New Teaching awards celebrate best of the best
In early 2014, as part of its commitment to excellence in learning and teaching, the Brisbane Catholic Education (BCE) office launched a new recognition scheme called the Excellence in Teaching Awards.
All part-time and full-time teachers and leaders in BCE schools and colleges are now eligible for nomination each year, across seven categories: Excellence as a Beginning Teacher; Outstanding Mentor for Beginning Teachers; Excellence in Teaching; Excellence in Leadership for Learning and Teaching; Team Excellence in Learning and Teaching; Excellence in Teaching Religious Education and Outstanding Mentor for Teachers of Religious Education.
The 2014 winners from almost 200 nominations were presented with their certificates and prizes by archbishop Mark Coleridge and BCE executive director Pam Betts at the inaugural Archdiocesan Awards Ceremony in June.
Ms Betts said: “Teachers are significant social agents, at the heart of their role is an affirmation of the essential goodness and giftedness of all people and recognition that the need for belonging is one of the most basic human needs.
“Teachers build a future by providing opportunities for positive outcomes in the lives of young people today.”
The winning teachers received cash prizes for their hard work thanks to the support of Teachers Union Health, Queensland Teachers Mutual Bank and the Australian Catholic University in addition to BCE.
Year 7 transition plans on track
Catholic schools have been hard at work over the past year fine-tuning their plans for the state-wide transition of Year 7 to secondary.
Some students from the first cohort of Prep students in Queensland have found themselves to be the last ever Year 7s to attend primary school.
Ian Davis, BCE’s senior project officer, said preparations for the move in 2015 are well advanced and called it a “once-in-a-lifetime opportunity” to further enhance the quality of education in our primary, secondary and P-12 schools.
He added: “We have been fortunate to have had three years to prepare for this change and parents, staff and students have had a chance to reflect on how this change will impact the learning and teaching in our schools.
“Buildings will be finished on time, Year 7 enrolments for many of our colleges are in place and our secondary and P-12 colleges have begun employing staff for 2015,” he explained.
Did you know?
Catholic schools now educate almost one in five Queensland children.
Working closely with local Catholic parishes, BCE’s 137 schools, from Childers in the north, south to the Gold Coast and west to Kingaroy, are an important face of the church to young families seeking support in the challenging work of parenting and educating their children.
Those of different cultural backgrounds and faith traditions are made to feel at home at a BCE member school, and every student is given the opportunity to experience success by reaching their full potential.
Staff recognise that primary school is about establishing strong foundations for success in life-long learning and empowering students to make transitions throughout their schooling and into the world of work.
Primary students are provided with a holistic, outcomes-based curriculum that is responsive to each child’s diverse and unique spiritual, social, emotional learning and developmental needs and circumstances.
Students are seen as active participants in the learning process and their spiritual, physical, emotional, and social development is of equal importance, with teachers aware of the wide variation in development within any one group
of students.
Pastoral care is also a distinguishing feature in BCE schools as young students gain a sense of identity, purpose, success and wellbeing within the context of a Catholic community.
Students excel in a variety of cultural pursuits, such as singing, instrumental music, choirs, bands and drama.
In the sporting arena, students achieve representation at state, national and international levels in numerous sports.
Many students gain scholarships to university while others move on to a wide variety of professional and technical careers.
For more information about a Catholic school near you or an enrolment pack visit brisbanecatholicschools.com.au or call 07 3033 7000.
Embracing digital resources for all
Technology is playing a bigger role in Brisbane’s Catholic schools following the introduction of one-to-one iPad trials in schools such as Our Lady of Dolours in Mitchelton.
Principal Patrick Davis said: “We recognised that through the introduction of iPads for each student it might be possible to see a shift in how learning occurs and where it occurs.
“We also believe in the possibility of the development of students as more independent and self-initiated learners.”
He added that the Year 5 trial fitted well into the school’s strategy to enhance both student and staff engagement and understanding via high quality tools and resources.
