TasLearnNewsArchive

News for Tasmanian Teachers

 

Archive for February 2016

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COMPUTER EDUCATION
Make IT business a realistic goal for students
The Mercury, 29 Feb 2016
SoftwareTasmanian high school students need to be persuaded they can start up their own information technology business here in Tasmania, TasICT chief executive Will Kestin says
...

Bullet Tas education system needs to be rebooted, The Mercury (editorial), 29 Feb 2016
Bullet Special report:
Silicon Valley in Tassie's suburbs, The Mercury, 1 Mar 2016

STUDENT ATTENDANCE
Students skipping school
The Mercury, 28 Feb 2016
Productivity CommissionTasmanian high school attendance levels are among the lowest in Australia, a Productivity Commission report shows
...

Southern TasmaniaTASMANIAN SCHOOLS
More school upgrades
Tas Govt media release, 27 Feb 2016
T
enders have been called for redevelopment at the following schools:
- Montrose Bay High
- South Hobart Primary...

Nick McKimEDUCATION POLICY
Equity aim of Greens package
Aust Greens, 26 Feb 2016
The Australian Greens have released a $3.5 billion needs-based education package, emphasising that the Gonski years five and six would be funded
...

TAFE
TasTAFETasTAFE students recognised
Tas Govt media release, 26 Feb 2016
Finalists and winners of the inaugural TasTAFE Student Excellence Awards have been announced by the Minister for Education and Training, Jeremy Rockliff...

Computer useCOMPUTER ACCESS
Digital divide deepens
The Conversation (opinion by Scott Ewing), 25 Feb 2016
Though narrowing, the digital divide in Australia is deepening, with the disadvantaged groups becoming even more relatively disadvantaged as the NBN spreads
...

Tas PoliceSCHOOL SECURITY
More bomb hoaxes
ABC News, 25 Feb 2016
A further five bomb hoax phone calls have been received by Tasmanian schools...

TEACHING PROFESSION
Further charges
ABC News, 25 Feb 2016
Justice
A former Education Department southern Tasmanian female teacher has been charged with having sexual intercourse with two more boys...

TAFE
TAFE fees alarm
The Examiner, 24 Feb 2016
TasTAFEDiploma and advanced diploma TasTAFE students are being forced to pay the full cost of their courses this year because the federal government has restricted its assistance system in its efforts to crack down on dodgy providers...
Bullet Reduced VET fee caps will reduce TAFE student numbers, Andrea Dawkins, Greens education spokesperson, 24 Feb 2016

SEX EDUCATION & BULLYING
School LGBTI program controversy
The Examiner, 23 Feb 2016
IssuesThe age appropriateness is being questioned of a Safe Schools Coalition program to reduce bullying of lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and intersex students...
Bullet PM requests investigation, ABC News, 23 Feb 2016
Bullet What is the Safe Schools Coalition?, The Conversation, 19 Feb 2016
Bullet Aim is protecting and supporting students, not implementing an LGBTI agenda, Michelle O'Byrne, Opposition education spokesperson, 23 Feb 2016
Bullet Tas should have more than the current 16 schools participating, Andrea Dawkins, Greens education spokesperson, 24 Feb 2016
Bullet Senator calls for program's suspension, ABC News, 25 Feb 2016
Bullet Use measured language, urges PM, ABC News, 26 Feb 2016

TerrorismANTI-TERRORISM POLICY
In-school programs to de-radicalise students under way
ABC News, 23 Feb 2016
Federal Minister for Justice Michael Keenan told a Q&A audience that de-radicalisation programs aimed at young  teenagers were already under way in "the most vulnerable parts of the community"
...

TASMANIAN SCHOOLS
School tenders
Tas Govt media release, 20 Feb 2016
NW Tas
Tenders for construction works involving the following schools have been called:
- Ulverstone Primary School
- School of Special Education North West (relocation)...

REVIEW OF THE EDUCATION ACT
Act changes loom
The Examiner, 19 Feb 2016
Dept of EducationA report on the outcome of earlier consultation over changes to the Education Act is due in March and will include proposed changes to the school starting and finishing ages, education minister Jeremy Rockliff says
...

UNIVERSITY AND TAFE
Burnie post-school education boost
Tas Govt media release, 19 Feb 2016
NW Tas
A new UTAS/TAFE campus is to be established at Burnie's West Park, education minister Jeremy Rockliff announced today...

Bullet MoU to move UTAS campus signed, The Advocate, 19 Feb 2016

ANTI-TERRORISM POLICY
Smoking safely
VICE News, 19 Feb 2016
French flagTo avoid the creation of terrorist targets outside schools, French student smokers are being encouraged to light up inside their school grounds
...

Foreign languagesFOREIGN LANGUAGES
Language app fun to use, claims 5yo
The Examiner, 18 Feb 2016
An iPad app from the Early Learning Languages Australia (ELLA) program is helping young Tasmanian children learn Indonesian
...

TASMANIAN POLITICS
Tasmanian Ministerial changes
Tas Govt media release, 18 Feb 2016
Will HodgmanThe Premier, Will Hodgman, has announced the following changes to his Ministry:
- Peter Gutwein will take on the Forestry portfolio.
- Adam Brooks will take on the portfolios of Mining, Racing, Building and Construction (a new portfolio), Consumer Affairs and red tape reduction.
- Guy Barnett will take on the position of Parliamentary Secretary for Small Business...

Bullet Adam Brooks enters Cabinet, ABC News, 18 Feb 2016

TASMANIAN POLITICS
Paul Harriss retires
ABC News, 17 Feb 2016
Paul Harriss (Image: ABC)Minister for Resources Paul Harriss has announced his retirement from Parliament
...

Bullet Harriss pulls the pin, The Mercury, 17 Feb 2016
Bullet
Paul Harriss thanked, Will Hodgman, Premier, 17 Feb 2016
Bullet
It was a privilege, Paul Harriss, Minister for Resources, 17 Feb 2016
Bullet Resignation is good news, Cassy O'Connor, Greens Leader and Forests spokesperson,17 Feb 2016

Literacy and numeracyLITERACY AND NUMERACY
LIFT launched
Tas Govt media release, 17 Feb 2016
The new literacy and numeracy support program, Learning in Families Together (LIFT), was officially launched today by the Minister for Education and Training, Jeremy Rockliff
...

HomeworkHOMEWORK
Advice on homework helping
The Conversation (opinion by Judith Locke), 17 Feb 2016
A clinical psychologist provides some tips for parents on what to do, and not do, when thinking about helping their children with their homework
...

POPULATION STATISTICS
Australia hits 24m
ABC News, 16 Feb 2016
Australian flagAustralia's population has reached 24 million.
- Every state and territory is growing.
- Migration is exceeding births.
- Total population increases by a million every two to three years
...

Michelle O'ByrneEDUCATION POLICY
Labor would restore teacher numbers
The Mercury (opinion by Michelle O'Byrne), 15 Feb 2016
A future Labor government would restore teacher numbers, reinstate Pathway Planning and prevent millions of TasTAFE training dollars from leaving Tasmania, Opposition education spokesperson Michelle O'Byrne writes
...

Extending high schoolsEXTENDING HIGH SCHOOLS
Rural students being helped
The Mercury (opinion by Greg Barns), 15 Feb 2016
The policy of extending high schools to Years 11 and 12 provides much-needed hope for rural students, commentator Greg Barns writes...

MEMORY
Creating memory power
MemoryThe Age, 14 Feb 2016
Relating information to contrived visual imagery is a valuable technique to improve the ability to memorise
...

Bullet Daniel Kilov's blog of the Australian Memory Championships

NATIONAL POLITICS
Ministry reshuffle
Malcolm TurnbullABC News, 13 Feb 2016
Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull has outlined changes to his Ministry which include Scott Ryan replacing Luke Hartsuyker as Minister for Vocational Education and Skills.
..

TASMANIAN SCHOOLS
$8.5m in school upgrades
Tas Govt media release, 13 Feb 2016
TasmaniaTenders have been called for construction projects at four schools:
- Oatlands District High
- New Norfolk High
- New Norfolk Primary
- Latrobe High
...

Albert EinsteinPHYSICS
Gravitational waves confirmed
The Conversation (opinion by Keith Riles et al), 12 Feb 2016
The existence of  gravitational waves as predicted by Albert Einstein has been confirmed. This report provides an explanation of what gravitational waves are and comments on the significance of the discovery
...

SCHOOL SECURITY
Alleged bomb hoaxer arrested
French flagnews.com.au, 12 Feb 2016
An 18-year-old French computer hacker has been arrested following a recent world-wide spate of school bomb hoaxes
...

ABORIGINALS AND EDUCATION
Closing the Gap update highlights educational deficiencies
The Conversation (opinion by Nicholas Biddle), 10 Feb 2016
Aboriginal flagThe latest Closing the Gap update on Aboriginal  educational, health and welfare outcomes shows that desired improvements in literacy and numeracy are not being met
...

Bullet Closing the Gap Statement, Malcolm Turnbull, Prime Minister, 10 Feb 2016
Bullet
Tas Aboriginal attendance up but reading standards down, Will Hodgman, Premier, 10 Feb 2016
Bullet
Australia failing to meet goals on Indigenous disadvantage, ABC News, 10 Feb 2016

TelstraMOBILE COMMUNICATIONS
Free data this Sunday

ABC News, 9 Feb 2016, 8.30pm
TwitterTelstra will give its mobile customers a day of free data this Sunday as compensation for today's nationwide outage.
Bullet Free data; services restored, Telstra Twitter

EARLY CHILDHOOD
Understanding is important
Student healthThe Conversation (opinion by Vanessa LoBue), 8 Feb 2016
Young children need to be taught the reasons they should adopt safe health practices such as washing hands, not just be told what to do, an assistant professor says
...

PARENTS AND SCHOOL
School costs a growing impost
MoneyThe Mercury, 8 Feb 2016
Many low-income families are struggling to pay the costs of sending their children to government schools, Smith Family general manager Alison Standen says
...

Helen RichardsonAUSTRALIAN EDUCATION UNION
New AEU president commences
The Mercury, 6 Feb 2016
The new president of the AEU Tasmanian Branch, Helen Richardson, commenced working in the position last Monday...

ANTI-TERRORISM POLICY
Teachers to be at frontline in fighting terrorism
TerrorismABC News, 6 Feb 2016
The federal government has stepped up its plans to enable teachers, other school staff and parents to recognise and counter  radicalisation in students...

Bullet New school anti-radicalisation initiatives, Simon Birmingham and Michael Keenan, Aust Govt media release, 6 Feb 2016

Index fingerEDUCATIONAL PSYCHOLOGY
Index finger a secret learning tool
The Conversation (opinion by Paul Ginns and Janette Bobis), 5 Feb 2016
Using the index finger to trace over components of a learning task can improve the efficiency of learning, two researchers write
...

EDUCATION STATISTICS
Some retention improvement; high school attendance concern
Tas Govt media release, 4 Feb 2016
Productivity CommissionT
he Productivity Commission's Report on Government Services 2016 now measures the proportion of students whose attendance is 90 per cent or more, revealing an above average rate for Tasmanian primary school students and a below average rate for high school students...

Bullet Retention rate needs improving, The Examiner, 5 Feb 2016

STUDENT SUPPORT
Overcoming disengagement
The Conversation (opinion by Pearl Subban), 4 Feb 2016
The ConversationThere are a few strategies teachers can employ to reduce student disengagement, an education lecturer writes
...

TAFE
TAFE warning
Tas Greens media release, 4 Feb 2016
TAFEA Federal government plan to deregulate the TAFE sector would lead to privatisation of vocational training and leave students with larger debts, Greens education spokesperson Andrea Dawkins says
...

Bullet Community would pay dearly for TAFE deregulation, The Conversation (opinion by Shirley Jackson), 5 Feb 2016
Bullet Federal VET takeover would be highly risky, The Conversation (opinion by Peter Noonan), 8 Feb 2016
Bullet TAFE students could be ripped off by unscrupulous private providers, Michelle O'Byrne, Opposition education spokesperson, 10 Feb 2016

TasmaniaTASMANIA'S COLLEGES
Where our colleges went wrong
The Mercury (opinion by Mike Frost), 4 Feb 2016
Tasmania's colleges were originally very successful, but today reform is needed, particularly for students in the middle range of abilities and aspirations, a former college teacher writes
...

Calf that omits Tasmania (Image: ABC News)UNFAIR TREATMENT OF TASMANIA BY WA
Tasmania snubbed yet again
ABC News, 3 Feb 2016

A calf has been born in Western Australia showing a map of Australia that omits Tasmania
...

 

Extending high schoolsEXTENDING HIGH SCHOOLS
Students staying at school longer
The Mercury, 3 Feb 2016
The policy to extend high schools to Years 11 and 12 is having the desired effect, the Minister for Education and Training, Jeremy Rockilff, said on a visit to New Norfolk High school today
...

Bullet Labor wants to axe extension program, Sarah Courtney, Tas Govt media release, 4 Feb 2016

BicyclesROAD SAFETY
Look out for Ride2School students
The Mercury, 3 Feb 2016
Students are encouraged to ride their bicycles to and from school from today under the Bicycle Network's Ride2School program
...

THE NEW SCHOOL YEAR
Hoax threats received
The Mercury, 2 Feb 2016
Tas PoliceThreatening phone calls made to a number of unnamed Tasmanian schools have been described by police as hoaxes
...

Bullet Threats made against schools, The Examiner, 2 Feb 2016
Bullet Hoax probe continues, The Examiner, 3 Feb 2016

TASCTASMANIAN STUDENTS
Top students recognised
Tas Govt media release, 2 Feb 2016
Tasmania's top Year 12 TCE students have been acknowledged in a ceremony at Government House
...

Andrea DawkinsTHE NEW SCHOOL YEAR
Urban colleges could suffer
Greens media release, 1 Feb 2016
College culture and course diversity could be the losers from the government's policy of extending suburban high schools to Years 11 and 12, Greens education spokesperson Andrea Dawkins warns
...

Bullet Independent school students return, The Mercury, 2 Feb 2016

QueenslandTRUANCY
Truancy now, failure later
Courier Mail (opinion by Karen Brooks), 1 Feb 2016
Parents who condone truancy by their children could be setting them up for failure at school and in later life, a Queensland researcher warns
...

ROAD SAFETY
Learning Potential app updated
Learning PotentialAust Govt media release, 1 Feb 2016
An updated version of Learning Potential, a free Australian government app providing tips to enable parents to help their children make a successful start to the school year, has been released
...

Bullet Download Learning Potential or try it online

Road safetyROAD SAFETY
Road safety reminders
Tas Govt media release, 1 Feb 2016
Infrastructure minister Rene Hidding has issued a reminder that a 40 km/h speed limit operates within school zones and when school bus lights are flashing, and has encouraged school children to enter the iPad road safety competition
...

Tas PoliceBullet RSAC iPad road safety competition
Bullet Police to conduct speed checks near schools, Tas Police website, 1 Feb 2016

 

 

 

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