Good Shepherd Primary School Captain Christian Durante’s moving speech about the devastating impact of child slavery has seen him win the highly competitive Voice of Youth title for 2018.
The Voice of Youth Grand Final was held at Our Lady of Lourdes, Seven Hills on Wednesday, 26 September. It was the conclusion of an event that saw students from 57 schools take part.
The judging panel included retired Principal Moya McGuiness, retired teacher librarian Judy Jordan, CSPD Team Leader Literacy Kathy Ferrari and CSPD Mission Teaching Educator Scott Carroll.
The six grand finalists were:
- Emma Biviano from St Mary’s Rydalmere who spoke about Deforestation
- Tara Stoll from Bethany Glenmore Park who spoke about Gender Equity
- Makalita Liutai from Holy Trinity Granville who spoke on Pacific Paradise
- Christian Durante from Good Shepherd Plumpton who spoke about Child Slavery
- Dana Adan from St Angela’s Castle Hill who spoke about Poverty; and
- Dianne Palma from St Joseph’s Schofields who spoke on Let me get to the Top!
Good Shepherd’s Christian Durante was announced the winner with his highly emotive first-person speech which gave the audience an understanding of what it would be like to be a child sold into slavery.
Runner up was Bethany Primary’s Tara Stoll whose provocative speech highlighted the pay gap between women and men, the struggles girls and women face just to get an education and the confronting issue of domestic violence.
The Social Justice prize was given to St Angela’s Dana Adan whose compelling speech on poverty was inspired by a recent trip to the Philippines.
Event organiser Attila Lenvai said that the event is a wonderful showcase of student talent, and a powerful reminder to us all how important the voices are young people are in today’s complex and challenging world.
The Voice of Youth Shield will now stand proudly at Good Shepherd Primary in Plumpton until 2019 winner is announced!
Good Shepherd Primary Plumpton
www.gsplumpton.catholic.edu.au
-
03 Dec 2025
From Facebook
RVR+ Soccer ⚽🤖 Our Senior STEM Club kicked off the RVR+ Soccer Series last week, playing fast-paced 1v1v1 matches using their programmed RVR+ robots. Each game ran for two minutes and the room was full of energy as students tried new strategies, reacted quickly to unexpected moves and learned how their robots behaved under pressure. The teams are already planning adjustments to improve control and movement for next week’s games. See their excitement and creativity below!
29 Nov 2025
From Facebook
WSI x WSU STEM Co-Design Workshop 🛬🌍 Good Shepherd was represented at the WSI x WSU STEM Co-Design Workshop. The day included a tour of the new Western Sydney International Airport, hands-on activities with robotics and discussions with industry and university specialists. Teachers and experts then worked together to begin designing new STEM learning resources that will be piloted in 2026. It was an inspiring experience that will bring exciting opportunities to our students!
Latest News More news
03 Dec 2025
From Facebook
RVR+ Soccer ⚽🤖 Our Senior STEM Club kicked off the RVR+ Soccer Series last week, playing fast-paced 1v1v1 matches using their programmed RVR+ robots. Each game ran for two minutes and the room was full of energy as students tried new strategies, reacted quickly to unexpected moves and learned how their robots behaved under pressure. The teams are already planning adjustments to improve control and movement for next week’s games. See their excitement and creativity below!
29 Nov 2025
From Facebook
WSI x WSU STEM Co-Design Workshop 🛬🌍 Good Shepherd was represented at the WSI x WSU STEM Co-Design Workshop. The day included a tour of the new Western Sydney International Airport, hands-on activities with robotics and discussions with industry and university specialists. Teachers and experts then worked together to begin designing new STEM learning resources that will be piloted in 2026. It was an inspiring experience that will bring exciting opportunities to our students!
27 Nov 2025
From Facebook
GREAT NEWS- THE POWER IS BACK ON! We are excited to announce that school will be OPEN tomorrow. Thank you for your understanding and support for one another's safety in the need to close the school today. We look forward to seeing you all tomorrow as per a normal school day.
27 Nov 2025
From Facebook
SCHOOL CLOSURE Unfortunately, Good Shepherd Primary is currently experiencing a power outage that is unlikely to be restored until this afternoon. For this reason and with safety our priority, a decision has been taken to close the school for today. The outage is currently impacting some water services at the school as well as air conditioning and access to technology. We apologise for the inconvenience. We understand that the service will be restored before students return to school tomorrow. We will keep you updated if there are any changes to this advice. It is still possible to contact the school and your call will be diverted to a mobile number. Thanks so much for your understanding.
26 Nov 2025
From Facebook
Yesterday our Year 5 students visited St Agnes High School for a taste of high-school life! They enjoyed their time exploring a variety of subject areas and experiencing what’s ahead. 😄🌟
25 Nov 2025
From Facebook
🛰🌒 NASA Space Crash Challenge 📡👩🚀 Our senior STEM Club students recently tackled the NASA Space Crash Challenge. They were given a Moon landing scenario and had to work together to decide which survival items were truly important. They compared their individual rankings with their team decisions and discovered how listening, questioning and explaining their thinking can change an outcome. Comparing their results with NASA’s expert list led to plenty of surprises!
25 Nov 2025
From Facebook
🤸♀️Stage 2 & 3 Gymnastics Competition ⭐ Last Friday, our Stage 2 and 3 gymnasts participated in the gymnastics competition! They showed great strength, focus and determination in routines, floor, trampoline and more. Well done to all competitors for your effort and teamwork throughout the day!
24 Nov 2025
From Facebook
Sport Awards 🏅🏆 This morning we congratulated our students who took part in a range of sport events this term. In particular we recognised our swimmers from the swimming carnival and our gymnastics competition participants! Congratulations to all of our GS Athletes for their hard work and efforts 💪
21 Nov 2025
From Facebook
🧪 Five Chairs Challenge 🔭 Our Good Shepherd STEM Club has been exploring real design thinking through the Five Chairs Challenge. Each group designed a chair for a Simpsons character, thinking about what their chosen user would actually need. Students sketched ideas, tested different materials and created quick prototypes that encouraged creativity and problem-solving. The goal was not a perfect product but a chance to learn how designers explore, test and refine ideas. The photos show how imaginative their thinking became.
20 Nov 2025
From Facebook
Dear Good Shepherd Families, We are excited to share a fantastic fundraising opportunity for Good Shepherd Primary School. Athlete's Foot BLACKTOWN will be generously donating $5 to Good Shepherd Primary for every pair of shoes sold during the Back To School period (December - February). This includes both black leather school shoes and sneakers/joggers. This is a great opportunity to get ready for the new school year whilst supporting the school. When making your purchase, please advise the cashier that you are from Good Shepherd Primary School to ensure the donation is accounted for our school. Thank you Athlete's Foot Blacktown for this wonderful opportunity! We encourage all families to take advantage of this great initiative 😁 Kind regards, Good Shepherd Primary School Team 💚
19 Nov 2025
From Facebook
🌊🏊♀️ 2025 GS Swimming Carnival 🏊♀️🤍 Last Friday, we held our 2025 Good Shepherd Swimming Carnival! Our students swam their hardest, enjoyed the sunshine and cheered passionately throughout the day. A big thank you to our staff and parents for their assistance and help on the day 😁😁
18 Nov 2025
Western Sydney Catholic Schools hold the phone
Student mobile phone use will be banned across 80 Western Sydney Catholic schools from the beginning of the 2026 school year. The restriction presents a positive opportunity to enhance student outcomes, both in academic excellence and wellbeing.