CEOB Vision Catholic Education Office, Ballarat ESSG Team Leaders Susan Rampling Allan Hutchison Olga Lyons

Celebrate What’s Right in the World! “I saw an angel in the stone and carved to set it free.” “It’s individual perspective which gives vision life.” “Look for the perspective that will transform the ordinary into the extraordinary.”

When we BELIEVE it we will SEE it!

Vision: Catholic Education, Ballarat The Catholic school is an education community with Christ as its centre point and inspiration. It educates for service in faith hope and love. (SIF, Learning Together- Growing Together, 2008)

Vision: Diocesan Education Team As a community of committed Christians we are the presence of God to each other and to the communities we serve. Our identity is built upon a spirit of collegiality, which embraces past, present and future stories, celebrated in liturgy and action. We are committed to promoting life-long learning; to seek opportunities for growth in faith; to seek justice for all, especially the marginalised; to ongoing development through review and evaluation; to provide quality service of the highest professional standards.

Mission: Diocesan Education Team “The Catholic Education Office, Ballarat holds as central to its ministry the gospel values of community, service, witness, love and care, openness and trust.” “Our Mission is to: WELCOME clients and visitors into an office which exudes a warm, personal atmosphere. EMPOWER and challenge school communities to live out their vision of the catholic school. AFFIRM the work of others working in the office and our schools. SUPPORT parish priests, school boards, principals, parents and staff in the development and provision of a high quality curriculum which reflects an authentic vision of life. SERVE the community efficiently, effectively and in the spirit of christian generosity. INITIATE policies, opinions and proposals which further catholic education and relate our needs to the community at large. SEEK co-operation and communication between schools and other educational organisations. TEAM together on the basis of supportive, interpersonal relationships, a sense of ministry and prayer.”

Charter: Education Services Staff Group We, the Educational Services Staff Group, for the Catholic Education Office, in the Diocese of Ballarat, are committed to………. Promoting inclusive learning environments that are safe, flexible and supportive, so as to assist all students to reach their full potential and become active and informed members of the diverse communities to which they belong. Collaboratively empowering teachers, through effective cohesive Professional Development practices, which will support them in enhancing student learning. Holding each other accountable through a process of collaborative consultation, underpinned by respectful, open and honest communication, enhancing common understandings and connectedness among the group. This process will be consistent, transparent, rigorous and evaluated. Being together in the Eucharistic way of remembering ‘our’ story, breaking bread and witnessing to all…

Context: Curriculum Services The distinctiveness of the Catholic educational style is described by the adjective “religious.” In its broadest sense, Catholic education is a Religious Education. Two senses of the word ‘religious’ are possible. From the Latin religare it can mean to rebind or to strengthen a bond. From relegere it can mean to read or to give a new interpretation. The Catholic Educational style of the Diocese of Ballarat is attentive to both these dimensions. It articulates and celebrates the bonds of connectedness within all reality, human, non-human and divine, and engages the human person in that network of relationships. It also seeks to develop in learners the cognitive, affective and spiritual skills needed to read our personal and collective experience within the narrative horizon of the Judeo-Christian worldview, and so to make personal meaning of human experience. [Awakenings Core Document, p.18] These understandings underpin the work of every member of the Educational Services Staff Group Curriculum Team; together we are religious educators and ‘bearers of the mission’ of the Catholic Church. Our students are our focus...“The person of each individual human being, in his or her material and spiritual needs, is at the heart of Christs’ teaching: this is why the promotion of the human person is the goal of the Catholic School.” [The Catholic School on the Threshold of the Third Millennium]

Vision: Curriculum Services We support the Catholic schools of the diocese in it’s endeavour to educate the whole person so that the total educational experience offered has the potential to inform, form and transform students. The aims of the schools’ culture [to which our work contributes] can be made explicit through the articulation of graduate outcomes. These outcomes describe the competencies, attitudes, values and behaviour seen as desirable in students educated in a Catholic school. They focus on: · Religious awareness and literacy · Capacity for meaning and creativity · Personal integration of beliefs and commitments · Intellectual, ethical and spiritual competence · Social responsibility · Considered response to Christian values and attitudes [Awakenings Core Document. p.44]

Vision: Student Services We want to support teachers in: enhancing the health and well-being of students so that they remain engaged with their school community developing their understanding of each student’s uniqueness so that all can achieve their individual learning goals

Mission : Student Services This will be achieved through: The development of partnerships with School Communities, the Diocesan Education Team and relevant Government and Community Support Agencies. Facilitation of school structures which support the implementation of the Framework Model for Student Support services and Health Promoting Schools Framework The development of inclusive practices that recognise and respond to the diverse needs of students The provision of appropriate, effective and timely services and resources to assist teachers to maximise the learning potential of each student.

2011 ESSG GOALS

Individual and Personal Response Process: Reflect on the vision documents provided. Consider words, phrases and ideas which align with your personal vision of your role within CEOB. Compose a statement/s which encapsulate your 2011 individual and personal commitment to the realisation of the vision statements of CEOB. Record your personal commitment in the front of your 2011 diary.