CEB Staff Newsletter #50 - 28 March 2025

Staff News

Happy FriYay Drinks Happening Tonight!

It's been a while, and the weather is turning! How about a drink and a chat after work on Friday? 

It is a Friday so pop on your best floral and wear it to work for the day - Floral FriYay!

Feel free to bring a friend or family, pop in for a quick hello or stay a while.

There is no obligation, just an invitation to gather, buy yourself a drink and have a social chat with one another.

The Lake View will put $100 on the bar, which we will convert into finger food if more than a dozen or so turn up. To assist with numbers, please accept the invitation if you plan on attending.

We look forward to seeing you at the Lake View Hotel, 22 Wendouree Parade, Lake Wendouree  from 4.40pm tonight!

St Patrick’s Primary School Celebrates Major Upgrade

We are excited to announce that St Patrick’s Primary School has undergone a remarkable transformation, made possible by a $2.1 million investment from the Albanese Government’s Capital Grants Program. Today, Member for Ballarat Catherine King officially opened the school's newly upgraded facilities.

Bishop Paul Bird, DOBCEL Executive Director Tom Sexton, and Deputy Director of Stewardship, Megan Ioannou, were all in attendance at the event. Bishop Paul Bird blessed the new school facility, while Executive Director Tom Sexton expressed gratitude on behalf of DOBCEL for the new building and upgraded facilities. He also thanked the parents who contributed to the construction costs.

This project is one of the largest undertaken by a primary school in the Ballarat Diocese, marking a significant milestone in our community's commitment to education.

The upgrades include a redesigned reception area, widened hallways, and refurbished classrooms equipped with improved acoustics and flexible learning spaces. Child safety was a key focus throughout the project, resulting in better disability access and electronically locking doors.

Additionally, the school now features a multipurpose space named The Madden Hall, honouring Clare Madden, a cherished long-term teacher, who had a deep connection with the school community and a love of music.

This space will cater to various school activities, ensuring an enhanced learning environment for our 250 students! We look forward to seeing how these improvements will benefit our students and the community for many years to come. 

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Upcoming Network Collaboration Days

We are excited to invite all Catholic Education Ballarat staff to participate in our upcoming Network Collaboration Days. This is a fantastic opportunity to connect with colleagues, understand our strategic vision, and explore how we can collectively contribute to achieving our goals.

Choose Your Session: Please select the session you wish to attend using the following link: Network Collaboration Day Sign-Up. There are multiple sessions available, but you only need to attend one, so please choose the one that suits you best.

Preparation: To make the most of your Network Collaboration Day, we encourage you to review the following materials beforehand:

• DOBCEL Strategy 2035 – Executive Summary
• Reinventing Australian Schools:
  • Discussion paper by Prof Pasi Sahlberg, Prof Sharon Goldfeld, Assoc Prof Jon Quach, Caitlin Senior, and Cecilia Sinclair
  • Podcast featuring Dave Runge on systemic change and adaptive cultures

Outcomes of the Day:

• Connecting to the system: Foster a sense of community among staff from multiple schools
• Connecting to the strategy: Ensure staff understand the DOBCEL strategy and vision
• Connecting to my context: Clarify individual and collective roles in achieving the vision, aligning with individual school action plans
• Connecting to the opportunities: Inspire and encourage staff to actively contribute to the vision

Outline of the Day:

• Session 1 – Welcome:
  • Prayer & setting the scene
    
    
• Session 2 – Introduction to DOBCEL Strategy 2035:
  • DOBCEL Strategy 2035 - Sense making in 2025
    
    
• Session 3 – Case for Change – Why?:
  • Discuss global change forces and their impact on our school context/community
    
    
• Session 4 – Enacting Change with Practical Principles – How?:
  • Explore DOBCEL Strategy 2035 Practical Principles
    
    
• Session 5 – Linking to Own Context:
  • Review elements of a High Performing System of Catholic Schools
  • Individual, small group, and whole group activities
    
    
• Session 6 – DOBCEL Strategy 2035 – Where to from Here?:
  • 2025 – Year of sense making

We look forward to seeing you there and working together to shape the future of our schools.

The Pedagogical Coaching Program

The Pedagogical Coaching Program took place in the Catholic Education Ballarat Conference Room yesterday and Red Lion, Sovereign Park in Ballarat today for Middle Leaders, Deputy Principals, Assistant Principals and Principals.

The program is aligned to Teach Like a Champion and will enable participants to build their knowledge and skills in coaching so they can review, reflect, and plan for sustained improvement in teacher capability and student learning. Coaching skills will be developed through the essential elements of coaching (affiliative, instructional, and didactic), feedback, emotional Intelligence, and professional conversations. 

Big shout out to DOBCEL Strategy Implementation Manager, Julia Petrov, for arranging the successful program!

Catholic Education Ballarat - Conference Room

Red Lion, Sovereign Park - Ballarat

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ReLATE catch-up in Ballarat this week!

On Wednesday this week, a group of dedicated educators gathered for a ReLATE catch-up day in Ballarat. Through key theory, reflection and activities, the team explored each foundational concept of ReLATE: Safety, counter stress school environments, enhanced teaching and learning, and sustainable whole-school culture.

The day built on connection and safety for all educators, supporting the understanding and practice of creating safe spaces for our students and each other through a trauma-informed lens. This included understanding the impact of stress on minds and bodies, and ways to support ourselves and others to regulate in times of high stress. The day finished with a focus on overall staff wellbeing, protection against stress-induced conditions and a deeper focus on our holistic self-care practices.

Spirit of Catholic Education Awards 2025 -Nominations Period Extended – Now Closing on Friday 4 April

Nominate your colleagues for a Catholic Education Award!

DOBCEL will continue to sponsor the awards program that honours outstanding service and leadership within our Diocesan school communities and the Catholic Education Office.

In 2025, have unveiled refreshed awards that align with our DOBCEL Strategy 2035.

This strategic alignment underscores our commitment to our vision: “As partners in Catholic Education, open to God’s presence, we pursue fullness of life for all.”

We encourage all staff to participate and help us recognise the remarkable contributions of our colleagues.

Together, let's celebrate the dedication and excellence that enrich our community!

Nominations close Friday, 4 April 2025.  

For all the information, please visit the Spirit of Catholic Education Awards 2025 page on our website. 

People & Development Updates

Crucial Conversations - 29 & 30 May, Ballarat Location

Upcoming Flu Vaccination Clinic

As part of our commitment to supporting employee health and wellbeing, a Flu Vaccination Clinic will run at the CEB Office located on Gillies Street, Wendouree. This initiative aims to provide staff with easy access to flu vaccinations to help protect against seasonal influenza.

Details:

• Where: CEB Office, Gillies Street, Wendouree
• When: Monday 28 April 2025
• Time: 9:30am to 12:30pm

Bookings:

Further details will be shared for online bookings to this clinic.

For staff located in other offices, or who are unable to attend the Ballarat clinic, you have the option of sourcing your own vaccination (via a pharmacy or local vaccination clinic) and will be reimbursed (up to the total of $25).

Reimbursement for the expense of the vaccination can be submitted via the Flexi Purchase process.

Unfortunately, due to the availability of the vaccine, we are unable to align the vaccination clinic to the CEB staff days in the April term holidays as has been done in previous years.

Please note: The flu vaccination clinic will only run if we have more than 20 employees attending.

Central Zone Education Consultant Short-Term Secondment Opportunity

We are excited to offer an 8-week secondment opportunity (23 June – 22 August) for an experienced educational leader to undertake the role of DOBCEL Central Zone (CZ) Education Consultant - Primary. This temporary position is available while Jo-anne Bond, takes a well-deserved period of Long Service Leave.

Interested DOBCEL CEB staff are encouraged to consider how your team may be placed to cover your substantive role during this period, allowing you the benefit from this unique system experience.  You are encouraged to discuss your interest with your team leader.

Diocesan Primary Principals have also been invited to consider the opportunity.

Details of the Secondment:

• Duration: 8 weeks
• Remuneration: DOBCEL will pay a higher duties allowance for the period of the appointment.
• Eligibility: The secondment is open to all primary principals across the Diocese of Ballarat and to DOBCEL CEB staff. 

Next Steps: If you are interested in exploring this opportunity, please submit your expression of interest addressed to the Executive Director, Tom Sexton to employment@dobcel.catholic.edu.au by Friday, 24^th April.

Your expression of interest is to be no longer than one page and include the following:

• Why this secondment opportunity interests you
• If you were successful, how your current position will be backfilled

Expressions of interest will be assessed on the candidate’s qualifications, experience, and ability to contribute effectively to the DOBCEL community. The discussions will focus on finding the best fit for the role, considering the needs of the individual, their school, and DOBCEL.

Click HERE to view the Role Description for a Primary School Education Consultant.

For further information, please contact Matt Byrne at 0409 138 113.

We look forward to your interest in this enriching professional development experience.

Career Opportunities in the Diocesan Education Community

CEB Positions

• Talent Acquisition Partner – Ballarat Office – Fixed Term (Parental Leave) at 1.0 FTE (closes 30 March)
• Learning Management System Administrator – Ballarat Office – Full-time Ongoing at 1.0 FTE (closes 6 April)