Message from the

Director

Dear Colleagues, 

This week I was joined by members of the CSO Leadership Team at the National School Improvement Colloquium for Catholic education system leaders from around Australia. I had the opportunity to present a workshop entitled Systemness is not a dirty word, which  outlined our approach to system and school improvement. I have included a link to my presentation paper, below.

The 2023 National Catholic School Improvement Colloquium provided a forum for leaders working in Catholic education to come together to consider opportunities and issues relevant to school improvement in Catholic education of the future.

As we emerge from the pandemic of the last few years—and with a focus on connection and communication—we are well positioned to delve into dialogue based around the colloquium theme Pathways of Hope: May the God of hope fill you all with joy and peace so that you may abound in the power of the Holy Spirit (Romans 15:13).

 As system leaders we were asked to consider the question: How do we serve, engage and empower our schools to lead school improvement that prepares students for a hope-filled future?

Together with its central theme 'Pathways of Hope', the five broad themes of the colloquium provided the opportunity to explore, listen, perceive, and—through robust dialogue—articulate our thinking and actions regarding:

●  Catholic identity and religious education

●  Staff and student engagement and wellbeing

●  School and community culture

●  Leadership and teacher capability

●  Enrolments, recruitment and retention

Chris Smyth presenting at the NSIC 2023

My workshop was based on the approach of using the culture of systemness as a vehicle for promoting a professional learning community that prioritises learning for students and teachers; collaboration within and between schools; and a focus on results. I reiterated that this must be supported by a strong commitment to our Catholic identity, robust human resource development, and responsible financial stewardship. We have been able to work hard together to improve learning and teaching, human resourcing, and financial security in order to realise our common goal: improved faith and learning outcomes for students.

The following paper was developed to accompany the presentation. The paper focuses on improving learning and teaching in schools, but we must also remember that the successful resourcing of people and money has been critical to our success. Thank you for the important role you have played in our journey.

Presentation paper can be found at this  link  School Improvement in the Diocese of Armidale (or “Systemness is not a dirty word”).

God bless,

Chris Smyth