History:
Good Shepherd School commenced in 1967, initially at St Leonard's School in Glen Waverley, transferring later that year to the present site. The enrolment reached its peak in 1983 with more than 800 children. With the construction of St Justin's School at Wheelers Hill, enrolment decreased to under 600 children. Subsequent years have seen a steady decline in numbers, with the 2002 enrolment being approximately 270 students. Most of the local area enjoys a history similar to that of the school, with housing stock generally being constructed around the 1965–75 period. The North Clayton end of the parish, adjacent to Monash University, has been settled for considerably longer. The community is truly a multicultural one, with a large number of nationalities being represented.
Description:
The school has an enrolment of approximately 500 students. Children enrolled at Good Shepherd are generally drawn from the immediate geographical area. Approximately 40% of students come from families where parents were either born overseas or they are the first generation of immigrant parents. The majority of parents are either self-employed or are engaged in a variety of professional activities. The vast majority of students completing their education at Good Shepherd School continue studying at Catholic secondary schools, predominantly at Avila College, Mount Waverley, Sacred Heart Girls’ College, Oakleigh, Sacre Coeur, Glen Iris, or Mazenod College, Mulgrave.
Features:
At Good Shepherd we nurture children’s talents in the key learning areas of Religious Education, English, Mathematics, LOTE, the Arts, Technology, Science, Health & Physical Education, and Studies of Society and Environment. Special programs include CLaSS (Children’s Literacy Success Strategy), First Steps (an early literacy program), Numeracy, Reading Recovery, Music, Choir, Liturgical Music, Library, Sport, Information Technology, Physical Education, PMP (Perceptual Motor Program), Chess Club and Drama.
A range of programs are also offered to provide extension activities for children. These include extension classes in Choir (Eisteddfods), Italian, Information Technology, as well as participation in the National History Challenge, a Maths Talent Quest, a Maths Challenge Program, a Student Newspaper, an Environment and Gardening Group, Tournament of the Minds and the Dorothea MacKellar Poetry Competition.