Weekly Newsletter #39 - 8 Dec 2021
Reflection
Life Is for Living: Advent Reflection
By Joan Chittister
Advent is one of the most difficult periods of the church’s liturgical cycle with all of the life questions the Scriptures bring. Why? Because Advent is all about waiting. And waiting is not easy.
As life goes on, the liturgical cycles seem to become more and more meaningful to me. Perhaps after you’ve done enough living you come to understand that every life waits, suffers, comes to new life and rejoices in the ordinary. Advent is especially meaningful because it teaches me to wait without complacency, to wait without compliance.
There is so much to wait for now in life: human development, love, peace in the church and in the world. And most of us do not wait well for what we want or what we are meant to be. We get impatient or we get depressed. We question or we doubt. We argue or we get alienated.
And now, we all wait, not for the coming of Christ—God took care of that—but for the coming of the Gospel, which we are delaying in the name of God.
The key to the contradictions must be in the waiting. The question is, What is there about the waiting that is redemptive?
The chosen people taught us how to wait and why. They waited for years and decades and centuries through captivity and the destruction of the temple and the Roman occupation. And they never gave up.
Now women must wait through the captivity of their full humanity by the church.
Now nations must wait through the mad planning for the destruction of the planet by governments sick with power and paranoid with fear.
Now the poor and uneducated and middle-class unemployed must wait, through occupation by the militaristic mind-set, for the return of social programs and high ideals for all.
But while we wait we can learn and grow and become stronger than ever in our convictions. We can be conscientious and creative. And no matter who wants to suppress us or to silence us, we can be signs of hope that never, never go away until, someday, the star finally shines.
—from Life Is for Living: Advent Reflections by Joan Chittister
From the Executive Director
I attended the blessing and commissioning of the new stained glass window at St Alipius Parish School in Ballarat East on Monday 29 November. As we celebrate 200 years of Catholic Education in Australia, we acknowledge that this incredibly poignant, symbolic and beautiful representation holds special significance in recognising and remembering the survivors of sexual abuse.
A tribute from St Alipius PS has been included further down (in the Across the Diocese section), along with a video tribute from the students.
Deputy Director Appointments
It is with a great sense of excitement that I announce the appointment of our two Deputy Directors for 2022 and beyond, Matthew Byrne and Megan Ioannou.
Matthew Byrne – Deputy Director: Catholic Education
Matt comes to us from the principalship at Damascus College where he has been an outstanding strategic leader for the past 13 years. Matt has led the amalgamation of Damascus College from two campuses into one, the large capital works program at the Mount Clear site, and significant improvement of student outcomes during this time.
Matt has a deep understanding of Catholic Identity, Religious Education and Mission and has been a member of the DOBCEL ECSI Standing Committee. He is a very active member of the Ballarat East Parish.
As all those who know Matt could attest, he understands the importance of being part of a system of schools. He is very active within the Principals Association of Victorian Catholic Secondary Schools (PAVCSS), including his former role on the executive of PAVCSS and as current Chair of our diocesan Secondary Principal’s network.
Matt lives, and actively participates, in the local Ballarat community and has worked hard to establish and maintain close connections with the Central Zone schools over time. He has experience in a number of school settings in our diocese and previously in the Sandhurst diocese.
Matt grew up on a farm between Boort and Charlton. He attended Boort Primary School and Boort Secondary College. He is married to Julie and they have four children; Thomas, Grace, Xavier and Ruby.
Matt clearly has a deep connection and commitment to, and understanding of, our diocese. He will share his time between Damascus College and CEB throughout term 1, 2022. This will enable him to continue to support the strategic work of the college, transference of governance and to allow for a smooth transition process to the next principal.
Megan Ioannou – Deputy Director: Stewardship
Megan has more than 20 years’ experience in Catholic Education and would be known to many of you in her current capacity as Director, Planning & Infrastructure and Company Secretary Catholic Capital Grants (Vic) Ltd (CCG), responsible for the approval and oversight of every capital project funded across Catholic Education in Victoria, through the Federal and State governments over the past 11 years. Megan has high level knowledge and experience in governance, risk and assurance, future provision and people and development. She is a proven strategic leader, highly relational and has consistently delivered high quality results in all areas of her portfolio with CCG and Melbourne Archdiocese Catholic Schools (MACS). Megan was the part of the MACS executive leadership team for many years and has been the company secretary of CCG since 2006.
Megan brings a wealth of knowledge and strong network links across Australia, including at Federal and State government level and Catholic sectors. Without doubt Megan would be one of the most respected and credentialed in her field.
Megan is an active member of her local parish with a strong commitment to her faith and furthering Catholic Identity and Mission within her work.
Megan grew up on a farm near Ballan and attended primary school at St Brigid’s Primary School, Ballan before attending Loreto College for her secondary education. She is married to Andrew and they have two adult children; Kate and Josh.
Megan is looking forward to beginning work at CEB at the start of 2022.
As Executive Director I am very pleased to have Matt and Megan joining the CEB Directorate team. They are both highly strategic and relational leaders with a deep commitment to our Catholic Education mission. Their experience, knowledge and enthusiasm will add significant value to our diocese and I look forward to 2022 to with great hope, excitement and energy for the work ahead.
Wellbeing Team Staffing Update
We are pleased to advise that Tegan Bell has accepted the offer of a full-time ongoing position as a Psychologist based in Ballarat.
We are also pleased to announce that Brooke Nester has accepted an increase to her hours as Student Wellbeing Education Officer.
Advertisements for a Mildura based Psychologist and Ballarat based Speech Pathologist remain open. Advertising for an additional Learning Diversity Education Officer will commence in January 2022.
ACU Regional Hubs
Thank you to the principals who attended the ACU Regional Hubs initiative session last Friday. The session was very productive and the feedback will be very useful for moving the project in the right direction. Principals are invited to express interest in participating in the project and to provide further feedback via this short survey.
Tom Sexton
Executive Director, Catholic Education Ballarat
New School Staff Commencing in 2022
If your school has any new staff commencing in 2022, please send their email address to news@dobcel.catholic.edu.au to be added to the Weekly Newsletter mailing list.
System Improvement Updates
Learning and Teaching Updates
Maths Newsletter
The Term 4 202 1 Maths Newsletter is now available.
People and Development Updates
Manager: Safeguarding and Standards
Jacqui Righetti has joined the People & Development Team as the Manager: Safeguarding and Standards. Jacqui’s passion for and commitment to the rights of every child will serve her well in the role of Manager: Safeguarding and Standards. Jacqui’s knowledge and expertise in the field of learning diversity will further support connection between the People and Development and Wellbeing Teams. Jacqui looks forward to partnering with schools with safeguarding matters in 2022.
DOBCEL Safeguarding Children and Young People: Code of Conduct
The Safeguarding Children and Young People: Code of Conduct is supplied in two formats for use in 2022:
- The usual format requires manual completion
- An updated editable pdf format (requested by some schools)
Please find both formats linked above.
A reminder to schools that all staff, volunteers, contractors and visitors are required to complete the Code of Conduct each year.
The Code of Conduct is supplied at this stage of the year to assist with preparation for the start of 2022.
Please contact Jacqui Righetti (Manager: Safeguarding and Standards) on 0409 1144 268 or jrighetti@dobcel.catholic.edu.au with queries.
Career Opportunities in the Diocesan Education Community
Catholic Education Ballarat Vacancies
- Education Consultants (2)– Central and Mid-North Zones - upcoming opportunity for Term 2 2022 – information pack available and applications to open in the new year
School Vacancies
- Casual Relief Teachers – St Francis Xavier Primary School, Ballarat East (closes 10 December)
- Administration Officer – St Mary’s School, Clarkes Hill – ongoing position at 0.4 FTE (closes 12 December)
- Classroom Teacher – St Mary’s School, Donald – fixed-term position at 0.6 FTE (closes 13 December)
- Japanese Language Teacher – St Francis Xavier Primary School – fixed-term position at 0.74 FTE (closes 13 December)
- PE Teacher – St Francis Xavier Primary School – fixed-term position at 0.74 FTE (closes 13 December)
- Casual Relief Teachers – St Columba’s School, Ballarat North (closes 16 December)
- Chinese Language Teacher – St Patrick’s School, Stawell – ongoing position at 0.4 FTE (closes 17 December)
From Across the Diocese
St Alipius Parish School Window Blessing
On Friday 26 November, the St Alipius community blessed and commissioned a significant window that has been placed at the heart of their school - in the Mercy Wing (click photo to enlarge).
The concept for the window emerged after a significant donation made to the school by a past pupil of the St Alipius Boys’ School who just asked that we do something that would help us to always remember the boys he went to school with. We sat with that for a while and the plan for a window spoke strongly to us. A window that would give voice to the pain of the past and be a beacon of hope for the future.
We were blessed to be able to commission Janusz and Magda Kuzbicki to bring life to a simple sketch in the form of the stunning artwork that now inspires our community.
In this year when we recognise 200 years of Catholic Education in Australia I am proud to say that Catholic Education is worth celebrating. It has been, and continues to be, a wonderful gift to tens of thousands of people. I have great cause to celebrate what Catholic Education has been for me.
And, I also acknowledge that Catholic Education has been flawed.
When Catholic Education has lost its way we have forgotten who we serve. We have failed to see God's face in the vulnerable, the poor, the ones on the margins, the children. We have forgotten to sit with the powerless and be their voice.
We have chosen power and control over self agency, rules and regulations over creating a sense of belonging, following scripts over purposeful learning. We have chosen fear over love.
Irish poet John O’Donohue...it takes an awful lot of living with the powerless to really understand what it is like to be powerless, to have your voice, thoughts, ideas and concerns count for very little. We, who have been given much, whose voices can be heard, have a great duty and responsibility to make our voices heard with absolute integrity for those who are powerless.
When we, in Catholic Education, have got it right - we have attended closely to the Gospel. Jesus did, after all, spend an awful lot of his time living with the powerless - he showed us how to listen, how to acknowledge, how to believe, how to forgive - how to love.
The window we blessed last Friday was created in acknowledgement of the past; And out of a deep commitment to the future.
This window was created out of love and out of hope.
It was created for every member of our community past, present and future - every family - every staff member...
Most importantly, every single child. This window is for you… to remind you that your voice matters in making the world a better place. A place of love.
And that is the truth that will set you free.
Also see video tribute from the students.
– Courtesy: St Alipius Parish Primary School, Ballarat East
From Other Dioceses and Beyond
CSPV Remote Learning Survey 2021
As we complete the year that was, Catholic School Parents Victoria (CSPV) invites you to reflect on your experiences during remote learning. It’s important we continue to work in partnership with schools to support children to thrive in their learning as they move back into the school environment.
No doubt there are many things you learned about your child during the time you spent with them at home, and you now understand what was beneficial for you to be able to support them at home. We’d love to hear what your experiences were like so we can share this important information with key decision makers in education at a system and state level.
Click here to complete the CSPV Remote Learning Survey 2021 so your perspective can be heard and shared to improve parent engagement in learning to support students in 2022.
Reminder: 2022 National Catholic Education Conference – Call for Abstracts
2022 marks the emergence from a time of pandemic and our soul searching of the plenary. The theme of ‘The future is listening’ impels us to ask of ourselves, given what we have experienced, who are we as Catholic educators and what do we have to say? What do our young people have to say? What is the ‘new thing’ that is already amongst us?
This call to action in Melbourne 2022 represents a pivotal point in time to explore, listen, perceive and articulate what springs forth for the future of educating young people.
Abstracts are now invited for submission under the four main themes of the Conference:
- Catholic Identity and Mission
- Leadership and Governance
- School Improvement
- Communication and Community Engagement
Abstract submissions close on Monday 14 February, 2022 – see submission guidelines.
Visit the NCEC 2022 Conference website.