CEB Staff Newsletter #67 - 22 August 2025

Celebrating Book Week 2025

Across our schools, Book Week once again brought stories to life with colour, creativity and community spirit. Students and teachers embraced the joy of reading through dress-up parades, visits from authors, and a variety of activities designed to spark imaginations and celebrate the theme “Book an Adventure!”

Here at CEB, we joined in the fun with a morning tea where staff shared their favourite books. It was a wonderful opportunity to swap stories, reminisce about much-loved characters, and discover new titles together.

Book Week continues to be a highlight of the school year, reminding us of the power of books to inspire, connect and create a sense of wonder.

Schools pictured: St Columba's Primary School Ballarat North, St Francis Xavier Primary School Ballarat East, Ss Michael & John's Primary School Horsham, St John's Primary School Dennington, St Joseph's Primary School Coleraine, St Brendan's Primary School Coragulac.

Book Week Adventures in our Schools

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CEB Stories Over Morning Tea

DS2035 Baseline Survey

The DOBCEL Strategy 2035 Baseline Surveys are open for a few more days, giving both schools and CEB staff a final chance to have their say in shaping the future of Catholic education across our Diocese.

The school survey is open to all teaching and education support staff. The CEB survey is open to all staff across each of our office locations. Responses will provide the baseline for our 2035 strategy and help us to track our progress over the next decade.

We encourage CEB staff to remind their school contacts about the school survey and prompt them to complete it. If you have not yet completed the CEB version of the survey, please take the time to do so before Tuesday 26 August.

Formation in October

Hope? -
A three minute read

Irish Times, December 30, 2022, Brian Lawlor, Global Brain Health Institute Director, Trinity College Dublin

We recognize hope when we feel it and when we need it, but it’s hard to define and describe. Hope is all about imagining and reaching for a better future for ourselves. Hope is both an emotion and a way of thinking. We experience it in our brain but it comes from somewhere or someone outside ourselves. Hope is crucial in times of uncertainty, and in dealing with adversity. And unfortunately there’s plenty of that in the world at the moment. Hope is not optimism, which is a belief that everything will work out. Hope is much more active, a feeling and a mindset that you have to work at in order to achieve your goals, despite trying and extenuating circumstances. Hope has two systems of operation that work hand in hand, and both are necessary for hope to be an effective therapeutic tool at an individual and collective level.

The emotional or feeling part of hope is a sense of trust, of caring and being cared for that comes from outside and is based on relationships and being connected to the world and life. The thinking part of hope involves having the will or agency to do something as well as a pathway for action that is the knowledge of how to get to your desired outcome. In the case of uncertainty around a diagnosis of cancer or dementia, hope can come from many places outside yourself: your doctor, your friends, your family; but having the will to keep going, to hold on, and the way to get through it, with supports, treatment, interventions and meaning – all of this makes up the hope experienced that can sustain a person at a very difficult time in their lives.

We know that hope works for the brain and in the brain. If you experience hope in the face of adversity, your brain performs better, and you are more likely to make positive decisions regarding your health, such as adhering to medication and adopting healthier lifestyles in the face of chronic diseases. Experiencing hope dampens the anxiety circuits in the brain, and when you feel less anxious, your brain function improves.

While we often think of hope at the individual level, hope can be collectively experienced. The flip side of hope is fear, and sometimes fear and despair are easier to fall into than hope. Fear disempowers hope and paralyses action by activating the anxiety and fear pathways in our brains. People over the age of 50 now fear a dementia diagnosis more than cancer and stroke, and when fear erases hope, despair sets in. This was how people viewed cancer or “the big C” 40 years ago. The attitude to cancer has changed dramatically over time because of the availability of pathways to intervention, care and treatment. This is the direction we need to continue to move in for dementia: towards a new republic of hope. I am convinced that creating a framework of hope around dementia is crucial if we are to address and overcome the negative attitudes that permeate society around dementia, its diagnosis and treatment.

While we often think of hope at the individual level, hope can be collectively experienced. During the pandemic, we saw how the hope of a nation hinged on an evening briefing, and the importance of the careful articulation of pathways to action, but also the sense of caring and trust embodied in those providing updates to the nation on air. Hope was important to us all when there was great uncertainty and fear during the periods of lockdown, and our collective hope gave us the will to keep going during those unprecedented times. Your brain operates more effectively, and you feel better, if you have hope when faced with adversity and uncertainty.

But hope isn’t a given, you have to work at it, and connect outside yourself for it to take root and be experienced in your brain. Hope can be a powerful elixir for health: trust, caring and setting realistic goals aimed at well-being and quality of life can turn fear and stigma inside out. So whether you are facing serious illness, experiencing economic hardship, or are overwhelmed by or actively tackling the global inequities and challenges facing society, now, more than ever, hope is badly needed to sustain us in a world that increasingly does not make sense.

Simon's Taking a Break

Our caffeine hero Simon will be taking a well-deserved holiday from Monday, 24 August through to Friday, 5 September. 

He’ll be back, fully recharged and ready to fuel our mornings again from Monday, 8 September! 

Tony Perkins on Leave

We send our best wishes with Tony Perkins as he embarks on extended leave for some family celebrations and travel. From Monday 25 August through to Friday 26 September please direct any Leader: Wellbeing questions to Robyn Cranage. The Senior Education Officer Team will be supporting Robyn during this time and is similarly available to assist.

Lost Scarf

Lost something cosy? A scarf has been handed in. If it’s yours, or you know who it belongs to, please contact Ballarat Reception.

Footy Tipping Final Round – It’s Game On!

We’ve made it to the final round of this year’s footy tipping comp – and the pressure is on! 

Good luck to everyone, especially Maddy and Ange, who are closing in on Teresa at the top of the leaderboard. It’s going to be a thrilling finish! 

A reminder that the Prize Pool is as follows: 

• 1st – $150 & eternal bragging rights 
• 2nd – $100 & a medium level of smugness 
• 3rd – $70 & the comfort of knowing you’re better at tipping than most 
• Last Place – $20… because someone has to be last 
• 🙃 Everyone else – $0. Zero. Zilch. 

If multiple people are tied on points, the winner will be decided by points margin. In the unlikely event of an identical margin, the prize will be split. 

Final results (and glory or wooden spoons) will be announced next week – stay tuned! 

R U OK? Day

R U OK? Day is Thursday 11 September 2025 and is the National Day of Action, providing an ideal opportunity to engage staff and the wider school community with the values of R U OK? 

You can also encourage and support an R U OK? Culture every day of the year by having regular, meaningful conversations which builds trust and engagement within our communities.  

Learn more about the 4 steps of a RU OK ? conversation 

1. Ask R U OK? 
2. Listen with an open mind
3. Encourage action
4. Check in 

Here are some resources you may like to access for R U OK Day: 

• https://www.ruok.org.au/work
• https://www.ruok.org.au/education
• https://www.ruok.org.au/education#PRIMARYSCHOOLRESOURCES
• https://www.ruok.org.au/education#SECONDARYSCHOOLRESOURCES 

Professional Learning Opportunities

The following people and development professional learning opportunities are available for staff to attend:

CEB Higher Education Study Support – 2026 Applications Now Open!

Higher education study support is designed to promote ongoing professional learning of the individual and in support of a high-performing system of Catholic Schools culture aligned to the DOBCEL Strategy 2035. 

On an annual basis, Catholic Education Ballarat (CEB) employees can apply for financial support towards higher education and study leave for one approved course of study or subject per semester. Up to two-thirds of the cost of the education will be provided as financial assistance (pro rata for part-time employees).  

How to apply: 

• Read the CEB Higher Education Study Support Operating Procedure.
• Speak with your Team Leader regarding your intentions to apply for Higher Education Support. 
• Complete the online application form by Friday 29 August 2025. 
• Ensure your Team Leader endorses your application—unendorsed applications cannot be considered. 

For more information please refer to CEB Higher Education Study Support Operating Procedure or contact Fiona Murphy.  

Note: The CEB Higher Education Study Support Operating Procedure is a separate provision to the DOBCEL Sponsorship: Higher Education Studies in Religious Education, Theology, and Catholic Educational Leadership Policy which is designed to specifically promote higher education studies in religious education, theology and educational leadership. It recognises that higher learning in these areas is an important element of contemporary Catholic leadership and teaching that will enhance the Catholic identity and the learning across our diocesan education community and support leadership succession.  

CEB Professional Enrichment Scholarship – 2026 Applications Now Open!

The CEB Professional Enrichment Scholarship offers up to $5,000 to support enriching experiences such as retreats, conferences, immersion programs, or school visits aligned with our strategic priorities. 

Who can apply? 
All CEB staff with at least five years of continuous service who meet the eligibility criteria are welcome to apply for a Professional Enrichment Scholarship. 

How to apply: 

• Read the CEB Professional Enrichment Scholarship Operating Procedure and review the eligibility criteria.
• Speak with your Team Leader regarding your intentions to apply for a scholarship. 
• Complete the online application form by Friday 29 August 2025 
• Ensure your Team Leader endorses your application—unendorsed applications cannot be considered. 

For more details, refer to the CEB Professional Enrichment Scholarship Operating Procedure or contact Fiona Murphy at fmurphy@dobcel.catholic.edu.au. 

Career Opportunities

CEB 

• ICT Support Specialist – ongoing position at 1.0 FTE (closes 24 August) 

Principal Positions 

• Principal – St Joseph’s Primary School, Warrnambool - 1.0 FTE (closes 2 September) 

Other Dioceses 

• Deputy Executive Director – Catholic Education Diocese of Cairns – (closes 3 September)