December 2025: SCEA announces the opening of the CHARIS Teacher Training School (CTTS).

January 2026: Mrs Melissa Meloni announced as our Head of CHARIS Teacher Training School.

April 2026: Partnership with St. Philip’s Teaching School in Newcastle is announced.

May 2026: The Expression of Interest is now open for the CHARIS Teacher Training School for 2027. 

Our vision and hope is that CHARIS Teacher Training School (CTTS) will support the development of highly skilled Christian Educators who will be in our classrooms from ‘Day 1′ of their undergraduate and postgraduate teaching courses, as they are mentored by our exemplary Christian educators across schools.  

To register your interest, please use the link below:

If you know of someone who may be interested in being a part of this program, please send them this link to register their interest in this new initiative.

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Today we reach the halfway point of the Month of Prayer, and here is the ‘half-time report’ for those of us praying each day for different Local Government Areas (LGA’s) and schools across our state.

Step 1: The Geo-Networks have connected to unite in this initiative.

(‘Geo-Network’ refers to a geographical network of pastors who gather together regularly to work for the good of their communities.)

Step 2: A dedicated website with resources is set up, including videos about each community, daily prayer guides, a prayer schedule, and an interactive prayer map.

Step 3: Start praying!

For many people, prayer is an intensely personal experience. It’s a private moment between you and God. It’s completely sacred – and the more you contemplate its depths, the harder it is to put into mortal words.

However, there have been some positive messages, and it is clear from website visits and map usage that people from all over Western Australia have come together to demonstrate their belief in the power of prayer and its positive effects on our wider community.

As of today, the Month of Prayer initiative has covered schools in 15 Local Government Areas (LGAs) in prayer.  

At the heart of this mission are the thousands of students, teachers and families connected to WA’s schools.  

This week, Amit met with local chaplains and church pastors as part of this work:

“It’s exciting to see how God will move through a unified and surrendered church,” he said.

“We’re looking forward to seeing the results of this month of prayer in our local schools.” 

And it’s not just schools that will be positively impacted – as churches commit to prayer, they have shared several encouraging testimonies with us.   

At the core of each story is the growing heart of compassion towards schools in each church’s local area.  

Their churchwide prayer meetings began with a dedicated time of prayer for their local schools.  

In our next edition of SCEA News, we will conclude the Month of Prayer with some details of the 30-day campaign. What a wonderful initiative for our schools, the Central Office and the wider community!

The post May’s ‘Month of Prayer’ – Half Time Report! appeared first on SCEA.

This year, the work has expanded with ‘Matrix Matt’ delving deeply into the statistics around our departments and tackling new challenges.

This week, we caught up with Matt, who can speak Hebrew and a little Greek when required.

Thankfully, his answers for you today are printed in English!

Tell us about how your initial work in the Dashboard has been received by SCEA Schools, Matt.

“In the first year, the Dashboard was used primarily in the domains of staffing, timetabling, relief management and analysis of the SCEA surveys.”

The introduction of longitudinal trend analysis and drill-downs for the SCEA surveys was particularly welcomed.  

The Relief Module has assisted relief managers in assigning staff to relief duties and maintaining a balance of ‘relief hours’ undertaken during the course of each term.

School leaders have been using the employee allotments module when allocating loads to teachers.

The Timetable and Enrolments modules have proven informative for strategic capital planning and investment across the organisation.

What are the new ideas that you have in store for us this year? 

“In 2026, the initial focus has been on extending the depth of the existing boards, allowing end users to drill down and address their inquiry questions using a range of filters, including historic trends.”

Development is underway to expand access options, including mobile device access.  

Initial work has been undertaken to develop the student-tracking (wellbeing, attendance, and academic) module and the financial module.  

The goal is then to broaden further across other domains, such as Marketing & Partnerships, People and Capital Projects. 

The post ‘Dufty’s Dashboard’: Reloaded for 2026! appeared first on SCEA.

Rounding out the final week of Term 2, the SCC Boys headed off to the School Sport WA State Futsal Championship in Kingsway Indoor Stadium.

Both teams played extremely well, holding strong leads in all their games.

The SCC team defeated title favourites Shenton College in the round-robin regular season clash.

The team performed particularly well in the preliminary games, advancing to the top-team clash at Cockburn Recreation Centre.

The boys opened the finals campaign with a convincing 6–4 quarterfinal victory over St Norbert’s College, with Samuel Appleby and Chesyl Nyama each scoring a hat-trick. 

They then produced an outstanding semifinal performance, defeating Lake Joondalup Baptist College 7–2.

Samuel Appleby again led the scoring with three goals, supported by a brace from Aaron Mukundu, as well as goals from Chesyl Nyama and Liam Connor.

This set up a grand final rematch against Shenton College.

Having already defeated Shenton twice in the preliminary rounds, the team entered the final with confidence and rose to the occasion once more.

In a tightly contested match, the boys secured a 3–2 victory, with Aaron Mukundu scoring twice and Liam Connor adding the decisive goal to seal the win.

Not only did the boys take home the championship, but Benjamin Gallichan won the Golden Gloves award, and Aaron Mukundu won MVP.

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The event was attended by distinguished guests, including Commissioner Darren Klemm AFSM and Hon Paul Papalia CSC, MLA, highlighting the significance of the cadet program across Western Australia.

Southern Hills Christian College (SHCC) was also honoured to be asked to provide four senior cadets to help facilitate the evening’s proceedings.

A huge congratulations to Samantha Morrison, Sophia MacDonald, Liam Melville, and Mathew Found, who stepped up superbly in their supporting roles and carried themselves with maturity and excellence.

We were incredibly proud to celebrate Rachael Hasluck, nominated as a Cadet Leader of the Year finalist, and Ezra Prinsloo, who was a finalist in the Cadet Achievement Award category.

Ezra also showcased outstanding leadership as one of the three Masters of Ceremonies for the entire evening, representing our program with confidence and professionalism.

The awards and nominations demonstrate the hard work and perseverance of the SHCC staff, who have been running the Cadets program for more than two decades since its inception under past staff member Mr Ron Whitnell in the early 2000s at the College.

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This week, we sat down with the Mundaring Christian College (MCC) student who swam through treacherous seas to save his mum and siblings.

“I let go of the kayak, took off the life jacket, it was all about my family,” said Austin during an interview with British television station ITV.

“Umm, you know, it was tiring. But, you know, just the motivation and, you know, singing, singing songs, praying prayers, hoping for the best, saying to yourself ‘not today’ and, yeah, just keep on going.”

The story of the Appelbee rescue has been well-documented by numerous print, radio and television stations across the globe.

• Mum and the three children rented paddleboards and a kayak from their resort in Broadwater near Busselton, about 250km south of Perth.
• When no one came to rescue them, Austin’s mother, Joanne Appelbee, asked her eldest son to swim back to shore to get help while she tried to calm her other children, 12-year-old Beau and 8-year-old Grace, who were clinging to paddleboards.
• Austin’s remarkable four-kilometre swim made news around the world, with rescuers praising his “superhuman” efforts to save his family.
• The family was eventually rescued after an estimated 10 hours in the ocean, after Austin ran 2km from the beach where he came ashore to find his mother’s phone so he could make the Triple Zero call.

Media throngs outside the gates of the family’s Gidgegannup home have meant that the semi-rural homestead has seen more traffic and television cameras than ever before, and the emails and texts have been relentless.

The family have given much of their time to answering journalistic questions, with school life, Cadets and Youth Group at DreamBuilders church also filling their busy schedule.

“I have a really chill friend group”, said Austin.

“When the news got out, one of my friends, Hamish, said, ‘Oh, he swam four kilometres, yeah, that’s pretty good, but I solved a Rubik’s Cube!’”

“We make these jokes along the way, and, you know, like, school is one of my safe places, to be honest. Friends have been treating me well. And then, you know, obviously, public, that’s a whole different environment. And, Youth Group is a very safe place for me.”

Perhaps the most enjoyable part of this newfound fame has been the opportunity to meet sporting great Jake Waterman from the West Coast Eagles football club this week, along with mum and the family, at Mineral Resources Park (the Eagles’ headquarters and training ground).

While touring the practise facility and taking in the weights room and the club’s swimming pool, Jake Waterman remarked, ‘Maybe Austin could give us some swimming lessons in there!’ to the laughter and applause of the players and family.

Through all of this, the family has received support from anonymous GoFundMe donors, recognition from the WA Governor, the Irish Consulate and a donation of frequent flyer points from Qantas. 

Mundaring Christian College has also worked in consultation with the SCEA Central Office and DreamBuilders church staff to provide as much support as possible for the Appelbee family.

In a recent interview on 98.5 Sonshine radio, Austin spoke about the event with the two radio hosts who asked about his prayer while swimming:

“I said – Lord, give me strength. And obviously that happened. I said The Lord’s Prayer. I have a really good Youth Group leader – Tallis Dumbleton – and he teaches me how to pray. That’s really helped me out.”

“I’m now trying to get to church every week. I’d like to get baptised. But people are already joking that I was baptised during that long swim.”

While mum Joanne is happy that Austin has met his favourite football player this week, she is looking forward to life returning to normal soon:

“He’s been waiting forever for this [the West Coast Eagles visit], but I’m hoping that things might settle now.”

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As well as studying in the Electrical Pre-Apprenticeship at STTC, William is a committed member of the Stoneville Volunteer Bush Fire Brigade – a calling that he has followed since he was 15. 

He has qualified as a Firefighter and has continued to serve his community with dedication.

Mrs Teneal Leaver, Head of the STTC, described William this week as a “hard-working guy with a great heart for those around him, and a person who will always keep trying until he achieves what he sets out to do“.

“He has a very strong work ethic, and he is very high-achieving. I can see clearly as to why he was the recipient of this award.”

William receiving his award with Shire President Ms Paige McNeill and Local Member of Parliament Mr Adam Hort MLA.

⁠

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However, there is a reason that we should learn them today, as they are the key to understanding how to access important parts of our professional roles (leave, pay, hours, etc.) and our security arrangements for the protection of this information.

SCEA’s Employee Self-Service system (ESS) allows you to apply for leave and check your pay slip.

With all of the recent requests for assistance with the Employee Self-Service (ESS) login, a step-by-step guide has been created for staff to follow.

Step 1 – Sign in to ESS

1. Go to: https://ess.myobpayglobal.com/SCEA

Enter your username and password and click Sign In. You can use the ‘Forgotten your password?’  link below your ESS sign in window if you have forgotten your password.

Should you have requested a reset from our Payroll or People department, an email will be sent to you with your ESS Login Username and Password. Please copy and paste these from your email to ESS.

Step 2 – Register for Multi-Factor Authentication

• You can choose one of the following methods:

Option 1 – Microsoft Authenticator App (Recommended)

1. Open the Microsoft Authenticator app on your phone
2. If you don’t have the app, install it on your phone by searching for Microsoft Authenticator in your phone’s app store (Apple App Store, Google Play Store etc)
3. Tap the QR code icon in the app to add a new account.
4. Scan the QR code displayed in ESS.
5. Enter the 6-digit code from the Authenticator app into ESS and click Confirm.

Option 2 – Email Verification

1. Click “Have no authenticator app? Register via Email” in ESS.
2. A one-time code will be sent to your work email address.
3. Enter this code into ESS and click Confirm.
4. Note: If you choose this option, future ESS access codes will be sent to your work email.

To ensure our records remain accurate and up to date, we ask that all staff please log into the ESS system and review the personal information currently recorded.

Maintaining accurate employee information is essential. It ensures we can contact you when necessary, meet compliance requirements, and respond appropriately in the event of an emergency. Incorrect or outdated information may impact communication and administrative processes.

Please take a few minutes to review your details and update them where required. A screenshot is included below to assist you in locating where this information can be found within ESS.

In particular, please review and update the following fields:

• Primary Address

• Other Address

• Phone

• Email

• Next of Kin

If you experience any issues accessing ESS or updating your information, please let us know by email at people@scea.wa.edu.au.

Thank you for all you do, as you bring your gifts, talents, and experience to our shared gospel mission.

The post ESS? MFA? This article is for those of us who need to learn how to login into SCEA’s Employee Self-Service system  appeared first on SCEA.