I would like to take this opportunity to wish all Year 12 students well in their final exams and onward journey from school.

Despite the challenges faced this year, Catholic school communities across Queensland have continued to provide outstanding support to their senior students and maintain a level of normality during their final year.

You can view a gallery of images on the QCEC website provided by schools showcasing some of the wonderful events they were able to hold for their class of 2020.

The Prime Minister Scott Morrison  and Minister for Education Dan Tehan MP shared a message to the class of 2020 which you can view here.

Best wishes to all schools for the upcoming exam period.

The Commission held its October meeting yesterday with a very full agenda across a wide range of topics from NAPLAN to capital funding.

Looking forward, the Commission also discussed a number of programs to be implemented in 2021, a reminder that the end of the year is not far away.

The Commission has also reviewed its strategic plan, which is due for renewal next year.

A number of updated QCEC position statements were endorsed by Commission members.  These are now being finalised and Catholic School Authorities will be advised once the statements are available on the QCEC website.

The National Catholic Education Commission met last week. The Commission was joined by Minister Tehan who shared his reflections on the COVID impact on schools. The Minister highlighted the wonderful way in which school communities have responded to the challenges and opportunities presented by COVID. The financial impact on the Federal budget was noted and the Minister flagged that all programs would be under careful scrutiny in future budgets. He reminded the Commission of the importance of non-government schools ensuring that there were tangible benefits to parents, to the Government and to the wider public from the considerable Federal investment in non-government schools.

The Commission spent time examining national student outcome data, enrolment trends and school fees and the implications of these for continuing to fulfil the mission of Catholic education.

The 2021-2023 NCEC Strategic Plan was approved. It has three priority areas: enlivened faith formation and religious education; support the continual improvement of educational outcomes for all students; responding to the needs of families through strong advocacy for recurrent and capital funding, legislation and policy.

Last week QCEC emailed more than 460 candidates in the state election to highlight to them some of the key issues facing Catholic schools in Queensland.

As I have previously mentioned, we have focused our advocacy on recurrent and capital funding, family engagement, kindergarten construction, and the introduction of Position of Authority offences to increase student protection.

These are important issues for Queensland Catholic schools in the upcoming 2020 Queensland election.

The QCEC website has a dedicated election page where you can see the various party responses on the key issues and also links to more information on these topics.

Visit our election page here or view our video below.

Queensland World Teachers’ Day on Friday, 30 October is fast approaching and schools should by now have received their commemorative ribbons for all staff to wear on WTD. #ThankQldTeachers.

Resources
Resources to help schools celebrate World Teachers’ Day are now available on the website.

Podcasts are live
Click here to listen to the WTD podcast recorded by Daniel Allen, Music Teacher at Padua College (see below).

Congratulations to the six Catholic school Highly Accomplished and Lead Teachers who successfully achieved certification in 2020.

The successful applicants are:

Highly Accomplished Teacher

• Jenny Balanay, St Ursula’s College, Yeppoon
• Henning Kunkenrenken, St Benedict’s Catholic College, Mango Hill, Archdiocese of Brisbane
• Tamara Lacey, Our Lady Help of Christians, Earlville, Diocese of Cairns
• Thomas Lucas, Ignatius Park College, Cranbrook
• Emma Draisey, Aquinas College, Ashmore, Archdiocese of Brisbane

Lead Teacher

• Leah Dempster, St Mary’s College, Diocese of Toowoomba

Certification is the result of a rigorous process with the assessment of teaching practice made against the Australian Professional Standards for Teachers (APST) in two stages of assessment.

Certification at this level formally recognises the abilities, experience, knowledge and skills of teachers and recognises and promotes quality teaching. It is designed to benefit all of those involved in the process, including teachers, school leaders, education systems and, most importantly, students.

Assessors Required
An important part of the certification process is the role played by Assessors in determining whether applicants meet the criteria for certification.

Expressions of Interest for HAT and LT 2021 Assessors are now open. Click here to apply.

Please note that applications will close on Monday 26 October 2020.

Notice of Intention to Apply for HAT and LT Certification

It is important that QCT is able to accurately ascertain applicant numbers for 2021 and for QCEC to forward plan the deployment of assessors to undertake the assessment of HAT and LT teachers.

We ask that anyone considering submitting an application for certification in 2021 complete an online Notice of Intention to Apply for Certification.

The Notice of Intention to Apply will open on the HAT and LT Certification website on Tuesday 27 October and close on Tuesday 17 November.

I look forward to attending the 2020 TCS Excellence Awards this evening to congratulate the award recipients for their excellence in teaching, learning and leadership.

The awards recognise members of the TCS community who create exemplary places of learning where every student experiences academic success and comes to know and experience the loving presence of Jesus.

10 winners across three major categories will be announced from 28 finalists at tonight’s ceremony, with the winners names will be released across social media later this week.

I also look forward to presenting the winner of the Spirit of Catholic Education Award (Diocese of Toowoomba), Jacinta Jensen, from Good Samaritan College, with a plaque to acknowledge her dedication to the Catholic education community.

Jermia Ahmat–Nona of St Patrick’s College, Townsville, has been selected to represent Queensland Catholic schools at the 2021 National Schools Constitutional Convention in March.

The Year 10 student was selected after she presented a powerful speech at the Queensland Schools Constitutional Convention this week. I would also like to congratulate Anushka Tanna from Ryan Catholic College, as Anushka too was selected to represent at the National Schools Constitutional Convention.

The Queensland Schools Constitutional Convention will continue today and the announcement of further speakers to present at the National convention will follow.

Image source: St Patrick’s College Facebook page (pictured: Jermia Ahmat-Nona)

The National Catholic Education Commission has released an updated program for the Faith in the Future Virtual Symposium to be held on Friday, 30 October from 11am-3pm.

This free event will be held in the lead up to the celebration of 200 years of Catholic education.

You can read the program here.

Preparations are well underway for Catholic Education Week (CEW) 2021. The celebration will run from 25-31 July and further information will be provided as it becomes available. In the meantime, we encourage you to visit the CEW website here.

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

2020 Circulars

101     2021 Application Information Sessions
102     Teacher Suspensions and Cancellations
103     Federal Budget 2020
104     Highly Accomplished and Lead Teachers (HAT and LT) for 2021
105     National Disability Strategy (NDS) - Response to Stage 2 Consultation Position Paper
106     Review of the FSK Foundation Skills Training Package