At the heart of Catholic education is our mission to share our faith, and form within our staff and students, a deep understanding of Catholic teaching, and to foster an active and committed practice of worship, service and outreach.

As the Congregation for Catholic Education highlighted, the ecclesial nature of the Catholic school "is written in the very heart of its identity as a teaching institution... and by reason of its educational activity, "in which faith, culture and life are brought into harmony". 

With the changing nature of society and the role of the church in secular life, the mission of Catholic schools is more important than ever to our work of educating children and young people. 

The release, last Sunday, of the six discernment papers for the Fifth Plenary Council of Australia (see story below), presents an opportunity for Catholic schools to engage with this discussion and the questions posed by the discernment and writing groups.

For instance, the first discernment paper on how God is calling the church to be missionary and evangelising, highlights the fact that our schools are often the most regular places of encounter of the young and their parents with the faith.

It offers a number of proposals for change, and to strengthen the way Catholic education serves its mission, including:

• consideration of further opportunities for enhancing the preferential option for the poor
• greater collaboration between state and territory jurisdictions and dioceses to ensure mission and evangelisation remain a constant focus in Catholic schools
• empowering the National Catholic Education Committee's Faith Formation and Religious Education Standing Committee to provide leadership formation for senior school and system leaders nationally and supported to develop strategies for the faith formation of students and families
• responding to the needs of Catholic children in public schools (particularly secondary schools) and provide adequate specialist resources, such as paid personnel

As the paper notes, "Catholic schools have been successful in many ways, but we need to continue to review the effectiveness of the culture of our Catholic schools and the courses that they offer, especially in religious education, even as we seek to engage the parents of those who attend these schools".

I invite you to engage with the discernment papers within your local communities, as we look towards the Plenary Assemblies. 

Jacinta Collins 
Executive director 

The six discernment papers have been released for the Fifth Plenary Council of Australia which Archbishop Timothy Costelloe SDB says signifies the latest milestone as the Church considers its present circumstances and discerns its future.

Six discernment and writing groups, one each for the six national themes for discernment that emerged from the Council’s Listening and Dialogue phase, were tasked with writing papers to bring some major themes and issues into focus.

“The papers are the fruits of communal discernment. The aim of the discernment process was to draw upon the lived faith and experiences of more than 220,000 Australians, the living tradition of the Church, sacred Scripture, papal teachings and additional insights from outside the Church,” said Archbishop Costelloe, the Plenary Council president.

Archbishop Costelloe said the papers are an important contribution to the Church in Australia’s ongoing discernment towards the Plenary Council.

“While not the final word on the six thematic areas which emerged from the Listening and Dialogue process, I encourage everyone to receive them in the spirit of faith and discernment with which they have been written,” he said.

“They both invite and challenge us to continue to ‘listen to what the Spirit is saying’.”

Each paper provides a reflection on some elements of the relevant pastoral reality, articulates a theological vision, outlines a number of challenges to be overcome, suggests prioritised questions to be answered and develops some proposals for change.

Council of Catholic School Parents NSW/ACT executive director Peter Grace, who is the chair of the Missionary and Evangelising discernment and writing group, said its discernment paper “names the challenging realities we face as a Church in Australia in the 21st century”.

“It is a call to action for God’s people, particularly those entrusted with making decisions that set the course to be followed by the Church in Australia,” he said.

“I hope that people will read and reflect on the paper with open minds and open hearts and will be stirred by the Holy Spirit to be agents of mission and evangelisation.”

Download the discernment papers 

The Australian Government has announced the location of nine new Regional University Centres that will support students to remain in regional Australia while they study for a tertiary qualification.

The government is providing $15 million to establish the centres across regional Australia, including $6 million to fund student places in Albany in Western Australia; Kadina in South Australia; Roma, and St George and Dirranbandi in Queensland; Wonthaggi in Victoria; and Ulladulla, Kempsey, Parkes and Taree in NSW.

Federal Minister for Education Dan Tehan said "every Australian, no matter where they live, should be able to attend university".

"If you live in regional Australia you are half as likely to attend a tertiary institution as someone who lives in a capital city," Minister Tehan said. 

"Our government is putting regional and rural students at the centre of our focus by advancing the recommendations made by Denis Napthine in the National Regional, Rural and Remote Education Strategy.

Federal Minister for Regional Education Andrew Gee said the new centres will provide opportunities for students in country Australia to gain a tertiary qualification without leaving their community and support networks.

"This is another opportunity for our regional areas to share in the social, economic and cultural benefits of tertiary education and help them get back on their feet," Minister Gee said.

"This is about equality of opportunity for country people, and giving them the same access to education as their city cousins.

More information is available via the website

New data from the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) shows three in four parents (76 per cent) kept their children home from school or childcare due to COVID-19.

The fourth Household Impacts of COVID-19 Survey found that many of these parents made changes to their work arrangements to care for their children, including:

• 38 per cent* working from home 
• 22 per cent reducing or changing working hours 
• 13 per cent taking leave from work

Women (46 per cent*) were almost three times as likely to have stayed at home to look after their children on their own compared to men (17 per cent*).

Parents also reported difficulties experienced by their children while learning from home including:

• 58 per cent* reported difficulties concentrating 
• 49 per cent* feeling lonely 
• 33 per cent* experiencing feelings of anxiety
• 15 per cent lack of access to a stable internet connection

Proportions marked with an asterisk (*) have a margin of error >10 percentage points which should be considered when using this information.

The National Catholic Education Commission is the peak body for Catholic Education in Australia advocating for a just allocation of public monies to ensure equitable access to Catholic schools, providing national educational policy leadership, and working collaboratively to deliver quality educational outcomes aligned to the mission of the Catholic Church.

Positions available:

Senior Education Advisor

• Educational policy and legislation
• National school reform, the Australian Curriculum and the learning agenda
• School governance and educational performance
• School funding and accountability
• Work collaboratively with internal and external stakeholders including government agencies
• Policy development
  
  

Data Research Analyst (Performance)

• Analysis and reporting on national data to support the NCEC operations
• Researching matters related to the performance of the students in Catholic schools such as NAPLAN, PISA, other academic indicators, wellbeing trends, data related to the religious education and faith formation
• Researching aspects of school performance such as productivity, market share, parental and stakeholder opinions, and workforce data
• Preparing financial modelling and manipulation of funding data to support strategy and engagement with government
  
  

Data Research Analyst (Data Analytics and Financial Modelling)

• Analysis and reporting on national data, financial data and funding models to support the NCEC operations using a range of datasets including Australian Government Department of Education, Skills and Employment’s School Census data and the ACARA My School data
• Validating, cleaning, and combining these datasets for various uses and reports
• Financial modelling using the NCEC funding estimation tool
• Updating the NCEC funding estimation model with government data and manipulation of the model to support NCEC strategy and engagement with government

How to apply

Download the information pack via www.ncec.catholic.edu.au for a full position description and application details.

Applications close Monday, 22 June 2020.

NESLI’s Staff Wellbeing Toolkit has proven to be an affordable and adaptable intervention to increase levels of wellbeing and social capital in schools, with more than 7,000 staff across 500 schools having completed the toolkit, and 98 per cent of participants reporting an increase in wellbeing.

The toolkit has three key aims:​

• to enable individuals to take a proactive approach to their own wellbeing and develop the mindsets and behaviours which will support them through challenging times
• to enable professional communities to work collaboratively to more effectively support one another’s health and wellbeing
• to contribute to improved student outcomes through enhancing staff engagement, wellbeing and connectivity

De La Salle College, Ashfield director of Faith & Mission John Dunn said staff who participated in the program at the college said it was highly valuable and helpful, both professionally and personally.

"It was a very fruitful and highly enjoyable program for our staff," John said. "We have all benefited in many ways from having participated in the program.​"
 
The toolkit costs $95 plus GST per participant. Limited enrolments and expressions of interest are currently being accepted.   

For more information visit the website

A few highlights of excited students and staff returning to classroom learning last week and commemorating National Reconcilation Week.  

Year 12 students from O'Connor Catholic College, Armidale in NSW organised morning tea for teachers and staff, and wrote personal thank you cards for each staff member.

Year 11 and 12 students from Caroline Chisholm Catholic College, Braybrook in Victoria showed their 'strength in spirit' as they completed their first week of classroom learning. 

Principal Br Nicholas Harsas of Holy Spirit Catholic Primary, Carnes Hill in NSW has gone to great effort to welcome back the school community. Photo via Fairfield Champion.

For National Reconciliation Week Aboriginal storyteller Larry Brandy visited Holy Trinity Early Learning Centre, Curtin in ACT sharing Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander culture and stories to an engaged group of children. 

Following is a listing of websites with information for Catholic schools and families in relation to the impact of COVID-19.

Health information - www.health.gov.au

Further information is also available via the National Coronavirus Health Information Line on 1800 020 080. It operates 24 hours a day, seven days a week. If you require translating or interpreting services, call 131 450.

Catholic Education National, State and Territory Bodies

National – www.ncec.catholic.edu.au

ACT – www.cg.catholic.edu.au

New South Wales – www.csnsw.catholic.edu.au

Northern Territory – www.ceont.catholic.edu.au

Queensland – www.qcec.catholic.edu.au

South Australia – www.cesa.catholic.edu.au

Tasmania - www.catholic.tas.edu.au

Victoria – www.cecv.catholic.edu.au

Western Australia - www.cewa.edu.au

Alternatively, contact your local diocesan education office or school for further information.

COVIDSafe App to make tracing easier

The COVIDSafe app has been launched to help slow the spread of COVID-19. COVIDSafe will speed up the process of identifying people who have been in close contact with someone diagnosed with coronavirus, quickly stopping further spread of the virus in the community. The app is completely voluntary and can be downloaded via app stores. 

Resources during restrictions for Mass services

The Australian Catholic Bishops Conference is providing access to a range of liturgy resources to support the prayer life of parishioners and families during the restrictions on Mass services including Sunday Liturgy resources, links to online Mass services and pray resources. Visit the ACBC website for more information

Loving God,
Creator of heaven and earth and all that is in them,
You created us in your image and made us stewards of all your creation, of our common home.
You blessed us with the sun, water and bountiful land so that all might be nourished.

Open our minds and touch our hearts, so that we may attend to your gift of creation.
Help us to be conscious that our common home belongs not only to us, but to all future generations, and that it is our responsibility to preserve it.
May we help each person secure the food and resources that they need.

Be present to those in need in these trying times, especially the poorest and those most at risk of being left behind. Transform our fear, anxiety and feelings of isolation into hope so that we may experience a true conversion of the heart.

Help us to show creative solidarity in addressing the consequences of this global pandemic,
Make us courageous to embrace the changes that are needed in search of the common good,
Now more than ever may we feel that we are all interconnected, in our efforts to lift up the cry of the earth and the cry of the poor.

We make our prayer through Christ our Lord.

Amen

- Common prayer for the fifth anniversary of Laudato Si’

Photo: Pexels