Term 2, 2006

Week 1

2nd May

Hi Everybody

Welcome back for Term 2. It is hoped that everybody had the chance to have a great holiday after what has been reported to be one of the busiest terms people can remember.  To all of those people who have moved schools or who are taking up new positions at the start of Term 2, we wish you all the very best.

Executive meeting this week

PPA Executive will be meeting in Sydney this week and have meetings set up with a number of Senior Officers from DET, continuing the input that the PPA has to a range of issues affecting our schools.

Following the Executive meeting this week, look out for further information about a range of current issues, and as we seek to finalise various PPA groups.  There will be invitations for Principals to submit Expressions of Interest to fill some vacant positions on some of our committees and working parties.  Please keep a look out for these and consider helping us to help our colleagues.

Our Reference Groups were finalised by the end of last term and there is now a complete listing of these on the PPA website.  To access these lists, you need to register a username and password to access the Members Only section of the website. This is an east process which you can complete in a couple of minutes online by clicking the Members Only link in the top left of the main page of the PPA site at http://www.nswppa.org.au and following the instructions.

Please take a few moments to register for this area, as we hope to increasingly use this area to provide information and resources to our members.

School Support Officer Positions

You will have received advice from Peter Johnson regarding the agreed selection process for these positions.  The PPA is glad that our concerns expressed on behalf of many of you in relation to the proposed timing and relative workload related to these positions have been taken into account by both Staffing and the PSA in arriving at a compromise position which will hopefully make the process of getting these positions in place a smoother one.

Vice President Kerry Knox and I met with the PSA in the final week of term and had productive discussions looking for common ground and also talking about a range of areas where we need to continue the dialogue for the good of all of our schools.

Education Week – Public Education Alliance, special event

During Education Week, the Public Education Alliance, of which the PPA is a member, will be hosting a major event in the Theatrette at Parliament House. This will be a lecture from Professor Tony Vinson entitled ‘A Good Start for Every Child's Education: Australia's Obligation and the National Dividend.’

This lecture will be delivered at 5pm on 18th May and there will be further information next week about getting one of the limited number of tickets allocated for PPA members for this event.

Leadership and other Awards – Closing Date on this Friday, 5th May

Please note that applications for Leadership Fellowships (including the Frank Farrell Fellowship) close this Friday, 5th May.

The application for these Fellowships (including Frank Farrell) is now an Expression of Interest which has been simplified to try to streamline the process.  If you follow the link below and then look for the Expression on Interest Application (Ms word 243kb) link which is the second one in the list then you should have what you need.  You will see that there are other things there too providing more information.

https://www.det.nsw.edu.au/awards/lf.htm

Also closing this Friday are nominations for the Meritorious Service to Public Education and Training Award 2006

Nominations for the 2006 Award close on Friday 5 May 2006. For your convenience, a Nomination Form can be downloaded by clicking here.

Parenting; and partnerships

Issues related to parenting and then partnerships between schools and parents are becoming more and more relevant in the context of recent media stories and consideration of the value of investment in the early years.  As Primary Principals, we know the value of good beginnings and many of you have, for many years, worked hard with parents and communities to provide children with the best start possible.

SBS will be recording an episode of their regular show Insight on May 16th which will look at parenting in the early years, and have asked for input regarding any trends we see as Principals for children entering Kindergarten.  As this has been an issue that we have already raised with the Minister, it is good to see the growing focus in this area and the PPA will continue to be a part of this very important move to highlight the importance of what parents and primary educators do in terms of creating a context for lifelong learning.

As an example of some of the online resources becoming available, you might like to have a sneak preview of a website due to go live this month.  It can be accessed by following the link below.  You might also be interested to have a look at the other site: NIFTEY, which also reflects the growing focus on the early years.


The National Parenting Information Website raisingchildren.net.au produced by the Raising Children Network (Australia) and proudly supported by the Australian Government

 National Investment for the Early Years http://www.niftey.cyh.com/


APAPDC News Update - Principals Byte April 2006

Click on the following link (or paste it into your browser) to read Principals Byte, the latest news from the Australian Principals Associations Professional Development Council (APAPDC). The focus is on professional learning opportunities.

 http://ww3.beecoswebengine.org/servlet/Web?s=157573&p=NL_APR_06

Children’s Book Council of Australia  - Competition for NSW Primary School Students - Stories on Screen

Do your students love reading, writing and performing?

Then why not enter this year’s Stories on Screen, a competition where students can adapt a favourite picture book or excerpt from a book into their own multimedia presentation using a range of software applications.

Who? - The competition is open to all primary school students in NSW.  What? - Working in small groups, students will select an Australian children’s picture book or adapt a favourite traditional story to give it an Australian feel and create a visual presentation of no longer than three minutes duration. Students can use any format but suggestions include Photostory, PowerPoint, Stop Motion Pro, iMovie and Moviemaker. When?  The competition will take place in Term 2 2006 with entries due by Friday 28 July 2006.  Winners will be announced at the NSW Children’s Book Council’s Book Week Luncheon on board the South Steyne on Monday 21 August 2006. – For further information, please click here to download the flyer

AGPPA and APPA – Meetings next week 

The Australian Government Primary Principals’ Association (AGPPA) and the Australian Primary Principals Association both meet in Canberra next week and the NSW PPA will be represented at both. With the continued influence of the Federal government in Education, the role of these national bodies is increasingly important.  Following the meetings, there will also be an information day with officers from DEST.

No doubt it will be another busy time for everybody.  Please remember that your local Area Council of the NSW Primary Principals’ Association is a good place to share ideas and concerns which can then be dealt with either via representation at Regional or State level. The PPA is all of us, and we look forward to working with your again this term

Cheers

Roger Pryor
President

Principal Support number 1300 850 338