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A Regular update from the
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No 10, 2005. Published 23rd August, 2005 |
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Principal Liaison Officer positions Congratulations go to Kerry Knox and Tracey Hayne who have been successful in gaining the two positions as Principal Liaison Officer to be based in Bridge Street from the commencement of next week. Tracey is currently the Principal at Narellan Vale Public School and has had a long involvement with the NSW Primary Principals’ Association and the Australian College of Educators. Kerry is currently Principal at Nuwarra Public School, and current Vice-President of the NSW Primary Principals’ Association. I’m sure that all members of the NSW PPA wish both Kerry and Tracey all the very best in their new roles. Kelso High School Our commiserations go to the entire school community from Kelso High School, in Bathurst, for their great loss on Friday night when almost the entire school was burnt to the ground. It is expected that Year 12 will be back in business in TAFE accommodation from today and that other classes will be back on line as soon as possible. As is so often the case in situations like this, offers of condolence and, most importantly, tangible support, have been flooding in, and the episode has signalled yet again the ability of the profession to focus on the task of getting things moving again in the best way possible. As the planning continues for the school’s re-establishment, there will be appeals for resources etc. It is likely that there will be a base location for collection, and as soon as further details are known, this will be communicated. Reporting to Parents You would be aware of the announcement last week of new report formats for NSW primary schools. The announcement was made last week by new Premier Morris Iemma, and has brought a range of comment from all sources. The position of the NSW PPA was clearly stated in a Media Release issued on the afternoon of the announcement and this position was reflected in the Daily Telegraph and on radio on Tuesday. Of greatest concern is the use of quartiles which will be meaningless in many of our schools, especially the 600 or so smaller schools across the state, and will do nothing at all to be able to describe a future for some children. An extract from the media release “NSW Primary Principals are extremely disappointed that a Federal policy of “money with strings attached” has forced the creation of report formats for NSW schools which do not reflect the extensive consultation undertaken in this state around the issue of student report cards. The Federal government has threatened to withhold funds from states who fail to issue student report cards which contain certain features. This tactic has forced the inclusion of a ranking system for children which is at odds with the best advice of the profession. Along with grades which will reflect teacher judgement of a child’s achievements in relation to what they are expected to be able to achieve at their age and stage, new report formats announced today include a “quartile” ranking which will divide children into four groups representing each 25% of possible performance: from top, to bottom. The NSW Primary Principals Association, the key professional consultative group for public primary schools across NSW, has been extensively involved in consultation on report formats following the Eltis Review and has worked closely with the Department to develop reports which meet the needs of our parents, children and schools. NSW Principals agree with parents that reports need to be clear, honest and informative The hijacking of State processes by a Federal minister who is intent on totally ignoring the view of the profession is damaging to the ability of us to all work together to deliver quality education.” Executive Meeting this week The Executive of the NSW PPA will be meeting in Sydney on Thursday this week with a number of meetings scheduled with other key groups: the Federation of P&C Associations, the Secondary Principals’ Council and the NSW Teachers’ Federation. This will enable us to have discussion around a number of areas of common concern and to be clear about our relative positions in a range of other areas. Life Members, Fellowships and other Awards This is a reminder that nominations for a number of different awards are due this Thursday, 25th August. The NSW PPA Awards ceremony at our annual conference has become a very moving experience in recent years and it is great to be able to recognise those people who have made major contributions to the NSW Primary Principals’ Association. If you have not already done so, please consider ensuring that you have made a nomination where appropriate. The URL for all of the information is: http://www.nswppa.org.au/awards.html Catching up around the state. It has been good to catch up with a number of different Principals’ groups in the last few weeks, with visits to the Central Schools’ conference in Dubbo, the Sydney South West professional learning day, Moree PPA meeting. Later this week, it’s off to Maitland and then, in the next week will be at the Western Region conference in Mudgee and then the New England conference in Tamworth. National Scene It has been a busy time at the national level as well with meetings of the Australian Government Primary Principals’ Association (AGPPA) and the Australian Primary Principals’ Association (APPA) in Melbourne throughout the 10th to 14th August. There is much work going on at the national level to try to influence the Federal agenda which seems to being driven so forcefully in ignorance of the views of the profession by the Federal Minister, Brendan Nelson. The weekend just passed has also meant another meeting in Melbourne to discuss various approaches across Australia to the development and use of professional teacher standards. Cheers Roger Pryor
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