SCHOOL MANAGEMENT
Grade-splitting harmful, teachers say
The Age, 29 Sep
2014
Splitting up the class of an absent teacher to farm the
students out to other grades for the day is harmful to students'
learning, teachers say ...
INTERNATIONAL EDUCATION RANKINGS
Trust Australia's values
The Age, 29 Sep
2014
Australia would serve its students
better if it trusted its own values and continued providing students
with a holistic education rather than obsessing over international
comparisons between education systems, an international expert says...
STUDENT SAFETY
Call to teach life-saving skills at school
SBS News, 28 Sep
2014
More lives would be save if more
people learnt life-saving skills at schools, Justin Carr, the CEO of
the Royal Life Saving Society, says [though the SBS report describes
him as being the CEO of the "Royal Drowning Society"] ...
HOMEWORK
E-homework widens gap
The Conversation, 28 Sep
2014
Teachers who set homework tasks
that involve use of the internet, computers or smartphones could be
widening the gap between rich and poor students, a Victorian
parliamentary inquiry has noted...
TASMANIAN FAUNA
Tawny frogmouth almost invisible
The Mercury, 28 Sep
2014
This tawny frogmouth photographed
at Triabunna is an incredible example of how some creatures are able
to blend in with their environment...
STUDENT HEALTH
Tas kids warned not to put their heads together
The Mercury, 28 Sep
2014
As many as one in two Tasmanian
children could get head lice during the current holiday period,
experts warn...
AUSTRALIAN CURRICULUM
Risk of intercultural misunderstanding
The Conversation
(comment by Christine Cunningham), 26 Sep
2014
With the Australian Curriculum
currently structured to support "intercultural understanding" the
classroom would appear to be well-suited to countering the recent
rise of Islamophobia, but some educators seem determined to water
down this opportunity to secure a diverse cultural society in
Australia...
AFL GRAND FINALS
Football final grounds for celebration
The Mercury, 26 Sep
2014
Ogilvie High School has held a special AFL Grand Final
dads and daughters breakfast to celebrate relationships and support
the school's chaplaincy program...
SCHOOL CHAPLAINS
In-principle chaplain agreement reached
Tas Govt media
release, 26 Sep
2014
The Tasmanian and federal governments have reached an
in-principle agreement over administering the National School
Chaplaincy Program, but final agreement over the employment of
secular workers has not yet been reached...
PRIVATE SCHOOL FUNDING
Private school fees to rise?
The Mercury, 26 Sep
2014
Independent schools say the government is cutting their funding by
about $1 million over the next four years...
COMPUTER SECURITY
Alert
over 'Shellshock' computer bug
BBC News, 25 Sep
2014
A serious vulnerability in software
used by many Unix, Linux and Apple Mac operating systems is of
immediate
concern to software producers, equipment manufacturers and system administrators but home users should watch out for security updates
to be made
available by manufacturers of devices such as wifi routers and web
cams as well as ensure the usual security updates are applied
promptly...
TEACHER SALARIES
Pay-freeze Bill withdrawn
ABC News, 25 Sep
2014
The Treasurer, Peter Gutwein,
announced tonight that the government will withdraw the pay-freeze
Bill and that as a result 500 extra public service jobs will be cut...
Govt pulls pin on pay freeze, The Mercury, 25 Sep 2014
Upper House rejects pay freeze legislation, Peter Gutwein,
Treasurer, Tas Govt media release, 25 Sep 2014
Another 500 face the axe, The Examiner, 25 Sep 2014
We won't back down, says Premier, The Mercury, 27 sep 2014
ROAD SAFETY
Bike safety commitment
Tas Govt media
release, 25 Sep
2014
A bike education program in schools is among cycling
safety initiatives announced by the state government today...
TEACHER SALARIES
Pay-freeze changes on the cards
The Mercury, 25 Sep
2014
It appears that the state
government may accept amendments to its proposed pay-freeze
legislation, allowing salary increments and extending the pay freeze
to high-paid employees such as judges. However, Tasmanian Industrial
Commission president Tim Abey says the legislation undermines the
commission's role...
SCHOOL FARMS
Money needed for school farm concerns
The Mercury, 25 Sep
2014
The Brighton
Council says the state government needs to provide funds for
sanitation and drainage improvements at the Jordan River School Farm ...
TASMANIAN TEACHERS
New 100m records set by SVC student
The Mercury, 25 Sep
2014
A 16-year-old St Virgil's College boy has broken
Tasmanian and national records by running 100 metres in 10.44
seconds ...
Schoolboy smashes 100m record, ABC News, 24 Sep 2014
NAPLAN
Interactive NAPLAN tests on way
ABC News, 25 Sep
2014
A trial is underway that will
eventually lead to online NAPLAN tests that respond to individual
students' responses, enabling the tests to measure what students know
rather than what they do not know...
TEACHER AIDES
Legal fears for teacher aides
The Mercury, 25 Sep
2014
The prospect of teacher assistants
performing complicated medical tasks has raised legal concerns ...
TASMANIAN TEACHERS
Education awards finalists announced
Tas Govt media
release, 24 Sep
2014
The Minister for Education and
Training, Jeremy Rockliff, announced the 46 finalists in the 2014
RBF Department of Education Awards for Excellence tonight...
LIFELONG LEARNING
Learning is whole-of-life and whole-of-community
Tas Govt media
release, 24 Sep
2014
Education minister Jeremy Rockliff launched the Glenorchy
LEARN strategy in conjunction with the Glenorchy Council today...
Counter-terrorism alert in Melbourne
ABC News, 23 Sep
2014
A man subject
to a terrorism investigation has been shot dead and two
counter-terrorism police officers have been stabbed
outside a Melbourne police station...
US bombs Syrian targets
ABC News, 23 Sep
2014
The US has
begun bombing I.S. targets in Syria...
WOMEN AND GIRLS
Tas female data out
Tas Govt media
release, 23 Sep
2014
The Women and Girls in Tasmania Report 2013
provides a wide range of data on females in Tasmania, with an
emphasis on social, health, educational and
employment issues...
Download Women and Girls in Tasmania Report 2013,
Dept of Premier and Cabinet website
TASMANIAN SCHOOLS
Lansdowne Crescent wins national award
The Mercury, 23 Sep
2014
West Hobart's Lansdowne Crescent Primary School has won
the Junior Landcare Team award for developing an interpretive trail
in the nearby Knocklofty Reserve...
STUDENT HEALTH AND WELLBEING
Brush with officialdom over coloured hair
Queensland Times, 23 Sep
2014
A Queensland Year 12 student says
her school's hair policy is discriminatory and unfair because she
will have to miss school and her formal as a result of brightly
colouring her hair as an alternative to using self-harm to cope with
body dismorphic disorder...
SCHOOL FARMS
School farm rezoning process begins
Tas Govt media
release, 22 Sep
2014
Education
minister Jeremy Rockliff has welcomed the move announced today by
the Brighton Council to amend its planning scheme to enable the
Jordan River School Farm to remain on its present site at Brighton...
Brighton Council establishes
special purpose zone for school farm, Brighton Council, 22 Sep 2014
Jordan River School Farm crisis 2014
(Taslearn special archive)
STUDENT HEALTH AND FITNESS
Standing up for health
Perth Now, 21 Sep
2014
A study by Curtin University shows
that children are healthier and better-behaved if their classroom
enables them to use stand-up desks, moving stools and other
furniture that reduces the amount of their continuous sedentary time...
STUDENT SAFETY
Student
raped when teachers' plan failed abysmally
Mirror, 19 Sep
2014
A 14-year-old Alabama girl was raped after teachers set
her up as 'bait' to catch another student but then forgot about her...
STUDENT ASSESSMENT
A question of validity
The Conversation
(contribution by Bob Reed), 19 Sep
2014
Central Queensland University will
no longer use multiple-choice questions in assessing students
because selecting from a list of options is not typical of the kind
of decision-making people have to make in the real world ...
TASMANIAN STUDENTS
Primaries dance
The Examiner, 19 Sep
2014
Approximately 6,000 primary school children participated
in the 28th Northern Primary Dance Event at the Launceston
Silverdome yesterday ...
TASMANIAN SCHOOLS
Whales within Cooee
The Mercury, 19 Sep
2014
With a nearby beach available as a classroom, Cooee
Primary school has ensured whales and dolphins are included in their
curriculum...
Scots vote NO to independence
ABC News, 3.00pm 19 Sep 2014
Scotland has voted 55 per cent to 45 per cent to remain in the United Kingdom.
STUDENT HEALTH
Brighton kindies bear up
The Mercury, 19 Sep
2014
Students in Brighton Primary's four
kindergarten classes brought their teddy bears to school to enable
medical students to help them learn about health and hygiene under
the Teddy Bear Hospital program...
SCHOOL
CLOSURES
Fears for Meander
The Mercury, 19 Sep
2014
Meander Primary School's survival appears to be at risk
due to falling enrolments...
SCHOOL
REPORTS
School
reports not always useful
The Conversation
(contributed by Heather Fehring), 18 Sep
2014
Whether
formative or summative, school reports can be a mystery to some
parents and not always useful for improving student achievement, an
academic writes...
SCIENCE
Students investigate for science awards
The Mercury, 18 Sep
2014
Students undertook science investigations for the
University of Tasmania Science Investigation Awards yesterday...
TAFE
TasTAFE Open Day
Tas Govt media
release, 18 Sep
2014
TasTAFE will hold an Open Day tomorrow, Saturday 20
September, at Hobart, Launceston and Burnie...
TASMANIAN EDUCATION SYSTEM
Tri-partisan education taskforce is needed
The Mercury, 18 Sep
2014
In an
article published in The Mercury, Greens education spokesperson
and a former education minister Nick McKim writes that he regrets
not having joined with the University of Tasmania in forming a
tri-partisan taskforce to reform Tasmania's education system...
United front needed for
top-class results, Nick McKim, The Mercury, 18 Sep 2014
STUDENT HEALTH AND NUTRITION
Designing for nutrition
The Mercury, 17 Sep
2014
The 24 Carrot Gardens
project is well underway, with 12 schools in southern Tasmania being
paired up with design firms to plan special areas in their school
grounds to promote nutrition and sustainability...
Southern students travel into
northern Tasmania, The Examiner, 18 Sep 2014
TEACHING PROFESSION
Haircut leads to loss of exam marks
Herald Sun, 17 Sep
2014
A Sydney student who turned up to a chemistry exam with an undercut hairstyle was required to do the exam on another day
but with a 20 per cent penalty...
SCHOOL ATTENDANCE
Tas attendance system links with learning
The Examiner, 17 Sep
2014
Tasmanian government school students are being monitored
by a daily attendance system, called Edi, which provides alerts by
linking absenteeism with students' learning and NAPLAN results ...
SCHOOL AUTONOMY
Do parents know what's best for
schools?
The Conversation, 17 Sep
2014
The push towards school autonomy leads to more responsibility for
school decisions being placed on parents, a situation which is
fraught with problems, a University of Canberra researcher says ...
FOREIGN LANGUAGES
Learning a foreign language early
Aust Govt media
release, 16 Sep
2014
The federal government has announced
that for the next step in its ELLA (Early Learning Languages
Australia) trial 40 pre-schools will be selected to use special
play-based apps that will enable children to learn languages such as
Mandarin, Japanese, Indonesian, Arabic and French ...
Victoria has begun
implementing its own foreign languages program in primary schools, The Age, 8 Sep 2014
Manadarin underway at Albuera Street Primary, The Mercury, 17
Sep 2014
STUDENT HEALTH AND WELLBEING
Trees, not screens
The Conversation, 15 Sep
2014
Children are spending too much time
in front of screens and not enough time outside engaging in
tree-climbing and other risky play activities, a psychology lecturer
says...
TEACHING PROFESSION
Teacher of 'feral' class receives bigger sum
ABC News, 16 Sep
2014
The Victorian teacher who was awarded almost $770,000
after being required to teach 'feral' students has been awarded an
additional $550,000, bringing his total payout to $1.279 million...
LOCAL
GOVERNMENT
Launceston's Deputy Mayor killed in crash
The Examiner, 16 Sep
2014
Launceston's Deputy Mayor, Alderman Jeremy Ball, died in
a collision on the Bass Highway yesterday...
Deputy Mayor killed, The Mercury, 16 Sep 2014
TASMANIAN SCHOOLS
Brooks High upgrade
The Examiner, 15 Sep
2014
Plans have been unveiled for a $9 million upgrade
to Brooks High School...
EDUCATION ACT
Proposal sets minimum instructional hours
The Mercury, 14 Sep
2014
The
Tasmanian government's proposed amendments to the Education Act
include setting minimum face-to-face teaching hours for schools, not
just a continuation of the current requirements for school opening
hours...
Review
of the Tas Education Act, DoE Blogspot page
CYBERBULLYING
Cyberbullying stealing teaching time
news.com.au, 14 Sep
2014
Research shows the average Australian high school deals
with 22 cyberbullying incidents each year, schools often having to
spend time on Mondays dealing with social media issues that have
arisen over the weekend...
EXTENSION TO YEAR 12
Support drops for extending schools to Year 12
The Mercury, 14 Sep
2014
A ReachTEL survey of Tasmanians shows that support
for extending high schools to Years 11 and 12 has fallen from 61.6
per cent to 55.6 per cent...
Plan to extend falling out of
favour,
The Mercury, 15 Sep 2014
SCHOOL FUNDING
Gap widens
SMH, 14 Sep
2014
The performance gap between
disadvantaged and advantaged schools has widened since the time
Gonski wrote his report...
GAMBLING
Campaign to highlight risks of sports betting
Tas Govt media
release, 13 Sep
2014
A
community and social media campaign that highlights the adverse
effects of sports betting will target young Tasmanian men, although
research shows that children and adolescents are also at risk...
Sports betting, DHHS website
TASMANIAN
TEACHERS
Mowbray Heights teacher is a legend
The Examiner, 12 Sep
2014
Mowbray Heights Primary School physical education teacher
Justin Cudmore has been inducted into the Australian Council for
Health, Physical Education and Recreation as a legend...
PATHWAY
PLANNERS
Consultation assured over pathway planners
Tas Govt media
release, 12 Sep
2014
The state government assured the
Tasmanian Industrial Commission today that it would consult with
employees over its plan to replace Guaranteeing Futures with a full
K-12 approach to career and future planning for students...
Agreement reached, The Examiner, 12 Sep 2014
PAY FREEZE
Call for ILO support over Tas pay freeze
ABC News, 12 Sep
2014
Tasmanian
unions have notified the International Labour Organization that they
may be calling on its help in fighting the state government's public
sector 12-month pay freeze...
NATIONAL
SECURITY
Terrorist alert level raised to HIGH
ABC News, 12 Sep
2014
Australia's terrorism alert level has been raised from medium to
high. This means there will be extra security at
airports, public events and ports...
National Terrorism Public Alert System
NAPLAN
NAPLAN comparisons doing harm, say principals
The Courier, 12 Sep
2014
The comparison of schools made
possible by the publication of NAPLAN data on the My School website
has led to a stifling of creative and effective teaching and a
narrowing of the curriculum, Australian Primary Principals
Association president Norm Hart says...
COMPUTER
SECURITY
Old passwords belonging to 5m Gmail users leaked
Mashable, 11 Sep
2014
READ CAREFULLY: The Gmail addresses
of almost 5 million Gmail users have been posted online, along with
the old passwords they used apparently when registering at certain
OTHER websites. Therefore, actual Gmail passwords appear not have
been published except where users had used the SAME password for
Gmail and certain other accounts You can easily
check to see whether YOUR Gmail
account is listed...
Check for your Gmail account, isleaked.com
TEACHING
METHODS
Primary school teaching uses 'pseudoscience'
The Guardian, 11 Sep
2014
The President of the Australian
College of Educators says there is a lack of rigour in today's
primary school teaching, citing as an example the case of students
whose confusion of Captain Phillip with Captain Cook in the
production of an animation was seen as less important than the fact
the students had been engaged...
Teaching is complex: don't
try to simplify what teachers do, Ian Mitchell, The Conversation,
19 Sep 2014
STUDENT
DRUG USE
Cannabis use harmful
The Conversation
(contribution by Fron Jackson-Webb), 10
Sep
2014
Regular cannabis use by adolescents
can have significantly adverse effects on cognitive development,
educational attainment, school participation and future drug use...
STUDENT
HEALTH AND SUPPORT
Aides to be paid for healthcare work
Tas Govt media
release, 10
Sep
2014
Teacher assistants are to be paid an extra $11.80 per week if they
choose to undertake healthcare procedures for students...
Medical procedures in school
time, The
Mercury, 11 Sep 2014
Amount is small and tasks could involve legal liability,
Michelle O'Byrne, Opposition education spokesperson, 10 Sep 2014
TEACHING
PRACTICE
Why are game designers better at teaching than teachers?
The Conversation
(opinion by Misty Adoniou), 10
Sep
2014
Game designers bring out the best
in kids by applying the principles of good teaching far more effectively than teachers themselves do...
REVIEW OF
THE EDUCATION ACT
School ages to be reviewed
The Examiner, 10
Sep
2014
With
Tasmania's current school starting age being the lowest in Australia
and leading to many students being legally able to leave education
early in Year 11, education minister Jeremy Rockliff has announced a
review of compulsory school starting and leaving ages...
Tas students may be starting and staying longer at school, ABC
News, 10 Sep 2014
Review
of the Tas Education Act, DoE Blogspot page
School starting and leaving ages to feature in review, Jeremy
Rockliff, Minister for Education and Training, 10 Sep 2014
Push for 18 years leaving age, The Mercury, 10 Sep 2014
Education reform should consider proposal for expert body led by
University, Bryan Green, Opposition leader, 10 Sep 2014
School
age overhaul, The Advocate, 11 Sep 2014
Younger age would pose challenges, The Examiner,12 Sep 2014
TASMANIAN
HISTORY
Sir John Franklin's ship found
ABC News, 10
Sep
2014
The remains have been discovered of one of the two ships used in
Arctic exploration by former Tasmanian Governor Sir John Franklin,
who effectively founded Tasmania's education system, was
appreciated
by early convicts and is loved by today's seagulls...
Important chapter in
Tasmania's history, Guy Barnett, Tas Govt media release, 10
Sep 2014
COMPUTING
INNOVATIONS
The Apple Watch is launched
SMH, 10
Sep
2014
The Apple Watch, unveiled today, can be used as a
payment tool and fitness device as well as provide access to email,
apps and text messages...
STUDENT SAFETY
Reason for handstands and cartwheels ban revealed
Herald Sun, 10
Sep
2014
The Queensland principal who had banned cartwheels and
handstands had done so only after a group of students who had learnt
gymnastic cheerleading out of school tried out their skills at
school with one breaking a limb and another suffering facial injuries...
BULLYING
Bullied students opt for online from home
The Examiner, 9
Sep
2014
Tasmania's eSchool is enrolling many students who are
using online learning from home to avoid being bullied at mainstream
schools...
COMPARATIVE EDUCATION
Culture, not teaching, explains superior Chinese educational
performance
The Age, 8
Sep
2014
A study that finds Chinese immigrant students perform
better than Australians when both are taught by Australian teachers
shows that it is not the quality of the teaching but the nature of
the culture that places China's students ahead of Australia's...
COMPUTING
SUPPORT IN SCHOOLS
Schools to lose IT support workers
The Mercury, 8
Sep
2014
State Budget cuts will force
schools to do without their IT support workers - unless they hire
them back as contractors...
INDUSTRIAL
ACTION
Catholic system has the money, union says
The Mercury, 8
Sep
2014
The Tasmanian Catholic education
system now has sufficient funds to end the current industrial
stalemate satisfactorily, the Independent Education Union
Victoria/Tasmania says...
TRAINING
Training awards winners announced
Tas Govt media
release, 6
Sep
2014
The winners of the Tasmanian Training Awards for 2014
were announced last night...
COMMISSIONER FOR CHILDREN
New Commissioner for Children announced
Tas Govt media
release, 6
Sep
2014
Mark
Morrissey from Western Australia has been named as Tasmania's new
Commissioner for Children...
New Children's Commissioner, ABC News, 7 Sep 2014
AUSTRALIAN
CURRICULUM
Narrow the curriculum focus, says report
The Mercury, 6
Sep
2014
The long-awaited special report on
the Australian Curriculum prepared for federal education minister
Christopher Pyne appears to recommend:
greater emphasis on basic skills such as literacy and
numeracy;
less
emphasis on themes such as creativity, intercultural awareness and
personal and social capabilities; and
that the
curriculum be made more teacher friendly, more specific and less
crowded ...
KINDERGARTEN
Kinder funding no surprise
Tas Govt media
release, 5
Sep
2014
Funding for kindergarten will
continue in 2015, with the Commonwealth funding five hours per week
and the state government providing ten hours per week, education
minister Jeremy Rockliff has announced...
TEACHING
PROFESSION
'Feral' students: teacher awarded $770k
ABC News, 5
Sep
2014
A Victorian teacher has been awarded almost $770,000 in
damages after suffering a breakdown from having to teach 'feral'
students...
Jump in legal enquiries over
stress,
The Border Mail, 9 Sep 2014
STATE
BUDGET
Pay injustice
Tas Greens website, 4
Sep
2014
Under the state Budget's pay freeze, first-year teachers
on less than $50,000 will have their pay frozen while judges on
enormous salaries will continue to receive pay rises, Greens
education spokesperson Nick McKim says...
TASMANIAN
SCHOOLS
Lindisfarne North goes to Geilston Bay
Tas Govt media
release, 4
Sep
2014
Lindisfarne North Primary School is to take over the
vacant Geilston Bay High School facilities...
COMPARING EDUCATION SYSTEMS
You can't rely on international comparisons
The Conversation
(comment by Kevin Donnelly), 4
Sep
2014
International league tables
comparing different school systems are not always reliable. For
example, not all countries promote the Confucian values and ethics
that stress respect for teachers and others in authority...
STATE BUDGET
End of Moonah Big Picture School
ABC News, 4
Sep
2014
The Big Picture School at Moonah, a campus of Montrose
Bay High School, is to move to the main school next year...
STATE BUDGET
Big wage losses for young teachers
ABC News, 3
Sep
2014
Greens education spokesperson Nick McKim says the wage
freeze and delay in annual pay scale progression will cost a
beginning teacher almost $23,000 over the first three years...
Freeze on increments will
stop the best people joining the teaching profession,
Nick McKim, Greens education
spokesperson, 3 Sep 2014
Premier refuses to rule out pay freeze continuing beyond 12 months,
Kim Booth, Greens leader, 3 Sep 2012
STATE BUDGET
Pathway Planning anger
The Advocate, 2
Sep
2014
Parents say online modules cannot replace the
interpersonal work of Pathway Planners, but education minister
Jeremy Rockliff says that with the grades 8 and 9 components of the
Guaranteeing Futures program having been axed grade 10 is too late
and a whole new approach commencing at kindergarten needs to be
undertaken...
Pathway Planning is working but abolition will shift costs onto
schools, Nick McKim, Greens education spokesperson, 2 Sep 2014
Reinstate Pathway Planners, Michelle O'Byrne, Opposition
Education spokesperson, 4 Sep 2014
Pathway Planning had lifted college enrolments, The Examiner, 4
Sep 2014
STATE BUDGET
Budget
rips $148m out of education, says Green
TasLabor website, 2
Sep
2014
In his Budget Reply Speech, Opposition leader Bryan Green
says that although the government claims the Budget adds $300
million to education over the next four years it simultaneously slashes $148.4
million, causing pain for students, teachers and families. The
Opposition proposes the establishment of a special body led by the
University of Tasmania to develop "an integrated and
comprehensive educational model" that would improve educational
outcomes...
STUDENT SAFETY
School bans handstands and cartwheels
Brisbane Times, 2
Sep
2014
A Queensland primary school has banned students from
performing handstands and cartwheels unless the students are
"properly supervised by a trained PE teacher"...
Principal was complying with
Department's procedures manual, Northern Star, 3 Sep 2014
STUDENT HEALTH AND DEVELOPMENT
Play opportunities increasingly restricted
The Age, 1 Sep
2014
Children are missing out on the
skills and personal benefits gained through play, largely as a
result of a perceived risk of litigation but also as an unintended
consequence of the federal government's BER policy which reduced the
amount of playground space in schools...
STATE BUDGET
Greens would retain public sector workers
Tas Greens website,
1 Sep
2014
The Greens' alternative state Budget would avoid the
public sector wage freeze and cuts to 700 public sector jobs, Greens
leader and Treasury spokesperson Kim Booth said today...
Greens' alternative Budget
2014-15
[pdf]
Pay freeze legislation tabled, The Examiner, 2 Sep 2014
COMPUTER TECHNOLOGY
Apps have benefits
The Age, 1 Sep
2014
Students learn more by using apps
than by using books, an app
developer and an app-using teacher say...
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