Dear Members of the Penola Catholic College community,
The Catholic Church has been in the news for the past three years for all the wrong reasons with the State Parliamentary Enquiry into Child Abuse followed by the Royal Commission. We all are shocked and saddened by the appalling extent and the nature of the abuse that has been revealed through these hearings. The effects of this abuse are traumatic for both survivors and their families. Our thoughts and prayers are with the victims of this child abuse and their families. For most of us, it is unfathomable that the clergy members could betray their vows and complete these atrocities against some of the most vulnerable in our society, our children. I would like to acknowledge the courage of those survivors who have been before the Commission and have told their story – some for the first time.
If there are any positives to come from this time, it is that there have been considerable changes to organisations such as schools, churches and youth organisations to make them much more child-safe. Legislation changes came into effect on August 1, 2016 and there have been considerable discussions and policy changes to ensure that Child safety is paramount.
It is an offence for Principals to knowingly fail to report child abuse as it quite rightly should be. Legislation changes are listed below:
Grooming offence targets communication, including online communication, with a child or their parents with the intent of committing child sexual abuse
Failure to disclose requires adults to report to police a reasonable belief that a sexual offence has been committed against a child
Failure to protect applies to people within organisations who knew of a risk of child sexual abuse by someone in the organisation and had the authority to reduce or remove the risk, but negligently failed to do so.
The Child Safe Standards are:
• strategies to embed an organisational culture of child safety, including through effective leadership arrangements
• a child safe policy or statement of commitment to child safety
• a code of conduct that establishes clear expectations for appropriate behaviour with children
• screening, supervision, training and other human resource practices that reduce the risk of child abuse by new and existing personnel
• processes for responding to, and reporting, suspected child abuse
• strategies to identify and reduce or remove risks of child abuse
• strategies to promote the participation and empowerment of children.
In direct contrast to these painful and overwhelmingly negative messages about the Catholic Church are the good news stories that are rarely told.
• There are 713,000 students education in Catholic schools
• There are 1,710 Catholic schools in Australia
• 1239 Catholic Primary Schools, 350 Catholic Secondary Schools, 95 P-12 schools and 17 Catholic Special Schools
• 82,000 staff within Catholic schools
• 55,287 lay teachers and specialist staff
• 70% of all teachers and 45% of all principals are women
• 26,348 General staff (support staff) and 365 Religious staff working in Catholic schools
• ACU is the fastest growing, truly national university … producing the largest number of nursing and teaching graduates in Australia.
• 66 Catholic hospitals providing 9,500 hospital beds (12% of all hospital beds)
• 8 dedicated hospices with palliative care services
• Largest welfare provider outside the Government – 63 member organisations, 12,800 employees, 500 different services, 1.1 million clients who were cared for in 2012
• St Vincent de Paul is the largest and most extensive volunteer welfare network in the country with 18,209 members and 30.910 volunteers.
• Largest provider of trained personnel for the Third World
All of this information is taken from the latest National Census in 2012. In anyone’s language, the Catholic Church provides a significant contribution to modern society.
NAPLAN Testing
This week students in years 7 & 9 will participate in the National Assessment Programme – Literacy and Numeracy. This programme is conducted by the Australian Government through its agency, ACARA, the Australian Curriculum Assessment and Reporting Authority. The tests are held over three days, Tuesday – Thursday, 9th – 11th May. The tests provide useful information to students, parents and schools in terms of student capabilities and areas for improvement. Parents who have any queries in relation to the tests are invited to contact Mr Dullard at the Glenroy campus, or Mrs D’Angelo at the Broadmeadows campus.
Student Photographs
A reminder to all parents that you need to notify the College if you do not give permission for your son or daughter’s photograph to be published in newsletters or promotional materials. We would like to begin to place more photographs and videos on MyPenola and so I take this opportunity to remind you of the student permission form for photographs. If we have not received your permission form back at the College we have assumed that your consent has been provided. It is the responsibility of each family to make this decision and notify the College if you decide to exclude your son or daughter from having their photograph published. In practical terms, this will mean that your son or daughter will need to be excluded from most group shots such as class photographs as these are published in our Year Book each year.
Parent/Teacher/Student Interviews
Parent/Teacher/Student interviews took place last evening. I have been heartened by the number of parents who have been attending our interviews and taking an active role in the learning of their children. Research indicates that parents who take an active role in their child’s education results in significantly better outcomes for these students. Your son or daughter notices whether you attend these interviews, whether you are taking an interest in what they are doing and whether you think learning is important. Parents act as role models in so many areas of a child’s life and their beliefs about education and the importance of learning are vital.
Mother’s Day Breakfast
Once again, the College will host a Mother’s Day breakfast for mothers and their children tomorrow morning, Friday 12th May. I am grateful to Mrs Angela Xidias and the many staff members and students who will be assisting with the breakfast which, as you may appreciate, is a very large undertaking. The guest speaker is Chris Daicos who will speak about a growth mindset and how to develop this in your children.
Best wishes to all mothers, grandmothers, and great-grandmothers for a wonderful Mother’s Day on Sunday.
All-loving God, we give you thanks and praise for mothers young and old.
We pray for young mothers, who give life and count toes and tend to our every need; May they be blessed with patience and tenderness to care for their families and themselves with great joy.
We pray for our own mothers who have nurtured and cared for us; May they continue to guide us in strong and gentle ways.
We remember mothers who are separated from their children because of war, poverty, or conflict; May they feel the loving embrace of our God who wipes every tear away.
We pray for women who are not mothers but still love and shape us with motherly care and compassion.
We remember mothers. grandmothers, and great-grandmothers who are no longer with us but who live forever in our memory and nourish us with their love. Amen.
God Bless,
Chris Caldow
Principal
