18
The Independent Voice
May 2010
EVENTS DIARY Catholic Educational Leadership Conference
ECTA Early Conference
Childhood
Jeans for Genes Day
The 5th International Conference on Catholic Educational Leadership - A Beacon of Hope: A light for the future, will be held from 2 to 4 August 2010 at the Australian Catholic University National Strathfield campus in Sydney.
The annual Early Childhood Teachers Association (ECTA) conference is on again in 2010 and aims to inspire, stimulate and provide practical knowledge for educators in all early childhood sectors. The conference will be held on Saturday 26 June from 8:45am to 5:45pm at John Paul College, Daisy Hill, Brisbane and is open to school teachers in all sectors, community kindergarten and pre-prep professionals, childcare and family day care professionals and outside school hours care professionals.
Jeans for Genes Day is turning 16 this year on Friday 6 August 2010.
The conference is tailored to the needs and interests of Catholic educational leaders in schools, systems and networks of religious schools. It provides opportunities to hear some of the foremost thinkers in the field, and to interact with colleagues from across Australia and internationally. In 2010 it is expected there will be around 400 delegates, internationally renowned keynote speakers, delegate papers and a small trade exhibition. Key note speakers at the conference include: • Professor Gerald Grace of the Centre for Research and Development in Catholic Education at the Institute of Education, University of London - addressing the issue of mission integrity drawing on his work as the editor of the International Handbook of Catholic Education. • Professor Nancy Tuana of the Rock Ethics Institute at Pennsylvania State University - sharing her work on moral literacy and leadership. • Mr Patrick Dodson, a key figure in the reconciliation movement in Australia he will reflect on the challenges of reconciliation for educational leaders. • Professor Michael Gaffney of the Centre for Creative and Authentic Leadership at ACU - sharing the outcomes of recent research in Catholic schools and systems around the country. • Dr Chris Branson of the Centre for Creative and Authentic Leadership at ACU - sharing the outcomes of recent research in Catholic schools and systems around the country. • Associate Professor Michael Bezzina from the Centre for Creative and Authentic Leadership at ACU will provide the opening address. To register or for more information please visit the conference website at www.acu.edu.au/leadershipconference2010
National Tree Day 2010 Planet Ark is calling for volunteers to join the campaign and help plant a million new native trees and shrubs this National Tree Day on Sunday 1 August. Celebrating its 15th year in 2010, National Tree Day sees communities work together to protect their natural environment by planting and caring for native trees and shrubs. More than 15 million seedlings have been planted in the event’s history and each year over 300,000 people take part at 3,500 sites around the country. For schools, each year around 200,000 Australian school students participate in a special National Tree Day event just for kids – Schools Tree Day on Friday 30 July. It’s a great opportunity for children to learn about, and make a contribution to, Australia’s natural environment while having fun at the same time. This Tree Day, all schools and their students are encouraged to get on board with Planet Ark and get their hands dirty! Discover why life is better with trees! Visit treeday.planetark.org or call 1300 885 000 to find your nearest site.
The goals of the conference are to: • Provide practical workshops suitable for educators working with a variety of age groups; • Promote networking opportunities and collegiality; • Showcase a wide selection of resources via a trade display; • Stimulate and inspire early childhood educators to reflect on their practice; • Provide professional development in-line with standards required for teacher registration; and • Build capacity and collaboration between early childhood professionals from all sectors. The keynote address will be presented by Professor Tony Attwood. Over the last few years there have been significant developments in the areas of affective education and improving social understanding. The presentation will outline some of the difficulties that can occur when trying to work in collaboration with parents, and some of the issues at home that may be affecting emotions and social behaviour. Professor Atwood will also focus on identifying signs of depression and anxiety in young children and strategies that can be implemented in the classroom to improve self-image and self-confidence. There will be a selection of over 25 workshops and five Masterclasses during the day. Tony Attwood will conduct a Masterclass ‘Strategies for guiding children with aggressive behaviours including Oppositional Defiant Disorder (ODD)’. The structure of the Masterclass will be based on information provided by the participants at the conference. The content will include discussion of why a child may become aggressive and defiant and what is realistically possible within a typical classroom. There will also be two other Masterclass presenters on the day. Pam Linke, well known speaker and author, will present two Masterclasses and address ‘Building resilience in children’ and ‘Bullying – is it relevant to early childhood? What can we do about it?” QIEU member Louis Bradfield, a dynamic and passionate communicator, will present two Masterclasses. Louis will share how ‘play’, under the guise of supposed ‘child centeredness’, has experienced a significant shift away from children and their agendas which he regards as “The Bastardisation of Play”. The second Masterclass ‘‘The Arts’ - Identifying elements of the arts that present children with opportunities to tell ‘their stories’. For more information email info@ecta.org.au
Action Against Bullying Education Series The Minister for Education and Training, with the support of the Queensland Schools Alliance Against Violence (QSAAV), is proud to present a free Education Series for school leaders, teachers, teacher aides, guidance officers, behaviour management staff and parents. Dr Carr-Gregg is a well respected expert and committed
advocate for addressing the issues of child and adolescent well being, bullying and the emerging issues associated with cyber bullying. The Education Series, which includes a breakfast for school leaders, a half-day workshop for school staff and an evening session for parents, will be presented
throughout Queensland. The school leaders breakfast is from 7am-9am, the school staff session from 12pm4pm, and the parent session from 6:30pm-8:30pm. Dates and venues in July and August: Mackay - 19 July Toowoomba - 5 August (breakfast
Celebrate by inviting all students and teachers to wear jeans and register for Jeans for Genes Day and make a gold coin donation towards research to improve children’s health. Jeans for Genes Day, born and bred in Australia, has grown to become one of our most important national fundraising days. This year, schools around Australia are getting together to show their support for children’s health. When students and teachers donate a gold coin on Jeans for Genes Day they are supporting the work of Children’s Medical Research Institute and help their scientists to unravel the mysteries of childhood diseases. So this year, inspire your school community to get involved and register now for Jeans for Genes Day at www.jeansforgenes.org. au/schools.
Red Nose Day Red Nose Day, held this year on 25 June, is the major fundraiser for SIDS and Kids. Funds raised through Red Nose Day activities assists in providing vital services and programs. Schools are encouraged to get involved during the day by selling red noses and other merchandise to raise much needed funds for the charity. Proceeds from Red Nose Day assist SIDS and Kids in providing vital services and programs in our local community. In 1988, when Red Nose Day first started, 479 Australian babies died from SIDS. With Red Nose Day income, SIDS and Kids organisations funded research and produced the SIDS and Kids Safe Sleeping health promotion campaign, leading to a drop to 71 SIDS deaths in 2007. To get your school involved in Red Nose Day this year or to find out more information, go to http://www.rednoseday. com.au .
and school staff session); 4 August (parent session) Brisbane North - 6 August (breakfast and school staff session); 5 August (parent session) Brisbane South - 9 August Sunshine Coast - 19 August (breakfast and school staff session); 18 August (parent session) Gold Coast - 20 August (breakfast and school staff session); 19 August (parent session) Mt Isa - 24 August (breakfast); 23
August (school staff and parent session) Rockhampton - 25 August (breakfast and school staff session); 24 August (parent session) Cairns and Townsville have already held their sessions in May. For more information or to register, please visit www. learningplace.com.au/ea/ conferenceservices