CEB Staff Newsletter #40 - 6 December 2024
Staff News
Best Wishes and Farewell to Dr Susan Crowe!
After 47 dedicated years in Catholic education, including 25 years with Catholic Education Ballarat, Susan Crowe has announced her retirement.
Susan has made a significant contribution to Catholic education as a teacher, Principal and member of CEB staff. She has brought passion and an unwavering commitment over this journey.
Throughout her career, Susan has consistently exemplified the values of our faith and the mission of Catholic education. Her devotion to the service of others and her genuine care for all have made her a significant contributor to Catholic education. She has also supported the Diocese on the Diocesan Liturgical Commission, the Bishop’s Social Justice Commission and in the preparation of hundreds of Liturgies.
As Susan steps into a new chapter, we extend our heartfelt gratitude for her extraordinary service, leadership, and friendship. We wish her every blessing in her retirement and hope that this next phase of her life is filled with joy, peace, and fulfillment.
Susan’s last day in the office will be 12 December 2024.
Congratulations to Julia Petrov and Julie Cooper!
Congratulations to Julia (Education Officer: Learning and Teaching) on her achievement of completing a Master of Instructional Leadership from the University of Melbourne, and to Julie (Education Officer: Learning and Teaching) for completing a Master of Education in Evidence-Based Teaching from the University of Melbourne. We and our schools are blessed to have such a high level of expertise within our system.
DOBCEL Building Blessing and Morning Tea Invitation
On Tuesday, 17 December, all staff who will be in attendance at the Ballarat office are invited to join Bishop Paul Bird, the DOBCEL Board, and members of the Directorate for an official blessing of the DOBCEL building at 10:00 am, followed by a shared morning tea.
Please complete this form to register your attendance and dietary requirements for catering purposes.
The Board looks forward to sharing this celebration with staff.
Gift a thought, a prayer, or an offering - and enjoy a chocolate!
Thank you to Samantha Meerbach for bringing in a wonderful Christmas chocolate tree for us to enjoy in the Ballarat office.
Staff are welcome to drop by Samantha's desk, take a chocolate, and spare a prayer or a thought for those struggling or less fortunate in the community.
Christmas/New Year CEB Finance Office Closure Procedures
In line with office closure the CEB Finance Office will finish on Friday 20 December 2024 and re-open on Monday 13 January 2024.
To ensure processing before the office closure, all invoices, staff reimbursements, and school payments must be submitted to Accounts Payable by close of business on Monday, 9 December 2024. These will be processed by Wednesday, 18 December 2024.
Any submissions received after Monday 9 December will be processed during the week of 13 to 17 January 2025.
Please email all authorised invoices, staff reimbursements and school payments to accounts@dobcel.catholic.edu.au.
Reminder to submit your Professional Learning Forms for 2025
As we begin loading Professional Learning forms into TryBooking for Term 1, 2025, we kindly ask that all staff with PL scheduled for this term submit their forms as soon as possible.
For more details and to access the forms, please visit the: DOBCEL Professional Learning folder on SharePoint.
Any questions please email: pl@dobcel.catholic.edu.au
Thank you!
2025 DOBCEL/CEB Meeting Calendar - Updated Calendar
Please click here to view the 2025 DOBCEL/CEB meeting calendar as of today’s date. This Calendar will be updated throughout the year as new dates are added. We are working towards creating a live link that will be available for all staff to view throughout the year.
Please note that there is a change to the ‘CEB team meetings and dinner’ and the ‘CEB all staff’ meeting, which have historically been held in the second week of the school holidays between Term 1 and 2. As Holy Thursday and Good Friday fall in the second week of the school holidays in 2025, the CEB team meetings and dinner will now be held on Wednesday, 9 April 2025, and the CEB Staff meeting will now be held on Thursday, 10 April 2025. Please note these dates for your calendar.
In light of this change, staff are encouraged to take their annual leave during the second week of the school holidays, Monday, 14 April, to Thursday, 17 April 2025.
CEB Christmas Festivities - Friday 20 December
Last year, we enjoyed a beautiful last day of the 2023 work year together! This commenced with a meaningful liturgy that explored the meaning of Christmas from the perspective of the Catholic Christian Tradition. We plan to continue this tradition in 2024.
Liturgy, Carols and Shared Lunch
On Friday 20 December at 12.00pm all staff are invited to a Liturgy, Carols and Shared Lunch. The Liturgy and Carols will be in the Conference Room in the Ballarat Office, followed by lunch in the staffroom/courtyard. Materials will be shared for the Liturgy and Carols with other offices so all our communities can celebrate in solidarity no matter where we are. Details of the shared lunch will shortly be confirmed.
OLHC Parish, Wendouree, Christmas Day Lunch - Invitation to CEB Staff to Provide a Christmas Card
An invitation is extended to people in the Ballarat office to support The Our Lady Help of Christian’s Parish, Wendouree, Christmas Day Lunch. CEB has been allocated 60 people to write cards to.
People are invited to provide Christmas cards from their own collections with a written personal message during our liturgy on the last day. These Christmas cards will be given out to guests at the OLHC’s Parish Christmas lunch.
We do not have a list of names so please feel free to address your card in a way that is embracing. Please write your name and number of cards you can write in the following google doc: Christmas Cards for OLHC Christmas Day Lunch
(It is estimated there will be about 130 guests in total)
These cards will be placed in a basket during our liturgy on the last day and then collected and forwarded to the organisers of the lunch. If you cannot make it to the liturgy, you are most welcome to place your Christmas card in the basket on the stand near the Christmas tree in the Ballarat Office staffroom.
To read more OLHC Wendouree Christmas Day Lunch
Call Out for Non-Perishable Food items for Vinnie's Christmas Appeal!
Staff are invited to bring along any non-perishable food items that will be delivered to the Ballarat Conference of St Vincent De Paul Society who will distribute it to those in need.
Please place your food in the baskets at the foot of the Christmas tree in the Ballarat office staffroom.
Other office sites are also most welcome to organise their own collections to distribute in your local areas.
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A fun last day is in the making with our Liturgy, carol sing along and a couple of small gestures that will bring joy and love to others, Emmanuel, God with us!! A way those involved in Catholic Education are invited to “birth” and reveal God this Christmas.
Reminder - Christmas desk decorating judging 19 December!
It is wonderful to see staff embracing the decorating competition. Everything from ceilings to chairs are being adorned, and it’s causing a lot of competitive camaraderie and joy at work. There’s still time to be a part of the inaugural DOBCEL Decorating Competition. To share some spirit and sparkle from the Murray to the sea all offices are invited to participate, with judging to occur on Thursday 19 December at 5:00pm. There are four categories:
- Best group (can be two, twenty...doesn’t have to be your work team)
- Best individual desk
- Best religious representation of Christmas
- Best use of recycled materials (supporting our Sustainability pillar)
Staff based in Horsham, Mildura, Swan Hill and Warrnambool are encouraged to participate by sending in photos or videos of your space/s to execassistant@dobcel.catholic.edu.au by midday 19 December.
Some parameters:
- Be respectful of other people’s workspaces, do not spread beyond your work zone without your colleagues’ permission
- Decorations are not to interrupt people’s work capacity or comfort i.e. no flashing lights, no noisy accessories
- All decorations are to adhere to OHS regulations e.g. no trip hazards
- All decorations are at staff members’ expense
- Do not decorate meeting rooms
If you love a bit of Christmas cheer but are not necessarily into decorating your workspace, we invite you to nominate yourself as a judge! We are looking for three-five judges across different teams who are willing to walk the aisles of the Ballarat office and scroll their screens for electronic submissions. There will be perks!
If you have any questions or would like to put your name forward as a judge please speak with Elise Hart.
Photo by Benoit Roy on Unsplash
Fantastic progress shots from the Ballarat Office...
Well Done to Tim O'Farrell for Getting into the Christmas Spirit!
Great work Jo-Anne Bond (Education Consultant: Central Zone) for giving Tim (Education Consultant: Secondary) a wonderful Nativity vest to wear around the office earlier this week! Your shared office space is looking fabulous with the hanging star lights.
CEB Payroll – Advanced Processing
In line with the upcoming office closure, please find below deadlines and information regarding the upcoming pays over December and January. Please click here for the Christmas Closure CEB Offices 2024_2025 document.
For any questions on any of this, please email payroll@dobcel.catholic.edu.au
Any changes to deductions, banking, superannuation, or taxation details will also have the same cutoff time as leave entries and approvals.
Salary Packaging files from Smart Salary and Paywise have also been requested early, if you have any planned changes to your Salary Packaging arrangements, please get in contact directly with either Smart Salary or Paywise AS SOON AS POSSIBLE so it can have every possible chance of making it into the correct pay.
Leave Notes:
- Please ensure leave is entered and approved in ELMO by managers by 6pm on the date listed above to be included in the applicable payrun
- You do not need to enter Public Holidays or the Gifted Leave in ELMO
- Instructions on how to enter or approve leave in ELMO are on the ELMO home page just under “My Team”
- It remains managers responsibility to ensure all leave entries are entered into ELMO and leave balances are not exceeded
Contract Variations, New Starters & Terminations Notes:
- Please ensure timesheets are approved and emailed to payroll@dobcel.catholic.edu.au by 10am on the date listed above
- Any changes to contracts, new starters, or terminations, please ensure all the required details and documents are provided to People & Development in adequate time, allowing for the People & Development team to submit per the above deadlines
Remember, to ensure you are paid correctly and within the correct timeframe, as a CEB staff member it is your responsibility to ensure your leave is entered correctly and prior to the due dates.
Anything received outside of the above deadlines will be actioned in the next available payrun.
Thank you for your support during this busy period.
People and Development
Reminder - Self-Reflections OPEN - DUE Next Friday 13 December
A reminder that 12-month self-reflections for the CEB office are now open and should be completed by Friday 13 December 2024.
Each person has received an email from Culture Amp (notifications@cultureamp.com) containing a link to complete the self-reflection. You can access your self-reflection via email or by logging into your Culture Amp account. The link to the self-reflection is located on the home page.
Before completing your self-reflection, you should update the status of your goals. Once you’ve completed the self-reflection, submit it to your team leader; and expect to have a meeting to discuss your reflections.
The 12-month self-reflection meeting aims to ensure an opportunity for conversation to affirm and reflect on your achievements in 2024 to date and provide space to discuss any support or development and growth opportunities required to ensure you deliver the goals set for 2025.
12-month self-reflections and meetings should be completed by Friday, 13 December 2024.
Instructions for updating the status of goals and completing the self-reflection can be found here.
If you have any questions about Culture Amp please speak with Emma Baldwin or Fiona Murphy.
Caring for Yourself During the Christmas Season
Christmas is a sacred time of hope, love, and reflection. It is a season that calls us to draw closer to God, to our loved ones, and to ourselves. Amid the preparations and celebrations, it is important to care for our minds, bodies, and souls. This self-care allows us to fully embrace the true meaning of Christmas and to give of ourselves joyfully to others.
This season, let us take time to nurture our faith, find balance, and cherish the moments that truly matter, allowing us to approach Christmas and the new year renewed in spirit and purpose.
Career Opportunities in the Diocesan Education Community
CEB Positions
- No current CEB vacancies.
Principal Vacancies
- No Principal vacancies.