A yearly tradition and a great way to celebrate the new school year as a community, students, families, and GSS faculty and staff partied the night away at our Family Luau! Thank you to the GSS Parents Association for making the event so wonderful, and to all of the volunteers who helped out.

We believe it is never too early to think about high school! 6th - 8th Grade students and their families joined us at our annual High School Fair. We are grateful to the many high schools in attendance to educate and answer questions our families. Some of our high schools included Regis High School, St. Jean Baptiste, Mount St. Michael's, Cathedral, Mount St. Ursula.

It is wonderful to see many GSS alumni returning as ambassadors for their high schools. We believe there is a perfect fit for every student!

For a full school day, the 8th and 7th graders had a spiritual retreat. The themes of the retreat included repentance, how to transform the world with faith, love, and charisma.

The students who participated said the retreat gave them the opportunity to be closer to God and how to take a moment every day to renew their faith. One student commented how the retreat taught them how better to work together and how to get along.

Students performed skits, read stories of the Saints and asked each other discussion questions, and participated in whole-group discussions and projects--all in an effort to become closer to God.

We love to celebrate hard work! All of third grade finished publishing their first fictional narratives this month. They celebrated by having a writing celebration. Each student shared their stories with their peers and wrote compliments on post-it’s. They added the post-it’s to their writing celebration chart. Then, they had munchkins and juice to celebrate their accomplishments!

We love seeing our graduates excel as they grow into young adults. In this issue, we are spotlighting Alexa Rodriguez, '16.

Alexa is a senior at St. Jean Baptiste High School, and very involved in her school life. The most noteworthy being the Health Professions Recruitment and Exposure Program at Weill Cornell Medical College (HPREP) and a summer internship at Lenox Hill Hospital. "At HPREP and Lenox Hill, I shadowed physicians and learned more about the workings of the brain and the body." She has also been involved in several volunteer programs, including Dancing Dreams and Global Thinking, Local Action, Universal Impact (GLU): Altagracia Faith and Justice Works. "My fondest memories come from Dancing Dreams, where I assisted handicapped children in creating and performing a dance recital."

Alexa is also a 2019-20 National Hispanic Scholar.

She has also taken on many leadership positions at St. Jean's, including: Co-President of the National Honors Society; President of the National English Honors Society; and a member of the National Spanish Honors Society. In her senior class, Alexa ranks number two out of eighty-four students.

" Good Shepherd School taught me how to work in a community. The diverse group of people I met at Good Shepherd prepared me to welcome new members to the large group I now call my "family." My fellow alumni and I formed a close bond while we were at Good Shepherd. Learning how to adapt to their personalities gave me a head-start in forming well-established relationships with my current classmates, teachers, and others I have met throughout my high school career. The community at Good Shepherd was so close-knit that I am still, in fact, best friends with a young woman named Christine; we met when we were only five years old. 

One thing I will never forget about Good Shepherd is their motto: 'Let the children come to me.' The greatest lesson I took away from my time at Good Shepherd was to love people regardless of race, gender, sexual orientation, or background. All people have a right to feel needed and loved, regardless of who they are or what they've done in the past. I hope this message is one that becomes truth for everyone around the world in the coming years, especially considering the current state of our environment and government."

Thinking ahead about college, Alexa is interested in majoring in Psychology.  

We are so proud to see our graduates flourish into great leaders, thinkers, and great examples of young men and women. Congratulations Alexa, on all you have achieved so far! We are excited to see what your bright future has in store.

GSS Theater Program is proud to announce our fall play... Little Women ! The cast features talent from grades 4-8, and has been hard at work learning lines, choreography, and creating props and sets for our show. We hope that you are able to join us for the performances.

Friday, December 6th at 7pm

Saturday, December 7th at 2pm

Tickets available at the door or online HERE .