Updates

Announcing the Enrolment Advisory Committee

We’re pleased to let you know that CEDoW has set up a new Enrolment Advisory Committee.

The committee will bring together colleagues from key areas to offer practical advice and recommendations, making our enrolment processes clearer and more consistent, and ensuring they reflect our mission and values.

What will the committee do?

• Identify and address complex enrolment issues affecting multiple schools
• Suggest improvements to our system-wide processes to improve the experience for families, schools, and staff

The committee will meet each term, consulting with staff—including principals, SSSOs, and enrolment officers—to bring more clarity, consistency, and support for everyone involved. For more details, including membership of the committee, please see the Terms of Reference. If you have any questions, email enrolments@dow.catholic.edu.au.

Reminder: Non-Government Schools Census 2025 – Privacy Collection Notice 

Audience: 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.

ILLUMINATE 2025

Shining a light on creative excellence in CEDoW.

Audience: Creative and Performing Arts Coordinators

Important: Schools are to complete their student nominations for the following:

• Artworks
• Dance solo or ensemble
• Drama monologue or ensemble
• MC/Student hosts
• Music solo or ensemble

Submission of Deadlines:

• Dance, Drama, and Music video recordings due by Friday, Week 5 – 22 August 2025
• Photographs/videos of Visual Arts works due by Friday, Week 7 – 5 September 2025

Submit nominations via this form: Illuminate 2025 Submission Form.

Please note: Due to tight timelines, no extensions can be granted.

Step into Teaching Scholarship Program

Audience: Year 12 students considering a career in teaching

“Teaching is a noble profession that shapes the character, calibre and future of an individual.”
— Dr A.P.J. Abdul Kalam

Applications open Week 3.

Students may apply for one of the following:

• CEDoW Step into Teaching Scholarship Program
• CEDoW Step into Teaching Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Scholarship Program

For more information, students are encouraged to speak with their TAPs Coordinator. Further details are also available on the Catholic Education Office website.

Applications close on Friday Week 9 — 19 September 2025.

Catholic Business Connections September 2025 Luncheon 

Tuesday 23 September 2025 | 11:45am – 2:00pm | Rydges Campbelltown

Join us for a special CBC luncheon as we explore “The Power of Intergenerational Learning” with two inspiring speakers: Jane Hollier and David Gearin.

Jane and David bring extensive experience in Catholic education, community engagement, and social justice. United by a passion for connecting generations, they lead the award-winning Cross+Gen digital literacy initiative—an uplifting program that brings students and seniors together to foster mutual respect, shared wisdom, and meaningful connection.

Whether you're involved in parish life, education, or the business sector, this event will inspire you through the shared mission of CatholicCare and Catholic Education Diocese of Wollongong—to be Bearers of Christ’s Love in every part of our community.

RSVP by Monday 15 September 2025. Book now.

Council of Catholic School Parents (CCSP) Family Partnerships Excellence Awards 2025 

Catholic schools across NSW/ACT are invited to apply for the 2025 Family Partnerships Excellence Awards. The winning school will receive a $5,000 grant to support their ongoing initiative.

• Does your school have a program that strengthens collaboration between families, schools and the wider community?
• Does it support faith formation, curriculum, student wellbeing—or a combination of these?
• Has it made a meaningful impact on students, staff and families?

If so, apply now and share how your school has helped bridge the gap between home and school to improve student outcomes.

How to apply:

• Visit the CCSP website to check eligibility and download the submission form
• Respond to the six criteria outlined in the form
• Upload completed form and supporting materials via the online submission portal

Entries close at 5:00 pm on Friday 17 October 2025.

Expression of Interest: Development of K–10 English and Mathematics Assessment Support Materials

NESA invites K–10 English and Mathematics teachers to participate in a project developing assessment support materials aligned to the new syllabuses.

NESA is working with the University of Sydney’s Centre for Educational Measurement and Assessment (CEMA) on this project. This is an accredited professional learning opportunity for teachers to develop deep knowledge and understanding of the new syllabuses and to contribute to the building of common assessment resources for schools and teachers.

As part of this project, NESA and CEMA will engage with participants through a variety of activities, beginning in Term 3 of 2025 and continuing through Term 2 of 2026. Activities will differ in terms of duration and type of engagement required, ranging from a half-day to six (non-consecutive) days. Your expression of interest does not commit you to all the activities taking place during the project.

To register your interest, please complete the Expression of Interest (EOI) form here by COB on Friday 8 August 2025. You will be notified of the outcome of your EOI and given more details about your participation by Wednesday 20 August 2025.

At a glance:

• Who: K–10 English and Mathematics teachers with an interest in assessment
• What: Collaborate with NESA and CEMA on the development of assessment support materials
• When: Different activities from Term 3 2025 to Term 2 2026, ranging from half a day to six days (commitment to entire timeline not necessary)

All teachers, including those from regional and remote schools, are warmly encouraged to submit their EOI for the development of K–10 English and Mathematics assessment support materials project.

We are planning a blended delivery of the workshops to facilitate the involvement of regional/remote teachers online. Some teachers will also be involved in a couple of hours of more ad hoc collaboration with CEMA across Terms 4 and 1, which will also be done online. We look forward to providing more details once participants have been selected.

Thank you for your time and interest in this important work. If you have any questions about this project, please contact Project Lead Ellen O’Connor at:k-10assessmentproject@nesa.nsw.edu.au.

NESA: K–6 Sample Whole-School Plan

On Friday 25 July 2025, NESA released K–6 sample whole school curriculum plans for Creative Arts, HSIE, PDHPE, and Science and Technology.

This release includes three key resources:

1. Video explainer – providing an overview of the curriculum planning approach
2. Sample whole school plan – illustrating how curriculum content can be mapped across terms and stages
3. Sample multistage focus whole school plan – demonstrating how schools can align learning across stages

These resources are designed to support schools in planning for curriculum implementation and can be accessed here: Teaching resources | Syllabus support | NSW Curriculum | NSW Education Standards Authority.

Reminder: Action Required: Changes to NESA’s eTAMS

Audience: All teachers

NESA is enhancing the security of eTAMS 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.

NESA NEWS   

1. NAPLAN Student Reports 

Printed copies of NAPLAN student reports have been sent to schools. Please distribute the reports to parents/carers within one week of receiving them. Digital copies are also available to download from Schools Online. 

Read more about NAPLAN results and reports here.

2. Install the new HSC lockdown browser

A new lockdown browser is now available. Schools must ensure the browser is installed on devices that are student-owned or managed by the school for:

• HSC minimum standard tests
• HSC online exams  
• HSC ExamWriter 

An updated installation guide and list of supported devices are available on Schools Online > Memos and Documents. School sectors will install the lockdown browser on centrally managed devices. Refer to the email sent to principals from NESA in the last week of Term 2 for more information.

3. New Science and Engineering 7-10 resources

New resources are now available for Stage 4 and Stage 5 Science and Engineering courses, including teaching advice for Developing talent in Science, and advice on writing for Engineering 7–10. 

Visit the NSW Curriculum Website here.

4. Looking for a syllabus? You can now locate any NSW syllabuses by stage or learning area on the NSW Curriculum website. 

NESA has a new navigation tool that makes it easy to find either a current syllabus or new syllabus, as well as implementation information. 

View the NSW Curriculum Reform timeline to see when remaining syllabuses will be released.

5. HSC exam resources are now easier to access 

You can now find HSC exam papers and HSC standards materials in one place at nsw.gov.au/NESA

Bookmark our new Resource Finder to quickly search and access all exam resources. Existing web addresses will automatically redirect to the updated location.

Life to the Full: Semester 1 Success and Semester 2 Preview

What a fantastic first semester it's been for relaunching the Life to the Full Framework, a continuing priority that provides a system-wide approach to fostering respectful relationships within schools.

Semester 1 Highlights:

We successfully updated our framework and revamped the former Module A presentation, enhancing the relevance of the Child Safety training to all staff.

We have created essential anti-bullying support materials in line with the amended procedure and launched the impactful, student-led "Fix You" campaign. School leadership teams are now familiar with the framework, and we continue to provide opportunities for all staff members to engage with the framework in meaningful ways, so they can recognise its relevance in their daily practice and interactions with students.

What's Coming in Semester 2:

We're excited to announce a Student roundtable event on Friday 28 November 2025 for secondary students, with an invitation to “save the date” coming soon.

We're also developing a new Google Site packed with content and resources to build staff capacity in supporting respectful relationships through Faith, Learning and Wellbeing. A1 posters can be requested from our team for display within each school.

Upcoming Professional Learning Opportunities:

• CCSP Parent Conference – 25 October 2025
• eSafety Parent and Carer Series – AI-assisted image-based abuse: 21 August 2025
• Bullying No Way; National week of action – Register via the link: 11-15 August 2025
• Kids Helpline Online Learning – Virtual classrooms

Please email Jennifer Sharp and Liam Nicholls at respectfulrelationships@dow.catholic.edu.au with any questions or feedback.

CEDoW Library – Resource of the Week

ACEN eBook 

This week’s Sora eBook edition is Languages.

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 Music to Study To. You can view it here.

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