The Commission met last week on Monday 19 July and this meeting included its biennial joint meeting with Catholic School Parents Queensland.   

A number of guest presenters shared their findings with us in the areas of parent engagement and student wellbeing. It was a pleasure to welcome Dr Linda Willis from the University of Queensland’s School of Education. Linda shared some of the findings of her work on parent engagement. 

Staff from Cairns Catholic Education also joined us to share the findings of their diocese-wide student wellbeing survey and to discuss how they are using the information to shape responses to wellbeing needs in schools.  

The Commission discussed a number of other key issues including an update to QCEC’s Inclusive Practices Position Statement and funding for the School Chaplaincy program. 

On Monday this week I took part in a workshop discussing the Federal Government’s development of the Direct Income Measure of Capacity to Contribute.  

The Direct Income Measure is the instrument the Government plans to use to calculate each school’s Capacity to Contribute, when calculating funding.  The measure will replace the existing SES score and results from a recommendation by the National School Resourcing Board. 

While the details of this work remain confidential, it is important that Catholic schools have a voice in the development of this measure which will directly impact on future funding. 

Queensland Catholic Education Commission’s Highly Accomplished and Lead Teacher Network Days for Catholic School Authority Assessors took place in Brisbane recently. 

Assessors were acknowledged for their hard work and perseverance in completing the National Assessor Training Program. 

The Network Days brought assessors together to create a ‘community practice’, and to finalise Stage One assessments for the 13 teachers from Catholic schools who have applied for either Highly Accomplished or Lead Teacher certification.  

Dr Lee-Anne Perry AM Executive Director QCEC and Catherine Wilson Assistant Principal Curriculum, St Patrick’s Primary School Bundaberg 

Almost 40 participants took part in the QCEC Online Assessment Symposium at the Australian Catholic University Leadership Centre in Brisbane last week. 

The main highlights of the symposium were the two keynote speakers: Dr Jenny Donovan from the Department of Education NSW and Debra Masters from Education Services Australia.  

Jenny has been seconded to the Australian Curriculum and Assessment Authority (ACARA) to lead the National Learning Progressions and Online Formative Assessment Initiative.  

This project is currently in the discovery phase and initial findings will be presented to Education Ministers in December.  

Debra Masters demonstrated some current national formative assessment practices including the latest thinking on how evidence of student learning is being used more effectively to plan next learning steps.  

The focus was on practical aspects of formative assessment and demonstrated how students can be involved in the process of being able to track their own learning. The symposium concluded with an overall discussion on preferred directions in online assessment and what schools may need to consider in the future. 

Liam Garvey (QCEC), Jenny Donovan, Department of Education, NSW and Edwin Choi (QCEC) 

Last week an important update was circulated in Staff Update #8 which included information on some of the key issues around backpay and comparability with the proposed agreement for Department of Education staff.  

Please ensure staff have access to this important update from Catholic school employers. 

EB9 developments are being regularly updated via the EB website.

Information Sessions for the 2020 round of Highly Accomplished and Lead Teacher (HAT and LT) certification for teachers in Queensland Catholic schools are being run around the State in September and October.    

Interested teachers from all Catholic schools are encouraged to attend a 90 minute information session about the process for Certification. Catholic Education Office staff, principals and school leaders provide important support to teachers undertaking HAT and LT certification and are encouraged to also attend. 

To register for any of these sessions please click on the links below: 

Brisbane North (Friday 6 September) 

Brisbane South (Thursday 12 September) 

Rockhampton (Monday 16 September) 

Townsville (Tuesday 17 September) 

Toowoomba (Wednesday 9 October) 

Congratulations to all the Catholic school communities that participated in the 2019 Peter Doherty Awards for Excellence in STEM Education. 

Amy York (pictured) from St John’s Catholic School, Roma, was awarded the Outstanding Senior STEM Student Award alongside Ignatius Park College, Townsville, staff member Annette Gregory who received the Outstanding STEM Support Officer Award. 

This is a remarkable achievement for awardees, whose participation in the program saw them demonstrate skills and prowess across specialised areas of STEM education. 

Source: St John’s Catholic School – Interim Queensland Chief Scientist Professor Paul Bertsch, Amy York and Education Minister Grace Grace  

The Queensland Catholic Education Commission is proud to support the Wisdom and Courage: Driving Change Conference which will be held in Townsville in October. 

The conference welcomes those working in Catholic Education, with a focus on improving educational outcomes for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children and young people. 

Hosted by Townsville Catholic Education, the event will also provide networking opportunities for delegates to explore the current strategies to strengthen community, identity and culture through education. 

The conference will take place from Monday 14 October to Wednesday 16 October 2019 at The Ville Resort & Casino, Townsville. 

For more information or to register click here. 

 St Clare’s Catholic Primary School, Yarrabilba, celebrated a blessing and opening ceremony yesterday to mark the completion of the stage two expansion project. 

Stage two upgrades included the opening of the middle years classrooms and playground, the San Damiano Prayer Sanctuary and the school’s library extension. 

Principal Michael McInerney and Very Rev John Conway cutting the cake 

I would like to offer a sincere thank you to the Australian Catholic University (ACU) for their sponsorship contribution to Catholic Education Week 2019. 

Our sponsors make it possible for QCEC to provide a bursary to each of the Spirit of Catholic Education Award recipients to continue their work in their communities. 

ACU Associate Vice-Chancellor (Queensland), Professor Jim Nyland, joined our staff gathering yesterday to accept a plaque from QCEC in recognition of ACU’s ongoing commitment to Catholic Education Week. 

Professor Jim Nyland, ACU’s Associate Vice-Chancellor for Queensland and Dr Lee-Anne Perry AM Executive Director QCEC 

I would encourage you to participate in a short survey regarding this year’s Spirit of Catholic Education Awards and Catholic Education Week resources and activities.  

All feedback collected from the survey will be considered by the Catholic Education Week Working Group at their 2020 planning day being held in October. 

The survey will be open until Friday 20 September 2019. 

Thank you in advance for any input you are able to offer. 

 Click here to complete the survey. 

Principal - Marist Regional College, Burnie, TAS 

Marist Regional College in Burnie, Tasmania are currently in pursuit of a new school principal. A full position description and information on how to apply can be found here. 

Applications close at 3pm on Tuesday 10 September 2019. 

Director of Schools - Catholic Education Diocese of Wollongong, NSW

The Bishop of the Catholic Diocese of Wollongong, Reverend Brian Mascord, is seeking to appoint a Director of Schools for the Catholic Education Diocese of Wollongong. 

To express your interest, visit the Trak Search website or email jobs@traksearch.com quoting ref number TS1414. 
 
The position will commence January 2020 and applications close Wednesday 11 September 2019. 

View the highlights video from the Catholic Education Week Launch event. 

Register your school for this year’s Day for Daniel Fun Run. 

Early Childhood Educators Day – Wednesday 4 September 2019 

Register for the broadcast of Australia’s Biggest Child Safety Lesson - Thursday 5 September 2019 

Missed a Circular? Below is a list of Circulars that have been issued recently. Use your login to access them.  

085 ACNC Release External Conduct Standards 

086 Commission Meeting Dates in 2020 

087 ATWD Survey Request