The recent Finland study tour was a valuable opportunity to learn more about the Finnish education system and exchange ideas with international colleagues. Our touring party included principals Emily Clarke and Ben Shields, Board Director Anne Pekin, CEB Strategy Implementation Manager Julia Petrov and myself. At the Educating for the Future Summit in Turku, we participated in discussions and presentations with educators from Finland, Norway, Denmark and Canada.
At the European Conference on Educational Research in Tampere, I participated in an international panel on system improvement and presented with Dave Runge on aspects of the DOBCEL Strategy 2035. We also connected with educators from around the world, including William Doyle, co-author with Pasi Sahlberg of Let the Children Play.
The tour provided valuable affirmation of the direction of DOBCEL Strategy 2035. In particular, our three practical principles of Deeper Collaboration, Networked Local Innovation, and Collective Autonomy and Agency continue to provide a strong foundation as we work towards becoming a high-performing system of Catholic schools.
At tomorrow’s Week 8 Diocesan Leadership Gathering, held via videoconference from 10am to 12pm, I will share further reflections from the Finland study tour. Dr Jean Stiles will also lead a discussion on student agency, alongside updates on the EBA, 2027 budgets and other operational matters.
This week’s newsletter also highlights collaboration across our schools and teams. This includes our latest podcast exploring collaboration in practice, the FLARE Primary Literacy professional learning event involving more than 200 educators from eight Catholic primary schools, and recognition of the contribution of our Diocesan Speech Pathology team as part of Speech Pathology Week.
Finally, I thank Megan Ioannou for acting in the Executive Director role during my absence. Megan is now on long service leave until 9 October, and we wish her well for her travels.
With best wishes,
Tom Sexton
Executive Director