For further information please contact us...

Email: FormationLeadership@bne.catholic.edu.au
Website: www.bne.catholic.edu.au
Location: 243 Gladstone Road, Dutton Park, Queensland, Australia
Phone: (07) 3033 7620

Members of the Professional Learning, Formation and Leadership Team will be working collaboratively to support the BCE Leuven Project. We will also be working with other BCEO directorates and teams and in particular with the Religious Education Services Team, to provide support to Schools and Offices around the entire Strengthening Catholic Identity Strategy.

WHO IS IN THE TEAM?

Jill Gowdie - Principal Education Officer

Ken Avenell - Principal Education Officer

Steve Dunne - Senior Education Officer

Catherine Foley - Education Officer, Facilitation School Staff Support

Tammy McCartney - Education Officer, Professional Learning and Leadership

Simon Mahaffy - Education Officer, Catholic Identity and Leadership

Enza Maloney - Administrative Support Officer

Elizabeth McConnell - Administrative Support Officer

Sue Martin - Professional Learning Services Officer

Jonathan Royan - Professional Learning Services Officer

Angela Barratt - Administrative Support Officer

If you have any queries or questions please direct them to Simon Mahaffy or contact the team on 3033 7620

Welcome back to the 2015 school year. This is the first of a quarterly update that will be sent out to schools who are participating in the BCE Leuven Project. This e-update will keep school and office communities informed about what is happening in this area as well as keep you informed of upcoming professional learning, key dates and provide you with resources to support your engagement with this project.

The BCE Leuven Project, is part of the broader BCE, Strengthening Catholic Identity Strategy. The broad strategy looks at all ways in which we strengthen the Catholic identity of our schools and offices; through formation, mission, curriculum and culture. The BCE Leuven Project is one way in which schools and office communities can explore and collect data about the Catholic identity of their community.

Today Catholic schools in Australia often find themselves challenged to express their distinctiveness, identity and vision in a society where the Christian faith is increasingly marginalised. Through engagement in the BCE Leuven Project, Brisbane Catholic Education aims to explore and assist schools to better understand how their Catholic identity is expressed in work and practice.

Through the data collection process and analysis, schools will have a starting point for the exploration and subsequent development of strategies to enhance the Catholic identity of the school.

Brisbane Catholic Education is in partnership with the Catholic University of Leuven, Belgium, who is pioneering this research. Professor Didier Pollefeyt and research assistant Jan Bouwens are the lead researchers on this project. BCE is also collaborating with the Cairns, Townsville and Rockhampton Dioceses and we also acknowledge the contribution of the Catholic Education Commission of Victoria in piloting this research.

The article Framing the identity of Catholic Schools: Empirical methodology for quantitative research on the Catholic identity of an education institute (2010) presents the research of Professor Pollefeyt and Jan Bouwens as they explore the empirical methodology aimed at framing the religious aspect of the identity structure of Catholic educational organisations. This research posits that the ideal way forward is through recontextualisation of Catholic identity based on dialogue and a symbolic understanding of religion. Please click on the link above to access the article.

This year we welcome 11 new schools to the BCE Leuven Project. We look forward to working with you, as your school engages in this project.

- St Peter's, Caboolture

- St Columba's, Wilston

- Stella Maris, Maroochydore

- Siena College, Sippy Downs

- Padua College, Kedron

- St Joseph's, Kangaroo Point

- Jubilee Primary, Pacific Pines

- St James', Coorparoo

- St Peter's, Rochedale

- St Rita's, Victoria Point

- St Mary's, Beaudesert

We look forward to meeting with these school at the BCE Leuven Project Orientation Workshop on Friday 13th February at the O'Shea Centre, Wilston. Please ensure you are enrolled in this workshop, enrolment for this event is via iLearn.

An updated version of the BCE Shape Paper for the Strengthening Catholic Identity Strategy is now available for download. This document outlines the purpose, vision and scope of this key BCE strategy. Please click HERE to download a copy from K-Web.

Over the past six months visits to the 2012 cohort of schools have been occurring to touch base and talk with school Leadership Teams about their involvement in the project. These conversations have been very valuable and provided many insights and we thank those schools for their time and commitment. We look forward to working with this cohort this year as they continue to strengthen their schools Catholic identity.

This week the full reports for the 2014 Leuven cohort arrived. Schools should expect to receive these reports in the next few days, if they have not done so already. Schools should have already received their 'data only' reports, but the full reports will give more detail and commentary around the graphical results presented as well as draw conclusions and name some recommendations.

All schools, from all cohorts who are involved in this project will have access to BCEO support to help them interpret their reports and to develop strategic plans based on the recommendations presented. If you would like to access any support please contact Simon Mahaffy- Education Officer, Catholic Identity and Leadership.

BCEO can offer support in many areas including:

- Facilitating professional learning about the BCE Leuven Project with Leadership teams,
school staff, school boards and P&F's

- Unpacking the theology and methodology of this project

- Assisting with interpretation of results

- Strategic planning based on the recommendation of the report

- Development of print and online resources to support schools

We are currently developing a website that will be accessible to schools to help support them as they engage in the BCE Leuven Project. This website will contain information about the project as well as link to the broader Strengthening Catholic Identity pillar of the BCE Strategy Map

Also available on this website site will be resources to support schools such as:

- Fact sheets

- Glossary of terms

- Professional reading

- Video clips from Professor Pollefeyt's visit to Australia

- PowerPoint presentations

- Information brochure

In the meantime if you would like access to any of these resources please contact Simon Mahaffy and he will be able to assist you. As soon as this site becomes active schools will be emailed the link so that they can access it.

Please click the link above to access the videos.

October 29th, 2015.

For schools in the 2015 cohort, there will be a workshop on the 29th October, 2015 where the theology underpinning the BCE Leuven Project will be explored. Also at this workshop we will investigate how to understand and interpret the data that will be presented in your individual school reports. This event will take place at the O'Shea Centre, Wilston. Enrolment is not yet available but schools will be notified once this workshop is open.

Please keep this date free.

We are already doing great work in the area of recontextualisation in our schools. Please see below some examples of recontextualised art in our Archdiocese.