Weekly Newsletter #32 - 20 Oct 2021
Reflection
As our state emerges from lockdowns and the ongoing ramifications of the pandemic the following reflection offers us a way to navigate this new reality. It may also have something to offer regarding World Mission Sunday (24 October) and what this means for Christians living in the 21st Century.
Seeds of a New Humanity
By Joan Chittister
The mystic Julian of Norwich, holding an acorn in her hand in the fourteenth century said of it, “In this is all that is.” The Earth shakes at the thought of the simple truth of it.
In every seed lie the components of all life the world has known from all time to now.
In every seed is the reckless, electric, confounding power of creation made new again. In every seed is the gift of life to those seeking life, wanting life, denied the kind of life that is full of energy, full of hope. But the hope is a tenuous one, a sacred one, one to be treated with awe for fear of our own failure to protect it.
Seeds are the one thing that are the only genuine promise we have of the future. “Even if I knew the world would end tomorrow,” Martin Luther wrote, “I would plant an apple tree today.” It is an insight that defies despair, that promises new life in the midst of the old. It is a beacon that cries out for commitment in an age such as ours when the seeds of destruction among us—greed, power, and control—are in mortal struggle with the seeds of life.
In our time, death is king. The forests die for the sake of loggers. Great fish die fro the sake of caviar. The fields die for the sake of fracking. The air dies for the sake of oil. Humanity dies for the sake of money. And people die for want of the food that all these things threaten.
And now, so accustomed have we become to destruction in the name of progress, we are on the brink of commercializing seed, of politicizing seed, of monopolizing seed, of genetically modifying seeds for the sake of someone’s control of creation, of making seed the new military weapon of the twenty-first century.
It is all a matter of valuing the money we can make today more than we value the life that is meant to come.
But the problem is that we ourselves are all seeds, too. We are either seeds of universal love or seeds of exploitative racism. We are seeds of eternal hope or we are seeds of starving despair. We are seeds of a new humanity or we are the harbingers of humanity’s decay.
It is a choice. A conscious choice that depends on what we see in seeds and how we treat them and whose we think they are and what we will do to keep them free and available. Or not.
We are the seed of our own life to come and the life of the planet as well. Indeed, “In the seed is everything that is.”
—from Sacred Seed, a new book of essays from spiritual leaders around the globe
From the Executive Director
At our CEB Leadership team meeting on Monday the issue of principals’ workload was discussed again. As a consequence of this discussion, I have asked CEB teams to defer any activities/tasks that are not urgent or essential this term until 2022.
Also, in recognition of the pandemic workload and the many interruptions over the 2020 and 2021 school years, I am making two extra pupil free days available for all DOBCEL schools in 2022 to catch up on professional learning. To access these pupil free days, please complete the form sent out last week and return it to Sarah Quinn by Wednesday 27 October. While you may not be able to designate the exact date for all of your pupil free days, please indicate the term and week you anticipate taking these pupil free days. You can confirm the precise dates when you have locked them in.
This weekend we will begin our national advertising campaign to recruit our new Deputy Director: Catholic Education and Deputy Director: Stewardship. Information about these positions will be available on our website by the end of this week.
This Friday we will have the School Transfer Agreement signings for both St Francis Xavier Primary School, Ballarat East and Damascus College, Mount Clear. Both schools will join DOBCEL for the start of the new school year. We are very excited that both school communities have chosen to join DOBCEL, we look forward to strengthening the already strong bonds that exist between us. As of 2022, DOBCEL will govern 58 schools within the diocese.
Updated Leadership Gathering Agenda
An updated agenda is available for the Leadership Gathering Agenda, to be held on Thursday 28 – Friday 29 October.
St Brigid’s Primary School, Ballan Principalship Announcement
It is with great pleasure I advise that Ms Jayne Bosworth has accepted the role of Principal at St Brigid’s Primary School, Ballan (see official announcement).
Prior to this appointment, Jayne held the position of Deputy Principal at St Francis Xavier Primary School, Ballarat East, where she also held positions of Curriculum Leader, Intervention Coordinator and Classroom Teacher. Earlier this year, Jayne joined the St Brigid’s community as Interim Principal during Gabrielle Driscoll’s leave. During this time, Jayne has proven herself to be an asset to the St Brigid’s community.
The selection panel were very impressed with Jayne’s enthusiasm, motivation, passion and the community connections she has made in her short time at the school. In addition, Jayne’s ability to articulate a clear vision for St Brigid’s; the depth of her understanding of learning and teaching to improve learning outcomes; and her commitment to the wellbeing of students, all contributed to the panel’s selection.
Please join me in offering congratulations and your full support to Jayne as the new Principal, commencing in January 2022.
CEB Staff Announcements
Michael Trainor
Manager: Human Resources, Michael Trainor, has accepted the role of Director People and Culture with a disability support organisation. Since commencing with CEB in January 2020, Michael has provided HR expertise and exceptional service for CEB and schools. We are grateful for his contributions. Michael concludes working with CEB on Friday 19 November. Recruitment will shortly commence for his replacement. We offer Michael our best wishes in his new role.
Micky Robarts
We farewell Micky Robarts and thank her for her eight years of service as an Administration Officer in the Horsham CEB service centre, working one day a week. Micky has worked alongside her husband Chris Robarts (Education Consultant: Northern Zone), whose retirement was announced in February. Micky and Chris will both finish with CEB this Friday, and are looking forward to the opportunity to spend more time with their grandchildren in their retirement. We wish them both every blessing for the future.
Tom Sexton
Executive Director, Catholic Education Ballarat
Reminder: Schoolzine Website and eNewsletter EOIs Invited
The opportunity to secure a new Schoolzine website and eNewsletter solution at a special Diocesan price of approximately 50% off is currently available. See our information page and FAQ document for more information on increasing your school’s digital engagement with existing and prospective families in 2022.
Expressions of interest for Phase 3 are now open until Friday 5 November. To request a quote and initiate the process for your school, please submit an EOI form or contact Emma Newman via email.
DOBCEL Policy and Procedure Update
eSORT Upload
The initial roll out of DOBCEL Policies and Procedures during Semester 1 this year increased the administrative workload for schools in having to update eSORT and school websites. To assist with alleviating this administrative burden, the SIMON Programming Team have enabled new and updated DOBCEL Policies and Procedures to move automatically from the eSORT Remote Library to each DOBCEL School’s eSORT Local Library. DOBCEL Policies will be denoted with a purple circle (as shown below, along with an example).
The DOBCEL Policy and Procedures will still be available for RI and MPJP Schools to download from the eSORT Remote Library.
Schools will continue to be notified via the Weekly Newsletter when new DOBCEL Policies and Procedures are uploaded in eSORT. School administration staff will be required to retire previous versions of any updated policies or procedures from their eSORT Local Library.
Catholic Identity and Mission Updates
ResourceSmart Schools Opportunities
There are many exciting Professional Development opportunities for sustainability education in Term 4 which are all FREE for schools registered with ResourceSmart Schools. See further details.
Recontextualising Pedagogy 2021 National Conference
The updated flyer for the Recontextualising Pedagogy 2021 National Conference is now available. If you have already registered for the conference, access the flyer to register for workshops.
If attending the Victorian hub in Melbourne, be advised that number might be restricted due to COVID, in which case the conference will be available to you online. Even if attending in Melbourne in person, remember you’ll need your laptop and headset.
System Improvement Updates
Reminder: Study Sponsorship Applications Open
Applications are now open for the Diocesan Sponsorship for 2022 with applications closing on Monday 1 November. Sponsorship is on the basis of:
- 1/3 CEB contribution;
- 1/3 School contribution and
- 1/3 Participant contribution
except where Accreditation to teach Religious Education is the reason for the study. In these cases, CEB contributes 2/3 of cost and the school contributes 1/3. Sponsorship is for the cost of unit fees and does not include student amenities fees. See further details and the application form.
Learning and Teaching Updates
Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Education Funding Applications for Primary Schools
Applications for additional funding to assist in the educational support of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander students in primary schools for 2022 are now open. Applications are due by Friday 12 November.
Business Services Updates
Bushfire Preparedness for schools on the Bushfire at Risk Register (BARR)
Schools must ensure they understand their bushfire and grassfire hazard exposure, their risk and the actions that they need to take for their emergency management planning, preparedness, ongoing situational awareness and response. In the event of exposure to an immediate bushfire or grassfire threat, all school principals (or their delegates) have the authority to enact their Emergency Management Plan.
Please see further details in the attached Bushfire Preparedness letter and Bushfire Preparedness information sheet.
Please note that school Emergency Managements Plans should be updated as soon as practicable, but no later than Friday 29 October, 2021.
For further information please contact your Educational Consultant or Simon O’Brien, Compliance & Risk Advisor on sobrien@dobcel.catholic.edu.au or 0421 000 325.
Career Opportunities in the Diocesan Education Community
Principal Vacancies
- St Mary’s Primary School, Warracknabeal – to commence January 2022 (closes 25 October)
- St Alipius Parish School, Ballarat East – to commence January 2022 (closes 27 October)
Catholic Education Ballarat Vacancies
- Manager: Safeguarding and Standards – to commence January 2022 (closes 4 November)
School Vacancies
- Senior English Teacher – Emmanuel College, Warrnambool – ongoing position at 1.0 FTE (closes 22 October)
- Science/PE Teacher (with Year 9 focus) – Emmanuel College, Warrnambool – fixed-term position at 1.0 FTE (closes 22 October)
- Classroom Teacher – Sacred Heart Primary School, Colac – fixed-term position at 1.0 FTE (closes 22 October)
- Head of Science/Secondary Teacher – Marian College, Ararat – ongoing position at 1.0 FTE (closes 22 October)
- Classroom Teacher (Science) – Marian College, Ararat – ongoing position at 1.0 FTE (closes 22 October)
- Technology Teacher – Marian College, Ararat – ongoing position at 1.0 FTE (closes 22 October)
- Drama/Production Coordinator – Marian College, Ararat – ongoing position and part-time (closes 22 October)
- Daily Organiser/Teacher – Marian College, Ararat – ongoing position at 1.0 FTE (closes 22 October)
- Learning Support Officer/Administration – Marian College, Ararat – ongoing position at 1.0 FTE (closes 22 October)
- Learning Support Officer – Siena Catholic Primary School, Lucas – ongoing position at 0.86 FTE (closes 25 October)
- Assistant Principal/Classroom Teacher – St Augustine’s School, Creswick – 2-year contract at 1.0 FTE (closes 29 October)
- Classroom Teacher – St Augustine’s School, Creswick – ongoing position at 1.0 FTE (closes 29 October)
- Casual Relief Teachers – St Augustine’s School, Creswick (closes 29 October)
- Assistant Principal – St Michael’s School, Daylesford – ongoing position at 1.0 FTE (closes 1 November)
- Classroom Teacher – St Augustine’s School, Maryborough – ongoing position at 1.0 FTE (closes 1 November)
- Classroom Teacher (The Arts) – St Augustine’s School, Maryborough – fixed-term at 0.8 FTE includes 0.2 intervention support (closes 1 November)
- Classroom Teacher (PE) – St Augustine’s School, Maryborough – fixed-term at 0.8 FTE includes 0.2 intervention support (closes 1 November)
- Specialist Teachers (Performing Arts/Visual Arts/Science/PE – St Mary’s School, Ararat – fixed-term at 0.4 FTE (closes 3 November)
- Classroom Teacher – St Mary’s School, Swan Hill – fixed-term at 1.0 FTE (closes 3 November)
- Classroom Teacher – St Patrick’s School, St Arnaud (readvertised) – fixed-term at 1.0 FTE (closes 10 November)
- Classroom Teacher – St Joseph’s Primary School, Charlton – ongoing position at 1.0 FTE (closes 12 November)
- Casual Relief Teachers – St Francis Xavier Primary School, Ballarat East (closes 10 December)
From Other Dioceses and Beyond
Australian Catholic Education News
The Australian Catholic Education News - October 14 Newsletter is now available.
Recruitment Opportunities in Other Dioceses
The following recruitment opportunities are currently available in other dioceses:
‘Streams of Light’ – a collection of 2020 Easter Messages
‘Streams of Light’ is a collection of 2020 Easter messages from Australian bishops (including Bishop Paul) in the context of the pandemic. This collection of homilies and pastoral letters captures the moment of strangeness, deprivation and isolation, pierced by joyful good news and the faithfulness of the Church’s pastors to their people. The book is available from St Pauls Publications for $16.95 (plus postage costs).
Spirituality and Disability Symposium
Next week is pastoral/spiritual care week for 2021. The theme of this year’s week is ‘Advancing Spiritual Care Through Research’. In response, Catholic Social Services Victoria (CSSV) and St John of God Accord are hosting an online panel discussion ‘Spiritual Health and Wellbeing – its Presence and Impact in the Lives of People with Intellectual Disability’ that will feature a presentation on research that is currently being undertaken to explore the impacts of pastoral care to clients with intellectual disability and their carers. See further information.
Knox Public Lecture 2021
The 2021 Knox Public Lecture will be presented by Professor Eleanor Bourke on ‘Truth Telling & the Yoo-rrook Justice Commission’ on Thursday 4 November at 7pm online. Professor Bourke is a Wergaia/Wamba Wamba Elder and is Chair of the Yoo-rrook Justice Commission. See further information and registrations.
Synod of Bishops
The period of local consultation as part of the global journey to the 2023 XVI Ordinary General Assembly of the Synod of Bishops has commenced. After diocesan celebrations on Sunday 17 October to launch the Synod process locally, an online portal is now open to receive responses to 10 key questions the Synod documents pose. Reflection guides and prayer resources have been created to support engagement with the Synod journey.
This media release details the opening of the local consultation process, and resources for the Synod of Bishops, including the reflection guides, prayers and the Synod logo, are available here.