CCommunity Connections The aim of this program is to establish and sustain strong connections with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Communities. For further information please contact Alice Bin Tahal @ abintahal@tsv.catholic.edu.au or Thelma Gertz @ tgertz@tsv.catholic.edu.au .
Cultural Education The aim of Cultural Education is to ensure schools have access to culturally appropriate training, relevant course materials and training products that will enable them to fulfill their professional and personal aspirations. It is an accredited course with 5 schools in the Diocese partaking. This program covers areas such as, strategies to teach Indigenous students, cross cultural awareness and the perspective of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander history. (There are seven modules in this program; Self as worker, Past Present, Identify and everyday ways of life communicating, Relationships, Working in my local community, and Working together.) For further information contact Thelma Gertz @ tgertz@tsv.catholic.edu.au . RETURN TO TOP
DDare to Lead Dare to Lead is a coalition of Australian Schools committed to improving educational outcomes for Indigenous students, particularly in literacy and numeracy and undertaking reconiliation activities. For further information contact Thelma Gertz @ tgertz@tsv.catholic.edu.au .
You may also visit the Dare to Lead Website @ http://www.apapdc.edu.au/daretolead/
Drive 4 Life The target group for this project is the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander students from Catholic schools in the North Queensland region. The aim of the project is to improve students’ abilities to successfully undertake driver education. For further information contact Debbie Pardon @ dpardon@tsv.catholic.edu.au . RETURN TO TOP
EEarly Years Education To support high quality early years education programs through the development and implementation of policies, curriculum and strategies pertaining to early education and care, early intervention and the introduction of the prep year, and to communicate this to Indigenous communities. For further information contact Megan Harrison @ mharrison@tsv.catholic.edu.au .
Education Training Reform Foundation - Reaching out to Disengaged Students The key aim of the project is to identify those characteristics that have provided effective VET programs for 'disengaged' or 'potentially disengaged' Indigenous youth. Emphasis is not only on the what, but also the why something worked or not. For further information contact Ada Boland @ aboland@tsv.catholic.edu.au .
Employment Strategy The aim of this program is to employ culturally and academically qualified Indigenous people at all levels of Catholic Education. For further information contact Thelma Gertz @ tgertz@tsv.catholic.edu.au . RETURN TO TOP
FFirst Steps First Steps is an English language resource that helps individual teachers, schools and education systems achieve targeted literacy outcomes and standards for their students. The First Steps resources provide frameworks, or maps of development, called Developmental Continua, that link the monitoring, assessment and data gathering on student performance to the planning and delivery of the teaching and learning program. These maps provide support for all children regardless of age or ability. For further information contact Libby Knight @ lknight@tsv.catholic.edu.au or Megan Harrison @ mharrison@tsv.catholic.edu.au . RETURN TO TOP
GGo Maths GO Maths is the first core mathematics program in Queensland to provide a developmentally appropriate teaching sequence from Prep to Year 7. It has been developed by a team of practising mathematics educators who have a proven track record of translating suitable research findings into effective classroom practice. For further information contact Paul Ould @ pould@tsv.catholic.edu.au . RETURN TO TOP
IIndigenous Ambassadors The aim is to promote the importance of education, literacy and numeracy to Indigenous students and their parents. These Ambassadors are selected for their high profile roles in the areas of education, community leadership, sporting endeavours, health and entertainment. For further information contact Alice Bin Tahal @ abintahal@tsv.catholic.edu.au .
Indigenous Education Newsletter The Indigenous Education Newsletter is a quarterly newsletter informing our schools, families, parishes and communities of new initiatives/programs, IE updates, news and events, upcoming events, resource information, career information, staff profiles and congratulatory news. The newsletter is one of the major ways in which we communicate with our schools and wider community. For further information contact De'arne French @ dfrench@tsv.catholic.edu.au .
Indigenous Tutorial Assistance Scheme (ITAS) ITAS is literacy and/or numeracy tuition, targeted to achieving improved literacy and numeracy skills for Indigenous studetns at key points of schooling. For further information contact Alice Bin Tahal @ abintahal@tsv.catholic.edu.au or Thelma Gertz @ tgertz@tsv.catholic.edu.au . RETURN TO TOP
NNational Aboriginal and Islanders Day of Celebration (NAIDOC) The National Aboriginal and Islanders Day of Celebration is held in the first week of July. During this week, the remembrance, celebration and acknowledgement of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people and heritage is highlighted. NAIDOC is celebrated by the wider community. NAIDOC week, therefore provides all schools with the perfect opportunity to acknowledge the achievements and raise awareness of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people and issues. For further information contact Alice Bin Tahal @ abintahal@tsv.catholic.edu.au or Thelma Gertz @ tgertz@tsv.catholic.edu.au or Ada Boland @ aboland@tsv.catholic.edu.au or Megan Harrison @ mharrison@tsv.catholic.edu.au or Caroline Wacando @ cwacando@tsv.catholic.edu.au National Indigenous Cadetship Project (NICP) The National Indigenous Cadetship Program is aimed at improving the professional employment prospects of Indigenous Australians. It provides opportunities for Indigenous Australians to gain the professional qualifications needed for a range of jobs in both the public and private sectors. It assists in matching studetns who intend on studying full time in an undergraduate degree at university with Employers who can give them work skills and professional employment experience. The Catholic Education Office currently has a number of Indigenous staff studying under the Cadetship Project with the goal of placing an additional 20 Indigenous teachers into our schools. For further information contact Debbie Pardon @ dpardon@tsv.catholic.edu.au .
Networking for Indigenous Education Workers (NIEW) Day These workshop sessions aim to provide strategies for Indigenous staff working with Indigenous students. They provide opportunities for Indigenous staff to discuss future career directions and individual goals. It provides Indigenous staff with a forum to discuss workplace expectations and the opportunity to build partnerships and share ideas. For further information contact Megan Harrison @ mharrison@tsv.catholic.edu.au or Alice BinTahal @ abintahal@tsv.catholic.edu.au . RETURN TO TOP
OOn-line Resources To provide on-line resources for community schools. The focus areas will be on Cultural appropriateness, Aboriginal & Torres Strait Islander Studies, Key Learning Areas and Sharing of Resources. For further information contact Kim Smith @ ksmith@tsv.catholic.edu.au . RETURN TO TOP
PPalm Island Round Table The aim of the Round Table is to discuss the needs of the Catholic community, and to suggest ways in which the Diocese, through its various agencies could assist the community to develop their own life more fully, and to serve the larger community on Palm Island more effectively. For further information contact Thelma Gertz @ tgertz@tsv.catholic.edu.au .
Parent School Partnership Initiative (PSPI) As part of the Whole of School Intervention Strategy, the Parent School Partnerships Initiative (PSPI) focuses on the implementation of creative approaches to improving the educational outcomes of Indigenous school students. It encourages parents of Indigenous students, Indigenous communities and schools to work together in partnership to address local barriers to education. For further information contact Debbie Pardon@ dpardon@tsv.catholic.edu.au or Thelma Gertz @ tgertz@tsv.catholic.edu.au .
Preparatory Years From 2007 the Queensland Government is bringing in a full day, 5 days a week Prep Year, offered to all children the year before they start Year 1. This program will support the Prep Phase-in for staff of St Michael’s, Palm Island through the formation of and inclusion in a Prep Phase-in network that meets once a term to discuss issues and share ideas. For further information contact Megan Harrison @ mharrison@tsv.catholic.edu.au . RETURN TO TOP
RReady, Set , Go This program focuses on the transition from home to school (Prep), ensuring Indigenous children are ready and inspired to learn in the school environment. It involves a Prep transition activity which introduces children into the Prep class before th child's Prep year actually begins. The program also aims to provide playgroup for the Indigenous community in local suburbs of Townsville. This helps Indigenous parents with young children to be introduced to a "culture of education". For further information contact Megan Harrison @ mharrison@tsv.catholic.edu.au . Recognition of Aboriginal Cultural Heritage The presence of the Aboriginal people is valued and appreciated and their contribution to the culture of the area needs to be openly acknowledge and celebrated, in order that future generations are made aware of the long time connection of Aboriginal people to the community of North and West Queensland. All schools in the Diocese will be involved in this program which aims to result in a visual display in the form of a Welcome Board, Which will be placed in a prominent position at the main entrance of all school property. Information being sought includes: - Acknowledgement of Country
- The word for "Welcome" or traditional greeting
- The pronunciation of the word
- The name of, perhaps illustration of, traditional plants of the area
- The traditional "Totem" appropriate for the display as suggested, approved and designed by a member of the local Indigenous communtiy
For further information contact Debbie Pardon @ dpardon@tsv.catholic.edu.au . Remote Indigenous Students Tuition RIS Tuition provides supplementary tuition for eligible Indigenous students who leave their remote community to attend school in a non-remote location, or to attend a remote boarding school. For further information contact Alice Bin Tahal @ abintahal@tsv.catholic.edu.au or Thelma Gertz @ tgertz@tsv.catholic.edu.au .
Right Talk, Right Help The purpose of this project is to provide a useful resource for school officers who are working with teachers to improve the educational outcomes of the Indigenous students in our schools. The project arose out of concerns expressed by principals, school officers and teachers to clarify the role of school officers who work with teachers and students in classrooms. Over a number of years they have attempted to identify essential knowledge and skills required for this work and to identify strategies that could improve the educational outcomes for Indigenous students. For further information contact Megan Harrison @ mharrison@tsv.catholic.edu.au .
Right Talk, Right Place The target of the project is to improve students’ abilities to cope with the social, cultural and academic demands of attending boarding school. The North Queensland Indigenous Literacy and Language Support project, Right Talk Right Place targets teaching practices to improve student’s educational outcomes. The development of a North Queensland companion to Making the Jump, A Resource Book for Teachers of Aboriginal Students produced in Western Australia, is the focus of the project. The project phases included, research and development and consultation with schools, communities and other key stakeholders in Indigenous education. In the next phase a draft of the companion was shared with teachers and Indigenous education workers through a workshop and action research process. This ensured that the final production reflected the interests and expertise of a range of experts and potential users of the resource. For further information contact Megan Harrison @ mharrison@tsv.catholic.edu.au . RETURN TO TOP
SSenior School Transition Program In the Senior School Transition program students from year 11 and 12 from Catholic high schools in Townsville, Charters Towers, Ingham and Ayr are mentored by support officers to ease the transition from school life to further study or paid employment. They take part in skills audit to establish which direction the students should work towards. The support officer will develop an individual career plan for each student and work with him or her to acheive their goals after completing their schooling. For further information contact Ada Boland @ aboland@tsv.catholic.edu.au .
Spirituality Program
This program is aimed at improving the acknowledgement of and respect for cultural/spiritual beliefs and to promote cultural identities. For further information contact Ada Boland @ aboland@tsv.catholic.edu.au .
Sports Academy for Catholic Colleges Through the Academy program, more than 100 Indigenous studetns (both male and female) of Catholic secondary colleges are eligible fore selection for scholarships, providing them with access to a wide range of courses through variety of sports including football, netball and basketball. Studies focus on healthy lifestyles, leadership and career planning. Townsville Catholic Education Office was sucessful in securing one of only 13 Academies in Australia, funded by the Department of Education, Employment and Workplace Relations as a key part of the federal Government's Sporting Chance Programme. The Academy has been made possible through partnerships between the Australian Government, (Department of Education, Employment and Workplace Relations), the National Aboriginal Sports Corporation of Australia (NASCA), National Rugby League (NRL), North Queensland Toyota Cowboys and Townsville Catholic Education Office. For further information contact Shayne Harrison @ sharrison@rcc.qld.edu.au . RETURN TO TOP
UUnity Kit - Linking Together Faith and the Community RETURN TO TOP
WWalking Talking Text This program is aimed at improving literacy through the practice of analysing language of texts; choosing appropriate texts; and assessment strategies. For further information contact Selina Miller @ smiller@tsv.catholic.edu.au .
Western Support Meetings Western Indigenous Staff (School Officers) meet once a term to discuss community/schools events. These meetings give the opportunity to Indigenous staff to discuss workplace expectations, exchange ideas, build partnerships, support difficult challenges, sharing classroom experiences and exchange resources. For further information contact Alice Bin Tahal @ abintahal@tsv.catholic.edu.au . | 
