Updates

Have an Ethical Easter in 2025

“Every person ought to have the awareness that purchasing is always a moral – and not simply an economic – act.” Pope Francis

A significant portion of chocolate available in Australia is produced using cocoa beans harvested by child labourers, many of whom endure enslavement and exploitative working conditions.

Indulge responsibly, select ethically sourced chocolate, and support companies working towards eliminating slavery from their supply chain this Easter and beyond.

Click on the links for tips and further information.

Slavery Free Easter Chocolate - Catholic Earthcare

Indulge Responsibly Easter Poster

Also, consider not buying something that is overly packaged. Lots of Easter eggs come encased in several layers of foil, cardboard and plastic - each of which come with an environmental and often human cost of their own. Remember to recycle your foil…

“The knowledge about what we buy is the first act in not being complicit. Look at where those products come from.” Pope Francis

National Assessment Opt-in Online Key Curriculum Assessments Now Available

Following the 2022 NAP review, including the decision to move NAPLAN to March and to reset the scale, ministers agreed that sample online assessments in key curriculum areas should be made available as on-demand assessments to schools to support student achievement in these curriculum areas. These assessments are completely opt-in and free of charge, and results are only available to the participating schools.

Please note that the assessments are for both primary and secondary schools. The Resource Kit, which includes frequently asked questions, will support your communication.

2025 ACARA key curriculum opt-in online assessments available: Monday 5 May – Friday 30 May 2025

Australian schools can enrol Year 6 and Year 10 students to participate in NAP Opt-in assessments in key curriculum areas. Schools do not have to enrol full cohorts of Year 6 or Year 10 students to participate. These new assessments are part of the National Assessment Program (NAP) and are completely optional for schools.

These assessments are being phased in over 3 years, and they started with science literacy in 2024. Civics and citizenship has been added in 2025, and ICT (information and communication technology) literacy will be added in 2026.

In May 2024, the first optional assessment in Science Literacy was completed successfully.  The feedback collected from participating schools was positive and informative, and this has helped to inform further improvement for the second rollout of the NAP Opt-in assessments in 2025.

In 2025, the two domains that are available for schools to participate in are:

• Science literacy
• Civics and citizenship.

Registration opens on 25 March 2025 and closes on 29 April 2025. There is no fee for schools registering to take part in the assessments.

Key Dates

School registration and enrolment window: Tuesday 25 March 2025 – Tuesday 29 April 2025.

Test window: Monday 5 May – Friday 30 May 2025.

Results window: July 2025 – August 2025.

ACARA will:

• Mark the assessments and analyse the assessment data for schools.
• Provide principals with school-level reports which can be accessed from the platform.

Registration

Principals can register their school here by clicking on the ‘NAP Opt-in’ tile on the home page. Each school should only register once, via the principal (preferably using the same principal email address that was used for NAPLAN 2025 if applicable).

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.

Supported Enrolment Update

For: Principals and School Leaders

A revised Supported Enrolment Workflow is now available. As shared in recent network meetings, a Supported Enrolment spreadsheet has been shared with all principals. This document provides an overview of the triage process and the recommendations based on the information provided by families in the enrolment application.

Principals are encouraged to provide access to any staff who will be supporting enrolment and transition processes. Please note that this access cannot be provided by the Wellbeing and Student Support team as they are not familiar with staff and their specific roles in schools.

Important information:

• Schools will maintain autonomy over the level of support provided from the WSS Team.
• When a family identifies on the enrolment application that their child requires support as a result of a medical diagnosis, diverse learning, behaviour need or they are interested in a CEDoW Support Class placement the application will be triaged by WSS and schools will be notified via their Supported Enrolment spreadsheet at the completion of this triage process.
• If an application does not appear on the schools supported enrolment spreadsheet and the school want support please email wssadmin@dow.catholic.edu.au. 
• Principals or their delegates are encouraged to use the checkbox in column J or email wssadmin@dow.catholic.edu.au at any point throughout the enrolment or transition process should they require support with an individual student’s enrolment application.

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 https://forms.dow.catholic.edu.au/to/yVv9DA.

Australian Catholics: Online Media Internship Program for Students

For: Secondary Principals and RECs/Leaders of Mission

Jesuit Communications, the publisher of Australian Catholics, offers an annual online media internship program for students in Years 10, 11, and 12 across Australia. This program provides an exciting introduction to careers in media. Internship Program 2025 Guide.

This week-long internship, which will take place via Zoom from 6 to 9 May 2025 (9:00 am to 3:30 pm AEST), is a valuable opportunity for students to deepen their understanding of the media industry while contributing to an edition of Australia's largest-circulating Catholic print publication. Additionally, a two-hour introductory session will be held on 30 April 2025 (4:00 pm to 6:00 pm).

Applications for the 2025 program close at 5:00 pm on 21 March 2025.

CEDoW Accreditation to Work, Teach and Lead

Is your CEDoW Accreditation to Work, Teach and Lead up to date?

Accreditation to WTL Level/s and any additional requirements are outlined on your contract.

If you still require more information or have any questions, please email: wtlaccreditation@dow.catholic.edu.au. 

For general information on CEDoW Accreditation to Work, Teach and Lead please visit the following website: https://www.dow.catholic.edu.au/employment/accreditation-cedow/. 

CEDoW Scholarship Support

For some areas of Accreditation to Work Teach and Lead, CEDoW offers Scholarship Support.

Please visit the following website for more information and to apply: https://www.dow.catholic.edu.au/employment/cedow-scholarships/.