Weekly Newsletter #25 - 18 Aug 2021
Reflection
Courage and The Good News
Today is World Humanitarian Day – as we gaze at what’s before us much of our world is experiencing anything that is close to “humanitarian” What is taking place in Afghanistan is tragic. We bring the people of Afghanistan to our prayer. Sometimes, such situations leave us in shock or even despair. In Catholic Education we are called to bring about Good News. In today’s reflection we focus on courage and its implications – courage is needed to bring about The Good News. An example that comes to mind about being courageous is Mary MacKillop. She transformed her world into a place where God’s dream was more fully alive, may we have the courage to also be transformational, bringing the reality of God to all those we encounter. For ourselves, our communities and especially for the people of the world living though horrendous situations such as Afghanistan.
In times of vulnerability and insecurity, we’re challenged to live with a courageous heart like Mary MacKillop Australia’s first canonised saint.
St Mary of the Cross MacKillop was a strong, committed Australian woman who co-founded the Sisters of Saint Joseph with Fr Julian Tenison Woods.
Mary responded to the challenges of this call from the deep heart space of her ‘yes’ to God. This was a ‘yes’ that asked such profound courage and trust throughout her whole life.
From the simple beginnings in the stable school at Penola, South Australia, through those dark days following her excommunication, to her final years of illness confined to a wheelchair, Mary’s life reads like a litany of courage.
“When storms rage, when persecutions or dangers threaten, I quietly creep into the deep abyss of God’s heart, and securely sheltered there, my soul is at peace.” Mary MacKillop 1907
By the witness of her own life and courageous fidelity, Mary takes us by the hand and leads us to this well of her courage in the depth of God’s love allowing us to be agents of transformation.
Let us bring to mind those who are inspirations of courage in our journey through life.
Mary MacKillop, speaking with integrity,
May we share in your courage to bring about God’s dream.
Julian Tenison Woods, speaking out for the first peoples of Australia,
May we share in your courage to bring about God’s dream.
Oscar Romero, standing for justice,
May we share in your courage to bring about God’s dream.
Caroline Chisholm, helping women who were being abused,
May we share in your courage to bring about God’s dream.
Dalai Lama, living with great joy,
May we share in your courage to bring about God’s dream.
Irene McCormack and her companions standing with the poor in Peru,
May we share in your courage to bring about God’s dream.
Women and men advocating for those with disabilities,
May we share in your courage to bring about God’s dream.
Behrouz Boochani, refugee supporting refugees,
May we share in your courage to bring about God’s dream.
Malala Yousafzai, advocating for girls’ education,
May we share in your courage to bring about God’s dream.
Greta Thunberg, calling for justice for the Earth,
May we share in your courage to bring about God’s dream.
Pope Francis, teaching by word and example,
May we share in your courage to bring about God’s dream.
Those who stand for the rights of indigenous peoples acting for recognition and justice,
May we share in your courage to bring about God’s dream.
You our resilient mother Earth,
May we share in your courage to bring about God’s dream.
Our colleagues who we walk with each day.
May we share in each other’s courage as we bring about God’s dream.
St. Mary of the Cross MacKillop
Adapted from The Sisters of St. Joseph of the Sacred Heart
From the Executive Director
Yesterday I announced a restructure of the CEB’s Directorate Team. A restructure that myself and the DOBCEL Board strongly believe is what is required in order to properly govern and service the continuing and emerging needs of our 56 DOBCEL schools.
This new organisational structure creates three new senior positions: Deputy Director: School Operations, Deputy Director: Business Operations and Assistant Director: Governance, Risk & Future Provision. Unfortunately and with sadness, this restructure has led to two positions being made redundant: Deputy Director of Catholic Education and Assistant Director: System Improvement. It was a heartbreaking decision to make, knowing the effect it would have on two decent and dedicated staff members: John Meneely and Sandra Harvey, and the follow on effect to their families and colleagues.
The new position of Deputy Director: School Operations will provide strategic oversight of:
- Catholic Identity, Religious Education & Mission
- Learning & Teaching
- Wellbeing
- Education Consultants
We are deliberately moving the school operations from an Assistant Director level into the Deputy Director level. This is our core business. We are deliberately moving Catholic Identity, Religious Education & Mission into the new School Operations portfolio in order for Catholic Identity, Religious Education & Mission to be holistically linked and permeate through all of the School Operations portfolio. This will in no way diminish Catholic Identity, Religious Education & Mission’s importance, we are making this change to in fact enhance Catholic Identity, Religious Education & Mission across CEB and our 56 schools. The Catholic Identity, Religious Education & Mission team currently do some of their work this way. This new structure formalises and fully integrates Catholic Identity, Religious Education & Mission with the Learning & Teaching Team and the Wellbeing Team and has been approved by the DOBCEL Board and Bishop Paul Bird.
The new position of Deputy Director: Business Operations will provide strategic oversight of:
- Governance
- Risk
- Compliance
- Future provision
The new position of Assistant Director: Governance, Risk & Future Provision will provide strategic and operational support to the Deputy Director: Business Operations. Both of these new positions will fill identified high level strategic and operational knowledge and skills gaps in our new governance structure.
Click the diagram to enlarge it
Please note: The actual subtitles, e.g. School Operations, are working titles at this stage, we may find more appropriate titles in time.
I am planning to advertise these three new positions early Term 4, to start in January 2022 –although I would be open to an early start if that was possible.
Should you have specific questions about this restructure please contact myself or any of our DOBCEL Board Directors.
Tom Sexton
Executive Director, Catholic Education Ballarat
Catholic Identity and Mission Updates
Reminder: REL Conference Faith in the Future – online format
Zoom Links
If you have booked for the REL Conference but haven’t yet received an Outlook calendar invitation containing the required Zoom links, please contact Sarah Quinn.
Tomorrow’s Session – Registrations Close Tonight
Spaces are still available for tomorrow’s session, Thursday 19 August, from 4.45pm – 6.15pm. Registrations close at midnight tonight.
Tomorrow's session will be with conference keynote speaker Kevin Lenehan on the following topic:
‘Faith in the Future’: For what should we hope?
We live in an era where religious faith must be chosen and not simply passed on. Can we hope to share our Christian faith with future generations in a time of disbelief, fake news and disappointment? How can Catholic schools contribute to young people’s choice for a credible, inspiring and life-enhancing faith journey?
Reminder: Consent Education PD Opportunity – Next Week
CEB has engaged the services of Jenny Walsh to facilitate some professional development on Consent Education. Jenny was the Relationships and Sexuality Education Consultant that worked with CEB to write the Fullness of Life Scope and Sequence. Jenny is a leading consultant who has worked with various education bodies across Australia to prepare Relationships and Sexuality Education resources. The focus will be on how ‘Fullness of Life’ includes and addresses consent education along with research informed approaches to be used in this area.
This PD will be delivered online on Wednesday 25 August starting at 4:00pm for one hour. For further details please see the attached flyer.
System Improvement Updates
Staff Wellbeing Support for Schools
In meeting the broad needs of the school community, staff in schools will experience challenges and stressors that impact on them professionally and personally. Where these challenges are prolonged or significant, it may have a detrimental effect on staff wellbeing and our ability to flourish. Major changes in ‘normal’ operations, and the effect of work/life through COVID-19 can stretch our personal capacity and resilience, traditional support networks and usual coping strategies to the limit. CEB wish to partner with schools to support the positive mental health and wellbeing of staff.
CEB continues to refine a wellbeing strategy that will draw expertise and resources from the Wellbeing and the People & Development teams. In the meantime, this flow chart may provide clarity on who to contact for support and a suggested process for schools. This process will be adapted based on the individual context and needs.
Click the diagram to enlarge it
Learning and Teaching Updates
Learner Agency in Action – Partnering to Co-create an Educational Landscape
School teams across the Diocese are invited to share stories of learner agency and school innovation to contribute to the co-creation of an educational landscape for Catholic Education communities.
The professional learning will be facilitated by Dr Jayne-Louise Collins and will focus on:
- sharing and collaboratively analysing learning conversations with young people
- reviewing current research with particular attention to the fields of learner agency and the ECSI context
- crafting and sharing narratives of school-based innovation to strengthen future possibilities.
To support this process, guidelines for conversations with young people will be provided by email after registration.
This PD will be held on the following dates:
- Thursday 7 October - Mildura
- Friday 8 October - Horsham
- Monday 18 October - Warrnambool
- Tuesday 19 October - Ballarat
Please register via Eventbrite. Venues will be decided based on registrations.
PAT Adaptive Test Licences
PAT licences for all schools in our Diocese have been extended to include PAT Adaptive tests for Reading and Maths. Licences will be current until March 2022. Schools are encouraged to continue to administer the usual standardised PAT tests during October but may wish to use the adaptive tests at the beginning of the year to better understand the individual needs of students and provide rich information to inform teaching and learning. Tests can be accessed by logging into your school’s ACER account.
See further information on the PAT Adaptive tests here.
PLC / RTI Health Check
The PLC/RTI Health Check is an online resource designed to assist school leadership teams to identify areas of learning required for teams in developing the knowledge, skills and capabilities of becoming a Professional Learning Community (PLC). Included within, is a framework for assessing the implementation of practices that enable a robust Response to Intervention (RTI).
Its timely use could be beneficial in developing your school Annual Action Plan.
Resources for professional learning communities are also available on The HIVE.
The online tool is available for all staff to complete. It will enable school teams to assess the clarity of understanding about the elements of being a professional learning community and the level to which these are evident in practice.
A video is available explaining how the tool works, and another on how the information from the Health Check can facilitate conversations and planning for further development of whole school practices towards being a Professional Learning Community and embedding the practices of Response to Intervention.
Reminder: Register Your Interest – COVID-19 Strategic Response Webinar
The research is clear: Building communities of practice is a vital step in facing the challenges posed by COVID-19. We invite all educators across and beyond the Ballarat Diocese to participate in a reflective conversation about the recommendations presented on The HIVE, and other research-based suggestions. Most of all, though, we need to gather and learn from the invaluable insights of the leaders, teachers and support staff members who have been managing the realities of remote learning for over a year. Please complete the form below to register your interest in being part of an online conversation on EITHER Wednesday 1 September, Thursday 9 September or Monday 13 September (from 4pm-5pm).
Register your interest by Friday 20 August.
People and Development Updates
Safeguarding Sunday
The Catholic Church in Australia marks Safeguarding Sunday (formerly Child Protection Sunday) on the second Sunday of September – at the conclusion of National Child Protection Week. Safeguarding Sunday seeks to acknowledge the immense damage caused by the sexual abuse of children and adults at risk, including by priests, religious and lay people within Catholic contexts. It makes a commitment to practices and protocols that create and maintain safe environments for all people. It invites people to pray for those harmed by abuse directly and indirectly.
Resources, including for liturgical celebrations, are available for schools to utilise or adapt for their local school communities.
Reminder: Wellbeing Webinar Series –
Converge International
The series of online seminars in partnership with Converge International continues next week. These one-hour seminars provide different insights and strategies for supporting our own and others’ wellbeing. Hosted by Converge International on GoToWebinar, these sessions are open to all Diocese of Ballarat Catholic Education employees.
For more information, contact Ange Jones (Assistant Director People and Development, Catholic Education Ballarat) via email or on 0400 831 040.
Recording of Past Seminars
Each recording will be available for 30 days following the seminar. Recordings of the first three sessions are now available (updated) and session handouts can be accessed via the seminar overview.
Upcoming Seminars
The full schedule, details, booking links and handouts are available here.
- Session 5: Recovering from Difficult Situations
Monday 23 August, 4.00 – 5.00pm
Register for Session 5
- Session 6: Looking After Yourself and Others Post-Crisis
Tuesday 31 August, 4.00 – 5.00pm
Register for Session 6
Career Opportunities in the Diocesan Education Community
School Vacancies
- Classroom Teachers for 2022 – St Joseph’s College, Mildura – ongoing positions at 1.0 FTE (closes 20 August)
- Deputy Principal – Siena Catholic Primary School, Lucas – contract position at 1.0 FTE (closes 23 August)
- POL 4 Leader of Learning and Teaching – St Brigid’s College, Horsham – 0.5 FTE, 12 months fixed term (closes 23 August)
- POL 4 Leader of Student Wellbeing – St Brigid’s College, Horsham – 0.5 FTE, 12 months fixed term (closes 23 August)
- Teaching Positions – St Brigid’s College, Horsham – full time, part time and casual, ongoing or fixed term (closes 23 August)
- Classroom Teachers for 2022 – St Mary’s School, Swan Hill – contract positions at 1.0 FTE (closes 23 August)
- Classroom Teacher – St Mary’s School, Donald – ongoing at 1.0 FTE (closes 23 August)
- POL 3 Leadership and Management – St Mary’s School, Swan Hill - ongoing position at 1.0 FTE (closes 26 August)
- Classroom Teachers for 2022 – St Alipius’ Parish School, Ballarat East – fixed-term for 2022 at 1.0 FTE (closes 27 August)
- Director of Community Development – St Patrick’s College, Ballarat – full time, ongoing (closes 27 August)
- Risk and Compliance Manager – St Patrick’s College, Ballarat – full time, ongoing (closes 27 August)
- Head of Science Faculty – St Patrick’s College, Ballarat – 12-month POL at 0.2 FTE and ongoing teaching position at 0.8 FTE to commence Term 4 2021 (closes 27 August)
- Teaching Positions 2022- St Patrick’s College, Ballarat – ongoing positions at 1.0 FTE (closes 27 August)
- Classroom Teachers for Years 3/4 and 5/6 – St Mary’s School, Hamilton – initially fixed-term for Term 4 2021 at 1.0 FTE (closes 30 August)
- Casual Relief Teachers – St Francis Xavier Primary School, Ballarat East (closes 10 December)
From Around the Diocese
Mercy Regional College Alumni Night
Tickets are now on sale for the Mercy Regional College Alumni Night, to be held on Saturday 9 October at Noorat. See further details and purchase your tickets.
Early bird pricing is available for tickets purchased before Tuesday 31 August.
Ballarat Diocesan Social Justice Commission Climate Change Forum
On Saturday 6 November the Ballarat Diocesan Social Justice Commission will host a Climate Change Forum in Ballarat. Through this forum, we celebrate the launch of the Bishops Conference Social Justice Statement 2021-2022 ‘Cry of the Earth, Cry of the Poor’.
Invitation for Stall Holders
You are invited to share what you have for ecological justice. Do you market a product that is about sustainable practices and clean living? Maybe you know a thing or two about how to reduce carbon emissions? Do you have a particular skill in embracing nature and celebrating all things in the natural environment? We want to show the community what people are doing and this is an opportunity for you to share! It could be anything from how to make bees wax wraps, how to compost food scraps to how to recycle and make your own paper. Perhaps you have a wealth of gardening skills and can set up a stall to showcase them. Maybe you have information about how to save power and water.
Get in touch with us at social.justice@ballarat.catholic.org.au and let us know what you’ve got! We would love to hear from you.
From Other Dioceses and Beyond
200 Years Update
The July 2021 200 Years Newsletter Update (Edition 14) is now available.