TasLearnNewsArchive

News for Tasmanian Teachers

 

Archive for June 2011

   See the MAIN PAGE for the latest news


SCHOOL CLOSURES
McKim sneaking into schools, says Ferguson
Michael Ferguson website, 30 June 2011
The education minister is giving school association presidents less than 24 hours notice of his visits to schools...

SCHOOL CLOSURES
Angry Glenora parents confront McKim
ABC Online, 30 June 2011
The Minister for Education and Skills, Nick McKim, has begun visiting schools on the closure hit-list...

SCHOOL CLOSURES
McKim challenges Libs on BER funds
Tas Govt media release, 29 June 2011
Minister for Education and Skills Nick McKim has called on State opposition education spokesman Michael Ferguson to say whether he supports Federal  spokesman Christopher Pyne's call for BER funds to be repaid...

SCHOOL CLOSURES
Fed Libs lobby for the 20 schools 
ABC Online, 29 June 2011
Federal opposition education spokesman Christopher Pyne has criticised the state government for spending BER funds on schools that might be closed...

SCHOOL CLOSURES
Closing schools hits society's fabric 
The Mercury, 29 June 2011
The future of many rural and regional communities is at stake in the school closure debate, writes, Professor David Adams, Social Inclusion Commissioner for Tasmania...

SCHOOL CLOSURES
Government school numbers declining 
The Advocate, 29 June 2011
The number of students in government schools has declined by 2300 since 2007, with a leak of 150 per year to private schools...

SCHOOL CLOSURES
$26m worth of schools 
The Mercury, 29 June 2011
The government has detailed the valuations of all the school properties on the school closure hit-list...

NATIONAL CURRICULUM
Victoria rebels against National Curriculum 
The Age, 29 June 2011
The Victorian government is refusing to give up control over critical curriculum areas such as languages...

DIGITAL LITERACY
Computer home use beats the classroom for digital reading skills
oecd,.org, 28 June 2011
Boys have relatively stronger digital reading skills than print reading skills...

SCHOOL CLOSURES
Closed minds in schools debate
The Mercury, 28 June 2011
The school closure debate raises many questions, writes Christopher Bantick...

GENDER-FREE EDUCATION
Swedish preschool neutralises stereotypes
SMH, 28 June 2011
A Stockholm preschool avoids gendered pronouns such as "him" and "her", and avoids gender-identified roles in activities...

SCHOOL CLOSURES
School capacity figures tabled
Tas Govt media release, 28 June 2011
The available capacity of all schools is monitored and an individual school will not close if there is insufficient capacity at the receiving schools, Minister for Education and Skills Nick McKim told a Budget Estimates Committee hearing today...

EDUCATION BUDGET
Minister rejects post-year 10 savings claim
Tas Govt media release, 28 June 2011
Education minister Nick McKim has rejected a Liberal claim that the education budget savings are related to post-year 10 financial deficits...

SCHOOL CLOSURES
Liberals' school closures released
Tas Govt media release, 28 June 2011
The Minister for Education and Skills, Nick McKim, today released a list of 30 schools and kindergartens the Liberals had closed when they were last in Government...

SCHOOL CLOSURES
Same impact reasons given to different schools
Michael Ferguson website, 28 June 2011
Opposition education spokesman Michael Ferguson says the "educational impact" information given to a number of different schools on the closure hit-list is the same for each school...

SCHOOL CLOSURES
Full legal advice not revelaed
Michael Ferguson website, 28 June 2011
Although Education and Skills minister Nick McKim has said his legal advice  on not having to repay BER funds is that “in broad terms, agreements between state and federal governments are not legally enforceable”, he is refusing to release the Solicitor-General's complete advice...

SCHOOL CLOSURES
'War of attrition' on small schools now
Michael Ferguson website, 28 June 2011
Every school is facing an annual review of whether it meets the closure criteria, opposition education spokesman Michael Ferguson says...

SCHOOL CLOSURES
Value of hit-list schools $26m
ABC Online, 28 June 2011
Education minister Nick McKim has told a budget estimates committee that the value of the hit-list schools is $26 million ...

SCHOOL CLOSURES
Meeting supports Warrane Primary
ABC Online, 28 June 2011
State and federal politicians, Clarence aldermen and parents have supported the fight to prevent the closure of Warrane Primary...

SCHOOL CLOSURES
Enormous disruption to vulnerable communities
The Mercury, 28 June 2011
Federal Labor MHR Dick Adams has called for the pain of Tasmania's education savings to be spread across all schools instead of vulnerable communities being picked on...

SCHOOL CLOSURES
101yo fights for Ringarooma
ABC Online, 27 June 2011
A 101 year old Ringarooma woman has launched a petition to save the local school from closure ...

SCHOOL CLOSURES
Planning issues bid to save Sandy Bay Infant
The Mercury, 27 June 2011
At tonight's Hobart City Council meeting Alderman Jeff Briscoe will raise the planning issues involved in closing Sandy Bay Infant...

SCHOOL CLOSURES
Staff silenced by directive
The Advocate, 27 June 2011
A Sprent Primary School teacher says a "principals guide" states that staff are not to talk to anyone about school closures...

SCHOOL CLOSURES
Greens senator's school closure pressures
ABC Online, 27 June 2011
Greens Senator Christine Milne opposed the closing of Meander Primary School in 1989...

ONLINE SAFETY
Teach 5yo's cyber-safety: Report
Computerworld, 24 June 2011
Early education and acceptable use agreements are among the keys to protecting young people online, a parliamentary report recommends...
- See the Interim Report of the Joint Select Committee on Cyber-Safety (High-Wire Act: Cyber-Safety and the Young), especially:
- Ch. 8 Schools (pdf)
- Ch. 9 Teachers (pdf)

ASTRONOMICAL EXCITEMENT
Asteroid tonight
PCMag, 25 June 2011
A small asteroid is due to pass close to the Earth on Monday night...
However, you'll need an 8-inch telescope to view its approach.

SCHOOL CLOSURES
Call for Christine Milne's support
Michael Ferguson website, 26 June 2011
Liberal education spokesman Michael Ferguson has called on Greens senator Christine Milne to support the schools at risk of being closed by Greens education minister Nick McKim...

EDUCATIONAL RESOURCES
edna to close
edna web page, last modified 21 June 2011
Education Network Australia (edna), the government-funded free online network for educators, is to wind down from 30 June and close by 30 September...

SCHOOL CLOSURES
Travel details call
ABC Online, 26 June 2011
The State Schools Parents and Friends Association has called for the government to release school closure criteria details, such as whether the bus travel times allow for the amount of time spent stopping...

SCHOOL CLOSURES
Thriving schools on hit list
The Advocate, 25 June 2011
Student numbers are growing at some of the schools on the closure list...

SCHOOL CLOSURES
Student input 'a waste of time', claims MLC
The Advocate, 25 June 2011
CHILDREN being drawn into the school closures debate makes MLC and ex- teacher Mike Gaffney decidedly uncomfortable...

SCHOOL CLOSURES
Kempton family would have to move
The Mercury, 25 June 2011
A Kempton Primary student's health condition means her family would have to move if the school is closed...

SCHOOL CLOSURES
Govt must detail the impact
The Examiner, 25 June 2011
Parents want the government to provide details of the impact of individual school closures instead of the burden being on school associations which are made up of volunteers... (Examiner stories usually expire after a day or so.)

EDUCATION BUDGET
School budgets to be slashed
The Examiner, 25 June 2011
Principals are being expected to find a way of providing the same services with 14 per cent less to spend in their discretionary budgets, after it was announced they would be frozen at 2010 levels... (Examiner stories usually expire after a day or so.)

SCAMS
Scam alert
Tas Govt media release, 24 June 2011
Minister for Consumer Protection Nick McKim has issued a warning about three scams that are currently being attempted on Tasmanians:
- fake email from the Tax Office
- discount holiday accommodation or travel vouchers
- remote access to your computer to remove a so-called virus...

SCHOOL CLOSURES
Liberal lifeline to schools
The Mercury, 24 June 2011
THE Opposition has introduced legislation that would save the 20 schools facing the axe, modelled on a 1989 attempt by then Greens state MP Christine Milne...

SCHOOL CLOSURES
Sprent Primary forms battle plan
The Advocate, 24 June 2011
More than 100 people attended a public meeting at Sprent Primary School last night...

SCHOOL CLOSURES
Burnie school fire restricted
The Advocate, 24 June 2011
Montello Primary School was just 10 minutes from total destruction...

SCHOOL CLOSURES
Concern over lengthy bus rides
The Advocate, 24 June 2011
FOUR-YEAR-OLDS could be forced to spend hours on a bus if school closures go ahead...

SCHOOL CLOSURES
Libs introduce Bill to delay closures
Michael Ferguson website, 23 June 2011
Opposition education spokesman Michael Ferguson has attempted to delay the school closures until the next election...

SCHOOL CLOSURES
Legal advice on BER money may be revealed
ABC online, 23 June 2011
Education minister Nick McKim is discussing with the Solicitor-General today whether to release legal advice that the federal government's BER funds spent on hit-list schools would not need to be returned...

SCHOOL CLOSURES
BER money refund fears
The Mercury, 23 June 2011
The State government's plan to close up to 20 schools is in tatters because federal stimulus payments would have to be returned, opposition leader Will Hodgman said yesterday.
Includes list of BER amounts spent at each of the 20 schools...

LEARNING TECHNOLOGY
Research into effectiveness of e-books
The Advocate, 23 June 2011
Tasmanian PhD student Katrina McNab is researching the effectiveness of using e-books compared to traditional texts...

SCHOOL CLOSURES
Tasmania to hang on to BER millions
The Australian, 23 June 2011
BER guidelines say the Commonwealth has the "right to repayment" if infrastructure costing more than $75,000 is sold or "ceases to be used principally for the approved purpose", but Tasmania has obtained advice it can legally refuse to repay the federal funds...

SCHOOL CLOSURES
Principals as spin doctors
The Advocate, 23 June 2011
School principals are being used as "spin doctors" to sell the government's budget cutbacks message, opposition deputy leader Jeremy Rockliff says...

HEALTH EDUCATION
Drug education more accessible
Tas Govt media release, 22 June 2011
The Minister for Health, Michelle O'Byrne, today launched the Drug Education Network's new resource centre and website at www.den.org.au...

SCHOOL CLOSURES
Criteria for closure research sources released
Tas Govt media release, 22 June 2011
The Minister for Education and Skills, Nick McKim, has provided a list of research sources used in developing the criteria for assessing schools for possible closure...

SCHOOL CLOSURES
No return of BER funding: Minister
Tas Govt media release, 22 June 2011
Education minister Nick McKim says that the Building the Education Revolution funds spent on schools that he closes need not be returned to the Commonwealth...

SCHOOL CLOSURES
School closure bill from Feds looms
ABC Online, 22 June 2011
The state Government may get a multi-million dollar bill from the Commonwealth if it closes any of the 20 earmarked schools, all of which received BER funds...

SCHOOL CLOSURES
Sandy Bay Infant closure means more buildings at Waimea Heights
ABC Online, 22 June 2011
Education minister Nick McKim said in Parliament today that money would have to be spent expanding other schools if the planned school closures go ahead...

SCHOOL CLOSURES
School selection began months ago
The Mercury, 22 June 2011
THE government began lining up schools for closing more than three months ago...

STUDENT SAFETY
Alarm over knives in school
The Mercury, 22 June 2011
A suspension rate of one student a fortnight for knife-related incidents has prompted a call for schools to consider bag checks or screening...

SCHOOL CLOSURES
School closure plans a joke
The Australian, 21 June 2011
Education minister Nick McKim says BER-funded closed schools will be gifted to the local community but opposition education spokesman Michael Ferguson argues there will be no community left to use the facilities...

OPPOSITION'S BUDGET
Libs unveil alternative budget
The Mercury, 21 June 2011
THE state's high schools will continue to Year 12 within a decade and no schools would be forced to close, under the Liberals' alternative budget announced today...

OPPOSITION'S BUDGET
Libs promise to save schools from closure
Michael Ferguson website, 21 June 2011
The Liberals will save the 20 schools that Labor and the Greens want to close, Shadow Minister for Education and Skills Michael Ferguson says...

OPPOSITION'S BUDGET
Year 7-12 high schools within a decade
Will Hodgman website, 21 June 2011
Under a Liberal government Tasmanian high schools will include years 11 and 12 within a decade but existing colleges will not be closed or sold, opposition leader Will Hodgman said today...

SCHOOL CLOSURES
McKim will visit hit-list schools
The Examiner, 21 June 2011
Education Minister Nick McKim has vowed to visit each of the 20 schools earmarked for closure...

PRIVATE SCHOOL CUTS
Warrane plans to fight
The Mercury, 21 June 2011
CLOSING Warrane Primary School would rip the heart out of the community, a school parent said yesterday...

SCHOOL CLOSURES
Collinsvale fights for its school
ABC Online, 21 June 2011
Collinsvale residents are fighting to save their school from the Government's razor. Includes link to TV news report on criteria for closure ...

SCHOOL CLOSURES
Criteria for closure

The criteria for closing a school are contained in the document Renewing Our Education System: School Closures Policy (Word doc)

SCHOOL CLOSURES
No plans by Minister to visit schools
The Examiner, 21 June 2011
Education Minister Nick McKim is not planning to have on-site meetings at the 20 schools on the closure list... (Examiner stories usually expire after a day or so.)

SCHOOL CLOSURES
Three relevant websites:

Web page:
Tassie schools fighting for survival

(Owner: ABC.)

Facebook page:
Please Keep Our Tasmanian Schools Open

(Facebook login required. Owner: Ald. Rob Soward)

Facebook page:
936 ABC Hobart

(Owner: ABC. A few closure contributions.)

SCHOOL CLOSURES
Closure consultation process announced
Tas Govt media release, 20 June 2011
The Minister for Education and Skills, Nick McKim, has outlined how communities will be supported through the consultation process on possible school closures...

SCHOOL CLOSURES
School communities prepare for battle
ABC Online, 20 June 2011
The AEU has attacked the government's plan to target small schools for closure under criteria developed by the Department of Education...

SCHOOL CLOSURES
Experts speak on school closures
ABC Online, 20 June 2011
Education expert Professor Marie Brennan from Victoria University and Queensland literacy expert Dr Carol Christensen speak to comedy expert Michael Veitch about the consequences of closing schools... (AUDIO)

SCHOOL CLOSURES
Details of consultation process tomorrow
DoE website, 20 June 2011
Minister for Education and Skills Nick McKim says he will provide more details on the schools closure consultation process tomorrow...

SCHOOL CLOSURES
Hit-list schools fight back
The Mercury, 20 June 2011
Emergency P & F meetings, petitions, protests and Facebook pages are being organised in the battle to save schools from closure...

SCHOOL CLOSURES
Document reveals criteria for closure
The Examiner, 20 June 2011
CRITERIA to determine which schools should close include a recommended minimum of 150 enrolments for primary schools and 300 for secondary and combined schools... (saved copy)

SCHOOL CLOSURES
Communties fight for schools
The Examiner, 20 June 2011
REGIONAL schools must be quarantined from closure, says MLC Greg Hall....

SCHOOL CLOSURES
Sprent pupil writes to Premier
The Advocate, 20 June 2011
A nine-year-old Sprent Primary student has asked Premier Lara Giddings to justify closing her school...

SCHOOL CLOSURES
Closure reasons inconsistent
Michael Ferguson website, 19 June 2011
The Premier and the Education Minister are at odds with each other as to why 20 Tasmanian schools will be forced to close, opposition education spokesperson Michael Ferguson says....

SCHOOL CLOSURES
Closures process criticised
ABC Onlne, 19 June 2011
Upper House member Greg Hall fears the school closure consultation period of four weeks is too short. However, education minister Nick McKim says the four weeks is just the start...

STUDENT DISCIPLINE, LEGAL DECISIONS
Cornrows ban was discrimination
Guardian (UK), 17 June 2011
A British school's blanket ban of the 'cornrows' hair style because of its association with gang culture was held to be 'indirect racial discrimination' in the case of a particular student for whom the style was a family cultural tradition and therefore for whom an exception should have been made...

SCHOOL CLOSURES
Calls to save Meander and Collinsvale as lifeline thrown
The Mercury, 18 June 2011
EDUCATION Minister Nick McKim yesterday vowed to reconsider closing any school which could put forward a convincing case for its survival...

SCHOOL CLOSURES
$13m spent on hit-list schools
The Advocate, 18 June 2011
The $13 million school hit-list BER projects were built for the local communities, not just students, says Braddon MP Sid Sidebottom...

SCHOOL CLOSURES
Closing schools is not the answer
Tas Times: TGFA, 17 June 2011
The impact of closing schools in rural communities  will be disproportionately more severe than closing city schools, the Tasmanian Farmers and Graziers Association says...

SCHOOL CLOSURES
Closures will decimate communities
Michael Ferguson website, 17 June 2011
Most of the 20 schools on the education minister’s hit list are the focal points in small regional communities which will be decimated when people move away from them, opposition education spokesman Michael Ferguson says...

SCHOOL CLOSURES
Closures could destroy rural industries
ABC Rural, 17 June 2011
Belinda Hazell from Tasmanian Women in Agriculture says the planned school closures would not only disrupt the students and their families but could have a significant economic impact on the rural industries in their areas...

SCHOOL CLOSURES
School closure consultation begins
Tas Govt media release, 17 June 2011
The Minister for Education and Skills, Nick McKim, said today he would consult with the school communities of each of the 20 schools proposed for closure and consider each school on a case by case basis...

COMPUTER SECURITY
Romance writers site linked with password leaks
thehackernews, 16 June 2011
The LulzSec password leak appears to involve users of writerspace.com, a website for romance writers. But there are others as well...

COMPUTER SECURITY
Vic, NSW, Qld passwords leaked
ABC Online, 17 June 2011
The first reports of Australian schools, universities and government departments whose passwords have been leaked by LulzSec involve people in three mainland states - but Tasmanians should maintain an alertness just in case...

TAS STATE BUDGET
Jobs, schools hit hard in Tas budget
ABC Online, 16 June 2011
School closures and increased class sizes are among measures announced by Tasmanian premier Lara Giddings today...

TAS STATE BUDGET
Schools being considered for closure
Tas Govt media release, 16 Jun 2011 (PDF file)
The Minister for Education and Skills, Nick McKim, said today a number of schools have been identified for possible closure as part of the State Government’s Renewing Our Education System program...

SCHOOLS CONSIDERED FOR CLOSURE:
Avoca Primary School
Bracknell Primary School
Collinsvale Primary School
Dover District High School – grade 4-10
Edith Creek Primary School
St Marys District High School - Fingal Campus
Franklin Primary School
Geilston Bay High School
Glenora District High School grade 7-10
Goodwood Primary School
Kempton Primary School
Meander Primary School
Mole Creek Primary School
Ringarooma Primary School
Sandy Bay Infant School
Sassafras Primary School
Sprent
Primary School
Stanley Primary School
Warrane Primary School
Westbury Primary School

TAS STATE BUDGET
Education projects deferred
Tas Govt media release, 16 Jun 2011 (PDF file)
Education and Skills Minister Nick McKim has listed the Education budget's initiatives but also the savings to be achieved through deferral of projects, including programs to reduce primary and grade 7 class sizes. See details...

- Extra spending for early years and literacy and numeracy initiatives (pdf)
- Training sector boost (pdf)

TAS STATE BUDGET
Schools set to close
The Mercury, 16 June 2011
TWENTY Tasmanian schools have been earmarked for closure by the end of the year...

TAS STATE BUDGET
Jobs, schools cut in budget
The Mercury, 16 June 2011
Schools will close and public service jobs will be slashed in today's brutal state budget...

TAS STATE BUDGET
Schools face axe
The Examiner, 16 June 2011
Up to 20 schools have been earmarked for closure...

 

State Budget details released

Up to 20 schools to close

EDUCATION FUNDING
Relief teacher bill queried
The Mercury, 16 June 2011
Relief teachers cost more than $14 million per year in Tasmania...

SOCIAL NETWORKING, STUDENT BEHAVIOUR
Students can parody teachers on MySpace, US court rules
CBS News, 14 June 2011
A US court has ruled it was okay for teens to use MySpace to falsely claim one principal was a paedophile and a sex addict, and that another smoked marijuana and kept beer behind his desk...

TEACHING PRACTICE
Quality teachers key for disadvantaged students
SMH, 14 June 2011
What makes an outstanding teacher? ...

PARENT INVOLVEMENT
Increasing parent engagement will bear fruit
SMH, 13 June 2011
Studies have long shown that student performance improves when parents are involved in their children's schooling. National ACSSO president Peter Garrigan writes about the conditions that encourage parent engagement...

STUDENT HEALTH
Sex ed resources plea
The Mercury, 12 June 2011
High school teachers say they need more resources to teach sex education properly...

CYBER-SAFETY
Qld hires cybercop
Courier Mail, 12 June 2011
Queensland's Education Department is using a former detective in the battle against inappropriate Facebook pages, filming of teachers, accessing raunchy websites and online harassment...

STUDENT WELFARE
School bullying rates fall
ABC Online, 11 June 2011
A South Australian study of 27 countries has found that rates of school bullying have fallen over the last 20 years. ...

BUS INTERNET
Free internet on some buses
Tas Govt media release, 10 June 2011
Free wireless internet access will be trialled on sixteen private Tasmanian buses, using DoE internet policies and content filtering ...

FOUR-TERM YEAR
No decision yet
Tas Govt media release, 10 June 2011
The Minister for Education and Skills, Nick McKim, said he is still consulting with stakeholders over whether or not to change to a four-term school year...

FOUR-TERM YEAR
Libs support four terms
Michael Ferguson website, 10 June 2011
The Liberal Opposition has announced it would support schools changing to a four-term year in 2013...

TOILET POLICY
Toilet calm call
ABC Online, 10 June 2011
The Education Department is calling for calm over unisex toilets in some new primary schools...

TOILET POLICY
Unisex toilets furore
The Mercury, 10 June 2011
The new primary school unisex toilets will reduce bullying, the Education Department and the Minister say...

TOILET POLICY
Toilet experiment: Parents kept in dark
Michael Ferguson website, 9 June 2011
The government has failed to consult with parents over the introduction of unisex toilets at two north-west schools, opposition education spokesman Michael Ferguson says...

TOILET POLICY
Parents upset over unisex toilets
The Advocate, 9 June 2011
Parents of students at the new Romaine Park and Somerset primary schools are angry to learn the schools have unisex toilets ...

LEGAL LIABILITY
School liable after accidental flick of coin into eye
The Age, 9 June 2011
A Victorian school has been held responsible for a girl being nearly blinded in one eye by a coin being tossed between two boys at lunch time...

NATIONAL CURRICULUM
Arts curriculum has too much feeling, realising, apprehending
SMH, 7 June 2011
The new arts curriculum focuses on feeling and experimenting instead of on learning how to play, dance and draw...

STARTING AGE
Parents delaying school entry age
ABC Online (AM), 7 June 2011
A large number of Australian children are starting school when they are older, leading to age gaps within classrooms and increasingly inconsistent starting ages across the country.
Listen to program....

RECYCLING EDUCATIONAL IDEAS
Open plan back and bigger than ever
SMH, 6 June 2011
A move to ''agile learning areas'', where sometimes even the whole school operates in a large open plan area, is underway in Sydney....

STUDENT HEALTH
A crash course on energy drinks
Pittsburgh Live, 5 June 2011
Energy drinks may sicken children with diabetes, heart conditions, ADHD and thyroid conditions as well as those on anti-seizure medication, a pediatric cardiologist says....

TASMANIAN SCHOOLS
Rokeby High students making a difference
Tas Govt media release, 2 June 2011
Rokeby High School students are making a difference to the world around them by featuring in a DVD resource, part of the ruMAD? program, aimed at teaching students how to become responsible global citizens...

FOUR-TERM YEAR
Four-terms reforms plea
The Mercury, 2 June 2011
TASMANIA'S independent schools want public sector teachers to shrug off weariness over recent changes and embrace the move to a four-term year...

EDUCATION SYSTEMS
Why Finland is best at education
Huffington Post (US), 1 June 2011
A key driver in Finland's educational improvement was a tremendous investment in teaching to make it the most sought-after profession in the country...

STUDENT SUPPORT
Autistic boy knew too many big words
The Age, 1 June 2011
A six-year-old Victorian boy with autism was initially denied aide funding because he knew slightly too many big words such as 'flexible'...

EDUCATION SYSTEM
Fears of US-style Charter schools
The Telegraph, 1 June 2011
The worst suggestion on funding Australian schools is to introduce the kind of government-funded private schools known in the US as Charter schools, writes Maralyn Parker...

FOUR-TERM YEAR
Four terms test for McKim
The Mercury, 1 June 2011
TASMANIAN teachers will campaign against a four-term school year despite being part of the advisory group that has overwhelmingly recommended the change...

 

Top

Back to News for Teachers

 

Privacy policy