Dear Colleagues,

THIRD SUNDAY OF LENT

In the third reading from the third Sunday of Lent, Jesus talks to the Samaritan woman at a well and asks her to draw water for him. In doing that, Jesus knew the woman actually needed much more than physical water; she needed living water to satisfy her thirsty soul. He told her, “Everyone who drinks of this water will be thirsty again, but those who drink of the water that I will give them will never be thirsty.

“The water that I will give will become in them a spring of water gushing up to eternal life” (John 4:13-14).

We invite Jesus to shine in our lives and illuminate for us the sacred in all of creation, within one another, and within all living things on this earth.

"God of all mercy, through your Son Jesus,

you never cease to call us to a

 new and more abundant life.

Come to our aid and set us free from fear.

We ask this through Christ, our Lord,"

Amen

2025 Annual TheatreSports Competition

Thunderous cheers filled the Factory Theatre at Trinity Catholic College, Adamstown, last week as secondary school theatre teams from across the diocese took the stage for the Annual TheatreSports Competition.

Open to elective drama students in Years 9 to 11, the competition challenges participants to showcase their creativity, storytelling, and technical skills through a series of fast-paced improvisation games. Teams are judged on their ability to entertain, craft compelling narratives, and think on their feet.

TheatreSports is a favourite tradition of Catholic Schools of Maitland-Newcastle. For over twenty years, the competition has inspired young performers.

Harmony Day – St Patrick’s Primary School Wallsend

This week, our schools celebrated Harmony Day, a special occasion that promotes inclusivity, respect, and a sense of belonging for all. Students across our Diocese were encouraged to wear orange or, in some places, cultural dress as we all came together to celebrate our diverse communities with activities, performances, and meaningful discussions about the importance of harmony and acceptance.

See the video below on what Harmony Day means to St Patrick’s Wallsend students.

St Mary’s Primary School Warners Bay – School Visit

I sincerely thank Liz Starling, Andrew Holstein and the staff for their commitment to our students and the Warners Bay school community. Your hard work, passion, and care shape not only the minds of our learners but also their character and future.

Your efforts—whether in the classroom, administration or behind the scenes—do not go unnoticed. Each of you plays a vital role in creating a nurturing and inspiring learning environment, and I sincerely thank you.

As we continue this journey together, I encourage you to take pride in the impact you make every day.

Martha Café and Catering invites your feedback

Our social enterprise café, Martha, is located in Newcastle West and is operated by CatholicCare. We invite local schools who have ordered catering, and those who are potential customers, to provide feedback in an anonymous survey.

We value your feedback to improve our service and enhance our social impact. Provide your feedback here.

It’s been just over two years since we’ve been operating as Martha and we are taking the time to ask for feedback. We are here to serve both you and the community through our social impact programs at CatholicCare. Thank you for taking the time to share your thoughts and be part of our work.

With my best wishes,

Jacqui

This year’s Way of the Cross will continue our pilgrimage experience that began with the Jubilee Launch. Come and walk with fellow pilgrims and build relationships as we share our responses to Pope Francis’ invitation to become agents of hope within our own communities. Join us!

Time:  3pm

Date:  Sunday, 6^th April.

ST JOSEPH’S CATHOLIC CHURCH, TORONTO

140 Wangi Road, Toronto NSW 2283

ENQUIRIES: mission@mn.catholic.org.au

REGISTER: https://www.eventbrite.com.au/e/the-way-of-the-cross-a-pilgrimage-of-hope-tickets-1250877762059?aff=oddtdtcreator

Dear Colleagues,

The current endorsement cycle for the Stage 6 Studies in Catholic Thought course expires at the end of 2025. NESA has recently released its timeline and processes for the renewal of School Developed Board Endorsed Courses (SDBEC) and it is now time for a new application to be submitted for 2026-2027. 

Sydney Catholic Schools submits a Group Proposal on behalf of every Catholic School in NSW. For schools to be included in this Group Proposal, NESA requires that each school request to the submitting authority (Sydney Catholic Schools) that they be included.

To facilitate schools joining the Group Proposal for Studies in Catholic Thought, I have attached a Google Form that each school must complete individually. Importantly, the Principal, at the end of the form, formally requests that they be included in the Group Proposal.

Schools must submit their form by close of business Friday 28 March 2025. 

Link: https://forms.gle/B8tk61aUBgXL4kKT6

It is important to note that schools not applying for inclusion will not be able to enrol students in Studies in Catholic Thought via Schools Online after this year. Should a school be uncertain as to whether they will be offering the course to their students, they should join the group anyway and have it as an option in case circumstances change during the new endorsement period. 

Thanks in advance for your support. If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to contact me via phone or email. 

Kind regards

Ryan Gato

As mentioned last week, Successful Foundations has now officially ended for 2025, however, play to access curriculum and self-determined play remain as important as ever for learning and wellbeing in Kindergarten. Teachers now shift their play from the five provocations in Successful Foundations to a Key Learning Area lens within their classrooms.

Over the final weeks of Term 1, we will be collecting the voice of the principal, teacher, parent and child so we can learn about each key stakeholder’s experience of Successful Foundations in 2025. Our principal, teacher and parent voice are captured via an online survey and the child’s voice is captured through either a play reflection and conversation and/or documenting through drawings (scribed by their teacher). Included are some examples of child voice we have received already for this year.

Once we have captured all key stakeholder voices, we will share the data with schools. This process gives us a valuable insight and opportunity to reflect on what we have achieved and support informing our future direction on how we can continue to provide the best possible transition experience for our youngest learners in the diocese.

If you would like any support in Early Learning within your school, please reach out to the team.

Bridie Stanger

Expressions of interest are open for the diocesan vocal showcase Celebrate! Choirs at the Civic.

Schools will have the opportunity to perform an 8-10 minute segment at the Civic Theatre, Newcastle. There will be a tech rehearsal during the day, then a performance in the evening. 

Each school will perform at ONE concert- Tuesday 10^th June OR Wednesday 11^th June (NOT both). 

This is due to student and audience numbers (we sold out last year!)

Performance:

Concert 1- Tuesday 10^th June (Week 7, Term 2)

Concert 2- Wednesday 11^th June (Week 7, Term 2)

Civic Theatre, Newcastle

TO REGISTER YOUR SCHOOL, EMAIL: jessica.lopez@mn.catholic.edu.au 

To help with school planning, further information will be shared soon.

ASPIRE invites students and teachers to join us for the very first Dance Fest 2025. This exciting event will bring together dancers from across the diocese for a day filled with specialist workshops led by industry professionals. This will also give students the opportunity to meet peers who share their passion for dance.

Dance Fest will take place at Newcastle City Hall on Monday 26 May 2025 from 9.00 am – 2.30 pm.  There is not cost to attend this day.

Dance Fest will be a fast-paced day consisting of 3 different style workshops; Contemporary, Musical Theatre and Jazz. Dancers will partake in all three workshops that will be presented by leading industry professionals, therefore a dance skill set of intermediate/advanced is recommended for those attending (these are not beginner workshops).

This opportunity is open to students in Years 5-12 and teachers that wish to partake in the workshops (no casual release provided).

Dancers can register for the day by filling out an application form on the Aspire website or by following the QR code. 

Places are limited and will be given on a first come first served basis.

Please contact Anne Atkins for further information via anne.atkins@mn.catholic.edu.au or 02 4979 1331

The ASPIRE Song Competition is open to all students in our primary and secondary schools.

Aspire 2025 is set in a post-apocalyptic future where young people are not allowed to feel any emotions. When mysterious artworks start appearing around the city questioning this course of action a small group of rebels are inspired to challenge the decisions of their leaders.

The Song Competition will be broken into 4 categories- Primary School (individual), Primary (class), Year 7-9 and Years 10-12. Using the story for the production, the themes below will be the song writing focus for these allocated year groups.

Primary (class) category- Primary school teachers are encouraged to create a song with their classes or part of their class. This could be part of programming or a co-curricular project.

Primary School (individual and class categories): Emotions

What are emotions?

Select an emotion to be the focus of your song

Different ways of expressing emotions

Years 7, 8 or 9: Rebellion

Using 'rebellion’ as a theme for lyrics and/or music

Think about making a stand

What do people rebel against and how might they go about it

Years 10, 11 or 12: Artwork

Using 'artwork’ as a theme for lyrics and/or music

You may be inspired by a particular artist or artwork

What effect does art have on people

The attached flyer will give you more about the song competition which closes on Thursday 3 April 2025. Those selected as finalists will workshop their songs and then perform at the Song Writing Showcase on Thursday 22 May 2025.

ASPIRE is introducing a scriptwriting competition in 2025 for secondary students. Interested creative writers are encouraged to get writing and enter a script to go through a shortlisting process. There is no theme, and students can write about whatever they are interested in. Scripts must be PG rated and be between five and eight minutes in length, with a maximum of six performers.

Once entries close, shortlisted finalists will be sent feedback to consider from the judges and asked to submit a second draft of their script. The winner of each category will be decided at a live staged reading performance where a guest panel will judge the scripts. There are two categories: Years 7-9 and Years 10-12.

Entries close Friday 18 April 2025.

Dear Colleagues,

Starting from March 28^th, 2025, emails from social media platforms (such as Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, etc.) will be blocked and not delivered to all student education email accounts (@mnstu.catholic.edu.au).  If students have signed up for a social media, gaming, instant messaging, or similar account using their student email address (@mnstu.catholic.edu.au). Once again, they are advised to change to a personal email address on each platform by March 28^th, 2025.

This will not impact staff email addresses.

Why are we making this change?

To help keep our students safe online, reduce the risk of cyber threats, and ensure student email accounts are used only for their intended educational purposes.

1. Security: Social media emails often contain links and attachments that can be potential security risks. By blocking these emails, we aim to protect student’s personal information and the school's network from phishing attacks and malware.
2. Focus on Academic Communication: Our primary goal is to ensure that education email accounts are used for academic purposes. This change will help students focus on important communications related to their studies and school activities.
3. Reduce Clutter: Social media notifications can quickly fill your inbox, making it harder to find important emails. Blocking these emails will help keep inboxes organized and manageable.

Please refer to our knowledge base article for further information about this social media block – click here.

Thank you for your understanding and cooperation. If you have any questions or concerns about this update, please do not hesitate to contact Technology Services.

Dear Assistant Principals

Please see upcoming Professional Learning opportunity to be held on 9th May, 2025.

Click here for course link

Dear Catholic Schools Colleagues,

The School Improvement Team extends our sincere gratitude to the schools who have already expressed interest in trialling the draft updated 2025 Professional Practice & Development (PP&D) documents. Your willingness to serve as "critical friends" is invaluable as we continue to evolve and refine this process. Our shared goal is to ensure PP&D is authentic, meaningful, and genuinely contributes to professional development and continuous improvement.

As part of this trial, we have been actively working with school leaders, providing 1:1 PP&D support to develop team and personal leadership goals, collaborating with Professional Learning Teams regarding PP&D, and orientating leaders around the use and implementation of draft documents and process. The feedback received thus far has been overwhelmingly positive, with leaders finding the process useful and appreciating the holistic connection between school SIP and individual PP&D goals.

It's not too late to participate in this trial! If your school has yet to commence its PP&D process, we encourage you to join us. Please reach out to Lauren Carlson at lauren.carlson@mn.catholic.edu.au to liaise with you regarding the draft trial documents and process or for PP&D support for leaders in your school.

We value your partnership and look forward to working together to ensure the 2025 PP&D process empowers our educators and strengthens our schools.

Thank you for your commitment to continuous improvement.

Lauren Carlson

Education Officer – School Leadership & Development

In 2025, there will be twelve Curriculum Focus Days (CFD) total, including seven across secondary and five for primary. Resources for these CFDs will be published in early 2025.

Secondary

Primary

• Creative Arts Stage 1
• Mathematics Stage 3

Information for completion of the Self Evaluation Resource (SER) will be released in the coming weeks.

Alicia Dibben

Education Officer – School Improvement

ONLY INTERNAL AND ELIGIBLE CANDIDATES FROM CATHOLIC SCHOOLS CAN APPLY FOR THIS ROLE. (PERMANENT & TEMP STAFF)

1 - 3-Year Secondment Opportunity: System Lead Curriculum & Pedagogy (7-12)

Ready to ignite the future of secondary education?

Join us as the System Lead Curriculum & Pedagogy (7-12) with the Diocese of Maitland-Newcastle for an exciting 1 - 3-year secondment! You’ll spark innovative, student-centered teaching that reflects Catholic values, steering curriculum, HSC strategy, and professional growth across our vibrant diocesan schools. Team up with passionate educators to craft dynamic, research-driven learning experiences that empower future-ready students. Bring your vision and energy—let’s transform education together. Start date is negotiable. Apply today!

Please click on the following link mnpeople - Administration - View Job - Expression of Interest - System Lead Pedagogy & Curriculum - Secondary