Weekly Newsletter #39 - 7 December 2022
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Reflection
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From the Executive Director
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Share news of your school's Christmas activities!
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Community Spirit across the Diocese
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Teaching & Learning Update
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Wellbeing Team Update
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People and Development Update
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Created and Loved - Zoom Session
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Advent Resources 2022
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Career Opportunities in the Diocesan Education Community
Reflection
What is the invitation of Advent?
Advent is an invitation for Christians to contemplate preparation. A part of this contemplation may involve ways to explore the recognition of the presence of God in, among and through all creation. The following reflection by Janet Schaeffer, OP explores how humanity may have an active part in this ongoing work.
Sadio Mane, a Senegalese soccer star who earns approximately $10.2 million US a year, shocked his fans when he was spotted carrying a cracked iphone. He responded, “Why would I want ten ferraris, 20 diamond watches and two jet planes? I starved, worked in the fields, played barefoot and didn’t go to school. Now I can help people. I prefer to build schools and give poor people food or clothing. I give 70 euros per month to all people from a poor Senegalese region to contribute to their family economy. I do not need to display luxury cars and homes and trips and planes. I prefer that my people receive some of what life has given me”
The challenge is that God rescues others through what we do: our kindness to the despondent; our attention to the desolate; our support of those who are abandoned; our sharing of what we have been given. The comfort of God-becoming-one-of-us challenges us to be God’s generosity, compassion and empathy.
Schaeffler, J (2022) Advent 2022, Daily Reflections, Practices and Prayers: Awaiting the Good News XXIII Publications Connecticut.
Let us pray
Expectant God
The heavens can no longer hold your abundant love,
So you pour out the gift of your embodied self
Relinquishing the beauty of your majesty,
To adorn the pale colours of our humanity.
Choosing to enter into this world in a place of scarcity and need.
Reveal to us this hidden world
of poverty, of refugees, of suffering.
As you choose this as the place of your birth
Let us choose this to be the place of our rebirth.
Rebuild us, Transform us, Make us anew.
We ask this through Christ our Lord,
Amen.
Kieran O'Brien/CAFOD
From the Executive Director
Over the next two days, I will continue to visit schools across the Diocese. I look forward to greeting students and staff at St Patrick’s Primary School Stawell, Ss Michael and John’s Primary School Horsham, St Patrick’s Primary School Nhill, St Joseph’s Primary School Hopetoun, St Mary’s Primary School Warracknabeal, Our Lady Help of Christians Murtoa and St Brigid’s College Horsham.
EBA Update
The Catholic Education Commission Victoria (CECV) advised on 15 November that a revised proposal to reach in-principle agreement for the replacement enterprise agreement had been presented to the Independent Education Union (IEU).
You may have seen media articles recently that incorrectly reference the CECVs commitments about workload reduction particularly in relation to time in lieu for directed activities outside of regular hours for teachers. Below are the key points of the CECV’s proposal which includes reference to time in lieu for directed activities outside of regular hours for teachers.
The Revised Proposal.
A reminder of the proposal that was presented by the CECV which significantly addresses workload for teachers and provides improved conditions for all staff.
Workload improvements
- Reduction in scheduled class time to 19 hours in 2023 and 18.5 in 2024 in secondary schools and 21.5 hours in primary schools in 2023 and 21 hours in 2024.
- Proposed reduction in extras from 14 hours per year to 10 hours in secondary schools in 2023, reduction to 8 hours in 2024 and 6 hours in 2025
- Better regulation of teacher working hours, consistent with the 30/8 model used in government schools.
- Time in lieu for directed activities outside of regular hours for teachers.
- Restrictions on directing duties during the instructional time of the day when the teacher is not teaching.
- A cap on meetings outside of the school day to a maximum of 2 per week for one hour each.
Better conditions
- Continuation of Professional Practice Time, with 2 days available in 2023, 1 day in 2024 and 1 day in 2025.
- All employees other than a casual employee will be eligible for one day pro rata (7.6 hours) of flexible leave, to be taken from the employee’s personal leave entitlement.
- Improvements to paid parental leave provisions, including:
- Parental leave increases from 14 weeks to 16 weeks
- paid partner leave from 5 days to 20 days
- the first 12 months of parental leave will count towards incremental progression
- the qualification period to access paid parental leave has been reduced to three terms, from four
- paid superannuation on the first 12 months of parental leave for the primary carer.
- Accident make-up pay increased from 26 weeks to 39 weeks when an employee is in receipt of workers compensation.
Salary increases
- Salary increases consistent with the Victorian Government Schools Agreement.
- Improvements to education support salaries by reclassifying Level 1 ES employees to Level 2.
- Improvements to school support officers wage rates
- Increases to Emergency Teaching rates.
- Changes to higher duties provisions to provide higher duties allowance for most circumstances from 10 days rather than 15 days.
We believe this is a very fair and just proposal that reflects employers’ appreciation for your professionalism and hard work, and responsibly rewards you for your ongoing commitment to delivering a high-quality Catholic education.
CECV remain committed to bargaining in good faith and to formalising this agreement as soon as possible so that provisions can be put in place in a timely way.
Artwork for Gillies Street
We are looking for school artwork to display at our new Gillies St Office in Ballarat. We would like artwork that has a Catholic Identity focus and includes elements of your local community identity. We are interested in artwork from F-12. If you have something that you believe is suitable please send in a photo to the Marketing & Communications Team. Please note in 2023 we will run a display of student artwork in Catholic Education Week which will run from 22 to 26 May.
Tom Sexton
Executive Director, Catholic Education Ballarat
Share news of your school's Christmas activities!
How is your school celebrating the start of the Advent Season as we head towards Christmas Day?
Share your unique stories with the Diocese by sending content to the Marketing & Communications Team via this link.
Article submitted by Alexander J. Brodie
Community Spirit across the Diocese
We often see glimpses of community spirit being spread across the Diocese, but this time of year especially, we witness so many school communities come together to acknowledge and support their local charities.
Here are just a few of the projects that have taken place to spread the Christmas joy.
St Mary's Primary School, Hamilton.
This year, St Marys Primary School, Hamilton have been receiving donations from the school community and centring their Catholic Social Teaching Day around the Dignity of the person, they were able to pack 30 boxes for children in need.
St Michael's Primary School, Daylesford.
A number of St Michael's Primary School, Daylesford students in Years 5 & 6 have been volunteering their time to assist at the Daylesford Good Grub Club.
Roles carried out by the students have included cutting up fruit and vegetables as well as re-stocking boxes with food supplies. Students have also been donating food items such as bread and cereal which are distributed to members of the community in need.
With this offering of hands-on, practical assistance, these amazing students have contributed to food security in their local community.
St Joseph’s College, Mildura.
Year 8 students have been given the freedom of planning their own activities. In week nine, they organised a cooking class to donate treats to the Sacred Heart Soup Kitchen. The end results were three boxes full of chocolate ball and cookie gift bags to be given out.
Year 8 Mercy Works students have also been shopping for the St Vincent de Paul's Christmas Appeal, ensuring children across the Sunraysia district will be given the opportunity of receiving a small token of joy this Christmas.
Loreto College, Ballarat.
Each year Loreto College students and staff collect and create hampers for St Vincent De Paul. This year, 35 hampers were handed over that will be given to 37 families (174 children and adults).
Year 9 students also raised an extra $630 for St Vinnies through Sausage Sizzles and Candy Cram.
Article submitted by Amber Innes
Teaching & Learning Update
Term 4 Newsletter.
Please find our Term 4 Learning and Teaching Newsletter here.
Modern Language Teachers Association of Victoria (MLTAV) Conference.
Michelle Joseph from Emmanuel College, Warrnambool was awarded a posthumous Certificate of Merit for Exceptional and Outstanding Contribution to Languages Teaching in Victoria at the MLTAV annual conference on Friday 2 December. Michelle’s mother and aunty travelled to Melbourne to receive the award of Michelle’s behalf.
The work of Indonesian teacher, Robyn Typuszak from St Augustine’s, Maryborough was showcased at the MLTAV conference during a Literacy through Languages presentation. Robyn’s work was chosen as a primary school exemplar of literacy techniques being used in language teaching through a collaborative Department of Education and Training/MLTAV initiative. Robyn’s outstanding scope of work, created through two storybooks for F – 6 students, was well-received by the conference participants. Robyn’s resources can be viewed here.
Claire O’Connor from St Michael’s, Daylesford was a participant in the MLTAV Mentoring Program this year and was mentored by an experienced Italian teacher. We congratulate to Claire for completing the program.
Pretend Play Professional Learning Opportunity.
St James’ Parish School, Sebastopol are offering all schools the opportunity to participate in Pretend Play professional learning in 2023.
- Where: St James’ Parish School Hall. Vale Street via church carpark
- Date: Monday, February 20, 2023
- Facilitators: Professor Louise Paatsch and staff from St James’ Parish School
- Time: 9.30am-2.00pm
Booking: Contact School Administration on 03 53358750
This presentation discusses the melting pot of pretend play, that is, the explanation of why pretend play is linked to language, narrative, metacommunication, metacognition, social competence, self-regulation, problem solving and creativity. In particular, this presentation goes into depth on the links between pretend play and oral language and narrative. Underpinning this knowledge, a brief introduction will be made into the neurobiology of play and how play can impact on brain development in children.
The development of the skills involved in pretend play will be presented as a background to the Pretend Play Checklist for Teachers. The administration and scoring of the Pretend Play Checklist for Teachers will be presented in detail.
The presentation will be supported by videos of children playing. Analysis will be undertaken on the play skills observed and what this would mean for the child’s oral language.
Staff at St James’ will present Pretend Play in action from P-6. Tours of each Learning Community will support the transfer from theory to application.
Upcoming Reconciliation Victoria Webinars.
Cultural Safety in the Classroom (Thursday 8 December 4pm – 5pm)
Reconciliation Victoria will be hosting a webinar on Cultural Safety in the Classroom on Thursday 8 December.
Jo Drummond (Rec Vic Education Officer) and AJ Williams-Tchen will be discussing how to support cultural safety for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children in the classroom and the importance of including families and communities to keep young people safe.
To participate in this timely webinar, please register here.
Truth-telling and Reconciliation in Early Learning (Thursday 15 December 4pm – 5pm)
Join Jo Drummond, Casey Goodman (Early Childhood Teacher) and Alistair Gibbs (Early Childhood Australia) on Thursday 15 December as they reflect on the importance of reflective practices and how to respect and embed Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander pedagogies and protocols into an Early Learning service or classroom.
To join, please register here.
Improving Literacy in the Secondary Years (ILSY) Professional Learning.
There are several exciting professional learning opportunities for 2023 in the ILSY professional learning program.
ILSY Learning Area Leader Professional Learning Program (ILSY LAL PLP)
In 2023, CEB will continue to partner with the University of Melbourne (UoM) Graduate School of Education (MGSE) to provide the ILSY PLP for Learning Area Leaders (LAL) from the domains of Technologies, The Arts, and Health and Physical Education (HaPE).
It's purpose is to build the capacity of faculty team members to explicitly and systematically lead sustainable improvement in student learning outcomes using a disciplinary literacy approach. The workshops will be facilitated by Associate Professor Larissa McLean Davies and Dr Pauline Thompson from the University of Melbourne. It is recommended that schools send multiple participants including Learning Area Leaders and Year 7 and 8 teachers from Technologies, The Arts, and Health and Physical Education (HaPE) domains.
Details for schools to register will be available in January 2023. Further information about the ILSY LAL PLP can be found here.
ILSY Community of Practice CoP
In 2023 we will continue our ILSY Community of Practice (CoP). This will focus on thinking, learning and sharing to enhance our knowledge and develop disciplinary literacy practices to improve student outcomes in our schools. Participants from all ILSY professional learning programs are welcome to attend as well as staff interested in literacy development.
Further information about the ILSY CoP can be found here.
If you require further information about ILSY, please contact Julia Petrov, Learning and Teaching Education Officer (Secondary) via email or phone 0432 499 683.
Articles Submitted by Susan Paulka
Wellbeing Team Update
Victorian Responsible Gambling Foundation – Support for Secondary Schools.
The linked document provides information for secondary school communities to help students develop informed attitudes to gambling with options which target Teachers, Parents and Students.
Article submitted by Tony Perkins
People and Development Update
Flourish Wellbeing eMagazine – December 2022.
The December 2022 edition of Converge International’s Flourish Health and Wellbeing eMag is now available.
Topics in this edition include:
- New Year anxiety and how to beat it
- Switch off for the holidays
- International Day of People with Disabilities and the workplace
- World AIDS Day
- How to keep your fitness this Christmas
- And more…
For information about the Employee Assist Program (EAP) visit Converge International’s website.
Article submitted by Tania Lund
Created and Loved - Zoom Session
On Tuesday the 13th of December the NCEC will be hosting a Zoom session breaking open Created and Loved, a guide for Catholic schools on gender.
This online gathering will be a repeat of the presentation given at the NCEC Conference. It will be held at 4pm AEDT.
We extend the invitation to all members of Faith and Mission Teams, School Principals, Religious Education Leaders and members of Wellbeing Teams.
For those wishing to attend, we ask you to make a note of the time on your calendar, RSVP to Laura Avery and a link to the zoom will then be sent out on Monday the 12th of December.
Advent Resources 2022
A prayer resource from Catholic Education Ballarat, is now available.
Advent 2022 commences on Sunday 27th November. The following resources may assist staff prayer in your school community.
A Journey with Isaiah - CEB Prayer Resource.
The focus will be on the first reading of each week, which is taken
from the Prophet Isaiah.
These readings invite the listener to consider justice and hope, especially from the perspective of those most in need of them.
View this prayer resource here.
Advent 2022 - Parish Resource.
This resource invites parish participants to journey through the four weeks of Advent exploring the themes of hope, peace, joy and love.
Visit this resource here.
Mercy Spirituality: Advent Series.
Mercy International Association (MIA) is offering a virtual gathering of spirituality to enter the season of anticipation.
All are welcome to join MIA on each of the four Wednesdays of Advent, beginning November 30th.
Register your interest in this event here.
An Advent Invitation - To Pray the Examen Daily.
The Examen is an ancient and simple method of reviewing your day in the presence of God. It’s more a process than a prayer in the traditional sense.
During Advent you are invited to pray the Examen daily, in whatever form suits
you and at whatever time suits you.
See outline here.
Sandhurst Advent Leaflets.
These leaflets are from 2019 but are the 'Year A' readings of the liturgical year which commences in Advent 2022.
View leaflets here.
Article submitted by Jim Waight
Career Opportunities in the Diocesan Education Community
Catholic Education Ballarat Vacancies.
- Finance and Fleet Officer – Full-time or part-time opportunity located in Ballarat (closes 23 January)
- Education Officer (Learning and Teaching) – Mildura, Swan Hill or Horsham – full or part-time opportunity (closes 1 February)
School Vacancies.
Learning Support Officer – Siena Catholic PS Lucas – fixed-term position at 0.86 FTE (closes 7 December)
- Casual Relief Teachers – St Francis Xavier, Ballarat East (closes 9 December)
- Humanities Teacher (Junior) – Trinity College, Colac – fixed-term position at 1.0 FTE (closes 12 December)
- Italian Language Assistant – Siena Catholic PS Lucas – fixed-term position at 0.16 FTE (closes 15 December)
- Learning Support Officer – Emmaus Catholic Primary School, Mt Clear – fixed-term position at 0.75 FTE (closes 16 December)
- Classroom Teacher 2023 – St Patrick’s School, Nhill – ongoing position at 1.0 FTE (closes 16 December)
- Casual Relief Teachers – St Columba’s School, Ballarat North (closes 18 December)
- Casual Relief Teachers – St Mary’s Catholic Primary School, Warracknabeal (closes 18 December)
- Classroom Teachers – Primary and Secondary Schools (closes 31 December)
- Classroom Teacher – St Mary’s School, Donald – ongoing position at 1.0 FTE (closes 12 January)
Article submitted by Jo Huntley