School Leaders Edition, Week 6, Term 2, 2025
This week, the following leadership vacancies are available:
St Thomas Aquinas Catholic Parish Primary School, Bowral
Principal
St Francis Catholic College, Edmondson Park
Assistant Principal – Religious Education, Identity and Mission (K-12)
St Brigid's Catholic Parish Primary School, Gwynneville
Acting Principal (Term 3, Weeks 1–6)
Catholic Education Office
Acting Team Leader – Wellbeing and Student Support
Invitation: School Leadership Retreats
CEO and School Leadership Retreats will be held in Term 3 at The Hermitage, Mittagong (843 Old South Road, Mittagong). This year’s retreats are entitled “Pilgrims of Hope” and will be facilitated by the Spiritual Formation Team.
During the retreat, there will be opportunities to explore your understanding and experience of hope within our Catholic context, reflect on your life as a pilgrim through prayer and shared conversations, and consider how hope is given expression in your life.
CEO Leaders, Principals, Assistant Principals, Religious Education Coordinators and Assistant Religious Education Coordinators please read the flyer here and register through LMS as soon as possible. If you require further information, please contact Gary Quinn.
CEO staff offsite – Diocesan Pastoral Works Day (5 June 2025)
For: Principals and SSSOs
Please be advised that on Thursday 5 June 2025, from 8:30 am to 4:00 pm, all Catholic Education Office staff will be offsite attending a Diocesean Pastoral Works Day with Bishop Brian and staff from the Bishop's Office, CatholicCare, and the Catholic Development Fund.
For urgent matters, please contact staff directly on their mobile numbers.
If you have an urgent child safety concern (student or worker matter), please contact Beth Woodstone on 0407 745 025. All non-urgent matters will be responded to on Friday 6 June 2025, or at your Child Safety Advisor's earliest convenience.
Improvement, Learning and Wellbeing (ILW) Staff Notification
Daniel Delmage, Head of Continuous Catholic School Improvement (Network 3) will be taking leave from 10-27 June 2025 (inclusive). During Daniel’s absence, members of the Faith, Learning and Wellbeing Leaders group (Deputy Director-ILW, Assistant Director-CLEM, Heads of CCSI (Network 1 & 2), Head of LK-12, Head of WSS) will be the main point of contact for Principals in Network 3.
Early Supplier Payment Run – June 2025
Please note that the Finance, Facilities, and Planning teams will be off-site on Friday 13 June 2025. As a result, the Accounts Payable team will process the payment run one day early, on Thursday 12 June 2025.
This early run will include all payments due up to and including Tuesday 17 June 2025. Regular payment processing will resume on Tuesday 17 June 2025.
If you have any urgent payment requests, please ensure they are submitted in time for the early processing schedule.
Thank you for your understanding.
Change in accessibility to Legal and Policy Updates and How to Sign Up to NETid
From 10 May 2025, Scholaris is introducing a paywall for Legal and Policy updates contained in the weekly Scholaris editions. Access to Legal and Policy updates will be available only to those who have signed up to Netid on the Catholic Schools NSW website. If you sign up for NETid, you will be able to access new and old Legal and Policy updates on the Catholic Schools NSW Website.
Catholic Schools NSW provides clear instructions on how to set up a NETid account.
To access these instructions, please click here.
If you have difficulties setting up a NETid account or trying to log in, contact the Catholic Schools NSW Service desk.
Catholicity STUFF (Spending Time Unpacking Faith Foundations)
For: Secondary RECs/Leaders of Mission and Secondary Principals
Contact: Beth Riolo at riolob01@dow.catholic.edu.au
Professional Learning Opportunity for Middle Leaders (KLA Coordinators/Pastoral Care Coordinators and RE Teachers)
Targeting Secondary Middle Leaders and RE Teachers, this course aims to build foundational knowledge and skills in the area of Catholicity, specifically prayer and liturgy, for application across Secondary School celebrations, gatherings and events.
- Thursday 19 June 2025 (9 am – 3 pm)
- Emmaus Centre – 4 Hyde Parade, Campbelltown, NSW, Australia, 2560
- Funding is available for 3 participants per school
Please consider who on your staff may benefit from this one-day professional learning experience.
For more information and registration details, click here.
Please register by Tuesday 10 June 2025.
K-6 Curriculum Support
This page includes:
- Important links to external and internal sites
- Professional learning
- Planning and programming support
- Assessment and reporting
- Professional reading
For enquiries, please contact: learningk-12support@dow.catholic.edu.au.
Key Learnings from K–6 Mathematics System Professional Learning – Day 2
On Monday 26 May 2025, 36 educators from 20 CEDoW primary schools gathered for the second day of professional learning focused on enhancing Mathematics instruction. The theme, ‘Effective Pedagogical Practices in the Mathematics Classroom’, guided a day of rich learning and collaboration.
Highlights included:
- Connecting the Faith, Learning and Wellbeing Framework and the Mathematics Syllabus: Educators explored the relationship between the essential elements in the Faith, Learning and Wellbeing Framework and the aim and rationale of the NSW Mathematics Syllabus, reinforcing the way in which the elements enliven the intent of the syllabus.
- Assessment for Learning: Katherine Maish led a session on NESA’s Principles of Assessment, highlighting the emphasis on formative assessment and its role in effective instruction.
- Deepening Content Knowledge: Dr Christine Mae guided participants through the learning progression of fractions and equality from Early Stage 1 to Stage 3, using a modelled Stage 3 lesson to demonstrate conceptual understanding in action.
- Analysing Pedagogy: Educators examined the teaching strategies used in the modelled lesson, focusing on intentional planning and high-impact practices.
- Collaborative Planning: The day concluded with networking sessions where participants shared actionable strategies to bring their learning back to their school communities.
This professional learning day empowered educators with practical tools and deeper insights to support high-quality Mathematics instruction across K–6 classrooms.
Repeated: NESA K-6 Professional Learning for Syllabus Implementation
NESA has released five new online professional learning courses to support teachers and school leaders in familiarising themselves with the new CHIPS syllabuses, for their implementation from 2026 and 2027.The five professional learning courses include:
- Primary Curriculum Overview (1 hour)*
- Creative Arts K-6 (1 hour)
- HSIE K-6 (1 hour)
- PDHPE K-6 (1 hour)
- Science and Technology K-6 (1 hour)
The Primary Curriculum Overview course explores:
- The structure and evidence base of the K–6 syllabuses
- The importance of vocabulary and language development
- NESA’s Statement of Equity Principles, capabilities and priorities.
*This course must be completed first to unlock the four additional subject-specific courses, which can then be completed in any order.
The Creative Arts K–6, HSIE K–6, PDHPE K–6 and Science and Technology K–6 courses explore:
- Key syllabus features, their intent and the evidence base behind them
- The rationale, aim and structure of each syllabus
- How content is organised and connected across learning areas
- Where to find guidance and support on the NSW Curriculum website.
Each course contributes 1 hour of professional development. These professional learning courses are available now via the NESA Learning Catalogue and then accessed in NESA Learning.
Important
To support the phased implementation of the new syllabuses, schools are strongly advised to engage with these courses as part of their professional learning plan.
Schools may choose to:
- Complete the Primary Curriculum Overview, PDHPE K-6 and Science and Technology K-6 courses during Semester 2 2025, in readiness for implementation in 2026 (total 3 hours online professional learning).
- Complete the Creative Arts K-6 and HSIE K-6 courses during Semester 2 2026, in preparation for implementation in 2027 (total 3 hours online professional learning).
This approach aligns with the CEDoW CHPS implementation plan, which prioritises the implementation of PDHPE and Science and Technology from 2026.
Additional Support From CEDoW
To complement the NESA courses, syllabus teaching advice and additional syllabus support materials, CEDoW will release supplementary resources in Semester 2, 2025, developed by PDHPE and Science and Technology working parties, including:
- Sample K-6 scope and sequence
- Sample units of work
- Additional support materials.
Support in professional learning, in addition to that provided by NESA, will be available to schools. Resources to support the implementation of K-6 Creative Arts and K-6 HSIE syllabuses will be developed and shared throughout 2026.
For further information, please contact learningk-12support@dow.catholic.edu.au.