THE WAY (Term 4 Week 1 - 12 October 2020)
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DLCSL Strategic Directions Planning 2021-2023
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Staff Farewell
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Announcements
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PAT Assessments (ACER)
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Student Data Site Updates
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Choicez Media Teacher Library
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eSports Opportunities in 2021
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Primary Summer Sports Trials 2020 - Change of Venue
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COVID-19 Term 4 Sports Update
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ZOOM Meetings - Waiting Room & Passcode Requirements
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Renewal of Working with Children Checks
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Child Safe Standards for Schools
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Positions Vacant
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My Learning
Planning and development for the next Strategic Directions document will begin as a priority for the Diocese of Lismore Catholic Schools Limited (DLCSL) during Term 4, 2020. As the current strategic plan comes to the end of its lifecycle, it is important for the direction of Catholic education in the Diocese that a broad consultation process be undertaken to ensure that all stakeholders across the system are given an opportunity to have input into the next Strategic Directions 2021-2023. Diocesan staff consultation will be sought this term. More information regarding this will be included in The Way next week.
Kate Salmon has resigned from her position as Learning & Teaching Consultant to take up the position of Principal at The Assumption Catholic Primary School, Bathurst commencing in 2021.
We wish Kate well in her new appointment and thank her for her contribution to Catholic education in the Diocese of Lismore.
We have pleasure in announcing the following appointments to commence 27 January 2021:
Principal Appointments
Cath Eichmann has been appointed to the position of Principal at MacKillop College, Port Macquarie. Cath has more than 15 years’ leadership experience in the Lismore Diocese at St Joseph’s Regional College and MacKillop College Port Macquarie. The Leadership roles include Assistant Campus Principal – Administration and Curriculum, Assistant Principal - Pastoral Care and Assistant Principal - Curriculum. Cath has been the Acting Principal at MacKillop College, Port Macquarie since February 2019.
Kevin Lewis has been appointed to the position of Principal at Xavier Catholic College, Ballina. Kevin has more than 20 years’ leadership experience in the Lismore Diocese at St Joseph’s Regional College, Port Macquarie, St Paul’s High School (now MacKillop College), Port Macquarie and St Paul’s College, Kempsey. Leadership roles include Pastoral Coordinator and Assistant Principal. Kevin has been the Principal at St Paul’s College, Kempsey since 2013.
Assistant Principal Appointments
Kristie Coster has been appointed to the position of Assistant Principal - Learning and Teaching at St Francis Xavier Primary School, Ballina. Kristie is currently Leader of Catechesis and Leader of Pedagogy at St Francis Xavier, Ballina.
Sam Irvine has been appointed to the position of Assistant Principal - Mission at St Mary’s Primary School, Casino. Sam is currently the Acting Assistant Principal at St Mary’s, Casino.
Clare Axman has been appointed to the role of Assistant Principal - Mission at St Mary’s Catholic College, Casino. Clare is currently a teacher at Xavier Catholic College, Ballina and formerly the Leader of Evangelisation at Trinity College, Lismore.
Aleasa Kermode has been appointed to the position of Assistant Principal at Mount St John Primary School, Dorrigo. Aleasa is currently Instructional Leader and Leader of Pedagogy at Mount St John, Dorrigo.
Chelsea Fisher has been appointed to the position of Assistant Principal - Learning and Teaching at St Ambrose Catholic Primary School, Pottsville. Chelsea is currently Acting Assistant Principal and Leader of Pedagogy at St Ambrose, Pottsville.
CSO Appointments
Kurt Challinor has been appointed to the position of Learning and Teaching Consultant Secondary, Learning Services. Kurt is currently the Catechetical Services Consultant with the Catholic Schools Office.
Katrina Mills has been appointed to the position of Executive Assistant to the Assistant Director, School Evangelisation and Catechetical Services at the Catholic Schools Office. Katrina is currently the Executive Assistant to the Chief Executive Officer at St Vincent’s Hospital Lismore.
Anthony Thompson has been appointed to the position of Injury Management Coordinator with the Catholic Schools Office. Anthony is completing a Masters of Osteopathic Medicine at Southern Cross University. Anthony currently works as a personal trainer specialising in injury rehabilitation at Southern Cross University Gymnasium. Anthony will commence his appointment on 2 November 2020.
Kelsie Wilson has been appointed to the temporary position of Intranet Content Migration Technician with the Catholic Schools Office. Kelsie has been working with the Media & Communications Team and will continue to support the schools and CSO with her specialised intranet skills.
The system wide testing period for PAT Maths and Reading assessments has opened, and will remain so until the end of Week 4, Term 4. As a system of schools, we have the capacity to take a snapshot of data from PAT assessments at this point in time. The data will support a whole-of-system view of needs, strengths and trends, and allow for more tailored support, resource allocation and strategic planning in the area of learning and teaching. It also allows for the highest level of accuracy when using stanines and comparing against PAT norms. Please refer to the system protocols for both Primary and Secondary.
Protocols for the use of ACER PAT tests - Primary
Protocols for the use of ACER PAT tests - Secondary
To assist schools in preparing for this testing period, all participating schools are referred to the support and FAQs provided by ACER, ACER - PAT News - Online Assessment and Reporting.
For further support, please contact Christy Ismay or your Education Officer.
The Choicez Media Teacher Library is a comprehensive resource for teachers seeking to teach human sexuality, relationships and faith from a Catholic perspective.
Teachers were introduced to these resources last term.
The Resource Library is now available to access via the Intranet, either by visiting the PDHPE page or the Religious Education page.
To access the site, use your usual Lismore Diocesan credentials.
What if there was an eSports competition specifically designed for schools by experienced educators and endorsed by Kids Helpline?... look no further.
The FUSE Cup is an international eSports competition for schools across the Asia Pacific region that focuses on developing positive gaming behaviours and digital wellbeing. Students compete locally before qualifying to represent their region, state and then country.
Using only non-violent popular games and simple to use, low cost gaming hardware ie Nintendo Switch, students and teachers are able to build a positive gaming community and transferable soft skills such as effective communication, collaboration, critical/strategic thinking and develop resilience whilst also competing against students from across the Oceanic continent.
More information can be found here. If your school is interested in taking part next year, please contact John Cocciola.
The following now applies for Term 4 2020 Sport (DoE - below):
- Interschool sport and physical activity can recommence. This means that schools and students may now travel outside their local community.
- Zone carnivals (swimming, cross country, athletics), round robins and gala days involving more than one school, can also recommence.
- The number of participants involved in interschool sport and physical activities in a facility must be limited to ensure compliance with external venue restrictions (one person per 4 square metres of space to a maximum of 500 people, including staff).
- Students from different schools are permitted to mix while participating, but mixing of students should be limited when not participating.
- Students participating in weekly sport and physical activities, including recreational activities, where possible, are to remain within their regular cohort to limit the mixing of students between cohort groups.
- Selection trials for representative pathway events or school placement in 2021 (e.g. sport high school enrolment) may now recommence.
- No parents or other spectators are permitted to attend activities held on school sites during the school day
- RR: please note the acting Minister for Sport, Geoff Lee has stated in a media release ‘from this weekend, more than one parent may now attend community sporting activities if physical distancing of at least 1.5 metres can be maintained between people that are not from the same household’.
- External providers can be used for sport and physical activity programs where they are essential for curriculum delivery.
Please also note that any sporting events and activities held outside of the school site even during school hours will still need to follow the COVID-19 Safety Plan External link of the venue or organiser.
For the latest DoE advice - https://education.nsw.gov.au/covid-19.
Please contact John Cocciola if you have any queries.
As an additional security measure, from 27 September 2020, Zoom will require that all meetings have either a Passcode or a Waiting Room enabled for all licensed accounts. Note: Meeting passcodes are already enforced for basic accounts.
Any meeting created from Monday, 28 September, 2020 will automatically have a passcode applied to the meeting. The passcode will be embedded into the calendar invitation, so there will be no impact on users accessing the meeting from the invitation link or via the Logitech Tap meeting schedule. Users who attempt to join a meeting by manually inputting the meeting iD will be required to enter the meeting passcode. This procedure will also apply to any meeting joined from a legacy Cisco Telepresence facility.
Meetings created prior to and scheduled for after 28 September, 2020 which have not been passcode or waiting room protected, will automatically have a waiting room enforced only for participants joining from outside the Lismore Catholic Schools organisation (.lism.catholic.edu.au domain). Any participants in a waiting room will require the permission of the host or co-host to enter the meeting.
Should you have any questions, please contact Rick Sanderson.
Staff are reminded of the importance of applying early (within 3 months of the expiry date) when renewing their Working with Children Check.
The Office of the Children’s Guardian (OCG) send out a reminder three (3) months prior to your expiry date. This is the time to reapply and notify the Catholic Schools Office (CSO) of your renewal details. Make sure your details are always up to date with your personal email address.
Don’t leave it until the last minute, the OCG advises to allow at least 5 weeks for processing of your application for renewal.
Remember you cannot work in Child related employment if you do not have a valid Working with Children Check. Teachers must also advise NESA.
Failure to RENEW your WWC and provide the information to the CSO will affect your employment.
If your expiry date is nearing and you have applied but are awaiting to hear back from the OCG please provide your APP number and a copy of the receipt of payment via this link https://form.jotform.co/80798498515879 so we know you have applied and are waiting for the result.
Schools can access the Guide to the Child Safe Standards from the Office of the Children’s Guardian website. Use it as a conversation starter; professional development opportunity or standing agenda item.
The Introduction to the Child Safe Standards webinar for Schools will be run on 20 October, 3.00-4.30pm. This is an introduction to the child safe standards suitable for school staff. We encourage everyone who has not attended any previous session or who wants to increase their knowledge about the child safe standards. Register here.
Information on employment opportunities within the Diocese of Lismore are available via Positions Vacant.
CATHOLIC SCHOOLS OFFICE
- Innovation & Learning Consultant K-12
- Teacher Accreditation & Learning Consultant
- RE & Catechetical Services Consultant
SCHOOLS
- Assistant Principal - Learning & Teaching: St Paul’s College, Kempsey
- Assistant Principal - Learning & Teaching/LOP: St Joseph’s Primary School, Laurieton (EOI)
- Cluster Mentor Coordinator
- School Counsellor: St Carthage’s Primary School, Lismore
- Instructional Leader: St Joseph’s Primary School, Laurieton (EOI)
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.
Graduate to Proficient Teacher Formation Program Day 4 2020. Tweed Cluster Zoom 20LS-GTPTFP2
This My Learning registration is for 1st and 2nd-year TWEED CLUSTER GRADUATE TEACHERS who were unable to attend Day 4 of Graduate Formation held in August. Mentors of staff who are still seeking proficiency are also expected to register and attend the appropriate zoom.
7-12 PDHPE Collaboration Network 2020 20CSO-71PCN2
This workshop is designed for the Leaders of PDHPE. The focus will be on implementation and review of the curriculum and the leadership required to ensure that teachers adopt quality pedagogical approaches that promote learning and achieve the aims and objectives of the syllabus.
- 10 November 2020 - Via Online Zoom
7-12 TAS Collaborative Network - 2020 20CSO-71TCN2
The TAS Collaborative Network is designed for TAS Leaders of Learning. The aim is to provide LOLs with professional learning in regards to developments in the TAS key learning area.
- 17 November 2020 - Via Online Zoom