Weekly Newsletter #16 - 1 June 2022
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Reflection
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From the Executive Director
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Condolences to the Emmanuel College, Warrnambool Community
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30 Years of Service to Catholic Education and Diocesan Leadership Awards 2022
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NCEC 2022 Conference
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Learning & Teaching Update
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People & Development Update
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Career Opportunities in the Diocesan Education Community
Reflection
Dadirri Inner Deep Listening and Quiet Still Awareness - Dr Miriam Rose Ungunmerr Baumann
Today we welcome Dr Miriam, who is speaking at the St Patrick’s College Pavilion. This opportunity is presented through the lens of National Reconciliation Week. NRW is a time for all Australians to come together to learn about our shared histories, cultures, and achievements, and to explore how each of us can contribute to achieving reconciliation in Australia.
Below, Dr Miriam writes about Dadirri, the still awareness:
"Many Australians understand that Aboriginal people have a special respect for Nature. The identity we have with the land is sacred and unique. Many people are beginning to understand this more. Also there are many Australians who appreciate that Aboriginal people have a very strong sense of community. All persons matter. All of us belong. And there are many more Australians now, who understand that we are a people who celebrate together.
What I want to talk about is another special quality of my people. I believe it is the most important. It is our most unique gift. It is perhaps the greatest gift we can give to our fellow Australians. In our language this quality is called dadirri. It is inner, deep listening and quiet, still awareness. Dadirri recognises the deep spring that is inside us. We call on it and it calls to us. This is the gift that Australia is thirsting for. It is something like what you call "contemplation".
When I experience dadirri, I am made whole again. I can sit on the riverbank or walk through the trees; even if someone close to me has passed away, I can find my peace in this silent awareness. There is no need of words. A big part of dadirri is listening. Through the years, we have listened to our stories. They are told and sung, over and over, as the seasons go by. Today we still gather around the campfires and together we hear the sacred stories. As we grow older, we ourselves become the storytellers. We pass on to the young ones all they must know. The stories and songs sink quietly into our minds and we hold them deep inside. In the ceremonies we celebrate the awareness of our lives as sacred. The contemplative way of dadirri spreads over our whole life. It renews us and brings us peace. It makes us feel whole again…
In our Aboriginal way, we learnt to listen from our earliest days. We could not live good and useful lives unless we listened. This was the normal way for us to learn - not by asking questions. We learnt by watching and listening, waiting and then acting. Our people have passed on this way of listening for over 40,000 years…
There is no need to reflect too much and to do a lot of thinking. It is just being aware. My people are not threatened by silence. They are completely at home in it. They have lived for thousands of years with Nature's quietness. My people today, recognise and experience in this quietness, the great Life-Giving Spirit, the Father of us all. It is easy for me to experience God's presence. When I am out hunting, when I am in the bush, among the trees, on a hill or by a billabong; these are the times when I can simply be in God's presence. My people have been so aware of Nature. It is natural that we will feel close to the Creator. Dr Stanner, the anthropologist who did much of his work among the Daly River tribes, wrote this: "Aboriginal religion was probably one of the least material minded, and most life-minded of any of which we have knowledge."
We pray;
Gracious God,
In whom we live and move and have our being,
Though we are anchored in you, our hearts are often unsteady and insecure.
When we allow fear to rule the day, mistrust, chaos, competition and selfish clinging take hold of our community, we lose sight of your gracious love.
Trusting in your forgiveness, may we lay aside every fear and hold fast to the way of love – consciously, consistently, communally, for the sake of Christ.
Amen.
From the Executive Director
In many ways, this school year has been tougher on our school communities than the previous two years. We can never be certain which staff member or student will be away on any given day, as the onset of the flu now significantly impacts upon staff and student absences in addition to the enduring COVID-19 measures.
Many of our lives have become tougher in the context of sustained uncertainty and of higher degrees of mental and physical tiredness. As a profession, educators set themselves - and by extension their students - high standards and are often distressed to varying degrees when they are not met. Despite all this, you, and we as educators provide hope to our communities in times of great difficulty. I continue to be inspired and very grateful for what you are doing, as is our DOBCEL Board.
Yesterday I was visiting a school and met with members of the School Advisory Council. The members were so appreciative of the efforts of the staff, which is a recurring message I receive from SAC members across our Diocese. Well done to each and every one of you.
It is clear that the longer the pandemic endures and the extra impact of the flu is felt, the repercussions on our communities and in particular on our students grows. With this in mind, I would like to remind you of a statement I have made previously:
“I believe during a pandemic, safety, love, hope and mental wellbeing should be our priority, and indeed if we don’t attend to these basic human requirements very little learning can take place. So let us remember that for our precious students to flourish, safety, love, hope and mental wellbeing are foundational to any academic growth.
I thank our school communities for ensuring these fundamentals have been prioritised for our students and for doing so much under very difficult circumstances.”
This is our key role at present, it is not about trying to make up for “lost learning”. We all know, and research supports, that for learning to occur students need to feel safe mentally and physically first. I strongly believe we need to focus on student wellbeing and regular mental breaks - often with physical activity breaks no matter the age of the student. I would also strongly support learning tasks and projects that encourage and develop student engagement and where possible, are structured to be opened ended to assist with the frequent absences of both students and staff.
I finish this topic by also reminding you, that in order to prioritise student wellbeing we must also be supporting and prioritising staff wellbeing. Be kind to yourselves and your colleagues!
On Friday evening, over 100 Diocesan staff and partners gathered at the beautiful Ss Peter and Paul’s Church in Buninyong and then Damascus College to recognise 28 staff who have served 30 years of service to Catholic Education, along with honouring those who received; The Partnership Award, The Catholic Leadership Award and The Fullness of Life Award.
These recipients form part of our rich heritage of Catholic Education. We honour and acknowledge their contribution and dedication, which plays an important part towards shaping the lives of our future generations. I congratulate and thank them for their service and commitment to the mission of Catholic Education.
I would like to make special mention of the Food Technology students at Damascus College who acted as servers for the evening - they were a great credit to their school.
Tom Sexton
Executive Director, Catholic Education Ballarat
Condolences to the Emmanuel College, Warrnambool Community
We keep the Emmanuel College community in our thoughts and prayers as they grieve the passing of teaching staff member Ms Michelle Joseph. Michelle was a dedicated educator who championed the teaching of languages, both Japanese and French at Emmanuel College and was a driving force in the growth in languages study at the College. Michelle’s death was unexpected and has shaken the school and the wider community. She was just 41 years of age and the mother of two young boys, the youngest just four months old. All in the Emmanuel College community will sadly miss her presence.
Please remember Michelle, her family, friends and the Emmanuel College community in your prayers at this sad time.
30 Years of Service to Catholic Education and Diocesan Leadership Awards 2022
NCEC 2022 Conference
Early Bird Registrations close Friday 17 June.
This is the first time in six years that Catholic educators have been able to attend a national gathering. With the COVID-19 pandemic still presenting challenges for many school communities and education offices, NCEC want to ensure maximum participation.
You can now register for the conference via this link, and attend LIVE at the Melbourne Convention and Exhibition Centre or participate VIRTUALLY. It’s your choice.
Learning & Teaching Update
EAL.
This is a timely reminder that this term we are required to include both students’ achievement level against the Victorian Curriculum F-10: EAL (eg. A2.1-Speaking/Listening), and an additional scale, providing a summary of expected progress using the new five-point expected growth scale. There is a recording of the EAL reporting webinar (22 March 2022) available on CEVN Learning & Teaching Curriculum EAL Past Professional Learning.
If you need any support in assessing where a student is at on their EAL pathway, or their progression then please feel free to contact me at mbecker@ceob.edu.au
I have also been running a series of webinars on EAL reporting and SIMON with Rory Walsh (from SIMON), which has focused on using SIMON to generate an EAL report and also using SIMON connect fields to access a list of EAL students at your school. Please watch this space as we will be posting a step-by-step video guide in the next few weeks. In the meantime, please feel free to contact SIMON support via support@simonschools.net if you have any questions.
Something else worth mentioning is that Foundation House and CECV will be conducting a webinar on Tuesday 14 June at 3.30pm on Supporting Newly Arrived Ukrainian Enrolments. The webinar will also be recorded. Link to be provided closer to the date.
The TEMC (Teaching in English in Multilingual Classrooms) course is also starting in 2 weeks. I am still accepting last-minute enrolments, so please get in touch if you are interested. Alternatively, you can register on Eventbrite.
People & Development Update
Free Flu Vaccinations.
The State Government has announced that they are providing free influenza vaccinations for Victorians throughout June at GP clinics and community pharmacies in an effort to help boost vaccination coverage as much as possible and avoid more hospitalisations throughout winter.
Cases of flu in Victoria have increased by more than 30 per cent in the past week alone from 10,000 to 15,000, after two years of COVID-19 and reduced international travel led to limited immunity to the common winter virus.
We encourage you to contact their local GP or community pharmacy from now until the end of June to book your free vaccine.
The New Child Safe Standards.
New Child Safe Standards will come into force on 1 July 2022 after an amendment to the Child Wellbeing and Safety Act 2005 (Vic) was passed by the Victorian Parliament in June 2021 and was followed by the release of the MO 1359 Implementing the Child Safe Standards- Managing the Risk of Child Abuse in Schools and School Boarding Premises in February this year.
The 11 Child Safe Standards commencing July 2022 (New Standards) are more specific, prescriptive and include additional obligations which align with recommendations from the Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse.
Although similar to Victoria’s current Child Safe Standards, key changes include new requirements:
- to involve families and communities in an organisation’s efforts to keep children and young people safe
- for a greater focus on safety for Aboriginal children and young people to manage the risk of child abuse in online environments
- in relation to governance, systems and processes to keep children and young people safe.
To be compliant with these changes policies and other key documents have been updated to align with the New Standards. Compliance with the New Standards will be mandatory from 1 July 2022.
To support schools, Catholic Education Ballarat (CEB) are offering focused sessions on each of the New Standards during Term Two for Principal’s and other Leadership, Child Safety and Compliance Officers.
The YouTube links to the sessions which have been recorded to date are included below.
Thursday 19 May 3.45pm-4.30pm | Standard 1 - Culturally Safe Environments & Standard 5 - Diversity & Equity Watch the recording here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4v18p_91fdw |
Wednesday 25 May 3.45pm- 4.30pm | Standard 2 - Child Safety and Wellbeing is Embedded in Leadership, Governance & Culture Watch the recording here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hDiHvQ-DLzc |
Tuesday 31 May 3.45pm-4.30pm | Standard 3 – Child & Student Empowerment & Standard 4 - Family Engagement |
Thursday 2 June 3.45pm- 4.30pm | Standard 6 - Suitable Staff & Volunteers & Standard 7 - Complaints process |
Wednesday 8 June 3.45pm- 4.30pm | Standard 8 - Child Safety Knowledge, Skills and Awareness |
Tuesday 14 June 3.45pm- 4.30pm | Standard 9 - Child Safety in Physical & Online Environments |
Thursday 16 June 3.45pm-4.30pm | Standard 10 - Review of Child Safety Practices Standard 11 - Implementation of Child Safe Practices |
What stays the same under the new CSS?
The New Standards do not change obligations related to mandatory reporting to the Department of Families, Fairness and Housing (formerly the Department of Health and Human Services) or police, the Reportable Conduct Scheme, the Working with Children Check requirements, the Child Information Sharing Scheme or other child safety laws.
Flourish Health and Wellbeing eMag – June edition.
The June edition of Flourish health & wellbeing eMag is now available. In this issue:
- Men’s Health Week 13-19 June
- Bowel Cancer – reducing the risks of Australia’s most preventable cancer
- Spiritual Wellbeing in the Workplace
- Climate Anxiety
- Seasonal Affective Disorder
- … and more
Converge Employee Assist Program (EAP).
For information about Converge’s Employee Assist Program (EAP), go to https://www.convergeinternational.com.au/cvi/eap-critical-response.
Career Opportunities in the Diocesan Education Community
Principal Vacancies.
- Emmaus Catholic Primary School, Mt Clear - to commence mid-Term 3 or by negotiation (closes 13 June)
- St Francis Xavier Primary School, Ballarat East - to commence mid-Term 3 or by negotiation (closes 13 June)
- St Alipius Parish School, Ballarat East - to commence January 2023 (closes 13 June)
- St Aloysius Primary School, Redan - to commence January 2023 (closes 13 June)
- St Mary’s Catholic Primary School, Warracknabeal - to commence January 2023 (closes 13 June)
School Vacancies.
- Classroom Teacher – St Paul’s Primary School, Mildura – fixed-term position at 0.49 FTE (closes 3 June)
- Classroom Teacher – St Paul’s Primary School, Mildura – fixed-term position at 1.0 FTE (closes 3 June)
- Classroom Teacher – Sacred Heart Primary School, Colac – fixed-term position at 1.0 FTE (closes 10 June)
- Casual Relief Teachers – St Alipius Parish School, Ballarat East (closes 30 June)
- Casual Relief Teachers – St Francis Xavier, Ballarat East (closes 9 December)
- Casual Relief Teachers – St Columba’s School, Ballarat North (closes 18 December)
Leadership Opportunity - Diocese of Armidale, New South Wales.
- Deputy Director: Catholic Education - Diocese of Armidale NSW – commencement date negotiable (closes 8 June)