Dear Parents and Carers

I hope Term 3 is going well for you and your children. It’s always a busy term for students and parents, with lots of exciting events for primary schools such as NAIDOC Week, Book Week and excursions. In secondary schools, Year 10 students are choosing subjects, and HSC students are doing trials and prepping for the HSC. In this article, you’ll find some helpful links for you and your HSC student that offer tips, strategies and sound advice on looking after physical and mental health as students approach the exams. 

Around our dioceses, school communities gathered for NAIDOC Week, with Mass and ceremonies to celebrate the history, culture and achievements of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples. Have a look at some beautiful photographs from Wollongong, Bathurst, and Canberra and Goulburn dioceses here.

We are excited to announce that the 2023 Roger O’Sullivan Award is open for entries from Catholic schools. CCSP provides this annual grant of $5000 to a school to continue a school-parent partnership project. Find out more here on our website: https://www.ccsp.catholic.edu.au/ros-entry-details. We can’t wait to see your entries and find out how your school has bridged the gap between home and school, and enhanced student outcomes in faith development, learning and wellbeing of students.

This term, Wayne Davie, Chair CCSP, and I have been meeting with directors of dioceses about the data received in the recent Catholic School Parents Australia Student Wellbeing and Learning survey, talking them through the feedback provided and highlighting any issues that were identified. Wayne also attended a Pre-EMM Consultation with Deputy Premier, The Hon. Prue Car MP at her offices.

In June, I met with Archbishop Fisher to talk about the work of the CCSP and the important of parental engagement in education. I also met with delegates visiting Sydney from the Isolated Children’s Parents’ Association, who promote equity of access to education for all students who live in rural and remote Australia.

In July, I have been working on a submission with CSNSW on the National School Reform Agreement Discussion paper. On 6 July, I attended the Teacher Education Conference at ACU and delivered a presentation to final year teaching students about the importance of working collaboratively with families and building positive relationships that support best outcomes for students.

On 17 July, I had the pleasure of attending ‘Learning for Justice – Empowering through Education’ in the Diocese of Maitland-Newcastle. This event aimed to empower individuals through education, focusing on the Voice to Parliament referendum and featured various sessions about the issues faced by indigenous Australians, including a presentation by Indigenous leader Noel Pearson.

The next eSafety/CCSP webinar on Tuesday 15 August at 7.30pm is an important one for secondary students and their parents to attend, as it’s all about consent, respectful relationships and sharing nude images online. Find out how to register here. We look forward to seeing you online.

This term we are making progress with drafting the 2024–2026 CCSP Strategic Plan after consulting with parents and carers, diocesan directors, principals and clergy. Thank you for those of you who provided valuable feedback which will inform our direction for the next three years and beyond. The plan will be finalised at our upcoming annual combined meeting, where we look forward to bringing together the Council and Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Committee members. The Chair will present the 2022 Annual Report, and we have some interesting expert speakers coming to present to the group. We are grateful to Headmaster Michael Blake and the staff of St Joseph’s College, Hunters Hill, who will be kindly providing us with the use of their facilities for this 2-day event.

Lastly, I was delighted to attend a P & F Association meeting at Our Lady of the Rosary, Waitara on 13 June. How lovely it was to meet the many parents and carers who attended the meeting, the beautiful community feel that enveloped the meeting and the strong sense of a supportive community where all are welcomed. I presented on the work of the CCSP, parents as first educators of their children, and the importance of appropriate parent engagement. Since the end of the Covid lockdowns, schools and parents have been trying to reconnect, and it’s taking time and effort to re-establish parent–school relationships, for schools to bring families into schools for community events, and for parents to have a voice in school decision-making. But it’s worth it! Speak to any parents who were engaged with their children’s school and education, and they will recognise how this benefited their child in terms of academic outcomes, wellbeing and successful relationships.

I hope you enjoy this edition of Parent Talk. Take care and God bless.

Catherine Garrett-Jones
Executive Director CCSP

Diocese of Wollongong

The theme for 2023 National NAIDOC Week was For Our Elders. Catholic schools across the Diocese of Wollongong celebrated NAIDOC with their school communities, Aboriginal communities and most importantly with their local Aboriginal Elders.

Here some images from just a few Wollongong schools as they celebrated NAIDOC.

Archdiocese of Canberra and Goulburn

The NAIDOC Mass is a very important event in the life of the Canberra and Coulburn Archdiocese, giving the community an opportunity to reflect on their history, rich diversity and the wonderful mix of cultures in their Catholic schools across the Archdiocese. 

People gathered for Mass at St Christopher’s Cathedral in Manuka and also celebrated Mass in four of the regional towns - Cootamundra, Moruya, Goulburn and Tumut - with Archdiocesan schools from surrounding areas attending.  

At Carroll College Broulee, Indigenous students and SLT attended the Catholic Education NAIDOC Mass at Sacred Heart Church in Moruya with all of the Catholic schools in THEregion to celebrate and recognise the history, culture and achievements of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples. 

Following the mass, Malaki Moreton, Charlee Phillips and Tanesha Dennis were recognised with Leadership Awards for their leadership and support of younger Aboriginal students.

Diocese of Bathurst

On a chilly but sunny morning, on 30 May, the Catholic Education Diocese Bathurst celebrated National Reconciliation Week with a Mass at the Cathedral of St John and St Michael. Local Bathurst school students, staff, parents and members of the community all joined together with Uncle Bill Allen, Dinawan Dyirribang, a senior Wiradyuri Elder and Jade Flynn, Yanhadarrambul, in a Smoking ceremony following a full Welcome to Country ceremony which included a dance by Assumption Catholic School Tiddas and the Welcome by Uncle Bill.

A number of students played a part in the Mass, being a Voice for Generations. May we learn from our students who demonstrated what can be achieved when we work together towards a future of unity and understanding.

We stand on the shoulders of generations of Elders who have paved the way for a better way of life for all. Across every generation, our Elders have played, and continue to play, an important role, and hold a prominent place in our community and families. 

Over 40 families in the St Patrick's Primary School Macksville community gathered to celebrate 100 days of Kindergarten with joy and enthusiasm.

The event began with a prayerful liturgy, and then students and families participated in interactive activities focusing on key learning areas. At the faith learning station, families learned about Catholic signs and symbols, decorating crosses with 100 jewels for family prayer time. The literacy station involved writing storybooks about things they would love or hate to have 100 of, with puppies and bunnies being popular choices.

A numeracy station challenged parents and children to build the tallest tower with 100 cups, showcasing impressive engineering feats. The school counselor led families through 100 wellbeing activities, including expressing gratitude, high fives, and deep breaths. Lunch was provided, and the warm sunshine made it enjoyable in the school grounds.

Assistant Principal Monique Soutter expressed pride in the students and teachers' hard work and thanked the Lismore Catholic Schools Parent Assembly for supporting the special celebration. Grandparents Nicole and Michael said of the event, "The kindergarten children were bursting with pride and excitement as they entered the room wearing their 100 day celebration crowns. Their love and joy of learning was evident as they guided us through their learning spaces, engaging us in activities of storytelling, numeracy, wellbeing and faith;  100 day celebration in 100 minutes! We so much appreciated our inclusion in the celebration and thoroughly enjoyed sharing in the delicious lunch provided. Thank you to the dedicated staff who showcased student growth and love of learning."

NSW Curriculum Reform Timeline

The NSW Curriculum Reform timeline has been revised to give schools more time to plan and prepare for syllabus implementation. 

You can download the timetable for the rollout here, or find more information online: NESA website.

Have your say on K–10 draft syllabuses

This 30-minute webinar is designed for parents and carers of young people in secondary school.

It will cover:

• the impact of sharing nude images without consent
• practical suggestions for starting the chat about respectful relationships, consent and pressure to send nudes
• where to get support for a young person who has experienced abuse. 

Register for this esafety webinar.

In the last edition of Parent Talk, we talked about the use of ChatGPT in schools and referred parents to a great introductory guide on AI and how parents can keep children safe when using ChatGPT.

AI is everywhere, and maybe it’s causing you AI-nxiety! You’re not alone; no-one knows where AI is taking us, and this uncertainty can create fear and unease.

But realising that AI is here to stay, and finding out how you and your family can use it as a tool will help you feel empowered and minimise your AI-nxiety.

Find out more here in The Conversation.

Don't forget to grab your $50 Active Kids, Creative Kids and First Lap vouchers. 

Active Kids vouchers are valued at $50 and can be used towards sport and recreation activities for school-enrolled children. These expire 31 January 2024.

Creative Kids vouchers are also worth $50 and can be put toward art, drama, dance, design, music or even coding. You may be eligible if you haven’t used a $100 Creative Kids voucher this year. Expiry is 31 January 2024.

A brand new Active and Creative Kids voucher program will start in early 2024.

First Lap vouchers allow you to put $50 towards swimming lessons for children aged 3 to 6 who aren't enrolled in school. Valid for 12 months, they expire 30 June 2024.

To find out where you can use these vouchers, go to Vouchers | Service NSW.

Join the myfuture team as Dr Michael Healy presents a framework for understanding how different emotions might affect your child’s career and employability learning.  He will provide advice on how you can recognise and respond to different emotions.

Free 1 hour webinar. 

Tuesday 29 August, 1.00pm - 2.00pm

Register here.

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