TASMANIAN POLITICS
White stands down
15 May 2021
Rebecca White has announced she will not recontest the Labor leadership, endorsing David O'Byrne to fill the position. 

TASMANIAN ELECTION
Brooks resigns
14 May 2021
Newly-elected Braddon Liberal candidate Adam Brooks has said he will resign today. Fellow Liberal Felix Ellis is likely to be elected on a recount to replace him.

FEDERAL BUDGET
Budget reply
ABC News, 13 May 2021
The Opposition leader, Anthony Albanese, has presented Labor's Budget Reply speech.

TASMANIAN ELECTION
Liberals win
12 May 2021
Peter Gutwein's Liberal government has won a third term, achieving 13 seats in the 25-seat House of Assembly, with the slight chance of a fourteenth seat.

FEDERAL BUDGET
Budget latest
ABC News, 11 May 2021
The Treasurer, Josh Frydenberg, has delivered the 2021-22 Federal Budget.

RACISM EDUCATION
The pedagogies of discomfort
The Conversation (opinion by Niranjan Casinader), 10 May 2021
In teaching students about racism, students need to experience certain levels of discomfort, an academic says.

STUDENT SUPPORT
Girls can have ADHD too
The Conversation (opinion by Rachael Murrihy), 7 May 2021

As ADHD symptoms can appear differently in girls they are often overlooked by teachers.

GEOGRAPHY
Uncertain borders common in history
The Conversation (opinion by Imogen Wegman), 6 May 2021

A Belgian farmer who unwittingly altered the Belgium-France border with his tractor has sparked a discussion of the variety of ways countries' border lines have been unclear in the past.

LANGUAGES OTHER THAN ENGLISH
Second languages foreign to Tassie students
The Conversation (opinion), 6 May 2021

Policy on studying a second language varies widely in Australia. Tasmanian students are not required to study a second language.

SPORT AND STUDENT SAFETY
Focus on sports brain injury in women
The Conversation (opinion by Shreya Mcleod and James F. Donnelly), 5 May 2021

Brain injury such as the concussion suffered by sportspeople can affect women and men differently, two researchers say.
(The image is of Jacinda Barclay whose brain was donated for concussion research.)

ABORIGINAL SETTLEMENT
Many millions lived here long ago
The Conversation (opinion), 30 Apr 2021

The ancient land mass consisting of New Guinea, the Australian mainland and Tasmania, which you probably were unaware was called Sahul, contained a much larger population than most people imagine, several researchers claim.

ABORIGINAL SETTLEMENT
Early Indigenous routes mapped
The Conversation (opinion), 30 Apr 2021

Researchers have mapped the routes believed to have been followed by Australia's earliest Indigenous people before the Tasmania and New Guinea land links were lost.

AUSTRALIAN CURRICULUM
Invasion allowed, tables delayed
The Conversation (opinion by Stewart Riddle), 30 Apr 2021

Proposed changes to the Australian Curriculum unsurprisingly allow for the British settlement of Australia to be referred to as the "Invasion", but surprisingly postpone the introduction of times tables to Year 4.

TASMANIAN ELECTION
Liberals likely winner
2 May 2021
The Liberal government led by Peter Gutwein appears to have won the Tasmanian state election.
ABC Tasmanian election page
Tasmanian Electoral Commission progressive results:
- State election
- Legislative Council

TASMANIAN ELECTION
What are the education policies?
29 Apr 2021
Here are the three major parties' education policies for this Saturday's Tasmanian State election.

LIBERAL:
- Education and schools
- TAFE extra
- School lunches
LABOR:
- Education
GREENS:
- Ensuring quality public education

TASMANIAN ELECTION
Parties' election policies 
29 Apr 2021
These are the main election policy pages of the three major parties:
- Greens
- Labor
- Liberal

NUMERACY
Make early maths more engaging
The Conversation (opinion by John Fischetti), 28 Apr 2021
Skills learnt in maths lessons have a lasting impact on students' lives, an academic says.
Tasmania is the only state where maths is compulsory at every year level.

SEX EDUCATION
No consent from Feds over videos
ABC News, 20 Apr 2021

Two consent education videos using metaphors that few people understood have been withdrawn by federal education authorities.
Consent videos bizarre and confusing, The Conversation (opinion by Amanda Kiddie), 20 Apr 2021
Five good sex education videos, The Conversation (opinion by Louise Moana Kolff), 22 Apr 2021
Using books and movies as sex education starting points, The Conversation (opinion by Elizabeth Little), 26 Apr 2021

MEDIA LITERACY
Teach media literacy in  schools
The Conversation (opinion), 14 Apr 2021
Four out of five people say schools should be teaching media literacy to their students, a survey shows.

STUDENT SUPPORT
Attach ADHD label with extreme care
The Conversation (opinion by Luise Kazda), 13 Apr 2021
Classifying borderline ADHD cases as confirmed cases can do more harm than good, particularly in the case of students who are among the youngest in their class, a researcher says.

BULLYING
Recognise sexual bullying
The Conversation (opinion by Barbara Spears), 12 Apr 2021
Sexual bullying, particularly among girls, has often been overlooked in the past. It needs to be specifically identified and acted upon, a researcher says.

WEATHER ALERT
Damaging winds on way
BoM website, 13 Apr 2021
Winds gusting to in excess of 100 km/h across Tasmania, apart from areas of the central north and north-west coast, are expected to commence tonight (Tuesday) and continue tomorrow.
BoM warnings
Power outages
Road closures (Police)
SES
The Mercury website

WORLD NEWS
Duke of Edinburgh dies
ABC News, 9 Apr 2021
Prince Philip, the Duke of Edinburgh, has died at the age of 99.
BBC News website

THE CURRICULUM
Teach use of auto writing tools
The Conversation (opinion), 9 Apr 2021
Artificial intelligence writing tools have a bad name for enabling students to cheat when they should be composing their own essays, but an academic says there are other purposes schools should teach students how to use them for.

THE CORONAVIRUS
School closure traffic light system mooted
The Conversation (opinion), 31 Mar 2021
To reduce the number of coronavirus-prompted snap school closures, a traffic light warning system should implemented, five experts suggest. 

EQUALITY OF OPPORTUNITY
Good schooling can overcome neighbourhood disadvantage
The Conversation (opinion by Divyangana Rakesh and Sarah Whittle), 29 Mar 2021

Disadvantaged neighbourhoods can adversely affect children's cognitive function and mental health, two researchers say.

FEDERAL POLITICS
Federal Cabinet renewed
ABC News, 29 Mar 2021
Prime Minister Scott Morrison has announced a new Cabinet and a new set of Ministers, with an increase in the number of women Ministers in Cabinet.

TASMANIAN POLITICS
Early election for Tasmania confirmed
ABC News, 26 Mar 2021
The Premier, Peter Gutwein, has announced that Tasmania will have a state election on 1 May 2021.

MOBILE PHONES POLICY
Phone bans work
The Conversation (opinion by Louis Philippe Beland), 22 Mar 2021
Research shows that banning mobile phones in schools certainly can improve academic performance, an academic says.

TASMANIAN SCHOOLS
New kindy for Lilydale
Tas Govt media release, 15 Mar 2021
Lilydale District School now has a new kindergarten which cost $1.4 million, education minister Jeremy Rockliff has announced.

WESTERN AUSTRALIA
Surprise, surprise. Landslide win in WA election
ABC News, 14 Mar 2021
Premier Mark McGowan has led Labor to a stunning victory in the WA state election.

LITERACY
New literacy target for Tassie kids
Tas Govt media release, 12 Mar 2021
By 2030, no Tasmanian Year 7 child will have a reading standard below the national minimum expected standard, education Minister Jeremy Rockliff has promised.
Statement on new literacy targetd

VICTORIAN POLITICS
Vic premier Daniel Andrews in intensive care
ABC News, 9 Mar 2021
Victoria's premier, Daniel Andrews, is in intensive care with broken ribs and damaged vertebrae following a fall at his home this morning.

TASMANIAN SCHOOLS
Consultation over South Hobart Primary begins
Tas Govt media release, 1 Mar 2021
A four-week community consultation has begun over future plans for South Hobart Primary in light of the growing number of student enrolments at the school.

News continued in the
February 2021 news archive
See also the News archive index

TASMANIAN FIRES For updated alerts, see:

See also our

 
Term dates alert
Some commercially published calendars and diaries are displaying the INCORRECT DATES for the end of Term 1 and the start of Term 2 2021 in Tasmanian schools. See our Term dates page for more information.

TASMANIAN HISTORY
Beatties Studio photos

Thousands of Beatties Studio photos of early Tasmania are being placed online.

CORONAVIRUS

Schools, children and COVID-19
What we know about children and COVID, outbreaks in schools and what to do. 

Events Framework
"A Framework for COVID-19 Safe Activities and Events in Tasmania"

FACE MASKS
Which mask should I wear?
Surgical mask, cloth mask or bandana? (The Conversation, 10 Jul 2020).

FACE MASKS
Which way round?
Don't wear your face mask inside out. (smartairfilters.com ).

FACE MASKS
How to make a cloth face mask

Instructions on how to make a face mask, and related issues (The Conversation,  7 Jul 2020)

CORONAVIRUS
ABC Coronavirus Story Streams

Tas Govt Coronavirus site - Media releases - Dept of Health Facebook page Coronavirus information (Tas DHHS) Coronavirus (COVID-19) (Aust Govt Dept of Health)

State of Emergency extended (Tas Govt media release, 9 Jul 2020)

Extra Tas border restrictions (Tas Govt media release, 8 Jul 2020)

Roadmap to Recovery (Tas)

COVIDSafe app
Read about the COVIDSafe app and download it free from the Apple or Google app store.

North west outbreak report [pdf]
(Tas Govt website, 30 Apr 2020)

ONLINE GAME
Social Distance Dash

In this free online coronavirus safety game for kids, the aim is to deliver a roll of toilet paper to your grandmother while keeping 1.5 metres away from others and collecting as much hand sanitiser as you can. Page shows a video demo at the top. Scroll down for computer or mobile version.

CORONAVIRUS
Dramatic handwashing demo

A simple experiment using black pepper and water hammers home to students the powerful effect soap has when they use it to wash their hands. (From metro.co.uk)

ABC Education: Online learning resources

ABC Coronavirus news stories pages

COVID-19 Cyber security tips for when working from home

The Conversation's COVID-19 articles

Google's COVID-19 resource

The articles from The Conversation that were previously listed here may be found on The Conversation's special COVID-19 page

New sites (cont'd)

ANIMAL WELFARE
Horse racing animal welfare puzzles

Melbourne Cup activities?
New crossword and word find puzzles with a horse racing animal welfare theme are available on ausclassroom.com.

MEMORY AND LEARNING
Learning tips for revising students

(From Amina Youssef-Shalala, The Conversation, 7 Oct 2019)

TASMANIAN ABORIGINAL HISTORY
How early Tasmanian Aboriginals influenced the landscape

Archaeological research suggests that the nature of land and whether it was close to the coast was more important to Tasmanian Aboriginals than vegetation type.
(From The Conversation, 4 Oct 2019)

Beach safety top tips

Book a lifeguard

DINOSAURS
TMAG dinosaur exhibition
Fri 7 Dec 2018 - Sun 5 May 2019

The Dinosaur rEvolution (not a typo) exhibition at the Tasmanian Museum and Art Gallery uses animatronics and 3D models.
There are entry fees.
See also the school bookings page.

TASMANIAN HISTORY
Hobart's coastal defences

Several gun batteries were built on the shores of Hobart's River Derwent in the nineteenth century.

TASMANIAN ABORIGINAL CULTURE
The Orb
Outstanding quality short videos and other teaching materials to give students of all ages an appreciation of Tasmanian Aboriginal culture.
See also the DoE's The Orb web page

More new and useful sites in the
Useful sites archive