Each year Catholic Education Western Australia (CEWA) recognises school programs and initiatives that reflect a vision of Christ-centred and child focused engaged learning environments. In 2020, CEWA’s awards program was renamed the Quality Catholic Education (QCE) Awards and its categories aligned to the QCE pillars of Catholic Identity, Education, Community, and Stewardship.
For a number of years, the annual Catholic Education LEAD Awards have been a platform to recognise and showcase outstanding initiatives being undertaken by CEWA schools and colleges. This year the program was aligned with our Strategic Directions and the principles of Quality Catholic Education (QCE) and has been renamed the QCE Awards to reflect this.
here are changes to the categories, but the Awards will continue to celebrate school programs and initiatives that exemplify Christ-centred, student-focused education.
Despite interruptions to the school calendar caused by COVID-19, the inaugural QCE Awards received 83 nominations across the four award categories.
Those numbers reflect the impressive year-on-year growth in participation, but more importantly the dedication and creativity of staff, students and parents in Catholic schools.
Information on all 83 nominations can be found online at www.awards.cewa.edu.au/vote, or via CEWA’s Facebook page.
Catholic Identity:
Valuable experiences teach awareness and compassion
A virtual fundraiser co-ordinated in the midst of WA’s COVID-19 response has earned Ellenbrook’s Holy Cross College top Secondary honours in the Catholic Identity category of the Quality Catholic Education Awards.
The 2020 LifeLink Sleepout not only raised much-needed funds for LifeLink Agencies located throughout WA but also boosted awareness, advocacy, and the development of leadership capabilities for students and staff. It also helped students to personally develop empathy for people experiencing homelessness More than 100 students, staff members and parents took part in the live-streamed event. Nearly $8000 was raised for LifeLink agencies, with participants provided with a take-home pack of resources and access to the virtual sleepout which featured live commentary via YouTube.
The event generated more than 1,000 post shares on social media, including photographs of sleeping arrangements and insightful comments about the overall experience.
“The fact that everybody participated and everyone was willing to give (for) this was amazing,” Year 11 student Tiara D’Lima said.
“At school, you’re surrounded by your friends and other people participating with you.
“So even though you’re cold and doing the activities, you’re still with your friends but you felt a lot more empathy when you’re alone.
Fellow student Lily Fretwell (Year 6) also shared what it was like to sleep outside for the fundraiser.
“It was really cold and it was actually raining, so we had to sleep in our undercroft area,” she said.
Among the other Secondary nominations, John XXIII College in Mount Claremont devised innovative ways to conduct its weekly Friday Community Eucharist in the face of COVID-19.
Virtual celebrations of God’s Word occurred with the development of A Eucharistic Community in Lockdown.
The college chapel remained the focus of prayer life, but to avoid large congregations, the Liturgies of the Word were filmed.
The Faith and Mission captains and homeroom student leaders worked with the college liturgist, the choir and music staff to deliver each service while the audio team responded to new demands.
The Primary award went to Morley’s Infant Jesus School for its “Power of One” initiative where staff were encouraged to devote an hour a week to Christian service, including cooking, cleaning the church, and fundraising.
Staff took it upon themselves to look at a variety of ways to generously serve their community and, in the process, make a positive difference in the lives of others.
“Power of One has really been beneficial because it has encouraged the staff to go beyond their comfort zones, to reach out to their community and lend a hand or participate in activities that perhaps they wouldn’t have before,” teacher Melissa Myles said.
“We’ve seen staff members create clubs and initiatives for the children.
“These might be sporting clubs, knitting, coding or craft, and cooking.
“It’s also been really good for the children to see staff live out their Gospel values … and that example of what being Catholic is all about.”
Also among the nominations was Rockingham’s Star of the Sea Primary School for its Early Learning Centre.
The centre was established last year to provide families with a flexible and affordable childcare option.
Community
Schools bring communities together to benefit all
Mother Teresa Catholic College’s Parents and Friends group first presented the idea of hosting a Community Fair in 2018 as an exercise in building and fostering engagement in three ways: within the school, within the parish community, and in the wider Baldivis and Rockingham area.
The inaugural event was held early last year and earned the school the Secondary award in the Community category of the QCE Awards.
The school and parish hosted stalls that promoted the friendly, diverse and inclusive culture of the college and the wider community.
International cuisine was offered by various food trucks and the finishing touch to an outstanding evening was the 12-minute fireworks display.
“We were all very excited and proud for our school to be hosting such a big event,” Year 9 student Daisy Axon said.
“People from the wider Baldivis community got to showcase their businesses and local families held their own stalls, “There were also performances from our school dance team towards the end.
“It was very special because in Baldivis, it’s not really known to have this massive celebration, especially with fireworks.
“Having a night where the whole of Baldivis came together with a bit of community awareness is really important for Baldivis as a suburb.
“We should definitely continue it in the future.”
Another Community nomination was the innovative Wellbeing Service by College in Edgewater.
Its primary focus is on students’ mental health and wellbeing, but families and staff also benefit from the broad range of services, which include short-term counselling, crisis intervention, and the delivery of programs that comprise mental health first aid and animal-assisted therapy.
The service also featured weekly meditation sessions and whole-school events such as Harmony Week and No Way Anti-Bullying Week.
In the primary years, the Community Award went to St Anthony’s School, Wanneroo for its Wrap Around Initiatives for Student Wellbeing.
The initiative gained momentum after a review of the Australian Early Development Census data for the area, and the school identified a range of barriers impacting on the wellbeing and welfare of students and their families.
Early intervention was viewed as critical in addressing student wellbeing and prompted the creation of an Early Intervention and Community Engagement Officer role at the school.
This was complemented by a school nurse being available every day and a social worker two days per week.
The school’s aim for its students, as outlined by The St Anthony’s Way, includes being respectful, valuing others, and caring for and protecting the environment.
“To be problem solvers, be resourceful, be creative, be yourself and work as a team with your peers.”
Those values were reiterated by year 6 student Caoimhe Power.
“To be problem solvers, be resourceful, be creative, be yourself and work as a team with your peers,” she said.
“The social skills group plays a big part because it helps kids to be themselves and to follow values by being united, responsible, and helping other people.
“We’re all unique and deserve to be here…and are good at different things.
Nominations included St Mary’s School in Northampton with its Community Spaces initiative.
The initiative started after the school identified a need for more engaging spaces for students to learn and play.
It spanned three community-driven projects, starting with an artwork completed by Mauretta Drage, which depicts the link between local Aboriginal culture, the school community, and its faith.
A nature playground followed, which was constructed for kindergarten and pre-primary students, and completed with funding from a Federal Government grant and donations from the Parents and Friends Association.
The initiative was capped off with a second nature play space, which featured consultation with the students in its design and creation.
All playground items were donated by community members, including wood from a local farm and the ropes from crayfish boasts that operate out of Horrocks.
Education
Pandemic led to innovative learning opportunities
Holy Cross College’s commitment to producing high-quality learning and enrichment opportunities in the face of COVID-19 earned them the top award among secondary schools in the Education category of the QCE Awards.
After the school production was postponed, students and staff at the Ellenbrook school took an alternative approach. The Monologue Show was a virtual production that was both rehearsed and produced remotely before premiering online for students, staff and community members.
For all the uncertainty that COVID-19 brought, it created an opportunity for the now award-winning production, which promoted learning, creativity and collaboration under challenging circumstances, and demonstrated the power of technology in exploring the scope of learning and enrichment experiences.
“We had so much creative control through the whole process, from where we were going to film to interpreting our characters (and) all of our costumes were from home,” Year 10 student Lestyn Devenport said.
“It was fun looking in our own wardrobes, rather than the big capabilities we have here at school.
“Every couple of weeks we had update videos, where we could see each other’s progress; both learning the script and how our body language was forming.”
The Primary years Education Award went to Holy Rosary School in Derby for its Bush Kindy program.
With students at the school having backgrounds in trauma and other special needs, staff wanted to develop a culture of resilience and healthy risk-taking.
They felt a nature-based learning pedagogy, integrated with local Aboriginal knowledge and co-designed by Aboriginal teaching staff, was ideal for their young learners and offered something different to other playgroups in the area.
The success of the nature-play program led to a doubling of early years enrolments and was the impetus for an overall 30 percent growth in numbers at the school in just six months.
A long line of excellent nominations included Baldivis’ Mother Teresa College’s Year 6 Entrepreneurship Project, an annual event that challenges students to develop an authentic business venture.
It represented an opportunity to showcase student learning to the broader community with students selling their products.
Aquinas College was nominated for its project, Justice and Advocacy Formation in Year 8 Boys, which required every Year 8 student to work in groups of three to create a 10-minute presentation.
Along with the boys highlighting many of the world’s injustices, they also offered potential solutions and strategies they felt could be put in place.
Through the process, students practiced the art of advocacy, preparing a cogent case for the adoption of an alternative for a more just future.
Mercy College, Koondoola was nominated for its STRETCH program, developed to grade-skip students in specific learning areas across primary and secondary education.
STRETCH allows a student who has demonstrated sufficient ability to proceed to the next level in a particular subject.
The success of the program is highlighted by some students enrolled in classes two and three grades above their age level.
Students involved in the program are challenged academically and thriving in their work.
St Luke’s Catholic Primary School in Woodvale was among the nominees with its Speak Up Awards.
The public speaking competition was designed so that after learning the basic skills, students had could further realise that public speaking had profound benefits including influencing the world around them, developing leadership skills and becoming a thought leader.
St Luke’s CPS staff member Justin Miller made the nomination, and said:
“All staff believe that every child can develop their own style of public speaking and we should recognise and appreciate differences.
“Our aim is to provide students with a positive speaking experience in a supportive environment that will encourage them to develop their individual style.”
At Bateman’s Yidarra Catholic Primary School, Year 6 students embarked on the Robot Olympics.
Along the way, students gained points for critical thinking, creativity, collaboration, leadership, master coder, problem solver, innovation and spirit.
Stewardship
Thumbs up for sustainability at CEWA schools
Bateman’s Corpus Christi College got the nod for the Secondary years QCE Award in the Stewardship category, for its Stewardship in Action program.
The program was designed to improve the college’s ecological footprint by creating environmentally sustainable actions via cultural and behavioural change.
It included ending sale of bottled water at the cafeteria, establishing a recycling station, the installation of more timed lights and sensor lights around the college, and a waste audit.
Progress made, and goals achieved were readily conveyed and included Tips of the Week in the student notices.
Submissions were regularly made to the College eNews and social media pages, showing how students and staff worked together to improve the school environment.
“The Year 9’s had a look at all the waste the college was producing and discovered a few things about how we were using the bins and what was actually being thrown out,” Year 12 student George Norris said.
“Then we had a think about different ways we could actually improve – we’ve just started a new initiative with the grounds team, who give us a thumbs up or a thumbs down each day for how well we’ve been managing our waste and maintaining the college grounds.
“Stewardship ties in with taking care of the environment, taking care of your surroundings and each other.”
Also nominated was Mother Teresa Catholic College in Baldivis, who produced Bush Tucker Gardens.
The gardens were designed to provide students with a deeper understanding and awareness of Aboriginal culture and involved Year 6 students working in groups to create bush tucker gardens which showcase their College House names.
After the garden products were purchased, students prepared the soil using compost and worm castings made in the college’s sustainability centre.
Year 5 students played a role by creating signs for display in each bush garden, outlining the story of each House as explained to the students by an Aboriginal Elder.
The Primary years Stewardship winner was St Emilie’s Catholic Primary School in Canning Vale, for its Bush Forever Journey.
The initiative proved a rewarding experience for everyone involved in protecting and preserving the area’s native bushland environment.
As a result of the initiative, bushland surrounding the school was recognised as part of a bigger area that has been designated an international biodiversity hot spot, one of on 34 worldwide.
“… bushland surrounding the school was recognised as part of a bigger area that has been designated an international biodiversity hot spot, one of 34 worldwide.”
“At St Emilie’s the bush is a big part of our identity,” Year 6 student Amber Lynch said.
“We do a lot of learning here.
“We’re all connected to the environment.
“It’s like one big ecosystem (and) I think sustaining this environment will be really important for our future.”
Classmate Kieran Ng said the surrounding bushland was a very special place.
“The bush here is unique to Australia,” he said.
“We have all this untouched land full of diverse flora and fauna.”
Category nominations included St Luke’s Catholic Primary School in Woodvale.
St Luke’s Building A Sustainable Environmental Future project started due to an increase in bush birds and owls being displaced from Yellagonga Regional Park due to the encroachment over time of ongoing housing sprawl.
Students joined forces with Joondalup Men Sheds members to build and design sustainable homes for the local birds.
The activity revealed to students how fragile bushland can be and what can be proactively done to preserve wildlife.
From pages 19 to 20 of Issue 27: Community of The Record Magazine