18 May 2018

Newsletter Articles

Welcome Message

Catholic School Parents Victoria represents the important perspective of parents across all Catholic schools in Victoria. As a parent who has children enrolled in a Catholic school you are automatically a member of the parent council. There is no fee to be a member and parents of children attending Catholic schools across Victoria are welcome to apply to join our council through an expression of interest and nomination process.*

CSPV is officially recognised as the peak Catholic school parent body for nearly 500 Catholic primary, secondary and special needs schools, representing parent perspective in Catholic education at a diocesan, state and national level through our membership of CSPA (Catholic School Parents Australia).

We hope you enjoy the articles we present to further support all parents of children who attend Catholic schools to ensure you are informed of changes and improvements in education in Victoria and to provide opportunity for parent feedback.

Attention Principals:

Please feel free to copy and paste any of these articles for your school newsletter.

We also encourage you to forward the newsletter to all members of your learning community including teachers, school leaders and parents to keep them informed and to provide a parent perspective in education.

* Please contact our secretary for further information on how to nominate to be a member of the CSPV council secretary@cspv.catholic.edu.au

The term parent in this newsletter refers to all parents of children in Catholic schools and is used to include natural, adoptive or foster parents, guardians and primary caregivers.

Message from the Chair

We are well and truly into term 2 with many new announcements and reviews to share.

At Catholic School Parents Victoria, we’ve recently appointed a new member, are currently interviewing candidates for administration services and continue to advocate for parent engagement, curriculum, child safety, catholic identity and school funding.

The challenges for Catholic education continue with the ongoing review of the Socio-Economic Status (SES) to determine the future funding model for Catholic schools. The latest State budget and upcoming Federal Budget are on our minds as we represent parents of children in Catholic schools.

CSPV strongly believe that all families, no matter where they live or what their background, should have the opportunity to choose a Catholic education for their children.

CSPV have prepared a Q&A sheet for parents to explain the federal school funding issues to better understand what is happening and how parents can support Catholic education in getting through these challenging times.

CSPV Executive Officer, Rachel Saliba and CSPV council member Rhyannon Elliott, presented a report to AITSL this month to highlight parent engagement in learning and how it relates to each of the national teacher standards.

CSPV Executive Officer, Rachel Saliba attended the annual Victorian Registrations and Qualifications Authority (VRQA) breakfast this month to provide parent perspective for the regulator of schools in Victoria.

CSPV continue to seek new members for our council to represent parent voice of children enrolled in Catholic schools. You will see an advertisement in this issue with further information about how you can express your interest in becoming a volunteer member of council for Catholic School Parents Victoria.

We look forward to another exciting year in 2018 and encourage you to continue to distribute this newsletter to staff and families in each Catholic community.

Until next time,

Morgan Murphy
Chair, VCSPB

Parent Engagement – AITSL presentation

CSPV continue to focus energy on advocacy for parent engagement in learning at a state and national level. Recently our CSPV Parent Engagement Working Group presented a paper backed by over five decades of research into the benefits of parent engagement in learning to AITSL (Australian Institute of Teaching and Learning). The objective of the report was to highlight how each of the National Teacher Standards integrate and relate to parent engagement in learning and the important role of leadership in developing a culture of parent engagement in learning throughout whole school communities.

Our paper and presentation were received well by members of the AITSL Initial Teacher Education and Leadership team. CSPV encouraged AITSL to explore the importance of integrating parent engagement in learning across each of the standards to ensure it becomes common practice for teachers and a key priority for school funding.

Child Safety and Wellbeing – Mental Health Seminars

Generation Next is running a ground breaking national circuit of Mental Health Seminars across Australia. Generation Next’s Mental Health Seminars bring together leading experts in mental health and equip participants with the knowledge, skills and tools to better look after the wellbeing of the young people they work or live with.

The seminars provide participants with the latest updates in relation to specific mental illnesses, prevention and early intervention strategies. This year’s seminar topics include: eSafety, Gambling, Alcohol and Consent, Body Image, Smartphones and Rewiring your Brain for Better Mental Health. Teachers, Nurses and Social Workers can accrue professional development points for attending the seminars.

Mental Health & Wellbeing of Young People Seminar Dates:

• Brisbane (University of QLD): Friday, 25th May 2018
• Perth (University of Western Australia): Friday, 1st June 2018
• Melbourne (Melbourne Convention Centre): Friday, 8th June 2018
• Canberra (Australian National University): Friday, 22nd June 2018
• Adelaide (Adelaide Town Hall): Friday, 27th July 2018
• Sydney (Sydney Town Hall): Friday, 3rd August 2018

The Early Bird Special ends on Friday, 11th May 2018. We hope to see you at Generation Next’s remarkable Mental Health seminars!

Diocese Update – Ballarat

The Ballarat Diocesan Schools Advisory Council has prepared their first briefing for schools with a response to the recommendations of the Royal Commission and how these impact schools in the Ballarat Diocese.

The brief highlights relevant recommendations handed down by the Royal Commission related to schools in the diocese and provides a summarised explanation for school councils in the region. The brief also outlines the 10 Child Safe Standards that are closely aligned with the 7 Child Safe Standards already legislated in Victoria. It also provides a summary of how Catholic educational institutions are responding to reassure families that Catholic schools are taking the recommendations seriously.

The briefing encourages school councils to familiarise themselves with the 10 Child Safe standards and outlines the responsibility of the BDSAC in reviewing school policies to ensure they reflect the standards.

Royal Commission – Catholic Professional Standards Ltd

On 3 May 2018, Archbishop Denis Hart announced three key groups will take forward the work arising from the Royal Commission and the work led “prophetically and generously” by Francis Sullivan and the Truth Justice and Healing Council:

• Catholic Professional Standards Ltd (CPSL), which was established in 2016 as an independent not-for-profit company limited by guarantee, with a board of directors comprised of lay men and women. Its role includes establishing national safeguarding standards that provide a framework for all Catholic entities to build child-safe cultures;
• A National Redress Reference Group, working with the Commonwealth Government to bring about the establishment of the National Redress Scheme; and
• The Implementation Advisory Group.

The Catholic Church’s new safeguarding body has today released the draft National Catholic Safeguarding Standards which will be used to gauge the capacity of the Catholic Church to provide safe places for children and vulnerable adults.

The draft standards can be found on the new Catholic Professional Standards Ltd (CPSL) website which has also been launched today.

Catholic School Parents Australia Update

Since the first meeting in February, CSPA have continued to develop submissions and advocate for fair and equitable school funding, with the Review of the SES (Socio-Economic Status) a high priority for Catholic schools. Carmel Nash (CSPA Deputy Chair) and John O’Brien (CSPA Executive Officer) appeared at a hearing with representatives from the National School Resourcing Board (Professor Denise Bradley, Mr Bill Daniels and Dr Alison Taylor) regarding the review of SES.

CSPA also put forward a submission for the Optimising Stem Industry-School Partnerships: Inspiring Australia’s Next Generation, highlighting that, like teachers, parents need to be included as central around the work of this important forum. John O’Brien also attended a panel consultation with Dr Alan Finkel around the current STEM agenda.

The most recent submission completed by CSPA was for AITSL National Teacher Registration review.

Currently, a group of CSPA members commenced working on the drafting of a Position Paper –Catholic Schools as Child Safe Communities. CSPA is keen to develop a position statement from a parents’ perspective around givens and expectations of all Catholic schools in functioning as child safe communities. Ms Kate Eversteyn will be a guest presenter at the meeting in May - Kate is the Director of Safeguarding at Catholic Professional Standards Limited.

CSPA continue to work through the Parent Engagement project now that all research surveys and interviews are complete. The focus will now turn to the upcoming development of resources for Australian primary and secondary schools – working alongside ARACY and University of Southern QLD.

Two members of CSPV, Rachel Saliba and Tracy Connors will attend the next CSPA meeting in Sydney on 19 and 20 May.

School Funding Update – Federal Funding Impact

The challenges for Catholic schools continue as the realities of the new funding model are gradually being felt by various jurisdictions around Australia. Each Catholic diocese and parents from Catholic schools, particularly in NSW, have now joined Victoria in fighting against the changes to the SES funding model introduced by the education Minister, Simon Birmingham and the Turnbull Government in 2017.

Whilst the SES model is still under review this year, it places Catholic schools in a position of uncertainty. The government must be made aware of the impact of assessing schools based on location or postcode rather than specific and more accurate measures of assessing parent capacity to pay school fees.

The pressure placed on the government by Victorian Catholic education authorities and the National Catholic Education Commission has now forced some ministers to finally recognise that many families who reside in their electorates will be impacted.

In a recent article in The Australian, it stated that, ‘two senior ministers have recently raised concerns with the Prime Minister that the issue is becoming an electoral poison for the Coalition and urged Mr Turnbull to direct Education Minister, Simon Birmingham to find an urgent resolution to the issue.’ (Source: The Australian, Simon Benson; May 4, 2018).

In a media release to mark one year since the Turnbull government decided to change the way they assess school funding, CECV stated, ‘over 600 Catholic schools across the nation have lost an average of $600,000 each, or just under $2,000 per student’. Our Catholic schools only have six years to transition to the new funding model which leaves our schools $1billion out of pocket.’

The media have been attempting to portray Catholic education authorities as pinching from the poor to give to the rich but have been unsuccessful in achieving this. CSPV work closely with the CECV to understand the funding system and the impact of the federal government model and are determined that families be aware of the facts before developing assumptions based on media opinion. CECV are working with many schools to help them understand the situation that many of them face if the SES model remains the same.

More recently, government schools have realised they too will miss out on federal funding if the Prime Minister continues to persist with the new funding model, ‘In 2018 and 2019 we were going to see the biggest ever investment of funding in public schools by the Commonwealth Government, an investment that would have fundamentally transformed the education that children receive in our schools,’ AEU federal president, Correna Haythorpe said.

‘Instead, the Turnbull Government cut almost $1.9bn from public schools in 2018 and 2019 and their school funding changes will leave 87% of public schools below the agreed Schooling Resource Standard by 2023.’ (Source: The Educator; Could school funding decide the next election? Written by Brett Henebery, 27 March 2018.)

The Turnbull Government can’t escape the scrutiny of the needs-based funding model and its potential impact on the outcome of the election, which could be held as soon as August of this year.

To assist parents in understanding the current funding situation for Catholic schools, CSPV have developed a Q & A sheet that explains how the federal funding model impacts Catholic schools in Australia, particularly in Victoria. This information will be shared with schools over the coming weeks.

Fact sheets are also available from CECV to keep you informed of the issues.

School Funding Update – Federal Budget

The federal budget handed down on Tuesday 8 May, according to the NCEC media release received by CSPV, did not outline how the 23 recommendations accepted by the government from the report, stemming from the Review to Achieve Educational Excellence in Australian Schools will be funded. Instead it was announced that they will spend $16.5 million over 4 years to address ongoing resourcing needs of the Unique Student Identifier.

The focus areas stated in the budget for education include:

• Reforming the curriculum to deliver at least one year’s growth in learning in every student every year
• online progression and learning tools for teachers; and
• better supporting teachers and parents to help students achieve their individual best.

For the first time, it also states, there will be a national blue print available for every government, every teacher and every family to help tackle declining school performance in Australia. CSPV will be focussed on what that blueprint means, how it is communicated and what it means for students and their families.

Other areas that have received further funding commitment for four years includes the national chaplaincy program for schools to provide pastoral care and wellbeing services for students in 3000 schools, with an emphasis on addressing bullying in schools.

The budget demonstrated a commitment to providing $544million through the National Partnerships programs. $247million will be allocated to school chaplain programs. It is unclear if this includes the option for new schools to adopt the program or if it is for schools who are currently involved in the program.

Also announced, provision of an additional $13.7 million over five years from 2018-19 (including $1.0 million in 2022-23) to the Non-Government Reform Support Fund, to support the implementation of national policy initiatives and state reforms in non-government schools related to Quality Schools needs based funding. Where this funding will be allocated is unclear at this point.

The budget has not outlined any details on funding for Catholic schools so we await the outcomes of the SES review to learn more about the future of funding for Victorian Catholic schools.

Despite the federal Treasurer’s promise of tax cuts for families of around $550.00 per annum, this will mean very little for parents of children in Catholic schools, some of whom will experience school fee increases due to the government’s new education funding policy.

In a media release following the budget, CECV stated, ‘‘…..words will mean nothing to the parents of the nearly a quarter of a million students at almost 600 Catholic schools nationwide which are expected to increase their fees this year by at least $550 per student.

‘Those “everyday Australians” the Treasurer likes talking about who exercise their choice to send their children to Catholic schools risk seeing their tax cuts swallowed up in fee increases that stem directly from Turnbull Government policies.’

School Funding Update – State Budget

CSPV Executive Officer, Rachel Saliba attended the launch of the State budget recently and CSPV were concerned with the lack of transparency and consistency in the budget announcements.

As the federal government continues to reduce funding for Catholic education systems across Australia, the State too has not promised any further funding for Catholic school capital works. This funding is relied upon by Victorian Catholic education to build new schools and upgrade old buildings and facilities. This funding also helps to keep fees affordable for Catholic school parents, who also spend countless hours and time fundraising to provide adequate facilities for students.

The State government continues to portray Victoria as The Education State, however the only students who benefit from the announcements in the recent budget are those attending government schools.

Some of the announcements made that only apply to government school students are:

• $50 million for 1,700 new Head Start Apprenticeships and Traineeships at 100 Victorian government secondary schools
• $109 million towards Careers Education program and support
• $232.8million for students with a disability or additional learning needs
• $25.9 million to enhance vocational pathways by improving students' access to high quality Vocational Education and Training in Schools (VETiS) courses

In an election year, we wonder if the government understands that there are more than 207,000 Catholic school students across the state who are not being included as valued members of the Education State.

The Andrew’s Government will spend $1.3billion of Victorian tax-payers money (including hard working, tax paying Catholic school families) on capital works for government schools while only $30 million is allocated to capital works projects for Catholic schools.

Catholic schools have a good track record in saving the State government money over many years by matching at least 80% of every dollar spent on capital works.

A significant proportion of families who are moving into affordable housing in growth corridors throughout Victoria are Catholic. These families are being denied the choice to send their children to Catholic schools for a faith-based education in their local areas.

Executive Director, Stephen Elder stated last week, ‘Catholic Education Melbourne has been trying to play our part in easing the burden on government schools – and the taxpayer – by building schools of our own in key growth areas, opening four this year alone. Not only has the state government failed to recognise the importance of this work. It is ignoring the benefits of investment in the Catholic school system. Our research indicates Catholic school enrolments could grow by up to a third if greater government support to build the facilities needed to meet demand was available.’

CSPV will continue to consult with the Catholic Education Commission as they work with the Education Minister to recognise the importance of continuing to consider and support Catholic schools and families across Victoria as valued members of the Education State.

Gonski Report Update

The Gonski report was finally released last week and CSPV were pleased to see Parent Engagement as a key strategy for school improvement following our submission that recommended this as a major education reform strategy.

The report makes recommendations across five areas of reform, the first one is of particular interest and importance to CSPV:

1. Laying the foundations for learning – this includes engaging parents and carers in their child’s learning throughout school and developing resources and tools to support this.
   Develop and disseminate evidence-based tools and resources to assist early childhood education providers, primary, and secondary schools to implement best practice approaches to supporting parents and carers to engage in their children’s learning throughout their education.
2. Equipping every student to grow and succeed in a changing world.
3. Creating, supporting and valuing a profession of expert educators.
4. Empowering and supporting school leaders.
5. Raising and achieving aspirations through innovation and continuous improvement.

CSPV are reviewing many of the recommendations of the report and how they impact our five key areas of advocacy and families in Catholic schools.

The report, titled: ‘Through Growth to Achievement Report of the Review to Achieve Educational Excellence in Australian Schools’, is Gonski’s second major review into Australian education, which has stagnated and declined, both in comparison to other nations and in real terms.

Of particular interest for CSPV and educators throughout the country, is how the government intends to fund and how schools will be required to adopt the recommendations from the Gonski report.

CSPV will continue to explore the recommendations in relation to the following:

• Laying the foundations of learning during school years and in the home environment; parent engagement in learning
• Equipping every student to grow and succeed with the knowledge they need and a focus on growing each individuals’ skills; How schools will utilise and engage parent knowledge in understanding strengths and interests of students to enable a personalised approach to teaching and learning
• Enabling students to be partners in their learning
• Transparency with parents on changes at classroom level
• Consultation by the government with Catholic authorities and parent organisations
• That the evidence-based approach does not stifle creativity in education
• Changes to the curriculum to present the learning areas and general capabilities as learning progressions – do we need more changes to the curriculum or can we allow teachers to implement what has only just been rolled out in Victoria?
• Providing a roadmap for students, teachers and parents – what this looks like and what it means for parents in terms of transparency and engagement
• Introduction of new reporting focussed on learning attainment and learning gain providing meaningful information to students and their parents and carers – will parents have a say in this process?
• Prioritise the implementation of learning progressions for literacy and numeracy to ensure the core foundations for learning are developed by age eight
• Teaching of general capabilities, like critical and creative thinking and social capability – already being implemented through the Victorian curriculum – how schools are using parent knowledge and engagement in learning to assist in teaching these skills both at school and in the home/community
• Review of curriculum for years 11 and 12 to ensure students have the skills needed in the future – ensuring parent perspective in this review
• Online tool for teachers to regularly and consistently assess where each student is at and how they are progressing, and give teachers suggestions about individualised support they can provide students – how to engage with parents in this process
• Schools and education authorities should provide high quality and appropriate professional learning for their teachers – including how to integrate parent engagement in learning with teaching and learning across whole schools
• A national workforce strategy will help ensure the right skills and capabilities of the teaching workforce today and in the future.
• Leadership standards – review of the national standards for school leadership and support for leaders in the profession - also exploring parent leadership in education
• Autonomy, support and development for principals to make decisions that benefit their particularly community
• Introduction of a national Unique Student Identifier for all students to be used throughout their schooling – what this looks like and what it means for students.
• Evidence-informed definition of parent engagement, to allow for a core set of agreed measures aligned to the definition to drive improvements in policies and practice.

CSPV are concerned there hasn’t been emphasis placed on Initial Teacher Education in the review as this is an area that needs careful consideration and collective collaboration across the board. It seems to only be focussed on current teaching practice rather than looking at teacher training and how it prepares teachers for the demands and requirements of the profession now and into the future.

It is pleasing to see the government has differentiated between parent engagement and community engagement which are entirely different methods for school and learning improvement.

Whilst some of the recommendations are a positive step forward, many of them are already being implemented in Catholic schools across Victoria. We will continue to keep parents updated on information and which new recommendations will be implemented in Victorian Catholic schools.

Curriculum – NAPLAN Review

Many students across the country have now completed NAPLAN. We hope all students tried their best in completing the assessments and that they viewed the assessment as an opportunity for them to extend themselves to the best of their abilities.

NAPLAN is developed by ACARA, the Australian Curriculum, Assessment and Reporting Authority. NAPLAN is the only national assessment all Australian children undertake (four times across seven years of schooling in Years 3, 5, 7 and 9). The data gained from NAPLAN have proven value; these are the only national set of education data available in Australia, which inform decisions about improving learning for all young students.

The debate continues each year over the future of NAPLAN and standardised tests with calls from the NSW Government to scrap the assessment. The issue with NAPLAN is the overemphasis on the use of league tables to compare school and student success based on test scores when we know that it is just a snapshot of a student’s abilities over a three-day period, four times during their schooling life.

ACARA state that the data is important for parents to compare their child’s progress with other students across Australia. Is this truly what parents need, do the reports actually provide this information for parents and do parents actually use it in this way?

Many parents may be more focussed on their own child’s ongoing process as an individual and prefer not to compare them with other students, but instead to focus on their strengths and areas for improvement. NAPLAN for many parents is more for schools to have an understanding of where there are areas for improvement and to use the data to monitor and measure improvement over time, alongside other assessments.

As recent Victorian data explained, results are improving, particularly in Catholic schools – with consistent increases in NAPLAN scores in literacy and numeracy across all year levels

The introduction of visible scores on the Myschool website seems to have partly caused the issue of anxiety around the assessment, with many parents using the site to determine a suitable school based on NAPLAN results. Whilst some consider this transparency of school results to be a good gauge in determining a good school, for others, the over-emphasis on this has caused unnecessary stress and anxiety amongst some parents and students.

Perhaps it’s time we reviewed the purpose of NAPLAN before deciding to scrap it altogether, particularly now that it is moving to an online format. How and why is it necessary, how results are reported and if there is to be a replacement, how will it be different, and will it provide more effective outcomes?

Some parents are calling for the introduction of the Formative Assessment Tool as the Gonski report recently recommended a ‘roadmap of long-term learning progress based on individual student growth, rather than fixed year levels.’

A new report by the Centre for Independent Studies (CIS) argues that NAPLAN should be retained because it has three major benefits: it is a tool to improve teaching and learning, it is transparent, and it holds governments and schools accountable. “Moving NAPLAN tests online will have significant benefits, including providing more timely results to schools to facilitate earlier intervention and allowing for computer-adjusted testing that is tailored to individual student ability.” (Source: The Educator Online)

We would like to hear feedback from your parent community on whether NAPLAN should be reviewed or scrapped and why. Is it generally agreed the assessment provides teachers and parents with a guide in how children are progressing in literacy and numeracy or should it be broadened to include other skills and learning strengths to truly identify areas of achievement and growth as well as a focus on student improvement?

Please forward your feedback to secretary@cspv.catholic.edu.au.

Catholic Identity – Bishops Plenary 2020

Opportunity for you to participate in the future formation of the Catholic Church in Australia

Bishops Plenary in 2020

An opportunity to contribute to the Bishops Plenary doesn’t come along very often. The last Bishops Plenary was held in Australia 80 years ago in 1937. The Plenary Council has recently been established, facilitated by Ms Lana Turvey-Collins.

What is a Plenary Council?

The highest gathering of churches in one place, called by the Australian Catholic Bishops Conference to be held in 2020.

A Plenary Council has legislative and governance authority. Decisions are voted and become binding on the Catholic Church.

How will the process work in listening and having open dialogue?

Everyone is invited to contribute to dialogue and reflect on the future of the Catholic Church in Australia.

How can I be involved?

Australian Catholics are invited to contribute to dialogue and reflect on the future of the Catholic Church in Australia.

The council member delegates are governed by Canon Law and fall into two categories – those who must be called and those who may be called.

Those who fall into the category of ‘must be called’ includes:

• All active Bishops
• Auxillary Bishops
• Bishops and Archbishops
• Vicars General and Episcopal Vicars
• Superiors and Congregational Leaders of Religious Orders
• Societies of Apostolic Life
• Rectors of Tertiary Institutions
• Deans of Faculties of Theology and Canon Law
• Rectors of major seminaries

Those who ‘may be called’ include:

• Retired Bishops
• Other clergy
• Lay people or parishioners
• Observers, advisors or consultants (they don’t have voting rights)

The process to nominate delegates will take place in early 2019.

When will the Plenary take place?

Plenary Council gatherings will be held in two sessions, the first in October 2020 in central Australia and the second in May 2021 in a city on the Eastern side of Australia, most likely Sydney.

The Open, Listening and Dialogue process is due to begin this month, May 2018 until Easter in 2019.

We invite you to think about the future of the Catholic Church in Australia to form your contribution to the Plenary Council. We will provide further information on how you can be involved as we learn more from the facilitators as they strive to make the process accessible to all people across Australia.

CatholicCare – Family Week

CatholicCare’s Family Week 2018 takes place this week from Monday 14 May to Sunday 20 May.

Many Catholic schools will be participating in Family Week, including families in celebrating their role in supporting and guiding their children and developing positive relationships in the home and in our school communities.

Made in the image of God, humans are social beings. It is within the family that we first learn to build loving connections with others, based on the deep knowledge that we are loved. Sometimes these ideal relationships are absent, or they break down.

At these times the Christian community needs to rally around to support the individuals and the family to rebuild deeper, more nourishing relationships. It is here that the partnership between CatholicCare and Catholic schools and parishes can be most active.

The theme for Family Week in 2018 is Building Connections; Growing Together, and reflects CatholicCare’s focus on supporting and strengthening individuals, families and communities.

Family Week is an opportunity to support CatholicCare in its activities through fundraising, and an opportunity to celebrate the families in your school community.

CatholicCare is the social service agency of the Catholic Archdiocese of Melbourne and the Diocese of Sale. Since 1935, the organisation has offered hope and support to the vulnerable and marginalised, responding to the changing needs of the community with a commitment to addressing social disadvantage.

Their vision is for a stronger, more inclusive society - where everyone can reach their potential and live life to the full. CatholicCare is not just a program, or even a series of programs – it’s a safety net and a capacity builder. Caring professionals accompany clients on their journey, listening and responding, and ensuring their dignity is upheld at all times.

CatholicCare offer a range of programs and services that aim to build and strengthen relationships, because strong relationships are crucial in life. They support families in all their forms and their programs include:

• Family and Relationship Services such as Counselling
• Family Dispute Resolution
• Parenting Orders Program and
• GodStart.

Family Wellbeing Support Services include workshops that help parents connect with their children, manage boundaries and build their relationships as well as Stress busting workshops for children. CatholicCare also provides school support in the form of school counselling, school refusal support, relationship education and Seasons-education for loss, change and grief.

Year of Youth – Time to Shine

To continue to celebrate our talented and creative students in the Year of Youth, Catholic Education Melbourne is proud to pesent the third Time to Shine Catholic schools performance gala.

Performances feature 75 individual singers, a massed choir of 160 students and over 200 dancers, supported by a live combined professional and student orchestra.

Performers have been working with industry professional directors and choreographers for over nine months to ensure an outstanding production with a taste of everything from musical theatre and beatbox through to contemporary and classical hits.

Time to Shine takes place on Saturday 28 July at the State Theatre, with two performances at 2.00 pm and 7.30 pm.

Tickets are available from the Arts Centre Melbourne website. For group bookings call 1800 182 183.

Contact Bronwyn Egan at 9267 0228 or began@cem.edu.au.

Parent Leadership – Join Catholic School Parents Victoria

Opportunities for new council members to join our team

Catholic School Parents Victoria are currently seeking expressions of interest for parents to join the council as a volunteer member in 2018-2020. This is a unique opportunity for parents of children in Catholic schools to join a team of parents in advocating various issues in education at a system and state level.

The volunteer role involves a commitment of a two-year tenure that includes four meetings per year (in person or via video or telephone conference) and an ongoing consultative role in providing feedback and parent voice across five key areas of advocacy:

• Child Safety and Wellbeing
• Parent Engagement
• Catholic Identity
• Curriculum
• School Funding

Other opportunities include writing articles for various publications, attending professional learning seminars or conferences, nominating for a position on a steering committee or working group, the Executive team or the national parent council (CSPA), and some travel (for those nominated for a position on the national council, Catholic School Parents Australia).

Most of all you will have the opportunity to contribute Catholic school parent voice on various improvements in education in Victoria.

We are currently seeking members from:

Diocese of Sale – 2 members
Diocese of Ballarat – 1 member
Diocese of Melbourne (East) – 1 member
Diocese of Melbourne (West) – 1 member
Diocese of Melbourne (South) – 1 member
Diocese of Melbourne (North) – 1 member

If you would like to express your interest in this unique parent leadership role in education, please contact Rachel Saliba at secretary@cspv.catholic.edu.au or call 03 9267 0458 for an information pack.

We look forward to keeping you informed and providing relevant and useful resources throughout the year in 2018.

Rachel Saliba (Executive Officer and Chief Editor)
Executive Officer
Catholic School Parents Victoria
secretary@cspv.catholic.edu.au
03 9267 0458

Schoolzine

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