CEB Staff Newsletter #51 - 4 April 2025

Staff News

CEB Staff Meeting and Dinner Arrangements – 9 & 10 April

Below is the schedule for team meetings, staff dinner, and the all-staff meeting next week, from Wednesday, 9 April, to Thursday, 10 April.

Schedule:

Tuesday 8 April

Travel Day - For staff travelling to Ballarat, please make your own dinner arrangements.

Wednesday 9 April

9:00am – 5:00pm - Catholic Education Team will meet at Damascus College, Mount Clear (morning tea and lunch provided). Meeting invitations and agendas will be sent by team leaders.

Other team meetings at Catholic Education Ballarat, Gillies Street (morning tea provided). Meeting invitations will be sent by team leaders.

6:30pm – 9:30pm All Staff Stand-up (Cocktail Style) Dinner

The Garden Room, Oscars Hotel, 18 Doveton Street South, Ballarat Central – (Calendar invitation previously sent)

Dress Code: Smart Casual

Thursday 10 April

9:00am – 3:00pm - All Staff Meeting

Damascus Events Centre (DEC), Mount Clear (morning tea and lunch provided).

All Staff Meeting Agenda - 10 April 2025

In developing the agenda, the aims for the day are;

• Connecting to our strategy – building our understanding and shared language of the DOBCEL 2035 strategy and vision.
• Connecting to our system - fostering a sense of community among staff from different teams and locations.

Upon arrival at the all-staff meeting on Thursday, please note the A3 sheets displayed on the walls at the entrance of the DEC, which will provide table allocations for each staff member. The day will involve working with team members and collaborating with individuals from other teams within Catholic Education Ballarat. 

Prior to Thursday’s meeting, you are requested to complete some ‘homework’. Please review the following documents, as presenters will refer to them throughout the day:

• DOBCEL Strategy 2035 – Executive Summary
• Reinventing Australian Schools – Discussion paper: Reinventing Australian Schools
  Authors: Prof. Pasi Sahlberg, Prof. Sharon Goldfeld, Assoc. Prof. Jon Quach, Caitlin Senior, and Cecilia Sinclair

Office Cleaning Update – Tuesday 8 April

On Tuesday 8 April, important cleaning work in the office will be completed.

• External Windows: Starting early Tuesday afternoon, all external windows will be cleaned on both sides. The windows facing Gillies Street will be cleaned during office hours. No internal meeting room or internal office windows will be cleaned.
• Carpet and Floor Cleaning: After 5:30pm, steam cleaning for all carpeted areas in the open plan office space, boardroom, training room, and hallways will begin. Additionally, the kitchen floor will be cleaned and buffed. This process will take several hours to complete.

The carpeted areas and kitchen floor will be dry and ready to walk on by Wednesday morning.

We appreciate your understanding and cooperation as we maintain a clean and pleasant work environment. Please plan accordingly for any disruptions during this time. If you have any queries, please contact DOBCEL Properties & Facilities Advisor, Penny Irish - pirish@dobcel.catholic.edu.au. 

Reminder to submit Professional Learning Forms for 2025

A reminder to submit your Professional Learning forms for Term 2, as soon as possible.

For more information and to access the forms, please visit the: DOBCEL Professional Learning folder on SharePoint.

The CEB Staff Professional Learning Code for Term 2 is #2CEB25

Any questions please email: pl@dobcel.catholic.edu.au. Thank you!

Ballarat Office Fridge Clean

The fridges in the staff kitchen will be deep cleaned during Week 2 of the school holidays.

To help us with this process, please ensure you remove all personal items from the fridges by end of day Friday 11 April.

Any items left behind after this date may be discarded during the cleaning. We appreciate you taking a moment to check and clear your food and drinks.

Accommodation Requests

Please submit your accommodation requests at least two weeks prior to your required travel date. This ensures we can book accommodation at venues that are on our approved list and secure the best possible options for your stay.

Late-minute bookings, especially in high-demand tourist areas like Swan Hill and Warrnambool, are particularly challenging as these locations often fill up early. To avoid any issues and to ensure a smooth booking process, please plan ahead and submit your accommodation requests promptly.

Footy Tipping 2025

The footy season is in full swing, so don’t let an early tipping slip-up get you down – there’s still plenty of season left to play for. For those of you who haven’t paid your entry fee yet... we're keeping an eye on you! 

Good Luck, the competition is tight!

Staff Newsletter and Weekly Newsletter - Find What You Need, Fast!

Looking for content from a previous edition of the CEB Staff Newsletter and the Weekly Newsletter? No need to scroll endlessly! Our 'Search All Newsletters' function makes it easy to find exactly what you're looking for in seconds.

Simply type in a few keywords, and the tool will pull up relevant content from past newsletters. To locate this feature, check the 'CEB Staff Newsletter Archive' - the screenshot below provides a quick visual guide.

Stay informed, stay efficient - give it a try today!

Please note: The Staff Newsletter Archive is also now accessible in Knowledge Banks on the SIMON platform too. The ED Update search function is also in progress.  

DOBCEL Board Meeting and Regional School Visits

The DOBCEL Board gathered this week at St Mary’s Primary School in Robinvale for an important meeting focused on key areas such as risk management, the DOBCEL 2035 Strategy, policy development, child safety, and Catholic culture. These discussions are essential in guiding the future direction of Catholic education across our Diocese.

As part of their visit, Board members also had the opportunity to connect with school communities across the region, visiting schools in Merbein, Mildura, Red Cliffs, Donald, Charlton, Hopetoun, Swan Hill, and St Arnaud. These visits provided valuable insights into the great work happening in our schools and reinforce the Board’s commitment to supporting schools in delivering high-quality Catholic education.

A highlight of the visit was the opportunity to hear about the exciting works underway at Sacred Heart Primary School in Mildura. The school is currently undertaking significant upgrades to learning and play spaces as part of a capital project funded by the school and the Victorian Government through a $3 million capital grant. These improvements will enhance the learning environment for students and support the school’s continued growth and development.

The Board extends its gratitude to all the schools and staff who welcomed them so warmly during their visit.

CEB Reconciliation Action Plan Working Group

The Catholic Education Ballarat Reconciliation Action Plan (RAP) Working Group met this morning for the first of our quarterly meetings for 2025. Substantial time was given to reflective discussions around our personal responses to current issues relating to First Nations peoples and diversity in Australia.

The minutes from this meeting are available below and anyone from CEB is welcome to be part of the next quarterly meeting which will be held on June 6^th.

Please contact Joe Ewing (jewing@dobcel.catholic.edu.au) to be included in correspondence. The RAP WG Rolling Agenda word document is below. 

RAP WG Rolling Agenda 2025.docx

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
    

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

Spirit of Catholic Education Awards 2025 Submit Your Nomination – CLOSING TODAY!

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 today!

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

People & Development Updates

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:

In order to confirm bookings, please complete Click Here indicating your preferred time for attending the Flu Vaccination Clinic. Every effort will be made to ensure you get your preferred timeslot and confirmation of your appointment time will be sent by Thursday 24 April, 2025.

Bookings will close April 22 2025 to ensure an appropriate number of vaccinations are supplied on the day and as per UFS Medical booking process.

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.

Catholic Identity and Mission Updates

ECSI Masterclass: Sacred Spaces (Online) - Save the Date and Register

Career Opportunities in the Diocesan Education Community

CEB Positions

• Learning Management System Administrator – Ballarat Office – Full-time Ongoing at 1.0 FTE (closes 6 April)
• Education Officer: Learning and Diversity – Swan Hill or Mildura – Ongoing (or secondment by agreement) at 0.6-1.0 FTE (closes 4 May)
• Education Officer: Learning and Diversity – Horsham – Ongoing (or secondment by agreement) at 0.6-1.0 FTE (closes 4 May)