Catholic Dialogue Schools Project
e-Update - Term 4, 2017
Welcome to Term 4
As we enter into the final term of 2017, we would like to share with you some news and resources to support your engagement with the Catholic Dialogue Schools Project.
Term 3 saw the visit to Brisbane by Professor Didier Pollefeyt and the team from KU Leuven. Professor Pollefeyt was the key speak at the GATHER Conference which was an excellent gathering of hearts and minds from across Queensland. Read on in the e Update for a review of this conference. The new BCE School Improvement Framework was also launched last term and this promises to be an effective way to integrate Catholic school identity across the 9 domains of the National School Improvement Tool. Read the article below for more information about this.
Some of the key topics in this issue are:
Reflections from the GATHER Conference
- 2017 cohort- Theology and Practice Workshop
- School Improvement Framework
- Upcoming conferences and professional learning
- New resources to support Catholic school identity
For further information about these key initiatives please read on in this e-Update.
If you would like more information on any of these areas please contact The Identity, Mission and Religious Education Services Team on 3033 7620 or imare@bne.catholic.edu.au .
You can now also follow us on Twitter and Instagram. Keep up to date with what is happening and get connected with other Catholic educators across BCE and beyond.
Twitter: @IMAREservices
Instagram imareservices
DATE CLAIMER- Theology and practice workshop
This is an important date claimer for the schools engaged in the 2017 BCE Dialogue Schools Project.
The Theology and Practice workshop for all 2017 Dialogue Schools will take place on Wednesday 8th November at the O'Shea Centre, Wilston. This is a critical workshop in this project and schools are asked to prioritise this day.
At this workshop staff from the IMARE team will unpack the underlying theory and theology of the project, distributing individual school reports and lead schools through a process of analysing the data in their schools report.
We ask that a minimum of three staff who are involved in leading this work attend this day.
If you have any questions regarding this day please contact Simon Mahaffy on 3033 7378 or smahaffy@bne.catholic.edu.au.
We look forward to working with the 2017 Dialogue Schools on this day.
REGISTRATION FOR THIS EVENT IS ON iLEARN AND CLOSES 31st OCTOBER.
Wednesday, Nov 8, 2017, 09:30 AM
Father Bernard O'Shea Inservice Centre, Lovedale Street, Wilston, Queensland, Australia
Reflections From The Gather Conference
As the Holy Spirit Seminary, Banyo opened its doors for the first time to co-host a BCE and ACU joint venture, most striking for the 150 participants at the recent ‘Gather’ event was the imposing tepee located in the centre of the courtyard. The large tepee symbolised the theme of the event with 150 delegates from the five Queensland dioceses joining in ‘The Gathering of Minds and Hearts’ facilitated by keynote speakers Professor Didier Pollefeyt from Leuven University, Rev Dr Brendan Reed, Rev Dr Anthony Mellor and Professor Therese D’Orsa.
In conjunction with the ‘Gather’ event, 30 staff engaged in the Intensive Residential Theology Course THCT605 led by Associate Professor Robyn Horner, Professor Didier Pollefeyt and Mr Jan Bouwens focussing on the concept of theology as recontextualisation and communicating ways to support Catholic schools, educational systems and communities in enhancing their Catholic identity.
Archbishop Mark Coleridge’s statement became the catalyst to inspire the concept of ‘Gather’. “God’s vision is BIG…We are being asked to participate in that vision by not relying on what we know of the past but by breaking camp and walking through the city gates into the City of God – the Big Tent and discovering the new way He wants to work.” Whilst being the allegorical prototype of a meeting place, the colourful tent housed examples of recontextualised religious art, lunch time musicians – Steph Unger and Lawrie Knott, artist in residence – Peter Hunter and the launch of Jill Gowdie’s latest publication, “Stirring the Soul of Catholic Education – Formation for Mission”.
Albeit eye-catching, the tepee provided great opportunity for collegiality and practice wisdom sharing of Dialogue schools, welcoming of new friends, and an invitation to join in daily prayer fusing scripture and contemporary context with faith and present-day culture.
BCE School Improvement Framework
The Australian Council for Educational Research National School Improvement Tool (NSIT) is at the heart of the School Improvement Framework. The NSIT is used by reivewers to conduct internal (principal / school-led) and external (External panel-led) school reviews, with review findings directly informing the strategies and goals included in school plans.
The School Improvement Framework is based on a warp and weft concept where Brisbane Catholic Education’s strategic direction is interwoven with the nine NSIT domains.
Whilst the NSIT has not been developed specifically for Catholic schools, correct application of the tool using the guide to applying the NSIT in Brisbane Catholic Education schools will ensure that a school’s religious life and Catholic identity is explicitly considered as part of the review process.
The Brisbane Catholic Education Strategic Plan themes of Strong Catholic Identity, Excellent Learning and Teaching and Building a Sustainable Future, which school plans align with, focus on the what - what the school will achieve.
The NSIT domains focus on the how — the practices that will result in improvements across the three themes. The nine NSIT domains are relevant to all aspects of school life and are a vital component of the fabric of the school improvement process.
Through this approach Catholic school identity is seen as part of and critical to all facets of schools life and school improvement. The guide currently being developed for BCE schools integrates Catholic school identity including Religious Education and Religious Life of the School across the 9 domains where they naturally fit. The school reporting process will also ensure that Catholic school identity remains a priority within the school strategic and annual plans.
For more information please visit the School Improvement Framework site here
Planning for 2018
Members of the IMARE team are available to assist schools with their planning for 2018 with their Catholic identity goals.
Using the new School Improvement Framework and the strategic and annual plan templates requires schools to identify targeted goals and actions in the area of Catholic school identity. We can support schools in discerning ways forward to meet the needs of your community.
Please contact Aleisha Connellan, Lindell Johnston or Simon Mahaffy if you would like any assistance.
BBI- TAITE Symposium on Catholic Identity
Next year an exciting opportunity will be coming to Brisbane. The Broken Bay Institute - The Australian Institute of Theological Education (BBI-TAITE) will be hosting a significant symposium on Catholic Identity called Religious Education in a Change of Era. This symposium will bring together experts in the field from all over Australia and all over the world. Speakers will include :
- Archbishop Mark Coleridge
- Prof. Stephen Bullivant
- Dr Ann Casson
- Monica Brown
- Dr Kevin Lenehan
- Dr Leigh Stower
- Prof Richard Rymarz
This will be the first time that this symposium has been held in Queensland and it is a great opportunity to access world class speakers in our own backyard. I would encourage you to save the dates in your calendars now. Further information regarding registration and pricing will be communicated as they become available.
Dates: 13th -14th September 2018
Venue: Brisbane Convention and Exhibition Centre
Upcoming Formation Opportunites
Staff formation is one of the expected and effective practices of the Strong Catholic Identity Strategy. Ongoing developmental formation for all staff is critical in nurturing Catholic school identity into the future. In Semester Two, there are a number of formation opportunities that you or your community might like to take advantage of.
Retreat day opportunity: Saturday, 9 December
Learning from Summer: Embracing Abundance
Greg Sunter is offering a series of retreat/reflection days throughout the year. This one-day seasonal retreat offers time out to (re)connect with the inner wisdom that guides and sustains us, and gives meaning to our lives and work. Summer is about abundance. Authentic abundance does not lie in secured stockpiles of food or cash or influence or affection, but in belonging to a community where we can give those goods to others who need them – and receive them from others when we are in need.
For more details and to register, visit the WholeHearted website.The Art of Skilled Facilitation
The Art of Skilled Facilitation is designed to prepare those in various leadership capacities to develop and facilitate groups. Using an experiential learning approach, the theory of adult learning forms the basis of the workshop. The emphasis throughout is the practical application of theory to the practice of facilitation. The desired outcome is skill for the facilitator and empowerment for groups of adults.
Paula Sgherza, an experienced facilitator with over 25 years experience will be facilitating this training. It will be held at Santa Teresa Spirituality Centre, Ormiston from November 13 -18.
For more details please click on the link below
Catholic Identity Resources
As the season of Advent approaches we would like to share a useful reflection that could be used with staff. In this article Jill Gowdie explores the season of Advent as a useful time to pause and reflect of what it is to be a 'holy family' and how this impacts on what we do and how we do it as Catholic educators.
Please click the link below to access the reflection.
To assist schools with helping staff to understand each of the three key Leuven scales, we have created a series of three posters to summarise the Post Critical Belief Scale, Melbourne Scale and Victoria Scale. The dimensions of each poster is 45cm X 100cm.
If you would to order a set of these posters please contact Simon Mahaffy or Lindell Johnstone from the IMARE Team.
UNDERSTANDING THE MISSION OF CATHOLIC EDUCATION
In collaboration with Resource Link, we have identified some key resources around the mission of Catholic education which are useful to school and office teams. We are also developing a series of infographics which provide a summary of some useful publications. The first two of these infographics are now available for use.
1) Instrumentum Laboris- Educating Today and Tomorrow : A Renewing Passion
2) What Makes a School Catholic by Thomas Groome
Please click on the links to access these infographics.
VIDEOS EXPLAINING THE THREE KEY SCALES
The Catholic University of Leuven has developed three short videos which explain each of the three key scales in the Leuven Project.
1. THE POST-CRITICAL BELIEF (PCB) SCALE
2. THE MELBOURNE SCALE
3. THE VICTORIA SCALE
These short videos would be a useful resource when working with staff in developing their understanding about these three key scales. They are also helpful in refreshing your own understanding of the scales in a visual way.
You can view the videos below or by clicking on the link below.
Helpful Resources
CATHOLIC IDENTITY WEBSITE
The Catholic Identity portal site is designed to support schools who are engaging in the BCE Dialogue Schools Project. This website can be accessed by clicking on the 'Strengthen Catholic Identity' link on K-Web or via the link below. It is housed as part of the IMARE Team site.
On this website there are two main sections:
1) Strengthen Catholic Identity Strategy
This site has information regarding the BCE position paper and implementation strategy. This will be updated as the strategy progresses.
2) The BCE Dialogue Schools Project
This site houses resources useful to schools who are engaging directly with the Leuven research. This includes resources about the project process, how to complete the surveys and how to unpack the data. There is also a resource section that contains videos, fact sheets, articles, Power Points and other key documents that will be useful to schools.
Please find a link to this site below.
Resource Link
Resource Link has begun to curate resources that they have which will support schools engaging in the area of Catholic identity. You will be able to search for these resources by entering the key words 'Catholic identity' or for more specific resources you can search under the four priority areas:
- Catholic Identity and Mission
- Catholic Identity and Formation
- Catholic Identity and Learning and Teaching
- Catholic Identity and Culture
Click here to access the Resource Link collection.
STRENGTHENING CATHOLIC IDENTITY SHAPE PAPER AND POSITION STATEMENT
An updated version of the BCE Shape Paper for the Strengthening Catholic Identity Strategy is now available for download. This document outlines the purpose, vision and scope of this key BCE strategy. Please click HERE to download a copy from K-Web.
The Position Statement is also available for download and can be accessed by clicking HERE.
THE LEUVEN SCALES FOR DUMMIES
These documents have been written by the Catholic University of Leuven to help explain the PCB Scale, Melbourne Scale and Victoria Scale. Please click HERE to access the articles.
LINKS TO PREVIOUS ISSUES
For access to the previous issues of the BCE Leuven Project e-Update please click on the links below.
2017
Term 1, 2017 https://www.smore.com/mtud3
Term 2, 2017 https://www.smore.com/5xhjk
Term 3, 2017 https://www.smore.com/ha5df
2016
Term 1, 2016 https://www.smore.com/seg3s
Term 2, 2016 https://www.smore.com/50a0u
Term 3, 2016 https://www.smore.com/tjhm9
Term 4, 2016 https://www.smore.com/cn2nr
2015
Term 1, 2015 https://www.smore.com/qgzfv
Term 2, 2015 https://www.smore.com/v8nrp
Term 3, 2015 https://www.smore.com/fhtxe
Term 4, 2015 https://www.smore.com/3evyk
Want to Talk to Someone about the BCE Dialogue Schools Project?
Email: MissionIdentity@bne.catholic.edu.au
Website: http://www.bne.catholic.edu.au/formationandleadership/identity/Pages/default.aspx
Location: 243 Gladstone Road, Dutton Park, Queensland, Australia
Phone: (07) 3033 7620
Twitter: @IMAREservices
If you have any queries or questions about the BCE Dialogue Schools Project please direct them to Simon Mahaffy or contact the team on 3033 7620