CSPWA Term 3 Newsletter 2019
- Presidents Report
- Awards of Excellence in Building Positive Catholic School Communities 2019
- Demystifying STEM
- CSPWA and CEWA Attendance Survey
- Tips on how to handle exam stress
- Invitation to review policies at Catholic Education WA
- Child Protection Week 2019
- Parent Engagement in the Early Years
- National Career Education Strategy-Future Ready
- Salvado Catholic College celebrate Book Week 2019
- AGM Season Approaching
- St Luke's College Karratha Movie Quiz Night
- Parents Charter Focus Group
- CSPWA Conference 2020 - Save the Date!
Dear Parents/Carers
Spring is here, a season of new life and with it the conclusion of Term Three. For many families their school days are nearly over and a new beginning awaits all our year 12’s. Best wishes to all those sitting exams, you may like to read the exam stress tips we have included. Thank you for choosing a Catholic education and may God bless you and your family always. The words from Pope Francis (World Youth Day, Poland 2016) are quite fitting where he called all young people into action, to be protagonists of history and to leave their mark in the world. He said that this requires courage and “a readiness to trade the sofa for a pair of walking shoes and to set out on new and uncharted paths.” This is not just for the young but good advice for all of us.
And the winner is….. Thank you to all who sent in a nomination for our annual Awards of Excellence in Building Positive Catholic School Communities. The winners have been announced and are included in the newsletter-congratulations to all!
The Annual General Meeting season is fast approaching, the AGM often brings fear to some but be assured the office can assist with any help or resources you may need. Now is an ideal opportunity to consider setting out on a “new and uncharted path” and think of joining the parent group. A new way to look at AGM is:
A
Good
Move
It’s “a good move” to be the difference you want to see and keep our parent groups thriving for the benefit of our children’s education.
CSPWA are currently working on several projects with which we would welcome some parent input. The first is the creation of a 'Parent Charter/Guiding principles'. We would like to facilitate some focus groups in the office to discuss this. We will be holding a focus group on Wednesday 25th at 12pm in our office-see the flyer further down in the newsletter for more information. If you are interested in taking part please do not hesiatte to call the office on 9338 9985 to register your interest for this focus group. Additionally if you are parent in a school outside the metro area and would like the opportunity to have input please call and we can faciliate this.
Secondly CSPWA are collaborating with Catholic Education WA on an Attendance Strategy. An explanatory letter and a link to the survey are included in this newsletter. We urge you to take 10 minutes to completethe survey and this will help to inform the strategy.
We have also included a link to some videos from Dr Debbie Pushor highlighting the importance of Parent Engagement. We were lucky enough to have Debbie present some workshops here in Perth in 2017 and we certainly know that she is a very passionate advocate and supportor of parent engagement. Other newsletter highlights include an article highlighting the importance of the STEM subjects for your children.
We love to hear about the great work that is being carried out in our school communities by parents and sharing your stories enriches the opportunities for others.
CSPWA is just a phone call away for parents and schools for information and advice.
Have a safe and restful holiday.
God Bless
Helen Anderson
STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics) learning is also called problem-based learning, or inquiry-learning. It encourages students to develop solutions for real-world problems they experience, allowing them to follow their own natural curiosity and passion for a topic. It is a way of learning that encourages children’s natural enthusiasm to explore something that sparks their interest in the world around them.
Recent examples of STEM learning projects by groups of students in WA Catholic schools include work on ways to reducing plastics in oceans and how to combat cyber-bullying. Others have looked at how to use drones to pollinate plants, and the benefits of planting food trees as street trees. The topics are often selected by the students, so they can solve what they perceive as real-world problems.
STEM is not a single subject that students have to complete, but a broad range of skills and knowledge. Students are not marked on their idea or their choice of their project, but on the skills they use in working towards solving the problems. These skills provide life-long learning, and can include researching, team work, capitalising on each other’s strengths, and presenting their solutions in innovative ways.
Scitech is a great place to observe and get involved with your children’s STEM learning. A trip to Scitech may give you the opportunity to see their focus and attention on the activities, and the energy with which they move through Scitech – much like their STEM teachers see them doing in their classrooms.
CSPWA thanks Marion Cahill from CEWA for providing this article and helping us to understand that STEM is not just one subject but in fact a way of learning!
An Invitation to Have Your Say...
Catholic Education Western Australia (CEWA) is reviewing its system policies supporting our 75,000 students and 12,000 staff in 162 schools.
All students, parents, staff and members of the community are invited to help by telling us; What makes a good Catholic school?
Facilitated sessions will take place at our Leederville office. You can book your preferred session time online and choose from:
* Early Years LOFT Sessions (for Pre K- Yr 4 Students and their Family)
* Open LOFT Sessions (Yrs 4-12 Students, Families, Staff and Community)
During the school holiday sessions, participants will create a mural alongside local artist Linzi Carter. This is an evolving creation, whose form will develop with each session.
CSPWA encourages you to share this information with your school community, and to participate in this unique opportunity to have your say on the future of our schools.
For more information and to register for a session, see: https://www.eventbrite.com.au/o/loft-catholic-education-western-australia-20262532767
Dr Debbie Pushor has just released a 9 part video series on parent engagement in the early years. Please follow the link below to access.
The Career Industry Council of Australia is running an information/awareness campaign through October, November and December 2019 called - Do you #knowtheanswer? as part of the National Career Education Strategy - Future Ready
The future workplace will bring new experiences and expectations. Children starting preschool today will engage in a very different world to the one we currently live in.
They will work in jobs that are yet to be created, use technology that has not yet been invented and face social, economic and environmental challenges that are yet to be anticipated.
To be successful in the future world of work, young people will need the skills and capabilities to navigate this new world. They will require a portfolio of skills and capabilities to make well-informed career decisions throughout life.
Future Ready is Australia’s National Career Education Strategy that supports schools in providing high-quality career education experiences for all students.
High-quality career education builds resilient individuals who can adapt to the changing nature of work, managing multiple careers throughout their lifetime, adapting to their circumstances and needs.
We know from research that parents and carers continue to be the single greatest influencer and supporter of a young persons career decision making.
We also know that parents can feel disconnected and can find it difficult to know how best to support their children through this process.
As part of #knowtheanswer we are running a FREE National Webinar for parents/carers on Thursday 14 November 2019 at 7.30pm AEDST.
To find out more information and to register go to https://cica.org.au/events/
About Salvado Catholic College
Salvado Catholic College is a new co-educational Catholic College in Byford that opened in 2016. We currently have 350 students from Pre-Kindergarten through to Year 5. The College will continue to grow each year to reach its ultimate capacity as a K-12 Catholic College of choice in the area. Earlier this year we saw the completion of our Stage 2 works and we have now completed our Primary Campus. Our new courts and playing fields are also great outdoor spaces for our students. Our Stage 3 building (Secondary Campus) is about to commence and we look forward to welcoming our first Year 7s in 2021. For more information visit www.salvado.wa.edu.au or call 9526 4500.
Book Fair and Open Night 2019
There was lots of stomping and roaring in the Covered Assembly Space at Salvado Catholic College on the evening of 21 August as the College held their Dino-Mite Book Fair and Open Night. This has been an annual event since the College opened in 2016 and is very well supported by all our parents and carers and families. Mrs Shadia White has coordinated the event each year and she has great support from parent helpers leading up to the Book Fair and on the night. Our Staff do a great job in ensuring our Learning Spaces are looking fantastic for the Open Night, like they always do! It is a great opportunity for parent engagement at the College and there is a real buzz between the Book Fair and students showing their families around the Learning Spaces.
We are aware that for a lot of parent groups the AGM will be fast approaching. We have some useful information and resources available to help assist with this so please contact the office on 9338 9985 or theresa@csp.wa.edu.au
Please see links below to Ways to Attract more Volunteers and also the 2020 Office Bearers Form. It is really important that you update the office bearers form after your AGM's and returned to our office ASAP. Email it to admin@csp.wa.edu.au or update the form on our website www.csp.wa.edu.au
Parent Charter Focus Group Meeting
CSPWA Office
103 Wood Street,
Inglewood
Date: Wed 25 Sept 12pm-1.30pm
CSPWA has been approached by a number of principals to assist with the development of a Parent Charter. We feel quite strongly that a Parent Charter (if this is to be what it’s called) should be initially developed by parents in consultation with Principals Associations and CEWA Exec. To that end we have referred to it as ‘for parents by parents’. This is significant as it confers co-responsibility for the outcome.
If you are interested in particiapting in a focus group to inform this document please contact admin @csp.wa.edu to register your interest.