News for Tasmanian Teachers

Archive for January 2017

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SHOELESS LEARNING
Slippers boost learning and behaviour
BBC News, 31 Jan 2017
A Derbyshire (UK) primary school is successfully applying research that shows students learn and behave better while wearing slippers in the classroom...

STUDENT SUPPORT
Stutterers' challenges
The Conversation (opinion by Mark Onslow), 31 Jan 2017
As children who stutter may face teasing and bullying as well as reduced participation in lessons it is important to check they are being treated by a speech pathologist, a speech pathology professor writes....

NEW ZEALAND EDUCATION SYSTEM
Competition costs
stuff.co.nz (opinion by John Laurenson), 30 Jan 2017
New Zealand government schools are forced to compete with each other, causing a diversion of resources and resulting in the strong schools getting stronger and the weak weaker, a principal writes....

TASMANIAN EDUCATION
Collective Ed tenders sought
The Examiner, 29 Jan 2017
A five-year project that aims to improve Tasmania's poor Year 12 retention rate, supported by the Education Department, State Growth, the Paul Ramsay Foundation and the Beacon Foundation, is due to commence in April...

REFUGEES
Trump takes Manus, Nauru refugees
The Guardian, 29 Jan 2017
US President Donald Trump has agreed to accept detainees currently held on Manus Island and Nauru...
Australian-US refugee resettlement deal to go ahead, ABC News, 29 Jan 2017

INTERNATIONAL SECURITY
Trump blocks Muslim immigrants
ABC News, 29 Jan 2017
US President Donald Trump has placed a temporary ban on immigrants and other travellers from seven majority-Muslim countries, even preventing many people from returning to the US such as US-based foreign nationals currently visiting their overseas families...
Iran retaliates with ban on entry by US citizens, inquisitr.com, 28 Jan 2017 (US time)

LITERACY AND NUMERACY
Year 1 literacy, numeracy tests loom
9News, 29 Jan 2017
The federal government will move ahead with plans to give literacy and numeracy tests to Year 1 students, education minister Simon Birmingham says...
Phonics and numeracy check for all Australian schools, Simon Birmingham, Minister for Education and Training, 29 Jan 2017
Speech Pathology Tasmania supports phonics screening, The Examiner, 31 Jan 2017
Why do we need a phonics test?, The Conversation (opinion by Lorraine Hammond), 2 Feb 2017

MUSIC EDUCATION
Lessons reach 30,000 people a day
ABC News, 27 Jan 2017
Tasmanian-born online guitar teacher Justin Sandercoe reaches millions and makes a living through his YouTube lessons...

STUDENT SUPPORT
What's needed to meet a child's learning needs
The Conversation (opinion by Andrew Martin), 27 Jan 2017
An educational psychology professor outlines how satisfying an individual child's learning needs requires consideration of motivation, engagement, adaptability, learning load and relationships...

AUSTRALIAN IDENTITY
Australia Day, Invasion Day
The Conversation (opinion by Kate Darian-Smith), 26 Jan 2017
The history of Australia Day celebrations is a long one, but so too is the history of protestations from Aboriginal groups, a history professor writes...
Changing Australia Day is pointless, The Conversation (opinion by Anthony Dillon), 25 Jan 2017
What would it take to change the date of Australia Day?, ABC, 25 Jan 2017
Change date to March 1, says Ian MacFarlane, ABC News, 26 Jan 2017
Tas Governor urges debate over date change, ABC News, 26 Jan 2017

STUDENT SUPPORT
Should gifted kids have their own schools?
The Conversation (opinion by Catherine Wormald), 25 Jan 2017
Gifted students are our future problem solvers but they have special needs that are not being met, an education lecturer writes...

WORLD POLITICS
Brexit requires Parliament's nod
ABC News, 24 Jan 2017
The British Parliament must be given a vote on Brexit, the Supreme Court says in its final ruling...
Schools assisted to teach that Supreme Court judges are not "enemies of the people" over Brexit decision, The Telegraph, 24 Jan 2017

STUDENT SUPPORT
ADHD diagnosis more likely for younger students
stuff.co.nz, 23 Jan 2017
The younger a student is in the class, the more likely it is he or she is given medicine for ADHD, a study shows (suggesting that many are being medicated simply for being immature)...
Youngest twice as likely to take ADHD medication, The Conversation (opinion by Martin Paul Whitely and Suzanne Robinson), 23 Jan 2017
ADHD misdiagnosis fears, ABC News, 23 Jan 2017

WORLD POLITICS
It's President Trump
ABC News, 21 Jan 2017
Newly sworn-in US President Donald Trump has promised to return power to the people, put America first in decision-making and make America great again...
Millions march in anti-Trump protests, ABC News, 22 Jan 2017

MAJOR INCIDENTS
Man drives into pedestrians in Melbourne
ABC News, 20 Jan 2017
Four people are dead and 20 injured after a man appears to have deliberately driven into pedestrians in the Bourke Street Mall, Melbourne...
Death toll rises to five; Victoria's bail system questioned, ABC News, 22 Jan 2017

WEATHER ADVICE:
Damaging winds in NE
BoM, 20 Jan 2017

A severe weather warning now advises that winds gusting to an extraordinarily high 120 km/h are possible north of St Helens.
BoM warnings

NSW POLITICS
Baird resigns
ABC News, 19 Jan 2017
NSW Premier Mike Baird has announced he will retire from politics after a party room meeting next week...

FEDERAL POLITICS
PM announces new ministers
ABC News, 18 Jan 2017
The Prime Minister, Malcolm Turnbull, has appointed new ministers following the resignation of health minister Sussan Ley:
Greg Hunt is the new Minister for Health and Minister for Sport
Senator Arthur Sinodinos is Minister for Industry
Ken Wyatt is Minister for Aged Care and Indigenous Health
Michael Sukkar is Assistant Minister to the Treasurer...

EDUCATION COSTS FOR PARENTS
Schooling cheap in Hobart
The Advocate, 17 Jan 2017
Hobart's schooling costs are among the lowest in Australia but the costs are expected to rise significantly, the Australian Scholarships Group says...

EXTENSION TO YEARS 11 AND 12
Extending defended
The Advocate, 17 Jan 2017
Education minister Jeremy Rockliff has defended the policy of extending high schools beyond Year 10 in the face of claims by Opposition education spokesperson Michelle O'Byrne that there are holes in the policy...
Extended schools have increased retention rates, Jeremy Rockliff, Minister for Education and Training, 17 Jan 2017

Term date confusion
The education lift-out feature in today's Mercury (17 Jan 2017) shows:
"Friday, April 13" as the last day of Term 1 2017 - it should read "Thursday, April 13" (but note that that day is a Moderation Day for K-10 schools), and
"Tuesday, May 1" as the first day of Term 2 - it should read "Monday, May 1"

TASMANIAN SCHOOLS
Huonville High wins international energy prize
Tas Govt media release, 17 Jan 2017
Huonville High School will receive up to $134,000 on winning gold as the Oceania region winner of the Zayed Future Energy Prize  ..

RELATIONSHIPS EDUCATION
Respectful relationships promoted via schools
The Examiner, 16 Jan 2017
Teaching about respectful relationships, including sexuality education, has lifelong benefits and helps reduce sexual assaults, Family Planning Tasmania chief executive Cedric Manen says..

LITERACY
Phonics explained
The Conversation (opinion by Hua-Chen wang), 17 Jan 2017
Phonics is important because it helps students decode words that are new and improves their reading skills, a research fellow says..

MUSIC EDUCATION
No proof music makes kids smarter
The Conversation (opinion by Giovanni Sala and Fernand Gobet), 16 Jan 2017
A review of the literature suggests that while there might be a correlation between music learning and smarter kids, the music learning itself does not lead to better performance in other subjects, two academics write..

WEATHER ADVICE:

Damaging winds been and gone
BoM, 14 Jan 2017, 2.22pm
The severe weather warning for winds gusting to 100km/h today (Saturday) no longer applies.

High tides been and gone
BoM, 14 Jan 2017
The severe weather warning for abnormally high tides in southern Tasmania is over.

FEDERAL POLITICS
Sussan Ley resigns
ABC News, 13 Jan 2017
Health minister Sussan Ley has announced her resignation from the frontbench over the travel claims controversy...

TASMANIAN SCHOOLS
Hilliard approval
Tas Govt media release, 13 Jan 2017
Hilliard Christian School will re-open for 2017, with a new principal, after eventually being granted registration by the Schools Registration Board, education minister Jeremy Rockliff said today..
Last-minute approval for Hilliard Christian School, ABC News, 13 Jan 2017

HEALTH AND WELLBEING
More benefits than you thought possible
The Conversation (opinion by Shelby Gull Laird and Laura McFarland), 10 Jan 2017
Research shows that playing outside provides children with a wide range of health, cognitive, psychological and general wellbeing benefits...

SCHOOL UNIFORM
Redressing gender inequality
The Conversation (opinion by Amanda Mergler), 9 Jan 2017
Allowing schoolgirls to wear shorts and trousers instead of dresses and skirts is looming as an issue for schools to face but such a change could be a simple and effective way to foster increased physical activity by girls...
No uniform problem, The Conversation (opinion by Lauren Rosewarne), 11 Jan 2017

TASMANIAN SCHOOLS
Hilliard rebirth?
The Mercury (subscription access), 7 Jan 2017
West Moonah's Hilliard Christian School, advised by the Schools Registration Board last year that its re-registration beyond 31 December would not be approved, has told parents that it aims to re-open as a new school in 2017.

EDUCATIONAL BOOKSHOPS
Birchalls story ends
The Examiner, 6 Jan 2017
The Birchalls main bookstore in Brisbane Street, Launceston, is set to close in 2017 but it is hoped buyers can be found for the education stores in Hobart and Devonport...

CURRICULUM
Add swimming to curriculum
SMH, 3 Jan 2017
Compulsory swimming and water safety lessons should be part of the school curriculum, the CEO of YMCA NSW said following a spate of drownings these Christmas holidays. [Note that legendary swimming coach Laurie Lawrence said on the ABC's 7.30 Report, 3 Jan 2016, that Tasmania leads the country by providing free swimming lessons to kids until they can swim 50 metres.]...
Laurie Lawrence praises Tasmania, The Advocate, 4 Jan 2017

CELEBRATIONS
2017 delayed
ABC News, 1 Jan 2017
The new year commenced as expected this morning, but only after having been delayed by one second to allow clocks to adjust to the slowing speed of the Earth's rotation...

For the latest news items see the news page.