CEDoW News
CEDoW Students Celebrated at 2025 VET Awards
The annual CEDoW Vocational Education and Training (VET) Awards were held on 28 August 2025, at Wollongong Golf Club. The event was an opportunity to celebrate the achievements, commitment, and dedication of VET students and trainers in all Catholic schools across the Diocese.
The awards were strongly supported by school communities, including parents, principals, leadership teams, and local industry and partner organisations.
More than 1,600 students are currently undertaking VET courses through CEDoW, helping them prepare for further study, training, or employment after school.
CEDoW Student Formation Day for the Australian Catholic Youth Festival
The first formation day for students from CEDoW secondary schools attending the Australian Catholic Youth Festival (ACYF) took place on 3 September 2025, at the Xavier Centre with Bishop Brian Mascord.
Bishop Brian gave a wonderful message to the students about their call to be Bearers of Christ’s Love and the important role they play as young people who lead with hope. Bishop Brian also spoke about the Canonisation of our first Millennial Saint, Carlo Acutis, and Pier Giorgio Frassati.
The engagement from the students and the pride they demonstrated is a great credit to their schools. The students will gather again for their second formation day on 5 November 2025 before attending the festival, which will be held in Melbourne from 30 November to 2 December 2025.
The ACYF is the largest national gathering of the Catholic Church in Australia. We wish these students and the staff accompanying them every encouragement as they continue to prepare for this wonderful event.
STRIVE Program Showcases Wellbeing Excellence at St Benedict’s, Oran Park
The STRIVE wellbeing program at St Benedict’s Catholic College, Oran Park, has received national recognition from the Positive Education Schools Association (PESA), Australia’s peak body for wellbeing education. PESA has highlighted STRIVE as an example of best practice for schools developing their own wellbeing initiatives.
STRIVE Model
St Benedict’s dictum is: “A School of the Lord’s Service… should be a place where there is something to strive for and nothing to run from.”
The STRIVE program is a student-focused initiative closely aligned with Seligman’s PERMA+ model. It promotes academic, personal, and wellbeing growth through individual care. Daily STRIVE classes include regular coaching to discuss strengths and set goals. Goals may be academic, social, emotional, or community-based.
Students track progress in their Learning and Wellbeing Planner and on Compass. Achievements are recognised through ‘strength spotting,’ certificates, and badges. The program builds personal responsibility and celebrates personal bests. Read more about the initiative here: Case study: St Benedict’s Catholic College’s Wellbeing Journey.
At St Benedict’s, positive education fosters a strength-based learning culture, where staff work alongside students to coach and develop their character strengths, supporting both personal growth and academic success. Grounded in positive psychology and the research of Professors Martin Seligman and Lea Waters, STRIVE equips students to cultivate optimism, self-belief, and their talents as they pursue personal and academic goals.