Showcasing Catalyst: Welcoming Catholic Education New Zealand
Last week, Catholic Education Canberra and Goulburn (CECG) had the pleasure of welcoming 30 school leaders and teachers from New Zealand who travelled to engage in three dynamic days of learning and classroom observations of High Impact Teaching Practice (HITP), leadership discussions and exploring how Catalyst has been implemented across our 56 schools.
The visit commenced with a welcome presentation on Catalyst, CECG’s teaching and learning approach, offering insights into implementation across our schools and the impact it has had on leaders, teachers and students.
Over the following days, the group visited a range of classrooms where they observed HITP in action. Each day concluded with leadership discussions and a reflective debrief session, which gave our teachers the opportunity to share their experiences. Here, they discussed any changes to their practice, including the key enablers, the challenges encountered, and the barriers overcome along the way. These reflections underscore CECG’s commitment to teaching and learning, continuing to build a culture of improvement, support, and continuous refinement in teacher practice.
“[The visitors] all shared how positively [teachers] spoke about the system support that has been provided to schools, and they heard from teachers at break times in their informal conversations with them about the positive impact Catalyst has had on their teaching and on student learning.”
Patrick Ellis, Education Lead
One of the key takeaways, as noted by a visiting educator, was witnessing how teachers effectively responded to student needs through differentiated instruction and carefully scaffolded support.
We would like to extend our gratitude to the following schools that welcomed visitors into their classrooms and took time out of their busy schedules to share their practice –
- Holy Spirit Primary School, Nicholls
- Holy Family Primary School, Gowrie
- St Joseph’s Primary School, O’Connor
- St Mary MacKillop College, Wanniassa
- Rosary Primary School, Watson
- Merici College, Braddon
- St Thomas the Apostle Primary School, Kambah
- St Monica’s Primary School, Evatt
- St Vincent’s Primary, Aranda
- Good Shepherd Primary School, Amaroo
“I can’t express enough how impressed our visitors were after visiting your schools. They were blown away by the leadership and the teaching practice they observed. They were buzzing as we debriefed at the end of each day in the office.”
Patrick Ellis, Education Lead
This visit reinforced the value of collaboration and a shared purpose within Catholic Education. Thank you to all who participated.



Learn more about our approach here.
View our school stories here.