THE WAY (Term 4 Week 2 - 16 October 2023)
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National Glory for the St Agnes' Parish Drumline Teams
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FOR ACTION
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K-6 Semester 2 Reports Jotform Reminder
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NESA Teacher Accreditation: Working Towards Mandatory Accreditation at Proficient
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Updating WWCC Details after Renewal
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FOR INFORMATION
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Announcements
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Announcement - CSO Staff Retirements
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NESA Teacher Accreditation: Maintenance of Accreditation - Pre-2004 teachers
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NESA Teacher Accreditation: Mandatory Accreditation at Proficient: Casual Teachers
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NESA Teacher Accreditation: HALT
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HSC Showcase 2022
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Australian Council for Health, Physical Education and Recreation (ACHPER) NSW Early Career Teacher Conference
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PAT Maths Adaptive - Calculator Use
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Kids News Junior Journalist Competition (Ref: 258/23)
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Term 4 Secondary Collaborative Network Dates
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Thoroughly Schooled VET Partnership Program
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Catholic Schools in VET State Success
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Positions Vacant
Port Macquarie Vanguard, the St Agnes' Parish Secondary School (SAPSS) Senior Drumline team, won the 2023 Australian Percussion Eisteddfod for the sixth consecutive year. (13 August 2023)
Congratulations to Port Macquarie Vanguard, the St Agnes' Parish Secondary School (SAPSS) Senior Drumline team, composed of students drawn from Port Macquarie Catholic Secondary Schools (MacKillop College, St Joseph's Regional College and Newman Senior Technical College), have dominated the Australian Percussion Eisteddfod for the sixth consecutive year.
The Australian Percussion Eisteddfod is an annual competition organised by Percussion Optimum to showcase student performances with percussion instruments.
The group earned first place in the competition's Own Choice and Test Piece components and picked up two of the five awards for best section (Best Snare Drum and Best Colour Guard).
‘I am not lying when I say I have never heard our drumline, not from any year, play as well as they did. I don't know what it was, whether it was fatigue, excitement, relief, pride, or whatever, but they sent themselves off in style. I legitimately had shivers watching them shine,’ said SAPSS Drumline Director and Leader of Drums & Percussion - MacKillop College Mark Spence.
It was also the junior drumline, the Port Macquarie Brumbies, the second year competing in the Division B competition, achieving an astonishing second place. Coming second place in the Own Choice and fourth in the Test Piece categories. A fabulous result for the Brumbies.
Watch the amazing skills of these dedicated and talented students below.
Please be reminded that the K-6 Semester 2 Reports Jotform is due to be completed by Friday, 20 October 2023. Completing this Jotform as soon as possible will ensure that the CSO team can have your reports set up and ready for data input in a timely manner.
The Jotform link for report data gathering for Semester 2 was included in the memo relating to information on changes to Primary Semester Reports published in The Leader in Week 10, Term 3, and can also be accessed here.
All beginning teachers are supported through a school-based, practice-focused Induction Program. Supervision, coaching and mentoring occur from the start of full-time, part-time or casual employment over two years as teaching practice from Graduate to Proficient Standard is developed.
Beginning Teachers who have commenced teaching since the start of this year are advised to:
- Ensure you have spoken to the Principal and/or school contact for the Graduate Formation program (often the Leader of Pedagogy) about your accreditation journey.
- Update your details in eTAMS in two sections:
- Employer (school) - leave the ‘contract end date’ blank.
- Accreditation section - align with the school you are working at most substantially. - Complete the NESA mandatory online course ‘Proficient Teacher Orientation’ within three months of beginning to teach.
The focus of Induction in the first year of teaching is to become familiar with and develop practice at, the Australian Professional Standards for Teachers (Proficient). Use the NESA Proficient Teacher Evidence Guide. In the second, or subsequent year of teaching, teachers can select documentary evidence from their now Proficient teacher practice to finalise NESA Mandatory Accreditation at Proficient.
Further information about Mandatory Accreditation at Proficient can be found on the Intranet.
A reminder that staff need to renew their Working with Children Checks (WWCC) with the Office of the Children’s Guardian prior to the expiry date. All staff receive reminder emails at three months, two months prior to this date. The earlier you start the process, the better.
Rules regarding identification at Service NSW are strict, so please have your correct documentation ready when you visit Service NSW to pay for the renewal to avoid any hold-up in the process.
Staff must update this information via userportal.lism.catholic.edu.au once they receive notification from the Office of the Children’s Guardian confirming their new expiry date. This will enable the DLCSL to update our records accordingly.
CATHOLIC SCHOOLS OFFICE
Debra Bancroft has been appointed to the position of Manager, Payroll in the People & Safety portfolio commencing 6 November 2023. Debra joins us from the Forestry Corporation of NSW, where she was employed as a Payroll Manager. Debra brings with her a vast knowledge of payroll, having been employed in the industry for the past 25 years while holding several managerial positions.
We congratulate and welcome Debra’s experience and commitment to the role, and wish her the best with her new appointment.
Andrew Burgess, Manager, Data and Projects, has announced his retirement, with his last day being 31 January 2024.
Andrew started his teaching career in Sydney with the Christian Brothers. He commenced in the Diocese of Lismore in 1984 as a teacher at St John Paul College, Coffs Harbour, progressing to the role of Industrial Arts and TAS coordinator. Andrew was a founding member of the Diocesan Secondary Industrial Arts / TAS network, which continues today.
Andrew was seconded to the Catholic Schools Office in 2000 to develop a proof of concept for senior secondary online learning. In 2002, Andrew became the founding Manager of the Diocese of Lismore Online Education Centre, which has grown to deliver courses to Year 11 and 12 students across all NSW Dioceses.
Andrew has led a number of projects, including the implementation of Schoolworx and, more recently, Compass. Andrew's other responsibility has been the data team and the development of the Analytics platform.
Andrew has represented the diocese on numerous committees and working groups across CEnet, CSNSW, NESA and in other Dioceses.
Leanne Feltis, Education Officer (Literacy & Numeracy K-2), has announced her retirement, with her last day being 15 December 2023.
Leanne commenced working in the Diocese of Lismore in 1983, starting as a Graduate Teacher at St Mary’s Primary School, Casino.
Leanne has spent 32 years as a Classroom Teacher, Curriculum Coordinator, Assistant Principal and Acting Principal at St Augustine’s Primary School, Coffs Harbour.
In the last six years, Leanne has worked as a K-2 Literacy and Numeracy Education Officer with the Learning Services Portfolio at the Catholic Schools Office. Leanne also held the portfolio within the Learning Services of the Learning Collaborative.
This year marks 40 years Leanne has worked with the Diocese of Lismore.
We thank Andrew and Leanne for the substantial contribution they have made to education, supporting staff and students in the Diocese of Lismore, and the work they have led in the Catholic Schools Office.
Pre-2004 teachers with an accreditation end date of 31/12/22 need to finalise their current cycle by the end of Term 4. This group of teachers can make up any balance of 100 hours of PD as NESA Elective PD. NESA Elective PD is a professional development activity that addresses the intuition of a Standard Descriptor, is an approved activity type and meets guidelines. For more information, refer to the NESA website.
It is now optional to log NESA Elective PD in eTAMS. Teachers will declare that they have met PD requirements and that they have records of courses if not recorded in eTAMS. For most teachers, the Whole School Learning Schedule and/or MyLearning records will suffice, and there is no need to maintain a personal log.
NESA Teacher Accreditation requirements are the same for all teachers. However, casual or part-time teachers have a longer time frame.
NESA invites teachers employed on a casual or short-time basis who are working towards Proficient Teacher accreditation to attend a webinar on Tuesday, 17 October 2023, 4:00 pm - 5:30 pm AEDT (online).
Casual or part-time teachers are also advised to use the NESA Proficient Evidence Guide for Casual Teachers to assist in reflecting on and developing Proficient teacher practice, against all 37 Standard Descriptors.
Leaders who are supporting teachers applying for Highly Accomplished and Lead Teacher Accreditation are invited to attend an NESA Professional Development session to understand requirements under the revised HALT Policy (2022) on Wednesday, 15 November 2023, 4:00 pm - 4:45 pm AEDT (online).
Teachers who are interested in finding out more about HALT accreditation are invited to attend a NESA Professional Development session on Wednesday, 18 October 2023, from 4:00 pm to 4:45 pm AEDT (online).
Further information to support HALT accreditation can be found on the Intranet.
The Lismore Diocese HSC Showcase celebrates and captures the talents of our 2022 HSC 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 Joseph’s College, Banora Point (Industrial Technology)
Student: Holly Porter
Title: Instinct
Statement: I created a beautiful short animation of a lonely fox who befriends a small mouse. I incorporated extensive animation techniques and video editing with the use of a green screen, along with amazing audio, to produce a very entertaining short film.
The annual ACHPER NSW K-12 PDHPE conference will be held Friday, 24 and Saturday, 25 November 2023, in Sydney. The conference is designed specifically for teachers with less than three years of experience and is a great opportunity for PDHPE teachers from right across NSW to come together to learn, share and network. There is an excellent line-up of speakers and workshops, all focused on the latest innovative pedagogies, strategies, research and evidence informing PDHPE. Please see the Conference webpage for further information.
Calculators are not to be used by students when undertaking PAT Maths Adaptive. For students with Additional Needs, please consult the advice in the System Protocols for PAT Testing.
Please refer to the Procedures & Guidelines on the CSO Intranet for the updated Protocols for the use of ACER PAT tests - Secondary and Primary.
Kids News is running a competition to find the next generation of news breakers. Children from Years 3 to 9 have an opportunity to compete for the grand prize of a guest appearance on Channel 10’s Studio 10 program, hosted by Narelda Jacobs.
Children can choose to present a story about something that has happened or is about to happen in their school or local community. The following four categories are open for submissions:
- News story – print
- News story – video
- Sports story – print
- Sports story – video
Kids can send in their submissions via email to juniorjournalist@news.com.au before 5 pm on 27 October.
Check the website here for more information and for terms and conditions.
Reminder: these are the upcoming Term 4 meeting dates:
24 October Science Collaborative KLA Network - please register on MyLearning
25 October HSIE Collaborative KLA Network - please register on MyLearning
2 November Leaders of Curriculum Professional Learning - please register on MyLearning
7 & 8 November Technology Collaborative KLA Network
14 November Dance & Drama Collaborative KLA Network
15 November Music Collaborative KLA Network
21 November Literacy Coach Network Meeting
22 November Visual Arts Collaborative KLA Network
MyLearning links for registrations will be communicated when available.
Congratulations to the students from Catholic Schools who successfully accessed the highly contested The Thoroughly Schooled Program for five days in September:
- Hannah Mclean, St Brigid’s Catholic College, Lake Munmorah
- Jaxon Griffith, St Matthews Catholic School, Mudgee
- Jorja Woods, St Pauls Catholic College, West Kempsey.
This immersive career and industry experience developed through the Regional Industry Education Partnerships program in collaboration with Hunter Thoroughbred Breeders Association and TAFE NSW, aims to build practical skills for Year 10-12 students and expose them to the many multi-layered facets of the thoroughbred industry.
Activities included a non-accredited course at Scone TAFE campus to gain a basic understanding of the equine industry, including WHS, visits to the Scone Equine Hospital, and Race Club and visits to three world-class thoroughbred stud farms. Each excursion provided opportunities for students to discover and learn about the Thoroughbred industry employers and employees and highlighted the career pathways open to them.
The Program included a work-experience component, opening future job opportunities in this growing sector, advantageous to both the students and the stud-farms.
We are thrilled to congratulate our NSW Training Award State finalists and winners. Catholic Schools were well represented by nine Regional Winners interviewed for the State Awards, resulting in three finalists who were celebrated at the Sydney Town Hall event in September.
In the School Student category, two Catholic School students were finalists:
- Montayah Astruc, Caroline Chisholm College, Glenmore Park, Certificate III in Health Services Assistance
- Charlize Ashby, Brigidine College, Randwick, Certificate II in Kitchen OperationsThe winner of the School-Based Apprentice and Traineeship (SBAT) category was:
- Molly Smith, McCarthy College, Tamworth, Certificate III in Health Services Assistance.
It is wonderful to have the incredible work of Vocational Education and Training in our Catholic Schools across NSW celebrated through success in these awards. Finalists at the State level are offered the opportunity to become VET Ambassadors for NSW. Additionally, as a State winner, Molly will be interviewed for the Australian Training Awards, which will be celebrated in Hobart in November.
The prestigious VET Ambassadorship program initiative opens opportunities for participants to further grow their confidence, competence and capacity by being mentored to share their career journeys, the VET qualifications they have attained, the experiences of establishing themselves in the industry and how VET has worked as a tool to enable them to excel professionally.
Congratulations also to the following direct entry finalists representing NSW (and CSNSW) at the Australian
Training Awards in November:
- Innovation in VET Award: St John Paul II Catholic College, Schofields & Nirimba
- School Pathways to VET Award: CathWest Innovation College, Mount Druitt.
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 People & Safety > Recruitment > Positions vacant – internal site.
CATHOLIC SCHOOLS OFFICE
- Regional Ministry Assistant.
- Assistant to the Executive Officer
SCHOOLS
- Principal - St Mary’s Primary School, Bowraville
- EOI: Acting Principal - Mt St John’s Primary School, Dorrigo