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- Welcome to Parent Talk
- Parents Guide to ChatGPT
- Did you know that regular, punctual school attendance is important?
- Why should children still learn handwriting?
- Literacy event with Corey Tutt
- NAIDOC Week: 2-9 July 2023
- Do you have an issue regarding your child at school that concerns you?
- Are you looking for some inspiration for praying with your family?
- Laudato Si' Action Plan 2023-2025
- World Youth Day 2023
- Back to School Vouchers will expire on 30 June
- About CCSP
- Sharing and signing up to Parent Talk
Wayne Davie, Chair CCSP and I along with our newly appointed Executive Officer, Jenny Scepanovic, attended the CSNSW Cross Country event at Horsley Park in Sydney where hundreds of students accompanied by their parents and carers competed at this state level. CCSP were delighted to be able to supply parents and carers with complimentary tea and coffee while we shared the vision of CCSP. We enjoyed meeting with and speaking to many parents and carers.
As part of CCSP’s advocacy I attended the NESA Disability Education Forum to discuss ways students with disability can be better supported. Wayne Davie and I also met with the CEO of NESA, Mr Paul Martin to talk about a range of issues including improving access to information for parents and carers.
I am pleased to report an increasing number of families getting involved with the CCSP education program; over 2000 families registered to hear renowned child psychologist Dr Justin Coulson present on the topic of Anxiety and Resilience. CCSP thanks the eSafety Commissioner for presenting the interesting and informative webinar Getting the most out of online gaming.
Our Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Committee assisted in the planning of a literacy event. We were fortunate to engage Corey Tutt OAM, a proud Kamilaroi man and Young Australian of the Year 2020 as well as the winner of the 2023 Premier’s Literary Award - Patricia Wrightson Prize for Children’s Literature - to read from his book The First Scientists: Deadly Inventions and Innovations from Australia’s First People. If you were unable to attend the event you can watch the event here. Corey is a wonderful advocate for building the capacity of our families to improve outcomes for students.
The Chair of the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Committee, Jason Allan, represented parents and carers at the Indigenous Veterans Commemoration Service in Hyde Park, Sydney. We are so pleased Jason was able to be there, representing Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander families as we honoured the sacrifices and service of our Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander veterans.
I was delighted to attend P & F Association meetings and support groups in schools in the dioceses of Broken Bay and Maitland-Newcastle as well as Rosebank College in Five Dock. I presented on the work of the CCSP as well as the importance of, and a deeper understanding of appropriate parent engagement.
I have met with Education Directors at their Diocesan Directors meeting as well as Principals from a diocese and presented to them on the difference between engagement and involvement, the work of the CCSP and strategies to build engagement.
I presented to early career teachers in the Diocese of Maitland-Newcastle on the topic of “Parents and School Working Together”. This full-day presentation was well received and provides staff with support to engage appropriately with parents and carers, identify challenges and barriers to communication, tips on building positive relationships as well as strategies to deal with difficult situations involving parents and carers.
We thank the volunteer parents and carers who represent their diocese on the CCSP Council and Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Committee. They are supported by Executive Officers from each diocese. The group provides an authentic family voice as they direct the work of CCSP. We are delighted to have welcomed representatives from the independent schools as well as some new faces from dioceses around NSW during the Term 2 meetings.
We are working on the 2024-2026 CCSP Strategic Plan; last week we launched a survey to gather feedback from parents and carers. There is still an opportunity for you to provide feedback here.
As Term 2 draws to an end I wish you and your families a restful holiday so you can return rejuvenated for Term 3.
Thank you sincerely for your ongoing support of the CCSP and parents and carers across NSW and the ACT who have children enrolled in Catholic schools.
Since ChatGPT was made widely available in November 2022 there has been ongoing debate on how it will affect education.
Australia’s education ministers will meet on 6 July to discuss the first draft guidelines on the use of AI in schools. The use of ChatGPT varies across school systems. “Catholic education has not taken a blanket approach to ban the use of ChatGPT in schools,” National Catholic Education executive director Jacinta Collins said while public schools in NSW have banned usage of ChatGPT.
The Minister for Education, Jason Clare, has asked the House Standing Committee on Employment, Education and Training to conduct an inquiry into the use of generative artificial intelligence in the Australian education system. The National Catholic Education Commission (NCEC) will make a submission to the inquiry addressing the challenges of AI including privacy, equity, misuse and misinformation, as well as the opportunities to support learning and teaching through the curriculum, student engagement, assessment and automation. Source NCEC website
Brad Bartlett has written a Parents guide to ChatGPT available on the KIDSLOX website. He notes that to sign up for ChatGPT the user should be 18 years and over; however, there are no tools to prevent underage children accessing the software.
The guide explains
- What is ChatGPT?
- How Does ChatGPT work?
- Is AI Safe?
- The Negative Effects of AI: What are The Risks of Using ChatGPT?
- How can Parents Ensure Their Children have Positive, Safe Experiences With ChatGPT?
- Knowledge is Power with Emerging Technology
When your child attends school every day, learning becomes easier and your child will build and maintain friendships with other children.
Deputy Premier, Minister for Education and Early Learning Prue Car said:
“The data shows that NSW students who develop positive attendance behaviour in Year 7 are, on average, three months ahead in their learning by Year 9.”
The NSW Government has recently launched a campaign to increase student attendance rates and bring the number of students in classrooms back to pre-COVID levels. CCSP highlighted the importance of school attendance in Parent Talk Issue 1 2023, sharing a fact sheet produced by Catholic Schools Office Diocese of Lismore.
- helping their child learn the importance of punctuality and routine
- ensuring their child arrives on time from the start of the school day, ready to participate in learning
- reducing disruption to school by planning any necessary appointments outside of school time
- promptly communicating any absence to the school
- planning holidays during school holidays
You can download the flyer here
CCSP suggests that if your child does not want to attend school that you make an appointment and discuss the situaiton with their teacher.
Has your child ever complained about handwriting lessons? Would they rather type their responses using a device? There are a number of benefits of learning to write by hand.
In a recent issue of The Conversation, Deakin University's Lucinda McKnight, Senior Lecturer in Pedagogy and Curriculum and Maria Nicholas, Senior Lecturer in Language and Literacy Education outlined some important reasons why handwriting is still important.
Fine motor skills are developed by handwriting.
Handwriting helps you remember what was discussed during class or the maths formula you are trying to memorise.
It is good for wellbeing: drawing and writing can be a creative source of pleasure away from screens.
It is accessible: no batteries required, all you need is a pen and paper.
It helps with thinking: ideas can be developed as students jot down ideas.
You can read the full article here.
On 30 May the Council of Catholic School Parents NSW/ACT held an online event to provide parents and carers with additional tools to support their children’s literacy at home.
Written for children aged 7-12 The First Scientists is the winner of the 2023 NSW Premier’s Literary Awards Patricia Wrightson Prize for Children’s Literacy and Winner of the 2022 ABIA Book of the Year for Younger Children.
The first 200 people who registered for the event received a free copy of The First Scientists, a leaflet with tips on helping children to read at home and a fridge magnet with home reading tips.
Jason Allan, Chair of the CCSP Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Committee, gave a Welcome to Country in Language and in English. Cath Garrett-Jones, CCSP Executive Director, provided a few tips about reading at home before playing the video of Corey Tutt reading from The First Scientists.
The theme for 2023 National NAIDOC Week is For Our Elders.
NAIDOC Week Sunday 2 July - Sunday 9 July is an opportunity for communities across Australia to celebrate and recognise the history, culture and achievements of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Peoples.
Bobbi Lockyer, a proud Ngarluma, Kariyarra, Nyulnyul and Yawuru artist, born and based on Kariyarra Country in Port Hedland, is the winner of the prestigious National NAIDOC Week Poster Competition for 2023 with her entry, For Our Elders.
Parents and carers can help their children get involved with NAIDOC Week by downloading the 2023 NAIDOC colouring-in poster.
CCSP wishes all communities well for their local community celebrations.
Let us know how you celebrate NAIDOC Week by emailing CCSP with some photos: office@ccsp.catholic.edu.au
The CCSP recognises that at times, parents and carers have concerns about their child’s education or experiences at school.
If you have any concerns, please speak with your child’s teacher or principal.
If you believe the matter is unresolved, you can obtain information from the school or use the school’s website to access the diocesan or schools Complaints or feedback policy. The policy will provide you with guidelines and direction to resolve your concerns.
If your concern relates to child protection issues – please search Child Protection on your school or diocesan website to access additional support. If your concern relates to criminal behaviour – you can report to police.
Choosing an action for daily prayer may assist your family to give thanks to God every day.
You can download A Week of Family Prayer here.
We thank Christine Morrison, Deputy Chair CCSP, from the Diocese of Lismore for sharing these prayer ideas with everyone.
The Australian Catholic Bishops Conference has launched its Laudato Si’ Action Plan outlining actions we can all take to care for our common home, the earth.
"We hope it will encourage Catholics around Australia to make a commitment to do more to care for our planet and to leave a worthwhile legacy for generations to come,"
said Bishop Vincent Long OFM Conv, Chair of the Bishops Commission for Social Justice, Mission and Service.
He continued, “The plan contains actions to care for our common home, the earth, and all who live on it. The Conference’s Secretariat and all our agencies will be busy implementing these actions over the next two years and we’ll be adding new actions for the following five years."
Some of the actions include the identification and planting of native species on Conference properties, ensuring slavery-free supply chains, using recyclable products where possible and providing prayer resources aligned with the messages of Laudato Si’.
Caritas Australia CEO Kirsty Robertson, who also appears in the video launching the Bishops Conference’s plan, noted that the Fifth Plenary Council of Australia encouraged all Catholics to embrace a commitment to ecological conversion.
“That means that every parish and diocese around Australia will need to be involved in a plan like the one launched today,” she said, noting that Caritas is supporting parishes and dioceses in that work.
You can read the Laudato Si' Action Plan here
Download Taking Action to Respond to the Call of Laudato Si' here
In six weeks time more than 3000 Australian pilgrims will travel to Portugal for World Youth Day 2023, making it one of the largest Australian contingents to attend the gathering in its history.
A group of 25 World Youth Day pilgrimage coordinators recently gathered for the final preparation day before the August 1-6 celebrations.
The focus of the day was to spiritually nourish coordinators and provide the latest information and planning for the pilgrims’ arrival in Lisbon.
“This was a great chance for us all to pray together, and also to encourage the leaders to remember that they themselves will be on pilgrimage,” said Archbishop Christopher Prowse, Chair of the Bishops Commission for Evangelisation, Laity and Ministry.
“These faith-filled Catholics, some of whom have attended several previous World Youth Days, can be an example of prayer, presence, and accompaniment – and not be all business, all the time.
“As I said to the leaders, their tone and presence can be an example to their groups and other leaders about how we enter into our pilgrimage experience.”
In addition to the week-long event in Portugal, the dozens of Australian groups will also undertake pilgrimages or retreats in places like the Holy Land, Rome, Lourdes, Fatima, Avila and Assisi. (Source: Cath News)
The Australian pilgrims will be joined by many young people from the Oceania region, with World Youth Day organisers and Australian dioceses providing financial assistance to support their participation.
CCSP wishes all pilgrims a safe and fulfulling journey.
Source: ACBC Media Blog
The Back to School NSW Vouchers totalling $150 for each eligible student must be used by 30 June 2023.
The Back to School vouchers can be used:
- towards the cost of school uniforms, shoes, bags, technology, textbooks and other eligible expenses
- before 30 June 2023.
- to apply click here
The $100 Creative Kids voucher may be used with a registered activity provider for registration, participation and tuition costs for a range of creative activities, including arts, drama, dance, digital design, coding, and music lessons. Click here for more information and to apply for the voucher.
The Active Kids $100 voucher is for parents and carers of school-enrolled children to use towards sport and active recreation costs each year. Voucher 1 is valid January to December and Voucher 2 is valid July to December. For more information click here.
The $100 First Lap voucher is for children aged 3 to 6 years who are not enrolled in school. The voucher can be used for a structured swimming lesson program with an approved First Lap provider. The voucher is valid until 30 June 2023. Details of the First Lap program
CCSP thanks the NSW Government for supporting these programs to assist families to help reduce their living costs.
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