Welcome to the final edition of the Leuven Project e-Update for 2016.

As we prepare for the end of the 2016 school year, many of us are already planning for 2017. In this edition there will be some news that may assist with your 2017 planning and your wrap up of this year. There are also a number of new resources available and ideas around nurturing Catholic identity in your school.

Some of the key topics is this issue are:

• 2016 Leuven Project Theology and Practice Workshop

• Update on the Relationships and Sexuality Education project
  
• 2016 MasterClass with Sean McDonogh
  
• New resources to support Catholic school identity

For further information about these key initiatives please read on in this e-Update.

If you would like more information on any of these areas please contact The Professional Learning, Formation and Leadership Team on 3033 7620 or FormationLeadership@bne.catholic.edu.au .

A reminder for all schools engaged in the 2016 survey research the Theology and Practice of the BCE Leuven Project will be held on Tuesday November 8th at Mercy Place Bardon. This workshop will introduce schools to the theology and theory of the Leuven Project and will allow schools to begin to unpack the data presented in their report. We ask that each school send at least 3 representatives to this workshop.

If you have not yet registered via iLearn please do so ASAP.

For any enquiries regarding this workshop please contact Simon Mahaffy on 3033 7378 or smahaffy@bne.catholic.edu.au.

In 2016 we have hosted a number of internationally renowned speakers around Catholic identity. We are pleased to announce that our final MasterClass for 2016 will be held on Friday 4th November at the O'Shea Centre, Wilston. Please see below for further details.

Sean McDonagh Friday 4 November

ECO THEOLOGY and LAUDATO SI

Irish Columban Fr Sean McDonagh is known around the world as an eco-theologian who works to raise awareness on the connections between justice and peace issues, environmental sustainability and faith.

It was during his work with the indigenous T’boli people on the Philippine island of Mindanao in the 1970s and 1980s that his understanding of environmental issues and the relationship between faith, justice and ecology took hold. He spent significant time working alongside creation theologian Thomas Berry in the United States, and strongly urges the church to take up John Paul II’s challenge to undergo a ‘ecological conversion’ advocating that environmental justice must be a core Catholic activity.

Sean is the author of numerous articles and nine books including Climate Change: The Challenge to All of Us, Greening the Christian Millennium, Care for the Earth and Dying for Water. He highlights the causes and consequences of issues such as global warming, genetically engineered food, water pollution, the nuclear industry and loss of biodiversity. He is a patron of Christian Ecology Link and writes a weekly column in The Universe Catholic newspaper.

Registration for this event is via iLearn (BCE05466).

For access to the PowerPoints and video recordings of this year MasterClasses please click here.

Getting ready to plan for 2017?

Not sure what your goals are for Catholic identity?

Members of the Professional Learning, Formation and Leadership Team are available to help support you with developing your goals and actions with regard to Catholic identity and your Leuven recommendations.

We are able to come to you or can connect with you at your cluster gatherings in Term 4. Please contact us to book a time.

Simon Mahaffy- smahaffy@bne.catholic.edu.au or 3033 7378

Joe Cryle - jcryle@bne.catholic.edu.au or 3033 7616

Applications to take part in the 2017 Leuven Theological Professional Renewal Program will be open shortly. This course is a two week study intensive in Leuven, Belgium that explores and unpacks the theology underpinning the BCE Leuven Project. It is a great opportunity to engage with the researchers and lecturers from the Catholic University of Leuven and to deepen your understanding of a contemporary Catholic School identity.

Some of the key components of this opportunity are outlined below:

• 2 week study intensive - 26th May - 11th June
• Travel with a group of no more than 30 from across Queensland
• Opportunities for some day trips / sightseeing
• estimated cost is $7,500 incl accommodation, flights to Belgium, breakfast, course costs, & transfers

Over the two weeks the intensive will cover topics such as:

• Vatican II
• Interreligious Dialogue
• Children's spirituality
• Theology and methodology of the Leuven Project
• Teaching / breaking open scripture

Please refer to the application email which will be sent in the near future regarding how to apply for this course.

If you would like any information or have any questions about this study intensive please contact Jill Gowdie or Simon Mahaffy of the Professional Learning, Formation and Leadership Team.

This term the great work with the Relationship and Sexuality Education continues as the pilot project comes to a close. This term the school involved in this pilot will submit their responses with regard to their engagement in the project. This will then be collected, collated, analysed and written into a report. This information will be able to guide the future engagement of school with regard to relationship and sexuality education.

On Friday 4th November there will be a workshop around Leading Relationships and Sexuality Education. This workshop will be especially useful for schools and their planning in this area for 2017. Enrolment for this day is via iLearn.

Schools that are exploring ways to embed a Catholic perspective in curriculum areas other than R.E. would find the work being done in Relationship and Sexuality of great interest. For further information about this work please contact Kerry Bird, Kerry Rush or Monique Brennan.

Some of the common recommendations that schools often receive in their Leuven report are around the developing a vibrant prayer life and understanding the mission of Catholic education. BCE has recently developed some resources that will support schools as they address these recommendation areas.

CREATING A SACRED SPACE

Creating sacred spaces around the school or in your classroom is an important way to engage students, staff and parents in the prayer life of your school. It is not always in easy task to design and set up a meaningful and Recontextualising sacred space. Resource Link has recently created a recourse that provides you with some tips and guidelines as well as connects you to some useful support materials.

Click below to access the Sway resource.

UNDERSTANDING THE MISSION OF CATHOLIC EDUCATION

There is a lot of reading and materials around the mission of Catholic Education. With so many publications available it can be difficult to know which ones are credible and it can take a large amount of time to read through these.

In collaboration with Resource Link we have identified some key resources which would be useful to school and office teams and are developing a series of infographics that provide a summary of the publication. The first two of these infographics are now available for use.

1) Instrumentum Laboris- Educating Today and Tomorrow : A Renewing Passion

2) What Makes a School Catholic by Thomas Groome

Please click on the links to access these infographics.

VIDEOS EXPLAINING THE THREE KEY SCALES

The Catholic University of Leuven has developed three short videos that explain each of the three key scales in the Leuven Project.

1. THE POST-CRITICAL BELIEF (PCB) SCALE

2. THE MELBOURNE SCALE

3. THE VICTORIA SCALE

These short videos would be a useful resource when working with staff in developing their understanding about these three key scales. They are also helpful in refreshing your own understanding of the scales in a visual way.

You can view the videos below or by clicking on the link below.

CATHOLIC IDENTITY WEBSITE

The Catholic Identity portal site is designed to support schools who are engaging in the BCE Leuven Project. This website can be accessed by clicking on the 'Strengthen Catholic Identity' link on K-Web or via the link below. It is housed as part of the Professional Learning, Formation and Leadership team site.

On this website there are two main sections:

1) Strengthen Catholic Identity Strategy

This site will have information regarding the BCE position paper and implementation strategy. This will be updated as the strategy progresses.

2) The BCE Leuven Project

This site will house resources that will be useful to school who are engaging directly with the Leuven research. This includes resources about the project process, how to complete the surveys and how to unpack the data. There is also a resource section that contains videos, fact sheets, articles, Power Points and other key documents that will be useful to schools.

Please find a link to this site below.

3) Resource Link

Resource Link has begun to curate resources that they have which will support schools engaging in the area of Catholic identity. You will be able to search for these resources by entering the key words 'Catholic identity' or for more specific resources you can search under the four priority areas:

- Catholic Identity and Mission

- Catholic Identity and Formation

- Catholic Identity and Learning and Teaching

- Catholic Identity and Culture

Click here to access the Resource Link collection.

Some of you may subscribe to the daily emails from Richard Rohr, who provides short but powerful reflections on different topics from his Centre for Action and Contemplation. His article from the 2nd October provides a narrative of what Second Naivete (Post-Critical Belief) is through the story of Richard's own journey. While many of us have read the theory that explains Post-Critical Belief, this reflection by Richard explains this through his own story. Please click on the link below to access this reflection.

STRENGTHENING CATHOLIC IDENTITY SHAPE PAPER AND POSITION STATEMENT

An updated version of the BCE Shape Paper for the Strengthening Catholic Identity Strategy is now available for download. This document outlines the purpose, vision and scope of this key BCE strategy. Please click HERE to download a copy from K-Web.

The Position Statement is also available for download and can be accessed by clicking HERE.

THE LEUVEN SCALES FOR DUMMIES

These documents have been written by the Catholic University of Leuven to help explain the PCB Scale, Melbourne Scale and Victoria Scale. Please click HERE to access the articles.

VIDEOS OF PROFESSOR POLLEFEYT'S VISIT TO BRISBANE IN 2014

These video excerpts were taken at the 2014 Leadership Conference, where Professor Pollefeyt was the key note speaker. This series of videos give an overview of the Leuven Project and explore the PCB, Melbourne and Victoria Scales. Please click on the link below to access the videos.

LINKS TO PREVIOUS ISSUES

For access to the previous issues of the BCE Leuven Project e-Update please click on the links below.

2016

Term 1, 2016 https://www.smore.com/seg3s

Term 2, 2016 https://www.smore.com/50a0u

Term 3, 2016 https://www.smore.com/tjhm9

2015

Term 1, 2015 https://www.smore.com/qgzfv

Term 2, 2015 https://www.smore.com/v8nrp

Term 3, 2015 https://www.smore.com/fhtxe

Term 4, 2015 https://www.smore.com/3evyk

Email: FormationLeadership@bne.catholic.edu.au
Website: www.bne.catholic.edu.au
Location: 243 Gladstone Road, Dutton Park, Queensland, Australia
Phone: (07) 3033 7620

If you have any queries or questions about the BCE Leuven Project please direct them to Simon Mahaffy or contact the team on 3033 7620