THE WAY (Term 1 Week 9 - 28 March 2022)
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A Message from the Acting Director of Catholic Schools
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St Francis Xavier Primary Students Give Some ‘Sunshine’ to Their Peers in Northern NSW
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FOR ACTION
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Safe-guarding your Teacher Accreditation - are you at risk?
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FOR INFORMATION
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The Soul
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Mentoring for Effective Teaching (MET Training)
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Have your say: English and Maths 3 – 10 Syllabuses
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Have your say: Languages K–10 Syllabuses
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EOI to attend 9th Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Catholic Education NSW State Conference
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Reminders
The St Francis Xavier Primary School Woolgoolga community rallied together on ‘Sunshine Day’ to raise much-needed funds for the Bishop’s Flood Appeal. (11 March 2022)
The school community of St Francis Xavier Primary School Woolgoolga, quickly and efficiently organised a ‘Sunshine Day’ Bake Sale Fundraiser to help the flood-affected communities of the Lismore Diocese.
‘Many students had seen images of the devastation or knew personally of friends and family affected by the flood. They were so excited and motivated to be able to do something tangible to help our neighbours in the North,’ said Assistant Principal - Mission, Katrina Ryan.
Families generously donated such a large quantity of baked goods that organisers thought they would have trouble selling them. It was quite the opposite however, they ran out of goodies.
The event was an overwhelming success as the Parent Forum cleverly organised the bake sale for pick-up time. Families came in their droves at 3pm armed with their BYO containers to pick up their kids and cakes.
‘It was so wonderful to see smiling faces together after so long,’ said parent Melissa Kahler. The students dressed in mufti for the day, and there were bright colours everywhere.
The school community generously raised over $1700. The funds will be donated to the Bishop’s Flood Appeal. The students were ecstatic that their small cake drive raised that much money to help families recover from the floods.
‘This was an absolute success and such a testament to the strength of the community spirit we have here at SFX,’ said parent Yarrow Wade.
The day was actually pretty wet, but students and their families definitely put the sunshine in ‘Sunshine Day’.
Teachers are responsible for ensuring that all requirements are met for Maintenance of Accreditation with NESA. Teachers are advised to check that:
- You ACT to renew your Working with Children Check when you receive the first reminder three months before it is due. Apply online, and visit Service NSW as soon as possible.There are significant delays in processing. Teachers must have a cleared WWCC to teach.
- You have paid the annual fee.
- You are recording NESA Elective PD as you complete it.
Teacher accreditation will be suspended if requirements are not met. Please act to safe-guard your accreditation.
The Soul e-newsletter complements the Diocese of Lismore Catholic Schools Office communication newsletters. The Soul aims to provide a source of spiritual nourishment that will support the efforts being taken to form ourselves and our students in this new era. It provides, periodically, support for personal prayer, worship, reflection, pastoral care and wellbeing. It will also provide resources that can be used in the RE and Ministry classroom or sent on to student cohorts. Last week's edition had a special focus on Pastoral Care in the aftermath of the recent events in our diocese. It can be viewed here.
Mentors who have registered to complete MET Training are advised that this course is facilitated by Dr Sue Hudson. Sue Hudson will communicate via email and the online learning platform. The course will be open online from Monday 28 March, and needs to be completed by Friday 1 July. Mentors can access up to 3 days RFF to complete the course via the Graduate Formation Program allocation to their school. The MET course constitutes 12 hours of NESA Elective PD. Details to assist recording in eTams can be found on the MyLearning platform.
Consultation is now open on the draft English and Mathematics 3–6 and 7–10 in the next milestone of the NSW Curriculum Reform. Teachers and other stakeholders are welcome to give feedback on the syllabuses until Monday 2 May 2022. All feedback in the ‘Have your say’ phase will be used to inform the development of the final syllabuses. The syllabuses are more aligned to the latest evidence and research, and make it clearer what is essential for students to learn.
Key features:
- English 3–6: A more explicit approach to teaching writing and a greater focus on reading fluency
- Mathematics 3–6: A greater focus on working mathematically, problem solving and reasoning
- English 7–10: A more explicit focus on continuing to strengthen literacy skills and fewer, more focused outcomes
- Mathematics 7–10: A clearer, more flexible ‘core’ and ‘options’ structure so teachers can tailor programs to meet students’ needs
The final syllabuses will be released on NESA’s new Digital Curriculum platform later in 2022 and will be available to NSW schools from 2023.
More information about the reform is available on the NESA Curriculum Reform website.
Consultation is now open on the draft Auslan, Classical Languages and Modern Languages K–10 syllabuses in the next milestone of the NSW Curriculum Reform.
Teachers and other stakeholders are welcome to give feedback on the syllabuses until Monday 2 May 2022. All feedback in the ‘Have your say’ phase will be used to inform the development of the final syllabuses. The syllabuses are more aligned to the latest evidence and research, and make it clearer what is essential for students to learn.
Key features:
- Classical Languages and Modern Languages K–10: Redeveloped as frameworks that can cover all languages taught in NSW, with stronger foundations in language learning
- Auslan K–10: Available in the NSW Curriculum for the first time to learn as a first or additional language.
The final syllabuses will be released on NESA’s new Digital Curriculum platform later in 2022 and will be available to NSW schools from 2023.
Please see the attached Expression of Interest (EOI) and information flyer for the CSNSW 9th Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Catholic Education NSW Conference 11-13 October 2022. Hosted by the Diocese of Parramatta.
EOI should be completed, via the linked form within the flyer, by Friday 6 May, 2022.
The Arts: Stage 5 English/ Drama NORPA Opportunity
NORPA (Northern Rivers Performing Arts) are touring the work ‘Into the Forest’ through the Diocese during Term 2 from the 6th to the 10th June. The exact date for your school performance will be determined after the successful applicants have been determined.
Expressions of interest are open for secondary schools across the diocese to engage within the NORPA/CSO Stage 5 Project ‘Into the Forest’. Please use this link to access the NORPA Information Package and the Expression of Interest form. Expressions of Interest close on Tuesday 5 April, 2022.
NORPA Theatre for Schools and On-Demand Workshops
Content: The NORPA and Diocese of Lismore Catholic Schools partnership has several Theatre for Schools productions and On Demand Workshops that are available to both Primary and Secondary schools in 2022. As part of the continued partnership with NORPA, there is an opportunity for your school to express interest in attending a performance at NORPA or have NORPA visit you on an incursion.
For further information around the theatre opportunities explore the Creative Arts site on the Intranet. Expressions of Interest close on Wednesday 27 April, 2022 @ 5pm.