Thursday 28 to Friday 29 August 2025 Peppers Resort Marysville
Pre conference Welcome Event Wednesday 27 August 6:30pm—8:30pm
Thank You to our sponsors
ANNUAL CONFERENCE Reflect , Reframe and Reimagine 2025
Thursday 28 to Friday 29 August 2025
Welcome to the 2025 VCSSDPA Annual Conference!
It is my great pleasure to welcome you to Peppers, Marysville, for what promises to be an enriching and inspiring gathering of Deputy and Assistant Principals from Victorian Catholic Secondary Schools. Nestled in the breathtaking Yarra Valley, this venue offers the perfect setting for deep reflection, collaboration, and professional renewal.
This year, our theme—Reflect. Reframe. Reimagine.—calls us to centre wellbeing while elevating strategic leadership practice. As Deputy Principals, we hold pivotal roles as system leaders in a profession deeply rooted in human connection. This conference will challenge us to go beyond surface-level wellbeing and explore how we sustain strategic thinking, courageous decision-making, and adaptive leadership in an era of continuous change.
Through inspiring keynotes and high-quality workshops, we will engage with thoughtprovoking ideas and practical strategies that align leadership with school culture, mission, and vision. Beyond the sessions, I encourage you to take time to connect, share insights, and support one another in the vital work we do.
Thank you for being part of this community. I look forward to learning alongside you, exchanging ideas, and embracing new perspectives that will strengthen our leadership and our schools.
Enjoy the conference!
On behalf of the VCSSDPA Executive
Bernadette Donnelly
KEYNOTE SPEAKERS Thursday 28 August DAY 1
KATRINA BOURKE
Katrina is a leadership coach dedicated to supporting educators in fostering wellbeing, resilience, and professional growth. She supports individuals in reconnecting with their purpose and enhancing their leadership impact, while also helping school leaders develop clarity, confidence and sustainable leadership practices.
REFLECT – THE ‘WHAT’
Katrina will explore the importance of reflective and reflexive thinking. Katrina will share critical strategies to support leaders to find their Leadership Sacred Ground—a place where they can stay rooted in their values, navigate the demands of the role, and lead with authenticity. Through this keynote address we will understand the essence of Human Centered Leadership.
DR PAUL KIDSON
Paul is a Senior Lecturer in Educational Leadership at the Australian Catholic University. He has an extensive background in education, including 11 years as a school principal. His research focuses on school leadership, policy, and the challenges faced by principals, particularly in navigating complex professional environments.
REFRAME – THE ‘WHY’ – RESEARCH
Paul will share insights into current research based on the theme, “Care for yourself...to care for others: Strategies for sustaining effective leadership”. Paul will share a range of innovative strategies and essential principles for building strong, supportive, and thriving educational communities.
TRINA PITCHER
Trina is a psychologist, executive coach, and facilitator specializing in leadership development and personal growth. She is the founder of Flourishing Executives, where she helps individuals and teams unlock their full potential through coaching and tailored programs.
REIMAGINE – THE ‘HOW’
Trina’s keynote will focus on the how. How do we empower leaders, teams, and organisations to navigate challenges, build outstanding leadership, and flourish? Trina will explore evidence-based strategies that work to support and create confident, sustainable and healthy leaders who are able to navigate through adversity and change.
WORKSHOPS
KATRINA BOURKE
LIVING THE GROUNDED LEADERSHIP FRAMEWORK
Building on the insights from her keynote, Katrina Bourke leads this interactive workshop designed to bring the Grounded Leadership Framework to life in your daily practice.
Through guided exercises and meaningful discussion, participants will explore how grounded leadership anchors us—enabling us to lead with courage, compassion, and clarity. This session offers practical tools to support wellbeing, align with personal leadership values, and consistently show up as the leader you aspire to be.
Join Katrina to deepen your understanding, strengthen your leadership presence, and continue doing the good work that makes a lasting difference.
DR PAUL KIDSON
SPIRITUAL FOUNDATIONS FOR SUSTAINABLE LEADERSHIP
Join Associate Professor Paul Kidson for a deeply reflective workshop exploring how spiritual grounding can sustain and enrich your leadership.
Drawing on his extensive research, including his role in the Australian Principal Occupational Health, Safety, and Well-being Survey, Dr Kidson brings a unique perspective on what it means to lead with purpose in challenging times.
This session will examine how spiritual foundations can support sustainable leadership practices that foster wellbeing, resilience, and long-term flourishing. Grounded in both evidence and faith, this workshop offers Deputy Principals the opportunity to reconnect with their inner purpose and lead with strength from within.
TRINA PITCHER
DEEP DIVE INTO THE 7 ANCHORS’
Join leadership coach Trina Pitcher for a highly interactive workshop designed to strengthen and re-energise your leadership through the 7 Anchors framework.
Explore each anchor through guided self-reflection, small group discussions, and practical applications tailored to the unique challenges faced by Deputy Principals in Catholic schools. You’ll engage in reframing exercises to tackle current leadership issues, participate in coach-like conversations with peers, and reimagine your leadership practice through visioning and strategic planning.
Walk away with personal insights, renewed clarity, and a clear action plan anchored in purpose and possibility.
LIGHTNING TALKS
Since 2018, Lightning Talks have been a conference highlight, consistently praised as an invaluable opportunity for delegates to hear from other schools and engage in meaningful discussions. Each year, feedback affirms that these sessions remain a standout feature.
These dynamic sessions bring together Deputy Principals to exchange lived experiences and leadership expertise, offering practical strategies for navigating an evolving educational landscape. Aligned with our conference theme - Reflect. Reframe. Reimagine. - these talks highlight best practices that empower leaders to work more effectively, reclaim time, and prioritize personal and professional wellbeing.
We are grateful to members who share insights into their school’s work in connection with the conference theme. For new attendees, Lightning Talks follow a round-robin format at small tables (10–12 participants per table), allowing for concise presentations, takeaway materials, and interactive Q&A in an intimate setting - fostering collaboration and ongoing connections.
If you are willing to contribute this year, please indicate your interest on the registration form. A final list of topics will be published before the conference.
Celebrating the strength of peer learning, Lightning Talks provide actionable insights to help you reflect on your leadership, reframe challenges, and reimagine new possibilities with clarity and renewed confidence.
CLOSING KEYNOTE
Through our Keynote speakers, workshops, lightning talks, and shared conversations, we have been invited to reflect on our purpose, reframe the demands of leadership as opportunities for growth, and reimagine the kind of leaders we want, and need to be in Catholic education today.
This closing keynote will consolidate those insights and issue a call to action: to return to our schools not just recharged, but renewed in our vision, deeply anchored in purpose, and equipped with practical strategies to sustain our leadership journey.
Because when we lead well with clarity, courage and care, our schools, our staff, and our students truly flourish.
PROGRAM
PRE CONFERENCE WELCOME FUNCTION WEDNESDAY 27 AUGUST 6.30PM – 8.30PM
PROUDLY SUPPORTED BY
Join colleagues old and new for Canapes, Drinks and Four Pillars Gin Tasting (alcoholic & non-alcoholic varieties available)
DAY 1
Thursday 28 August
9.00AM PLENARY
Welcome to Country Prayer & Reflection Conference Opening Remarks
9.30AM KEYNOTE 1
Katrina Bourke REFLECT – THE ‘WHAT’
10.30AM MORNING TEA/TRADE SHOW
11.00AM KEYNOTE 2
Dr Paul Kidson
REFRAME – THE ‘WHY’ – RESEARCH
12.00PM KEYNOTE 3
Trina Pitcher
REIMAGINE – THE ‘HOW’
1.00PM LUNCH/TRADE SHOW
1.45PM WORKSHOPS
Katrina Bourke
Dr Paul Kidson
Trina Pitcher
2.45PM AFTERNOON TEA/TRADE SHOW
3.15PM WORKSHOPS (REPEATED)
Katrina Bourke
Dr Paul Kidson
Trina Pitcher
4.30PM NEW DPS/APS CATCH UP
5.45 MASS
6.30PM PRE- DINNER DRINKS
7.00PM CONFERENCE DINNER
DAY 2
Friday 29 August
9.00AM PLENARY
Welcome Prayer & Reflection
9.30AM LIGHTNING TALKS
Topics to be advised
10.30AM VCSSDPA AGM
11.00AM MORNING TEA/TRADE SHOW
11.30AM CLOSING KEYNOTE
12.30PM CLOSING REMARKS
1.00PM LUNCH
Thursday 28 to Friday 29 August 2025
PEPPERS MARYSVILLE
32/34 MURCHISON STREET
MARYSVILLE, VIC 3779