Catholic students from Maitland and Cessnock decorate their gates for child protection week

The entries will be assessed by a panel of judges including Hunter artist Mitch Revs by Friday, September 16, and winners are likely to be announced next week.

One primary and one secondary school will be named winners, and they will receive a great prize including a 10 square metre locally-themed mural, painted by Mitch Revs and designed in collaboration with students.

The Maitland and Cessnock schools are up against all the schools in the Catholic Diocese of Maitland-Newcastle, with 58 schools and 11 early education centres taking part.

In the news:

The schools used this year's National Child Protection Week theme 'every child in every community deserves a fair go' as inspiration for their designs.

National Child Protection Week is a campaign held annually across Australia to raise awareness of child abuse prevention. This year's campaign was held from September 4 to 10.

Check out the Maitland and Cessnock school's artist statements:

St John the Baptist Primary School, Maitland

Here at St John the Baptist, Maitland we believe that 'Every Child in Every Community Needs a Fair Go'. Together, children and our community members have designed a beautiful patch work quilt which symbolises our love and support of all children. We believe in wrapping the children up with care, kindness, belief, and support. The children have designed their own square of calico, using protective behaviour symbols and slogans. Each square has been joined together in class groups to symbolise our support of each other. All classes have then been joined together representing our whole school and community and the belief that all children in all communities need a fair go.

St Joseph's College, Lochinvar

The Sisters of St Joseph and St Mary of the Cross MacKillop are integral figures within our college community as people who epitomise this year's theme "every child, in every community, needs a fair go". Surrounded by the meadows and mountains of Lochinvar, the Sisters of St Joseph were inspired by Mary MacKillop and determined to ensure all children in our community were supported, safe and felt a sense of belonging where they were given access to an education grounded in faith and centered around a genuine love and care for others. Our college continues to live out our Josephite Charism through our three College Pillars of Strength, Faith and Hope - all of the essential components needed for our young people to learn, grow and thrive.

St Bede's Catholic College, Chisholm

Students are very proud of their work and we hope you enjoy our representation of safeguarding, identity, community and protection.

St Aloysius Primary School, Chisholm

The hands resemble that we are 'called to serve' which is part of our school song. The river and the house colours show that we are all connected and that we all matter. The tree resembles new growth. We coloured the people different colours to show that we are all different, but we are all still beautiful in our own way and we all get a fair go. The cross shows Jesus and that he is always with us. The sun shines down and makes everything bright. The heart shows that we all love each other no matter what has happened.

St Patrick's Primary School, Cessnock

Our artwork symbolises any person; male, female, parent, carer, teacher or coach whoever it is who supports, guides, nurtures or mentors the children in our community. It encompasses our values and beliefs here at St Patrick's and was a collaborative effort by students and staff.

Rosary Park Catholic School, Branxton

At Rosary Park, we focused on the idea of "shining a light on child protection", using solar powered fairy lights to light up our display at night. We represented our school community through the houses and buildings, including our local church, which are labelled with the six pillars of Mercy. As a Mercy school, everything we do within our school is based on these pillars, with each grade assigned to a certain pillar. By integrating this, it promotes further discussion of these pillars and allows children to connect them to ideas such as child protection.

Families and staff were invited to create a spoon to add to the display after engaging in a meaningful conversation about child protection. This allowed the opportunity for our whole community, children, staff and parents alike to participate in the process, creating a spoon that uniquely represented themselves. They were able to express their creativity, and celebrate their individuality and diverse background. This gave all children a "fair go" and a feeling of empowerment as they were asked to be an essential part of the display.

St Paul's Primary School, Rutherford

At St Paul's Rutherford, we believe that 'Every Child In Every Community Needs Fair Go'. All students are represented in our artwork. The students decorated windows and buildings drawing pictures of themselves. Our St Paul's church is at the front of the artwork symbolising at the heart of everything we do there is always Jesus Christ. The wedge tailed eagle (Kawal) is there to watch over the Wonnarua People throughout the Hunter Valley. The students loved being part of decorating our school gates and were really excited to see the idea come together.