CEB Staff Newsletter #52 - 11 April 2025

Staff News

CEB Staff Meetings in Ballarat Brings Connection and Collaboration

It was wonderful to see our Catholic Education Ballarat team come together in Ballarat for a series of team meetings, a celebratory dinner, and a dynamic all-staff gathering focused on connection and strategic alignment at Damascus College, Ballarat.

On Wednesday, 9 April, teams met across Damascus College and the Gillies Street Catholic Education Ballarat office, diving into shared priorities and planning for the year ahead. The day culminated in a vibrant All Staff Stand-up Dinner in The Garden Room at Oscars Hotel, where laughter, conversation, and connection flowed freely in the relaxed cocktail setting.

The energy carried into Thursday, 10 April, where staff convened at the Damascus Events Centre for the All Staff Meeting. The day was designed to deepen our understanding of the DOBCEL 2035 strategy, build a shared language around our vision, and foster collaboration across teams. With thoughtful facilitation, engaging discussions, and team-based activities, the event offered a valuable opportunity to align, connect, and envision our future together.

Thank you to all who contributed to the planning and made the two days such a success. Here's to continuing the momentum!

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Ballarat Office Closure, 14 -17 April 2025

Please note that the Ballarat Office front doors will be closed from 14-17 April. A sign has been placed on the front door advising the community.

If you have any deliveries or meetings arranged for the week, could please take personal responsibility advising your courier and meeting attendees of your mobile number for arrangements.

Coffee Van will be back Tuesday 22 April 2025

Pursuing Fullness of Life, Network Collaboration Day – Central Zone

DATE:                  Tuesday 22 April 2025 

VENUE: Mercure Convention Centre, 613 Main Rd, Ballarat 

PROGRAM:       

9.30 – 10.30                     Session 1 & 2 

10.30 - 11.00                   Morning tea 

11.00 – 1.00                     Session 3 & 4 

1.00 - 1.40                        Lunch 

1.40 – 3.00                       Session 5 & 6 

PARKING:           Enter via Main Road. Car parking is available onsite or on Main Road. 

PLEASE NOTE: 

• Please bring your CEB name badge 

• Please plan to arrive well before 9.30 am.  

• Due to a full timetable for the day, all participants must be seated and ready to start by 9.30 am. 

PRIOR TO THE COLLABORATION DAY  

If you are able to find the time, please read the following documents to support your preparation for the day:  

DOBCEL Strategy 2035 – Executive Summary 

https://heyzine.com/flip-book/b078dc77db.html#page/1 

Reinventing Australian Schools 

• Discussion paper, Authors: Prof Pasi Sahlberg, Prof Sharon Goldfeld, Assoc Prof Jon Quach, Caitlin Senior and Cecilia Sinclair. Reinventing Australian Schools 

The Future of Schools, how we can think about systemic change, adaptive cultures and more 

• Podcast featuring Dave Runge. 

Science of Learning Conference 2025

Belinda Chiswell, Julie Cooper, Samantha Meerbach, Mel Fox and Carmel Clarke attended the two-day (Thursday 3 April to Friday 4 April) Science of Learning Conference 2025 at Matthew Flinders Anglican College on the Sunshine Coast in Queensland. This year’s theme is ‘From Insight to Implementation’.

This conference was crafted for educators who are passionate about leveraging the latest research to enhance their teaching practices, gain practical strategies, and collaborate with colleagues.

Please click here to read the full article. 

Big thanks to the whole team for taking photos to share! Check out the great photos below.

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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.

Scott Johnson from Catholic Super is available to book an online meeting to discuss your superannuation and retirement planning questions. Whether you are approaching retirement or just starting your career by making sure you
understand superannuation will help you maximise the benefits and take control of financial your
future and wellbeing.

Topics to be covered include: 

• Investments, Insurance, 
  Contributions and
  Beneficiaries.
• Contributions strategies,
  options and limits.
• Planning for retirement.

There are various dates and session times available. To book, click here or scan the QR code below. If the set dates don’t suit, contact Scott direct to arrange a suitable time.

Any questions? Contact Scott Johnson - Call 0409 797 271 or email sjohnson@csf.com.au.

Catholic Identity and Mission Updates

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

Important IT Updates

Password hygiene

Maintaining good password hygiene is crucial. This includes using strong, unique passwords for every account and avoiding easily guessable information or personal details. To significantly enhance our security posture, it's important to rotate your passwords regularly, ideally every 60-90 days, especially for sensitive accounts. This limits the window of opportunity for attackers if a password happens to be compromised. Furthermore, we strongly encourage the use of passphrases instead of standard passwords.

Passphrases, which are longer and composed of a string of random words, are significantly harder to crack than shorter, complex passwords, yet they can be easier for users to remember. Implementing these practices will collectively strengthen our defenses against unauthorised access and potential data breaches.

SOPHOS Endpoint

As many Macbooks have recently updated – to ensure the agent has the required access – a simple manual process is needed to re-issue full disk access. 

Please click here to watch the step-by-step instructions. 

• Click the Sophos icon on your menu bar, and then click Open Sophos Endpoint.
• Click About.
• Click Open Endpoint Self Help Tool.
• Click Prerequisites, and then click Allow Full Disk Access.
• In the Sophos Endpoint window, do as follows:
• Click Open "Privacy & Security" preferences.
• Click Full Disk Access.
• Drag the Sophos icon from Sophos Endpoint to the applications list in Full Disk Access. 
  

You must grant full disk access to Sophos User Agent. Choose from the following options:

• • Click Quit & Reopen to do this immediately.
  • Click Later to give permissions and continue working. You'll need to restart your Mac to give full disk access. You're still protected.

Close Privacy & Security.

Mac Replacement Program

In later part of Q2 2025, the DOBCEL Macbook fleet will be replaced with modern equivalent devices. In preparation for this some good steps to ensure a smoother migration process is:

• Ensure business data is saved to OneDrive.
• Make sure personal data is saved onto personal storage media (DOBCEL ICT is not responsible for any personal data on work devices i.e pictures, files etc)
• Always stay signed into chrome with your google work account to make the migration easy and simple
• Reboot / restart your device often to ensure its operationally ready for continued use until retirement

Personal account security 

Maintaining strong personal account security is paramount in today's digital landscape. Just like with Work and business systems, it's essential to establish good password hygiene for all your online accounts. This starts with choosing strong, unique passwords for each service you use, preventing a compromise on one platform from affecting others. Avoid using easily predictable information such as your name, birthdate, or common words.  

While you might hear advice about regularly rotating passwords, modern security practices suggest that if you have a strong, unique password that hasn't been compromised, frequent changes might not be necessary and could even lead to users choosing weaker, easier-to-remember alternatives. Instead, focus on creating robust passwords from the outset.  

A significant step you can take to enhance your personal security is to use passphrases instead of traditional passwords. Passphrases are longer, often a string of unrelated words, making them significantly harder for attackers to crack using brute-force methods. Despite their length, passphrases can be easier for you to remember, especially if you create them using a memorable association or a random combination of words that sticks with you. For example, "bluetreehousesunnyfish" is much harder to crack than "P@$$wOrd123" and can be easier to recall.  

To further secure your accounts, always enable Multi-Factor Authentication (MFA) whenever it's offered. This adds an extra layer of protection, requiring a second verification step beyond your password, such as a code from your phone or a biometric scan. By implementing these practices – strong, unique passphrases and MFA – you can significantly reduce the risk of unauthorized access to your personal accounts and protect your valuable data. Consider using a password manager to help you generate and securely store these complex credentials, so you don't have to remember them all yourself

Can and Bottle Box Contributions - Thank you!

Many of you might remember we put a couple of call outs in earlier staff newsletter editions about can and bottle contributions for Kevin Brodie and Stephanie Porter's daughter, Rebecca Brodie to help her raise funds to cover the cost of entry, travel and accommodation for the 2025 Australian Junior Track and Field Championships in Hammer Throw in Perth. 

Thank you to all the people who contributed cans and bottles to the box in the Catholic Education Ballarat office kitchen for Rebecca Brodie. Rebecca threw a Personal Best and finished 8^th, which is a huge step up from 15^th last year!

Big thanks to Steph Porter for sending through a photo of Rebecca during the Hammer Throw event!

Career Opportunities in the Diocesan Education Community

CEB Positions

• 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)