This year, Catholic Schools Week coincides with the 15th anniversary of National School Choice week. Good Shepherd Catholic School has a full week of activities planned to celebrate the important choice parents and families make to send their children to GSC for the well-rounded, academically challenging Catholic education we provide in a safe, welcoming, loving and Christ-centered environment.
 
​Here's what's happening at GSC from January 25-31, 2025:
  
Saturday, January 25: Pre-CSW Event for Parents and other Adults
•  The Home and School Association's annual Trivia Night takes place in the GSC auditorium. Doors open at 6:30 p.m. and the questions start around 7:00.

Saturday and Sunday, January 25-26: Celebrating Our Parish
•  Student speakers will talk at the weekend Masses at Queen of Peace Church.
•  School representatives will serve coffee and donuts in Lynaugh Hall
(under Queen of Peace Church) after the Sunday morning Masses.
​
Monday, January 27: Celebrating Our Community
•  Annual Mass for GSC volunteers and community first responders
at 9:00 a.m. in Queen of Peace Church, followed by a
light breakfast/refreshments in the GSC auditorium.
The Mass can be watched via the Queen of Peace Livestream:
https://masslivestream.com/churches/qofpeacechurch​.
 
Tuesday, January 28: Celebrating Our Grandparents and Special Friends
•  Students will dress as characters from an assigned book (or theme).
Students not dressing as a character can wear their gym uniform.
•  There will be two sessions for GSC students to play Bingo with their invited guest(s),
from 9:00 to 10:30 a.m., and then from 10:30 to 12:00 noon.
Here is the SignUpGenius link to RSVP for grandparents/friends:
https://www.signupgenius.com/go/70A044FAAAC2EA2FD0-54289052-grandparents.

Wednesday, January 29: Celebrating Our Teachers and Staff
•  Teacher Appreciation Day
•  Teachers will enjoy a catered lunch provided by
the Good Shepherd Home and School Association.
Adult lunch monitors should sign up here: https://www.signupgenius.com/go/70A044FAAAC2EA2FD0-54289008-teacher#/
or contact a teacher directly if they are able to volunteer
from 11:00/11;30 a.m. to 12:35 p.m. today.
​Thank you for your time and consideration!
•  Students can wear their gym uniform.
•  Teachers and staff will play "Minute To Win It" against the eighth graders.
​
Thursday, January 30: Celebrating Our Students
•  Students can wear their favorite team shirt.
•  Students will receive a soft pretzel at morning recess/snack time.
•  There will be a surprise activity for all students.
•  The Home and School Association will treat students to a Hot Dog Lunch.
•  There will be an Academic Fair/Open House from 6:00 p.m. to 7:15 p.m.

Friday, January 31: Celebrating GSC
•  Dance For Education! (Click on the words to donate.)
•  Students may wear GSC spirit wear or their gym uniform.

Also, the Scholastic Book Fair will be open during Catholic Schools Week,
including during the Thursday night Open House!
https://bookfairs.scholastic.com/bf/goodshepherdcathregschool​

The Archdiocese of Philadelphia’s Office of Catholic Education recognized 71 parish and regional elementary schools last Thursday (September 5) as 2024 Archdiocesan Schools of Distinguished Instruction. School administrators gathered to receive their award during a ceremony at Saint Dorothy Church in Drexel Hill.

Dr. Andrew McLaughlin, Secretary of Elementary Education for the Archdiocese of Philadelphia, and Mrs. Bernadette Dougherty, the Assistant Superintendent of Elementary Schools in Montgomery County, were on hand to present the awards.

GSC Principal Sister Helen Thomas, IHM – along with Fourth-Grade Teacher Sister Teresa Haug, IHM, and Resource Teacher Sister Christine Lamb, IHM – accepted Good Shepherd Catholic School’s plaque for a third year in a row.

GSC was one of 44 schools recognized for "Growth" and "Exceeding Potential," and this is the second consecutive year that GSC has succeeded in both categories. Recognition for "Growth" was determined by comparing the Normal Curve Equivalent (NCE) score from the March 2024 testing to the NCE examinations taken by students in the previous academic year. GSC students’ scores demonstrated a full year’s growth in the total mastery of skills at every level tested.

Recognition for "Exceeding Potential" was determined by analyzing the data from the ability testing (InView) and the achievement testing (Terra Nova) in which schools were found to have 85 percent of the classes (grades 2-7) meeting or exceeding their potential in all content areas at every level tested with a growth rate between 76 and 90 percent.

Here is the press release from the Archdiocese of Philadelphia: https://archphila.org/71-area-catholic-elementary-schools-to-be-recognized-as-2024-archdiocesan-schools-of-distinguished-instruction/.
 
Here is the story on CatholicPhilly.com: https://catholicphilly.com/2024/09/news/local-news/71-catholic-grade-schools-honored-for-excellence/.

Congratulations to GSC students, teachers and staff for all of their hard work that led to this significant academic achievement!
 
#GSCScholarship  #GSCCommunity  #GSCistheplacetobe  #ComeGrowWithUsAtGSC

​Good Shepherd Catholic School's 15th school year begins on Wednesday, September 4, for grades 1-8, and students will have a 12:00 noon dismissal, followed by full days on Thursday and Friday. Our school day runs from 7:50 a.m. until 2:30 p.m., with after-school care until 6:00 p.m.

Kindergarten's first full day is Friday, September 6, and our preschool classes start on Monday, September 9. After-school CARES and the NDS Breakfast and Lunch Program also begin on Monday, the 9th.

​You can consult the online school calendar for more important dates and events that will kick off the new school year! You also can download a printable school-year calendar here. 

There are 110 families with children currently enrolled in the school, and GSC is beginning the 2024-2025 school year with 28 three- and four-year-olds in preschool, 14 kindergarten students, and 109 students in grades 1-8.

The 16 graduates in the Class of 2024 from Good Shepherd Catholic School in Ardsley are headed in a few different directions when they begin their secondary education in September at various area schools, including Abington Senior High School; Archbishop Wood High School, Warminster; Gwynedd Mercy Academy, Gwynedd Valley; La Salle College High School, Wyndmoor; and Lansdale Catholic High School.

​Good Shepherd’s 14th eighth-grade class received their diplomas on Wednesday night, June 12, during a graduation ceremony following a Mass at Queen of Peace Parish Church.

The Archdiocese of Philadelphia’s Office of Catholic Education (OCE) hosted its 2024 STREAM Expo for preschools, parish and regional elementary schools, secondary schools, as well as colleges and universities throughout the five-county region, on April 23-25, at a different Archdiocesan high school each day. This is the first year that Catholic colleges and universities were invited to participate in this initiative.

STREAM is an acronym that stands for Science, Technology, Religion, Engineering, Arts, and Math.  OCE’s vision for their curriculum is that a STREAM gives life to wherever it flows, and that this integrated instructional model provides substantive academic offerings with real world applications.

Good Shepherd Catholic School Principal Sister Helen Thomas, IHM, set up a display at Lansdale Catholic High School on Thursday, April 25, and showcased the scope and variety of GSC's STREAM activities for all of our students, preschool through grade eight. OCE recognized the school's efforts with two ribbons of excellence: a second-place award for "Best overall quality of presentation" and a first-place award for "Greatest application of interdisciplinary STREAM concepts."

Click here to read the advance press release from the Archdiocese announcing the 2024 STREAM Expo.

​#GSCScholarship  #GSCCommunity  #GSCService  #GSCisaSTREAMcometrue

La Salle College High School in Wyndmoor offers a number of merit-based scholarships to incoming freshmen. They are awarded to current eighth graders based on their performance on the scholarship/entrance exam; a strong academic profile; outstanding recommendation(s); and demonstrated leadership and service.

La Salle awards one Founder’s Scholarship each year, which covers the recipient’s full tuition for four years, and this year’s winner is Thomas Sweeney, GSC Class of 2024!
 
Thomas attended La Salle’s Scholarship Dinner for the Class of 2028 last Thursday night (January 11), accompanied by his father, Joseph, a 1999 LCHS Explorer graduate, as well as by Mr. Michael Sentman, GSC’s Honors Math/STREAM teacher.
 
Congratulations, Thomas! We are #GSCProud of you for your hard work and determination, and grateful for your service to Good Shepherd Catholic School and Queen of Peace Parish!

​It was last Thursday afternoon (September 7) when the Archdiocese of Philadelphia’s Office of Catholic Education recognized 62 parish and regional elementary schools as 2023 Archdiocesan Schools of Distinguished Instruction. Good Shepherd Catholic School Principal Sister Helen Thomas, IHM, attended the awards ceremony at St. Pius X Church in Broomall, PA, with GSC Resource Teacher and Administrative Assistant Sister Christine Lamb, IHM. They are pictured below with Dr. Andrew McLaughlin, Secretary for Elementary Education, and Father Stephen DeLacy, Vicar for the Office for Faith Formation for Youth and Young Adults in the Archdiocese.

GSC was one of 21 schools recognized for Growth and Exceeding Potential. Recognition for Growth was determined by comparing the Normal Curve Equivalent (NCE) score from the March 2023 testing to the NCE examinations taken by students in the previous academic year. GSC students’ scores demonstrated a full year’s growth in the total mastery of skills at every level tested.

Recognition for Exceeding Potential was determined by analyzing the data from the ability testing (InView) and the achievement testing (Terra Nova) in which schools were found to have 85 percent of the classes (grades 2-7) meeting or exceeding their potential in all content areas at every level tested with a growth rate between 76 and 90 percent.

Here is the press release from the Archdiocese of Philadelphia: https://archphila.org/62-catholic-elementary-schools-throughout-the-five-county-region-to-be-recognized-at-2023-archdiocesan-schools-of-distinguished-instruction/.
 
Here is the story on CatholicPhilly.com: https://catholicphilly.com/2023/09/news/local-news/62-catholic-grade-schools-honored-for-excellence/.

Congratulations to GSC students, teachers and staff for all of their hard work that led to this significant academic achievement!
 
#GSCScholarship  #GSCCommunity  #GSCistheplacetobe  #ComeGrowWithUsAtGSC