Term 4 Week 8 / 20 - 24 November (SeB 255)

From the Executive’s Desk

Colleagues

One of the great pleasures in my role is to actually attend some of our schools and colleges award’s night and farewell liturgies.  I use it as an opportunity to be reminded of the great work that happens in every one of our schools and colleges, every day.  I see students being acknowledged for their outstanding effort in so many different aspects of their school life.

The Vision for Catholic Education in the diocese of Cairns is:

“To offer every student in every school, a world class education enriched by their lived encounter with the Catholic Faith.”

While I acknowledge this is aspirational, I see people working towards this in our schools and colleges. I reflected at a ceremony this week on how things had changed since I was at school.  The opportunities now offered in every conceivable area of a student’s education are simply amazing.

Scholars of economics would be familiar with the term “Opportunity Cost”.  A concept which highlights that every decision we make in life, might have a reward but there is also a missed opportunity or cost.  I might buy a new car this year, but it means I cannot go on a holiday this year.  There is a cost to every opportunity.

When I go to a celebration evening there is a common acknowledgment of the role that three groups of people play in the education of a student: the student themselves, the parents, and the school staff and especially teachers. Today I want to acknowledge the role that teachers and school staff play in providing such rich and diverse opportunities for our students. 

There is a cost for such dedication, which is achieved through endless hours of preparation, teaching and providing guidance to students.  The cost is often unseen and unrecognised.  Staff often missing time to spend with family, catching up with friends or often just a chance to relax.

I take the opportunity, as Year 12 external exams are now concluded, but assessment and reporting are still in full swing, to thank teachers and staff for their selflessness, for the sole purpose of providing students with a world class education.

Forever grateful

Ian Davis
Deputy Executive Director

CATHOLIC ED. ANNOUNCEMENTS ALL SCHOOL/CES STAFF

2023 Global Teacher Prize

The Global Teacher prize is open to current teachers spending at least 10 hours/week teaching.  This year the prize went to Sister Zeph from Pakistan who was selected from over 7000 nominations from 130 countries.   

Her journey to this point, however, has not been smooth. In 2006, gunmen attacked her home for teaching girls, causing her to flee the village with her family for 6 months. When she returned, she said she would never leave her students alone, and now says she ‘will keep working to educate the children of the world as long as I am alive’.

Read more about Sister Zeph’s inspirational story here  or watch here

Silvia Dimarco 
Leader Workforce Capability  

75 Year 10 Students Engaged in Aspire to Teach 2023

The Semester 2 cohort of Aspire to Teach students from St Monica’s and St Mary’s had the opportunity to visit JCU on Wednesday 8 November. This sees a record number of students involved in Aspire to Teach in 2023 – 44 students in Semester 2 and 31 students in Semester 1. 

Eight Catholic Education scholarship recipients hosted the Year 10 students, together with Education lecturers from JCU.  The Year 10’s toured the facilities at JCU and participated in a “Teaching Mathematics session” where the Year 10’s planned and delivered a short ‘learning activity’. Thank you, Dr Philemon Chigeza and Indy Earle (Final year scholarship recipient) for leading this beautifully.

Also, lecturers and the scholarship students communicated their wisdom around the Education degree and why they chose teaching as a career. Special thanks to Dr Kerrie Mackey-Smith for the organisation of the day.

A shared lunch in the JCU Innovation hub was also a highlight.

Many thanks to St Monica’s and St Mary’s staff for facilitating the opportunity for students to participate in the Aspire to Teach program in Semester 2, 2023.  

 If other schools are interested in running this program in 2024 please get in touch with us.   

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Sharon Brissoni and Silvia Dimarco  
Workforce Capability 

ACU 2024 International Study Tours

ACU is offering 3 International Study Tours for Catholic Education Leaders 2024. Information about the courses, including opportunities for credit to Masters Study, costs and itinerary are outlined in the flyer here. 

The programs are: 

1. "Catholic Education: Mission Culture and Spirituality," takes place from June 23 to July 12, 2024, in Rome and Assisi.  
2. "Living Traditions, Unfolding Futures," is scheduled for October 6 to October 17, 2024, in Glasgow and Rome. 
3. "Spiritus International," runs from September 28 to October 10, 2024, in Rome and Assisi. Participants join a 4-day program in Rome with Catholic school educators from the UK and Europe, followed by further lectures, visits to Vatican departments, and a retreat experience in Assisi. 

Rachel McLean 
Director Identity and Outreach   

Christmas at the Catherdral Gift Shop

Ricki Parmenter 
Community Engagement Officer - Diocese of Cairns

Identity and Outreach Directorate Update - Term 4 Week 7

As we approach the end of the school year, we also approach the end of Ordinary time in the liturgical year. Why not take a moment to reflect on what this means in our chaotic world?

This week's I&O Bulletin includes resources for Advent as well as an invitation to explore how we can engage parents who are new to our Schools or unfamiliar with the Catholic Faith. 

Rachel McLean
Director Identity and Outreach

Mentor Mindsets: Guide, Explorer and Truth Teller

The Mentor training day facilitated by Catherine Jackson (Leopard Tree consulting) assisted aspiring and current mentors to:

• understand the mindsets that underpin positive professional relationships;
  
• gain insights to inform professional reflection and actions;
• identify practical tools and strategies to use as a mentor.

 The feedback and reflections were overwhelmingly positive: 
“So many ideas to take away and implement straight away”. 
“Engaging, relatable, informative”. 
“I feel more confident going into a mentor situation...I have some new tools that I can utilise”.

 Impact on current/future role as a mentor: 
 “Questioning strategies to assist with mentoring …" 
“Realisation of psychological safety and its impacts in the workplace...”
“I will approach my role more deliberately and cautiously...” 
“Having confidence to have different conversations with staff in a positive way” 
“Reshape my approach to mentoring and professional relationships”.

We thank Catherine Jackson and the participants whose thoughtful participation was exceptional! 
Thank you to Tammy Angel for organising the logistics of the day.  
For further support around mentoring please feel free to contact us.

And don’t forget to look at resources on veritas

Silvia Dimarco and Marissa Clark 
Workforce Capability 

EMPLOYMENT OPPORTUNITIES

Find your next career change with the Cairns Diocese. 

To explore opportunities in other Dioceses go to Catholic Education Announcements, on the Staff Portal.   

QCEC UPDATES

Click here for the latest QCEC Communiques, Circulars and Education Updates.

Catholic News

PROFESSIONAL LEARNING OPPORTUNITIES!

CES offers professional learning workshops, retreats and networks along with tools and resources to support your growth and development as an educator.   

iCat is our online Professional Learning catalogue. It is available now for you to browse professional learning opportunities.

This short 3 minute ‘how to’ video will help you use iCat.

How to enrol in a course
1. Click on the copy icon beside the ilearn code
2. Click on the link to go to “ilearn” and log in
3. Paste the course code into the search box
4. Open course details then click on enrol

We welcome any feedback or observations as you engage with iCat, especially during this initial period to Tammy Angel tangel@cns.catholic.edu.au

So we can meet your dietary needs watch this short video to show you how to add them to ilearn.

Mental Health First Aid Training

Enrolments are open for the upcoming Mental Health First Aid training scheduled for Thursday, 07 December 2023 to Friday, 08 April 2023. 
Please refer to the attached flyer and course information for further details. 
Register via iLearn using the course code CNS04705.  Registrations close on Friday, 01 December 2023.  

Hannah Chapman 
Executive Manager Engagement and Wellbeing