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- Going Deeper
- Announcement
- Success for Xavier College at Regional WorldSkills Competition
- Child Safety Hub: An Online Resource for Parents, Carers and Teachers
- New eSafety Website Launched
- Notification Amendment - Catholic Schools NSW Sport
- ACER: Using and Interpreting the PAT Longitudinal Report
- Program Builder: Cohort logins
- Digital Technologies Feedback Survey
- Level 1 and 2 Google Educators
- NAPLAN 2020 Update
- Human Resources Information System (HRIS)
- Staff Accounts Portal Upgrade
- Working with Children Checks
- Positions Vacant
This week, we explore another crucial topic in Catholic education - it is all 'the new poor'.
The documents state 'In areas new forms of poverty challenged the Catholic school…those who have lost all sense of meaning in life and lack any type of inspiring ideal, those to whom no values are proposed and who do not know the beauty of faith, who come from families which are broken and incapable of love, often living in places of material and spiritual poverty, to these the "new poor" the Catholic school turns in a spirit of love. Spurred on by the aim of offering to all, and especially to the poor and marginalized, the opportunity of an education, of training for a job and of human and Christian formation.
In many parts of the world even today, material poverty prevents many youths and children from having access to formal education and adequate human Christian formation.' (The Catholic School on the Threshold of the Third Millennium 14)
To learn more please click here.
SCHOOL APPOINTMENT
On behalf of Father Peter Padsungay, we wish to announce the following appointment:
Peter Fear has been appointed to the position of Assistant Principal - Mission at Xavier Catholic College, Ballina commencing Term 1, 2020. Peter is currently Assistant Principal – Student Development at Nazareth Catholic College, Flinders Park South Australia.
We congratulate Peter on his appointment.
Success for Xavier College at Regional WorldSkills Competition
Xavier Catholic College Ballina recently hosted the Regional Retail WorldSkills Competition. The winner will potentially represent NSW at the National Competition to be held in Perth in 2020. Competitors perform a variety of skills and practical activities in a one-day event reflecting the knowledge and performance criteria of Certificate III in Retail. Tasks included visual merchandising, point of sale procedures, dealing with customer complaints and aggressive customers. The competitors are also required to complete written tests that examine their knowledge.
Seven Xavier Catholic College students performed exceptionally well on the day with Gina O’Dwyer, successful in winning first place. Gina will be informed later in December of her position in the NSW team. Congratulations to Banjo Hennesy, Lillian Aboody-Fisher, Naomi Bitterfield, Matisse Di Giorgi, Amelia Hendry and Amber Walsh on displaying their knowledge for the future.
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Child Safety Hub: An Online Resource for Parents, Carers and Teachers
The new edition of the Child Safety Handbook is available online. The current edition has been updated with digital/online safety, light rail safety, dental health, diabetes, etc. It is recommended that schools bring this important information source to the attention of their school community.
The Child Safety Handbook App has also been produced by NSW Police Legacy and includes everything we need as a community to protect our most valuable and vulnerable resource – our children. From preventative measures at home to safety outdoors, from cybersafety to dealing with peer pressures, this App is a resource for every family and school community. The app can be downloaded via the Apple store, Google Play or Amazon Kindle.
Resources can be accessed on the NSW Child Safety Hub website http://nsw.childsafetyhub.com.au/.
Read LessThe eSafety Commission has spent the last 18 months working alongside various experts to create, refresh and streamline eSafety's content. Every page on their site has been updated with tailored advice, resources and support to ensure it helps Australians have empowering and positive experiences online.
Almost a third of the website features exciting new material, including a section for young people, guided by young people. Not only is this a great resource for students, but the topics can help with online safety conversations in Australian classrooms.
Over 300 of the site's resources, including the popular education resources, have been refreshed and re-branded and are easier to find using our new filter feature. Now, you can search by education level and topic to ensure you find what best resonates with your specific school context and classroom needs.
Click the link to visit the new site https://www.esafety.gov.au/.
Read LessNotification Amendment - Catholic Schools NSW Sport
The bank account details provided in The Way last week for Catholic Schools NSW Sport (CSNSW Sport) were incorrect. Please ensure your school’s finance department uses the bank account details in the below attachment and disregards the details provided last week.
ACER: Using and Interpreting the PAT Longitudinal Report
The Longitudinal Report is particularly useful when looking at individual student growth, and when tracking student growth over a period of time.
Follow the vimeo link below to access a recent ACER webinar for using and interpreting the PAT Longitudinal Report school support.
Program Builder: Cohort logins
There have been recent changes to the way teachers in schools are required to login to Program Builder. As a result of these changes, some teachers lost access to the data they had in accounts that have cohort logins.
This has now been rectified temporarily to allow teachers to retrieve their data. Please see the instructions attached to retrieve your data that is saved in cohort accounts.
The recommendation from here is that units of work are exported out of cohort accounts and stored in the school’s Google Drive. This will mitigate any further loss of data should login procedures change again with short notice.
If you require support, please lodge a helpdesk.
Read LessDigital Technologies Feedback Survey
Following the launch of our new Digital Technologies library and bookings system, we are seeking to gain feedback from schools regarding what additional types of resources schools would like to see included, to enhance what is currently available.
If you are interested in providing feedback, please complete this short SURVEY.
Level 1 and 2 Google Educators
Congratulations to Rachel Kingston who has successfully completed her Level 1 Google Educator Certification and Anna Moloney who has successfully completed her Level 2 Google Educator Certification. We are extremely privileged to have these skilled educators working within our Diocese.
If you are interested in completing your Google Educator Certification, please contact JJ Purton Jones for more information.
The NAPLAN School Readiness Test is scheduled for 23 March 2020 for all diocesan schools for students in Years 3, 5, 7 and 9.
The actual NAPLAN Assessment week will be during the period 12–22 May 2020. The attached memo provides further details and updated information.
Human Resources Information System (HRIS)
Introducing HRIS, Human Resources Information System.
We have engaged Fusion 5 to provide an integrated Human Resources system combining services across payroll, recruitment and on-boarding. The platform offers a comprehensive, easy to use, self-service portal for staff to engage with.
Implementation will commence early 2020 with consultation and training in schools to occur prior to going live. Throughout 2020 the features, functionality and roll out scheduling of HRIS will be distributed via ‘The Way’. In the interim, should you have any queries, please contact Shawn Hore or Hayley Youngberry.
An upgrade to the 'Staff User Account' creation and modification portal is scheduled to be carried out between Wednesday morning 27 November (Week 7) and Wednesday morning 4 December (Week 8) 2019.
During this period the following restrictions will be in place:
- No new staff or student account creation
- Staff and students will not be able to access their 'user account self service' (no password recovery or reset, no change of personal details)
- No access to the 'Account Wizard' or SyncNova to modify existing staff or student accounts.
Please contact Technology Services if you have any queries regarding staff or student accounts during the upgrade.
Read LessStaff are reminded of the need to advise the Catholic Schools Office (CSO) through the jotform link https://form.jotform.co/80798498515879 with the renewal details of their Working with Children Check prior to their current expiry date. The renewal process can be actioned up to three months prior to a current expiry date.
Please don’t wait until the last month. If your expiry date is in December, January or February take action early. Visit the Office of the Children’s Guardian (OCG) to begin the process. The OCG will be closed over the Christmas – New Year period.
You must provide these details to the CSO prior to the 2020 school year.
Read LessInformation on employment opportunities within the Diocese of Lismore are available via Positions Vacant.
CATHOLIC SCHOOLS OFFICE
- School Support Officer
SCHOOL LEADERSHIP
- Assistant Principal - Mission: St Francis Xavier Primary School, Ballina
- Assistant Principal - Mission: St Joseph’s Primary School, Alstonville
- School Counsellors (various schools)