All Staff Edition, Week 1, Term 3, 2025

Pilgrims of Hope: Our Grandparents and Other Wise Figures

This Sunday, 27 July 2025, we celebrate World Day for Grandparents and the Elderly. Pope Francis established this day in 2021 and chose this time as it’s the Sunday closest to the Feast of Saints Joachim and Anne, the grandparents of Jesus. The theme chosen by Pope Francis for this year’s celebration is “Blessed are those who have not lost hope.” (Sir 14:2)

As we continue to explore this Jubilee theme, Pilgrims of Hope, we can look to our grandparents and older members of our community as lived examples of this. So many of them have stories, wisdom and experience that reveal a deep trust and faith in God’s presence and compassion.

They have inevitably met both challenges and joys throughout their lives, and by listening attentively to these experiences, we can see God’s footprints, even when it may not be named in this way. These memories of God’s presence are signs of hope for us all.

Marie Harris is a mother to nine children and a grandparent to seventeen children. Some of Marie’s grandchildren attended schools in our Diocese, and her beautiful daughter Jane Harris was a teacher at one of our primary schools before she sadly died from cancer in 2012. Marie is most certainly a pilgrim of hope, and in our conversation, she speaks to a time in her life when she felt God’s presence in a most profound way.

Ripples of Hope – Marie Harris’ Story
(Click the link in the image below.)

Invitation: Take some time to reflect on these questions within your own life, or share this conversation with a grandparent or a wise figure in your life.

What has been one of the most challenging or defining times in your life?
What enabled you to get through this challenging time?
What does hope mean for you?

Funeral Arrangements 

Please see the details of the funeral arrangements for Fr David Catterall here.

The passing of Fr David Catterall on 8 July 2025 brought great sadness to the Diocese of Wollongong and beyond. You can read the memorandum from Most Rev Brian G Mascord DD here.

You can also read the article in The Catholic Weekly:
“Wollongong priest Fr David Catterall remembered for his commitment following his death aged 52” (10 July 2025) here.

Eternal rest grant unto him, O Lord, and let perpetual light shine upon him. May he rest in peace. Amen.

Earlier in this Jubilee Year, I had the opportunity to fulfil a lifelong dream and walk the Way of St James, the Camino de Santiago. A pilgrimage is a rite of passage: it purifies and regenerates, renews and restores, forgives and reconciles.

This profound experience gave me the time and space to:  

• Reflect on our work as Catholic educators in the Diocese of Wollongong, and on the incredible difference we make in the lives of children and young people
  
  
• Pray for each of you and all our students, as I placed a stone from Wollongong’s Belmore Basin at the foot of the Cruz de Ferro—the Iron Cross. (If you’d like to know more about this centuries-old ritual, see here.)

Pope Leo XIV recently said, “We are all pilgrims and we are always pilgrims, walking as we seek to follow the Lord, and as we seek the path that is truly ours in life. That’s certainly not easy, but with the help of the Lord, the intercession of the saints, and by encouraging one another, you can be certain that, as long as you remain faithful, trusting always in God’s mercy… it will bear fruit throughout your lives”.

Upon my return, my pilgrimage reflections were reinforced by my visits to schools. Personal highlights from last term include:

• The unnerving wisdom and depth of thinking demonstrated by senior secondary students during our dialogues with Bishop Brian. Two questions they asked in the company of their peers have stayed with me: “How do you balance what you want and what God wants in your life?” and “I don’t want to be a lukewarm Christian. What advice can you give me?” I pondered similar questions as a pilgrim and I continue to be in awe of the young people in our schools.
  
  
• The joy found in the noble work of teaching, as students proudly showcased their latest learning and took pride in demonstrating mastery.
  
  
• The dedication of teachers and support staff I had the pleasure of speaking with in staff rooms across the diocese who are making an impact on improved student learning growth and achievement.

Best NAPLAN results in three years

While the impact of our work extends far beyond standardised tests, they do provide valuable insight as we continually reflect on our effectiveness. I’m pleased to report that the 2025 NAPLAN results indicate a positive trend across the diocese, with four of the five domains showing the highest percentage of students achieving Strong or Exceeding since the new proficiency levels were introduced. The domains with the best results in three years were Reading, Writing, Spelling, and Numeracy. Overall proficiency across all cohorts (Years 3, 5, 7, and 9) improved in four domains compared to 2024, with the fifth domain equal to our 2024 result.

We continue to meet the challenges and complexities of our school communities and the world in which we live. We do this as Pilgrims of Hope, always striving to realise our mission. While self-praise is no recommendation, CEDoW schools are doing this at least as well as anywhere I’ve seen—this is your impact.

CEO Objectives | Term 2 Report Card

Beyond the regular services provided to schools by the Catholic Education Office, we are making meaningful progress against the priorities essential to bringing Lighting The Way to life. A report card on our Term 2 progress is now available on the CEO Objectives site.

As the rhythms and routines of school life resume, go gently and walk humbly.

Peter Hill
Executive Director of Schools

Announcement from the Director – People and Culture

On behalf of the Executive Director of Schools, I wish to announce the following:

Acting Assistant Principal – St Thomas Aquinas Catholic Parish Primary School, Bowral

I am pleased to announce that following a recruitment process, Renee McFayden has been appointed to the position of Acting Assistant Principal at St Thomas Aquinas Catholic Parish Primary School, Bowral, for Term 3, 2025. Renee currently holds the substantive position of Religious Education Coordinator at St Thomas Aquinas.

I am grateful to Renee for accepting this role and for her ongoing leadership of the St Thomas Aquinas community.

A recruitment process to appoint a suitable candidate to the position of Acting Religious Education Coordinator will commence shortly. 

Natasha O'Donoghue
Director – People and Culture

Announcements from Most Rev B G Mascord

Announcement | Darren McDowell

It is with great pleasure that I announce to you that Mr Darren McDowell has been accepted for Ordination to the Order of Deacons. The Diaconate Ordination will take place at 10.00 am on Saturday 23 August 2025 at St Francis Xavier Cathedral.

Read the memorandum here: 11 July 2025.

Priestly Appointment Changes

Please refer to the memorandum below from Bishop Brian Mascord regarding the announcement of Priestly Appointment Changes.

Read the memorandum here: 18 July 2025.

Most Rev Brian G Mascord DD
Bishop of Wollongong

Primary

St Paul’s Catholic Parish Primary School, Moss Vale
Acting Religious Education Coordinator (Primary)
School Support Officer – Classroom (48 hours per fortnight)
School Support Officer – Administration (12 hours per fortnight)

St Francis of Assisi Catholic Parish Primary School, Warrawong
Acting Religious Education Coordinator (Primary)

Secondary

Holy Spirit Catholic College, Bellambi
Middle Leader (2pt) – Mathematics
Religious Education/HSIE Teacher
Science Teacher

Magdalene Catholic College, Narellan
Religious Education Coordinator (Secondary)
HSIE/English Teacher

St John the Evangelist Catholic High School, Nowra
School Support Officer – Administration (45.6 hours per fortnight)

St Benedict’s Catholic College, Oran Park
HSIE/Religious Education Teacher

Mount Carmel Catholic College, Varroville
School Support Officer – Finance
HSIE Teacher (Re-Advertised)

Catholic Education Office

Payroll Officer
Education Officer – Diverse Learning, Behaviour & Wellbeing (Primary)
Administrative Officer - Wellbeing & Student Support

Step into Teaching Scholarship Retreat

Last week, CEDoW hosted the annual Step into Teaching Scholarship Retreat at Mt Carmel Retreat Centre. Approximately 35 scholarship students attended the two-day event, participating in sessions that explored key themes such as Jesus as Teacher and the Mission of the Catholic Church, exploring the roles they play as teachers in a Catholic school.

These sessions encouraged students to reflect on their own personal faith journey and provided them with a greater understanding of the challenges they may face in the contemporary world as Catholic educators.

A standout moment was a deeply moving session led by Father Aloysious Rego, our Scholarship Chaplain, who generously shared his own personal story with the group. This will ultimately help strengthen the relationship between the students and Aloysious as they journey to become teachers in our schools.

One activity for students was the opportunity to ‘get creative,’ where they were challenged to reflect on who or what was their inspiration to choose teaching as their career pathway. Students displayed their thoughts by creating a group bunting, which is now proudly displayed in our new Catholic Education office space in the Marian Centre.

Attention: All Teachers – Action Required: Changes to NESA’s eTAMS

NESA is making eTAMS more secure over the coming months.

From Term 4, signing in will require multi-factor authentication, which is being introduced to keep your account secure.

To prepare for the change:

• Sign in to eTAMS using your current credentials
• Check your personal details, use an up-to-date personal email address* and mobile number
• Confirm any changes.

Note: *Many teachers have used their dow.catholic.edu.au address on eTAMS. This needs to be changed, if you have not already done so.

From Term 4, you will need to:

• Sign in to eTAMS with your email address, not your NESA number
• Reset your password in line with NESA’s updated password policy
• Set up multi-factor authentication for added security.

NESA will keep you updated and provide more information to help you with the change via email.

Important: Wellbeing and Student Support Contacts - Term 3 Update

Attention: Principals, Assistant Principals, Leaders of Diverse Learning and Pastoral Care, School Case Collaboration Coordinators/Managers

There have been so many goings on for our Wellbeing and Student Support team over recent weeks, including team members returning from periods of leave, changes to work days, and new Education Officers joining the team. This has meant that some adjustments have been made to the Wellbeing and Student Support school contacts.

Please refer to this document for the most current allocations.

Term 3 will also see several team members take extended periods of leave. During this time, we are committed to continuing our service to schools with as minimal disruption as possible; however, in some instances, there may be a need to reassign cases. Notifications regarding this will occur through COMPASS.

Non-Government Schools Census 2025 – Privacy Collection Notice for All Staff

Each year, the Department of Education and Training conducts the Non-Government Schools Census to determine a school’s entitlement to recurrent funding and to fulfil national student reporting requirements. Recurrent funding is calculated on a per-student basis, so it is essential that schools submit accurate and complete Census data to remain eligible for funding for the current calendar year.

The upcoming Census will be held on Friday 1 August 2025. This Census is a critical requirement for the release of Government Per Capita Recurrent funding, which is distributed via Catholic Schools NSW. 

The Census process includes the collection and use of certain information about your school, its staff and the student body for reporting to the Australian Government.

Any personal information collected in the Census and NCCD is protected by law under the Privacy Act 1988 (CTH) (Privacy Act), and any use or disclosure of that personal information must be in accordance with the Privacy Act, the Act and Regulations, and any other applicable laws.

Please refer to the linked Privacy Collection Notice for your reference.

Birthday Gifts

The Gifts, Benefits, Gratuities and Hospitality Policy became effective in October 2024 and applies to all staff members. 

An accompanying Information Sheet provides examples and additional notes relating to the Policy. Please note that the use of education funds to purchase individual birthday gifts for staff members is not permitted.

“Birthdays are not considered occasions that merit the provision of a system-funded gift. Colleagues might consider the option of adding funds to a gift pool for this purpose and for similar personal circumstances.”

From the start of Term 3, 2025, staff using a corporate Mastercard to purchase birthday gifts for other staff members will be asked to repay the purchase. Requests for reimbursement for birthday gifts will not be processed.

Thank you for your cooperation.

CEDoW Library – Resource of the Week

ACEN eBook 

This week’s Sora eBook edition is Australian Literature.

Use the link here to explore the eBook titles for primary, secondary, and staff through the Australian Catholic Education Network (ACEN). To sign in to Sora, select "ACEN" as your school.

ClickView Highlight

This week’s ClickView highlight is Spanish and Italian Languages.Access the series using the link here. 

If you have any questions, please contact Jim Gallagher, Library Services Manager, at gallagherj01@dow.catholic.edu.au. 

Micro-credentials for Classroom Confidence

Free professional development for Australia-based school educators

Enrolments are now open for all three micro-credentials in the Australian Government’s Micro-credentials for Classroom Confidence series, delivered by The University of Adelaide. Topics include Classroom Management, Explicit Teaching, and Teaching Phonics.

These free, fully online courses support teachers in meeting their professional development requirements.

Register your interest online to receive the enrolment links.
Learn more here.

Understanding and Supporting EAL/D Learners –Professional Learning Opportunity for School Support Officers

School Support Officers (SSOs) currently working with, or interested in learning more about students new to Australia and students learning English as an Additional Language or Dialect (EAL/D) are invited to join a professional learning session in Term 3 on Wednesday 6 August 2025 at the Parish Centre, St Therese West Wollongong.

This is a valuable opportunity for SSOs from across the diocese to come together, build connections, and share insights as we work towards establishing a professional learning community focused on supporting our EAL/D students.

Through peer-to-peer discussions and hands-on activities, participants will learn from and with one another, deepen their understanding of CEDoW’s processes and practices, and explore practical strategies to enhance student engagement and learning outcomes for our diverse learners.

If you are interested in attending, please discuss with your principal and enrol via LMS to assist with resource planning and catering arrangements.

We hope you can join us in building strong networks and sharing expertise to support our EAL/D students.

Understanding and Supporting EAL/D Learners 2025

Wednesday 6 August 2025 9.30 am - 1.30 pm The Parish Centre St Therese, West Wollongong

Questions? Contact Kylie Phillips at phillipsk06@dow.catholic.edu.au or Jane Stackhouse at stackhousej01@dow.catholic.edu.au.

Blended Online Learning – Semester 2

If you are interested in a bespoke course in Term 3 or 4 (delivered on-site at a time that works for you), please email wssadmin@dow.catholic.edu.au. You may also like to consider partnering with neighbouring schools with similar interests.

All courses can be offered as bespoke courses with a minimum participant cohort of eight.

Upcoming Courses in Term 3 – Flyer link here.

• Speech, Language and Communication Needs [ZOOM]
  
  
• Understanding Attention Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder [ZOOM]
  
  
• Supporting Student Wellbeing and Mental Health [Face-to-Face (F2F)]
  
  
• Attachment and Trauma Theory [F2F]

*Enrolment into only one course at a time

*See flyer for registration links

CEDoW Teaching Toolboxes

The CEDoW K-6 Curriculum Support, Literacy Teaching Toolbox and the Numeracy Teaching Toolbox sites are key resources designed to support the core work of teachers by underpinning the implementation of reformed NSW Curriculum in order to achieve evidence-informed teaching practices, and embed high-impact pedagogy and effective instruction in all classrooms across our diocese. 

Each toolbox contains a range of syllabus-aligned information, teaching strategies, curriculum support materials, including sample scope and sequences and units of work,  and professional reading to enhance teaching and learning in English and Mathematics across K-6. These toolboxes are continually updated to ensure their content remains current and aligned to NSW curriculum. 

The Literacy Teaching Toolbox and the Numeracy Teaching Toolbox also include participant slides and resources from recent Primary Curriculum Implementation Support days in English and Mathematics. These materials are now accessible under the 'Professional Learning' tab on each platform.

Connect and Collaborate: Primary Programming Workshops for Teachers

Are you a primary teacher looking for an excellent opportunity to network and collaborate with colleagues from other CEDoW schools? The Learning K-12 Team is excited to offer a series of voluntary programming workshops designed specifically for you. Imagine working alongside fellow educators to plan and refine your English and Mathematics units, sharing your best ideas, pedagogy, practices, and quality resources from across the Wollongong Diocese.

Workshop Options:

We've designed flexible scheduling to suit your availability, with workshops held across various dates and venues during the second half of Term 3 and throughout the September pupil vacation period.

You can choose to attend any number of sessions, including:

• Afternoon Workshops: Four one-off sessions of 1.5 hours each, available in Macarthur, Southern Highlands, Wollongong, and Far South Coast.

• Full-Day Workshop Session: Two sessions delivered over two separate weeks (one day per week) during the September pupil vacation period.

Don't miss this chance to connect, create, and experience the power of shared expertise.

Complete the linked Google Form to register your interest now!

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