The State and Federal Governments’ Coronavirus response has had impacts for many of our Catholic schools and I thank principals and staff for their vigilance in this matter.

QCEC is being regularly updated by the Department of Education which is providing us with advice from Queensland’s Chief Health Officer Dr Jeannette Young.

All Catholic School Authorities (CSAs) are following the Queensland Health advice in managing students and staff who have returned from visiting China or Hong Kong.

QCEC will continue to distribute to CSAs any updates on the Coronavirus response as soon as they become available. 

Congratulations and welcome to Nicholas Moore who has been appointed by the Australian Catholic Bishops Conference as the new Chair of the National Catholic Education Commission (NCEC).

Nicholas was CEO of Macquarie Group for 10 years before retiring in 2018.

He also chairs Screen Australia, the Sydney Opera House Trust, the Centre for Independent Studies, The Smith Family and NSW PCYC.

Nicholas takes over from outgoing Chair, Greg Crafter.

On behalf of QCEC, I would like to express gratitude and appreciation to Greg for his service to Catholic education, particularly in his role as NCEC Chair.

NCEC will hold its first meeting for the year tomorrow (Thursday) in Sydney.

Read the NCEC media release here. 

Last Friday I and a number of QCEC staff attended the funeral of Aunty Joan Hendriks at Star of the Sea Church, Cleveland.

It was a wonderful celebration of Aunty Joan’s life and her many and varied contributions to her family and community.

The large crowd in attendance was testament to the wonderful love, energy and talents she brought to her family, friends, the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander community, the education community and the Church to name just a few.

Aunty Joan will be sadly missed, and we will look to recognise her in a special way during this year’s Catholic Education Week when we present the Aunty Joan Hendriks Reconciliation Award. 

The first meeting of the year for the Single Bargaining Unit took place yesterday (Tuesday) and further progress was made in the EB9 negotiations.

A staff update will be issued shortly providing more information on the latest developments in negotiations.

These negotiations are important to ensure our school staff are adequately rewarded and that our Catholic schools remain sustainable in the future.

For more information visit the EB website. 

The Queensland Catholic Schools’ New QCE Forum will be held on Thursday 12 March at the Brisbane Convention and Exhibition Centre.  

The forum will explore key issues including the response from the Review into Senior Secondary Schooling, an address on a Future Ready Focus for schools in Queensland, and scaling for external assessment.

There will also be an opportunity to engage with the practices and learnings from Units One and Two in 2019, Instrument-specific marking guides, Internal Endorsement and Academic Care. 

Register here to indicate your attendance.

The Highly Accomplished and Lead Teacher Certification information sessions are underway throughout each of the dioceses.

Please visit the Queensland Catholic Education Commission Highly Accomplished and Lead Teacher website page ‘Key dates’ section for further information.

Alternatively, contact Senior Education Officer – Education, Kate O’Neill, via email at kateo@qcec.catholic.edu.au.

I am pleased to announce that Catholic Church Insurance will become a sponsor for Catholic Education Week in 2020.

The support provided by all Catholic Education Week sponsors contributes significantly to the capacity of the planning committee to develop resources and plan events that play a key role in communicating the distinctive mission of Catholic education across Queensland during the week.

Sponsorship also makes possible the Spirit of Catholic Education Awards.

I take this opportunity to welcome Catholic Church Insurance and to thank our ongoing sponsors Australian Catholic Superannuation and Retirement Fund and Australian Catholic University for their continued support of Catholic Education Week.

I am delighted to welcome Kathleen Jones as QCEC’s new Senior Workplace Relations Adviser.

Kathleen’s new role will see her work alongside Manager Workplace Relations Ray Kelly in helping to guide QCEC’s support to employing authorities with workplace relations matters.

Kathleen has more than 20 years’ experience in industrial and workplace relations and holds qualifications in law and industrial relations.

Secretariat staff recently attended a Spirituality Day with a focus on traditional and social media.

The day was led by Director of the Australian Catholic Office for Film and Broadcasting Rev Dr Richard Leonard SJ who gave an insightful presentation on the impacts of all types of media on all of us but most particularly on young people.

Richard offered us new ways to think about these impacts and helped us reflect on the need to understand the changing uses of mass media if we are to meet our duty of care to the young people in Catholic schools. 

Photo source: institute.mercy.org.au website

Schools are encouraged to nominate for the 2020 Peter Doherty Awards for Excellence in STEM Education.

The awards recognise schools, teachers, students, volunteers, organisations and mentors who demonstrate outstanding contributions to STEM education.

Nominations close 1 April with an awards ceremony to be held on 14 August during National Science Week. 

If you require further information about the awards, email peterdohertyawards@qed.qld.gov.au.

A home safety campaign has been developed by Queensland Fire and Emergency Services to assist families in developing a fire safety plan in the event of a fire.

The State Government’s Queensland Great Escape campaign have developed some very useful resources for school communities.

You can find more information on the website.

Missed a Circular? Below is a list of Circulars that have been issued recently. Use your login to access them.  
 
2020 Circulars 

008         New Chair NCEC

009         Teacher suspensions and cancellations

010         Fact sheets for schools bushfires

011         Specialist disability support in schools

012         Commencement of changes to civil liability for child abuse

013         Grant distribution calculation

014         Student residential address and other information collection