Next week, we celebrate Family Week (8-14 August) as part of our bicentenary celebrations of Catholic education in Australia. While the current restrictions will make it difficult for many school communities to celebrate through their normal liturgies and gatherings, I encourage our schools to mark this occasion in a significant way. 

Since the very beginning, families were often the driving force behind the foundation and operation of Catholic schools. Lay people and many married couples, ran small Catholic schools, such as James and Eliza Hayes who taught students from 1838 at St Patrick's Parramatta, and Mr and Mrs William James from Sydney who established the first Catholic school in a temporary chapel on Pirie Street in Adelaide in 1844.  

With the removal of government funding to Catholic schools around the 1880s, Catholic education continued to grow through the work of religious priests, sisters and brothers, with the ongoing financial support of families where possible, and the continuing commitment of parents to send their children to a Catholic school. 

Today, Catholic schools are grateful for the support of successive governments recognising the important contribution we make educating one in five school aged children. However, our parents and families continue to support the growth and sustainability of Catholic schools through tuition fees, contributions to building levies, and through fundraising and volunteering in a host of ways. 

Parent engagement and the active involvement of parents and carers in their children's education cannot be under-estimated. The research shows children have more successful outcomes when their parents are closely connected to their learning and school communities.

In celebrating Family Week, we can be grateful for those parents and families who contributed to the foundation and growth of Catholic education in Australia during very difficult circumstances. 

It's not lost on me, that over the last 18 months our parents and carers have been called to take on greater involvement by supporting their children's learning at home during COVID-19 restrictions, with many families facing their own challenging personal circumstances during this period. 

We also acknowledge the work of Catholic School Parents Australia, our diocesan and school-based parent networks who contribute so much to the engagement and representation of Catholic school families, and advocating for school choice and the needs of Catholic school students and communities.

We have a great legacy to build on as we face the future of Catholic education with faith and determination, just like those families that came before us. 

Jacinta Collins 
National Catholic education executive director

Above: St Anthony of Padua Catholic College Austral student and family. Source Sydney Catholic Schools. 

Catholic schools across Australia will celebrate Family Week from 8 – 14 August, to
recognise the significant contribution parents, carers and families have made to the
foundation, growth and continuity of Catholic schools in Australia over 200 years.
Family Week coincides with the Feast Day of Australia’s first Saint, Mary MacKillop, who was a passionate educator and advocate for children and families, particularly those from disadvantaged backgrounds.

National Catholic Education executive director Jacinta Collins said the bicentenary is an opportunity to acknowledge the families of the 777,000 students, and their essential role across 1,755 Catholic school communities.

"With the tremendous support of parents and carers, including those who were lay teachers in our early schools, Catholic education has grown to serve one in five students and provide faith, excellence and access to Catholic education for millions of students,” she said.

“For nearly 75 per cent of that period families, alongside parishes and religious
congregations, sustained and built schools across Australia, in large part without any
government financial support.

“Today, with greater government support, our families continue to contribute through school fees and building levies to maintain and build new schools.

“Our families work in partnership with their schools in formation and learning support, volunteering, parents and friends groups, fundraising and a host of other activities that contribute to the growth and success of their children and their schools.

“The past two years have made further demands on parents and carers with long periods of home learning for many communities due to the COVID pandemic, and as we continue to face an unpredictable future, our families will be at the forefront with teachers in ensuring continuity of learning and formation for their children.

“On this milestone occasion, we acknowledge our First Nations families who were the first educators in Australia and recognise the contribution they have made over two centuries to the spirituality and cultural heritage of our schools and nation.

“Catholic education also recognises parents as the first educators of their children, and the critical role they play in fostering their child’s successful learning and development," Jacinta said. 

Catholic education’s peak parent body Catholic School Parents Australia (CSPA) supports Catholic school families through resources, consultation, advocacy and representation.

Father of five children and CSPA chair Karl Rodrigues said the Family Week celebrations are an important opportunity to recognise the contribution of families and demonstrates the confidence and faith parents have in Catholic schools.

“Over the past 200 years in Australia parents have chosen a Catholic education to
complement the important role of families in supporting their children to grow to their fullest potential," he said.

“Catholic education provides a holistic education for children, one that is balanced across academic, spiritual, physical, cultural and motivational dimensions, as well as being based on respect and values,” Karl said.

Schools can access digital resources to celebrate locally in a variety of ways including liturgies and gatherings, distributing the national prayer for families, and through student activities such as interviewing their family members, drawing a picture of their family, and learning about Mary MacKillop. 

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Above: (L-R) Catholic educators Jayne Mohr St Thomas More Primary School, Andrea Dillon Lumen Christi Primary School, Martin Ryan Damascus College, Jason Sparks St Alipius Primary School and Bernadette Lynch St Aloysius Primary School.

New video resources are now available for school leaders and teachers to support the delivery of Religious Education in Catholic schools across Australia.

The series of professional learning videos are designed to encourage discussion among Catholic educators through the unpacking of the Framing Paper on Religious education in Australian Catholic Schools (2018).

Produced by the National Catholic Education Commission’s Faith Formation and Religious Education (FFRE) Standing Committee, the resources were developed in collaboration with Catholic educators across the country.

National Catholic Education executive director Jacinta Collins said the resources provide a practical understanding of the framework and support school communities in faith formation.

“Faith formation lies at the heart of the work of Catholic schools,” Jacinta said. “These resources assist teachers and school leaders to reflect and deepen their understanding of the place of Catholic theology in Religious Education, and aim to build professional collaboration among staff."

FFRE Standing Committee chair Sr Elizabeth Dodds RSC said the videos promote dialogue about the practical considerations for an engaging Religious Education program.

“These resources support Religious Education staff to consider the variety of learners in the classroom with their unique life experiences, particular motivations, expectations and aspirations,” Sr Elizabeth said.

“These videos will enliven and energise staff, building their capacity to provide Religious Education which is responsive to their local school context and authentic to the Catholic tradition.”

WATCH THE INTRODUCTION VIDEO BELOW

Image source: Unsplash/Compare Fibre

Research conducted by Monash University's Faculty of Education has found that schools leaders who engaged with their community through communication and compassion-based responses, successfully led their schools through crisis and times of uncertainty.

Monash studied the experiences of eight school leaders across Victoria in 2020 during community lockdown and remote learning period. 

The report Leading in lockdown: Community, communication and compassion in response to the COVID-19 crisis presents data and observations collected from  individual, semi-structured interviews. 

Key findings included:

• school leaders identified the lockdowns heightened their connection and relationships with their wider school community
• members of the community turned to school leaders as calm and authoritative voices during times of confusion
• school leaders identified the challenges of extreme workload and emotional drain on themselves and colleagues
• key impacts for school leaders identified:
  • their attention was predominantly directed to the wellbeing of their communities
  • an increase in the community leadership aspect of their role and the requirement of effective, timely and honest communication
  • demonstrated prospective sensemaking capabilities
  • their ability to generate a positive and productive outcome from their disruptive experiences

Lead researcher and paper author Dr Fiona Longmuir said overall the strongest message from all participants was just how all-encompassing and important wellbeing became during the pandemic.

"Leaders reported that the caring and compassionate aspects of their role were the most necessary as they supported their communities,” Dr Longmuir said in a statement.

The research has provided greater understanding on how educational leaders and stakeholders made sense of and responded to the COVID-19 pandemic.

The findings also highlight how schools and school leaders that have experienced disruption can use their experiences to influence future leadership scenarios in critical times.

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Image source: Pixbay

Across the Catholic Dioceses of Lismore, Sandhurst and education systems, including Catholic Education Northern Territory and Catholic Education Tasmania, staff have utilised software and products from international education software company Texthelp. 

Catholic Education Sandhurst Learner Diversity team leader Joy Ready said over the years Texthelp has provided enormous support. 

"Texthelp has enabled independent access to curriculum for many students in our schools," she said. 

Inclusion Support Services leader at Catholic Education Northern Territory Adriaan Du Plessis said we engaged Texthelp in 2019 for system-wide trialling, which a number of schools across Catholic Education Northern Territory elected to individually continue.

“Throughout 2022 there will be a renewed push across our schools to access Texthelp supports and products.”

Catholic Schools Office Diocese of Lismore inclusion consultant Danny Rankin said we are in our fourth year of using the Texthelp suite and all staff members and students have access to the toolbars.

"We have found that over the four years there is a steady increase of students and staff using the toolbars," Danny said. 

"Across the Diocese we have a range of abilities of students, therefore, our aim is for Texthelp to enable learners access to the curriculum in primary and secondary settings.

"The most effective component of Texthelp is that it is available for all learners, resulting in learners not feeling like they are different from their peers if they access the tools. 

"The variety of the tools and functions of the tools provide a wide range of differentiation that any learner or staff member can dip in and out of any time they need," he said.  

Texthelp is currently offering Australian Catholic educators and families, particularly those in remote learning, access to free sessions for their Read & Write product.  

These sessions can be viewed at any time, all participants can register via links below: 

• Support online and remote learning with Read & Write for Google Chrome (Educators session) 
• Supporting learning at home with Read & Write for Google Chrome for Parents & Carers

Texthelp is a bicentenary partner, supporting the celebrations for the 200 years of Catholic education. 

Catholic Education Week celebrations held across Queensland

Above: St Mary's Charleville students were visited by Bishop of Toowoomba Robert McGuckin and Toowoomba Catholic Schools Formation and Identity staff.

Queensland’s 309 Catholic schools have remembered the past and are looking to the future as they celebrated Catholic Education Week from 25-31 July, with the 2021 theme, A Spirited Tomorrow.

Queensland Catholic Education Commission executive director Dr Lee-Anne Perry said it was exciting to once again highlight the achievements of Catholic education after celebrations were put on hold in 2020.

“Catholic Education Week is a time for us to reflect on the breadth and depth of Catholic education in Queensland and it’s great for our school communities to be able to come together to celebrate once again,” she said in a media release.

Lee-Anne said the sector experienced good growth in 2021 and was providing affordable options for families seeking a Catholic education for their children.

Celebrations across school communities included liturgies, community outreach activities, grandparents days, and a host of other celebrations unique to each school. 

Lee-Anne said 2021 also marked 200 years of Catholic education in Australia.

“The bicentenary of Catholic education in Australia has been a moment to examine our past while fixing our sights on the future,” she said.

“Our theme for Catholic Education Week, A Spirited Tomorrow, reflects the vision of Catholic education our schools aspire to provide.

“It’s an education that is full of life and hope, developing young people able to make a positive contribution and meet their challenges with resilience.”

Lee-Anne said one of the highlights of Catholic Education Week was the presentation of the Spirit of Catholic Education Awards.

“The awards recognise some of the people who make an outstanding contribution to their Catholic school communities,” she said.

Above: Archbishop of Brisbane Mark Coleridge,  Brisbane Catholic Education executive director Pam Betts,  Toowoomba Catholic Schools chief financial officer Julie Payne (representing Executive Director Dr Pat Coughlan), Queensland Catholic Education Commission executive director Dr Lee-Anne Perry at the Catholic Education Week liturgy.

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Catholic school students awarded top prizes at International Youth Music Competition

Above: Guest speaker at Santa Sophia’s Composer’s Club Dr Petar Jovanov, prize winners Anthony Theodosiadis and Marcella Galati, club member Nico Hofma and music coordinator Phil Rooke.

Two students from Santa Sophia Catholic College, Box Hill in the Diocese of Parramatta, have received top prizes in the International Youth Music Competition for their composition. 

Year 10 student Anthony Theodosiadis received a first prize for his 'String Octet in A Major (in 3 movements)' and Year 7 student Marcella Galati received a grand prize with a perfect score of 100 per cent for her work for solo violin and piano piece titled 'Snowstorm'.

"I decided to compose the work in the style of Classical/Romantic music, emulating my study of music written hundreds of years ago, in a style that I felt would best express and showcase my musical ideas," Anthony said.

He is planning to write two additional movements to complete the composition.

Marcella said her composition reflects the expression of emotions and perspectives encountered in the journey of life.

Santa Sophia Catholic College principal Mark De Vries said the dedication shown by Anthony and Marcella is very impressive.

"I have no doubt that we will continue to see great achievements from them both in the near future," he said.

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Toowoomba Catholic schools celebrate staff excellence

Above: St Joseph College Toowoomba student performers and Toowoomba Catholic Schools executive director Dr Pat Coughlan. 

On 29 July Toowoomba Catholic Schools held their annual Excellence Awards ceremony.

The awards identify and showcase practitioners who model, demonstrate and live excellence in their roles every day.

This year over 100 nominations from across the Diocese were received.

Toowoomba Catholic Schools executive director Dr Pat Coughlan said this year’s recipients consistently bring the best ideas and innovations to their teaching, leadership and educational support.

"Without their efforts and influence, exemplary practice remains hidden in pockets and largely unrecognised," he said in a statement. “No system can rise above the capacity of its staff."

"We thank all of our finalists and recognise the invaluable contribution they make to moving our system of schools from great to excellent."

Award recipients:

Excellence in education support

• Teaching and learning support - Joanne Bradford, Our Lady of the Southern Cross College, Dalby
• Administration, finance, and facilities support - Marita Day, Good Samaritan College, Toowoomba
• Volunteer support in a school setting - Katie Mills, Mater Dei Primary School, Toowoomba

Excellence in teaching and learning

• Early career teacher (less than 3 years of teaching experience) - Jade Manteit, Our Lady of the Southern Cross College, Dalby
• Primary expert teacher - Johanna Campbell, St Joseph’s School, Stanthorpe
• Secondary expert teacher - Tammy Banks, St Mary’s College, Toowoomba
• eLearning - Rachel Harlen, St Saviour’s Primary School, Toowoomba

Excellence in leadership

• Emerging leader - Kellie Pritchard, Mater Dei Primary School, Toowoomba
• Middle leadership - Greg Leathart, St Saviour’s College, Toowoomba
• School leadership - Kort Goodman, St Joseph’s College, Toowoomba

Above: Award recipient Marita Day from Good Samaritan College Toowoomba and Dr Pat Coughlan.

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A number of Catholic education leaders across Queensland have been recognised in the ACEL Australia 2021 Queensland Annual Branch Awards.

The awards honour educational leaders who, in the view of their colleagues, have made a significant contribution to the understanding and practices of the teaching profession and educational leadership.

ACEL QLD Branch president Karen Fox said we congratulate the recipients of the 2021 ACEL Queensland Educational Leadership Awards and sincerely thank the many Queensland ACEL members and friends who took the time to highlight and acknowledge the work of their colleagues through the nomination process.

"The list of awardees showcases the strength and diversity of educational leadership in Queensland and the hallmarks of the ACEL community, cross sector, across different roles in a variety of contexts and educational levels, across the regions and across the generations," she said in a statement. 

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From Humble Beginnings: Commemorating 200 years of Catholic education in Australia features a history of the first Catholic school in each existing diocese in Australia. The commemorative book is full colour and includes historical and contemporary images of the schools. It is available in paperback and hardcover versions and would make a great addition to school libraries or as a bicentenary momento.

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Year of St Joseph Prayer Card

Hail, Saint Joseph,
Guardian of the Redeemer,
Spouse of the Blessed Virgin Mary.
To you God entrusted his only Son;
in you Mary placed her trust;
with you Christ became man.
Blessed Joseph, to us too,
show yourself a father
and guide us in the path of life.
Obtain for us grace, mercy and courage,
and defend us from every evil.

Amen

- Australian Catholic Bishops Conference 2021

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