Professional Learning Community - Sustainability meeting
Catholic school teachers and leaders from the Diocese of Parramatta, schools outside the diocese, and the NSW Department of Education met at the Aengus Kavanagh Centre on Wednesday 19 March to form a professional learning community (PLC) for sustainability.
With the vision of ‘creating a more ecologically and socially just world’, the PLC is a forum for educators to share and learn from each other about issues related to sustainability and stewardship of the environment.
Using the national curriculum’s cross-curriculum priority on sustainability, informed by the Catholic Church’s teaching on stewardship, the learning community aims to provide resources and encouragement for teachers to create rich and engaging learning and teaching experiences
Catholic Education teaching educator, Cathy Smith said the initiative was a timely and important one.
‘This is an exciting initiative and a timely one,’ said Cathy. ‘This is a call to action to look at how sustainability and stewardship of the earth can be embedded and enlivened in the syllabus.’
The learning community shared some of the many sustainable projects already in practice in their schools including kitchen gardens, rubbish free yards and healthy nutrition and fitness programs
Catholic Education teaching educator, Daryl Castellino, spoke about how Catholic values can be applied to the vision of the PLC specifically highlighting the dignity of human life and the role of supporting the common good through creative and aware stewardship.
The PLC will be meeting throughout the year. Teachers and leaders are encouraged to join by contacting Cathy Smith via csmith@parra.catholic.edu.au.
Catholic Schools Parramatta Diocese
www.parra.catholic.edu.au
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18 Sep 2026
From Facebook
💧🌏 Season of Creation 2026 at Holy Cross 🌿 Our school community has been celebrating the Season of Creation through prayer, learning and action. We began with classroom liturgies for the World Day of Prayer for the Care of Creation, followed by Faith in Action activities led by our iHelp students, including Creation Scavenger Hunts and Earthcare Eco Expo, where students explored ways to reduce waste. Our Year 6 iHelp students led Creation Prayer Time with their Kindergarten buddies, while our Year 3 students put their learning about showing mercy to God’s creation into action by picking up rubbish during recess and collecting containers for Return and Earn. As a whole school, we have also recommitted to using our Return and Earn baskets to help reduce waste and care for our common home. ♻️ Together, we are putting our faith into action and caring for common home. Catholic Schools Parramatta Diocese #faithinactioncspd15 Sep 2026
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Today, we celebrated our school Feast Day! ✝️✨ While the official Feast of the Exaltation of the Cross falls on September 14th, our school community gathered together today to celebrate our unique identity, founded on the Cross. We shared in the Eucharist and remembered Jesus' ultimate sacrifice for us—a constant reminder of His call for us to “Live Life to the Full.” After Mass, Father Jolly blessed our beautiful new foyer cross! ✝️✨ More than a piece of art, this cross powerfully reflects our Catholic faith and our Holy Cross identity. The Tree at the Centre: Jesus is the trunk, deeply rooted in our faith. We are the branches, called to grow and share his message with the world. The Surrounding Cross: A daily reminder of Jesus’ sacrifice, God’s enduring love, and the hope of new life. We want to thank two High Schools from our Catholic Schools Parramatta Diocese: St John 23rd for supporting us with our band and choir during Mass, and CathWest, who graciously made our cross. Catholic Schools Parramatta Diocese
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💧🌏 Season of Creation 2026 at Holy Cross 🌿 Our school community has been celebrating the Season of Creation through prayer, learning and action. We began with classroom liturgies for the World Day of Prayer for the Care of Creation, followed by Faith in Action activities led by our iHelp students, including Creation Scavenger Hunts and Earthcare Eco Expo, where students explored ways to reduce waste. Our Year 6 iHelp students led Creation Prayer Time with their Kindergarten buddies, while our Year 3 students put their learning about showing mercy to God’s creation into action by picking up rubbish during recess and collecting containers for Return and Earn. As a whole school, we have also recommitted to using our Return and Earn baskets to help reduce waste and care for our common home. ♻️ Together, we are putting our faith into action and caring for common home. Catholic Schools Parramatta Diocese #faithinactioncspd
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