Catalyst impact at St Thomas More’s highlighted at Sharing Best Practice Illawarra

April 2023

Catholic Education Archdiocese of Canberra & Goulburn (CECG) were invited to speak at the Sharing Best Practice event held at Corrimal High School, Illawarra on 29 April, highlighting the impact of an evidence-based approach.

Patrick Ellis, Education Lead, was joined by Principal Luke Donnelly, and Year 3/4 Teacher Andrea McQuirk to speak to the impact of Catalysts’ approach to teaching and learning for system, school and classroom improvement.

Patrick provided a summary of evidence-based change at the system level, followed by Luke who discussed change at the school level, and lastly, Teacher Andrea provided an overview of implementation outcomes at the classroom level. Each reflected on their experiences in the Catalyst journey so far, and outlined their own next steps.

Year 3/4 Teacher Andrea McQuirk

Luke said “the educators in the room were impressed by Andrea’s passion for achieving outcomes for her students and her knowledge of high impact teaching practices. Well done Andrea, we are so lucky to have you at our school!”

One attendee said “what a fabulous day we had at SBP Illawarra yesterday! The vibe and chatter was incredible and everyone seemed to really enjoy themselves. Thank you to everyone who gave up their Saturday to present and attend.”

CECG were joined by presenters, including Dr Deslea Konza (Associate Professor Language and Literacy at Edith Cowan University), Professor Stephen Dinham OAM PhD (Emeritus Professor in the Melbourne Graduate School of Education, University of Melbourne), Brendan Lee (NSW Primary School Assistant Principal), Jo-Anne Dooner and Justin Caban (Training 24/7), Danielle Colenbrander and Veronica Alexander (SPELD NSW), and Anna Desjardins (MultiLit).

“We are delighted to have been asked to speak at this terrific event and network with likeminded educators. Thank you to Luke and Andrea for joining me and talking candidly about their experiences and sharing their learning. I look forward to future Sharing Best Practice events,” Patrick said.