Year 2 students had their annual Sleepover at school. This was a highly anticipated event as we hadn’t been able to do this for the last two years. The students thoroughly enjoyed playing lots of sporting games, hiking and team activities as well as watching a movie and eating popcorn. The pizza dinner was a hit too! By 11pm everyone was tucked up in bed, ready to get some sleep. Morning came around quickly and after eating a delicious breakfast, the students were packing for home!

Year 5 Smoothie Bar Incursion

As part of their Media and Advertising unit, the Year 5 students worked in teams to create a smoothie product and marketing campaign that promoted health and wellness within the community.

Students worked through market research, design and costs for their smoothies. They researched nutrition, then blended and tested their product. Using digital devices, they also developed marketing materials to promote and sell their product.

Year 6 Colour Run

The Good Shepherd oval was transformed into an amazing course of obstacles and challenges for our Year 6 Colour Run.

Staff were placed at 7 stations around the course where they cheered and encouraged the students whilst showering them with different coloured powders. It was a lot of fun and extremely therapeutic! Some of the challenges that the students navigated whilst being doused with powder were: Balloon blow, hop and pop, commando crawl and paper plane challenge. Mr Andrew Leske, our resident DJ and announcer kept the students entertained and motivated with his trendy playlist of songs and well renowned sense of humour. Sounds of laughter, squealing and excited chatter could be heard echoing around the course for the duration of the run. The students ended the afternoon with a well deserved icy pole and reminisced over their favourite moments and their newly acquired ‘colourful hairdo and makeup’.

Music

Choral Concert

It was wonderful to be able to be back together again and to see our students showcase their talents at our Choral Concert.

The results of their hard work throughout the year were clearly visible as the students sang beautifully and the performances were of a very high standard. It was very special for our students to be able to perform again to a very appreciative audience.

Instrumental Music Concert

On Wednesday 16 November we had the opportunity to appreciate the musical talents of our instrumental music students and to see the results of their efforts throughout this past year. We were also able to express our thanks to Mrs Simpson, our Director of Instrumental Music, and to all our Instrumental Music Tutors.

It was a very special evening. How great it was to be able to come together again to see our students perform after the interruptions of these last two years.

Well done to all the students who performed and thank you to all who attended.

Excursions

Year 2

Excursion to Royal Botanic Gardens

On Thursday 1 September the Year 2 students were very excited to go on an excursion to the Royal Botanic Gardens.

They visited the Gardens as part of their Integrated Studies Unit on Plants. In the morning they walked around the gardens with a guide. They learnt about some of the special plants and trees that grow in the gardens. They made a pot pourri out of rose petals and lavender and planted a native flower in a pot which they were able to take home.

In the afternoon they explored the gardens in small groups, visiting new areas and answering questions on a special activity sheet.

They really enjoyed their day but were very tired from all the walking!

Year 4 Excursion to Edendale Farm

On Wednesday 24 August, the Year 4 students enjoyed an excursion to Edendale Farm in Eltham. Edendale Farm is a Community Environment Farm that is set on seven acres of land next to Diamond Creek in Eltham.

The Year 4 students had been focusing on Sustainability in their Integrated Studies topic and were able to enjoy the following activities:

CONSUMPTION DOWN/WHAT A LOAD –What can we do with all our rubbish?

FOOD FOOTPRINT- Where does our food come from and how much does it cost to bring it to our tables?

SOIL MATTERS- How can we improve our soil to grow things well?

TALE OF A CREEK – A group ‘role play’ task about how we do and do not help keep our waterways clean.

The Year 4 students had a terrific day exploring activities and learning how to live more sustainably

Camps

Year 3

On a sunny morning in October, the Year 3 students headed off on their first School Camp. After a brief stop for morning tea and play at Lillydale Lake, they continued on to the campsite in Yarra Junction. Being away from home for two nights in a row was a first for many of the students. On the first night they enjoyed a night hike and spotted a possum and Yellow-rumped Thornbill, before arriving at a campfire to toast marshmallows. Watching a movie with popcorn on the second night was also a highlight. On camp the students showed great teamwork and support of each other on the various activities (particularly low ropes, hut building and cooking damper). During free time the soccer field, trampolines and Ga-Ga pit proved to be popular. Students also had the opportunity to assist in packing up the dining room after mealtimes.

Year 5

There was excitement in the air as the students stepped off the bus and into the 1850’s streets. Students engaged in hands-on learning activities and enjoyed interacting with the street theatre. The wonderful activities and immersive atmosphere allowed students to fully understand the living conditions on the Victorian Goldfields. Stores lining the dusty streets were available for the students to buy souvenirs. The confectionary store, candle makers and blacksmiths were amongst the most popular locations for shopping. Luckily, many of our activities were able to be enjoyed indoors away from the rain, such as watching a gold pouring demonstration, playing 1850’s style bowling and visiting the underground mines. As soon as the sun came out, the students all rushed down to the creek to try their luck panning for gold. After a few lessons from the guide, we heard a few lucky students yell “Eureka!” as they proudly showed off their findings in their pan. The excitement only built in the evenings, with an amazing Eureka Stockade sound and light show on one night and a disco on the other.

Year 6

It was with excitement and anticipation that our Year 6 students and teachers headed off via coach to Canberra. Our 5-day Canberra Camp adventure was a highlight of the year. Students studied Law and Government in class during Term 4 which was a great link to the camp. The Canberra Camp forms part of the Good Shepherd Year 6 Curriculum. The experience enabled students to make some final happy memories as a Year 6 cohort together. The Canberra Camp offered a fantastic range of educational activities for them to participate in during our stay. These activities included an educational visit to Parliament House, The High Court of Australia, The Australian War Memorial, Old Parliament House, the Royal Mint, the Electoral Educational Centre and the CSIRO Discovery Centre. A new experience for students also included a visit to the Canberra Deep Space Communication Complex. Did you know that ‘Deep Space Station 46’, which was the antenna located closest to the public carpark at the facility, was the antenna that brought back the first images of Neil Armstrong stepping onto the Moon on 21 July, 1969?

In the evening students visited Questacon and participated in team bowling. Students were engaged in science and technological activities. They participated in hands-on experiences that encouraged critical thinking. They visited the ‘Free Fall’ experience where students can choose to feel the exhilaration of weightlessness as they hang from a bar and ride smoothly down a 2-storey vertical slide. This is the same weightlessness that astronauts experience when orbiting the Earth.

We thank our students for once again being wonderful ambassadors for our School.

Senior School Musical Showcase

2022 brought the opportunity for Good Shepherd Senior Primary students to perform in a theatre before a live audience for the first time in a number of years. Excitement was high as staff and students worked for many months rehearsing the items for our first ever Musical Variety Show. In addition to a Grand Finale (You Can’t Stop the Beat), each Year 5 and Year 6 class learned two songs with costumes and choreography for both. The final result was spectacular with everyone in the audience having a wonderful time.

Art Exhibition

Our students’ very impressive Visual Arts work was put on display and celebrated at our Art Exhibition.

Following an official Opening of the Exhibition which included parents and staff members coming together, silent auctions and opportunities to create their own artwork, the Exhibition was open for students and families to visit. A huge amount of work went into preparing and displaying artwork. Our students can be very proud of what they have been able to achieve in their Visual Arts classes throughout the year.

Principal Farewell

In 1997, Mr Greg Schneider commenced as Principal of Good Shepherd. At his side he had his wife Jane, who commenced as a Year 2 teacher, his son Tom as a Year 4 student and his daughter Annie as a Year 3 student of Good Shepherd. Together as a family they had relocated from Horsham, where Greg had served as Principal of Horsham Lutheran Primary School for eight years.

Greg and Jane had hoped to remain at Good Shepherd long enough to see their children finish their secondary education at Luther College. Twenty-six years later, Greg and Jane will conclude their service at Good Shepherd, well beyond their original expectations. And how blessed we are Greg and Jane, that you have chosen to serve our school community for so many years.

In his time as Principal, Greg has welcomed over 1,800 wide-eyed Prep students to the School and proudly shaken the hand of over 1,600 Good Shepherd Graduates as they conclude their journey at the School. He has seen the School celebrate its 20th, 30th and 40th birthdays. He has grown the School from two streams to three in 2002 and from three streams to four in 2021. He has overseen an array of building projects, including the Music Centre, Administration Centre, Senior Primary Building, Gymnasium, Resource Centre/Library, Visual Arts Centre and the design of our future Middle Primary Building, which is a real celebration of 21st Century Learning. Although these are all significant milestones, they do not truly represent Greg’s legacy. One of Greg’s greatest contributions to the school community is the development of a school culture founded on God’s love. Those within our school community and those who visit our School, frequently comment that there is something ‘special’ about Good Shepherd. We care for each other. We support each other. We keep the children at the centre of all of our decisions - what is best for the children, is best for the School. Children are supported to achieve their potential - not just academically, but as a whole person. They are encouraged to try their hardest in all pursuits - academic, sport, visual and performing arts. They are encouraged to be positive contributors to the world around them - to serve others and to be globally and environmentally aware.

Greg is passionate about the “Learning That Matters” and ensuring that the School’s approach to learning and teaching equips students with the skills students will need to thrive in today’s world, and tomorrow’s. He is responsible for leading an overhaul of the School’s learning program, fostering a culture of rich and dynamic learning at all levels of the School, and ensuring that Good Shepherd learners are curious and creative critical thinkers, with outstanding communication skills.

Greg, God has truly blessed our school community with your leadership, wisdom and passion for educating young children. You will be dearly missed. We wish you God’s richest blessings as you go on to enjoy the next stage of your life journey.