Broken Bay Catholic School Parents

Parents engaging in their children's faith, learning & wellbeing
Broken Bay Catholic School Parents (CSP) is the official body recognised the Broken Bay Catholic Schools Office (CSO) to represent and support the participation of all parents & carers in our Catholic School communities and strengthen the important partnership between parents & school. 
Mission & Aims of Broken Bay CSP
Broken Bay Catholic School Parents exists to provide leadership, advocacy and support to all parents with children in Catholic Schools across the Broken Bay diocese encompassing the Central Coast, North Shore and Northern Beaches.

Broken Bay Catholic School Parent aims to:
  • Be an advocate for parent’s perspectives at all levels: school, parish, cluster, Diocesan and State, and a conduit for two-way communication.
  • Promote and support respectful & trusting parent / school partnerships for the benefit of children’s education, faith development and wellbeing.
  • Support P&F / Parent Teams /School Advisory Bodies to strengthen the participation, involvement and engagement of their parent community.
  • Promote and support Catholic Education in partnership and through collaboration with the CSO.
​Consistent with the values of Catholic education, the CSP aspires to foster and support a community culture of participation, engagement and learning that is responsive to each individual school community to ensure educational equity and quality faith-filled learning environments for all young people.
History & Name Change:
The Diocesan Parent Council (DPC) was formed in recognition of the need to formalise connections between parent groups and the Catholic Schools Office (CSO) and build the capacity of parents within their school communities in particular to undertake leadership roles, most notably through positions on P&F / Parent teams.
After consultation and discussions, with both our parent community and CSO, it was decided that changing our name in late 2016 from Diocesan Parent Council (DPC) to Broken Bay Catholic School Parents (CSP) would assist strengthen our profile and identity in the Diocese. 
  How does it all work?
Picture
                                                                                                                                                
NATIONAL Representation:
Two representatives from CCSP sit on Catholic School Parents Australia (CSPA);

STATE Representation:
Two CSP members represent all Broken Bay Catholic School parents at state ​level through the CCSP NSW/ACT;

DIOCESAN Representation:
Each Cluster has 4 members on the CSP Management Team, meet once a term;

CSP CLUSTER Representation: 
Each diocesan systemic school’s P&F/Parent team has parent reps at the cluster level that meet with their Cluster Coordinator once a term in a local school;
 
SCHOOL
Every parent / carer in a school community is a member of their school P&F / Parent Team
Learn more: Who is Who in Catholic Education 

Who supports the CSP?

How is the CSP funded?
An annual levy of $6 per family, is collected each year through school fees from all systemic schools within the diocese of Broken Bay. 
It gives the CSP a budget to support the work of the CSP. including paying the Diocesan Project Officer (2.5 days/week) .
The Executive Officer is an employee of the Broken Bay Catholic Schools Office.
​
Support from the CSO
Executive Officer: 
  • Carmel Hewitt ​
    As part of her role as CSO Education Officer​-
    ​Parent Liaison  (3 days/week)
Broken Bay CSP Secretariat
Diocesan Project Officer: 
  • Michal Brenchley (2.5 days /week)            

Links with Broken Bay CSO

The Broken Bay CSP has a desk at the Catholic Schools Office (CSO), Pennant Hills within Educational Services and is grateful for the support of the CSO through the use of office facilities eg photocopying, meeting rooms etc

Who's Who: Broken Bay Catholic School Parents Executive

Necola Chisholm,  is the Primary Co-Chair of the Broken Bay Catholic School Parents (BBCSP).  Necola has been Chair of the team since 2018 and has seen our parent group through many challenging times and changes. 
This year Necola is excited with the deepening focus on our Secondary Schools and for the first time developed a Co-Chair system, partnering with a Secondary parent to ensure a balanced approach across both Primary and Secondary schools.  
​ Necola is a parent at Our Lady of Perpetual Succour,  West Pymble, with  both her daughters attending with one in Year 5 & the other has just started high school.   Necola is passionate about parent engagement and parent voice in their child’s education, going beyond the P&F Necola is also one of our Diocese’s Representative at the NSW Council of Catholic School Parent

​​
​Melissa Garland is the Secondary Co-Chair of the Broken Bay Catholic School Parents (BBCSP). This is her second year on the Management Team. Melissa is a parent at Our Lady of the Rosary (Wyoming) and St Peter's Catholic College (Tuggerah).
​Having had one child transition from primary to secondary within the Diocese, and another soon, Melissa encourages parent engagement to continue through this transition, right through to the transition of leaving school into the workforce, or further education. As well as being part of the BBCSP team, Melissa is also hands on in her roles in the Parent Network and College Advisory Group for St Peter's Catholic College, and as a Student Ambassador for the University of Newcastle. 
We acknowledge the traditional custodians of this land, who long before us lived, loved, explored, protected the land and raised their children. 
CONTACT US
External Websites: