Welcome to the CEDoW COVID-19 Information Centre

Last updated 24 January 2022

This page contains a regularly updated overview of the systemic response by Catholic Education Diocese of Wollongong (CEDoW) to the ongoing COVID-19 situation.

Information and updates specific to each school community will continue to be provided directly to parents and carers by school principals.

More than a thousand students from our eight systemic Catholic secondary schools completed the HSC this year. 291 students were acknowledged as Distinguished Achievers, with a further four All-round Achievers, six Top Achievers, two of whom took out First in Course.

Five innovative future entrepreneurs from St Benedict's Catholic College Oran Park were recently awarded third place in Western Sydney University’s (WSU) Blueprint Business Idea Competition for their One Touch bracelet proposal.  

The WSU competition is designed to encourage Year 10 students to pursue new business ideas, provide enrichment opportunities and first-hand experiences in entrepreneurship.

A study into the wing structure of blowflies—and a passion for science—has resulted in John Therry Catholic College, Rosemeadow, Year 12 student Ali Alwaeli being named as the bronze winner of the Science Teachers’ Association of New South Wales (STANSW) Young Scientist Award competition as part of his studies in Science Extension. 

A love of science, design and technology, and a desire to make a positive difference in the world has resulted in three CEDoW student teams from St Columbkille's Catholic Primary School, Corrimal and Magdalene Catholic College, Narellan, winning major awards at the recent Catholic Network Australia Limited (CNA) Science, Technology, Engineering and Maths (STEM) Mad (Making A Difference) national competition.

Students, parents and staff from Catholic primary schools across the Diocese of Wollongong joined together on Wednesday 24 November for the virtual exhibition launch of the 2021 Catholic Education Diocese of Wollongong (CEDoW) Christmas Story Art Competition. 

A number of secondary students in Catholic schools throughout the Diocese of Wollongong, enrolled in Vocational Education and Training (VET) courses as part of their HSC, have been recognised for their hard work and commitment to their chosen framework of studies and workplace training. The various awards held throughout the year, showcased the many talented students from Catholic, Independent and Government schools across the state.

St John the Evangelist Catholic High School, Nowra Year 10 student, Keira Buckpitt has taken out a top honour in the 2021 YETI Australian Junior Online Surf Championships, an invitation-only event that hosted 180 of Australia's top junior surfers in a head to head competition.  

Young athletes saw how far the representative sport pathways offered by Catholic Education Diocese of Wollongong (CEDoW) and an unwavering attitude could take them when former students and Olympians, Kieran Woolley and Blake Glovers spoke at the 24th Annual CDF Diocesan Sports Awards, held virtually last Friday 12 November. 

Eilish Norwood has definitely finished her secondary schooling on a high. The talented, hardworking Year 12 student from St John the Evangelist Catholic High School, Nowra, was recently awarded a $150,000 Ramsay Scholarship from the Australian Catholic University (ACU), to study a Bachelor of Arts (Western Civilisation)/Bachelor of Laws.

For the past two years, you've been dealing with all the challenges associated with the COVID-19 pandemic and as you approach your final weeks of school you can look back at a time that no other Year 12 has ever experienced or had to navigate.

You’ve dealt with disruption, uncertainty, and anxiety and as a result of this event, you will be more resilient in the face of adversity. In these final weeks of school remember to breathe. Take one day at a time and focus on one thing at a time and don’t get too far ahead of yourself. Take your time to enjoy these final weeks of school life and enjoy the journey rather than focusing on the destination.

World Teachers’ Day, celebrated in NSW on 29 October 2021, is an opportunity to recognise all of the dedicated teachers and staff who serve the schools of our diocese. 

This year’s celebration coincides with the commemoration of 200 years of Catholic education in Australia. The themes for both events (‘Faith in the Future’ and #BrightFuture) inspire us to look beyond the here and now to the months and years ahead. From my perspective, it is easy to do this with great confidence because of you. 

We're excited to announce that the 24th Annual CDF Sports Awards will be a virtual presentation to be held on Friday, 12 November 2021. The viewing will commence online at 6:45 pm via a web link on the CEDoW Sport website.

At the young age of 19, former Mt Carmel Catholic College, Varroville student Emma Jones can officially call herself a published author. The 2020 HSC graduate was one of eighteen brilliant young writers selected, from more than 1,385 students, to have their HSC English Extension 2 work published in the highly-acclaimed NSW Education Authority (NESA) Young Writers anthology.  The Young Writers anthology celebrates the writing talents of some of the most outstanding HSC English students from across the state. 

In honour of his lifetime commitment to Catholic education, Peter Turner, the former Director of Schools for Catholic Education Diocese of Wollongong (CEDoW) received the 2021 Br Kelvin Canavan FMS Catholic School Leadership Award, which was presented to him virtually at the recent Catholic Schools NSW Education Law Symposium. 

The increased use of technology in classrooms and cloud-based programs such as Compass, Google Classroom and Zoom has changed the way education is now delivered. To stabilise the added pressure on school networks and support their capacity to deliver classroom learning,  the CEDoWInformation, Communication and Learning Technology (ICLT) team implemented an innovative solution to ensure that student learning is never interrupted due to internet outages.