Successful Parent Conference in Townsville

Over 120 parents from around the state and a number of interstate guests gathered in Townsville on the weekend of 2-4 May to participate in the Federation’s biennial conference on the theme ‘Empowering Catholic School Communities.’
The theme was explored using open space technology which allowed the parents to set the agenda and to develop plans for action in their schools and in the wider educational community. The deliberations were expertly activated by Mr John Lyons, Principal of Holy Spirit College, Mackay and involved participants identifying areas of interest to parents and then moving into constructive discussion of the topics before collating their thoughts and proposed actions into a booklet which they were able to take with them for further discussion and action in the local school environments. The results of the interaction in the groups  and the proposed actions are available on the Federation’s website and school communities are encouraged to continue the discussions.
On Friday evening, Professor Nola Alloway, Head of the School of Education at James Cook University delivered a challenging Jack Woodward Memorial Lecture on the theme ‘Suffer the little children ….Who will answer the call?’ on the present status  of teaching in society and the ways by which the profession might be recognized and appreciated in the future. Copies of the lecture will be distributed to school communities and will also be available on our website.
The Conference Mass, celebrated by Father Frank Shortis and supported by the choir from St Patrick’s College was a highlight of the weekend.
At the conference dinner on the Saturday evening, Life Membership was conferred upon Mr John Beaton, the State Committee Chair for the past six years, Mr Russ Nelson who has represented Brisbane on the State Committee for six years and Father John McGrath from Cairns who has been the Bishops’ nominee to the State Committee for twelve years. Congratulations to the new Life Members and we trust that the honour is a suitable recognition of the outstanding contributions they have made to the work of the Federation over the many years of their involvement with Catholic education.
Thanks to all who participated so enthusiastically in the weekend’s program and especially to Mrs Kim Bellert from Townsville who was responsible for the expert organization of the conference. The results of their efforts will be evident in the operations of the local associations in the years to come.