Week 10 Staff Professional Learning Week – Monday 30 June – Friday 4 July

Parents are reminded that the College will hold a Staff Professional Learning Week during the final week of this term - Monday 30 June to Friday 4 July.

Whilst there will be no classes for Reception to Year 10, during this week, there will be Year 11 and 12 mid-year exams and workshops.

During this week, all staff will be undertaking professional learning covering various Learning and Teaching measures and focusing on staff formation.

Lifelong benefits of attending a Catholic School

This week, I had the pleasure of attending the National EREA Deputy Leader Conference in Melbourne.  We were blessed to have several distinguished presenters, including the Archbishop of Melbourne, Peter A Comensoli; Professor Mark Rose, Deakin Distinguished Professor and Vice Chancellor; and Dr Elizabeth Labone, the CEO of Victorian Catholic Education Authority.

All presenters and the associated discussions were enriching and provided an opportunity for our work as Catholic Educators, particularly the impact we hope to have on the young people’s lives.  I know I, like many Catholic educators, am committed to Catholic education in the belief that the work we do has a positive and profound impact on the lives of the students we teach.  Dr Labone presented the findings of extensive research that research using the Household, Income and Labour Dynamics in Australia (HILDA) Survey data has found that people who attended Catholic schools are likely to see lifelong benefits in employment status, general health and life satisfaction.

The research found that, on average, there are both personal and community benefits of Catholic schooling. People who attended Catholic schools are, on average, more likely to be employed and to earn higher wages than government school attendees. The average wage difference ranges between four per cent to 11 per cent. In addition, Catholic school attendees are more likely to work in an industry or sector that directly benefits the public and are more likely to donate to charity. The report also found that Catholic school attendance had a positive average impact on personal health and life satisfaction scores. These findings were statistically significant and include adjustments to the data to isolate the impact of attendance at a Catholic school from other individual and family characteristics and influences.

What did the research find?

The research is affirming of the work that all Catholic schools are doing, and I hope for parents that you have made the right choice in the education sector. 

If you would like to learn more about the study, you can find details at the Victorian Catholic Education Authority website.

Mr Cameron Alexander
Executive Deputy Principal