Happy New Year and welcome back to all staff in 2019! I trust all have had a restful and rejuvenating break and are looking forward to what will no doubt be another busy and productive year ahead.  

I know it will be another exciting and enriching year for more than 147,000 students and almost 19,000 teachers and staff who have commenced the year at 306 Catholic schools across Queensland.  

We also welcome the parents and carers who are our partners in Catholic education. 

We are delighted that another two new Catholic schools have opened this year providing an option for a Catholic school education to more families in their growing areas. The new schools are:  

• St Joseph’s College, Coomera (prep to year 4 and year 7) 
• Good Samaritan Catholic College, Bli Bli (prep to year 3 and year 7)  

There will be many firsts along the way this year for the 11,000 Preps who will begin their Catholic education journey and at the other end of schooling our Year 11 cohort will be the first to enter the new system of senior assessment and tertiary entrance.

All of our schools have put in considerable effort over the last three years to ensure that teachers are well prepared for the new systems and that families understand what the changes will mean for their children. 

Equally, we want to ensure that the 2019 Year 12 cohort, who will be the last to go through the OP system, have a rich and rewarding education experience in their final year at school. 

On behalf of the Queensland Catholic Education Commission, I extend my best wishes to all school and education communities for a rewarding, safe and enriching year ahead. 

We will be working closely with you throughout the year to support you in providing high quality education grounded in our Catholic values and traditions. 

Back to school 2019

The Secretariat has welcomed three new staff members this month.  

As previously noted, Yvonne Ries has commenced in the role of Director Education. 

Additionally, Adam Blair has begun as a Financial Analyst and Edwin Choi has taken over the position of NAPLAN Online Coordinator. 

I take this opportunity to again welcome Yvonne, Adam and Edwin to the Secretariat and to the work of Catholic education in Queensland. 

(New QCEC staff L-R: Edwin Choi, Yvonne Ries and Adam Blair)

QCEC will host a Parliamentary Reception at the Premiers’ Hall, Parliamentary Annexe in Brisbane on Tuesday 30 April 2019.

Date claimers for this event have been sent and formal invitations will follow shortly.

This will be an important occasion to outline some of our current key education priorities and engage with Members of Parliament from all political parties. We are very hopeful that a strong contingent of representatives from all Catholic School Authorities will be able to attend.

Information sessions for teachers considering applying for certification as a Highly Accomplished Teacher or Lead Teacher will be held in coming weeks in all dioceses.

The sessions will also be of interest to principals and school leaders.

Each session provides an overview of the certification process.

Details of the sessions can be found on the QCEC website here.

This year the Trade Training Centre Forum and the VET Symposium will be combined into a three-day forum, 22 – 24 May, at the Australian Catholic University Leadership Centre Brisbane.  

Two internationally recognised keynote presenters have been confirmed for the forum along with key leaders from government, QCAA and QTAC and workshops from industry projects in the Gateway to Industry Schools Program.   

Save the date now for this important event on the VET calendar.

A flyer outlining the program and providing registration details will be published shortly. 

2019 Queensland Reconciliation Awards - nominations now open

Safer Internet Day - Tuesday 5 February