As we wrap up another exciting school year and set our sights on Christmas I would like to take this opportunity to reflect on some of the achievements of Catholic Education over the past year.

2018 saw the launch of the Catholic Education Office’s Strategic Plan 2018-2020 which sets the formative direction for Catholic Education in the Canberra and Goulburn Archdiocese for the coming years. The Plan provides continued focus on the learning and wellbeing of our students in the thousand classrooms across the Archdiocese.

2018 highlighted the excellent standards of our schools - our students, educators and leaders. Among the many awards presented to our Catholic learning communities, the prestigious title of Non-Government Principal of the year was awarded to the Principal of Holy Spirit Primary, Brad Gaynor.

I would like to thank everyone for their hard work and tireless dedication to Catholic education. I look forward to the opportunities of the coming New Year as we continue our journey to be faith filled Catholic learning communities of hope, joy and wonder where all are welcome and inspired to grow to their potential.

I would like to wish you all Advent Blessings at this holy time of year. Stay safe and enjoy the well-earned rest.

Ross Fox
Director of Catholic Education, Archdiocese of Canberra and Goulburn

On 18 January 2019 17 Pilgrims will represent the Archdiocese of Canberra and Goulburn at World Youth Day (WYD) in a worldwide gathering to encourage the youth of today to live out the teachings of Christ.

WYD was instituted in 1985 by Pope John Paul II for youth to rejoice in a global encounter, to celebrate the diversity and universality of the Catholic Church and to unite as one.

Archbishop Christopher Prowse, Father Namora, Father Adrian, four leaders, six teachers and four youth ministers will join the young Pilgrims on their journey of faith.

The group will start their travels in Mexico City for a day of Ministry followed by a pilgrimage to the Basilica of Our Lady of Guadalupe before WYD begins on 22 January with an opening Mass led by the local Bishop.

Throughout the week, the Pilgrims will participate in Catechesis, Stations of the Cross and a pilgrimage to the site of a Vigil Mass on the Saturday night. It is expected that the final Mass with the Pope will have an attendance of over 1 million.

Following the WYD celebration, the Pilgrims will have the special opportunity to visit the Panama Canal and Mirafores Locks with a private Mass at a local church.

Archbishop, Father Namora and Father Adrian on their personal pilgrimage experiences, before arriving back in Canberra on 2 February.

Catholic Education Archdiocese of Canberra and Goulburn Religious Education and Faith Formation Officer, Lisa Mammoliti said, “The Pilgrims have been preparing and are excited to engage in a personal pilgrimage of faith. We are looking forward to sharing their experiences and encounters with school communities and parishes.”

In the lead up to Christmas, four Catholic school choirs were invited to perform in the Marble Foyer at Parliament House for the 2018 Christmas at Australian Parliament House program.

Over two weeks, Holy Trinity Primary School, Curtin, St Benedict’s Primary School, Narrabundah, St Jude’s Primary School, Holder and St John Vianney’s Primary School, Waramanga each took centre stage with their conductors. 

The Speaker of the House of Representatives the Hon Tony Smith MP, and the President of the Senate, Senator the Hon Scott Ryan, launched the 2018 Christmas program on the 26 November, officially lighting the Parliament House Giving Tree.

This year the Giving Tree is raising money for Drought Angels and the Australian Indigenous Education Foundation (AIEF), and is on display until 3 January.

The school choirs were praised on their ‘delightful performances and impressive conductors’ and have been welcomed back to perform at next year’s Christmas at Australian Parliament House.

Bega Council has praised the St Patrick’s Primary School’s ‘Green Team’ for their sustainable STEM garden and outdoor learning area that utilises recycled materials and minimises waste.

Senior students recently presented the ongoing two year project to Mayor Kristy McBain at a Bega Valley Shire Council meeting highlighting hard work and positive outcomes.

Landscape artist Costa Georgiadis worked with St Patrick’s to create a ‘mud hub’ out of roof tiles, road base and discarded socks. Plants will now be grown in the middle of the mud hub and bamboo will be used as a tepee fence for beans to climb on that will eventually provide shaded shelter.

Students initially excavated the garden using sleepers from unused school benches to form the terraced steps and garden beds. Pallets were salvaged to build an outdoor sink and preparation area to allow students to wash produce and prepare soils.

Assistant Principal Mary-Ann Fraser said, “We now have a beautiful garden space in the middle of the school that students take responsibility to care for and use, to learn about gardening and sustainability.”

With the assistance of a Bega Valley South Coast Waste grant, the school was able to create a composting area using fruit scraps and other waste organic materials that would otherwise go to landfill.

Good Shepherd Primary School Amaroo has once again been crowned best Primary School Pom Team at the Australian All Star Cheerleading Federation (AASCF) 2018 National Cheer Competition.

Principal David Austin said that cheerleading at Good Shepherd is an integral part of the school community and is greatly beneficial to the learning outcomes of students in Kindergarten to Year 6.

“Cheerleading relies on students working together as a team and enables them to improve physical skills, confidence and resilience,” he said.

Good Shepherd Cheer was founded in 2008 as a recreational activity for students and quickly became a popular competitive sport in May 2009, resulting in consistent state and national success.  

After ten years, Good Shepherd’s reputation has grown in the Australian cheer community, adhering to a strict code of conduct and the core values of spirit, commitment, belief and action.

Coaches, managers and coordinators volunteer their time to the not-for-profit cheer team with fees paid by cheer families going directly back into team development, safety and upskilling of coaches.

Good Shepherd Cheerleading Coach Belinda Dawson said that the cheer team has grown exponentially from 15 students to over 80 members taught by fully qualified coaches.

“We are dedicated to building confidence in the children, are very proud of our humble beginnings, our values and our continued success,” she said.

Each team trains once a week to learn two competitive routines and progress in a variety of skills such as tumbling, acrobatics, jumps and dance.

We congratulate Good Shepherd on their dedication and cheerleading successes and wish them all the best in future competitions.

Catholic School Parents Archdiocese of Canberra and Goulburn (CSPACG) have launched a parental engagement website to provide families across the Archdiocese with instant access to system wide calendars, links to stakeholders and tips for engaging in student learning.

CSPACG is the parent body officially recognised by the Archbishop and the Catholic Education Commission with participants from all four regions representing the interests of parents in all 56 Systemic schools. The Council meets four times a year to discuss Catholic Education and issues affecting the families of our 22,000 students.

The website will serve as an active and accessible platform to link all parents and schools with community councils and school boards across the ACT and NSW.

Director of Catholic Education Ross Fox, Associate Professor and Chair of the Catholic Education Commission Patrick McArdle, and CSPACG Chair Paul Compton spoke at the launch on 29 November that was live streamed on the CSPACG Facebook page.

Click here to watch the live stream

St Clare’s College students Annica Barber (Year 7) and Lauren Moloney (Year 9) have won first prize in the LitLinks 2018 Creative Writing Competition, praised for their descriptive and powerful entries that captivated the judges.

Annica won the Year 7-8 category for her entry ‘Dainty, Though Dangerous’; a short story that addresses the social issue of domestic violence and juxtaposes the character’s dilemma with the natural phenomenon of rain.

“I entered the competition because I just love to write and I was really excited and proud of my achievement,” she said.

Judges of the Year 9 – 10 Category, Susan Barr and Beth Mitchell agreed that Lauren’s intriguing piece of writing called ‘Silence’ stood out as the winning entry.

“The structure was sophisticated and the writer immediately engaged the reader with empathy for the characters,” said Susan.

“Lauren used succinct and powerful language that was an incredibly mature piece.”

The girls were awarded with a $200 book voucher at a ceremony presented by the ACT Association for the Teaching of English (ACTATE) and sponsored by Paperchain Bookstore and Canberra Writers Festival.

Read the winning entries here:

Silence, by Lauren Moloney

Dainty, Though Dangerous, by Annica Barber

St Mary’s Primary School in Young have raised $1,400 during their annual Mission Day Mini Fete to support the overseas work of the school’s founding order, the Presentation Sisters, who continue to help the poor and marginalised.

Sister Jeanette shared stories and photos from her travels throughout the Philippines and following the liturgies, St Mary’s students participated in a Mini Fete to raise money through stalls and activities.

Acting Principal Mark Birks said that the event highlighted the generosity and giving spirit of the students, staff and families of St Mary's, Young.

“The staff were very proud of the efforts of all the students to understand the need for charity and giving to those less fortunate than themselves,” he said.

Congratulations to Wendy Giles (Lumen Christi College, Pambula), Dominic Lenarduzzi (St Mary Mackillop College, Tuggeranong) and Anna Partridge (Mother Teresa School, Harrison) who have completed the rigorous process required to meet the exemplary standards of Highly Accomplished Teacher (HAT) certification in the ACT.

National HAT certification is a voluntary initiative that supports teachers to explore and reflect on their practice and develop a wealth of insights in an evidence based application that can take up to three years to complete.

HATs are recognised as highly effective and skilled classroom practitioners who consistently work independently and collaboratively to improve personal practice and the practice of colleagues.

Certified teachers are able to show extensive evidence of maximising student learning opportunities, in-depth knowledge of the curriculum, and highly developed communication and leadership skills.

Director of Catholic Education, Ross Fox congratulated the group on their achievement and noted that they are “a wonderful example of the dedication, passion and excellence that our Catholic teachers bring to their work”.

Three generations of the St Francis Xavier College’s Semi-Autonomous Rescue Team (S.A.R.T) came together for a day of networking and development to celebrate the evolution of STEM at the College.

St Francis Xavier STEM Coordinator Graham Stock said the day was an exciting opportunity for past and present students to further collaborate and ignite enthusiasm for their excellent contributions to STEM.

“It was a great to have the team’s founding members, all now at university or in industry, along with the current members who will be graduating in 2018, come together with the new students to share knowledge, ideas and passion,” he said.

“I look forward to seeing this initiative develop well into the future.”

Students showcased their STEM projects to local industry company, Qirx, to discuss the possibility of sponsorship at national competitions and build connections within the industry.

The college’s Girls Rocketry Group were also given the opportunity to meet with a member of the Australian Space Agency as the rocketeers prepare for Thunda Down Under in 2019.

Director of Catholic Education, Ross Fox, has called upon schools in the Archdiocese to take up the Lemon Face Challenge for five year old Annabelle Potts who is fighting a form of childhood brain cancer, Diffuse Intrinsic Pontine Glioma (DIPG).

Schools were quick to accept the Director’s challenge and suck on a lemon to support Annabelle and her family who have connections with St John the Apostle Primary School in Florey, raise awareness of DIPG and bring a big smile to Annabelle’s face.

Thank you to Good Shepherd Primary School Amaroo, Merici College, St Joseph’s Primary School O’Connor, St Benedict’s Primary School Narrabundah, and Ss Peter and Paul's Parish Primary School Goulburn for participating in the challenge so far.

We look forward to seeing more enthusiastic footage of our schools participating in Annabelle’s Lemon Face Challenge. You can view the videos on our Facebook page. 

Hennessy Catholic College Year 9 student and 2018 Young Swimming Club Captain Emily Dillon has been selected as a new member of the Swimming NSW Youth Advisory Panel for 2019.

In this role, Emily will assist the Swimming NSW Board to develop ideas on how to improve the current state of swimming in NSW, retain teenagers in the sport and help run the annual Lane Ropes to Leadership Camp.

The Lane Ropes to Leadership Camp encourages 11-15 year olds to participate in workshops on communication, event planning, time management, Technical Official Training, personal development and team building activities.

Emily was invited to give a presentation about her experiences at the Camp held in Wagga this year. It was then that Emily decided to apply for the Youth Advisory Panel through a video application explaining why she would be a good selection for the panel and how she views the future of swimming in NSW.

Emily is the only panel member to come from the Southern Inland NSW region. Congratulations Emily!

Following a nomination by the parents of St Vincent’s Aranda student Chloe Paini, Year 4 teacher Angela Luchetti has won the Chief Minister’s Inclusion Award for Education and Training.

Chloe’s parents, Michelle and Dean, wrote a heart-felt tribute to Angela and the school that has helped to shape a rich and meaningful learning experience for their ten year old with down syndrome.

Angela said that she was overwhelmed and humbled to be nominated, and was not expecting to be announced a winner at the Awards Night held at the National Museum on 6 December.

“The award was not just for me but for our St Vincent’s school community, particularly my Year 4 class, who amaze me every day with their attitude, generosity and inclusiveness toward all their peers,” she said.

“In our classroom there is no such thing as disability; we all just have different abilities.”

“It is important at our school that every student has the opportunity to access the curriculum and is included in all activities,”

“Having Chloe in our class has given all my students the precious gifts of understanding, patience, kindness and friendship.”

“St Vincent’s is lucky to have a Principal who values diversity and the opportunities it can bring to all students.”

School Principal Lina Vigliotta said that she is extremely proud of Angela’s achievement that is indicative of the inclusive and welcoming ethos of belonging at St Vincent’s.

“It is a privilege to lead staff who are committed to going beyond to make every school day engaging for their student,” she said.

“To be awarded the ACT Chief Minister award for Inclusion in Education and Training verifies that we are meeting the needs of all students.”