Read about the great work happening across our diocesan schools, parishes, and agencies. The July edition of “Our Diocesan Community” is now available for reading or downloading. Download July edition  

The St Mary’s Catholic primary school community in Ararat is to benefit from a $3,000,000 upgrade

Benefiting from a decentralised, efficient IT infrastructure with he implementation of Paessler's PRTG Network Monitor

St Patrick’s Cathedral, Ballarat is inviting applications from Years 3 – 6 students with musical interest and aptitude, for a Cathedral Choral Scholarship for 2025. The Choral Scholarships are modelled on similar approaches operating in the Melbourne, Sydney, and Perth Cathedrals. Children who are successful will join the Cathedral’s Cantato Domino Choir, which is currently made up of 20 adults and children. The Choir covers a broad and exciting range of repertoire, including traditional styles of sacred music and contemporary church hymns, along with providing opportunities for musical, vocal and personal development in a safe, fun environment. Successful applicants are required to participate in weekly rehearsals and sing at two…

Executive Director of Diocese of Ballarat Catholic Education (DOBCEL), Tom Sexton, says Catholic primary schools in the Diocese have been moving towards an explicit instruction, phonics-based approach to teaching reading, as part of a structured literacy initiative, since January 2023. Speaking in response to Victorian Education Minister Ben Carroll’s announcement today of a move to a phonics approach to teaching F-2 reading in Victorian government schools, Mr Sexton said the Diocese had formed a partnership with La Trobe University early last year to proactively address the issue. ‘There is an overwhelming body of research supporting an explicit, sequential approach to teaching reading and literacy, of which phonics is an integral…

A focus on improving the literacy and learning outcomes of secondary school students across the diocese of Ballarat continued today with professional development led by project partner the University of Melbourne Faculty of Education. Initiated in late 2020, the Improving Literacy in the Secondary Years (ILSY) Strategy and professional learning program is designed to guide teachers and school leaders to explicitly and systematically lead school improvement using a disciplinary literacy approach. Professor Larissa McLean Davies, Deputy Dean – Faculty of Education, says the project is founded on the premise that literacy is fundamental to all learning. ‘We know that improved literacy skills lead to better learning outcomes across all disciplines,…

Huge congratulations to St Patrick’s, Port Fairy on receiving Sustainability Victoria’s ResourceSmart Schools award for “Community Leadership School of the Year,” alongside Tecoma Primary School. St Patrick’s Principal, Olga Lyons said the award was wonderful recognition of the outstanding work of staff and students over the past several years. “Our school community has always been aware of the beautiful natural environment we have here at Port Fairy, and our deep responsibility to care for it. ‘Such is the enthusiasm for sustainability, 82 students across all year levels this year volunteered to join the student action team to plan and help deliver the programs and activities across the school,’ she said.…

More than 60 grandparents visited St Patrick’s Primary School, Ballarat today to share their stories as part of a school-wide focus on ‘story’ and recognition of the school’s centenary on its Drummond St site. ‘Today has been incredibly heartwarming and enriching for students, grandparents and staff alike,’ Principal Ben Shields said. ‘Throughout the morning rooms were filled with laughter, nostalgia, and the sharing of cherished memories. ‘Grandparents recounted tales of their childhood, adventures, and the lessons they’ve learned along the way. ‘These narratives enrich our students’ understanding of history, culture, and the power of storytelling, as well as instilling a sense of community and belonging and bridging the gap between…

St Columba’s Primary School, Ballarat is one of the first schools in Victoria to better support student engagement with the Digital Technologies curriculum by utilising a range of learning tools available for borrowing from the Computer Science Education Research Group (CSER), based at the University of Adelaide. The CSER National Lending Library program, supported by the Australian Government Department of Education, provides schools with access to the latest equipment for the classroom. In Term 1, St Columba’s worked with the ‘Kai’s Clan Kits’, a collaborative, all-in-one coding platform that encompasses several technologies including robotics, augmented reality, virtual reality and artificial intelligence. Melissa Wood, Digital Education Leader and STEM Teacher at St Columba’s,…

National Reconciliation Week 2024 – Now More Than Ever Catholic school communities across the diocese of Ballarat will next week join all Australians in marking National Reconciliation Week (27 May – 3 June) and recommitting to learning more about shared histories, cultures, and achievements, and how we can all contribute to achieving reconciliation with First Nations peoples in Australia. The Diocese of Ballarat stretches across land on which children have been educated for tens of thousands of years, and today, our 63 Catholic schools educate 520 (309 primary and 211 secondary) First Nations students. Catholic Education Ballarat Acting Executive Director Matthew Byrne says Catholic education in the diocese has an…