School Leaders Edition, Week 11, Term 1, 2025

Resignation – Principal, St Therese Catholic Parish Primary School, West Wollongong

After thoughtful reflection and prayerful discernment, Stephen Thorne has decided to retire from his position as Principal of St Therese Catholic Parish Primary School, West Wollongong. Steve will conclude in the position at the end of the 2025 school year.

Read the full announcement here.

Peter Hill
Director of Schools
Diocese of Wollongong

Equip Your Team with EAP Awareness and Support

For: Principals
Due: Now
Contact: Workplace Safety and Wellbeing at whs@dow.catholic.edu.au
First Notice

Over the coming months, AccessEAP will be offering free, open awareness sessions. These 30-minute sessions, held online, will explore how the Employee Assistance Program (EAP) counselling works and the benefits it offers for staff.

Action: Invite your staff to attend. Please share the below resources with your team and encourage them to attend a free session to learn about how they can make the most of this valuable service.

For questions regarding the resources, contact Workplace Safety and Wellbeing at whs@dow.catholic.edu.au.

Year 8 Catholic Student Leadership – Illawarra Cluster

For: Secondary RECs/Leaders of Mission based in the Illawarra and South Coast
Due: Tuesday 6 May 2025
Contact: Matt Turner at turnerm12@dow.catholic.edu.au
First Notice

The Student Leadership Formation Program has been extended this year to include Year 8 students. Participants are selected based on their commitment to their school’s mission statement, as well as their demonstrated relational qualities, such as teamwork and leadership potential. Attendance is not limited to members of a Student Representative Council.

A teacher or year coordinator from each school who works most closely with the Year 8 cohort is invited to attend the day, along with 6–8 student representatives. The event will challenge students to create and plan a project that will benefit their year group at their school or contribute to a broader Macarthur/Illawarra initiative launched on the day. One example of such a project is a "digital discipleship" initiative.

This day has been rescheduled for the schools in the Illawarra Cluster—St John’s, Nowra, Corpus Christi, Oak Flats, St Joseph’s, Albion Park, and Holy Spirit, Bellambi.

The new details are as follows:

Date: Tuesday 13 May 2025
Venue: The Xavier Centre, 38 Harbour Street, Wollongong
Time: 9.30 am - 2.15 pm.

Action: Please register using this form no later than Tuesday 6 May 2025.

Australian Catholic Youth Festival 

For: Secondary Principals, RECs, and Leaders of Mission
Due: Now
Contact: Matt Turner at turnerm12@dow.catholic.edu.au or Claire Cooney at cooneyc02@dow.catholic.edu.au
First Notice

To help families and staff stay informed during the election, the National Catholic Education Commission (NCEC) has produced a two-page document, Catholic Education Benefits All Australians, outlining Catholic education's key priorities and its contribution to the community.

In summary, the priorities are:

• Ensure affordability and choice – every family should have the option of a Catholic education
• Address hardship, wellbeing, and disadvantage – every student deserves access to quality education and the right support, no matter their background
• Build and innovate for the future – investing in school infrastructure and support for early childhood education.

Action: The NCEC requests that principals distribute this two-page document to families, outlining Catholic education priorities for the upcoming election, before the pupil vacation period where possible.

Further information for parents is available on the website here.

ONE LICENSE – Reporting Term 1, 2025

For: Primary and Secondary RECs/Leaders of Mission
Due: Thursday 10 April 2025
Contact: Helen Moon at moonh01@dow.catholic.edu.au 
Second Notice

Action: This is a reminder to report your school’s use of religious music and lyrics via the One License site, linked here. For further information, visit the CLEM website (under the heading "Liturgical Music"). If you need assistance with access, please contact Helen Moon.

Consultation Regarding the Potential Professional Learning and Event Facility at Wombarra

For: Principals, RECs/LOMs & SSSOs/Executive Assistants
Due: Friday 11 April 2025
Contact: Claire Cooney at cooneyc02@dow.catholic.edu.au
Second Notice

A CEDoW working group is exploring the potential for CEDoW to utilise the former Our Lady of Lourdes Church at Wombarra.

Based on advice from the CEDoW Properties Team, upgrades would be required to make the building suitable for CEDoW use.

These include, but are not limited to, electrical rewiring, installing an IT system and air conditioning or fans, kitchen and toilet upgrades, and enhancements for accessibility and general safety.

It is estimated that the building could accommodate up to 60 people in a "round table" style setup and up to 100 people in a theatre-style arrangement.

You can view some recent photos of the building and site here.

The Catholic Life, Education & Mission (CLEM) Team has identified potential in the building for several of its regular events and PLs. Additionally, as mission formation, youth leadership, and creative ministry offerings expand for students and staff, the space's potential for growth will continue to unfold.

Other CEO service areas have also shown interest in the site, especially since the previously used PL space in the Marian Centre is no longer available.

We are now seeking feedback on whether schools would find this venue useful, particularly for staff and student formation days.

Here are some location and travel time estimates from Google Maps:

• Nowra to Wombarra: 97km, 1hr 33min
• Bowral to Wombarra: 81km, 1hr 16min
• Macarthur to Wombarra: 45km, 49min
• Wollongong to Wombarra: 20km, 33min

There is some on-street parking available near the building, though overflow parking may need to be across the highway, near the beach (5-10 minute walk). Student groups could be dropped by bus near the entrance. The site is a 4 minute walk from Wombarra train station.

Optional action: Please review your school's use of external facilities and consider whether an upgraded Wombarra site could serve as a valuable resource. If you wish to provide feedback, could the appropriate person(s) from your school please complete this form by 11 April 2025.

Turn-around times for non-urgent legal matters

'Turn-around' times for non-urgent legal matters are longer than would ideally be the case due to the unprecedented number of requests for legal services. The legal team reviews all requests for legal advice before prioritising the preparation of responses. This process is necessary given the modestly sized legal team attempting to serve a seemingly ever-increasing demand.

Be assured that all urgent matters (typically student-related school-based requests) will continue to be promptly answered.

Your patience and understanding is appreciated.

Michael Knight
Assistant Director
Governance, Assurance and Risk

Supplier Payment Run – Public Holidays

Due to the upcoming public holidays on Friday 18 April 2025, and Friday 25 April 2025, the payment runs have been brought forward by one day to:

• Thursday 17 April 2025
• Thursday 24 April 2025 

The payment run will return to normal processing on Tuesday 29 April 2025. 

Accounts Payable Team

Resources to Celebrate a Millennial Saint

Did you know that Carlo Acutis, the inspiring teenager who used his computer skills to share his faith, will be officially canonised as a saint on 27 April 2025, during the Jubilee of Youth week?

To mark this special celebration, CEDoW has developed digital resources that embrace Carlo's tech-savvy spirit and his passion for evangelisation. Created using apps and AI, these resources are perfect for exploring Carlo's life with your students:

• For primary students: An interactive digital school magazine. Access the magazine via Publuu here.
• For secondary students: A thought-provoking podcast and discussion guide. Access the guide via Publuu here.

These resources, inspired by Carlo's own use of technology to spread faith, demonstrate how to engage with and share faith in the digital age and can be explored for learning activities across Religious Education, English, ICLT, HSIE, Music and Art, and Civics and Citizenship.

The CEDoW resources for Carlo Acutis can be accessed here.

2025 Australian Catholic Education Conference – Art Opportunities for Students

Attention: Principals, RECs and Leaders of Mission

An invitation for students to contribute to the 2025 Australian Catholic Education Conference (ACEC) through art.

The 2025 ACEC will be held in Cairns from 20–22 August, and organisers are seeking expressions of interest from Catholic school students across Australia to contribute to student art displays in the conference Chapel — a dedicated space for reflection, prayer and spiritual connection.

Submission of art due date: Friday 25 July 2025.

Read more about this opportunity here.

Pulse Behaviour Dashboards Are Now Live

Behaviour related Pulse dashboards have been deployed in your school. Key personnel (school leadership, PB4L teams, pastoral leaders) now have access to the following dashboards:

Behaviour Analysis Dashboard

The following information can be found in this dashboard:

• Whole school behaviour data including data from the last 14 days
• Role related data including information on Impacted students
• Year level behaviour trends
• Behavioural pattern information across groupings

Behaviour Analysis Dashboard – Individual Student

The following information can be found in this dashboard:

• Detailed view of individual student behaviour
• Behaviours over time and the role a student has played in incidents
• Details of each behaviour issues (Problem behaviour , teacher response , location and time)
• Behaviour timing analysis KLA/Subject Analysis

Behaviour Analysis Dashboard - Problem Behaviour

This dashboard will assist schools to dive deeply into behaviour definitions and to ask curious questions such as:

• What are the problem behaviour details being selected by staff?
• Are there particular behaviour(s) happening in various locations?
• When are particular behaviours taking place?
• Does our behaviour definition matrix capture behaviours across the school Is the “other” option over represented in the data?)

Dashboards have been designed to provide easy access to your Compass portal behaviour data with the aim of:

Facilitating Data-Driven Decisions: Provide actionable insights into behaviour patterns, allowing schools to identify areas of strength and areas needing targeted support.

Enhancing Individual Student Support: Offer detailed student-level data to inform individualised behaviour support strategies, contributing to positive academic and social outcomes for all students.

Strengthening School-Wide PB4L Implementation: Visualise the effectiveness of our PB4L initiatives, enabling your school to continuously refine and improve school-wide systems and PB4L implementation.

LMS Pulse training support: To assist with navigating Pulse, you now have access to an optional training model through LMS. The module provides technical and PB4L related process guidance using a school based example with questions that guide your school to start analysing your data. The module is located here. 

DLST Network Meeting #2 

Please see the link to the Zoom recording and slide presentation from the DLST Network Meeting held on Friday 4 April 2025.

The following topics were discussed:

• PP Meeting Bookings in Compass
• Updates on PPs Moderation
• Case Collaboration
• Supported Enrolments
• NCCD Resourcing
• DLST Refresher/Induction
• Partial Attendance
• DLST Hub
• BOL
• Reminders.

Student Enrolment Destination Unknown

The Department of Education (DoE) has set up an automatic reply to any emails sent to attendance@det.nsw.edu.au that states that they only support DoE schools. This reply is misleading, as there has been no change to the process.

Please continue to follow the processes on the Compass template and send all Enrolment Destination Unknown Forms to this address, ignoring the automatic reply. DoE will still receive and process the forms as usual.

Student Attendance (CEDoW) are automatically notified through the notification chain of the Student Enrolment Destination Unknown template on Compass.

Exciting Update to the Parent Experience: Streamlined Notification of Extended Absence form

What's New?

We're thrilled to announce the launch of our new online Notification of Extended Absence form. This user-friendly form simplifies the process for parents, eliminating the need for printing or downloading documents. Now, parents can conveniently complete the application entirely online.

Parents can also notify multiple schools simultaneously with a single upload of supporting documents. Parents are also required to notify your school if their student has siblings attending other CEDoW schools.

How This Benefits Parents

Accessing the application form is now easier than ever with the form working on both mobile and desktop platforms. Parents can complete the application electronically and can also send the application for multiple students across CEDoW schools.

How This Benefits Schools

Your school's information email (info@) from student.attendance@dow.catholic.edu.au will now receive the completed extended absence application, along with all supporting documentation, as a PDF attachment.

Notification of Extended Absence Submitted by Parent Name

Please find attached a Notification of Extended Absence form as completed by Parent Name for Student(s) between 2025-03-04 and 2025-03-03.

Any supporting evidence will also be attached to this email.

Please append all attachments to the Principal Consideration Template in Compass for Extended Absences.

This streamlined delivery ensures you have all the necessary information in a single email. Simply download the PDFs and upload them to the "Principal Consideration - Acknowledgement of Extended Absence" template to process the application.

Access to the New Form

If parents attempt to enter an absence note exceeding five days in your school's Compass portal, they will be directed to the parent attendance information document that has a link to the online form.

Alternatively, if you send the communication from Compass, they may access it through the link provided in the "Communication - Notification of Extended Absence" template.

Your school may also provide a direct URL for parent access to the form via your website, newsletter, or other communication channels. The URL for the new online form is here. 

2025 Mission: One Heart Many Voices Conference

Attention: Principals, RECs/Leaders of Mission

The seventh biennial Mission: One Heart Many Voices (MOHMV) conference will be held from Monday 19 May to Wednesday 21 May 2025 in Sydney.

This conference supports the learning and expression of mission in many different contexts and vocations, including education. It reminds us that the challenges we face in this area are not isolated to education and places us in the bigger context of our broad Church and society.

Please click the link here to view details of this year’s conference program and registration process.

For further information, please contact Matt Turner at turnerm12@dow.catholic.edu.au.

Blended Online Learning (BOL), Semester 1 2025

Please see the Blended Online Learning flyer for upcoming course dates.

Registration on CEDoW's Learning Management System (LMS) closes 11 April 2025 for:

• Understanding Autism: LMS Registration
• Understanding and Supporting Behaviour: LMS Registration
• Dyslexia and Significant Difficulties in Reading: LMS Registration
• Speech, Language and Communication Needs: LMS Registration

Registration on LMS closes 20 June 2025 for:

• Understanding Hearing Loss: LMS Registration
• Supporting Student Wellbeing and Mental Health: LMS Registration
• Attachment Trauma and Theory: LMS Registration

Interest in further courses can be offered by completing this Expression of Interest form. For any questions, please contact: wssadmin@dow.catholic.edu.au. 

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