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15 July 2026 / Weekly Newsletter #102 - 15 July 2026

From the Executive Director

 

With best wishes,
Tom Sexton
Executive Director

15 July 2026 / Weekly Newsletter #102 - 15 July 2026

Reflection of the Week

What is distinctive about Catholic Education?

15 July 2026 / Weekly Newsletter #102 - 15 July 2026

New Podcast Episode Celebrating Catholic Education Week

A special Catholic Education Week episode of the DOBCEL Strategy 2035 Podcast – Towards 2035 launches today, celebrating the people, stories and communities that make Catholic education such an important part of life across the Diocese of Ballarat.

Hosted by DOBCEL Marketing and Communications Manager Ruth Appleyard, the episode, titled Catholic Education Week: What Catholic Education Means to Us, features Deputy Director: Catholic Education Matt Byrne and Deputy Director: Stewardship Megan Ioannou in conversation about the significance of Catholic Education Week and the impact Catholic schools have across our communities.

The discussion reflects on the many ways Catholic schools support young people to flourish through learning, belonging, faith, service and opportunity, while also recognising the dedication of staff, families and communities across the Diocese. 

Recorded as part of Catholic Education Week 2026, the episode highlights the vital role Catholic education continues to play from the Murray to the Sea. Tune in and celebrate the impact of Catholic education across DOBCEL schools and communities.

Listen Here:

A special Catholic Education Week episode of the DOBCEL Strategy 2035 Podcast – Towards 2035 launches today, celebrating the people, stories and communities that make Catholic education such an important part of life across the Diocese of Ballarat.

Hosted by DOBCEL Marketing and Communications Manager Ruth Appleyard, the episode, titled Catholic Education Week: What Catholic Education Means to Us, features Deputy Director: Catholic Education Matt Byrne and Deputy Director: Stewardship Megan Ioannou in conversation about the significance of Catholic Education Week and the impact Catholic schools have across our communities.

The discussion reflects on the many ways Catholic schools support young people to flourish through learning, belonging, faith, service and opportunity, while also recognising the dedication of staff, families and communities across the Diocese. 

Recorded as part of Catholic Education Week 2026, the episode highlights the vital role Catholic education continues to play from the Murray to the Sea. Tune in and celebrate the impact of Catholic education across DOBCEL schools and communities.

15 July 2026 / Weekly Newsletter #102 - 15 July 2026

Schools in Action

Celebrating 70 Years of St James’ Parish School, Sebastopol

St James’ Parish School, Sebastopol is celebrating 70 years of Catholic education, marking a significant milestone in its proud history.

Established in 1956 to serve a growing local community, the school was initially staffed by the Sisters of Mercy, whose values of care, compassion and understanding continue to shape its identity today. 

Over the past seven decades, St James’ has grown into a vibrant and welcoming learning community, grounded in Gospel values of relationships, service and excellence.

As the school celebrates this milestone, it honours the contributions of generations of students, staff and families, and looks ahead with hope to continuing its strong tradition of faith and learning.

Source: Our School - St James' Parish School Sebastopol

[Pictures sourced from Instagram posts of St James Parish School Sebastopol]

Celebrating Laudato Si' Week at DOBCEL Schools

Last week, schools across our diocese celebrated Laudato Si’ Week, focusing on the theme "From Hope to Action". This global celebration marked the anniversary of Pope Francis’ landmark encyclical on ‘care for our common home’, encouraging Catholics to engage in prayer, reflection, and action to address the climate crisis.

Here are a few stories from across the diocese:

St Mary's Primary School - Hamilton

Last week we recognised and celebrated Laudato Si' week. We learnt about the encyclical that the late Pope Francis wrote to the whole world and we considered what we could do to help to care for our common home.  Each homeroom, as well as the school as a whole, staff and leadership considered this question. We then set some goals about what we could do to help, no matter how small.

They may look like small actions, but together they can make a huge difference to our environment. What can you do to help care for our common home?

[Content and Photo courtesy of Tania Stevens, Deputy Principal at St Mary's Primary School Hamilton]

15 July 2026 / Weekly Newsletter #102 - 15 July 2026

Catholic Identity and Mission Updates

CEB Professional Learning Online Term 2 2026 

Catholic Education Ballarat is once again offering one hour online professional learning sessions for those who work in our schools. They are intended to give short, but in depth, dips into various topics of interest across theology and scripture.

Thursday 11th June 7:00 - 8:00pm AEST Register Here
Pope Leo XIV and Just War Theory in the Catholic Tradition Webinar

How should Catholics think about war, peace, and moral responsibility in an age of global conflict and human suffering?

This webinar will explore Pope Leo’s contribution to Catholic social thought and the development of Just War theory within the Catholic tradition. Drawing on Scripture, theology, and contemporary realities, it will reflect on the Church’s evolving understanding of violence, justice, conscience, and the pursuit of peace.

Speaking from his area of expertise will be Professor Darius von Güttner Sporzyński, with a response from Robert Fitzgerald AM.

Andrea Dean will moderate the event.

For more info, visit this link

Upcoming Key Social Justice Dates:

Term 2, 2026 Dates:              Event:
5-12 July 2026                         NAIDOC Week 

You can download the Caritas one-page Social Justice Calendar with key social justice dates for 2026!

Download Social Justice Calendar

15 July 2026 / Weekly Newsletter #102 - 15 July 2026

Learning and Teaching Updates

Early Career Teacher Optional VIT Check-In

Following feedback from our ECT sessions earlier this term we have committed to offering two VIT support sessions ONLINE.

These informal online check-ins are designed to provide an opportunity to discuss your VIT journey, ask questions, and receive feedback, guidance or advice on your progress, regardless of where you are in the process.

We would like to emphasise that there is no expectation or urgency to complete your VIT inquiry within your first year of teaching. However, some schools encourage graduate teachers to begin the process early to take advantage of the support structures available within their school. These sessions may support you in preparation for beginning this process when the time is right.

We are currently offering two online check-in sessions and may schedule additional sessions if there is further interest.

NOTE: This does not negate the support you will already be receiving from your mentor in your school setting.

ECT VIT Online Check-in #1
🗓️ Term 2, Week 10 – Thursday 25 June
🔗 No registration required – simply join via this Teams link.

ECT VIT Online Check-in #2
🗓️ Term 3, Week 1 – Thursday 16 July
🔗 No registration required – simply join via this Teams link.

Please note: These sessions are intended to complement, not replace, the support you receive from your mentor and colleagues within your school setting.

Should neither of these dates suit please reach out and we will make other arrangements.  
Email: jcooper@dobcel.catholic.edu.au

We look forward to supporting you throughout your VIT journey.

Invitation to VCEA/VCAA Webinar: Understanding the Victorian Curriculum F-10 EAL Version 2.0

Professional Learning Opportunity-Term 3

The Victorian Catholic Education Authority (VCEA) invites Catholic schools to participate in an online professional learning webinar focussed on the Victorian Curriculum F-10 EAL Version 2.0, scheduled for implementation in Catholic schools in 2027.

For more information, see flyer below

VCEA/VCAA Webinar Flyer

Auslan Teachers as Co-Learners (TCL) Professional Learning Collaboration Day

Three Auslan TCL primary schools from the Central Zone, St Francis Xavier, St Brigid’s Ballan and St Mary’s Clarkes Hill, joined together on Friday 5th June for a collaborative professional learning day.

Participants considered the impact of Auslan TCL programs beyond the classroom and the importance of Deaf allyship. Rich professional discussions focused on first and second language acquisition including student language progression. Staff also engaged in modelling and rehearsal of language lessons using the recently published TCL instructional model.

The day provided valuable opportunities for collaboration, enabling educators to share effective practices, strengthen professional networks and deepen their collective understanding of high-quality TCL program implementation. Some of the participant feedback included:

“I loved sitting on a table with staff from other schools. The conversations were rich and stayed on track.”

“Let’s have another networking opportunity - it was such a valuable day!”

“Mixing the tables up amongst schools was a great idea and enabled more sharing to take place through multiple conversations across the day.”

15 July 2026 / Weekly Newsletter #102 - 15 July 2026

FLARE Updates

Flare Term 3 Registrations

All Guided Literacy Improvement schools now need to register for their Term Three events.

Registrations can be made here.

If you are a Phase B school, please prioritise this task as we have a Face-to-Face option for your Term 3 closure day. We will need numbers to finalise the venue, catering, etc.

In response to school requests, the Flare Team has developed the following new resources for DOBCEL schools to use and provide feedback on during Term 3:

  • A graphic guide to the Pulling It All Together Hour and its three approaches: Knowledge Text Study, Literary Text Study and Creative Writing. Access here.
  • F-6 Literary Text Study units aligned with Term 3 Flare Reading Spine texts. These units include detailed lesson planners, resources, teaching slides and student workbooks.
  • F-6 Narrative Focus Week planners. This resource provides a re-usable five-lesson narrative writing planner for each year level that includes suggested picture prompts.

These resources can be accessed in three ways.

  • Using this link
  • Through the Lit-HAS Scope and Sequence (Text Study section)
  • From the Resources drop-down in the Resources Centre of the Flare Website

Please note that these resources have been developed and released within a short timeframe in response to identified school needs. While every effort has been made to ensure they are useful and practical, they remain a work in progress and will be refined, strengthened or altered over time, based on feedback and implementation experiences. If these resources prove valuable to schools, similar resources will be developed for Term Four.

Don't Forget: The new and improved Idioms Slide Deck is now available in the Resource Centre (full alignment to the Scope & Sequence will be completed by the end of 2026).

Coming Soon:

  • Spelling Rules teaching slides
  • Further information about aligning Flare and Ochre resources - for now, our advice to Guided Literacy Improvement schools at Phases A, B and C remains the same: Continue prioritising Flare resources, which have been intentionally designed to support schools to gradually implement consistent, school-wide Structured Literacy instruction that is truly systematic, cumulative, explicit and diagnostic.

Please contact Emma at any time to discuss Flare Resources: erutherford@dobcel.catholic.edu.au

LAST CHANCE TO HAVE YOUR SAY ABOUT WHAT WE PROVIDE NEXT!

SURVEY CLOSES THIS FRIDAY
🎁 Two $50 book vouchers up for grabs! 🎁

We need to know what works (and doesn't work) for Literacy Teachers and Leaders

This anonymous survey aims to capture the reality of how the Flare Primary Literacy tools and resources are used in schools. It further aims to provide DOBCEL educators with an opportunity to contribute their insights and ideas for future development of the Flare suite.

The survey should take around 15 minutes to complete and is open to all DOBCEL Primary Teachers, Leaders and Principals. Participants will be given the option to submit their contact details to enter the prize draw at the conclusion of the survey. Contact details will not be associated with survey responses.

The form will close and the prize winners will be randomly drawn on Friday 12th June at 4pm.

Click here to begin.

Writing Moderation - Diocesan Sample Collection

Has your school used these writing prompts in Semester 1?

Schools that have used the Flare Semester 1 Writing Prompts are invited to submit student writing samples as part of our ongoing work to strengthen writing assessment practices across the Diocese.

Participation in this process is entirely optional. We appreciate that our schools are juggling many priorities and encourage participation only where it is manageable within your existing workloads.

The process for collecting and submitting writing samples was shared at the Flare Leader Network meetings and is outlined in the diagram below. This provides a step-by-step overview of the selection, collection, and submission process.

Writing samples collected through this process may be annotated and used to develop resources to further support moderation processes within our schools. These resources will aim to assist teachers to build a strong understanding of writing achievement and strengthen consistency when making judgements about student learning.

Any writing samples shared beyond the contributing school will be fully de-identified prior to use. No student names or identifying school information will be included in any diocesan resources, professional learning, or moderation materials.

Thank you for your continued support. We really do appreciate contributions that benefit many schools across our Diocese.

Please reach out to Belinda Chiswell or your Education Officer: Learning & Teaching if any further information or support is required - ✉️ bchiswell@dobcel.catholic.edu.au | 📱0484 641 997.

 

15 July 2026 / Weekly Newsletter #102 - 15 July 2026

Career Opportunities