Professional Culture and Growth

Professional Learning and Development 

Staff Spirituality Day – 15 May 2024

Our College staff attended a Staff Spirituality Day with staff rom Lavalla College and Catholic College Sale to listen to Amy-Jill Levine.

Amy Jill Levine (“AJ”) is Rabbi Stanley M. Kessler Distinguished Professor of New Testament and Jewish Studies at Hartford International University for Religion and Peace and University Professor of New Testament and Jewish Studies Emerita and Mary Jane Werthan Professor of Jewish Studies Emerita, at Vanderbilt. 

We are very privileged to listen to Amy-Jill speak to us about Piety, Practice and Parable and I look forward to sharing more on this day in the next edition of Emmaus.

MSCW Learning Hub 

All staff at Marist-Sion College have been accessing our Learning Hub, which I have spoken about previously in Emmaus. This online platform has over 80,000 courses in all areas of education and child-safety related content to support staff, no matter their role, to build their knowledge, skills and capacity. 

In August, we will be holding a training course for selected staff to learn how to be “trainers” to further lead our Professional Learning and Development goals as outlined in our Strategic Plan. We look forward to further building this platform and supporting the learning of all staff.

Semester 2 Timetable

We are currently in the process of building our Semester 2 timetable. This is a lengthy and involved process with many moving parts and we are grateful to the work of our Director of College Organisation who is brining this to life. 

Students in Year 9-11 have the opportunity to change a subject if it is possible on the timetable and there is space in the class. Our Academic Office is working hard to make those changes and to cater for the student requests as best they can. Please note that not all requests may be possible, and students will be informed via email if there is an issue with their request.

Due to changes in electives in Semester 2, some Year 9 and 10 students may notice changes to their English, Maths and Science teachers in order to allow them to take their elective of choice. 

Staffing

The teacher shortage in Victoria continues and we are still experiencing classes without a teacher. Materials Technology has been a difficult method to replace, and I thank Mrs Hannah Smith – Learning Leader Technology and the Technology staff who have stepped in to support those classes so that they can have continuity with their learning. 

We have several staff taking leave in Term 3 and we are actively recruiting for suitable replacements. We are fortunate that we are receiving applications of high calibre and we are optimistic that we will be able to meet the needs of our students for the remainder of the year. 

Head of House - Joseph

As many of you may know, Mrs Gabrielle Catania is expecting twins in July and will be commencing parental leave soon. We are pleased to announce that Miss Amanda Lee has accepted the role of Head of House – Joseph for the remainder of 2024. Amanda is undertaking her Master in Instructional Leadership and is excited to take on this important leadership role in the College. Congratulations Amanda!

Communication with College Staff 

I have spoken to this previously, but a reminder to all of our families that we do have a protocol around communicating with our College Staff. Schools are a busy place and quick responses to email and phone calls is not always possible. 

If you need to contact your child’s teacher, Tutor or Head of House, email is the best option as this allows the staff member to have time to read your query and then form a response for you within 48 hours (business hours). Depending on the query, accurate information may need to be sought and this can take time. Our staff are NOT expected to be emailing parents after hours to protect their work/life balance. 

If you prefer to call, you can phone College Reception and, in most cases, you can leave a voicemail for the staff member you need to speak with. Please allow up to 48 business hours for the staff member to return your call or contact you. 

As with any interaction, communication should always be respectful and polite. Staff will not tolerate abusive or threatening calls or emails. Remember we want to work with you so that your child can achieve success. Sometimes the conversation may not always be positive, but the teaching of our young people is a joint effort so that the outcome is a positive one. 

Georgie Erpisimidis

Deputy Principal – Professional Culture and Growth