Welcome to the first edition of our Catholic School Parents Victoria newsletter for 2020. Well what a start to the year we've all had so far!

I would like to begin with reflecting on the challenges of the bushfires with many areas in two of our diocese being impacted. In the diocese of Sale and Sandhurst many communities were under threat as fires approached and destroyed small remote towns. As we know the people in those communities who are reliant on tourism during the peak season have all been impacted in so many ways. On top of that, we are now facing further uncertainty with the Coronavirus impacting our daily lives and the way we interact, our jobs and employment and now our children's education. 

As an employee in the health sector, I have been witness to many changes over the past few weeks in how we manage during a crisis situation, how we prioritise and how we stick together during these times.

CSPV have been working closely with CECV and have received information from the Department of Education and Training to provide consistent messaging around the situation with schools and will continue to do so as further information comes to hand. The latest information we have is that school holidays will begin sooner than planned and any further decisions will be made as time goes on.

Whilst there has been no specific announcement around the re-opening of schools after the holidays as yet, be rest assured that the system leaders, our schools and families are now preparing for the potential for learning at home as the coronavirus situation becomes more serious and our State goes into lockdown. 

Many families may be concerned about what the impact will be on their children's learning should schools close. CSPV have sought advice from the Victorian Curriculum and Assessment Authority on the impact particularly for VCE, VCAL/VET students and we've provided an update in this issue. 

Further information will become available for primary and secondary schools about learning at home options and CSPV will provide updates and support in line with what schools are expecting of students and their families. 

Many schools are busy preparing packs and online resources for student's to learn at home and there are various resources that will be provided to schools by the State government to support the curriculum and learning at home.

We are encouraging parents to continue to remain in contact with their school who will be able to advise their approach to learning at home and the resources they would like students to use. CSPV may also share articles and resources via our website on various ways you can engage in learning with your children at home.

We encourage schools to be clear in their communication with parents about what the expectations are of students and of parents to engage in their children's learning and to work in partnership with the school. It is a challenging time but it can also be a time for sharing and learning alongside each other.

For further updates, please visit the CSPV website for the latest news:

Since the end of 2019 CSPV have been involved in the ongoing consultations related to the changes in governance for Archdiocese of Melbourne Catholic schools, providing parent perspective during this important change to the governance and management of Catholic schools.

CSPV appointed a parent representative as a member of the governance steering committee and more recently our Executive Officer attended and participated in a forum to discuss various issues related to the changes.

We will continue to keep parents informed of the progress of the changes, particularly of interest to school and parish boards.

Click on the link below to view the latest updates from the various consultations that have taken place across the Archdiocese.

CSPV continue to work in partnership with education leaders and have most recently been involved in collaborating with the Wellbeing Unit at CEM in reviewing the Horizons of Hope Statement related to Families and Schools - partners in learning.

At CSPV we believe in and are committed to the gospel values of respect, honesty, justice, compassion, mercy, hospitality and community. These underpin our operations, relationships and communication strategies.

We are currently seeking parent member delegates who are passionate about education in the following areas:

If you feel you could contribute to CSPV and represent parent perspective in Catholic Education across a broad range of advocacy areas, please visit our website at http://cspv.catholic.edu.au/join-us/ or call 03 9267 0458 for further information

CSPV would value your contribution to the development of the organisation in providing parent perspective in Catholic education at a system and state level.