Yesterday the Commission held its May meeting with a very full agenda.

The Commission once again nominated Carmel Nash as Deputy Chair and I thank Carmel for accepting the nomination and continuing in this role.

The Commission also received an update on workforce data.  At a time when Catholic school enrolments are growing and our workforce demographics are changing it is important for the Commission to understand the potential impacts on our schools in the future.

The Commission also discussed feedback provided from Commission members, Queensland Bishops, and our other delegating authorities as part of the current review of the QCEC Constitution. All feedback will now be provided to the Queensland Bishops for their consideration.

Another important part of the meeting was consideration of a number of capital assistance program matters. The Commission is giving careful consideration to various elements of our capital assistance program to ensure that the limited government capital funding available for distribution is managed in the most effective, efficient and equitable manner.

There were also updates on key pieces of work being undertaken by QCEC including the Highly Accomplished and Lead Teacher Certification program, the Nationally Consistent Collection of Data on School Students with Disability, and the Non State Schools Transport Assistance Scheme.

This week we welcomed Deputy Director of the National Catholic Education Commission, Sally Egan, to the QCEC office.

Sally attended the Commission meeting and also held discussions with QCEC Directors.

Her visit also included a meeting with the Executive members of the Catholic Secondary Principal’s Association and the Executive Director of Catholic School Parents Queensland Carmel Nash.  Sally was also able to see some of our classrooms in action at All Hallows’ School. We are most appreciative of the staff and students of All Hallows’ for their welcome and sharing.

Last week our independent Capital Assistance Assessment Committee came together for a professional development day.

It was an opportunity for committee members to review last year’s processes and to look to the 2021 Capital round and continue to enhance their shared understanding and application of the QCEC capital assessment processes.

The meeting was also an opportunity to welcome the committee’s newest member Brenden Quabba.

The Queensland Parliamentary Legal Affairs and Safety Committee is seeking feedback from secondary school leadership teams on the nature and extent of hate crimes and serious vilification in Queensland.

This feedback will assist the Committee’s review into the matter before they report to Parliament by 31 January 2022. The review will consider whether there is evidence of increasing instances of serious vilification in Queensland and the effectiveness of section 131A of the Anti-Discrimination Act 1991 (the Act) and other existing Queensland laws responding to hate crimes.

Catholic School Authorities are reminded to encourage secondary school leadership teams to make submissions no later than 12 noon on 12 July, 2021.

More information about the inquiry and how to make a submission can be found here.

This year marks the 160^th anniversary of the arrival of the Sisters of Mercy in Queensland.

Many celebrations to mark this occasion have taken place at Catholic schools and other church agencies across Queensland and I was delighted to attend most recently the All Hallows’ School 160 year Foundation Day liturgy  in Brisbane.

The history of the Sisters of Mercy began with Catherine McAuley and the founding sisters in Ireland. We will be forever grateful for the work undertaken by the Sisters who have continued to provide assistance to those in need.

Image source: brisbanemercy.org.au website

Last week QCEC Director - Education Yvonne Ries and I met with officials from the Spanish Embassy to discuss opportunities to support Spanish lessons, teacher exchange programs and school twinning initiatives in Queensland Catholic schools.

The meeting provided an excellent opportunity to discuss the International teacher exchange program, language and cultural assistants program, and professional development courses for Spanish teachers.

We thank the embassy staff for this opportunity to discuss the delivery of Spanish programs in Queensland Catholic schools.

Photo L-R: Spanish Education Advisor Bárbara Bello, QCEC Director-Education Yvonne Ries, QCEC Executive Director Dr Lee-Anne Perry AM and Counsellor for Education to the Embassy of Spain David Ferrán.

Applications for the Non State Schools Transport Assistance Scheme are now open.

Queensland Catholic School families have until 31 May to submit applications for financial assistance for Semester 1 travel which includes travel to and from non-state schools in Queensland from January to June.

QCEC has developed an introductory video to help school communities understand how the NSSTAS works and how they can apply.

The NSSTAS is a joint initiative of the Queensland Catholic Education Commission and Independent Schools Queensland and is funded by the Queensland Government.

The finalists for the Australian Education Awards 2021 have been announced with six Queensland Catholic schools selected in the school awards category and one staff member named for individual awards.

I would like to congratulate staff and schools selected as finalists and we wish you all the best when the winners are announced at the awards gala on 27 August in Sydney.

The awards showcase top performing teachers and schools that make a profound difference to the lives of young people.

Queensland Catholic school finalists are listed below.

School Awards:

Secondary School of the Year – Non-Government
St Joseph’s Nudgee College

Boarding School of the Year
St Ursula’s College, Toowoomba

Regional School of the Year
St Patrick’s College, Townsville

PeopleBench Best School Strategic Plan
Brigidine College, Indooroopilly

Best Student Wellbeing Program
Stuartholme School

Best Professional Learning Program
Loreto College, Coorparoo

Individual Awards:

Department Head of the Year
Kelli Chapman, St. Patrick’s College Townsville

For more information about the awards click here.

A National Mass to celebrate 200 years of Australian Catholic Education will be held on the feast of Our Lady Help of Christians on Monday, 24 May.

At the heart of the celebrations will be Mass at St Mary’s Cathedral, Sydney, with concurrent Masses to be held in many other dioceses around the country, many of which will be live-streamed.

Further details and links to the live-stream events are available via the National Catholic Education Commission’s 200 Years microsite.

This week Queensland Catholic School communities are invited to celebrate Laudato Si’ Week, a celebration of the whole Church and its journey to ‘ecological conversion’.

More information about the event is available here. You may also be interested to watch the video about Laudato Si’ Week below.

Video source: laudatosiweek.org website

Queensland World Teachers’ Day will be held on Friday, 29 October. 

Help us to celebrate this exciting day by thanking teachers for the fantastic role they play within our schools and in the wider community. 

More information on this year’s resources will be available soon. #ThankQldTeachers

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

2021 Circulars 

049     Updated Student Transfer Note
050     Occupational Violence and Aggression Prevention Strategy
051     Student Background Data Collection – Key Dates
052     Federal Budget 2021
053     Queensland Parliamentary Legal Affairs and Safety Committee inquiry into serious vilification and hate crimes
054     Implementation of the Child Safe Standards
055     Commencement of New Failure to Report and Failure to Protect Provisions