Dear Staff, Students and Families
The end of Term 3 sees our year 12 students officially finishing their formal schooling in anticipation of the upcoming HSC exams. We are very proud of all our senior students and hope that they have enjoyed the many graduations and celebrations this term that mark this important milestone. Please keep our students in your prayers as they approach this ultimate time in their schooling life.
From Year 12 to Kindergarten, Bishop Anthony and I are always delighted to have the opportunity to visit the students in our Schools. This term we were able to drop into 2 of our schools on the Northern Beaches – St Martins Davidson and OLGC Forestville. It was wonderful to meet with some of our staff and parents and very special to witness our RE curriculum in action. CLICK HERE to watch our Kindergarten students at the beginning of their learning journey.
Work on our Learning Improvement Program continues and as we approach the end of the year we move to a new phase of delivery as we finalise plans for 2023. From 2023 onwards we will be implementing new practices to better support student growth, new approaches to reduce administrative workloads and we will be providing additional time for our teachers for collaborative planning and review. I look forward to providing updates on 2023 plans towards the end of this year.
This term has also seen a number of initiatives launched to support our objective of attracting and retaining quality workforce including staff wellbeing resources and incentives for aspiring teachers to attract the best undergraduate teachers to our Diocese.
We remain committed to fair and just outcomes for all staff and continue to highlight the need to resolve the new multi employer EA as soon as possible. The pace of discussions continues to be unacceptably slow and Bishop Anthony and I remain concerned for the pastoral needs of staff, especially given the current state of the economy, and the impact of this on families. While we have confirmed with the IEU our continued participation in the single employer EA negotiations, we have also indicated we will continue to take steps towards early implementation of several agreed improvements. This is necessary to provide greater certainty and support to our existing staff and to provide clarity as to terms and conditions for those who have chosen the CSBB team in 2023. The 3% general increase previously announced will be delivered from first pay period after 1st January 2023.
Finally, the end of this term featured Safeguarding Month. CSBB are committed to helping to raise awareness for the Safeguarding of the children entrusted to our care, not just throughout the month of September but every day. The Liturgy of Lament, held at the Cathedral in Waitara at the beginning of September, was attended by our System Leadership Team and was a sobering reminder of our commitment and responsibility to keep all members of our community safe. We extend our gratitude to all involved in this important mission and thank Bishop Anthony for leading us in the Liturgy.
Term 4 is always busy leading up to the end of the year and the wellbeing of our staff, students and families remains a priority, so I do hope you get the chance to catch up with your family and friends and have a well-deserved rest.
Take care
Danny Casey
Director of Schools