Following are stories shared by some CSPA Members.

Tasmanian Catholic Schools Parents Council

The TCSPC shares the following story from Immaculate Heart of Mary Catholic Primary School.

Connecting Community in 2022:

Immaculate Heart of Mary Catholic School is situated in Lenah Valley, approximately 5 km from Hobart. It offers classes from Kindergarten to Grade 6 in a caring, friendly, family environment.  There is a strong link between parish, school and family where Christ’s teaching is the foundation of all that is done. Students are encouraged to demonstrate the best of themselves every moment of every day and to make positive contributions to their classrooms and Grade levels.

The school provides an excellent extra-curricular program to support the traditional teaching and learning programs in the school and this includes Physical Education, Specialist Art, Music, Library and Auslan.

It is felt that the school should be an extension of the home where each individual is cared for and loved. Parents are encouraged to be an integral part of the life of the school. Children are also encouraged to take increasing responsibility for their learning and behaviour.

The Acting Principal, Mrs Rachel Kelly notes that in the ever-changing COVID landscape, providing opportunities for parents and carers to re-connect, or even connect face to face for the first time, feels like the season of spring.  The evidence is clear, when families and schools have strong relationships, children win.

With the support of the Tasmanian Catholic Schools Parents Council, Immaculate Heart of Mary Catholic School put in place in May the first of three events to help develop and strengthen pathways to enhance social connection with our parents, carers and special people throughout 2022.    An open door, a coffee, a croissant, a smile, a song; in the Josephite tradition - hospitality and gratitude the heart of forging pathways to re-connect our community.  It was wonderful to see, at this particular event, many mothers and children together with other families, and teachers, enjoying the face to face company and sharing stories and feelings.

The photo below shows the welcome Mass for 2022.

Catholic School Parents Queensland

Catholic School Parents Queensland hold Parent Engagement days across Queensland.

 CSPQ is holding a series of Parent Engagement days across the state.  Days have been held in Cairns, Townsville and Toowoomba with attendance of parents, principals and school staff.  This is an opportunity to be together to hear a common message and to take back to their schools and homes some ideas and concepts to work on to improve our children’s learning and wellbeing.

The days have consisted of three workshops facilitated by well known psychologist Andrew Fuller. The topics Andrew is talking about are suitable for working with children of all ages. These topics are

• Tricky Behaviours
• Building Blocks for Mental Health in Children
• How to help your kids be motivated to learn and do well in school

The days have also included a presentation by The Fathering Project which aims to encourage more dads to spend more time with their children and to better engage with their children’s schools.  The Fathering Project supports schools to set up Dad’s groups at the school and also provides mentors and resources to support this work.

During the day we also have had local schools providing information on successful parent engagement in their school.  Some schools have been the recipients of a CSPQ Parent Engagement grant to carry out or begin an activity to encourage better engagement of families in their schools and thereby their children’s learning and wellbeing.

Further days are planned for:

• Brisbane – July 30 as part of Catholic Education Week
• Rockhampton  - August 20
• Sunshine Coast – August 27

These days will become annual events across Queensland with various speakers each year.  

Catholic School Parents Victoria

CSPV have a new email newsletter with information about partnerships, communication and advocacy.

CSPV are about to launch new marketing material to share with schools and parents across Victoria. Our Connect email blast and A4 flyer called Parent Connect for primary and one for secondary are linked below. This resulted from a marketing review CSPV commissioned earlier this year.

CSPV have also been focusing on developing key strategic partnerships this year and have established collaborative relationships and worked on projects to develop parent resources with SchoolTV, CECV and Lifesaving Victoria, Commission for Children and Young People, Victorian Institute of Teaching, Victorian Registrations and Qualifications Authority, Victorian Disability Worker Commission and Victorian Curriculum and Assessment Authority. CSPV are also working on partnerships with Catholic Care Victoria, The Alannah and Madeleine Foundation/eSmart and Posischools to share resources to support parents to engage in learning curriculum, wellbeing, child safety and Catholic community.

Connecting with these organisations provides CSPV with evidence based resources to share that parents are able to trust and that are already available. These partnerships also provide CSPV with opportunities for bringing parent voice and perspective to key decision making and development of new resources specifically for parents.

CSPV are about to start our parent leadership project and are forming a team of parents to drive the project. We also have a State election coming up so we are gearing up to work on advocacy on behalf of Catholic school parents.

Plenty happening but our other focus is to have at least 100 parent representatives (one from each Catholic school) by the end of the year with the aim to have all schools with a parent rep connected with CSPV over the next couple of years.

Council of Catholic School Parents NSW

Acknowledging and celebrating the importance of parent representation and engagement

On May 19 and 20, 2022 representatives from the Council of Catholic School Parents NSW/ACT (CCSP) gathered in Coffs Harbour to acknowledge and celebrate 17 years of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander parent representation to CCSP Council and deepen knowledge of Parent Engagement practices.

The 11 NSW/ACT Dioceses were represented by a group of Volunteer Parent Representatives, Aboriginal Educators and Diocesan Parent/Family Engagement Officers.

Jenny Skinner welcomed everyone to Gumbaynggirr Country during the moving and educational dance and smoking ceremony performed by the Wajaar Ngaarlu group.Catherine Ible, former Chair CCSP, currently Parent Engagement Officer, Catholic Schools Office, Diocese of Armidale, and Mary Atkinson, Aboriginal Education Worker, Diocese of Wagga Wagga, spoke about the formation and positive impact of the CCSP Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Parent Committee.

They acknowledged and thanked Sharon Cooke, Senior Manager, Aboriginal Education, Catholic Schools NSW, Inaugural Chair of the CCSP Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Parent Committee, and all previous and current members of the committee who have worked to give a voice to Aboriginal families in NSW/ACT schools. 

Working with the Diocesan Aboriginal education specialists the committee have promoted Catholic education to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander families. Knowing that their voice is understood, respected, and listened to, has resulted in more Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander families choosing Catholic education for their children. The committee have developed many resources that are shared amongst communities across NSW and ACT.

Doreen Flanders, Aboriginal Education Officer, Diocese of Lismore, generously shared some of her story and the wonderful work that is happening in the Diocese of Lismore to support Aboriginal students on their education journey.

The Action Plan developed by the Catholic Education Office, Diocese of Lismore, incorporates knowledge and experience Doreen has gained during her 17 years as an Aboriginal Educator. 

She discussed the importance of developing culturally responsive schools where Aboriginal students feel welcome and stressed the importance of developing and building relationships with families in-order to support student school attendance.

“The Welcome to Country was a highlight and Aunty Doreen's experiences were very moving.” commented Anne Fehon, Parent Representative, Archdiocese of Sydney. 

Delegates participated in an engaging and informative session about building and developing family-school partnerships. 

Janita Thomson, Lead, Family Partnership, Diocese of Lismore, Catholic Schools Office, shared some of the methods used within the Diocese of Lismore to develop and nurture partnerships.

During her presentation she acknowledged that it takes time, effort and commitment to build the partnerships, however, there are many benefits for students, parents and schools.

The presentations and follow up discussions provided delegates with ideas they can trial in our own dioceses.

The 2022 Roger O’Sullivan Memorial Award for Family, School and Community Partnerships for Learning was launched during the conference.

CCSP would like to thank Christine Morrison, Janita Thomson and Doreen Flanders of the Lismore Diocese for the very moving liturgy and celebration of spirituality and for making the attendees feel so welcome.

If you have any questions contact CCSP at office@ccsp.catholic.edu.au 

Catholic School Parents South Australia

The first half of 2022 has seen a busy  start to the newly formed body, Catholic Schools Parents of South Australia. As a body, we created a new brand, launched our website and began regular engagement on social media platforms with parents, schools and the wider community.

We have continued to ensure a strong Catholic Parent Voice to our politicians during the recent State and Federal elections.

We look forward to working with newly formed Governments and Ministers for Education to work towards providing an education for all children.

Term 2 has seen restrictions for COVID-19 within school’s ease. The restrictions easing have welcomed back parents in the classrooms, whole school celebrations, liturgies and parent connections being formed.

We have seen children return to some sense of normality, albeit a new type of normal.

Unfortunately, with restrictions easing COVID numbers have also continued to rise and as we now enter winter, we continue to see the pressures that are placed on families, schools, and their health care system. We urge you to take care of each other, be kind and seek help are the physical, social perspectives needed.

Whilst we are settling into the new normal, it is wonderful to be able to see schools welcoming families back in to experience the magic, joy, and wonder of the learning spaces that surround their children.

Our organisation has seen the Executive Officer be involved in the judging panel for the inaugural Catholic Education South Australia awards recognising the inspiring commitment, innovation and dedication to the education sector. We have had the opportunity to begin regional travel, travelling over 2000km ranging from Mount Gambier to Jamestown. The diversity of the regions, active parent communities and inspiring learning spaces were evident throughout the travel, with each community welcoming our body with open arms.

Our Executive Officer is engaging with community through regular news articles which can be accessed at News | Catholic School Parents SA (cspsa.catholic.edu.au).

The school holidays will call out for a much-needed break so people can rest, recharge, and become inspired for the remaining terms. Many Catholic schools across our state will welcome new reception students and their families and we wish them joy and strength during this new exciting phase of their life.

It’s been a busy Term 2 – but bring on Term 3. We are ready and inspired!

Catholic School Parents Archdiocese of Canberra and Goulburn

Community mural depicting school values

In 2021, the community of St Thomas More’s Primary School, Campbell ACT, celebrated 60 years of Catholic Education.  In 2022 the school embarked on a grounds renewal project to see the school environment align with the vibrant welcoming community they are known for.   In Term 2 this included engaging with local Canberran artist Bohie who had worked with families previously on a community mural at the local shops. Bohie was tasked with gaining community input into a 35m² courtyard mural depicting the school values of Wisdom, Courage, and Peace. Each student engaged for five weeks during specialist visual arts lessons being influenced by mural artists, including Bohie, and designed what they felt would be a true depiction of the values. From these sketches a group of 22 students from Kindergarten to Year 6 were formed to participate in a workshop with Bohie and the school principal, Luke Donnelly. 

During the workshop, the students described the importance of Christian Meditation aligning with Peace, a practice the school has been leading in the Archdiocese, the Courage of a butterfly emerging from a cocoon and the Wisdom that comes from literature, particularly through wise animals such as whales, owls, and octopus. The workshop also brought out the need for growth of our values through trees integrated within the mural. 

On the School Feast Day, the whole community was given an opportunity to contribute to the mural using finger and thumb prints to create leaves, bark lines, butterflies, and integration with a silhouette of a meditating child.

St Thomas More’s is a transient community with 50% of families being members of the Australian Defence Force. Principal Luke Donnelly said, “We will continue to have fingerprints of members of our community added over years to come to symbolise the wider family of St Thomas More’s and our commitment to be centred in Faith, and learning to grow in Wisdom, Courage and Peace.”