We continue to meet with each of the Diocese Directors to provide updates on areas of our involvement with state-wide stakeholders. One of our responsibilities this year is in providing parent representation on the 2020 NCEC Organising Committee and subcommittees in preparation for the largest Catholic Education Conference in Australia. Parent representatives from our council as well as co-opted members are providing parent perspective across the key streams of Catholic Identity, Leadership and Governance, Communication and Community Involvement and School Improvement.

The tasks for each of these groups have been to source keynote speakers for each stream and so far the speaker list is looking fantastic. It is a great opportunity for Catholic school parents to be involved in these organizing committees for one of the alongside school leaders, system leaders and students, a positive partnership approach.

CSPV have also partnered with the Primary and Secondary Principals Associations and Catholic Schools Guide to develop a Catholic Secondary Schools STEAM Showcase Day on 11th August this year. We are very excited to be collaborating with each of these organisations to showcase and promote the wonderful work our secondary students are creating in Catholic secondary schools across Victoria. You will find further information in this newsletter.

Our Executive Officer, Rachel Saliba attended the Victorian Association of Catholic Primary School Principals conference in Lorne recently where there were valuable networking opportunities and speakers to learn from. We continue to explore the supportive themes such as Principal Wellbeing and encouraging family-school partnerships and positive parent advocacy that these leaders, in their valuable role in our education system, can benefit from.

Through our ongoing commitment to child safety we attended a morning breakfast held by Catholic Education Melbourne to learn from the Commissioner for Children and Young People, Ms Liana Buchanan and to explore the current child safety education themes in the Catholic schools curriculum. A summary of this breakfast forum can be found in this newsletter. CSVP hope to co-host a child safety forum to include parents later this year to explore resources for parents to ensure they are engaging in child safety conversations with their children.

CSPV recently had an opportunity to deliver 3 workshops to pre-service teachers at Australian Catholic University to provide assistance in understanding how to build a positive relationships and engage with parents and families. We hope to deliver more of these University based workshops to other education facilities, particularly in the regional setting to build confidence in pre-service teachers to adopt a partnership approach with families in their future careers as educators.       

We are currently conducting an operational review of our internal systems where I am Chair of a Governance and Finance Sub-Committee. This sub-committee is tasked with overseeing the governance structures and ensuring the Constitutional requirements are followed as well as other items of importance to the running of the CSPV. Our team will meet several times year to explore areas of our Constitution including Canon Law, governance practices and the financial structure of our organisation. These regular reviews are valuable in order to improve best practice and systems to continue to strengthen the organisation.    

The CSPV parent council 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.

If you feel you could contribute to the council advocacy areas and represent parent perspective in Catholic Education, please click here or call 03 9267 0458 for further information. Parent/carer contribution is valuable to the continued development of the organisation and in representing the perspective of parents in Catholic education across Victoria.

Until next time,
Rod Lewis
Chairperson, CSPV.

Late last year CSPV completed the development of a new five year strategic plan. The plan included three main focus areas of Partnerships, Communication and Advocacy. Under our Advocacy pillar, we developed a new approach to determine which advocacy areas to focus on and why, setting ourselves a criteria to ensure our advocacy efforts were purposeful and linked with our strategic plan.

The table above shows our new advocacy framework, breaking our work into two categories of Parent Engagement and Parent Leadership. 

Each of these areas are critical to develop partnerships in learning across our Catholic schools in Victoria.

You may notice our newsletter is now also based on this framework, including Parent Engagement and Parent Leadership in each of the article titles to emphasise these two key focus areas for CSPV.

Chances are many parents in your school have not heard of the great work of Catholic School Parents Victoria in representing parent perspective in educaiton.

As we continue to build the profile of CSPV we encourage all parents to visit our website, like our Facebook page and subscribe to our newsletter via the following links that you can add to your school newsletter:

Here's your opportunity to contribute to improvement in your school

In September this year schools in the Archdiocese of Melbourne will be sending, to a selection of parents, a new online school improvement survey. The survey is different to those in previous years and has been developed to ensure schools are learning from school leaders, students, teachers and families, how they can improve in various aspects of school culture, learning and teaching and family engagement.
A more rigorous process will be undertaken by schools to develop a consistent and strategic Annual Action Plan following the survey results.

Key categories in the survey include:

• Family Engagement - how you are enabled by the school to engage in the learning process alongside your child to support their learning - eg. communication of learning that is two-way, learning information sessions, immersive learning opportunities, see-saw posts and opportunities for having conversations about learning with your child and providing feedback about their learning, provided with activities to do together at home (Learning at Home) and encouraged to support your child's learning.

• Barriers to engagement - what is preventing you from being enabled to engage in your child's learning or in events or activities that are run by the school? There are many and varied reasons you're not able to be physically present at school and this is nothing to be ashamed of. Once schools are aware of what is preventing you from attending events or other activities, they are then able to plan for other ways to include you in the learning journey of your child, so your feedback is valuable.

• School climate - this refers to the culture of the school, how welcomed you feel as a family and the overall feel of the school.

• Student Safety - how well the school is managing bullying and other child safety issues. 

• Catholic Identity - how your family views a Catholic education and your engagement in the spiritual journey of your child.

• School Fit - how well your child fits into the school learning environment.

• Communication - how well the school is communicating learning with you including what the children are learning, what type of communication methods are used and how effective the communication is to your child's progress. These questions will provide valuable for feedback about the teacher-parent relationship to help schools understand the gaps and areas for improvement. 

The survey completion will provide your school with key indicators as to where they need to improve and will provide you with the opportunity to contribute as valued members of the school community and in your child's learning journey.

Should you have any questions about the survey, your school Principal will be able to answer any your questions.

Catholic secondary schools from across Victoria will be presenting excellence in learning at the 'Innovate for the Future' Catholic Secondary Schools Showcase Day, so you can explore what Catholic secondary schools have to offer your child over one day.

With the theme of 'innovation', the event will be a fun day out for your family. Showcasing Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts & Mathematics (STEAM) the day will provide you with opportunities to talk with students and staff and to witness student learning in action.

Free admission gives you access to browse display stands, hear from keynote speakers, listen to an educational expert panel and be entertained by performances from talented Catholic school students.

Sessions over the day will include:

• Q&A Panel discussing the 'preparation for innovative future workplaces'

• Snappertank Competition where you can witness the innovative Year 5/6 students presenting their ideas to win prizes for their school.

• Schools Showcase Hall where schools will be available for conversations about the exciting opportunities available in our Catholic secondary schools.

The Showcase Day will take place on Sunday 11th August 2019 at the CEM’s Catholic Leadership Centre in East Melbourne. The day will commence at 10.00am and conclude at 4.00pm. 

If you are considering a Catholic secondary education for your child, this will be your opportunity to engage with educators and students before the official close of applications for Year 5 students beginning secondary school in 2021, on Friday 23rd August 2019.

Don't miss your chance to register to see how Catholic secondary schools are providing quality education opportunities for students.

For further information and to register for the Showcase Day visit https://catholicschoolsguide.com.au/showcase/

Last week a joint statement was released from the three peak parent organisations from across each education sector in Australia. The statement expressed concern over the impact of recent media statements portraying parents as aggressive, violent and the cause of stress for principals and teachers. See the statement below:

Parents and Schools Working Together – Better!

16th May 2019

We are extremely concerned about the impact of recent media statements portraying parents as aggressive, violent and the cause of stress for principals and teachers. 

Violent or threatening behaviour by anyone is totally unacceptable and can never be condoned. We know that parents are involved in 5% of these kinds of incidents against staff in schools, and that is 5% too many.

But the recent media reports have exacerbated tension between two of the most significant parties in a young person’s school life – parents and teachers.

Instead, as leading organisations for parents and communities in our nation’s schools, we ask how we can foster and support good communication and collaboration, for the benefit of everyone invested in children’s education.

All parents and teachers, along with other selected professionals, have a shared responsibility for the wellbeing and development of young people.

Every day, parents and grandparents entrust their precious children to teachers and other school staff. In most cases, a child leaves their parent’s care by 9am and returns to their side around 3pm with little communication or knowledge of what happens in the hours between.

For many reasons, teachers often only communicate with parents for the first time when there is an issue. This is not a good place to begin such an important relationship.

We have long argued for more time and resources to be invested in engaging families.

The 50 years of research clearly proves that student outcomes improve and relationships between home and school are far more positive when schools invest in authentic family engagement.

This is why we believe it is time to invest in measures that would positively impact the relationships between teachers and parents and we expect the next Education Minister to take steps to do this.

We realise this isn’t going to happen overnight, but we must work towards a future where school communities form strong partnerships with families and work together for the benefit of young people. Schools and parents need to be able to share each other’s knowledge of the strengths and challenges of each child.

Schools and parents need to talk openly and clearly about children, so they can respond effectively to any issues long before they become a concern.

We believe this would build trust, reduce frustration, and ultimately minimise unacceptable behaviour.

Violence is not just a school issue. It is a community issue. We need to deal with it through a community approach.  

Our parent organisations would welcome the opportunity to collaborate with principal and teacher organisations, as well as education departments and other education authorities to improve family engagement.     

By Julie Di Noto
Administration Officer
Catholic School Parents Victoria
Family Engagement Consultant

Recently I attended a family engagement in learning seminar with Dr Tim Moore, Senior Research Fellow at the Centre for Community Child Health, Murdoch Children's Research Institute. Dr Moore explored and led a conversation regarding relationships for learning and the brain science associated with this. He addressed the nature and role of relationships at the heart of effective practice. Some clear messages were:

• there needs to be intentional practice regarding the building of relationships

• the importance of schools collaborating with parents in co-designing, co-managing and co-evaluating services is evident

• relationships are central to wellbeing and face to face contact has the most impact

• relationships are the medium through which teachers can drive learning

• research indicates that positive relationships lead to better outcomes, however they are a necessary but not sufficent condition

To further explore the neurobiology of relationships:                                               

Moore, T.G. (2017). Authentic engagement: The nature and role of the relationship at the heart of effective practice. Keynote address at ARACY Parent Engagement Conference ~ Maximising every child’s potential ~ Melbourne, 7th June.

Wondering what is happening in Catholic schools across Victoria?

Did you know there are 4 diocese in Victoria - the Archdiocese of Melbourne, Diocese of Sale, Diocese of Ballarat and Diocese of Sandhurst. CSPV are keen to hear your stories in your respective diocese so we can continue to promote Catholic education as a first choice for families. Each term in our newsletter we will bring you an update to keep you informed.

Archdiocese of Melbourne - It Takes A Spark Conference for Girls

Teachers and Students will soon present or attend a STEAM Conference with a difference! The intent of the Conference is to ignite interest from many schools in STEAM, particularly from girls who traditionally are underrepresented in these subject areas. The conference brings together teachers and girls with inspiring female role models, industry innovators and universities for an immersive day of interactive STEAM workshops. This is a unique learning opportunity to attend a conference designed and led by students and teachers for students and teachers. Whilst parents are not able to attend the conference, we still have a specific and integral role to encourage our children to try the various subjects related to STEAM.

This is an exciting initiative for our girls and as parents we can contribute to an increase in girls taking on these subjects. We can do this by exploring learning opportunities outside of school and encouraging our girls to try new things, even if it takes them outside their comfort zone and even if they fail. Exploring STEAM is great for girls because of the skills they will learn, providing future opportunities in a broad range of industries. 

We look forward to hearing about the 'It Takes A Spark' conference and to encouraging more girls to be curious and engage in STEAM.

This term Catholic Care in the Diocese of Sandhurst in Bendigo and regional areas has many events available for families including:

• Dads Tuning in to Kids
• Recovering from Separation
• Seasons for Growth
• Tuning in to Teens
• It’s About the Kids (post separation parenting program)
• Boys Brains
• Life Partnership Workshop
• Kids and Worry
• Parenting Conversations
• Bringing up Great Kids
• Kids and Anger
• The Importance of Dads
• Re-partnering with Kids
• Introduction to Facilitating Parent Groups for Professionals
• How to have Difficult Conversations

Some events are tailored for parents, school leaders and teachers and others are specifically for children.

Book now as spaces are limited to minimum and maximum numbers. For further details, download the flyer below.

All programs and workshops can be delivered for professional development. Contact CCS Family and Relationship Services on 5438 1300 to discuss your needs.

There are many benefits in having regular family meetings to learn more about each other, to overcome any challenges together, appreciate one another and reflect on feelings.

In this article, Marilyn Price-Mitchell discusses the importance of family meetings as opportunities for parents and children to discuss important issues, strengthen communication, reinforce values and nurture positive family relationships.

"If you want your children to be intelligent, read them fairytales.
If you want them to be more intelligent, read them more fairytales."
Albert Einstein

Reading with children and allowing time for reading is one of the greatest joys you can experience as a parent or carer. The connection and enjoyment you can create when reading together is something that should be trasured and is essential to improve not only your child's enjoyment of reading, but also your connection and bond with your child and their learning.

We know that reading has major benefits for children including:

1. Improved concentration
2. Improved memory 
3. Discovery of the world around them 
4. Provides the brain with opportunity to exercise neural connections
5. Boosts critical thinking skills especially if you ask questions while you read together
6. Develops empathy when you read stories of empathy and ask your child how they feel and what the characters are doing
7. Develops and expands language skills when children hear multiple words and are able to say them out loud, their verbal language skills as well as spelling skills improve
8. Enhances imagination when they are opened to a world that may be different to their own and provides them with permission to use their imagination to explore new ideas and thoughts
9. Helps improve performance in school. The more children read, the more topics they are able to write about or talk about and expand their knowledge and imagination to be able to express their comprehension of stories.
10. Provides a source of entertainment. Once upon a time when we didn't have screens we read books more and were able to build our capacity to communicate. Providing reading time as well as screen time will provide a good balance.
11. Develops a good self image when reading and learning about others.

(Source: Edarabia.com)

Catholic School Parents Victoria has partnered with Catholic Education Melbourne to update a Parents as Partners Policy and to create an overarching statement about what it means to partner with parents in Catholic learning communities.

As part of our ongoing commitment to work in partnership with educators, two CSPV parent delegates currently sit on the Parents as Partners Reference Group, exploring various resources and contributing parent perspective to this most important policy.

The development of this policy is no easy task, as we explore the complexities of relationships in primary and secondary schools and how they might improve. We have discovered there are differences that need to be nurtured and understood as an essential element in the success of our students. The more we understand what it means to work together in partnership to develop the whole child, the culture of learning communities will improve with a flow on effect on the relationships that students themselves will be influenced by and able to learn from in the years to come.

Parent leadership is about leading by example and the more we collaborate and value each others' perspective when it comes to the education of children, we will provide opportunities for children to be surrounded by the support and guidance they need to thrive in their learning.

CSPV was able to attend earlier this year, a dialogue session with Dr George Otero from Relational Learning in New Mexico. Dialogue is one of the key tools to use when engaging and learning in partnership with parents. Using these sessions to learn from each other is critical to the successful development of the Parents as Partners statement and policy. It was great to see system leaders, Principals and parents learning together and providing various perspectives on this most important element of school culture.

We look forward to continuing to provide parent perspective on this group and contributing our voice to policy and resource development across Victoria’s Catholic education sector.

How Catholic Schools are creating cultures of Child Safety for our children

CSPV recently attended a breakfast forum to learn from the Commissioner for Children and Young People (CCYP), Liana Buchanan, how far our schools have progressed with Child Safety and implementing the Child Safe Standards. Liana discussed how schools have performed in meeting the accreditation standards, but also shared we still have a long way to go when it comes to developing a whole school and community approach to a culture of child safety. 

CSPV are exploring opportunities with Liana and the CCYP, along with Catholic Education Melbourne in how we can provide further support for parents in understanding the Child Safe Standards and what the parent role is in working with the school to create a culture of safety. Along with a shared responsibility in a school context, we are exploring how to support parents with resources they can use in their homes with their children, to have important conversations about child safety and providing children with opportunities to ask questions and know who to turn to if they feel unsafe. 

Click on the video above to learn more about how Catholic schools across Victoria are working with students to ensure they are safe in their learning environments at school. With a focus on Standard 7 of the Child Safe Standards; Strategies to promote participation and empowerment of children, many students are enabled to feel they can speak up and learn what is safe and what is not.

"Sometimes I pretend to be normal....but it gets boring.
So I go back to being ME!"
Cosentino

In March this year our Executive Officer, Rachel Saliba once again attended the Victorian Association of Catholic Primary School Principals (VACPSP) Conference as a special guest. Rachel was able to network with many Principals and learn from their leadership experiences, as well as learning from some wonderful speakers, including the very talented Cosentino, the magician.

Following is a summary of the various speakers and the important messages they shared throughout the day.

Emerging trends in education (McCrindle) - Mark McCrindle

Mark was a very interesting speaker who explored in very uniquely visual ways, research undertaken to explore what the current education landscape looks like and how there is a need for adapting and changing the way we think about the workplace and our world to prepare children. Mark explored how to understand and respond to the generational changes occurring, particularly how people now work. There are many more people choosing to work as contractors or in multiple professions because it suits their lifestyle. The impact of digital devices has also profoundly changed how new business and new products are created.

Learning is now more visual with new devices and technology, apps and video have become the go-to for marketers and for online learning. There has been the introduction of digital entertainment in the home such as Netflix and the content creation trend has grown enormously over the past few years and is in no way slowing down.

Mark's research found that there are currently 3,849,225 students in Australia with emerging new generations currently in primary and secondary school - 1995-2009 Gen Z – or tech kids. These children have grown up with technology and know no other world.

Mark referred to The Education Future Report (https://educationfuture.com.au/) – during his presentation, exploring the top challenges for students who we have witnessed are experiencing high pressure in exams, online bullying, and leading more complicated lives.

Screen disruption and the busyness of the brain, with content constantly interfering and competing, is having an impact on learning engagement. What is perhaps most disturbing is people skills and communication or face to face interactions have declined – not only for children but also new teachers coming through University, as they move into the profession from this generation.

We have seen emerge the need for teachers to explore critical and creative thinking, entrepreneurial skills, people/communication skills with their students as these are in high demand in the workplace. Whilst there has been a move towards teaching using technology and learning programming, it is human based skills that are essential, particularly the understanding of building relationships and self awareness. 

The emerging generations have been called:

• Generation Alpha – 2010 – Global Generation, Multi Modals,Upagers, Generation Glass
• Gen Z – Technology has been the biggest influence (iGen)

Mark also discussed a shift in faith and beliefs in Australia with the research discovered in the Faith and Belief Report. We are seeing a change in the dynamics of families – where once they may have viewed their local Parish as their community, where they go for engagement with community now is more likely to be in a school, other community or sporting groups or online. They are seeking connection in other areas.

Mark talked about finding simplicity amongst complexity in response to change. In education, learning is changing from verbal to visual, from sit & listen to try and see and even fail and try again.

Some key areas he discussed for focus in education are:

• Culture - social needs as well as professional needs in schools, where all voices are heard, improved communication - what gets measured and effectively communicated gets done. Visualise information to keep it simple, particularly for students and parents.
• Purpose of roles
• Impact – achievements linked to purpose – not hierarchical leadership; highlighting the impacts and celebrating them with teachers can building their confidence
• Real – authenticity in collaboration, key messages and in partnerships
• Relevant – adjust, adapt to changes
• Responsive – respond to feedback
• Relational - where and how people connect.

Cosentino the Magician

Another inspiring speaker on the day was the amazing magician, Cosentino. Aside from sharing his amazing magic on stage, Cosentino shared his story. Coming from a loving family, he talked about how he struggled to read as a child. His mother was a teacher so this made him feel inadequate. He talked about how his mother took him to the library and introduced him to picture books. One of the books he found was about a magician with beautiful old style illustrations. He was instantly smitten and decided he would teach himself how to do magic tricks. His passion for magic meant he began to read and to practice reading and working on himself and his skills in magic. He discussed how he overcame challenges in his life to follow his passion and how the support and guidance of his family impacted his success. Authentic parent engagement!

He eventually completed school and was successful in entering University, but soon realised his passion was on the stage, performing illusions and magic for others.
It took him 15 years to achieve national and international success.

He emphasised that it was, and still is, a journey that he has worked passionately and tirelessly for. His show was rejected several times but he kept persevering because he knew that he had a special gift to share with others. All the trips around Australia to perform shows for very small, to medium and large crowds, eventually paid off when Cosentino was successful in reaching the final of Australia's Got Talent. Since his appearance on TV, he describes seeing doors finally open and opportunities come his way.

His perseverence and determination to follow his passion has seen him become the success he is today. However, it has been a journey and one that he believes is what we need to embrace. It's not just the success but the learning along the way that is most important, as well as keeping your integrity and being true to yourself and who you are as a person. In his words, "Sometimes I pretend to be normal....but it gets boring. So I go back to being ME!"

CSPV thank the primary principals association, VACPSP for the opportunity to attend the conference and look forward to continuing to develop partnership opportunities in future.  

Parents and Community are central to learning alongside education at school. Relational Learning and Relational Leadership practices focus on building strong genuine partnerships with parents and the wider community. 

Cultural understandings are key in this. This video highlights what's possible when schools listen and learn from the rich knowledge of the community as an integral part their school improvement practice.

Our Executive Officer, Rachel Saliba will attend a retreat on Relational Leadership in the coming weeks to continue to build capacity for parents to be more engaged in their child's learning through the implementation of relational leadership and strength based practices.

When we think of parent leadership in Catholic education we may immediately think of the Chairperson or members of the School or Parish Education Board, the President and members of the Parents and Friends or Parent Council. Whilst the parents or carers who hold these volunteer positions are highly valued leaders, there are many opportunities for all parents to demonstrate and be engaged in leadership inside and outside of Catholic learning communities.

As soon as we set foot on school property, we are being observed by the very people who are at the centre of learning in our schools, the students. Leadership is demonstrated through actions and how we contribute to the development of a welcoming and positive learning culture and environment for children.

When we think of leadership, we may at times put leaders on a pedestal or view them through a lens of being a ‘hero’. “For too long, too many of us have been entranced by heroes. Perhaps it’s our desire to be saved, to not have to do the hard work, to rely on someone else to figure things out.” We may think that leaders have all the answers and that they will solve all problems. Instead, if we think of leaders rather as ‘hosts’, it can alter the whole culture and perception of leadership in education and more specifically our role as parent leaders in our homes, our schools and in the community.

As host leaders and volunteers in our communities, we are demonstrating through actions as examples, showing the way for others, much like Jesus taught us and what our children are learning in our Catholic schools. Following in the footsteps of Jesus means that we are the guides, not the superheroes who have all the answers or who seek gratification.

Leaders as hosts take on a different role in that they collaborate and share ideas, then solve challenges together. This is what is considered a genuine partnership approach, where each member of a learning community is a valued leader, capable of positive contribution to community, included in decision making and the development of whole school community culture.

Leaders as hosts demonstrate selflessness and in the words of Mary McKillop, “see a need and do something about it.” These leaders don’t wait to be asked to take action. In taking action, however, they are not trying to be a hero, they are showing genuine leadership in doing the right thing and make a difference for others.

As parents of children in Catholic schools, we are very capable of leading positive change in the Church and in our communities, but most of all within our families. Parents are the first leaders in the education and guidance of their children.
Pope Francis continues to emphasise the importance of families in setting an example. He states, “Truly Christian families are known by their fidelity, their patience, their openness to life, and their respect for the elderly…..the secret to this is the presence of Jesus in the family.”

We are all leaders, learning from and with each other in our learning communities.

Everyone has a role to play in a Catholic learning community. Each experience we have as our children take their journey through school is a learning opportunity and a chance to show leadership. It is a shared responsibility and one that extends beyond the school gate. In our local communities and in our homes, we are always demonstrating leadership and guidance with our children.

About Catholic School Parents Victoria

Catholic School Parents Victoria recently developed a five-year strategic plan that provides opportunities for parent leadership in Catholic education at a system, state and national level. The parents who sit on the council are current Catholic school parent volunteers who are passionate about making a difference in education and contributing parent perspective as partners in key decision making in education.

Some exciting projects we are currently or have recently been involved in include a review of Naplan, parent engagement workshops for pre-service teachers, development of a Parents As Partners Policy for Catholic Education Melbourne and assisting in the organisation of forums with guest speakers and the National Catholic Education Commission Conference due to take place in September 2020.
CSPV have also been involved in developing an Australia-wide Parent Engagement Toolkit as well as collaborating and supporting the work several governing bodies and working alongside each diocese to improve and promote Catholic education.

Catholic School Parents Victoria invites parents to share in a dialogue session with Lois Vermilya, to explore parent leadership in education. 

World Meeting of Families 2021

The Holy See is calling on more support to strengthen families. 

“Family love: a vocation and a path to holiness” is the theme chosen by Pope Francis for the next World Meeting of Families, due to take place in Rome in June 2021. Source: Vatican News.

In honour of families as the first and most important nurturers and influencers in the lives of their children, Pope Francis has announced the theme for Meeting of Families for 2021.

A statement released this week said, “The aim is to emphasise family love as a vocation and a way to holiness, and to understand and share the profound and redeeming significance of family relationships in daily life,”

“Conjugal and family love reveals the precious gift of a life together where communion is nourished and a culture of individualism, consumption and waste is averted,” the statement continued. It also emphasises the importance of the identity of each member of the family."

This is a significant recognition of parents and family and their most important role in guiding and supporting their children through life and through their education. We have long recognised that educating children is a shared responsibility and it is timely that the Church is also recognising that working alongside parents to support their mission in raising their children is critical for our society.

Join Catholic School Parents as a member delegate to build your capacity as a parent/carer leader in Catholic Education

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