THE WAY (Term 1 Week 2 - 5 February 2024)
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MacKillop College, Port Macquarie, Celebrates the Sporting Success of their Talented Students
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FOR ACTION
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Professional Experience Placements for 2024
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Professional Learning Webinar: How to Support Positive Peer Relationships Among Young People in Online Spaces
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Term 1 Mission Primary Leaders Networks
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Support of Beginning Teachers and new Experienced Teachers from Overseas
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2024 NAPLAN Timetable and Information
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FOR INFORMATION
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NSW and ACT Catholic Systemic Schools Enterprise Agreement 2023
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eSafety Free Webinars for 2024 - Primary Schools
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New Vaping Curriculum - Seeing Through The Haze
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Harmony Week
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Sun Safety Resources – Sun and UV at School
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Teacher Career Development Opportunity
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7-12 KLA Collaborative Network (Languages)
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Inform Period K-6 Creative Arts HSIE, PDHPE, Science & Technology and the 7-10 Geography. History, PDHPE & Visual Arts Syllabuses
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‘Engaged Classroom’ Resources – Free Evidence-based Resources for Teachers
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Save the Date – 2024 Combined Disability and Behaviour Network Symposium
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Safer Internet Day - Resources from the eSafety Commissioner
MacKillop College, Port Macquarie, sporting talent was on display at the 26th annual Blue Awards hosted by Mount St Joseph’s College, Milperra. (4 December 2023)
Congratulations to MacKillop College, Port Macquarie, Year 11 student Sam Blain and former student Tess McWilliams for receiving the New South Wales Combined Catholic Colleges (NSWCCC) Blue Award in their respective sport at Mount St Joseph’s College, Milperra.
The Blue Awards acknowledges the outstanding achievements of Catholic college students in each sport across representative competitions (NSWCCC, State and National).
Sam, both on and off the court, displayed sincerity in his actions towards his teammates and coaches.
Sam represented NSWCCC in the Boys' Basketball team in 2023, where he led the team to a 3rd-place finish at the NSW All Schools Basketball Championships. His outstanding performance saw him selected for the NSW All Schools team, where he went on to compete at the School Sport Australia Basketball Championships and assisted the team in securing the win of the championships.
Tess has consistently demonstrated herself to be a hardworking, uncompromising, and dedicated rugby league player, approaching each game with fairness and sportsmanship.
A dedicated athlete, Tess has represented MacKillop College, the Lismore Diocese, New South Wales Combined Catholic Colleges, and NSW All Schools in a multitude of sports, including Athletics, Soccer, Futsal, AFL, Rugby Union, and, notably, Rugby League. Tess was selected for the Australian Junior Girls Rugby League team to tour England and France in January 2024.
‘It is a great achievement for both Sam and Tess - we are incredibly proud of their Sporting achievements this year,’ said MacKillop College Sports Coordinator Erin Denham.
Congratulations on an outstanding achievement, Sam and Tess. With only 70 of these awards given to students across every NSW Catholic high school, this is a marvellous accomplishment for MacKillop College.
Professional experience provides a vital opportunity for schools to share expertise and passion for teaching as well as our commitment to the Catholic ethos in order to prepare the next generations of teachers.
The Catholic School Office (CSO) is committed to growing our offering of high-quality professional experience placements and supporting supervising teachers and their professional learning to acquire skills in assessing, supervising, and coaching pre-service teachers.
The allocation of Practical placements will be coordinated centrally in 2024 via the CSO.
Expression of Interest is now open for all teachers interested in supervising a Professional Experience placement in 2024.
To register your interest and learn more about CSO initiatives for supporting supervising teachers, please complete EOI - 2024 Professional Practice Supervisor.
As part of the eSafety Commissions Safer Internet Day, enrolments are now open for a free professional learning webinar on how to support positive peer relationships among young people in online spaces.
The ‘middle years’ or early adolescence (8–14 years) is a critical period of physical, emotional and social development that has important ramifications for present and future wellbeing. Notably, during this time, young people begin to spend more time with their friends, less time with their parents and greater amounts of time connecting online via digital media.
Digital media platforms help young people develop and maintain relationships with friends and family, make new social connections and find support networks. However, there are concerns among professionals and parents that young people’s online interactions also have significant negative influences on mental health and wellbeing and are detrimental to ‘real life’ interactions with peers and adults.
Research suggests there is a strong association between peer relationships and mental health in the middle years. Overall, positive peer relationships, such as mutual understanding and support, are associated with positive mental health and fewer externalising behaviours, such as aggression.
Given young people interact so much online, practitioners should develop ways to promote healthy online experiences, including ways to encourage positive peer relationships. In doing so, practitioners can play an important role in promoting positive mental health and wellbeing.
This webinar will help you:
- Understand the similarities and differences between online and offline peer relationships and interactions.
- Understand the benefits of online peer relationships for young people and some of the challenges they experience while navigating them, including their impacts on mental health and wellbeing.
- Develop insight into how to support young people’s development of positive peer relationships in online spaces and how families can encourage these positive relationships.
The webinar will be held on Wednesday, 21 February 2024, 1:00 – 2:00 pm (AEDT). Click here to register.
Assistant Principals Mission, Leaders of Catechesis and School Evangelisation are now invited to register for the Term 1 networks taking place in the north and the south via MyLearning.
A warm welcome to teachers who are beginning to work in the Diocese of Lismore in 2024. If you are an Early Career teacher or an experienced teacher from overseas (except New Zealand), you are also beginning to work towards mandatory accreditation as a Proficient Teacher as described by the Australian Professional Standards for Teachers. Key people in your school will help you. Your next steps are detailed in the graphic below.
Information concerning the 2024 NAPLAN process and a timeline is provided in the attached memo, along with an infographic illustrating the Test Window.
The Application for the Teachers and General Employees Systemic Schools Enterprise Agreement has been approved by the Fair Work Commission. In accordance with s.54 of the Act, the Agreement will operate from 28 December 2023. The nominal expiry date of the Agreement is 9 October 2024. Staff can access the Enterprise Agreement from the Industrial Page on the Intranet.
eSafety's expert trainers deliver live online safety lessons to schools via Virtual Classroom webinars.
The Virtual Classroom webinars are live video sessions where a trainer talks through a slide deck presentation and facilitates student interaction using moderated chats and polls. Students usually participate in their school classroom using a smartboard guided by their teacher.
The webinars run for about 40 minutes and include resources and links to further information and support. For more information, click here.
Quit Victoria, in partnership with Monash University, Vic Health, the Victorian Department of Education, Victorian Curriculum and Assessment Authority (VCAA), and the Australian Council for Health, Physical Education and Recreation (ACHPER) Victoria, have developed a new suite of free resources ‘Seeing Through the Haze.’
The resource is designed to equip students with the critical thinking skills to create change for a vape and smoke-free future. It is structured as a three-part learning sequence and has been mapped to the Australian Curriculum.
The resource for Years 7-8 and 9 -10 is available on the intranet - Pastoral Care - Vaping. A resource for Years 5-6 is currently being developed.
Harmony Week - Monday, 18 March to Sunday, 24 March is the celebration that recognises our diversity and brings together Australians from all different backgrounds. It’s about inclusiveness, respect and a sense of belonging for everyone, from the Traditional Owners of the land to our most recent arrivals. Today, over half of Australians were born overseas or have at least one parent who was born overseas.
Orange has been the Harmony Week colour since the first event was held in 1999. Traditionally, orange signifies social communication and meaningful conversations. It also relates to the freedom of ideas and the encouragement of mutual respect.
If you choose to participate in this event at your school, consider age-appropriate information, student voice in determining key actions, family engagement and including the United Nations International Day for the Elimination of Racial Discrimination (21 March). This day focuses on the urgency of combatting racism and racial discrimination.
One way of being involved in Harmony Week is to encourage student participation in the annual Harmony Day Competition run by the organisation Moving Forward Together. In 2024, the competition categories are Poster, Songwriting and Short Film. The theme for the 2024 competition is: ‘Harmony – what can we do?’ Entries close on 12 April 2024.
More details on the competition are available at www.movingforwardtogether.org.au.
With the warmer months upon us, it’s timely to remind students of the dangers of UV rays and the importance of sun safety. Australia has one of the highest rates of skin cancer in the world, and statistics show that melanoma is the most common cancer affecting young Australians aged 15 – 24 years. The good news is that skin cancer is highly preventable.
The new Sun and UV at School skin cancer resources will assist primary and secondary school students in making healthy, safe, and proactive choices regarding sun protection to reduce their risk of skin cancer in the future.
Click on the following link to access teaching and learning materials, as well as other general resources: https://www.cancer.nsw.gov.au/prevention-and-screening/preventing-cancer/preventing-skin-cancer/sun-and-uv-at-school.
Are you interested in pursuing accreditation at a higher level (HALT) and/or your Masters? There is now a way to work towards both concurrently! NESA has approved the ACU Graduate Certificate in Leadership (Highly Accomplished Lead Teacher Practice) as a pilot streamlined pathway to HALT. This means completing the course will award teachers:
- Graduate certificate,
- 40 credit points to Masters, and
- Module 1 Highly Accomplished Teacher application.
There are a number of Commonwealth-supported places reducing the cost significantly. Please read the attached flyer for more information. The link to enrol is here.
The 7-12 KLA Collaborative Network (Languages) - F23LS-712KCN will be held at the Clarence Office (Orlando St, Coffs Harbour) on February 28 and 29. This is for Leaders of Learning Languages and one other teacher. Schools may send additional participants, but the release would need to be self-funded.
The focus of the two days will be the new 7-10 Languages syllabus with a particular focus on Stage 5. Participants will engage in reviewing and developing units of work, scope and sequences and spend time creating assessments and sharing resources.
NESA will open a second round of consultation for the K-6 Creative Arts, HSIE, PDHPE, Science and Technology and the 7-10 Geography, History, PDHPE & Visual Arts syllabuses will start on 26 February and end on 11 March.
Please prepare to respond to the Have Your Say survey by watching the Inform videos that summarise NESA’s approach to the reform and the features of the refined syllabuses.
K – 6: Inform Period – Creative Art, HSIE, PDHPE, Science & Technology online presentation.
Click here for the link.
7-10: Inform Period – Geography, History, PDHPE & Visual Arts online presentations.
Click here for the link.
The Commonwealth Government is investing $3.5 million to help teachers manage classrooms through a range of free, evidence-based resources. The ‘Engaged Classrooms’ resources were developed by the Australian Education Research Organisation (AERO) in consultation with teachers and classroom management expert Dr Tim McDonald.
The free resources will help teachers starting out, those working in new environments, and experienced teachers who want to refine or refresh their classroom management practice.
A further two sets of classroom management resources for teachers will be released in 2024.
The first suite of professional learning resources includes easily accessible evidence explainers and adaptable best practice guides. Future resources will include video demonstrations, mentoring guides and support for school leaders.
The first set of resources is available at Classroom Management Resources.
Catholic Schools NSW is pleased to confirm Friday, 10 May 2024, as the date for the 2024 Combined Disability and Behaviour Symposium.
Presenters confirmed for the symposium include:
Professor Donna Cross – Chief Behaviour Advisor, NSW Government
Dr Matt Capp – Universal Design for Learning
Dr Helen Street – Contextual Wellbeing
Additional information about the symposium and an updated list of presenters will be shared closer to the date. Registrations will open in February 2024.
As the start of a new school year approaches, parents and carers are being urged to talk with their kids about how to stay safe online after Australia’s eSafety Commissioner recorded a significant increase in cyberbullying reports.
The top five cyberbullying harms reported to eSafety in 2023 were nasty comments or serious name-calling, offensive or upsetting pictures or videos, fake accounts and impersonations, threats of violence, and unwanted contact. Two-thirds of reports (66 per cent) related to cyberbullying of girls, and just under one-third (29 per cent) concerned boys.
This Safer Internet Day (6 February 2024), the eSafety Commissioner encourages more Australians to take three simple actions to improve online safety for themselves and their loved ones: Connect, Reflect, and Protect.
Connect safely by keeping apps and devices secure and reviewing your privacy settings regularly.
Reflect on how your actions online may affect others or your safety.
Protect yourself and others by visiting www.eSafety.gov.au to find out how to stay safe online and report online abuse.
For more information or to access additional resources, click on the following link.