The Australian Education Times Dec/Jan 2014

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Issue 2 • Dec/Jan 2014 • www.educationtimes.com.au

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“Education is the understanding, critical thinking, building team skills, of being able to express yourself” The Honourable MP, Dr Geoff Lee

Outstanding School

James Ruse Agricultural High School Test Zone:

Literacy Corner:

Focus on University: How Preparing for the Secrets for successful to avoid Plagiarism Selective School Test persuasive writing

Success Story

THE NEWS CREW

Contents News and Views: 3 Is Gonski Gone-Skii?

Outstanding School: 6 School of the month: James Ruse Agricultural High School

Success Story: 8

10 Insightful Questions to The Honourable MP, Dr Geoff Lee

Focus on University: 12

Focus on University

13

Career of the month

28

Magic Maths

34

Academic Integrity: How to avoid Plagiarism

Special Pull-Out: 17

“Education is the understanding, critical thinking, building team skills, of being able to express yourself” The Honourable MP, Dr Geoff Lee

Join us digitally via our social networks….

FOLLOW us facebook.com/theaustralianeducationtimes @TheAusEduTimes Contact us email : editor@educationtimes.com.au Phone: +61 2 8883 0750 Advertise email: advertise@educationtimes.com.au

Wonders of paper creativity, Year of selfie, Fun learning with historical facts, Keep learning In the holidays

ICT for Education: 25

Mobile Learning: The New Learning Buzz

Career of the Month: 28 Registered Nurse

Test Zone: 29

Preparing for Selective School Entry Test

Science Lab: 31 Why does the Moon shine?

Literacy Corner: 32 Art of Persuasive Writing

Magic Maths: 34

Problem Solving- Is it a problem?

Curriculum Link: 35 HSIE: Typhoons

www.educationtimes.com.au The Australian Education Times

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The Australian

education times

From the Editor W

elcome to the second issue of The Australian Education Times. I am absolutely delighted that our magazine has launched with much more interest than we could have ever anticipated. We have received overwhelming feedback for many of our articles and are so excited to bring you another issue with even more resources and information about the education sector.

In one month, we already have over 2,400 likes on Facebook (www.facebook.com/ theaustralianeducationtimes) and 1,400 followers on twitter (@TheAusEduTimes).

Our website is also getting thousands of hits which tells us that our magazine is certainly something that the Australian community has been wanting.

We have also been inundated with parents asking us for more practical ways in which they can support their children. This month we are looking at practical ways in which students can continue to learn during the school holidays without even realising that they are. This is actually quite important as 80% of a child’s learning occurs outside the classroom. To help all parents with this, we

Quotes of the month

have made this a special “pull” out section.

So tear away!

“

We will also look at how students can start preparing for the Selective Schools Test (that will be happening in March).

Our University section looks at Plagerism and ways that students can take to avoid falling into this trap.

Our regular pages dedicated to literacy, numeracy, ICT and science are also filled with fantastic resources. All of our puzzle pages and extra-curricular activities that we include in our magazine are linked to The Australian Curriculum so you can see and monitor the development of your child’s learning.

Thank you to The Honourable Dr Geoff Lee MP of Parramatta who was interviewed by our student interviewers this month. Dr Lee’s success story can also be watched online on our website.

If there is something that you would like to see featured in The Australian Education Times, please email me at editor@educationtimes.com.au

Speaking of favourite classrooms...

Learning happens and it’s in the air... it almost [feels] like Magic.

“

@AnnLoseva

The best teachers are those who show you where to look, but don’t tell you what to see.

Alexandra K.Trenfor.

Noelene Callaghan

“

The Australian Education Times would like to acknowledge the Darug people who are the traditional custodians of this land. I would also like to pay respect to the elders past and present of the Darug nation and extend that respect to other Aboriginal people present.

Education is the most powerful weapon which you can use to change the world.

Nelson Mandela

Letters To Editor Letter 1

Dear Editor

I really loved your article on patterns. I have found this particularly useful for my daughter who is in Year 1. My child is in Year 7 and I would like some help with problem solving. Are you able to provide some information on this?

Susan, Wyong

Letter 2

Dear Editor

Your literacy article was outstanding. I gave a copy of this to my son’s teacher who used it in his class. My son just did NAPLAN and he did not do so well in persuasive writing.

Is there any chance of including something on this in your upcoming issues?

Pamela, San Sousi

Letter 3

Dear Editor

I am a uni student at UWS and am finding it difficult to minimise my plagerism percentages on Turn It In. How do I reduce this?

Arzu, Blacktown

The Australian Education Times is dedicated to providing relevant and up-to-date news and resources that can be used in the classroom or at home. If you would like to contribute to our magazine, please write to Noelene at editor@educationtimes.com.au All contributions are to be 300 words long and to include a photo that is saved as a jpeg.

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The Australian

education times News and Views Tweetings It appears everyone has an opinion about this……

‘Why Chris Pyne’s #Gonski backflip hurts NSW kids more’ http://bit.ly/ IibM48 #auspol Chris Pyne denied twice today Coalition promised no school worse off. Really?

Play the video. #Gonski http://ow.ly/ rg1RS

Is Gonski

Gone-skii?

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n a rapid move, the Minister of Education, Christopher Pyne, has threatened to take Gonski away from schools. This means that NSW schools face losing more than $2 billion over the next six years as a result of the Abbott government’s plans to abandon the last two years of Gonski money and change the way funding is distributed.

Mr Pyne hardened his position, appearing to confirm some schools might lose funding despite an election promise to the contrary, while flagging a return to a Howard-era funding model discredited by NSW’s Coalition government.

Principals have been blindsided by the broken promise, saying it could disadvantage hundreds of thousands of students.

NSW Education Minister Adrian Piccoli joined Labor state education ministers in accusing Mr Pyne of breaking an election promise of a “unity ticket” on Gonski and labelling any shift away from needs-based modelling as a “body-blow” for education.

“He must be the only person in Australia who thinks the SES (socioeconomic status) model is a good model,” Mr Piccoli said.

“The Gonski panel said ‘no’ (and) if you walk into any school in NSW every teacher and principal would say ‘no’.”

What is Gonski?

The main recommendation was a $6.5 billion a year funding increase distributed to schools that gave each student a benchmark amount plus extra money, or ‘’loadings’’, for specific disadvantages.

The former federal Labor government developed a plan that would start next year, injecting an estimated $14.5 billion over six years, with the Commonwealth contributing two-thirds of the funding.

The NSW government’s share was to be $5.1 billion over six years.

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he Gonski review found that Australia has one of the biggest gaps between high- and low-performing students among developed countries.

It also found that performance is strongly linked to students’ socioeconomic backgrounds.

Funding allocations exacerbated this situation.

It made 41 recommendations for a fair, equitable and efficient school funding system.

Teachers Federation @TeachersFed 27 Nov There is a massively negative response to Mr. Pyne’s attempt to turn #Gonski reforms. pic.twitter.com/8PmKCBM1Ps Michael Sciffer@msciffer26 Nov Petition calling on Pyne to stop his cut to schools funding http://www. theparenthood.org.au/campaign/ gonskiforgreatschools/ … #auspol Wayne Swan @SwannyQLD26 Nov Qld State Education Min on Sky today said he felt sorry for Pyne. Well, I feel sorry for our kids. #Gonski https://www.facebook.com/Wayne.

Swan.MP#!/Wayne.Swan.MP/ posts/634462366600183 … smh.com.au @smh26 Nov ‘Stop behaving like opposition.’ Premier Barry O’Farrell takes aim at Chris Pyne for dropping Gonski deal. http://ow.ly/ rbn28 #auspol wendy_harmer @wendy_harmer26 Nov And @corinne_grant has added Gonski to today’s rage index. “Maybe Pyne needs sock puppets to explain it to him” http://thehoopla.com.au/much-lolly/ Stephen @TheAviator199225 Nov Chris Pyne you liar! #auspol #gonski pic.twitter.com/6pzevjpdUO Bronwyn Hinz @BronwynHinz25 Nov Pyne complains too much Cmth control in ALP’s #gonski plan but then complains their model not national as systems retain autonomy on $distn

The Australian Education Times

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The Australian

education times News and Views

Get ready, set, 3D Print!

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ustralian high school students will soon be reaping the benefits of 3D printing technology. A new program is showing teachers how to build 3D printers and incorporate them into the school curriculum. As part of an initiative by the Victorian Governmentfunded organisation, Quantum Victoria, and the University of Melbourne, 19 schools are about to start using 3D printing.

Has your school begun using a 3D Printer?

Share your experience so far via editor@educationtimes.com.au

Danish Royals Host Awards Night at Sydney Opera House

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rown Prince Frederick and Crown Princess Mary attended a special ceremony in Sydney’s Opera House to deliver awards to Australian television dramas and a volunteer organisation.

The Danish Royals established the awards event after they married in

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2004. The honour is accompanied by prize money and recognition.

The main social award went to Night Owls - a volunteer organisation dedicated to helping young and vulnerable people - by simply walking through residential areas.

Princess Mary presented violinist Rune Tonsgaard Sorensen with one of the night’s rising star awards.

Another award went to singer songwriter Mo, whose dedication to her craft has seen her make an impact both at home and abroad.

A Future for Student Teachers M acquarie Fields High School launched the Future Teachers Club, a new initiative that allows students to experience teaching from the other side of the desk.

Macquarie Fields High School Principal Jan Dolstra said “High school students have a one- sided view of teaching. The Future Teachers Club will give students an insight into the scope and depth of the teaching profession.

“Many decisions about university courses and careers are made at high school. This new initiative will help students decide on a career as an educator,” said Ms Dolstra.

Through the Future Teachers Club, students will experience: • What teachers do to prepare lessons engaging students in learning; •How people train to become teachers; • The essential qualities of a teacher; • Process and procedures in managing a school.

These short lessons are tied to Great Teaching, Inspired Learning and the seven teaching standards of the NSW Institute of Teachers. Students will prepare their lessons based on the same criteria used for the accreditation of teachers in NSW” informed Ms Dolstra.

Prime Minister’s awards Science Prize to Teachers

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he Prime Minister’s Prizes recognise and celebrate the accomplishments of Australian Science and Australian scientists.

The Federal Government congratulates this year’s recipients of the Prime Minister’s Prizes for Science.

Recipients of the 2013 Prime Minister’s Prizes for Science are: Associate Professor Angela Moles from UNSW receives the $50,000 ‘Frank Fenner Prize for Life Scientist of the Year’. Associate Professor Moles is transforming our understanding of the plant world including where plant

defence will be most aggressive, why plant seeds range from a speck of dust to a coconut and how ecosystems will adapt to a changing climate.

Associate Professor Andrea Morello from UNSW receives the $50,000 ‘Malcolm McIntosh Prize for Physical Scientist of the Year’.

Associate Professor Morello’s work to make quantum computing a reality can potentially transform searching, modelling and cryptography.

Mr Richard Johnson from Rostrata Primary School in Perth receives ‘the Prime Minister’s Prize for Excellence in

Science Teaching in Primary Schools’.

Mr Johnson has been a teacher for thirty years. His work to create a model science laboratory that makes science fun for students and for teachers has been adopted by more than 40 schools.

Ms Sarah Chapman from Townsville State High School receives ‘the Prime Minister’s Prize for Excellence in Science Teaching in Secondary Schools’. Ms Chapman’s work to provide a learning experience where students can see and touch the science they are studying has led to big improvements in year 12 science results.

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The Australian

education times Outstanding School

J

ames Ruse Agricultural High School is a name synonymous with academic accolade. As NSW’s premiere selective high school, it consistently ranks as the highest achieving school in the HSC and last year came 1st for the 15th consecutive year. In the 2012 HSC, James Ruse had 91 All – Round Achievers meaning that they were distinguished achieves in 10 or more units and ranked number 1 for both Mathematics Extension 1 and 2 with student Shelley She coming 1st in both Mathematics Extension 1 and Extension 2.

James Ruse also came 1st in Biology.

However, James Ruse is not just an academic success; it is a school that endeavours to nurture talents in many areas outside of the academic plane.

The school seeks to provide a learning environment that both challenges and supports gifted students whilst preparing them for the tasks they will face outside of school. As a student attending James Ruse Agricultural High School, opportunities are constantly presented, an abundance of extra-curricular activities are available to partake in and a multitude of leadership roles are open to fulfil. James Ruse is a school that fosters the growth of an individual and produces capable, intelligent, well rounded, global citizens.

A question often raised is: what makes James Ruse stand apart from the crowd?

Academia James Ruse offers a differentiated curriculum which is implemented in order to cater for unique traits that gifted students possess; a differentiated curriculum being one which caters specifically to students capable of covering harder content at a faster rate. As one would expect, James Ruse students have that uncanny ability to comprehend complex ideas quickly whilst learning at a faster rate which enables teachers to condense the content into a shorter span of time so that students are kept on their toes; giving them a challenge but enabling them to cover harder content at an earlier stage.

Academically gifted students at James Ruse will not only excel in the school environment but will represent the school in numerous competitions. Examples of this are the multitude of students 6 |

The Australian Education Times

that makes James Ruse a school that students love and are accepted in. It is a safe learning environment with a no tolerance policy towards bullying with students well aware and always adhering to the rules.

Extra-Curricular Activities representing International Olympiad Teams for Physics, Chemistry, Biology, Mathematics and Informatics, Brain Bees and ICAS medal winners. Some students at James Ruse, including myself, participate in online university programs.

I personally participated in the Harvard Justice Course, and there are many more available programs to students wishing to broaden their horizons.

A Sense of Community James Ruse is a community that cares for one another. Students are nurtured in a loving environment where teacherstudent barriers are broken. Welfare programs are in place to ensure students going through tough times are looked after, being one of the many attributes

James Ruse is full of incredibly talented students and thus provides a wide range of enrichment, extension, student leadership and extra-curricular programs for them. In terms of academics, students can apply for subject-based enrichment classes, or may sign up for student-run Olympiad training programs which every year produce students that become part of the National Olympiad Team. Sports wise, students are able to participate in Knock-Out competitions, morning fitness programs, Pilates/ Kick-boxing classes and dance classes.

James Ruse has an outstanding chess program with incredibly talented students, Informatics Teams, State Debating Teams/Public Speaking Teams, Mock Trial, NSW Robotics Programming Team, Mathematics Olympiad Team, Ruse ID (Ruse Intranet Development)

James Ru Agricultural High

and participates in the Australian and New Zealand Brain Bee Competition with a Year 10 student this year, winning the entire competition. James Ruse is renowned for its excellent music program with ensembles providing musical training and some performing throughout NSW. Students can participate in school choir, stage band, school junior, intermediate and senior concert band, senior wind ensemble, percussion ensemble, woodwind ensemble, wind chamber ensemble, brass ensemble, jazz ensemble, recorder group, the annual musical production and orchestra and string orchestra. Bands tour 3 times a year playing at venues such as nursing homes and rural primary and high schools. Agriculture is also a large focus at James Ruse with programs including Rural Youth, Poultry Squad, Agriculture Enrichment, the Archibull Prize and Gardening Club

Leadership / Community Awareness James Ruse is renowned for its student leadership and humanitarian initiatives.

Clubs include Amnesty International,

Ruse School

UNICEF, Cloud 9, Interact, Peer Support, Student Representative Council (SRC) and High Resolves. Amnesty International recently held an Information Forum which I co-hosted that allowed students to give short talks on issues of significance to them, reflecting TED talks. There were also two Q & A panels where students such as my-self were asked challenging questions about issues that are currently all over the media such as the chemical weapons issue in Syria and LGBT rights. James Ruse is also responsible for the fundraising day Shades for Aids that has spread to many other schools.

Opportunities As a student in Year 10 at James Ruse, I have personally reaped many benefits. Due to the high profile that James Ruse has, many one of a kind, elite opportunities are presented to students. In particular, I was able to access knowledge about a program at Yale University that many students would not have heard of due to its exclusivity. Through the school’s support for my application, I was admitted into the program and recently, attended Yale University’s Young Global Scholars Program for Politics, Law and Economics representing not only James Ruse but Australia. A link to the program for other students is here; http://www.youtube.com/ watch?v=7yMfecNhObw Other students at James Ruse were also given the opportunity to head overseas such as our Robotics Team that represented Australia in the FIRST Tech Challenge (FTC) in St Louis this year and our Informatics team that won the UNSW PROGCOMP and were selected to represent Australia in a Sri Lankan competition.

Sport James Ruse Agricultural High School has an excellent sports program that facilitates students of varying athletic ability. Students have compulsory PDHPE lessons each week that focus on developing team work, ball skills, hand eye coordination, cardiovascular development and individual progress as well as compulsory fortnightly health classes that instil the importance of staying healthy and teach students about their bodies and the importance of sport in their lives. From Year 9 onwards, students participate in the Hills Region sporting competition where students verse other schools in the area. They are able to choose from a wide array of sports including; soccer, cricket, water-polo and even ice-skating. James Ruse has an excellent reputation in the competition particularly in basketball, with students annually becoming Hills Zone Champions. Students who excel in the sporting field are supported and encouraged in their endeavours with many competing in Regionals, Area, Zone, State, Nationals and some exceptionally talented students, Internationally.

Most importantly, students at James Ruse enjoy school life. They have a natural love of learning and thus excel in all endeavours they choose to pursue.

Students create a fun environment, have a need for challenge and always, exceed expectations.

By Anisha Gunawardhana, Yr 10 James Ruse Agricultural High School The Australian Education Times

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education times Success story

10 Insightful Questions to Dr Geoff Lee, MP for Parramatta

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ausam and Stephanie, members from “The News Crew” of “The Australian Education Times” met honourable Dr Geoff Lee Member of Parliament for Parramatta, to know more about his successful journey in the field of politics.

Q1. Please tell us about your schooling and higher education?

Ans: I completed my schooling at Castle Hill Primary School and after Year 10 went to the United States as an exchange student. I did Bachelors of Applied Science in Horticulture at Hawksbury Agriculture College. I worked for myself for about ten years and then pursued Masters in Business in 1999 and Doctorate in Business in 2006. So I have spent quite a few years in education.

Q2. When did you choose to become a politician?

Ans: I have never been a typical politician in terms of as a young person I never sat down and said that I want to be a politician.

Q3. Then what lead you towards politics?

Ans: It was only later in life that I had my business for many years and worked for the University and did a lot of lobbying in State parliament and in

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Canberra. So I guess that was the turning point.

Q4. What steps did you take towards becoming a politician?

Ans: Like I said, I am very unlike a politician but the biggest thing is having a good educational background. Also having a background with small business management and teaching at University helped me.

Q5. What personal traits do you have that connects you to this profession?

Ans: Well, the interesting thing about being a politician is that you get to talk to a lot of people and I love talking to people, interacting with them. It’s really about listening to people and making common sense decisions.

Q6. On a scale of 1 to 10, how happy are you since you become a Member of Parliament?

Ans: What a great question, like every job, I have some good days and some not so good days. It’s all about what greatest good can be achieved and managing the greatest benefit to the community for the longest, which is most important.

Q7. Please tell us about your community involvement?

Ans: As a parliamentarian, we have to be involved with a lot of different things.

In fact my Saturdays and Sundays are my busiest days when I am always at a function of some kind as Parramatta has such a wonderful mix of cultures so there is a lot of community involvement.

Q8. How do you approach a problem which doesn’t have a definite answer?

Ans: There are many problems that you can’t solve. They are in fact beyond your abilities and there are some issues which don’t have one right answer. So I guess you are guided by the principle that what is right for the community as a whole.

Q9. Have you ever undertaken something just to prove yourself and others that you can do it?

Ans: I think being a politician is the one as I never aspired to be a politician.

When I ran for the pre selection, not many people in the party knew me and as the members of the party pre select you as a candidate, I asked one of the party members about what does he think about my pre selection and later on running for the elections. He replied, “one in a thousand”. It’s quite a remote thing not to be involved in politics and then enter politics later in life.

Q10. What advice would you give to our readers?

Ans: I think that most important thing is to study hard and do the best whilst you are at school. Try and get the highest marks. If you want to go to University or TAFE, choose a course that you are interested in, a course that you love. The real advantage of Education is lifelong learning. Education is more than the subject matter, it is the understanding about critical thinking, building team skills, writing things and being able to express yourself.

Watch this interview online @ www.educationtimes.com.au

The Australian

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education times

Talented Reporter

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CONTEST

■ Does the idea of asking and being the first one to know about people and things excite you?

■ Do you love the idea of being in the newroom?

■ Do you have a flair for being interrogative and inquisitive about personalities?

If yes, then you sure can be one to the member for the coveted “The News Crew”.

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he talent search for the young and talented reporter is on. We are looking for young and talented reporters to be a part of "The News Crew" for the year 2013- 2014.

This exclusive team will be selected by Professional Journalist who have made a mark in the field of journalism.

Previously our talented team of "The News Crew" has interviewed famous personalities, politicians, celebrities and other newsmakers. They also got to show their talent in writing reviews, their opinions and new stories.

Being a part of "The News Crew" will award you with experience and knowledge about the news business.

How to participate in the contest:

You are requested to include a report about an interesting or unique event which you covered in your school or community. Please include a headline and quotes from people you've interviewed in your story.

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Please complete the official entry form on the next page.

Entries must be posted to 207, 5 Celebration Drive, Bella Vista, 2153 NSW. Please read the official rules and share them with your parents and guardian, who will sign your entry forms.

All the best!!!!!

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education times

Official Entry Form Student Information Name of the student : Home address:

Contact number: Email: Date of Birth: Name of the Parent / Guardian

School Information: Name of School: Year: I understand that (name of the talent) is providing this information as part of "The News Crew" Talented Reporter Search.

Signature of Parent /Guardian Date: Entries must be sent to 207, 5 Celebration Drive, Bella Vista, NSW 2153

Rules and Regulations

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You must include (a) the completed and signed entry form along with your essay of 100 words or less, written in English, explaining why you should be a reporter for "The News Crew" of The Australian Education Times. Your article should include a headline and quotes from people you have interviewed. (b) Any article that you have written. Include any journalistic elements such as photos, charts, maps, editorial cartoons etc. Please do NOT send a computer disc.

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All entries will be judged on the criteria of creativity, originality, grammar and spelling, clarity and newsworthiness.

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Eligibility: Open to all young Talent.

Each reporter chosen will receive "The News Crew" Reporter T-shirt, press credentials and a certificate.

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education times

Words of Wisdom The team at “The Australian Education Times” were asked these questions to be answered by the panel of their expert advisors.

1

My child is about to start Kindergarten. What skills should they already possess?

Overall, students need to be socially and emotionally ready for school, need to have acquired motor skills, need to be cognitively and intellectually ready for school and need to be curious and eager to learn.

Once children start Kindergarten, students typically complete a “Best Start Assessment”. This 20 minute test determines the student’s literacy and numeracy level. For more information about this test, go to http://www. curriculumsupport.education.nsw.gov. au/beststart/parents.htm

2

My son does not like his new Maths Teacher. What do I do?

Personality conflicts are always difficult. It is recommended that you meet with the teacher and explain that there appears to be a personality conflict. Inform the teacher that you would really appreciate e-mail or phone call updates on how your son is doing in the class. If anything, this shows that you are very concerned for your son’s wellbeing and education, which is in no way a bad thing. I would also recommend

bringing someone with you when you go to the conference.

3

What are the ways to find about my accumulated HELP debt is?

At the end of every financial year (June) you will receive a statement from the Australian Tax Office stating the incurred debts or payments made in the previous 15 months. You can contact the Australian Tax Office (http://www.ato. gov.au ) or call 1300 650 225 to request for the balance of your account.

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I am student at TAFE and I wanted to find out about traineeship?

Traineeships for TAFE students are advertised in the employment sections of the leading newspapers.

The employers can also be approached directly to find

out about the job vacancies in their company. Or you can also search in the Australian Government jobs site. A large number of trainees each year are employed by Group Training Companies.

The Group Training Association NSW can be contacted at (+61 2) 9746 9333.

More than 400 traineeships have been introduced by Group Training association to provide employment and training opportunities in a range of areas.

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How can I prepare my child for Selective High School Placement Test?

The best way for preparation of Selective High School Placement Test is to familiarize the child with the question asked in the test. The students can practice answering the questions from the past test papers. One of the most effective ways is that the student should know the complete syllabus thoroughly.

“Want to ask any questions or clear any doubts?”

Please write to us at editor@educationtimes.com.au Or visit us at www.educationtimes.com.au for your queries.

The Australian Education Times

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The Australian

education times Focus on University

Academic Integrity:

How to avoid Plagiarism

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ecently, two of my teaching colleagues asked for advice about student plagiarism.

The first, who is lecturing an ethics and social justice course, had found that one of his best students had copied and pasted a chunk of text from an online blog for their assignment. The other, teaching in visual arts, had recognised her student’s artwork as a print that had previously been submitted for another subject, by the same student.

If students are found to have deliberately plagiarised, they face consequences that can range from failing, being called in for an interview, to the very worse case scenario of being asked to leave the university.

The problem is that while everyone knows that plagiarism is ‘bad’, not everyone knows exactly what it is and how to avoid it. It might be obvious that one student had deliberately copied somebody else’s work and should be held accountable – particularly as they were studying ethics! – But it is less obvious when a student is copying or remixing their own work. Most people recognise plagiarism when it occurs in essays or other written texts. However, it is less clear when it is found in non-text assignments like music compositions, software programs, artworks, spoken presentations or graphic design.

These days, every Australian university has a well-developed policy to explain the consequences of plagiarism and other related academic misconduct issues, such as collusion and cheating in exams. Each policy will direct students and teachers to their individual university’s guidelines and procedures for managing reported incident.

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It is interesting to notice the title of most of these policies have shifted in recent years from ‘plagiarism’ to ‘academic integrity’. In other words, universities are increasingly interested in promoting good practice rather than in catching or penalising bad practice.

Universities now recognise that focusing on the negatives is not particularly effective. It can’t be assumed that every student has the same understanding about plagiarism when they start their studies at university, or can follow the difficult language of policy documents to work out what they need to do.

Rather than making the students responsible for educating themselves about how to avoid plagiarism, this shift in focus to academic integrity means that there is an increasing recognition of a shared responsibility for maintaining good practice: the university is responsible for fostering a shared understanding of

academic integrity, teachers for educating their students while themselves modeling appropriate referencing techniques, and students for showcasing their skills and understanding in their assignments.

Students are given many opportunities to learn about referencing, acknowledgment practices and ethical research and writing. At one end of the spectrum, this will take the form of orientation classes, online modules, and introductory quizzes. At the other end, students will be encouraged to practice techniques for using research in their writing, in incrementally more difficult tasks. We know that evaluating research and developing an original argument requires sophisticated skills that can only be developed with practice.

Many people still think of breaches of academic integrity as a remedial issue that can be resolved by mastering the technical skills of referencing.

However, it seems that the most effective approach is to link the concept of academic integrity to the real world, or to students’ future professional practice.

Different professions have different ethical frameworks and if these are explained, then suddenly the seemingly tiresome referencing expectations for scholarly writing make more sense. For instance, lawyers will need to rely on correctly researching and citing case law. Doctors will draw on the latest evidence from clinical trials, and will need to evaluate published findings of its effectiveness. Auctioneers will want to be assured of the provenance of their stock. Investors will want to be sure that they are receiving advice from reputable sources.

Academic integrity means developing expertise in evaluating sources and for showcasing a capacity for ethical research and writing that is useful in the world beyond the university. In this way, simply avoiding an accusation of plagiarism is only the first step in the learning journey.

Dr Ruth Walker Senior Lecturer, Learning Development Learning, Teaching & Curriculum University of Wollongong

The Australian

education times focus on university

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n Europe and the US, summer schools in music, art, drama, and other creative and performing arts disciplines are commonplace. Many secondary school and tertiary students spend weeks over their summer break meeting new friends, developing new skills and discovering hidden talents.

Programs such as the Dartington Summer School in the UK and the California State Summer School for the Arts in the US attract hundreds of participants each year.

In Australia, these programs are less common, probably due to the fact that our Christmas and New Year holidays fall at the same time as our summer break.

However there are a number of creative and performing arts programs that run during January for teenagers and adults all around the country. Many universities and arts colleges run summer programs, as well as several arts institutions and youth arts organisations.

Usually running for a week or more, summer schools offer a unique opportunity for teenagers to immerse themselves in a particular pursuit or discipline, unencumbered by the usual demands on their time during the year, such as school, homework and sporting commitments. It’s a great way to experience “life as an artist”, by spending a whole week playing music, creating visual artworks, making films, or developing a puppet show.

For those who are already involved in a particular art form, summer schools are the perfect time to delve deeper into their discipline, encounter different

Summer Schools in

Creative and Performing Arts influences and teaching styles, and meet other like-minded students.

On the other hand, many summer schools have programs geared to beginners, or those who would like a “taste” of something different. This can be a great way to quickly learn a bunch of new skills – in photography, theatre making or percussion, for instance – while also meeting new friends, and having lots of fun!

So what should you expect at a summer school? Expect lots of fun!

Don’t be put off by the word “school” in the title – they are nothing like normal school! Most of the time will be spent participating in whatever art form you’ve signed up for – whether that be dance, theatre, music, or something

else entirely. There are often a mix of large group sessions and smaller, more niche streams as well. Sometimes you will be encouraged to try something new, sometimes you will be challenged to finesse a particular aspect of technique.

Social time is also an important aspect of summer schools, with many life-long friendships forged through these programs. One student said to me this year, “You didn’t tell me this course would break my heart!” She had made such good friends during her week at the program, that she was really sad to say goodbye at the end.

But don’t worry – you can always come back again next year!

By Anastasia Slipper The University of Melbourne The Faculty of VCA & MCM at The University of Melbourne runs summer schools during January in music, theatre, film & television, dance and visual art.

More information: www.vca-mcm.unimelb.edu.au/shortcourses The Australian Education Times

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education times

Professional Learning

Opportunities For Teachers Cities of Vesuvius for History Teachers

5-19 Jan: University of Sydney

ICIET 2014

Date/Venue: 2-3 January 2014, Melbourne, Victoria.

‘ICIET 2014, aims to bring together researchers, scientists, engineers, and scholar students to exchange and share their experiences, new ideas, and research results about all aspects of Information and Education Technology, and discuss the practical challenges encountered and the solutions adopted’.

2014 National Science Teachers Summer School Date/Venue: 12-18 January 2014, Australian National University,

Canberra, ACT. ‘Designed to provide teachers of science unique experiences in science and science education in order to stimulate their passion for science and, in turn, enhance the teaching of science to their students’.

SASTA Psychology Summer Conference 2014 Date/Venue: 17 January 2014, Education Development Centre, Hindmarsh, South Australia.

‘The 1 day intensive conference allows science teachers to develop teaching methods and resources within the psychology stream’.

Category 1, 2 & 3 PYP and DP Workshops and Category 3 Continuum Workshops Date/Venue: 20-22 January 2014, Prince Alfred College, Adelaide, South

Australia.

International Baccalaureate® organisation. Multiple workshops.

9th Teachers Matter Conference ‘An inspirational conference for teachers with practical ideas to engage, motivate, educate and prepare students for the future …’.

Date/Venue: 22-23 January 2014, SMC Conference Centre, Sydney, New

South Wales

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The Australian Education Times

For Students 2014 National Youth Science Forum

Date/Venue: 6-18 January 2014, Canberra, ACT; 6-18 January 2014, Perth, Western Australia; 20 January-1 February 2014, Canberra, ACT. Students during Year 11 are selected to attend the NYSF the following year. They learn how to make informed decisions about courses and careers in the sciences and gain a professional skill set to help them realise their potential’.

2014 AMSI Summer School

Date/Venue: 6-31 January 2014, Australian National University, Canberra, ACT. ‘The AMSI Summer School is an exciting opportunity for mathematical sciences students from around Australia to come together over the summer break and develop their skills and networks’.

Student Leadership Conference 2014

Date/Venue: 15-18 January 2014, Bond University, Gold Coast, QLD. ‘SLC2014 is a Student Leadership Conference organised by The Alliance of Girls’ Schools Australasia. This year’s theme will be Awaken. It will be facilitated

by Rising Generations, a team of highly professional, dedicated and diverse mentors and support staff who will inspire, challenge and excite those who attend’.

1st Scientific hand-held calculator introduced 1972

9

Writer Rudyard Kipling’s Birthday, 1865

School Holidays Starts

30

23

16

After School Art @ SURRY HILLS Library

2

Bilingual Story Time @ Ultimo Community Centre

United Arab Emirates was Formed,1971

MONDAY

25

24 Christmas Day

26

Boxing Day, Kwanzaa begins, Sydney to Hobart Race commences

19

Green Square Christmas Party

School Development Day

12

5 International Volunteer Day

THURSDAY

1822

27

Scientist Louis Pasteur’s Birthday,

20

School Development Day, End of Term 4 for teachers

Clip-On Tie Invented,1928

13

6 Etsy Christmas POP-UP Shop

FRIDAY

www.onlinepreunicollege.com.au

31 New Year’s Eve

Christmas Eve

18

11 UNICEF Was Formed, 1946

17

Human Rights Day

4 COFA Annual 2013 Art Exhibition at College of Fine Arts UNSW

WEDNESDAY

Wright End of Term 4 Brothers for students made the first (Eastern and Airplane Western flight, 1903 division),HSC results released

10

3 International Day of People with Disability

TUESDAY

Galileo becomes the first astronomer to observe Neptune, but catalogues it as a star 1612

28

Summer solstice

Handel’s ‘Messiah’.

Sydney Town Hall

21

14

7

Kings Cross Organic Food Market

SATURDAY

education times

NAPLAN TEST, Opportunity TRIAL TEST, SELECTIVE TRIAL TEST

Coming Soon...

My Reminders:

29

Musician Pablo Casals’s Birthday, 1876

Sticky Rock Candy Demonstrations.

The Rocks

22

Handel’s ‘Messiah’.

Sydney Town Hall

15

8

1

First day of Summer, World AIDS Day

SUNDAY

December Calendar

The Australian

SUNDAY

Test Match Day 3: Australia v England

MONDAY

Muse 2013, Perth

Martin Luther King Day.

The Australian Open begins

OAMPS Australian Youth Laser Championship

27

20

13

6

January Calendar

5 12 SCODY Australian Junior Triathlon Series at the International Regatta Centre, PenrithRegatta Centre

19 Australia Day

The board game ‘Scrabble’ made its debut in Australia 1955

26 My Reminders:

Coming Soon...

7

TUESDAY

Staff Development Day

The Oceana Junior Squash Championships.

HSC credentials issued to students by mail

Ashes Test Match Day 5: Australia v England

14 21 28

Term 1 begins for students

Captain Arthur Phillip names Manly Cove in Sydney 1788

Wikipedia Launched, 2001

Earth’s Rotation roved,1851

January 1 was declared as the first day of the year 1622

WEDNESDAY

1 8 15 22 29

First Spacecraft to Reach the Space Launched,1959

THURSDAY

2 9

FRIDAY

The Australian

education times

SATURDAY

4

First Winter Olympic Games,1924

Creator of Winnie-thePooh, A.A. Milne, was

International Thank-You Day

25

born 1882

18

World Braille Day

3

11

Main Round Offers from UAC/ Commencement of Ashes Test

10

Chinese New Year

The Apple Macintosh computer is released 1984

Captain James Cook’s ship, the ‘Resolution’, becomes the first known ship to cross the Antarctic Circle 1773

Australian Wingless Australian Sprint Championship Wingless - Bunbury Car Club Sprint Championship - Bunbury Car Club

24

17 Australian International O’pen BIC Association

31

Late Round Offers from UAC

23

Final Round Offers from UAC

16 30

www.onlinepreunicollege.com.au

NAPLAN TEST, Opportunity TRIAL TEST, SELECTIVE TRIAL TEST

A Special learning Pull OuT

Keep Learning in the Holidays Art and Fun Crafts: Facts: Fun Origami Learning and Perfect with Selfie Historical Facts

New Year’s Resolution:

How to make your own Vision Board 2014.

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The Australian

education times do with letters so at this point in time stay away from letters. For example the /thu/ sound in ‘think’ is a phoneme but the /tr/ sound in ‘truck’ isn’t.

That’s /tuh/+/ruh/. See if your child is developmentally ready to access first sounds without being told what they are, then try last sounds (‘What’s the last sound in /c..a….t/?) and then ‘What’s the middle sound in /c..a..t?).’

4

Early

Literacy

A

s a parent you probably would like to provide your child with a head start, so consider the sequence of exercises below. They won’t teach reading but they will provide a foundation to start.

1 a

Vocabulary and Expressive language Introduce your child to a wideranging vocabulary and encourage the child to speak in full sentences using appropriate grammar.

b

Nursery rhymes can tune the child’s receptive language abilities and they

are a great way to play language games and have fun.

2

At about 3 years or older introduce the game ‘I Spy’ to your child. Make sure you clearly identify the sound.

For example, ‘I spy with my little eye something beginning with the sound / ah/ (like in apple). Not the letter ‘a’ (‘ay’).

3

Research has identified phonemic awareness as an important prerequisite skill to learning to read.

Phonemic awareness is the ability to detect, identify and manipulate indivisible sounds and it has little to

When your child demonstrates an ability to manipulate phonemes, he will be able to be taught how to read.

You’ll do a great job if you have been reading every day to your child because your child may now feel quite positive and excited about learning to read.

5

The fact is that many children born with innate phonological awareness will quickly appreciate the association that sound has with letter symbols and will learn to read quite easily. A significant percentage (up to 35%) will not find it easy to access phonemes and will need to be taught how to focus. It doesn’t take long but it should be done by a professional. Bear in mind that learning to read is not natural and teaching a child is not something all parents (and even teachers) are equipped to do. It’s a bit like the difference between teaching your teenager to drive and sending them to driving school for a while. Sometimes it works but many times it becomes frustrating and too much of a challenge to you as a parent. Use professionals if in doubt.

Dr. Antony Earnshaw & Annabel Seargeant Australian Registered Psychologists

Learning Mathematics Teach your children the concept of percentage while shopping.

While buying gifts this holiday ask the children to add up the total cost, apply the percentage discount and calculate the amount saved.

The children can be taught creating whole numbers from

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The Australian Education Times

fractions and decimals by trying to complete the “whole” numbers in the air.

The children can guess the weight of the pet cat, their own weight, glass of milk or their favourite story book. Then find the scales to find the real weight.

Skittles can be used to teach fractions. Ask your child to count all the pieces in the bag. Then ask them to sort by colours. Let them find out what fraction are their favourite coloured pieces. They can do this will all the colours and eat the result.

The Australian

education times

Origami:

Let’s Get Arty

S

Photography:

Wonders of Paper Creative ick and tired of watching your children in front of the television?

Want some new creative ideas for your children? Why not teach them the art of Origami and keep them occupied for hours!

What is Origami?

Origami, which means “to fold paper” in Japanese, is an ancient art form used to create all kinds of shapes with no more than paper and a flat surface.

Try your hand at making a Christmas Tree!

Step 1: Obtain a piece of square green origami paper and have the green side down.

Step 2: Fold in half on the diagonal, unfold and fold the edge to the centre line.

Step 3: Repeat with the opposite edge.

Step 4: Fold the bottom corner up to meet the other two corners.

Step 5: Fold the bottom edges to the centre line and fold the bottom section up.

Step 6: Fold the bottom edge back down to form the trunk of the tree.

Step 7: Narrow the trunk fold sideways, part of the section will lift up, encourage it to do so and squash it flat. Repeat with the other side of the trunk.

Step 8: Smooth out any rough parts of the tree. Your origami Christmas tree is ready for display.

The Year of the Selfie

A

re you a selfie junkie or just adore Instagram? Well then, you are not alone. Even President Obama knows how to click a perfect selfie (see picture insert).

2013 has been recorded as the “Year of the Selfie”. Why? Because this year, there was a record number of selfies posted on social networking sites around the globe. On Instagram alone, there’s #selfiesunday, along with related tags where millions of selfies land daily. More than 23 million photos have been uploaded to the app with the tag #selfie and about 70 million photos clog Instagram’s #me.

Wondering what a selfie is? According to the official (yes, its official) definition by the Oxford Dictionary, a selfie is “a photo of a person snapped by themselves, usually using a cell phone”.

The first known use of the word “selfie” dates back to 2002, when an unidentified Australian posted to an ABC Online forum a self-portrait image of a busted lip. “And sorry about the focus, it was a selfie,” the photographer wrote.

But did you know, we take 7 selfies on an average before we are satisfied with our chosen pic? What’s worse, is that two thirds of us re-do our hair for that perfect pic!

Well, perfect that perfect pic by following these 5 steps without having to take 7 pics or readjusting your hair!

1

Get in the spotlight: The whole point of a selfie is to capture you – not a shape in the shadows. Take your photo in a welllit area, and make sure the source of light is in front of you. Stay away from windows and enable the flash if there’s no choice but to stand with your back to the sun.

2

Frame the subject It’s easier to use your phone’s front-facing camera to frame the action in the screen facing you. Adjust your phone’s settings so that it snaps the photo using the front-facing camera and keep your head in a third of the frame.

3

Keep the background interesting Please, banish the bathroom selfie. Bring in some context and show what else is going on around you. Also, try angling the camera slightly to about 45 degrees to squeeze in some more of the background activity.

4

Apply some effects Uploading a plain photo is like eating French fries without ketchup or mayo. A popular app for applying filters and effects is Instagram, which can transform your images into photos that appear to be taken on a pinhole camera in the ‘70s. Alternatively (and if you want to get really artsy) you can try Camera+ to punch up your iPhone photos – and the selfies you snap.

The Australian Education Times

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education times

Christmas C

hristmas is “The festive season holds many time for joy and happiness. It is celebration days for Australians, synonymous with giftbut do you know the history giving, Santa Claus, behind these days and the reasons a Christmas tree and sharing a mammoth feast why we celebrate them the way we do? Let’s share some facts and whilst spending quality time with our loved ones. enjoy some activities associated But did you ever wonder with them.” how Santa really got his looks?

Everyone knows that Santa lives in the North Pole, but there was a time when Santa’s outfit looked very different.

He actually looked like one of his elves. In fact, prior to 1931, Santa actually looked like a very tall elf. He wore a bishop’s robe and a Norse huntsman’s animal skin. Santa didn’t get new clothes until Coca Cola decided to ‘make him look pretty’ so more people would like him.

In 1931, when Coca-Cola decided to use Santa for their advertisements so they wanted to give him a nicer look and Santa’s original clothes voila Santa Claus was given some new cloths by Archie Lee from D’Arcy Advertising Agency.

The new look of Santa Claus of a fat ole jolly man was a huge hit with all the children, who began leaving milk and cookies for him. For almost three decades the Coca Cola Advertisements showed Santa delivering toys, meeting children and raiding the refrigerators while enjoying a Coke.

Santa’s clothes today

Christmas Activity

If you had to redesign Santa’s robe, what would it look like?

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Sydney to H Yacht Race

O

ver the past 68 years, the Rolex Sydney Hobart is iconic to Australia's summer sport and holds similar public interest as the Melbourne Cup, Australian Open and The Ashes. No other yachting event in the world holds the same media attention and coverage as the start of this race at Sydney Harbour.

Over the years, the Rolex Sydney Hobart and Cruising Yacht Club of Australia have marked a phenomenal influence in the race communication and sea safety in international ocean yacht racing.

The members of the club have made their excellence felt in major ocean racing events such as the Admiral's Cup, Kenwood Cup, the Fastnet Race and the BOC Challenge solo race around the word.

Some facts

• The First Race Winner was called Rani, captained by John Illingworth RN (UK) • The slowest race was in 1945 by Wayfarer, captained by Peter Luke, NSW took 11 days, 6 hours and 20 minutes • The fastest race was in 2012 by Wild Oats XI (AUS), captained by Bob Oatley and skippered by Mark Richards, NSW took 1 day, 23 hours and 12 minutes

Australia Day

W

e all know the story surrounding Captain James Cooks discovery of Australia, but did you know that he discovered Hawaii as well?

Captain James Cook came to Australia 3 times. Each time he brought more officials, policemen and criminals to help populate Australia. Because of Captain Cook, we celebrate Australia Day – a day which marks the anniversary of the arrival of the First Fleet led by Captain James Cook in 1788. Each year, the holiday is celebrated by honouring an “Australian of the Year” by the Governor General and the Prime Minister. As citizens we celebrate Australia Day by wearing red, white and blue or green and gold and join festivities in our local cities or with our families and friends.

Hobart Activity Make a Sail Boat

Supplies you need:

• Milk carton • Scissors • smaller box to place inside milk carton(matchstick box or soap bar box) • paint and paintbrush or markers paper • string • glue • straw • hole punch or sharp pencil Ensure adult supervision to cut the milk carton. Cut a milk carton in half lengthwise. Shape the ends of the milk carton to make both ends of the boat pointy. Paint the smaller box that will go inside the milk carton to hold the sail.

Punch a hole in the middle of the box with a sharp pencil. Glue the box into the centre. Cut out a square piece of paper about 1/2 to 3/4 of the length of the straw for the sail. Decorate the sail as you like.

Punch a hole at the top and bottom of the sail and weave the straw through the holes. Wrap a string around the top of the straw and tape each end of the string to the end of the boat.

Chinese N e w Y ea r

A

n important Chinese holiday is Chinese New Year. It is known as Spring Festival in China. Traditionally the celebrations continue from Chinese New Year’s Eve to Lantern Festival on the 15th day of the first month. As the Chinese calendar is lunisolar, it is also called as the "Lunar New Year".

In China, the evening preceding Chinese New Year's Day is an occasion for Chinese families to gather for the annual reunion dinner. It is also traditional for every family to thoroughly cleanse the house, to sweep away any ill-fortune and welcome good incoming luck. Windows and doors will be decorated with red coloured paper-cuts with popular themes of "good fortune" or "happiness", "wealth", and "longevity."

Other activities include lighting firecrackers and giving money in red paper envelopes.

Activity Make your family a reunion dinner dish (Check with mum or dad first before using the stove!)

Roasted pork belly Roast pork marinade

• • • • • • • •

Outdoor concerts, community barbecues, sports competitions, festivals and fireworks are some of the many events presented in communities across Australia. These official events are presented by the National Australia Day Council, an official council or committee in each state and territory, and local committees

4 cloves garlic 3 star anise 1 stick cinnamon 1/4 cup gula melaka 1/2 cup soy sauce 1/4 cup brown malt vinegar 1 tbs oyster sauce 1 tbs sugar

pork belly that weighed around 2.5 kg.

• Pierce the pork all over the flesh side with a small knife to allow the flavours to penetrate.

Place pork flesh side down into marinade • Place paper towel on the skin, weigh it down (we used canned fruit in a baking tray on top), leave the pork in the fridge overnight.

The day of cooking and feasting • Remove the weights and paper towel, rub salt into the skin.

• Allow the pork to come to closer to room temperature as you preheat the oven preheat to 250C. • Just before roasting, rub some vegetable oil onto the salted pork skin.

• Place the pork on a rack in a baking tray, and cook it in the oven for approximately 40 minutes until the skin begins to crisp up.

• It should start to bubble.

Different ovens may need more or less time.

• Once you feel satisfied with crispness of the skin, turn the oven down to 160C and cook the pork 1/2 hr for every half kilo in addition to the time already spent crisping up the skin.

• When the pork is done, rest it anywhere from 30 minutes to 1 hour.

• Slice it up and serve.

At least one night before you plan to eat the pork • Place all of the marinade ingredients in a saucepan and bring to the boil.

• Place the mixture in a shallow baking dish. We used a piece of

The Australian Education Times

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education times

o t r s e b g m e c n e i D h T and January g n i r u do d The Primary t n e d u t S l o o h Sc • • • • • • •

iends as cards to fr Write Christm school report sroom teacher Collect your ft to your clas gi l a ve gi d day of schoo Buy an after the last ag B l o o h Sc Empty g urce shoppin Go school reso l in the new year hoo (Year 6) Prepare for sc l Graduation o o h sc r fo e Prepar

The University St u d e n t p/ Back up Lapto Device USB • Back up udy notes • File all st torials tu • Enrol in for re u and lect s 1 r Semeste

The High udent School St school report Collect your e last l Bag after th Empty Schoo l day of schoo ing source shopp re l o o h sc o G • the new for school in e ar p re P • year rmal for school Fo • Prepare duation ra G l o o for sch • Prepare (Year 10, 12) e Laptop/Devic • Back up USB • Back up

• •

•

The Teacher

rsions king for excu • Start loo for the year Daybook • Prepare Rolls • Prepare and gh KLA Scope • Go throu Sequences ams gh KLA Progr • Go throu

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The Australian Education Times

The Parent

s mer Activitie Organise Sum iers m re ts in the P Enrol studen ge n le ding Chal Summer Rea orms h e Sc ool Unif • Purchas urces e school reso • Purchas

• •

education times New Year’s Resolution The Australian

“

A New Year’s resolution is a promise that you make to yourself to start doing something good or stop doing something bad starting on the first day of the year”

is a New Year!

“This year I promise to...”

New Year’s Resolutions

“2014 is a New Year!

This year I promise to…….”

Does this sound familiar?

Each year, many adults make promises that they can’t keep and unfortunately, students (regardless of age) are just as guilty for not following through on their annual promises either. Have you ever promised to write neatly in all of your books?

Or promised to stick in all of your sheets in your books (as soon as you receive them)?

Are you a uni student and said to yourself that ‘this year, I will not cram or leave things until the last minute’?

Making and keeping a new year’s resolution is not as difficult as you may think. There are some pretty effective ways of creating a ‘list’ or a ‘vision board’ that will keep on your path to a successful year! Many people, including Oprah Winfrey believe that if you have a visual poster that has all of the things that you want to achieve, it will come true.

Here are a few handy steps to creating your own Vision Board for 2014.

Step 1:

Choose a main theme of your vision board by asking yourself some questions and brainstorm what you will want to achieve, accomplish or obtain.

Step 4: Tag some announcements/ affirmations which corresponds with your visuals.

Step 5:

Step 2: Search the net and find visuals and pictures which give visual representation to your aims and achievements.

Stick the visuals and affirmations on your vision board and hang it where you can see it every day.

Step 6: View your vision board at least once a day and stay focused.

Step 3:

Print and cut out your visuals.

The Australian Education Times

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The Australian

education times

??

Boisterous Outd

Adventurouosor

As parents, we all want , the best for our children t jus we s me eti but som get so busy, that asking our children to complete g ‘learning activities’ durin as ays lid ho l oo the sch spending time for that us. activity isn’t a priority for ple sim ick qu few Here are a learning activities that you you can do even in the car as as tm ris Ch xt ne drive to the : on che lun

How to keep learning in the holidays Fun Activities At Home: ce) • Make an ant farm. (Scien child/ren to write a the t ge d an ok bo te no a • Buy for draw pictures every day school holiday diary (or ) young children) (Literacy . (Literacy) ne • Write a letter to someo plant a vegetable or herb • Do general gardening or garden. (Science) ience) • Make recycled paper. (Sc brown paper. of t ou p ma • Make a treasure (Literacy) il m a magazine or junk ma • Glue cut out pictures fro tive arts) to a piece of paper. (Crea to a large piece of butchers • Do a self-portrait. Stick r you d un aro or) and trace the wall (or lay on the flo racy) me Nu s, art body. (Creative

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The Australian Education Times

• Go bike-riding. (P DHPE) • Catch a train/bus /ferry. (PDHPE) • Go Ice-skating or roller-skating. (PDH PE) • Go on a bush walk or hike or nature hu nt.

(PDHPE) • Build a cubbyhou se from items from a second hand shop . (Creative Arts) • Learn a new skill . Look for workshop s in horse-riding, potte ry, art, rock climbi ng and drama. (Creative Ar ts)

Fun Activities ors: Science) Outdom.

(HSIE,

Visit a museu Visit a library. (Literacy) Fly a kite. (PDHPE) Science) Plan a day trip: (PDHPE, • • • • • • • • • • • • •

animal farm new town historical village market environmental centre hiking bush walking drive up a mountain visit the beach the country theme park go bowling Visit a planetarium.

Noiseless fun time indoors: • Play board/card games like Monop oly, Dictionary, Pictiona ry, Snap, Taboo, Hu ngry Hippo, Scategories, The Old Maid. (Pro blem Solving, Literacy) • Watch a DVD at ho me. (Literacy) • Make a “city” with cars, toys and boxe s for buildings. (Problem Solving) • Lie on the grass an d watch the clouds.

(Science) • Have “rest” time where everyone pl ays quiet games like re ading or puzzles on their own bed. (Literacy )

The Australian

education times ICT for education

O

ne cannot imagine our World today without technology.

We are using technology in every step, be it home, work place or school. One such technology which is increasingly gaining importance in education is Mobile Learning. Devices such as smartphones, tablets and e-book readers provide instant connection to the users with the world, increasing access to information and providing interactivity with others. The Apps which function on these mobile devices allows the user, not to just use them but also to discover and produce contents. In practicality, Mobile devices continue to transform how students learn, as well as influence their learning preferences, both within and outside the classroom.

The popularity of mobile technologies among college students is increasing dramatically. Results from different research indicate that many students bring their own digital devices to schools/colleges, prefer small and portable ones such as smartphones and tablets. One of the interesting outcomes of such research is that, students say they want the ability to access academic resources on their mobile devices.

The attributes which make mobile learning more attractive to learners are convenience, flexibility, engagement interactivity, mobility and collaboration.

Understanding the omnipresent positive side of Mobile Learning, successful implementation will result in a seismic shift of Schools’ approaches to learning. It is not just about refurbishing and updating the technology - it is a very different approach which will have a knock-on effect on learning. Many schools seem to be deterred by ICT and see it as a barrier, but a lot of work on tools and strategies is done to simplify things as much as possible.

Mobile Learning technology changes learning. Easy access to resources, multimedia and well-designed teachers’ notes motivate learners. One of the great advantages of Mobile Learning

Mobile Learning: The New Learning Buzz

to teachers is the freedom, freedom to walk around the class instead of just being a front-of-the-class teacher.

The teacher can decide what students can access with a touch of a button.

For example, while browsing the net, they come across a useful source for mathematics, so instead of spending valuable time at the photocopier, click a button and that app will instantly appear on all the devices in class.

Many schools today provide differentiation of levels in their classes, where the brightest and those who need extra support are provided photocopied worksheets, but in Mobile Learning there are many apps which have age range guidelines so teachers can target materials for specific groups, tailoring learning to individual student’s needs.

Budgets can be a major hurdle for some schools but that might not be the case always. It is found that schools can make considerable savings on software licences, photocopying and printing.

Many schools have opted for BYOD where students bring their device and the school will try to make it fit in but now School’s test a number of devices on their network and tells the parents what is acceptable so that they can buy it for Christmas. Some education institutions and independent schools find an enterprising way and find a sponsor, willing to pay for the devices for schools.

John Mckanzie Sr. Technical Consultant – Education (Asia Pacific) TBS Computer Consultancy, Australia

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The Australian

Education Times ICT for education

By Vivean Tuckerman

in the Classroom

By Vivean Tuckerman

M

inecraft is a highly engaging and creative sandbox game set in the Virtual World. The only limit on what students can build is their imagination. It is really like Digital Lego, and has an huge range of applications across KLAs, including Maths, Science, English, HSIE and PDHPE. It is now the second year I have been using Minecraft with my students at Portland Central School. Our first foray into using Minecraft was as part of a gifted and talented program called iextend. My students built a 3D model of sustainable village and a Pyramid to show how Minecraft can be used to make Mathematics engaging.

This year I have been attending a regular Monday night Minecraft session online with other Australian teachers and students, called OzMinecraft Educators. Recently two of our members, Brendan Jones and Nick Patsianas from Erina High, devised a unit called Building Bridges or Respectful Relationships. Students interact in a multiplayer world made up

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The Australian Education Times

of 15 islands, where they collaborate on building bridges between their islands and negotiating on the materials used.

Students must devise their own Charter of Rights.

Other teachers in the group, including myself, Kate Booth, Suzanne Feodoroff and Robert Eaton, have adapted this project to use with our own students. Currently both my Stage 2 and 4 classes are worked together in their island world, and are highly motivated and excited!

One of the best things about Minecraft as an educational tool is the way in which students will peer teach and share knowledge. It is very student centred. Minecraft presents a unique opportunity for Digital Citizenship and community.

iextend student Minecraft projects: The Great Pyramid of Minecraft: http://iextend2013. weebly.com/caiban1.html The Kingdom of Thrall - A Sustainable Village: http://iextend2013. weebly.com/caiban1.html

How you can embed Minecraft in your lesson Lesson Outcomes:

Thinking and Skills: 1. Using multiple-tier timelines to show relationships among events and places Spatial Thinking and Skills: 2. Using globes and other geographic tools to gather, process and report information about people, places and environments.

3. Using latitude and longitude directions to make observations about location and generalizations about climate.

Lesson Objective:

To use Measurement & Data techniques to build a city

Lesson:

1. Introduction (27 mins) Watch YouTube Clip “Introduction to Minecraft” http://www.youtube. com/watch?v=mQVM_djU_X8 2. Minecraft Team Activity Build Aquarium (50 minutes) a. Work in teams of 2 b. Build for 30 minutes c. Build aquarium of specific internal volume = 24 cubic meters (1 block = 1 cubic meter) d. Blocks – use proportions of exactly 1/2 (any material) and 1/2 glass blocks e. Everyone views all of the finished aquariums 3. Reflection (15 minutes) Write a reflection of their experiences on Blog Ed or Classroom Blog *If the suggested times exceed the class time that you can allocate, this lesson can be saved and can be completed over a number of lessons.

The Australian

Education Times TECHNOLOGY TREATS

APPS

An App for Tertiary Students

REVIEW

An App for Primary Students Times Tables Game

Times Tables Game is an App that assists students learn their multiplication tables through multiple choice.

The game is designed in such a way that it challenges to keep practicing and do this math exercises. It awards (good) plays by medals, flowers, smileys and more. Errors are remembered and will be suggested to play again in the next game. This is a free App.

iAnnotate PDF

An App for Secondary Students Evernote Evernote is a digital note pad that you can download onto your phone, iPad, tablet and laptop so your ‘notes to self’ can be transferred to your other devices simply using wifi.

This free App even allows you to record your messages so don’t have to use text, save photos, and create to-do lists.

iAnnotate PDF is an essential App for uni students. iAnnotate PDF lets you highlight your readings in formats of PDF, DOC, PPT and image, so that you can create your summary notes throughout the semester. This free App even allows you to add comments or notes on the text for future reference. This is ideal for undergraduate, postgraduate and research students.

To see this picture come to life, download the app at http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/ ar-xmas/id490644634?mt=8 and point it at the picture

Link to The Australian Curriculum Augmented Reality helps students recognise spatial awareness, use technology and assist with problem solving.

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The Australian

education times Career of the month

Registered

Nurse

Is this career path for you?

M

ostly everyone has heard of Mother Teresa. She is the epitome of human compassion and care. She was the person who made Nursing a nobler profession by caring for people and children all her life.

Nursing is one of the most sought after career in Australia and worldwide.

It also presents a wide range of career opportunities. With the introduction of new technology and research in recent years has turned Registered Nursing as one of the most challenging and exciting in medical field.

Nurse To become a Registered some ve ha to s ed ne to one has but not personal skills which are limited to the ability of: ters • community health cen tals spi ho • public and private ctice pra l era • specialty and gen medical surgeries • aged care facilities • defense forces Royal • primary healthcare and e vic Ser rs’ Flying Docto • industry • research • education

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The Australian Education Times

Educational Qualification: You need to complete a Bachelor of Nursing course which is offered presently by nine Universities in NSW. (Three year full time or the equivalent part-time) To apply for these courses, you need to have completed your HSC with the required subjects and an appropriate Universities Admission Index (UAI) or equivalent. If you don’t have your HSC then you will required to talk directly to the university about other entry pathways such as Tertiary Preparation Courses (TPC) and Special Tertiary Admissions Tests (STAT).

If you are already an Enrolled Nurse, you can apply directly to university and can be granted up to 12 months credit in the degree program. This way, it is possible to complete your nursing degree in only two years.

The courses studied provide a mix of theory and nursing clinical experience in a range of setting such as medical and surgical wards, emergency departments, paediatric wards, operating theatres, mental health units, rehabilitation, aged care facilities, intensive care units and community health.

Job Growth and Opportunities: The opportunities to further your career are unlimited. As a continually growing healthcare profession, the career of Registered Nurse is among the highest in demand.

nally as Graduates work professio gs such as: nurses in diverse settin ters • community health cen pitals hos e vat pri and lic • pub ctice pra l • specialty and genera medical surgeries • aged care facilities • defense forces Royal • primary healthcare and e Flying Doctors’ Servic • industry • research • education

Once you are registered as a nurse, your job prospects are very good with most students gaining employment within the first six months after completion of their course. Most final year nursing students will know if they have a graduate nurse position by December of their final year.

Salary Structure: According to the Australian Bureau of Statistics, “In 2012, full-time nursing and midwifery professionals in nonmanagerial positions earned $1,633.50 per week on average. Enrolled nurses earned on average $1,155.60 per week, with little difference between the earnings of men and women.”

The Australian

education times Test Zone

Selective

High School Entry Test C

ome March and most of the Year 6 students talk about one event. Yes, Selective High School Entry Test.

Selective high schools cater for highly achieving, academically gifted students. These schools can provide intellectual stimulation by grouping gifted and talented students together, concentrating school resources and using specialised teaching methods.

The Selective High School Test Format comprises of four separate tests all administered before lunch: Mathematics

45 questions 40 questions

Break

General Ability

60 questions 1 task (most students seem to write between ¾ to 1½ pages of writing in the time provided.

Reading

Writing Task

40 minutes 40 minutes About 15 minutes 40 minutes

20 minutes

The selective high school testing subjects include: • English (reading and writing): 2/3 of marks come from a reading/ comprehension test and 1/3 from a writing test; • Mathematics: tests students’ abilities in reasoning and problem solving; and • General Ability: similar to an IQ test.

Students are selected on their academic merits measured by their test results, together with the assessment in English and Mathematics based on their school work, which are provided by their primary schools. The total 300 “Profile Scores” are comprised of: • English: 100 scores – 50 marks from the Test and 50 marks from the assessment provided by the student’s school; • Mathematics: 100 scores – 50 marks from the Test and 50 marks from the

assessment provided by the student’s school; and • General Ability: 100 scores from the Test.

Year 7 entry into these schools is determined by the student’s results in the Selective High School Placement Test in English (including reading and writing), Mathematics and General Ability, together with their primary school’s assessment of their performance in English and Mathematics.

As General Ability captures a big part in the test and vocabulary being an important component of that, “The Australian Education Times” strives to help you achieve success in the test. So here is a list of few vocabulary words to get you started.

Escalation of Vocabulary : 1. Abet: (Transitive verb): To help or assist somebody to do something especially something illegal.

2. Egalitarianism (Adjective): Maintaining, relating to or based on a belief that all people are equal and should enjoy equal social, political and economic rights and opportunities.

3. Equitation (Noun): The skills and theory of riding horses.

4. Imperil (Transitive verb): To put something or somebody in danger.

5. Pertinent (Adjective): Relevant to the matter being considered.

The Australian Education Times

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The Australian

education times

Inside Schools

What’s happening in your school?

Helping those in need during our worst bushfires ever

LEAPS

By Sarah Andrews, Rooty Hill High School

Nurturing Democracy

By Darcy Moore, Dapto High School

By Samantha Grande, Rosebank College

L T

he recent bushfires in the Blue mountains had a damaging and far reaching effect as a number of Rosebank College’s students are connected to this area. This, along with the College’s enthusiasm of giving back, led the Rosebank College Principal to declare a whole School Mufti Day in aid of those affected. The Mufti Day was embraced by both students and staff and an overwhelming sum of $12,300 was raised.

Principal, Mr Galea and the College’s student presented the donation to the Vicar for Education, Reverend Chris DeSouza, on behalf of the families who lost their homes to the fires.

aw Firms Encouraging and Assisting Promising Students (LEAPS) is a workplace learning mentoring program where young students are provided with a mentor from a law firm. This year 20 students from our school worked with 20 lawyers from Ashurst & NBN co through lessons on study skills, ethics and career planning. The mentors helped these students to learn appropriate workplace behaviour, set goals for themselves and develop the study skills to achieve those goals.

Each fortnight students go on an excursion into the city prior to meeting their mentors and have discussions at the law firm. At the end of the year students and mentors attend a graduation ceremony where the students make a speech about what they have learnt from the program and their mentor.

S

ince 2011, Dapto High School has implemented a program called Nurturing Democracy in which the Student Representative Council meeting local, state and federal political leaders. These leaders share their time, insights and experiences with students in workshops and presentations.

This year, our school, inspired by the Danish model, had the opportunity to see candidates for the Federal seat of Throsby and to engage in a dialogue. The candidates discussed issues and answered question, following a code of conduct that modelled intelligent, respectful discourse for our students so they could see an appropriate clash of ideas and perspectives.

The buzz during the event and in ‘the sanctuary’, our outdoor space where we gathered informally with the candidates, told me the students were excited and stimulated.

Is your school doing something fabulous? Why not share it with us. Simply write a 200 word article on your event and attach an image (in a jpeg format) and send it to editor@educationtimes.com.au 30 |

The Australian Education Times

The Australian

education times

Science Lab Make a Table Top Hovercraft

Things you need: • An old CD or DVD disc • A 9 inch balloon • A pop-top cap from a water bottle • A hot glue gun • Sticky tape

What to do:

Why does the Moonshine?

H

ave you ever wondered why does the Moon shine? As a matter of fact the Moon is actually very dark. It should not be visible at all and another fact is that it does not produce its own light. If we wonder about these facts, than the answer is quite interesting.

Most people understand that the Moon shines as it reflects the light of the Sun. Well, that’s true!

The real mystery we need to solve is why does that Moon reflect the light at all?

Just like other objects in space, the Moon also has reflective characteristic called “Albedo”.

Albedo is the phenomenon of how well an object reflects light. Certain materials like ice and snow have very reflective albedos whereas land and green plants have very low albedos.

But what is interesting is that the Moon has the same albedo as coal.

The reason why Moon seems so reflective is because it has an opposition effect. This opposition effect signifies that certain types of nonreflective surfaces lose their own shadows when the light source shines directly on them.

The same can be seen on the road at night when the head light hits it; the road seems brighter than it actually is. Moreover, the Moon reflects the shine so well as it has regolith which covers most of its surface.

• Take the cap of the water bottle, cover the centre hole of the CD with a tape and • Make 6 holes with a push-pin. This will help to slow done the flow of the air and let the hovercraft to hover for longer.

• Use the hot glue gun to stick the cap to the centre of the CD or DVD disc. Make sure it is sealed tightly so that no air can escape.

• Blown air in the balloon and pinch the neck to it. Please don’t tie it.

• After making sure that the pop-cap is closed, fit the neck of the balloon over the popup part of the cap. (It’s easier to do this with two people) • So when you are ready to hover off, just put the hovercraft on a smooth surface and pop open the top.

How does it work?

The air flow from the balloon causes a cushion of moving air between the disc and the surface which lifts the CD and reduces the friction and allows the disc to hover freely.

The Australian Education Times

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The Australian

education times Literacy Corner

Persuasive Writing W

hen we are around young children, we are often persuaded by them to get us to do things that they want. The young children persuade their parents to allow them to go to their friend’s house or to let them stay up past their bedtime by saying, “Oh, I will do my homework or I will be good if you let me go to my friend’s place” or “I will eat my veggies if I get another cupcake”.

Yes, most certainly the young children possess the power of persuasion.

What is Persuasive Writing?

Persuasive writing is a part of Informational or Expository genres. It is a form of writing in which the writers uses words in order to convince the reader about his or her own views. It encourages a careful selection of words, develops a sense of logical arguments and puts together an organised and consistent summary of your view. It sometimes involves convincing the

reader to perform an action, or it may simply consist of an argument or several arguments to align the reader with the writer’s point of view. Simply defined, it is “an essay which offers and provides supporting arguments for an opinion.

Why teach Persuasive Writing: Learning to write Persuasive Writing structure helps students communicate their reasons for their opinions and also it gives them an opportunity to do explore facts for their opinions. When Students develop an understanding of the ways writing can influence the thoughts of the readers, they start to understand and appreciate the persuasive nature of marketing which they are exposed to everyday, be it television, internet or print media.

Persuasive form of writing is very often used in the advertising world. It is a type of writing which gets the reader to agree with the position or the argument of the writer. A good persuasive piece of writing

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The Australian Education Times

Some techniques for Persuasive Writing: • Use Rhetorical Questions: Using questions that don’t require an answer will get the audience to think.

• Repetition: Repetition of words and phrases results in sticking them in the minds of the audience.

• Use of emotive language: Make use of words which make the readers sad, angry, happy, upset or guilty.

• Facts and Statistics: Use factual evidence and details to back the point of view of the writer.

• Personal pronouns: Use words like we, you, ours and us, to make the audience think that the writer is talking only to them.

Link o NAPLAN - Persuasive Writing is a fundamental writing task in the Year 3, Year 5 and Year 7 NAPLAN tests.

Persuasive Writing “PEEL” Evaluation

How parents can help with Persuasive Writing:

• Alliteration: Repeating of Consonant sounds makes them stand out, for example: “a culture caused by consumers”

Evidence

Point

is one which is supported with facts, which allows the writer to put forth his or her arguments. As defined by Aristotle, a writer can make his or her claim more believable by appealing to the character.

In this the writer writes with clarity and eliminates any contradictions within the writing. Furthermore, the writer can appeal to the logical aspect of the reader by using the supporting statements in favor of his or her claims. For example, writing a quote. The most important appeal while writing a persuasive piece is to appeal to the emotions of the reader.

This can be achieved by addressing their knowledge of or feelings about the subject written.

Link

The purpose of persuasive writing:

• To persuade the audience to adopt the writer’s point of view.

• To promote a product or service by influencing the thinking of the readers.

• To persuade the positive side of a product or a service.

• To convince the audience what you believe in.

The audience of your persuasive writing:

• People, you want to bring together for a campaign for a change or to stop something.

• Consumers of certain product.

• Person in a position to change things.

• Audience that needs a change in their lifestyle for example benefits of healthy eating.

Structure and organisation:

• Open with a statement of the issue you are addressing and state your point of view.

• Main body structure containing your arguments with reasons and evidence.

• Link the ideas within the text using words such as “consequently, therefore, so, moreover, because”.

• Summarise your views in the end.

Language Feature:

• Use the present tense.

• Use causes and effect, logical connectives.

• Use emotive, technical language and Rhetorical questions.

• Challenge the reader to disagree.

• Use powerful verbs and strong adjectives.

Secrets for successful persuasive writings: PEEL technique.

POINT: Ensure to bring your point of view in the opening statement.

EVIDENCE: Provide evidence to expand upon and support your point of view. The evidence can be statistics, research, findings or quotes.

EVALUATION: Evaluate the merits of your points and the evidence against it , if any.

LINK: Link your paragraphs to give a good flow to your writing.

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The Australian

education times

Magic Maths These types of problems are named Fermi problems, named after the mathematician who made problem-solving popular. When students first see these types of problems, they think that more information is required to solve them. But common sense and practise will help them to work our reasonable solutions. There are some non-routine problems which help and encourage students to think logically, reinforce and extend their understanding on certain concepts and develop strategies which can be applied for problem-solving.

How to teach Problem-solving:

Problem Solving -

Is it a problem?

P

roblem-solving is a mental procedure which involves discovering, analysing and solving given problems. The final aim of problemsolving is to overcome obstacles and to find a solution which could be the best answer for the given problem.

Teaching students how to solve problems can enrich logical reasoning, its helps students to be capable to decide what rule or solution a problem requires, and to develop their own rules when an existing solution cannot be applied.

Problem solving assists and allows the students to develop by experience the complete range of emotions which are associated with different stages of problem-solving.

Why teach problem solving: Mathematics, being a positive science, is mainly built on the induction technique which requires a higher mental process to be understood well. Therefore, problem34 |

The Australian Education Times

solving is a very important way for educating students for life by promoting interest, developing common sense and the sensibility to separate and discard.

In specific terms, it is an approach which encourages flexibility, ability to respond to unexpected situations or situations which don’t have a direct solution and helps to develop persistence to overcome a failure.

Problem-solving helps students to build their own ideas about mathematics and to take accountability for their own learning.

While problem-solving is an important and initial mathematical skill, it is also a very important life skill and helps students by exposing them to a value based education which is essential for their all-round development.

Problem-solving helps students to learn to classify what knowledge is required for certain situations. It encourages students to be resourceful, as some problems do not have enough information.

Teaching how to solve problems in mathematics is teaching what to look for.

Mathematical problems often require established procedures and knowing what and when to apply them. The students have to be familiar with the problem situation and be able to identify procedures and collect the appropriate information.

Planning Problem-solving in For Steps: Look for clues: While reading the problem, read it ca refully and underline the clue wo rds such as sum, in all, perimeter, how much more, difference, exce ed, product, share, distribute, quoti ent, times etc. Understanding wh at needs to be done and what facts are required.

Work out a game plan: The children should be taught to define the game plan, and if they have worked on the same type of problem earlier, what did they do? They should be encouraged to define the strategies and try them out. (Use formulas, simplify, draw a model, intelligent guessing etc.)

Solution: Use the strategies which are worked out, to solve the problem.

Time to Reflect: This part is very important as the children should understand whether the solution they are working on, is probable or not.

Were they able to answer the question and most importantly are they sure about the answer and the solution.

They should be encouraged to use the language of the question to answer and use the same units.

The Australian

education times

Link to Curriculum: HSIE; Typhoons

Evaluation

Synthesis Application Comprehension

Knowledge

Typhoons are a complex topic to cover in the classroom. Here is a practical guide on using Blooms Taxonomy to ensure that all students are developing their critical thinking skills regardless of learning ability

Lower Order Thinking

T

yphoons are hurricanes that occur only in the North West Pacific Ocean.

They begin in warm water (26.5 degrees Celsius) that is at least 50 metres deep. This is because there is considerable amount of energy in these types of bodies of water.

Warm water, when it mixes with cold air, creates a low pressure system. This is the start of that typhoon.

For a typhoon to develop, it needs to be five degrees north of the Equator. That is the optimal location for typhoon development. Because of how precise it is, one would assume that typhoons are rare. However, some scientists suggest that the planet warming is a direct connection to the number of typhoons that a region has.

In the Philippines, typhoons are called “Bagyo”. The deadliest tropical cyclone to impact the Philippines was Tropical Storm Thelma (Uring) which in 1991 caused floods that killed thousands of people. Typhoon Haiyan, which struck six central Philippine islands on Nov. 8, 2013, was also one of the strongest storms on record. It also appears (at these early stages) to be the second deadliest natural disaster ever to hit the island nation.

An example of how to teach Typhoons

Higher Order Thinking

What is a Typhoon?

Each year, hurricane names are assigned in alphabetical order. The list of names is recycled every six years. Find more information about the names of hurricanes and other storms on this www. geology.com page. Try listing the names out of sequence and inviting students to put the list in alphabetical order. (For younger students, you might narrow the list to the first ten [A-J] named hurricanes of the season.)

Complete a Read Aloud activity with Hurricanes: Earth’s Mightiest Storms by Patricia Lauber (Scholastic). Not just another book about “big weather,” this is an amazing work that uses narrative very effectively in weaving the story of these powerful storms. Clearly written and relevant text is combined with impressive photographs and informative maps and illustrations that further enhance this excellent work. (Recommendation source: Science and Children, March 1997.)

Static electricity is stored in rain clouds. When a cloud is so full of static electricity that there’s no room for any more, a spark might leap from the cloud. That spark is called “lightning”! Your students can demonstrate the effects of static electricity. Invite them to try the following simple experiment.

Research. Invite students to learn more about hurricanes. Pose the following questions and see who is the first to come up with the correct answers to all the questions. (You might use this activity as a cooperative group activity.)

Discuss and draw a simple illustration on a board or chart to demonstrate to students the steps of the water cycle: (1.) Energy from the sun changes water to water vapour. (2.) Water vapour rises. It cools and condenses to form clouds. (3.) Winds blow the clouds over land. (4.) Clouds meet cool air, and rain or snow falls to the ground. (5.) Most of the water returns to large lakes and oceans. Next, invite students to demonstrate the water cycle Invite students to compare what happened in the jar to the way the water cycle works? Talk about ways they might speed up the process of evaporation and condensation? How would that compare to a hurricane?

Graphing. Invite students to create bar graphs using weather data.

Link to The Australian Curriculum The weather and seasons of places and the ways in which different cultural groups, including Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Peoples, describe them (ACHGK006) Significant events that connect people and places throughout the world (ACHGK034) The environmental worldviews of people and their implications for environmental management (ACHGK071) The Australian Education Times

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education times

Puzzle POP! Can you spot the five differences in the two pictures? oringal pics attached

Knock your Brains!!!!!

1 2 3

What has four fingers and a thumb, but is not living being?

What runs around the house but does not move?

No matter how much it rains or pours, I can’t get wetter. What am I?

4 5

What goes up and down the stairs without moving?

I am tall when I am young and short when I am old. What am I?

Crazy But True!!!!!

Elephants spend 23 hours a day eating.

Snakes do not have eyelids.

Owls cannot move their eyeballs.

Cats have 32 muscles in each ear.

Cows give more milk while listening to music.

Bears can run as fast as horses.

Crocodiles cannot stick their tongues out.

Dolphins sleep with only one eye closed.

Kangaroos balance with their tails while hopping.

Camels have three eyelids.

Record Of The Month!

World record: Most people wearing wigs Who: Blatchy’s Blues (State of Origin) At State of Origin game two in 2012 Dan Blatch, founder of Blatchy’s Blues, thought he could break a record and in doing so bring attention to the game he loves so much, the team he lives for and the thousands of people that have become his loyal followers. A sea of blue wigs (12,083 to be exact) confirmed his suspicions, and a small army of witnesses sent out to count them confirmed the record. The attempt was heavily supported by the NRL and spurred the Blues on to their only win of the three-game series.

For more info on this record and hundred more, go to www.guinnessworldrecords.com *The answers can be found on the contest page at www.educationtimes.com.au 36 |

The Australian Education Times

The Austrailan

Education Times

Key Dates for your Diary Primary School Student

18 Dec 2013 24 Dec 2013 25 Dec 2013

Last Day of School Deadline for our competition (for full details go to www.educationtimes.com.au) Christmas Day

Secondary School Student

9 Dec 2013 22 Dec 2013 14 Jan 2014 29 Jan 2014

After School Art Program @ Surry Hills Library Stick Rock Candy Demonstration @ The Rocks HSC Credentials issued by mail First Day of Term 1, 2014

TertiarySchool Student

3 Jan 2014 16 Jan 2014 27 Jan 2014

Main Round Offers by UAC Late Round Offers by UAC MUSE 2013, Perth

Parents

31 Dec 2013 10-20 Jan 2014 26 Jan 2014

New Years Eve Prepare school uniforms Australia Day Celebrations

Teachers

19-20 Dec 2013 5-19 Jan 2014 28 Jan 2014

Primary

Secondary

Tertiary

Staff Development Days Cities of Vesuvius for History Teachers @ University of Sydney Staff Development Day

Students

Teachers

Parents

Pencil Case Pencils HB pens Exercise books Ruler Coloured pencils Coloured texters School bag Socks Shoes – normal and sport Uniforms– normal and sport Jackets School hat Raincoat/umbrella Protractor set Compass Calculator Grid paper A4 books Diary Curriculum specific supplies BYOD USB

Day book Whiteboard markers USBs Device Hat (playground duty) Pens Stickers Staples Folders Plastic sleeves Stationery

The Australian Education Times

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The Australian

education times

November in Pictures Melbourne Cup

Congratulations to Fiorente who was this years Melbourne Cup Champion

The Philippines Typhoon On a sadder note, The Philippines were struck with the worst Typhoon ever recorded. Many people are displaced and without food, water or shelter

Melbourne

Cup

Off the field, champions rose amongst the woman in their beautiful attire Link to The Australian Curriculum

Lighting of the Christmas Tree Each year, the City of Sydney Council put up their huge Christmas Tree and invite everyone to watch the lights turn on to commemorate the festive season. This year, the most famous Christmas Tree in the State did not disappoint.

School Spectacular The Schools Spectacular celebrates its 30th year as a platform for showcasing the talents of young triple threats from across New South Wales. It involves approximately 3,600 students from over 400 public schools – with a cast of 2,000 dancers, a choir of 1,300 and an 80-piece full symphony orchestra.

Matildas .v. China What an unbelievable game for our Matildas Team who played at Pertek Stadium against China

Socceroos .v. Costa Rica Socceroos won 1-Nil against Costa Rica in a nail biting game at Alliance Stadium Socceroos .v. Costa Rica (the real champs). Congratulations to local team Glenwood Redbacks Soccer Club who were able to play at half time at the Socceroos game

Did you know that pictures help Year 1 students self-correct when reading does not make sense by using pictures, context, meaning, phonics and grammatical knowledge?

Did you know that pictures help Year 4 students construct suitable data displays, with and without the use of digital technologies, from given or collected data. This include tables, column graphs and picture graphs where one picture can represent many data values?

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Career of the month BeComing a DoCtor

Education Times Issue 1 • November 2013 • www.educationtimes.com.au

Free

SucceSS Story

NOTHING BeATS HArD WOrK!

Ms. Michelle Rowland, MP Federal

OuTsTanding schOOl

German InternatIonal School Test Zone: Beat the hSC examination BlueS

Literacy Corner

Having a tougH time witH Sentence variety?

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