THE WAY (Term 3 Week 10 - 21 September 2020)
-
Message from the Director
-
St Agnes' Primary Reaches Out to Melbourne Schools
-
Announcements
-
Confirmation 2021
-
New Online Safety Resource for Primary Schools
-
Uluru Statement from the Heart
-
Accreditation News
-
St Paul’s College, Kempsey - Finalist in National Award
-
Digital Technologies Professional Learning - Term 4 Opportunities
-
ANZAC Memorial Resources
-
Transition to School Supporting Documents 2020/2021
-
Job Opening - Head of CSSA Exams
-
2021 Commonwealth Bank Teaching Awards
-
Technology Update - Google Drive
-
Positions Vacant
-
My Learning
-
Catholic Education Community Strategic Plan 2021 - 2024
“Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me All the days of my life; And I will dwell in the house of the LORD Forever.”
Psalm 23:6
Last week marked the nineteenth anniversary of the 9/11 attacks in the United States. I have a vivid memory of that day. I remember where I was and what I was doing early that morning when I first learned of the attacks on the Twin Towers in New York. The world changed as a consequence of those horrific events.
Like the 9/11 attacks, the global pandemic we are currently facing will also change the arc of history, and all our lives with it. It will change the way in which we educate the future generations of children and young people, but many things will stay the same. As educators in Catholic education we will continue to provide the learning, opportunities and experiences that enable students to achieve the fullness of life and to prepare them for the many adventures and challenges that life will present. Catholic education in the Diocese of Lismore has a long and well established history and tradition, and every day you contribute to its ongoing success.
Thank you for your continued commitment to the children and young people in your care. I acknowledge the additional challenges that you face working and educating during a global pandemic and for that I am truly grateful. I wish you a safe, restful and well-earned holiday.
Sally Towns
In a beautiful show of service in action, Year Six leaders from St Agnes' Primary School, Port Macquarie have reached out to their fellow students currently experiencing Stage 4 lockdown in Victoria. The student leadership team created videos of themselves reading picture books for Prep (Kindergarten) children, as well as sharing messages of support for several Catholic Schools in Melbourne, showing an extraordinary amount of selflessness and kindness - all to put smiles on the faces of kids who they knew might be struggling in this difficult time.
The gratitude and thanks expressed by Our Lady of Lourdes, St Joseph's, St Mark's and St Jude's, all from Melbourne's metro areas, has been overwhelming. What a thoughtful initiative by some very thoughtful students!
We have pleasure in announcing the following appointments to commence 27 January 2021:
Principal Appointment
Rick Galvin has been appointed to the position of Principal at St Joseph’s Primary School, Laurieton commencing Term 1, 2021. Rick has nearly 20 years’ leadership experience including the roles of Leader of Curriculum/ICT, Leader of PDHPE/Sport and Assistant Principal, Learning and Teaching. Rick has been the Acting Principal at St Agnes' Primary School, Port Macquarie since February 2019.
Assistant Principal Appointments
Naomi Loader has been appointed to the position of Assistant Principal - Mission at St Augustine’s Primary School, Coffs Harbour. Naomi is currently holding the temporary position of Assistant Principal - Pastoral Care at St Augustine’s Primary School.
Michelle Scott has been appointed to the position of Assistant Principal - Learning and Teaching at St Augustine’s Primary School, Coffs Harbour. Michelle is currently holding the temporary position of Assistant Principal Learning and Teaching at St Augustine’s Primary School.
CSO Appointment
Joanne Stuart has been appointed to the position of Education Officer – Learning Services (Secondary) with the Catholic Schools Office. Joanne is currently the Leader of Curriculum at MacKillop College Port Macquarie.
Please note the attached information from Bishop Greg Homeming regarding changes to the diocesan sacramental program for schools in the parish communities.
Support from SEACS will be offered regarding the unit reorganisation to best suit this change. The SEACS Primary Eductation Officers will make contact with leaders with further advice soon.
The Office of the eSafety Commissioner has released a new resource Be Secure. The Be Secure education suite helps students develop basic online safety skills, including why it is essential to ask, check and think before acting in the digital world for primary aged students.
The Australian Catholic Bishops Conference has asked Catholics to walk alongside Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples as we discern our path forward. The Uluru Statement from the Heart is a wonderful starting place for this journey. The Catholic Schools Office has purchased framed copies of this Statement. We ask each entity to place this Statement in a suitable position in the school. They will arrive over the coming weeks.
If you are a primary school, a picture book is also included outlining the Statement and its development. Further information and activities can be found at the following site: https://ulurustatement.org/
Congratulations to the following teachers who have achieved Proficient Teacher Accreditation throughout the Diocese of Lismore since the start of Term 3 2020:
Sally Smith St John Paul College, Coffs Harbour
Alyssa Smith Trinity Catholic College, Lismore
Emma Yarnold St Mary’s Primary School, Casino
Nicole McNally St Patrick’s Primary School, Macksville
Lauren Penfold St Mary’s Primary School, Casino
Megan Yates St Carthage’s Primary School, Lismore
Ashlee Jones St John’s College, Lismore
Aimee Clarke Holy Family Catholic Primary School, Skennars Head
Julie O’Grady St Anthony’s Primary School, Kingscliff
Hannah Clarke Mount St Patrick College, Murwillumbah
The Australian Training Awards are the peak national awards that showcase best practice in Vocational Education and Training (VET). The Awards recognise and celebrate excellence and are an important mechanism for promoting the benefits of vocational education and training.
The School Pathways to VET Award recognises eligible organisations including schools, Registered Training Organisations (RTO), group training organisations, industry bodies and employers that have collaboratively delivered one (or more) excellent VET programs to secondary school students.
By becoming a finalist at the Australian Training Awards St Paul’s have cemented their place as a leader in workforce development and skills provision, nationally.
Principal Kevin Lewis and Graham Bramley, VET Coordinator, will host the independent evaluator on Tuesday, 22 September and present to the national judging panel on 1 October 2020.
Congratulations are in order for the whole school community.
The ANZAC Memorial is very pleased to offer all NSW schools access to free online learning materials. These materials are designed for flexible delivery in class or at home.
Each online module gives students the opportunity to discover and explore artefacts housed within the ANZAC Memorial, bringing to life the servicemen and servicewomen stories they will hear about. Each module concludes with a different creative activity, where students are encouraged to reflect on the qualities of the Anzacs - courage, endurance and sacrifice - and how these apply to their own lives and the modern world.
Further information about our online learning program for both primary and secondary education can be found here: https://www.anzacmemorial.nsw.gov.au/learning/learning-memorial/remote-learning-program
Starting school is a major life transition for both children and their families. Both challenging and exciting, it is a time of change in which families, communities and educators must focus on developing a sense of belonging within each child and their family.
In 2020, as COVID-19 restrictions continue to prevent on site transition opportunities, it is vital that we find innovative ways to develop this key sense of belonging and create connections between children, their families and their new communities.
In the link below, schools will find a Transition to School 2020/2021 Support Document, outlining ideas and suggestions to assist you. You will also find a selection of examples, resources and templates that are available for use or to inspire further ideas from your team. Thank you to the team at St Joseph's Primary School, South Grafton for sharing their Transition Videos as examples.
Please refer to the Intranet here for full details.
The Head of CSSA Exams is a permanent full time position and plays a critical strategic and operational role in leading the successful delivery of the CSSA trial HSC exams. The CSSA Exam division, which has recently come under the auspices of CSNSW, has a strong reputation as the leading provider of trial examinations producing 49 trial papers and marking guidelines for nearly 40 HSC subjects with more than 185,000 papers distributed annually.
Applications and nominations for the 2021 Commonwealth Bank Teaching Awards are now open. After a year of challenges, this is a wonderful opportunity to recognise teachers and school leaders for their passion and commitment to education.
The Teaching Awards, an initiative Schools Plus runs in partnership with the Commonwealth Bank, celebrate great teaching and leadership in schools across Australia, recognising those who innovate, inspire and create change for their students.
The selected 12 outstanding educators will each receive a $45,000 Teaching Fellowship, which includes $10,000 to support their professional development, $25,000 for a major school project, and a group visit to a high-performing education system.
Applications for the Awards are open from 14 September – 16 October 2020. For more information visit: teachingawards.com.au.
The value of a good educator’s work lasts a lifetime, but the chance for them to be recognised is today.
Google Drive is making a change so that its trash behaves more consistently with the rest of our G Suite services with regards to automatic deletion. This means that any file that is put into Google Drive’s ‘My Drive’ trash will be automatically deleted after 30 days. Items in trash will still continue to consume quota.
Please note that starting 13 October, 2020 any files already in a user’s trash will remain there for 30 days. After the 30-day-period files that have been in the trash for longer than 30 days will begin to be automatically deleted.
Information on employment opportunities within the Diocese of Lismore are available via Positions Vacant.
CATHOLIC SCHOOLS OFFICE
- Education Officer - Pastoral Care
- Learning & Innovation Consultant K-12
- Teacher Accreditation & Learning Consultant
- Cluster Mentor Program Coordinator (details available on Friday 18 September)
Staff are reminded that individuals are required to register for all professional learning courses through the My Learning site. The site has the facility to recommend courses to others. This will be potentially useful for Principals and Assistant Principals who wish to recommend staff to register for particular courses.
Staff are reminded that the closing date for courses is five working days prior to the course.
To register, please visit My Learning.
Library Network Workshop Term 4, 2020 - 20CSO-LNWT42
The Diocesan Library Network will be holding a professional development workshop conducted by Softlink and conducted via Zoom on Thursday 22 October. The purpose of the workshop is to keep those responsible for managing school libraries abreast with developments of the Library Management System (Oliver) and to be skilled further to be an effective resource for students, teachers and school personnel. Teacher Librarians/Library Assistants are urged to attend this important professional development opportunity.