Dear Colleagues,

Walk Safely to School Day Friday, 16 May 2025

The Walk to School campaign promotes opportunities for families to walk to school together and have conversations about being safe road users. This is an important message for our communities. Please continue to share the safety messages and encourage opportunities to walk to school or to the bus stop (when the weather conditions improve!). Click link here for more information

Reminder - ACSP 2025 Conference 21-23 May 2025 – Rydges Resort Hunter Valley

I look forward to seeing our Principals at this year's conference, which promises to be an exceptional professional learning experience for Principals. The theme is Living Waters: Leading with Hope, Inspiring Faith Communities.

Annual School Visits – St Brigid’s Primary School, Raymond Terrace and St Patrick’s Primary School, Swansea

I sincerely thank Marlene George, Lucy Harvey, and their staff for their commitment to our students and the Raymond Terrace and Swansea communities.

St Brigid’s Primary School, Raymond Terrace

St Brigid’s is committed to fostering independent learning among students, supported by the learning support team and staff to ensure academic potential is realised. Founded by the Sisters of Mercy, their Charism deeply inspires Catholic culture and embodies the values of the Sisters of Mercy: Compassion, Courage, Hospitality, Service, Justice, and Respect. The St Brigid’s school site is well equipped, featuring a blend of heritage-listed and modern buildings, and attractive play spaces. Creative and sustained efforts to form students and parents in the rich faith traditions were showcased. St Brigid’s is known for its commitment and connection to building relations with the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander community and broadening understanding of indigenous culture. Their practices to support learning and wellbeing are first class.

St Patrick’s Primary School Swansea

St Patrick’s Primary School in Swansea is a delightful and inclusive Catholic school, proudly founded by the Sisters of St Joseph in 1952. St Patrick’s benefits from its stunning location, with enviable views of the lake. There is little doubt that the natural and built environments contribute to a sense of wellbeing and peace. The St Patrick’s school community prioritises relationships with their parent body and parish community and have worked diligently to grow student enrolment numbers. Our visit highlighted the genuine care extended to students to meet their learning and wellbeing needs, and students confidently and capably shared their learning goals.

With my best wishes,

Jacqui

As you would all be aware, this Sunday 18 May Pope Leo XIV will be installed as the next Bishop of Rome.

In supporting Pope Leo as he undertakes the responsibility of leading the universal Church, Bishop Michael has asked that the attached Prayer prepared for our diocese be distributed to families. 

Please find the prayer attached in a few different formats, feel free to share with your families and school communities online and/or on-site.

Pope Prayer A5

Pope Prayer A5 V2

Pope Prayer PDF

Are you interested in being a Special Religious Educator (SRE)?

Find out more by clicking this link.

Contact for all SRE volunteer enquiries is to:

Nicki Graham MISSION & EVANGELISATION PARTNER - CHILDREN'S MINISTRY & SRE

M 0417 773 444

E nicola.graham@mn.catholic.org.au

Don’t miss this exciting formation opportunity happening next week!

Associate Professor Joel Hodge, National Head, School of Theology, Australian Catholic University will take us on a ‘deep-dive’ into ‘what we believe’ as we celebrate the 1700^th anniversary of the Nicene Creed. For the first time, our St John the Baptist Shrine, Maitland will host this ongoing formation series throughout 2025 and beyond. Choose from one of two sessions at 3:30pm or 6:00pm for this free event, over 2hrs, face to face on Friday May 23.

Learn More and register here: https://nicene1700.eventbrite.com.au

Sign up to our monthly Mission & Evangelisation newsletter to keep updated with these and a whole lot more each month, direct to your inbox – Scan the QR Code now:

A reminder that the next Curriculum Reform Day with a HSIE focus is fast approaching. 

The PL day will run in three separate sessions:

• 3 June (Week ) at St James Primary School, Muswellbrook
• 18 June at Victor Peter Suite, 841 Hunter Street, Newcastle West
• 24 June at St Joseph's Primary School, Wingham. 

Outline:

This course provides support to primary schools in the curriculum reform process.  This course is presented by the Curriculum and Pedagogy team. It will be well-suited to curriculum specialists with a passion and skill set to support the content within the HSIE syllabus.

Target Groups: 

Primary teachers, Assistant Principals and Pedagogical Mentors and/or Specialist teachers in this KLA.

Release:

1 Day per school.

Participants will:

• Develop an understanding of the new HSIE Syllabus – organisation, considerations, new and revised content. 
• Deep dive into the system developed Scope and Sequence presentation, with consideration of how this can be adapted to each school context. 
• Begin to work collaboratively to develop exemplar assessment tasks and learning sequences to deliver scope and sequenced content. 
• Be equipped to facilitate school-based professional learning and ongoing work in schools to prepare HSIE curriculum and adapt system resources to suit the school context.

Click HERE for Course Link 

The AEDC NSW invites school leaders and teachers with oversight or interest in AEDC data to the livestream of the Australian Early Development Census (AEDC) NSW 2025 Research Symposium.

It is their expectation that the AEDC 2024 data will be published ahead of the symposium.

The event will incorporate the AEDC 2024 data published at the community, state and national levels. Participants will have the opportunity to reflect on the evidence and engage with the AEDC data alongside other key data. 

The symposium aims to inspire your own work in connecting evidence to planning children’s learning, development and wellbeing. Presenters will highlight how the AEDC data can inform planning and practice in an educational setting.  

Symposium livestream details

Date and time: Wednesday 18 June, 8:30 am – 3:30 pm

Agenda: Visit the AEDC NSW Research Symposium 2025 webpage for the symposium agenda, including the full list of presenters

Cost: The livestream is free to attend

Theme: Shaping Futures – The impact of the AEDC on Early Years Education

Who should attend: School leaders and teachers with oversight or interest in AEDC data

How to register: Complete the livestream registration.

Recording: A recording of each speaker’s presentation will also be made available after the event

If you have any questions, please email Bridie (Education Officer – Early Learning) on bridie.stanger@mn.catholic.edu.au or the AEDC directly  aedc@det.nsw.edu.au

It's Not Too Late to Join the 2025 PP&D Document Trial & Receive Implementation Support

Dear Principals and School Leadership teams,

If your school has not yet commenced the formal PP&D process for 2025, we strongly encourage you to take advantage of this valuable opportunity to trial the updated PP&D documents.

With 46% of schools now involved in the 2025 trial of the proposed updated and streamlined PP&D process, participating offers a unique chance to:

• Preview: Gain immediate access to the updated suite of PP&D documents currently under trial.
• Receive Dedicated Support: Lauren and Alicia are ready to provide direct assistance to your leadership team, ensuring the effective implementation of the PP&D process with your staff using these trial materials. This support is designed to align your PP&D with your Strategic Improvement Plan (SIP) for continuous school improvement throughout 2025.
• Provide Critical Feedback: As a ‘critical friend’, your input will be invaluable in refining the documents and ensuring a consistent and impactful PP&D process across all schools, as we focus on developing an online PP&D Platform through mnPeople.

Don't miss this chance to familiarise yourself with the proposed updates and receive tailored support to implement a holistic PP&D process directly related to your SIP.

To view the trial documents and discuss how we can support your effective PP&D implementation for continuous school improvement in 2025, please get in touch with Lauren at lauren.carlson@mn.catholic.edu.au at your earliest convenience.

We look forward to partnering with you.

Best regards,

Lauren Carlson and Alicia Dibben

School Improvement and Learning Team

Registration for CFDs is available through mnPeople. Support documentation, including an overview of the Self Evaluation Resource process, Curriculum Focus Day, planning documents, and CFD questions, are now available through the School Improvement Tile under Curriculum Focus Days.

The Self-Evaluation Resource will be due:

• Primary: 2 weeks prior to Curriculum Focus Day for your region
• Secondary: Tuesday, 24th June (Term 2, Week 9) for all subjects*, unless an earlier date is specified by your school executive.
• Stage 4 Religious Education: 21^st July

Secondary CFD

Primary CFD – Creative Arts Stage 1 + Mathematics Stage 3

Please contact alicia.dibben@mn.catholic.edu.au if you have any questions about the CFD or SER or would like to book a time to meet.

Parenting is a challenging and multifaceted journey, with both joys and difficulties. As educators, you often get to experience parents and carers at their most joyous, but also at their most vulnerable.

Navigating difficult conversations with parents requires preparation, empathy, and clear communication, focusing on the student's well-being and finding common ground. Often, parents may seek answers or support you aren’t able to provide. However, research tells us that when parents and carers' mental health and wellbeing are supported and they are well-equipped with knowledge and skills, children’s learning and development are enhanced.

So, what can you do? One option, after you have offered all the support you feel you can comfortably provide at a school level, is to refer them to Parent Line. Parent Line is a telephone counselling, information and referral service for parents or carers of children aged 0 to 18, across NSW. It is a free and confidential service, available 7 days a week.

Parent Line’s staff can help with positive parenting strategies, useful information and referrals to a variety of face-to-face services. It is also a safe place for parents to explore frustrations, feel supported and discuss different options to create more harmonious family relationships.

Parent Line is a government program, administered by CatholicCare Sydney. If you would like to learn more about Parent Line, please visit 1300 1300 52 | Parent Line NSW | Parent Line NSW

You are encouraged to consider promoting this service to your parent community, along with other support services such as The Rosewood Centre and School TV. This may be either through your school newsletter, social media or during conversations with parents. To this end, please find attached suggested text for your school newsletter, as well as brochures and flyers you may like to include in your school reception areas. In addition, you can visit the Parent Line Resources page to download additional flyers, and also request packs of professionally printed flyers to be sent to your school- free of charge.   

Links/attachments:

Parent Line Flyer Common Q&As

PL Support Flyer

PL Printable Flyer

Parent Line NSW sugested wording for school newsletter

If you have any questions about Parent Line, please don’t hesitate to contact me or CatholicCare Sydney direct.