28 September 2017
Newsletter Articles
- Pope admits Catholic Church waited too long to respond to clergy abuse crisis
- Catholic schools address literacy & numeracy - from Kindergarten
- Management is not a dirty word
- Umbrellas, Funnels and Sifters – Tools school leaders need
- Regulating expansion of schools
- BRIDGE School Partnerships Program
- Tell us how you get your Catholic News.
- Women and Leadership Australia Scholarships
Pope admits Catholic Church waited too long to respond to clergy abuse crisis
Pope Francis has admitted that the Catholic Church waited too long before taking reports of clergy sexual abuse seriously, suggesting that the former practice of moving priests accused of abuse to new ministries instead of reporting them to authorities kept the church numb to the scope of the situation. In his first formal meeting Sept. 21 with the now three-year-old Pontifical Commission for the Protection of Minors, the pontiff also called "prophetic" the men and women who urged the church for decades to face the problem. "I know it has not been easy to start this work," the pope told the members of the commission in off-the-cuff remarks notable for their frankness. "You have had to swim against the current because there is a reality: the church has taken consciousness about these crimes in a delayed manner.When the consciousness is delayed, the means for resolving the problem are delayed," said Francis. "I am aware of this difficulty. But it is a reality. I’ll say it so: We have come to this late." Read Full Article
Catholic schools address literacy & numeracy - from Kindergarten
Catholic Education Commission NSW (CECNSW) today in principle backed a Federal Government initiative aimed at identifying students in need of additional literacy and numeracy support, but warned against a one-size-fits-all approach.
“Catholic schools already screen students from Kindergarten to identify those in need of extra support,” CECNSW acting executive director Ian Baker said.
“Diocesan school authorities have developed and refined their own checks and processes over decades based on past performances. We therefore do not believe there is a void in the current methods of assessing student literacy and numeracy in the early years of schooling.”
Mr Baker said Catholic education supported efforts to help teachers identify and lift student ability in this area from an early age.
“Basic literacy and numeracy skills are vital to the future development of every student.
Management is not a dirty word
Who hasn’t needed the strongest negotiation skills when encourag¬ing the best out of their students; or diplomatic skills dealing with concerns from parents; or carefully attuned conflict management skills when sorting out differing staff perspectives? These skills, often associated with the most consummate businessperson, are also neces¬sary skills to be highly effective teachers and leaders. Yet, sometimes there exists a sense that teachers and leaders acquire the necessary high impact proficien¬cies at the expense of the more operational aspects of leadership known as ‘management’. Whilst all excellent managers may not necessarily become great leaders (since leadership focuses on vision and a well-developed sense of the strategic rather than operational elements of the organisation), the reverse is not an easily accepted ‘truism’. This article asserts that high impact teachers and leaders require highly effective management skills as much as any other attribute to enable them to achieve their career aspirations and professional goals.
There is a looming crisis in the teaching profession
Umbrellas, Funnels and Sifters – Tools school leaders need
A precious but hazily understood concept is about the tone, harmony and atmosphere existing within people-focussed organisa¬tions. With so much emphasis on account¬ability and a loss of faith and trust in people, the importance of ‘atmosphere’ is often overlooked. Not surprisingly, people working in schools are more stressed than their predecessors. In this context, a metaphor that embraces umbrellas, funnels and sifters can be useful. These metaphoric tools, if un¬derstood and wisely used by school leaders, can help shape and develop excellent schools.
Leadership and ‘Catch 22’ situations can be syn¬onymous. For leaders who are caught in the middle, when the expectations of those above are at odds with the priorities of staff in schools, it’s a case of being damned if you do and damned if you don’t. The ‘catch’ situation is that leaders get caught in cleft sticks, hovering between what the organisational hierarchy (the controllers outside) and people with¬in (the ones who make the policies and programs work), want and expect. The two sets of expectations don’t necessarily align. In fact, they are sometimes at complete odds with each other.
Regulating expansion of schools
NSW is experiencing significant population growth and subsequent increased school enrolments both in public and non-government schools. To assist in delivering additional school capacity the State Environmental Planning Policy (Educational Establishments and Child Care Facilities) 2017 (the SEPP) introduces a planning framework applying to school development.
The SEPP will allow various alterations, additions and expansion of school facilities as exempt development, complying development, development with consent, or development without consent under Part 5 of the Environmental Planning and Assessment Act 1979 (EP&A Act).
Many existing schools have conditions on development consents that currently limit the intensification of the school development through caps on both student and staff numbers (cap conditions). These cap conditions are an important tool to manage traffic and parking impacts, but can be a major constraint on the growth of the school and the provision of essential school infrastructure. Therefore they should only be applied in circumstances justified by a comprehensive and evidence-based assessment of relevant planning issues such as traffic and parking.
The purpose of this circular is to:
- explain how the planning provisions in the SEPP relate to any cap conditions in existing Part 4 consent conditions for school developments; and
- provide advice to consent authorities regarding the appropriate application of caps on student and staff numbers in conditions of consent. Read Full Circular Here
BRIDGE School Partnerships Program
Applications for the 2018 ASEAN and Indonesia BRIDGE School Partnerships Program are now open! This flagship program of the Asia Education Foundation was established in 2008 and is generously funded. They are currently seeking applications from Secondary and Primary schools across Australia to take part in 2018 programs to build global competency amongst their school communities.
The BRIDGE School Partnerships Program focuses on building teacher capability in the following areas and does not require foreign language capabilities:
- strengthening intercultural understanding and values
- building new technology skills for teaching and learning
- developing sustainable school partnerships; and
- establishing and supporting a community of learners.
The professional learning element is focused on identifying ways in which BRIDGE collaboration can be built into current teaching practice, and it doesn't require extra-curricular commitment.
Research has shown that of the students who have participated in BRIDGE:
- 67% strengthened their ICT skills
- 90% strengthened intercultural understanding
- 92% expanded their knowledge and awareness of the histories, geographies, literature, arts, and cultures of their partner country
- 68% strengthened their language skills and had real life applications for use and practice
You can read about how schools across Australia have benefitted from their BRIDGE School Partnership Program experience here.
The initiative has been awarded Best Practice in International Education by the International Education Association of Australia in 2016; Acknowledged as Leading Educational Innovation at the 2012 Education Ministers Biennial National Education Forum; and Shortlisted for the United Nations Alliance of Civilisations - BMW Award for Intercultural Innovation in 2011. The 2017 program brochure can be accessed here.
Tell us how you get your Catholic News.
If you regularly or semi-regularly consume Catholic media, whether that be traditional newspapers, magazines or web-based publications and social media platforms, then the Australian Catholic Media Council wants to hear from you!
The Council has developed a short survey to find out what you value in Catholic media. Do you find that it helps to educate, form, challenge and deepen your faith, connect you to the local Church or to the universal Church? What is the particular character and role of Catholic media in Australia in 2017 and what might you hope it will be in the future? How can we strengthen Catholic media Australia?
Just click straight through to the survey via the link below: It will only take a few minutes (5-8 minutes).
https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/CathMediaUsers2017
Women and Leadership Australia Scholarships
Women in the education sector are advised that a pool of scholarship funding is currently available to participate in a range of leadership development programs.
WLA has a vested interest in improving the diversity of the education sector, and our Charter recognises the important and positive role that women can contribute as a result of increased participation, particularly at senior/executive levels within organisations. At this stage, Expressions of Interest are being sourced until November 15th 2017 via this link:
http://www.wla.edu.au/fundingnov
Schoolzine
Schoolzine is proud to be a digital partner and supporter of ACSP NSW - Association of Catholic School Principals in NSW Inc.
Schoolzine has been an industry leader in digital school communications for 10 years. They are dedicated to customer service, product development and understanding the school landscape that keeps them at the top of the industry. Schoolzine’s Parent Engagement Platform consists of 3 packages, an eNewsletter, Mobile App and Website offering. Purchased separately or together, they guarantee each package will make engaging with parents easy and even enjoyable for a school of any size. Schoolzine addresses the need for media-rich, interactive content that engages parents.