PERTH, June 18 - More than 100 former boarders at Western Australia’s state-run country high school hostels have applied for ex-gratia payments for alleged sexual abuse between 1960 and 2006. The Country High School Hostels ex-gratia scheme was created last year following the Blaxell inquiry, which examined historical abuse at St Andrew’s Hostel in Katanning, [...]
News
Sandwich thrower dealt with by school
CANBERRA, May 31 – The schoolboy embroiled in the latest sandwich-throwing incident involving Prime Minister Julia Gillard has been dealt with in-house at his Canberra high school. The Prime Minister was visiting Lyneham High School on Thursday when a salami sanger was lobbed her way. While Gillard was quick to dismiss the incident, it quickly [...]
Premier reassured NSW schools not dudded
SYDNEY, June 13 – Premier Barry O’Farrell is being reassured New South Wales hasn’t been dudded by the Gillard government’s increased schools funding offer to Western Australia. Federal Education Minister Peter Garrett said the deal for $3.27 billion in commonwealth funds NSW signed off on in April still stands and “so do the benefits for [...]
No movement in NT on schools funding
DARWIN, May 8 – Federal Education Minister Peter Garrett is leaving the Northern Territory without convincing the jurisdiction to sign on to a new funding deal. Garrett has urged the NT Government to put politics aside and agree to the new schools funding package that would see the jurisdiction receive about $300 million for schools [...]
Newman leaves Qld school to talk politics
NARANGBA, June 13 – Queensland Premier Campbell Newman has taken the extraordinary step of holding separate press conferences, one inside school grounds and the other outside the gates, to prove he’s not politicking in schools. The line has been drawn - the federal election campaign and the Gonski education reforms are taboo in Queensland’s public schools. [...]
SA signs on to Gonski deal
CANBERRA, June 14 - South Australia has signed up to the Federal Government’s schools funding package, which will deliver $1.1 billion in extra funding to the state over six years. The state’s public schools will receive $717 million in new funding under the plan, with $197 million for the Catholic school sector and $186 million for [...]
Tasmania stalls on Gonski reforms
HOBART, June 14 – The only Labor premier yet to sign up to the Gonski school reforms has cast doubt on whether an agreement can be reached by the deadline. Tasmanian Premier Lara Giddings said she needs more engagement from the prime minister on her state’s concerns and more information on the legislation enacting the [...]
Vic wants more time on school funding deal
MELBOURNE, June 17 – The Victorian Government wants more time to negotiate a deal with the commonwealth on school funding reforms. South Australia, New South Wales and the ACT have agreed to the Federal Government’s plan, but time is running out for the other jurisdictions to get on board before the June 30 deadline. Victorian [...]
Former WA boarders apply for compensation
PERTH, June 18 - More than 100 former boarders at Western Australia’s state-run country high school hostels have applied for ex-gratia payments for alleged sexual abuse between 1960 and 2006. The Country High School Hostels ex-gratia scheme was created last year following the Blaxell inquiry, which examined historical abuse at St Andrew’s Hostel in Katanning, [...]
Truck hits Mexico teacher protest, 7 dead
MORELIA, Mexico, June 13 – Authorities in western Mexico say a tanker truck carrying tar has slammed into a highway toll booth that had temporarily been taken over by protesting teachers. They say seven people are dead and another 14 injured. Most of the dead and injured are believed to be teachers who have been [...]
Opinion
Teacher wellbeing benefits all
HEALTH and wellbeing is a vital part of any school, and so it is important that teachers, leaders, and other staff members receive support in this area, not just students. Principals Institute Australia offers a Staff Matters component to its popular MindMatters mental health initiative for secondary schools, but it is clear that there is [...]
How enthusiasm impacts others
I WAS at a training seminar recently and came across a video (actually DVD to be correct and not show my age) showing how a fish market in Seattle, Washington does business. The DVD is titled FISH! The lively, energetic staff, live and work by four principles. These four principles turned a mundane, smelly place [...]
Teacher wellbeing benefits all
HEALTH and wellbeing is a vital part of any school, and so it is important that teachers, leaders, and other staff members receive support in this area, not just students. Principals Institute Australia offers a Staff Matters component to its popular MindMatters mental health initiative for secondary schools, but it is clear that there is [...]
Gonski a once-in-a-generation opportunity for lasting reform
Dr David Zyngier, senior lecturer, Faculty of Education, Monash University HERE’S a fact that may not surprise you: the children of the rich perform better in school, on average, than children from middle-class or poor families. Students growing up in richer families have better grades and higher test scores, on average, than poorer students; they [...]
Classroom
Ideas to bring South East Asia to life
Q. I need to teach my middle primary class about South East Asian countries, without making it seem dull and boring. Any good ideas? A. It can be challenging to bring content about other countries to life, particularly if you don’t have a great deal of background knowledge yourself. Learning about South East Asian countries [...]
Warrae Wanni’s strong foundations
EXPERTS agree that the first five years of a child’s life is a crucial time for developing social, intellectual and emotional growth. So, in an effort to ensure that all their students begin their primary school journeys on an equal footing, Muswellbrook South Public School runs the Warrae Wanni program, with the intention of getting [...]
My Open Day here to help
AS we head into Open Day season, your students will no doubt be spending their weekends ‘window shopping’ at various tertiary institutions. But Open Days, especially at large universities, can be overwhelming, and while the beer appreciation society is no doubt an interesting feature of uni life, there is much more important information students should [...]
Upbeat spin on pastoral care role
YEAR 12 can be a stressful time, so to give students a well deserved break from academic studies Jarryd Roland runs some light-hearted activities during his pastoral care lessons. Cooking breakfast together and enjoying a game of Play-Doh Pictionary allows the Marrara Christian College teacher to get to know his students on a more personal [...]
PD
Focus on staff wellbeing
THERE’S lots of professional development out there on the topic of student health and wellbeing, but when was the last time your school extended the focus to staff wellbeing? “It’s hard to teach kids about resilience when you’re not feeling resilient yourself,” Tracy Zilm, of Principals Australia Institute (PAI), tells Australian Teacher Magazine. Zilm is [...]
Australian Teachers of Media (ATOM)
THE study of media is one of the most important disciplines in any 21st Century curriculum. We teach our children to read books, we must also teach them to read the media. The Australian Teachers of Media (ATOM) plays a pivotal role in media education in Australia. ATOM is active at a state level and [...]
Focus on staff wellbeing
THERE’S lots of professional development out there on the topic of student health and wellbeing, but when was the last time your school extended the focus to staff wellbeing? “It’s hard to teach kids about resilience when you’re not feeling resilient yourself,” Tracy Zilm, of Principals Australia Institute (PAI), tells Australian Teacher Magazine. Zilm is [...]
Technology
Screen shots: Film & photos
EACH month, the Technology in Education section of Australian Teacher Magazine focuses on three education-related websites.
The theme for July is Film and Photos.
Newsletters going digital
Q. How do I produce a newsletter that is cheap to create, impressive and easily accessible? A. As schools move towards implementing digital classrooms, using Learning Management Systems and mobile apps to communicate with parents and students, it is only natural for the schools to begin questioning the role of their current printed newsletter. The [...]
Screen shots: Film & photos
EACH month, the Technology in Education section of Australian Teacher Magazine focuses on three education-related websites.
The theme for July is Film and Photos.
Flipped learning great tool
AFTER reading about the success of flipped learning in schools around the world, maths teacher Wendy McCarry decided to give it a go with her students. The head of mathematics at Melbourne’s Ivanhoe Grammar School teaches Year 7 to 9 mixed ability classes and says the technique — where students view video lessons at home [...]
Careers
NEiTA winners top of tree
INSPIRATIONAL educators have been honoured for their leadership, innovation and community engagement at the National Excellence in Teaching Awards. Celebrating its 20th year, the NEiTA program is a chance for members of the wider community — including parent associations, student councils and school boards — to nominate teachers, principals and directors for their outstanding work. [...]
First Year Out
SHE may have only been teaching for a month or so, but Kimbalee Hodges’ passion for education is unmistakable. After being recognised as the highest achiever in her degree when she graduated earlier this year, Hodges was honoured with a University of Newcastle Faculty of Education and Arts medal. She landed a position at Hunter [...]
Clelland’s leadership approach winning fans
WHEN it comes to primary school principals, there are those with a hands-on approach – and then there’s Leonie Clelland. Last year’s WA Primary Principal of the Year is big on building relationships, to the extent that at her school of 550 students she knows every one of her students by name, greets them every [...]
Graduate Certificate a great chance to exercise creativity and artistry
WHETHER you’re a writer, a painter, a ceramicist, a photographer or simply keen to exercise your creative and artistic skills, one course at CQ University can cater specifically to your needs. The Graduate Certificate in Creative Industries (Creative Practice) is a completely project-based course, where students can choose an area of study and have a [...]
Report may raise eyebrows
TWENTY-SEVEN per cent of all students commence initial teacher education programs on the basis of their senior secondary results (or ATAR), while more than half of entrants enrol without an ATAR. These are just some of the findings released in AITSL’s first Initial Teacher Education Data Report. The report, which is envisaged to become an [...]