The preparation of Catholic Convention has given the NZCEO much focus over the last month. Registrations are higher than in previous years at this time, and we can see that people are looking forward to being stimulated and challenged by the speakers and presenters in programme. We strongly encourage any schools that have not yet registered to do so before the early-bird cut off on the 9th of May. NZCEO has listened to the advice from New Zealand Catholic Primary Principals who asked us to focus the programme on our catechesis rather than having presentations from other agencies which operate in the wider state provision of education but which are not focused on building Special Character.

This week we celebrated the launch of Sr Brother Pat Lynch’s book A Life in Education in New Zealand’s Integrated Schools 1976- 2016. Pat’s book launch in the Grand Hall of Parliament showed how appropriate the content of his book is as a commentary about our journey of integration to this point. The event was sponsored by the Right Honourable Trevor Mallard, Speaker of the House and previously a Minister of Education. Members from all political parties were present to support Pat. This miscellany of events and reflections of the evolution of Catholic Integrated Schools is a good read. It grounds us in our past and challenges us to protect that which is important to our future. Copies of the book will be available at the Convention.

Finally, I want to encourage you to provide time within your school timetables for students, teachers and parents to begin to share what they want to see evolve from the review of Tomorrow’s Schools. The two hui/Summit events begin this month in Christchurch and Auckland but they are only the beginning of a process that has the opportunity to address a number of systemic issues which frustrate our ability to deliver the best education to children while noting that which is working and which needs to be retained to preserve what is valued and successful at present. I would encourage you to be part of the conversation. It has taken us nearly 30 years to have the courage to ask if Tomorrow’s Schools works for children. We can’t afford to be silent on the aspirations we have for the future.

Ngā mihi

Paul Ferris

Chief Executive Officer

We ask schools to please share this newsletter with your Boards of Trustees and staff. Use the print button on right-hand corner to print.

We seem to have dropped off the distribution list for a number of schools’ newsletters.  We love to get your news.  Please keep us in touch by post or email to nzceooffice@nzceo.org.nz.

REGISTRATION NOW OPEN

The early-bird registration rate is $487.00 per delegate excl. GST. Head to cathedconvention2018.co.nz to register. Early Bird rates have been extended to Wednesday 9 May.

We are delighted to offer a discount for school groups with five or more attendees. Use the same link above to register a school group.

THANK A TEACHER

At the Catholic Education Convention this year let's celebrate the amazing work happening in our schools and Thank A Teacher! Whether someone who taught you or someone you work with, Catholic schools have many inspiring teachers we would love to hear about. Click here to contribute.

CONVENTION APP

The Convention app is now available on smart devices. Search ‘NZCEC 18’ in the iPhone app store or Google Play to download.

SEMINAR PRESENTATIONS

A detailed seminar programme is available on the Convention website.

EDUCATION SUMMITS

More than 1,500 people from the education sector are attending two Education Summits in Auckland and Christchurch this month. For those unable to attend, the Summit events will be followed by regional and other opportunities to be involved, including an online survey. A video about the initative, featuring the Prime Minister, is also available here.

ERO PUBLICATIONS

There have been some interesting recent publications from ERO, including Responding to Language Diversity in Auckland and Evaluation at a Glance: A Decade of assessment in New Zealand Primary Schools - Practice and trends. These and more are available on the ERO website.

What is the Partnership? 

The Police and Education Partnership is a collaborative working group of organisations from the education sector and the New Zealand Police. 

Why do Police have a national partnership with the education sector?

District police, individual principals, Boards of Trustees and schools have long had a range of formal and informal local relationships.  The Partnership supports these relationships through a co-ordinated national approach that provides schools and Police with significant opportunities to achieve our shared goals.

The Partnership also acts as a reference group for how Police work with schools in a preventative role, such as partnering with schools to support students to be engaged and safe, providing early identification and intervention from family harm environments, or focusing on those who offend or at are at risk of offending. 

Who are the members?

 What has the Partnership achieved in the past?

Over the last few years the Partnership has collaborated on a wide range of matters, including: 

• developing consistent approaches and communicated them to schools, including for synthetic cannabis and psychoactive substances, school balls, alcohol supply to young people, and gang insignia in schools
• providing a consultation forum during Police’s process of changing the role of their School Community Officers, and for developing their school engagement model as well as templates for individual school partnership agreements and school profiles
• giving feedback during the development of national guidelines such as the Ministry of Education's 'Surrender and Retention of Property and Searches' and 'Bullying Prevention and Response' guidelines
• providing a wide dissemination network to schools, for example to assist Police to identify unknown children and young people in sexually-exploitive photographs
• providing a forum for mini-presentations to the sector on developing and current topics of common interest, such as Crime Prevention Through Environmental Design (CPTED), sex offenders living near schools, and the abuse of methamphetamines.

For more information, contact Siobhan Dilly at NZCEO, s.dilly@nzceo.org.nz.

The Children's Commissioner and NZSTA recently released a report on student experiences of racism, Education Matters to me: Key Insights.

The report is structured under six key insights:

• Understand me in my whole world.
• People at school are racist to me.
• Relationships mean everything to me.
• Teach me in the way I learn best.
• I need to be comfortable before I can learn.
• It’s my life let me have a say.

These insights would be worth ongoing reflection in schools. The report is available online here.

New Zealand has been named in new research as the Commonwealth member country where people enjoy the greatest religious freedom. Read more

Photo courtesy of the NZ Education Gazette: St Catherine’s College teachers (from left) Whetu Henry, Kandi Hawkins, Halina McDonald, Colin Palamo and Rita Chote enjoy a meal made by the O’Shea catering team. In the background Markus Binyamin acts as maître’d.

The IRD are now accepting parents' 2018 school donation rebate claims.

A number of our schools have started to make their parents aware of an easier way to claim back their school donations and this has seen a spike in parents making claims. SchoolRebates.co.nz is a Kiwi company that helps parents easily claim back school donations.

Link to PDF of flyer.

School Rebates have also put together the blurb below that you can include in any communication:

Get cash back in your pocket - claim your school donation tax rebate
 
We encourage parents to claim their school donation each year but recent research shows that millions of dollars goes unclaimed every year by families across NZ.
 
Schoolrebates.co.nz have made it easy for you to claim your tax rebate back using their online platform. Their feedback shows the process is quick and easy, and if you’ve never claimed you can go back 4 years!

If you don’t have receipts you can request these as part of the online process and we will provide them directly to Schoolrebates.co.nz.  No paperwork or dealing with IRD required.
 
To illustrate, if you have two children at school and are paying $600 a year in donations you are entitled to $199.98 - over four years this would be $799.92 in cash back.

If your school uses Facebook, you can also link up Schoolrebates on Facebook/Instagram @Schoolrebates.

One of our staff recently attended the National Catholic Education Convention in Cincinnati, Ohio.

One of the excellent seminars was about the challenges and opportunities that digital tools have created from a faith perspective.

Click here to read more about that presentation. A copy of the presentation slides is also provided.

This past Palm Sunday weekend NZCEO hosted eleven education professionals to a teachers retreat at Burns Lodge in Mosgiel. The retreat was very well received and Fr. Mark Chamberlain was highly praised for the manner in which he led the retreat.

Feedback from the eleven participants included the following comments:

‘The teachers’ retreat was a great opportunity to stop, unwind, clear the daily life that I often put in between Christ and myself, and reflect on Jesus' road to the cross and journey alongside him on this. It helped me to learn about our faith and join with other teachers and listen to their journey. It has helped me to go deeper into the Easter story and understand the journey I am on.’

‘I found the retreat a wonderful opportunity for planned calming and reflection. It was the first time I have ever spent 2 hours alone as an adult, to solely focus on the passion of Christ. I would thoroughly recommend this if it happens again.’

NZCEO intends to offer further retreats, in different parts of the country.

Colin MacLeod, Director of the National Centre for Religious Studies (NCRS), welcomes schools and Proprietors to make use of new resources prepared by NCRS:

LAUDATO SI - OUR COMMON HOME

NCRS has created, found and collated a range of excellent resources around Pope Francis’ document on the Environment and our responsibility as stewards of the Earth. These are available on www.faithcentral.nz under Classroom > Thematic Resources.

They are intended for use in Parishes and Schools by parishioners, priests, teachers, young-people and whānau. There is something for everyone – challenging and informative. If you care about the environment you should definitely check this out!

FAITHJOURNEY.NZ

NCRS have also added a number of new items to our family/whānau web-site www.faithjourney.nz. This is a great place to visit if you are wanting to share, or grow, your Catholic faith as a family. It’s designed to encourage conversation, fun and work together as we follow Jesus on a journey of faith.

As always, feedback is most welcome, email ncrs@tci.ac.nz.

ENCOUNTERING THE DIVINE

This is a small collection of encounter stories written by people in Aotearoa NZ. People have been very generous and courageous in their sharing and the document is available for use in staff meetings, classrooms, retreats etc. Click here to access.

The Diocese of Palmerston North has prepared a resource for schools and Proprietors to help them with answering media questions about why parents enrol their children in Catholic Schools.

This is available on our website.

Pope Francis’s latest Apostolic Exhortation is available here.  We are proud that the New Zealand Catholic Bishops are quoted in this document!

Bishop Michael Dooley was ordained on 26 April, in Dunedin.  Our prayers and congratulations are with him on his new role.

Maureen Harris, St Leo’s School, Devonport

Vivien Conroy, Our Lady of Kapiti School, Paraparaumu

Andrew Herrick, St Joseph’s School, Upper Hutt

Justin Harper, Cullinane College, Whanganui

Abraham Atherton, St Albans Catholic School, Christchurch

Anton Heyns, Reignier School, Hastings (from principalship of St Mary’s School, Gisborne)