School retention rates drop
Year 12 retention rates across all schools dropped to 79 per cent – below the pre-pandemic rate of 82 per cent in 2019, according to the Productivity Commission.
In its Report on Government Services mid-year data update for school education, which is based on data supplied by state and territory education departments as well as Catholic and independent schools, the Commission also found:
· only 56.4 per cent of First Nations students continued from Year 10 to Year 12 – down from 60 per cent in 2019;
· among non-Indigenous students, 80.4 per cent finished Year 12, down from 83.2 per cent in 2019;
· overall, 21 per cent of students left school before Year 12;
· retention rates for government schools dropped from 78 per cent in 2019 to 73.5 per cent last year – even lower than the rate of 76.7 per cent in 2013; while
· in Catholic and independent schools, the retention rate was stable at 87.2 per cent across all years.
Read more.
Catholic educators honoured in King’s Birthday Awards
The chair of the National Catholic Education Commission (NCEC) Nicholas Moore was awarded an Officer of the Order of Australia for distinguished service to education, as well as a number of other professions. MultiLit director of strategy and senior research fellow, and NCEC educational excellence standing committee member, Dr Jennifer Buckingham was awarded a Medal of the Order of Australia (OAM) for her service to educational research and literacy.
Craig Fosdike principal of St Martin de Porres School, Sheidow Park, received an OAM for service to primary education and fellow SA educator, Damian Antenucci from St Paul’s College, Gilles Plains, received an OAM for service to secondary education.
Santa Sabina College, Strathfield, teacher Jane Sulis was awarded an OAM for service to education and to the community and former Victorian Catholic school principal and education consultant Mary Howlett was awarded an OAM for service to the community, and to education. Read more.
Online safety advice in more languages
eSafety’s Online Safety for Every Family suite of resources helps parents and carers from all backgrounds protect their families online. To help more families start conversations with their children about online safety, the resources are now available in Uyghur, Hindi, Nepalese, Swahili, Burmese, Tigrinya, Punjabi and Singhalese.
Human trafficking awareness campaign
ACRATH has launched its 2023 fundraising campaign and hopes to raise $350,000 by 30 July 2023, the World Day Against Trafficking in Persons. This year’s campaign will focus on ACRATH’s need for sustainable funding in order to continue programs and support victims and survivors of human trafficking. The need for ongoing funding was highlighted in the recent federal government Budget announcement that victims and survivors of human trafficking can now access support without involvement with law enforcement.
Find out more.
Australia’s first liberal arts college reveals new academic centre
Campion College, an independent higher education provider and Australia’s first liberal arts college, has released an exclusive ‘first look’ video showcasing its brand-new Academic Centre. The video is led by college president, Dr Paul Morrissey. The Academic Centre is designed to foster intellectual growth and provide access to a library collection of 25,000 books. Campion College is an independent institution of higher education with an undergraduate program in the liberal arts.
Around the Schools:
Emmaus College student represents Queensland Youth at UN Conference
Emmaus College, Jimboomba senior student and Tradition Captain Natalie Burns has been selected as one of 10 Queensland Youth representatives at Perth’s United Nations National Conference in July.
Cairns Diocese, QLD: Year 12 Good Counsel College student Bianca, who was one of just 30 dancers out of 800 auditionees to be accepted into the highly prestigious Brent Street Performing Arts in Sydney.
Sydney (NSW): Congratulations to Chloe Colman, 2022 College Dux of St Clare’s College, Waverley who achieved an outstanding mark of 98 in Visual Arts in the 2022 HSC. Chloe’s Visual Arts body of work, ‘As The Light Fades’, is now on display at the Western Plains Cultural Centre in Dubbo as part of Art Express. The art will then move to the Hawkesbury Regional Art Gallery from 16 June - 13 August.
What’s On:
Refugee Week runs from 18 - 24 June 2022. This year's theme is ‘Finding Freedom’.
Find a prayer here.
NAIDOC Week 2023: For Our Elders – Sun, 2 July-Sun, 9 July 2023.
Find resources here.