THE WAY (Term 1 Week 10 - 4 April 2022)
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Bee Amazed at St Mary’s Primary School, Grafton
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FOR INFORMATION
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Catholic Schools Week 2-6 May 2022
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Free Mental Health Training - TAFE NSW
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Congratulations
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World Down Syndrome Day
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Innovation Grants 2021 Final Projects & 2022 Upcoming Project Summaries
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New Syllabus
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WriteOn
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YOUR MOB LEARNING Courses
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SAVE THE DATE - “Dangerous Ideas” Symposium – Vocational Education & Training (VET)
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Graduate Formation Program Rescheduled
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2022 CSSA Trial HSC Examinations (Ref: 071/22)
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HSC Public Reporting Reform (Ref: 064/22)
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Update from the Office of the Children's Guardian
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Positions Vacant
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My Learning
St Mary’s Primary School, Grafton, school community designed and created a fantastic natural habitat to enrich the learning experiences of the students. (23 March 2022)
An enthusiastic and dedicated group of staff, parents and students of St Mary’s Primary, Grafton, have designed and created an amazing garden area for the school community.
The Bee Amazed Garden Project was an initiative by St Mary’s to create a natural habitat in the school grounds for frogs, native bees and other pollinators. This exciting venture will allow students to experience close up the life cycles of these animals. It will also provide the students with a deep learning experience regarding the understanding of the positive and negative impacts of human activity on the environment and the independence of living things.
‘It was wonderful to be able to connect with our parent community on our school site again. The kids were so enthusiastic about helping out,’ said Assistant Principal - Mission, Matt Green.
The project was funded by the Woolworths Landcare Grant. Which aims to provide primary school and early learning centres across Australia with $1000 to inspire students with hands-on projects focussing on sustainable food production, improving waste management practices and enhancing native habitats.
‘It's great to be a part of a school community and be able to lend a hand,' said kindergarten parent Fraser.
‘I like helping out with the school environment and making it better for the animals and insects in our school,' said Year 6 student Max.
‘I love the opportunity to help the environment,’ said Year 6 student Oliver.
Well done St Mary’s school community on your successful grant application and inspiring the next generation of land carers.
Theme: "Community, Care, Compassion"
Catholic Schools Week (CSW) in 2022 will take place in Week 2, Term 2, 2-6 May. This year's theme "Community, Care, Compassion" echoes the broader mission of Catholic schools in the Diocese of Lismore, to provide opportunities for all of our students to experience life to the full in caring and compassionate school communities. It is particularly pertinent at this challenging time for our diocese and the world.
Resources to support schools in prayer, liturgy and newsletter articles (listed below) can be accessed via this link:
- Catholic Schools Week 2022 Prayer
- Catholic Schools Week 2022 Prayer Service
- CSW newsletter item 2022
At the recent School Library Association of NSW (SLANSW) Professional Learning Summit Karen Bale, Teacher Librarian at St Joseph's Regional College, Port Macquarie received the following significant statewide recognition:
"John H Lee Memorial Award is presented to an individual of a school team in recognition of innovation in learning and teaching practice in a school or schools through learning technologies.
Karen Bale has employed a range of learning technologies to provide innovative solutions to support a range of learning and teaching needs in her school as well as across school communities within her region and clearly meets the criteria for the John H Lee Memorial Award"
Karen has been an integral member of the Diocesan Library Committee since its inception supporting all schools throughout the Diocese and in particular her own community.
World Down Syndrome Day is marked each year on 21 March. The 21st day of March was selected to signify the uniqueness of the triplication of the 21st chromosome which causes Down syndrome. Every year on 21 March, World Down Syndrome Day is observed to create awareness about Down syndrome.
During this week, two young ladies (sisters) one current student (Tiana Legge), and one former student (Hannah Legge), of St John Paul College, Coffs Harbour, presented at parliament for World Down Syndrome Day. Who better to educate the masses and advocate for the rights of people with Down syndrome, than these two courageous young women?
Innovation Grants provide an opportunity for teachers and school leaders to accelerate and advance learning in the classroom. These grants were awarded to support an innovative vision of education within our Catholic schools. These grants aimed to enhance the current curriculum and focus on innovative instructional techniques for schools K-12.
This initiative is designed to provide funds for the most unique educational and developmental concepts in our Diocese. Please find links below to some of the great work that was done throughout 2021.
Congratulations to all school communities that embarked on this innovative learning journey.
St Joseph's Primary School, Port Macquarie - Project Leaders: Jeannine Ucdereli & Sarah Blundell. Principal: Tess Koning
St Paul’s College, Kempsey - Project Leader: Lee Hancock. Principal: David Johns
MacKillop College Port Macquarie - Project Leader: Suzanne Penson. Principal: Cath Eichmann
In 2022, the Diocese is once again supporting five schools who were successful in receiving the Innovation Grant. Please find attached a list of the projects which will be involved this year. At the conclusion of the year, we will be able to share their journey with you too.
A reminder that consultation is now open on the:
- draft English and Mathematics 3–6 and 7–10 in the next milestone of the NSW Curriculum Reform
- 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.
More information about the reform is available on the NESA Curriculum Reform website.
An all-in-one online knowledge platform for effective engagement with Indigenous Australians
This is an exciting opportunity for leadership, teaching and support staff to engage in self paced Elective PD in the following priority area for Professional Learning: -
Aboriginal education and supporting Aboriginal students/children.
Use the link below to sign into Your Mob Learning to access courses on Indigneous Cultural Awareness. This link will also provide access to a Library of resources and an Indigenous calendar of events (with additional links to resources).
Catholic Schools NSW is facilitating the “Dangerous Ideas “ Symposium – Vocational Education & Training (VET) in relation to Secondary Student education.
The event is hosted by CSNSW and inclusive of the CSSA, a division of CSNSW.
This event will bring together key industry leaders, Catholic schools and system educators to discuss current issues and opportunities to extend the educational pathways, opportunities, and outcomes available to students.
Who should attend: Principals, School Leadership, Post-School Pathways Coordinators & Stage 5-6 Year Coordinators
Date: Friday 20 May 2022
Time: 8.30am-4pm
Location: Sydney Masonic Centre – 66 Goulburn Street, Sydney (location is close to Museum Train Station or Secure Parking Stations).
Further information, including the agenda and how to register will be provided in the coming weeks.
Please see the memo regarding the Reschedule of the Graduate Formation Program.
Note: The 2022 CSSA Trial HSC Examinations online ordering closing date has been extended until 9am, Friday 8 April 2022.
The CSSA, a division of Catholic Schools NSW, creates high-quality CSSA Trial HSC Examinations. Contributors have syllabus expertise and extensive teaching experience to create Trial HSC Examinations.
If a Principal requires technological assistance with sign-in to their registered school account in the CSSA website, please email service@csnsw.catholic.edu.au. There is a CSNSW verification process in place to maintain the privacy and confidentiality of each Principal and their registered account with the CSSA.
The dates for the 2022 CSSA Trial HSC Examinations are Monday 1 August to Monday 15 August 2022. The Security Period is up to and inclusive of 8am, Thursday 18 August 2022.
2022 CSSA Trial HSC Examinations online ordering was available as of 9am, Monday 14 February and until 9am, Friday 1 April 2022 and now until 9am, Friday 8 April 2022.
The 2022 Draft CSSA Trial HSC Examination Timetable is provided in the Principal Information Package and is also available on the CSSA website.
The 2022 Final CSSA Trial HSC Examination Timetable will be emailed to Principals in Week 1, Term 2 and will then be made available on the CSSA website.
School data can be changed by individual schools via the CSSA website | Account Settings. For more information, please go to https://www.cssa.com.au/.
Relevant personnel in CSSA registered schools should ensure that school data available and new fields of information on the CSSA website is checked, updated and completed as necessary. This will ensure that your School’s address, phone number, email address and contact details are correct – this information is critical for the delivery of CSSA Trial HSC Examinations. Remember to click on “SAVE” at the end of the process.
HSC Public Reporting Reform: Exploring aspects of the current system for reporting HSC results, and alternative options (the Report).
There is a long history to the public reporting of HSC results in NSW. The approach in NSW, which differs from other states and territories, is shaped via a combination of legislation, media analysis, and school disclosures.
The Report acknowledges that there is considerable educational and social benefit from allowing a wider perspective on HSC performance and reporting – to better acknowledge the efforts of all students and schools, and to give parents access to more meaningful information on school outcomes.
Currently, the HSC performance of NSW schools is reported in two ways: NESA Merit Lists and media outlet rankings based on an estimation of schools’ Success Rates.
It is timely to consider the development of new measures that provide a more accurate and holistic picture of school performance in the senior years of schooling. Several possible alternative measures are considered in the Report.
Read more here.
Advice received from the Office of the Children's Guardian (OCG):
Have you been affected by recent floods?
It takes time to replace lost identity documents and you can’t apply for, or renew, a Working with Children Check (WWCC) without them. If you have lost identity documents in the floods, please visit the Service NSW website for help replacing them.
Even if you’re not due to renew for a while, you should make sure you have the documents you need in advance. In some cases staff are required to apply for primary documents such as marriage certificates if the name on the certificate does not match their other primary documents. New certificates can take a number of weeks. Staff need to be proactive to ensure they have the necessary documents available to renew their WWCC.
Information on employment opportunities within the Diocese of Lismore is available via Positions Vacant.
Existing staff should apply through the Internal Positions Vacant page on the intranet; select School Services, then Recruitment and Positions vacant – internal site.
Catholic Schools Office
- Human Resources Officer (Hastings region)
- Human Resources Officer (Tweed region)
- Executive Assistant to the Director of Catholic Schools
Staff are reminded 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.
7-12 KLA Collaborative Network Workshop: English - 22CSO-71KCNW2
In this workshop, participants will engage with facilitators and peers to develop a deeper understanding of content and strategies to improve learning and teaching practice.
- 17 May 2022 - F2F in Coffs Harbour Annexe and via Zoom