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Join us for the 2024 K-12 Curriculum Reform Conference

Catholic Schools NSW invites school teachers, leaders, and educators from across the State to join us at the 2024 K-12 Curriculum Reform Conference.

Building upon the success of last year’s event, this year’s theme, “Animating the Curriculum for Human Flourishing,” will explore the transformative nature of the reform and will go beyond the mandated curriculum to consider what it means to offer a distinctly Catholic approach to developing the whole person: intellectually, spiritually, ethically, physically, creatively.

Key Focus Areas:

The Reformed Syllabuses and Implementation: Explore the practical implications of the updated syllabuses and their effective integration in classrooms.

Catholic Curriculum: Reflect on the rich heritage of Catholic Intellectual Thought and its role in shaping holistic education.

Human Flourishing and Education: Discuss how education contributes to the flourishing of individuals and communities.

Opportunities for Senior Secondary Curriculum: Explore how we can enhance senior secondary education to support post-school pathways so that all students can flourish.

Academic care and wellbeing: Discuss how to build students’ engagement in learning and confidence in the face of challenge.

High Potential Students: Consider the unique needs of high potential and gifted students within the reformed curriculum.

Vocational Education: Explore vocational pathways and strategies to encourage student participation and success.

Featured Speaker: Fr. Johnny Go SJ, EdD, Founding Dean of the Gokongwei Brothers School of Education and Learning Design at the Ateneo de Manila University, will open the conference. Fr Go’s keynote address Reimagining Catholic Education for Human Flourishing, will challenge and provoke participants to consider the purpose of Catholic schools in light of the curriculum reform and rapid social and technological change. With extensive experience in professional development for educators worldwide, Fr. Go brings a wealth of insights to our discussions.

Don’t miss this opportunity to engage in meaningful dialogue, share best practices, and shape the future of education. 

Date & Time

Monday 30th September 2024
Conference: 8:00AM – 5:00PM
Networking + Cocktail Hour: 5:00PM – 6:30PM

Tuesday 1st October 2024
Conference: 8:00AM – 5:00PM

Venue

Hilton Sydney
488 George St, Sydney NSW 2000

Register

Read More About the Upcoming Conference

Learn more about the conference such as;

  • key focus areas,
  • keynote, masterclass and workshop speakers, and
  • attendees thoughts on the 2023 Curriculum Reform Conference.

Sponsorship Prospectus

We are now taking sponsorship applications, click here to view the sponsorship prospectus. 

Latest News

Speakers

Fr Johnny Go

Fr. Johnny Go SJ

Founding Dean, Gokongwei Brothers School of Education and Learning Design of the Ateneo de Manila University

Fr. Johnny Go SJ, EdD is the Founding Dean of the newly established Gokongwei Brothers School of Education and Learning Design of the Ateneo de Manila University. He received his Doctors of Education from the UCL Institute of Education (University of London) and the Singapore National Institute of Education at the Nanyang Technological University.

From 2001 to 2013, Fr. Go also served as the President of Xavier School, a K-12 Jesuit school in Manila, as well as Executive Director of Jesuit Communications Foundation from 1997 to 2001.

Fr. Go teaches Education at the School of Education and Learning Design, as well as Philosophy at the School of Humanities, and Science, Technology, and Society at the College of Science of the University of the Philippines. He has years of experience conducting professional development courses for teachers and educational leaders in various parts of the world.

Fr. Go is a Jesuit priest and a published author of books in education and spirituality. His doctoral thesis at UCL, Religious Education from a Critical Realist Perspective: Sensus Fidei and Critical Thinking, was published by Routledge in 2018. His book on Ignatian Pedagogy, Learning by Refraction: A Practitioner’s Guide to 21st-Century Ignatian Pedagogy has been translated into six languages, with three more editions coming up.

Jenny Gore

Jenny Gore

Laureate Professor of Education, University of Newcastle

Professor Gore was the University of Newcastle’s first female Laureate Professor and first Laureate in Humanities and Social Sciences. Jenny has been Director of the Teachers and Teaching Research Centre since its inauguration in 2013 and has been widely published and cited. Her research is driven by the notion that all young people should experience high quality teaching. Her current major project is examining the impact of Quality Teaching Rounds on teacher and student outcomes.

Jenny’s current work revolves around the Quality Teaching Model, which enables teachers to draw on their own strengths, working with peers to improve practice.

The model is already used in more than 2,300 government, 300 Catholic and 30 independent schools throughout Australia. It has been shown to make lessons more intellectually engaging and challenging. Improving the learning environment and increasing the significance of what is learnt.

Simon Breakspear

Dr Simon Breakspear

Director, Breakspear Learning

Following the success of Simon’s keynotes in the 2023 Curriculum Reform Conference, Simon will be welcomed back to facilitate a leadership masterclass. This masterclass will support school and system leaders K-12 to maintain the momentum required for quality curriculum implementation.Simon Breakspear is a researcher, advisor and speaker on education policy, practice and change. Simon develops frameworks, tools and programs that make evidence-based ideas easy to understand and apply. Over the last decade he has worked with over 100,000 educators across ten countries. Simon is an Adjunct Senior Lecturer at the University of New South Wales, and an advisor to the NSW Department of Education School Leadership Institute. He earned his PhD in Education from the University of Cambridge, where he was a Gates Scholar.

David de Carvalho

David de Carvalho

Executive Dean of the Faculty of Education, Philosophy and Theology at the University of Notre Dame Australia

David de Carvalho brings extensive leadership experience from the education sector at national and state levels. Formerly CEO of the Australian Curriculum, Assessment and Reporting Authority (ACARA) and former CEO of the NSW Education Standards Authority (NESA), David has led significant reforms in education policy and curriculum development. His career spans senior positions in federal and state government departments, including the Treasury, Health and Ageing, Finance and Deregulation, Education, and Prime Minister and Cabinet. With a background as CEO of the National Catholic Education Commission and early experience as a secondary school teacher, David combines practical teaching knowledge with strategic vision. He holds extensive tertiary qualifications and is committed to advancing educational excellence.

Accommodation Discount

The Conference venue, the Hilton, is offering 10% off stays for all attendees of the Catholic Schools NSW 2024 Curriculum Conference. To activate your discount use the link below to book online or over the phone using the Group Code below.

Group Code: G10DYN
Hilton Sydney: +1300 445 866
Cancellation Policy: 1 day prior to arrival

2024 Sponsors

ACU logo

ACU is a young university making a significant impact. Ranked in the top two per cent of universities worldwide* and in the top 10 Catholic universities**, we’re also a leader in employability with 95 per cent of our graduates employed***. The university has seven campuses around Australia, a campus in Rome, Italy, and an online campus – ACU Online.

An ACU education aims to transform lives and communities. Students are challenged to look beyond the classroom, solve real-world problems, develop their own search for meaning and cultivate strong professional ethics. They are invited to stand up for people in need and causes that matter.

* Times Higher Education World University Rankings 2024. Percentage calculated as ACU’s world rank as a proportion of the total number of universities in the world: International Handbook of Universities 2019, Palgrave MacMillan.

** Based on International Federation of Catholic Universities members ranked on Times Higher Education World University Rankings 2024.

*** Graduate Outcomes Survey – Longitudinal 2023, overall employment for domestic undergraduate students.”

education perfect

Education Perfect is the EdTech platform designed to help teachers focus most on what they love: teaching. With decades of experience in education technology, we’re here to help teachers amplify their classroom impact. Whether that’s through curriculum-aligned and interactive learning tools, assessment features or differentiated learning pathways, we help teachers help their students reach their full potential. 

CatholicCare logo

CatholicCare Sydney’s School Wellbeing Services has been a trusted partner in schools for over 30 years, providing expert support to students and their families. Our mission is to empower school communities to champion their own wellbeing, creating accessible, inclusive, and safe environments for learning and growth.

Our team of skilled Social Workers, Counsellors, and Psychologists supports nearly 200 schools across NSW. We offer a range of services including Thriving Leaders, a wellbeing service for principals and school leaders, school counselling, onsite critical incident support, family support for students with complex needs, and remote clinical supervision.
Our services aim to address the complex social and emotional needs of students, caregivers, and educational professionals. Recognising the strong link between teacher and student wellbeing, we strive to enhance the capacity of school leaders to support their communities effectively.

Cleverbean is an insight-driven literacy organisation supporting over 3,000 Australian schools with high quality unit and lesson programming and advanced tools for real-time feedback and automated assessment on student writing. These insights translate into immediately actionable insights on student capabilities at a whole school level. Cleverbean’s products and experiences consistently drive teacher satisfaction and professional learning while highly elevating student engagement and exceptional results across reading and writing.
Founded by former teacher Lucy Chambers and further developed by top educators like AERO’s Annie Fisher (Senior Literacy Researcher), Cleverbean products are grounded in cutting-edge research, including best practices in The Science of Learning, the Gradual Release of Responsibility, best-practice formative assessment, differentiation and feedback principles. Endorsed by the NSW Department of Education in 2023 for high pedagogical standards as a preferred supplier to NSW government schools. 

Cleverbean displays exceptional student engagement and teacher satisfaction across reading, writing, grammar, oral language, phonics, vocabulary, fluency, comprehension, and feedback. You can expect integrated and practical solutions to excel educator expertise in explicit instruction, gradual release of responsibility, and the use of rich texts in primary schools.

Life Ed is the state’s largest independent provider of preventive health education to school children. With the help of its iconic mascot Healthy Harold the giraffe, Life Ed has been empowering children and young people to make safer and healthy choices for more than 40 years. They work in more than 1,200 schools across NSW, with approximately 215,000 primary and secondary students participating in the program each year. Their 60 specially trained educators visit students via 44 mobile classrooms, three pop-up classrooms and via a new virtual classroom.Since its inception in 1979, Life Ed has empowered more than seven million Australian children to make safe and healthy choices.

Toddle

Toddle is Australia’s fastest-growing LMS & the World’s leading AI-powered teaching & learning platform. Loved by 100,000+ educators across 2,000+ schools around the world, Toddle is an all-in-one teaching & learning platform for all kinds of schools.
Toddle empowers teaching teams to work together and better for curriculum planning, student portfolios, assessments, reports, family communication, and streamlined accreditation – all from one intuitive interface.

Seven steps logo

Seven Steps is one of Australia’s largest writing educators, providing award-winning training and resources to transform writing, engage students, unlock creativity and improve writing results.
Designed by former teacher and author, Jen McVeity OAM, the Seven Steps approach aims to change how writing is taught in Australia and transform writing for life. Since 2005 the program has reached over 2 million children and teachers from over 5,470 Australian schools.

Underpinned by best-practice pedagogy and the principles of the Science of Learning, Seven Steps training and resources give teachers the clear plan to confidently teach great writing:

● Teacher Hub – an award-winning online subscription to access on-demand training and teaching resources
● Workshops – live and interactive, online or in-person – learn the Seven Steps in a fun, engaging way
● School-wide packages – transform writing in your whole school!

Any Questions?

We’re happy to help with any questions you might have. Please get in touch using the button below.

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