THE WAY (Term 2 Week 7 - 6 June 2022)
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Imagination and Creativity Illuminate the Night at St Augustine’s Primary School, Coffs Harbour
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FOR ACTION
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2022 Accreditation to Work, Teach and Lead Category B
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FOR INFORMATION
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Announcements
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HSC Showcase
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NSW Government Everyday Maths Club Campaign Resources
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Opportunity for NSW High School Students to Visit Historic WWII Sites
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Council of Catholic School Parents NSW/ACT- Upcoming Free Parent Webinar
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Practicum Placements Term 2 2022
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Positions Vacant
A stunning display of imagination and creativity illuminated the night as the community of St Augustine’s Primary School, Coffs Harbour, held their spectacular Firefly Art Festival. (25 May 2022)
A wonderful community celebration of the Creative Arts was held at the annual St Augustine’s Primary School, Coffs Harbour, Firefly Art Festival. The night was filled with excitement as the community came out in droves to celebrate and support their school after COVID forced last year’s event to be postponed.
The night did not disappoint. The tempting aroma of sausage sandwiches and hot chocolate filled the air as parents and staff manned the BBQs and canteen as the magnificent night unfolded.
The combined St Augustine’s Choir and Dance Troupe performed to a joyful crowd surrounded by vivid displays of colour and light. Visitors were enthralled by the transformation of the school grounds. Year 4’s dazzling multicoloured zentangle and hand-drawn Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander totems were brought to life through digital animation. Visitors could explore the fantastical illuminated ‘Forest of Colour’ created by Year 2.
The school was bursting with magical collaborative installations and a static art gallery displaying an original collection of school-wide artwork.
‘Under the Sea,’ a marvellous collaborative installation filled with striking glow-in-the-dark sea creatures painted by Kindergarten, lined the walls alongside the schools of Kirigami fish hand-cut by Year 1 as hand-made paper mache jellyfish hung from above created by Year 3.
Year 5’s magnificent Dragon Sculpture amazed visitors with a massive modular dragon complete with eggs and baby dragons.
‘That was an absolutely incredible night!!! We as a family were so blown away by all the displays, the lights, the projections on the rooftops and walls, the children's masterpieces and performances! Even the sausage sangers were so so good! And that Dragon! No wonder the kids were so excited to see her!’ wrote the Horne Family.
This year's Firefly Art Festival was an extraordinary event revealing that when we work together, something magical can happen.
Accreditation to Work in a Catholic School for new teaching staff
2022 sees the update of Category B accreditation requirements offered to new teachers in the Lismore Diocese. This requirement includes those teachers who haven’t met these requirements in another diocese and those who have inadvertently missed this accreditation requirement.
This update introduces the Lismore specific online course Catholic Identity and Mission which is offered through the Virtual Learning Community for Faith Formation (VLCFF) of Dayton University. The course runs for three weeks, involving approximately 12 hours of learning through readings, online blogs and interactive opportunities with other teachers in our diocese.
Those teaching staff who are eligible to meet this requirement in 2022 need to register through My Learning nominating one study cycle that best suits their needs.
The course will be offered at the following times:
Option 1: 18 July - 5 August, 2022 (register before 1 July)
Option 2: 5 - 23 September, 2022 (register before 19 August)
Teachers required to complete this online course are asked to choose carefully the cycle that best suits. Dayton University will be in contact with all the course information after registration. For further information, please contact Ann Thurgate.
CATHOLIC SCHOOLS OFFICE APPOINTMENT
Kathryn Farrar has been appointed to the position of Executive Assistant to the Director of Catholic Schools commencing 18 July 2022. Kathryn joins us from Nous Group Pty Ltd where she was employed as an Executive and Project Assistant.
We congratulate Kathryn on her appointment.
CATHOLIC SCHOOLS OFFICE RESIGNATION
Aleasa Kermode has submitted her resignation from her position as Education Officer (Primary), effective 1 July 2022 to engage in a new direction for her career.
Aleasa’s commitment and contribution to her role at the Catholic Schools Office and her previous role as Assistant Principal at Mount St John Primary School, Dorrigo is acknowledged.
We wish Aleasa every success and best wishes for the future.
The Diocese of Lismore HSC Showcase celebrates and captures the talents of our students, reflecting their creativity, innovation, technical skills and conceptual development. These projects represent the culmination of months of diligence and commitment by students, planning and designing, developing their skills and applying them to the task of creating inspirational and engaging works.
Spotlight On …
St John Paul College, Coffs Harbour (Industrial Technology)
Student: Michael Casey
Title: Altar
Statement: Being a committed Catholic gave me the motivation to make an altar for my Major Project, which was different to other traditional woodworking projects. I combined woodworking skills, CAD drawings, fine woodturning and a great design with my faith to produce a timeless piece of work.
The NSW Government has announced a campaign to change perceptions of maths among young people.
The new resources have been launched within the Everyday Maths hub on the NSW Government website, providing students and parents with new maths solutions, challenges, games and fun experiences. These new resources encourage and support parents, carers and students from various backgrounds to think and act mathematically.
A new feature of the hub is a dedicated culturally and linguistically diverse (CALD) section across five different languages and contains more than 30 new pieces of content related to financial literacy, mathematics in careers, and mathematics in the modern world.
The NSW Government resources can be accessed here.
Clubs NSW is funding an initiative which seeks to give six Year 11 students from across NSW the opportunity to visit historic WWII sites in Japan and America.
Students will travel to Hiroshima, Tokyo and Pearl Harbour as part of the 11-day ClubsNSW Premier’s WWII Memorial Tour in July 2022, from 21 to 31 July 2022.
In order to be selected by ClubsNSW, students must submit a 1000-word essay answering the question ‘Are the lessons of WWII still relevant today?’. Submissions are due by 5pm, on 13 June 2022.
The winners will be announced on 20 June 2022.
The group of selected students will depart Sydney on 21 July and return on 31 July. Year 11 students must be aged 16 or 17 to submit an essay via the ClubsNSW website. Access the website and read the full list of terms and conditions here.
For more information, access the media release here: Media Release ClubsNSW Premier’s WWII Memorial Tour
Helping Kids Thrive Online
The Council of Catholic School Parents NSW/ACT have arranged a free webinar in partnership with the eSafety Commissioner for parents and carers of children aged 5-12 years.
The title of this years’ seminar is: Helping Kids Thrive Online.
This Term 2 webinar offers tips on how to support young people to socialise, learn and have fun online in a safe manner.
It explains how to access information, use technology safely and navigate new online platforms.
It will cover:
- how to talk to young people about online risks on different social media platforms and games
- how to help young people develop skills to protect themselves when they are online
- where to go for help if things go wrong and how to access mental health support and information through eSafety.
Register here: https://register.gotowebinar.com/rt/715182158220149006
Who should attend? Suitable for parents and carers of children aged 5-12 years
Date/Time: Wednesday 8 June at 7:30pm
Please find a poster attached.
Thank you to the 13 school communities and teacher mentors who have hosted, made welcome and supported our 33 prac students across the Diocese this term.
We have been delighted to host students from Southern Cross University, Griffith University, Charles Sturt University & Macquarie University in schools from Port Macquarie to Tweed. See below some of our visiting prac students and their mentors from St Joseph's College, Banora Point.
We wish all of our visiting students all the very best with their studies and future career in teaching. We look forward to hopefully welcoming you back to the Diocese of Lismore in the future.
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
- WHS Officer
SCHOOLS
- Assistant Principal - Learning & Teaching: St James' Primary School, Banora Point