News for Tasmanian Teachers

Archive for September 2012

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SCHOOL EDUCATION POLICY
Aussie schools plan not finished, says Finnish ed head
The Age, 29 Sep 2012
None of the current top OECD education systems based their success on the education policies currently in place in Australia, the director-general of Finland's Ministry of Education says...

SCHOOL CLOSURES
Lindisfarne North eyeing Geilston Bay
The Mercury, 29 Sep 2012
The cramped Lindisfarne North Primary School is speaking to the spacious Geilston Bay High School about a merger ...

STUDENT ART
TMAG displays artwork
Tas Govt media release, 28 Sep 2012
The SCENEMACHINES Exhibition at the Tasmanian Museum and Art Gallery is displaying the artwork of 60 year 9 and 10 students from 19 schools until Sunday, 14 October 2012...

SEMINARS, STUDENT SUPPORT
Strategies for educating boys
Boys Forward Institute, 27 Sep 2012
A seminar on educating and managing boys will be run at the Hobart Golf Club on Friday 12 October 2012 by Dr Ian Lillico of the Boys Forward Institute...
- See flyer for details and costs.

TASTAFE
TasTAFE Interim Chair announced
Tas Govt media release, 27 Sep 2012
The TasTAFE Board Interim chair is Kathryn Thomas, a Global Learning Leader for IBM, the Minister for Education and Skills, Nick McKim, announced today...

EDUCATION FUNDING AND PLANNING
National plan promoted
Aust Govt media release, 26 Sep 2012
Minister for School Education Peter Garrett has hosted a forum at Reece High School to promote the Australian government's National Plan for School Improvement...
Peter Garrett on ABC Statewide Mornings with Leon Compton, 26 Sep 2012 (transcript)
Visit to Mayfield Primary School, Aust Govt media release, 27 Sep 2012
Visit to Cressy District High School, Aust Govt media release, 27 Sep 2012

SCHOOL CLOSURES
Maydena to merge with Westerway Primary
The Mercury, 24 Sep 2012
Maydena Primary School, with 31 students, is to close at the end of this year and merge with Westerway Primary...
ABC News report, 24 Sep 2012
Tas Govt media release, 24 Sep 2012
The Examiner's report, 24 Sep 2012
Other schools are considering merger, The Examiner, 24 Sep 2012

STUDENT SUPPORT
Teen drinking soars
The Mercury, 23 Sep 2012
A Hobart drug and alcohol counselling program has seen a massive rise in the number of children and school-aged teenagers seeking help with alcohol problems...

ALCOHOL AT SCHOOL FUNCTIONS
Call to ban school function alcohol use
The Age, 22 Sep 2012
The Australian Drug Foundation is launching a campaign to prevent alcohol being served at school functions where children are present...
Australian Drug Foundation media release

COMPUTER SECURITY
Internet Explorer patch now available
Help Net Security, 21 Sep 2012
Microsoft has released a fix for the Internet Explorer security hole problem that was announced earlier this week and which prompted many people to temporarily switch to using another browser.
To apply the fix simply do a Windows Update in the usual manner, unless of course your computer is set to perform such updates automatically...
- Microsoft Security Bulletin, 21 Sep 2012

CYBER-BULLYING
Teachers to be given anti-troll task
news.com.au, 22 Sep 2012
Teachers will be asked to take on the task of countering the phenomenon of internet trolls, people who post messages on the internet with the aim of causing grief, following a request to ACARA by the Prime Minister, Julia Gillard...
Troll defined, Wikipedia

EXPORTING EDUCATION
Premier cements link with Shanghai college
Tas Govt media release, 20 Sep 2012
The Tasmanian Polytechnic and the University of Tasmania are continuing to play a role in educating Chinese students...

DISCRIMINATION AND CHURCH SCHOOLS
Anti-discrimination amendment sought
The Examiner, 19 Sep 2012
Tasmanian Catholic schools expect an amendment to the Anti-Discrimination Act will be placed before Parliament next week with the aim of allowing schools to favour the enrolment of students from Catholic families over non-Catholics when there is a shortage of places...
ABC News, 21 Sep 2012
Attorney-General's statement, 22 Sep 2012

COMPUTER SECURITY
Internet Explorer warning
CNet, 17 Sep 2012
NOTE: Microsoft has released a fix for this problem. See story dated 21 Sep 2012 above.
Users of the Internet Explorer browser are being advised to take precautions such as using Firefox, Chrome or Safari instead while waiting for Microsoft to develop a fix for a newly discovered security hole that is currently being exploited...

HEALTH EDUCATION
Sex ed distress for father
The Mercury, 19 Sep 2012
A Hobart father says lessons on puberty are going too far when his nine-year-old daughter is given a tampon to take home...

TASMANIAN SCHOOLS
Rokeby windows charge
The Mercury, 18 Sep 2012
The breaking of 51 windows at Rokeby Primary School has led to a youth being charged...

EARLY CHILDHOOD EDUCATION
More early childhood money
Peter Garrett media release, 17 Sep 2012
An additional $5.1 million from the federal government will help maintain increased hours of kindergarten in Tasmanian ...
- National Partnership for Early Childhood Education: Annual Reports
The Mercury's report, 17 Sep 2012

CYBER-BULLYING
Teachers defamed
The Mercury, 17 Sep 2012
Tasmanian teachers are being defamed by students on the Rate My Teachers website ...

SCHOOL AUTONOMY
Decline in standards likely from NSW school autonomy
SMH (Opinion), 17 Sep 2012
The NSW government's devolution policy, Local Schools, Local Decisions, does not provide local autonomy in curriculum, the very element of autonomy that can benefit students, writes Mihajla Gavin ...

COMPUTER GAMES
Minecraft fosters creativity
The Examiner, 16 Sep 2012
Grade 9 Riverside High School students have found that the construction facility of the computer game Minecraft has allowed their creativity skills to develop ...

VET
Tas VET growth
Tas Govt media release, 16 Sep 2012
The growth rate of the number of trainee apprentices and trainees in Tasmania is better than the national rate, statistics show ...
- The Examiner's report, 16 Sep 2012

TEACHING PROFESSION
Low scores for many aspiring teachers
The Mercury, 16 Sep 2012
Prospective university students with admission ranks below 50 are gaining access to Australian education courses, although the minimum requirement at the University of Tasmania is about 65 ...

NAPLAN
Funding and Gonski needed, says AEU
The Examiner, 15 Sep 2012
Australian Education Union Tasmanian president Terry Polglase says Tasmania's NAPLAN results reinforce the importance of increasing primary and high school funding and of implementing the Gonski reforms...
The Mercury's report, 15 Sep 2012
ABC report, 14 Sep 2012

NAPLAN
Invest in education, says Ferguson
Michael Ferguson website, 14 Sep 2012
Opposition spokesman for education and skills Michael Ferguson says the NAPLAN results released today show that Tasmanian students performed lower than the national average on 18 of 20 measures, indicating that the government needs to invest more in education...

NAPLAN
NAPLAN improvement for Tasmania
Tas Govt Media release, 14 Sep 2012
This year's NAPLAN results show an improvement in literacy and numeracy by Tasmanian students, the Minister for Education and Skills, Nick McKim, says...
- 2012 NAPLAN Summary Report [pdf file]
- NAPLAN website

EDUCATION CUTS
School autonomy secret revealed
SMH, 14 Sep 2012
A former NSW Education Department finance and administration manager has disclosed that the school autonomy policy is just a means to "pull funding" from schools...

INDUSTRIAL ACTION
Massive U.S. teachers' strike
Fox News (USA), 11 Sep 2012
In a strike with national implications for the USA, Chicago teachers are opposing the linking of teacher evaluations with student test scores, the involvement of private companies with failing schools and the expansion of the charter school system.. .

EDUCATION CUTS
NSW slashes education spending
SMH, 12 Sep 2012
NSW education funding cuts of $1.7 billion for government and private schools will not include any loss of government school teacher jobs...

TASMANIAN SCHOOLS
School farm not under threat, says DoE
The Mercury, 11 Sep 2012
The Department of Education "currently does not have any alternative plans" for the Jordan River School Farm site, deputy secretary Andrew Finch says...

TASMANIAN SCHOOLS
Jordan River School Farm relocation threat
The Mercury, 10 Sep 2012
The former Bridgewater High School Farm is under threat from a Brighton Council planning document that proposes its long-established site at Brighton be abandoned...

GONSKI FUNDING
Gonski plan's strengths and weaknesses outlined
SMH, 10 Sep 2012
Three educators summarise their views of the strengths and weaknesses of the proposed Gonski education funding measures...

GONSKI FUNDING
Coalition could support Gonski changes
SMH, 10 Sep 2012
The Federal Opposition's education spokesman, Christopher Pyne, says if it gained government the Opposition would not simply repeal the Gonski legislation as previously stated but would keep elements that it agreed with...

SKILLS TASMANIA
Skills Tasmania board was asked for advice on continued industry input 
Michael Ferguson website, 9/14 Sep 2012
State Opposition education spokesman Michael Ferguson has criticised education minister Nick McKim for not only sacking the Skills Tasmania board but also for asking the members for advice on how industry input can be continued once Skills Tasmania has been incorporated into the Department of Education...

TASMANIAN TEACHERS
Late teacher praised by footy cup winners
The Examiner, 8 Sep 2012
Kings Meadows High School's senior football team has dedicated its win in the Tassie Hawks Cup Championship to former teacher and coach Aaron King who died in January ...

GONSKI FUNDING
Gonski committee formed
Tas Govt media release, 7 Sep 2012
Australian education ministers today agreed to form the School Education Funding Reform Committee to assist in making preparations to implement the Gonski reforms, the Minister for Education and Skills, Nick McKim, has announced ...

THE ENVIRONMENT
Tas threatened species website launched
Tas Govt media release, 7 Sep 2012
The Minister for Environment, Parks and Heritage, Brian Wightman, has announced the launch of the Threatened Species Link website...
Threatened Species Link website (Tas Govt)

TASMANIAN SCHOOLS
Youngtown a winner
The Examiner, 6 Sep 2012
Youngtown Primary School has won the National Landcare People's Choice Award for 2012...

INDUSTRIAL ACTION
More strikes to come
The Age, 6 Sep 2012
Victorian teachers have pledged to continue industrial action with staggered half-day strikes next term.
They are dissatisfied with a 2.5 per cent pay offer and are angry over the Victorian government breaking its pre-election promise to make them the highest paid in Australia.
They are also fighting the government's new intentions over performance-based pay, recruiting principals from outside the profession and sacking the bottom 5 per cent of teachers...

ABORIGINAL LITERACY & NUMERACY
Aboriginal gap better
Tas Govt media release, 5 Sep 2012
The gap in literacy and numeracy results for Tasmanian Indigenous students, as measured by the Performance Indicators In Primary Schools (PIPS) results, has shown a decrease ...

STUDENT HEALTH & FITNESS
Football promoted
Tas Govt media release, 5 Sep 2012
Football teams from St Virgil's College, Kings Meadows High and Marist Regional College competed in the McDonald's Tassie Hawks Cup in Launceston today...

REASONS TO LIVE IN TASMANIA
Send children to closed schools, says Govt
The Age, 5 Sep 2012
The Victorian Government advertised to parents on Saturday that they should send their children to school as usual on Monday - despite up to 400 schools being closed...

INDUSTRIAL ACTION
Vic teachers on strike
ABC News, 5 Sep 2012
Up to 40,000 Victorian government and non-government teachers are on strike today over a 2.5 per cent pay offer with the controversial performance bonuses...

GONSKI REPORT
PM's announcement draws mixed comments
ABC News, 4 Sep 2012
The AEU strongly supports the Gonski funding model but federal opposition education spokesman Christopher Pyne has criticised the lack of detail...

GONSKI REPORT
McKim welcomes PM's Gonski commitment
Tas Govt media release, 3 Sep 2012
The Minister for Education and Skills, Nick McKim, has acknowledged that the Gonski implementation is a massive task with lengthy timelines...

TASMANIAN TEACHERS
Claremont College teacher wins Pride of Australia award
Tas Govt media release, 3 Sep 2012
Claremont College teacher Jill Glover has won the Tasmanian Pride of Australia Inspiration Award. Runners-up were Huonville High teacher Nicola Smith and Clarence High teacher Andrew Hughes...

GONSKI EDUCATION FUNDING REFORMS
PM speaks on Gonski
ABC News, 3 Sep 2012
The Prime Minister, Julia Gillard, has provided the government's response to the Gonski school funding recommendations...
What's in the Gonski report?
A summary, followed by an online test to make sure you have read and understood the summary.

MYTHICAL BEING POLICY
Scary stuff
SMH, 3 Sep 2012
A ban on witches and warlocks by a NSW school means that students who are Harry Potter fans will not be able to portray their favourite characters in the annual Book Week parade...

GONSKI EDUCATION FUNDING REFORMS
Jump in world ranking will come from Gonski
SMH, 3 Sep 2012
Prime Minister Julia Gillard is expected to pledge today that the Australian school system will rank among the top five in the world by 2025 ...

GONSKI EDUCATION FUNDING REFORMS
Tasmania lucky to have many low SES students
The Examiner, 3 Sep 2012
For once, Tasmanian government schools look to be the winners from today's expected confirmation from the Prime Minister that the Gonski reforms, based on per-student funding with emphasis on those with disadvantage or disability, will be adopted...

ROLE OF PLAY
Acknowledging the importance of playtime
SMH, 3 Sep 2012
Recess and lunch breaks are more Important than most people think, a family educator says...

GONSKI EDUCATION FUNDING REFORMS
Several years yet for Gonski implementation
ABC News, 2 Sep 2012
The Federal School Education Minister, Peter Garrett, has confirmed the government will move to implement the Gonski report but says the transition will take several years...

TASMANIAN COLLEGES
Rosny College tenders called
Tas Govt media release, 1 Sep 2012
Tenders worth $600,000 for the redevelopment of kitchen facilities and for two science classrooms at Rosny College were called today...

TASMANIAN TEACHERS
Tas teacher workloads unmanageable
The Mercury, 1 Sep 2012
Most Tasmanian teachers and principals said in an AEU survey that their workloads were unmanageable, NAPLAN testing was a waste of time and resources and Gonski funding was a priority...

GONSKI REFORMS
Gonski announcement from PM on Monday
SMH, 1 Sep 2012
An announcement giving support to the Gonski principles but not specifying a funding amount is expected from the Prime Minister, Julia Gillard, on Monday...