WEATHER ALERT
Severe weather warning for Tas
BoM, 28 Sep 2016
Northern Tasmania and the East Coast can expect damaging winds on Thursday and Friday.
...
BoM warnings

WEATHER DAMAGE
No power in SA
ABC News, 28 Sep 2016
The whole of South Australia was without power late this afternoon following lightning strikes and storm damage, with the initial spotlight of blame pointing to "interconnector issues" and South Australia's unique combination of energy sources.
However, as at 10.15pm power has been restored to many areas...

TASMANIAN LEGENDS
Max Walker dies
ABC News, 28 Sep 2016
Australian cricketer and well-known Tasmanian Max Walker has died at the age of 68.
...
Max Walker dies after battle with cancer, The Mercury, 28 Sep 2016

TASMANIAN SCHOOLS
Building projects brought forward
The Examiner, 27 Sep 2016
Planned building works at several schools will be undertaken earlier under the state government's Northern Economic Stimulus Package:
- Riverside Primary
- St Marys District
- Queechy High
- East Devonport Primary.
...

STUDENT ATTENDANCE
Student attendance data released
Tas Govt media release, 27 Sep 2016
As a result of a request from a Member of Parliament, the DoE has released student attendance data for Tasmanian high schools...
Student attendance document (DoE) [pdf] NB Corrected link - we had previously linked to the wrong document.
DoE Right to Information web page
School absence levels too high, The Examiner, 27 Sep 2016

TASMANIAN LEGENDS
Bill Mollison dies
ABC News, 26 Sep 2016
Bill Mollison, the Tasmanian who became world famous as the co-founder of permaculture, in which growers work in a sustainable way with nature instead of continually fighting natural processes, has died at the age of 88...

SUPERANNUATION
Legislation bungle harming RBF members
The Mercury (opinion by Greg Barnes), 26 Sep 2016
Many retired teachers and other public servants on low defined benefits pensions (the RBF system that closed to new members in 1999) are unfairly losing Commonwealth age pension benefits as a result of all three major parties apparently having misunderstood the full implications of a law they passed in the Federal Parliament to target "fat cat" superannuants, a well-known columnist writes...

STUDENT MANAGEMENT
All students had to walk with hands behind back
The Telegraph, 23 Sep 2016
Following outrage from parents, a British primary school has quietly abandoned its requirement that all students clasp their hands behind their backs when walking in corridors, a procedure that was introduced "to strengthen pupil safety, further raise the aspirations of pupils and to maximise learning time."   ...

TASMANIAN SCHOOLS
Parklands start
Tas Govt media release, 26 Sep 2016
Major reconstruction work worth $10.64 million has begun at Parklands High School, education minister Jeremy Rockliff said today...

US ELECTION
Clinton's plan for education
NPR, 25 Sep 2016
Hillary Clinton has emphasised the link between investing in education and economic growth, and has made a point of outlining her policies for early childhood, K-12 schools and university levels...

US ELECTION
Trump's plan for education
NPR, 25 Sep 2016
Donald Trump has so far issued no detailed educational policies but he has made many comments which this analysis groups under local control, Common Core, school choice, higher education and child care...

EDUCATION AND HEALTH
Education for health
The Mercury (opinion by Graham Bury), 24 Sep 2016
There needs to be greater understanding of the link between better education and improved health outcomes, a retired doctor and administrator writes...

EDUCATION FUNDING
Funding assurance
Tas Govt media release, 23 Sep 2016
Federal education minister Simon Birmingham has assured state minister Jeremy Rockliff that Tasmania will be no worse off under proposed education funding changes. However, negotiations have not yet been completed...
Funding confusion, The Mercury (editorial), 24 Sep 2016
Positive funding discussions at Education Council; online NAPLAN testing also discussed, Press conference transcript issued by Simon Birmingham, 23 Sep 2016

LITERACY
Comics helped early readers
The Mercury (opinion by Ian Cole), 23 Sep 2016
The oft-denounced comic book can be a great informal help for youngsters learning to read, a former teacher writes ...

EDUCATION ACT
$2.5m for education and care services
Tas Govt media release, 22 Sep 2016
The state government will provide more than $2.5 million for early childhood centres and to assist with university education and care qualifications, education minister Jeremy Rockliff said today in promoting the proposed new Education Act...

TASMANIAN FIRES For updated alerts, see:

News continued in the
Sep 2016 news archive
See also the News archive index

ANTARCTICA
Classroom Antarctica
Online Antarctica teaching resources for Years 3-8 provided by the Australian Antarctic Division.

New sites continued below

New sites (cont'd)

ANTARCTICA
Australian Antarctic Festival

The inaugural Australian Antarctic Festival will be held in Hobart from Thu 8 to Sun 11 Sep 2016. See also Tas Govt media release, 8 Sep 2016.

CYBERSAFETY
eSafety Education Resources

From the Australian government's Office of the Children's eSafety Commissioner:
Classroom resources
Outreach programs
School policies (includes links to Tasmania's Social Media Policy and parent pamphlet)
Voluntary certification

THE CURRENCY
New banknote program

Release of the new $5 note has begun. The Reserve Bank website displays its new security features.
The following RBA pages for teachers and students deal with notes and coins generally:
Learning About Banknotes
Activities and interactive games

COMPUTING
Google for Education sessions for teachers

The EdTech Team Tasmania Summit featuring Google for Education will be held in Hobart on 26 and 27 September 2016.

WI-FI
Free Tas Wi-Fi
The number of free wi-fi access points around Tasmania has increased from 42 to 50 (altogether 150 are planned). Limit 30 minutes per device per day at each location. For more info see Minister's statement (25 Aug 2016).

DATA AND STATISTICS
CensusAtSchool

Practical activities for students using Australian Bureau of Statistics census data, which are still useful even though this 2014 site is no longer updated (presumably due to ABS budget cuts).

SCIENCE
Wildlife Spotter

Save threatened wildlife species by helping to identify animals photographed by automated cameras, as promoted in The Mercury (8 Aug 2016). You might even spot a quoll.

STUDENT HEALTH AND SAFETY
Coaches and concussion
This Conversation contribution from 2 Aug 2016 stresses that sports coaches need to be aware of how young people can be protected from the harmful effects of concussion. Links to useful sources of advice include:
- Pocket Concussion Recognition Tool [pdf]
- Making Headway Concussion E-Learning Series (from Canada)

TASMANIAN GEOGRAPHY
My Way (the Midland Highway) song

Entertaining spoof of My Way, the song made famous by Frank Sinatra, naming places along the Midland Highway. Sung by Andrew Colrain and John X (video on ABC Facebook page).

DIGITAL LITERACY
Pokémon Go in the Classroom

Lesson ideas based on the use of Pokémon Go (Discovery Education website).
For more ways to exploit students' interest in the Pokémon craze see these sites:
- 5 ways to trick students into learning with Pokémon Go
- 14 ways to bring Pokémon Go to school
- Pokémon Go - Lesson ideas for the science classroom
- Autistic students: exploring the use of Pokemon Go
- Augmented reality in education

AGRICULTURAL EDUCATION
Prime Zone

New website providing resources for teaching about food and fibre in the Australian Curriculum, from the Primary Industries Education Foundation Australia. In particular, see School resources.

More new and useful sites in the
Useful sites archive