I had the opportunity to visit St Fiacre's Catholic Primary School in Leichhardt this week ahead of the annual celebration of World Teachers' Day on 28 October.

St Fiacre's, an inner west Sydney school, is particularly special to me as it's where I held my first teaching position after graduating 30 years ago.

Meeting with school leaders, teachers and students, the visit demonstrated the way in which teachers continue to transform the lives of the students in their care, their commitment to each individual learner and recognition of the pathway each student is on, academically and in the formation of their faith and religious education.

The opportunity to visit school communities and work alongside our leaders and staff is one way NCEC can engage and understand the true impact of Catholic education which supports and impacts the lives of students in a meaningful and positive way every day.

Please join me on Friday October 28 as we celebrate World Teachers’ Day, recognising the contribution and work of over 66,000 teachers and leaders in Catholic schools throughout Australia.

Our teachers make a difference every day, educating, supporting and inspiring more than 785,000 students nationally in our schools.

We thank them for the important role they play in our communities and for the positive impact they have on the lives of students.

World Teachers' Day is held internationally on 5 October. As the day usually falls during the Australian school holidays, we celebrate it on the last Friday in October.

This year’s theme, ‘Hats off to Teachers’ acknowledges the great resilience our teachers have shown in dealing with the challenges of the past few years, so they can give Australian students the best future possible. 

At the national level we continue to acknowledge the role teachers play and the significant way they add value to the social compact of a young person’s journey through their schooling, while recognising the importance of finding solutions to address the challenges the teaching profession is currently facing.  

To our teachers and leaders, I offer my sincere thanks for all your work, commitment to our shared mission, and your passion and dedication for teaching and learning.

We recognise, as do our school communities, families and students, the benefits of quality teaching and the important role you play in inspiring the next generation. Teacher’s change people’s lives every day.

Happy World Teachers’ Day.

Please share your celebrations on social media using #WTD2022 and download the AITSL celebration kit available from the AITSL website.

Sally Egan 
National Catholic Education acting executive director