On Thursday 4 July, the day immediately prior to this year’s AATE/ALEA national conference, a selection of full-day masterclasses is being conducted at QUT’s Kelvin Grove campus. If you’re unable to attend the full conference, this would be a great way to capitalize on this national event being conducted in Brisbane.

The offerings are listed on the conference website at http://www.englishliteracyconference.com.au/index.php?id=70&year=1 . All those listed are operating with the exception of the cultural tour. Spaces are available in all groups but especially in: Writing poetry, Storytelling, and Teaching Shakespeare.

A full day PD program including catering costs only $200. Those interested can register and pay via the website.

Literary Competition

Posters and entry forms for the annual literary competition jointly sponsored by ETAQ, QIEU and James Cook University should by now have arrived in your school. The competition is conducted in sections There are categories for short stories and poetry and, for Years 11 & 12, non-fiction prose. There is also a short story section for teachers. Please do whatever you can to encourage talented students writers to enter – and consider entering yourself.

ASFLA conference

Another great PD opportunity for English teachers later in the year is the conference of the Australian Systemic Functional Linguistics Association to be held at the Australian Catholic University’s Melbourne campus 1-3 October (in the second week of the Spring vacation).

Wednesday 2 October is designated Teachers’ Day and will be particularly relevant to the Language Strand of the Australian Curriculum: English. There are also full-day pre-conference institutes on Monday 30 September.

Full information on the conference can be found at http://www.acu.edu.au/about_acu/faculties,_institutes_and_centres/education/schools/victoria/asfla

Session proposals sought for Teachers’ Day     This page also has information for people interested in offering sessions during the Teachers’ Day. Such proposals are required by 31 May.

National Literacy & Numeracy Week (NLNW)

The content of the following message is from Wendy Bean, the NLNW Project Manager (wbean@zeta.org.au )

The Australian Government advises that National Literacy and Numeracy Week has been moved forward this year, and will be held from 29 July to 4 August.  ALEA, AATE and DEEWR will deliver the literacy activities for students across Australia, including the popular Read for Australia on 31 July.

DEEWR is managing the website (which will be live soon) and there will be a range of activities that we hope will engage students. The main event will be the mass simultaneous book read, Read for Australia.  It is hoped that at 2.00pm on 31 July, students in schools across Australia will come together to read the picture book Herman and Rosie by Gus Gordon.

Activity writers sought            While the budget doesn’t provide for paying teachers for writing there are funds for some casual relief days to assist teachers in writing good quality activities for the website. Writers are sought to produce some good quality activities around the picture book Herman and Rosie. Activities are intended to cover early secondary as well
as the primary years. Members interested should contact Wendy Bean at the email address above.

Garry Collins
President, English Teachers Association of Queensland (ETAQ)

Saturday, May 11, 2013

The significantly cheaper earlybird registration period for this year’s AATE/ALEA joint national conference closes this week – Tuesday 30 April. To realise these savings you need to act now.

With the theme “Brave New World: English and literacy teaching for the 21^st century”, the conference will be held in Brisbane at QUT’s Kelvin Grove campus from the evening of Thursday 4^th to Sunday 7^th July, the end of the second week of the winter vacation for EQ schools. The conference proper will be preceded by full-day Masterclasses on Thursday 4 July.

The conference website with information and registration facility is at www.englishliteracyconference.com.au.

I hope to see you at the conference.

Garry Collins
President, English Teachers Association of Queensland (ETAQ)
 
Monday, April 29, 2013

The due date for registrations has been extended to Tuesday 23 April.

Earlybird rego for AATE/ALEA national conference
Another reason to act promptly is that the earlybird registration period for the offering significant discounts closes on Tuesday 30 April.

With the theme “Brave New World: English and literacy teaching for the 21^st century”, the conference will be held at QUT’s Kelvin Grove campus from the evening of Thursday 4^th to Sunday 7^th July, the end of the second week of the winter vacation for EQ schools. The conference proper will be preceded by full-day Masterclasses on Thursday 4 July. The conference website with information and registration facility is at www.englishliteracyconference.com.au.

Resources for the Australian Curriculum
English for the Australian Curriculum is a recent DEEWR funded project in which AATE, ALEA and PETAA have been working with Education Services Australia to produce units of work which have been written by teachers and educators from a range of states, territories and educational settings. These resources are now available online at http://e4ac.edu.au/

Speakers Ink PD event
Members are reminded about the Speakers Ink event previously brought to their attention in E-pistle 4-13. There are still places available. Key details are:

• Title: Write of Passage
• Date: Friday, May 3rd, 2013
• Venue: The State Library of Queensland, Auditorium One and the adjoining Queensland Terrace, Level 2, Southbank, South Brisbane
• Keynote speaker: Pat Flynn – Child’s Play: Strategies for Young Writers
• Other speakers: Jane-Marie Butler - BYWW: Modelling the Bardon Young Writers’ Workshop; Lili Hampel & George Jaksic (OzSpell) and Susan Butler (Macquarie Dictionary) - Let’s Spell it Out: The Spelling Challenge; Tristan Bancks – iCreate: Engaging Students and Unleashing Creativity with Digital Tools; Lindsay Williams - The Write Stuff – Nurturing Student Success in Literacy in the Australian Curriculum: English; Frances Watts and David Legge - Writing with Pictures and Drawing with Words
• Event features: specialist bookstall, book launch, gourmet catering (by Ab Fab Caterers), lucky door prizes, networking opportunities with likeminded colleagues, handouts, ideas to implement at your workplace’ latest news and availability for speaker visits, PD certificate of participation.

Registration & further info: http://www.speakers-ink.com.au/downloads/WriteOfPassageFlyer_2013.pdf
 
Garry Collins
President, English Teachers Association of Queensland (ETAQ)
 
Thursday, April 18, 2013

The due date for registrations is Monday 22 April.

Brave New World national conference 4-7 July
The cut-off date for earlybird registration for this year’s AATE/ALEA national conference is fast approaching – 30 April.

The conference has the theme “Brave New World: English and literacy teaching for the 21^st century” and will be held at QUT’s Kelvin Grove campus from the evening of Thursday 4^th to Sunday 7^th July, the end of the second week of the winter vacation for EQ schools. The conference proper will be preceded by full-day Masterclasses on Thursday 4 July.

The conference website with information and registration facility is at www.englishliteracyconference.com.au. I hope this important event will be strongly supported by ETAQ members.

Assistance to attend the national conference
ETAQ will provide financial assistance to selected members to attend the national conference. This sponsorship is open to 4 members, 2 of whom are to be country members. In addition, one extra award will go to a student member.

The award will cover the cost of earlybird registration plus, in the case of the 2 country members, $200 towards the cost of travel and accommodation. What will be required in return is:

• An article on some aspect of the conference experience for publication in our journal Words’Worth
• Participation in the Future Leaders Forum session at the conference

If you would like to be considered for one of these awards, email me at gazco48@bigpond.net.au explaining your teaching situation and why you think you would be a suitable recipient. So that the earlybird registration can be utilized, applications are required NLT Friday 19 April.

Other things being equal, preference will be given to individual members but those covered by school corporate membership may still apply.
 
Garry Collins
President, English Teachers Association of Queensland (ETAQ)
 
Thursday, April 11, 2013

Some Shakespeare at UQ
This week (4-6 April), the Queensland Shakespeare Ensemble, UQ’s resident professional theatre company, will share the fruits of their training with the public. Dare to Share 2013 is the output of the company’s advanced training, in which the company’s core actors train alongside this year’s apprentices (early-career artists) in voice, verse, movement, acting Shakespeare, rhetoric, language and character work. The result is six scenes (from Othello, Measure for Measure, Hamlet, Taming of the Shrew, Henry VI Part 2, and Julius Caesar). Here are the details:

• Thur-Sat April 4-6
• Geoffrey Rush Drama Studio under the Schonell Theatre, UQ St Lucia
• 7:30pm – show lasts about an hour followed by 15 minute Q&A with the actors
• entry $10 – pay at the door (cash only) or buy tix in advance at http://www.qldshakespeare.org/dare_to_share.html

Brave New World national conference
This is another reminder about this year’s AATE/ALEA national conference which ETAQ is jointly hosting with ALEA Queensland. The theme is “Brave New World: English and literacy teaching for the 21^st century”.

This event will be held at QUT’s Kelvin Grove campus from the evening of Thursday 4^th to Sunday 7^th July, the end of the second week of the winter vacation for EQ schools. The conference proper will be preceded by full-day Masterclasses on Thursday 4 July.

The end of the discounted earlybird registration period on Tuesday 30 April is fast approaching. The conference website with information and registration facility is at www.englishliteracyconference.com.au

Assistance to attend the national conference
ETAQ will provide financial assistance to selected members to attend the national conference.

This sponsorship is open to 4 members, 2 of whom are to be country members. In addition, one extra award will go to a student member.
The award will cover the cost of earlybird registration plus, in the case of the 2 country members, $200 towards the cost of travel and accommodation. What will be required in return is:

• An article on some aspect of the conference experience for publication in Words’Worth
• Participation in the Future Leaders Forum session at the conference

If you would like to be considered for one of these awards, email me at gazco48@bigpond.net.au explaining your teaching situation and why you think you would be a suitable recipient. So that the earlybird registration can be utilized, applications are required NLT Friday 19 April. Other things being equal, preference will be given to individual members but those covered by school corporate membership may still apply.

Garry Collins
President, English Teachers Association of Queensland (ETAQ)
 
Thursday, April 04, 2013

If there has been an oversight, please attend to the matter now. Problems can be sorted out with our Admin Officer Trish Purcell at trish.purcell@bigpond.com . We don’t want to lose you!

Brave New World national conference
I hope you’re planning to attend this year’s AATE/ALEA national conference which ETAQ is jointly hosting with ALEA Queensland. The theme is “Brave New World: English and literacy teaching for the 21^st century”.

This event will be held at QUT’s Kelvin Grove campus from the evening of Thursday 4^th to Sunday 7^th July, the end of the second week of the winter vacation for EQ schools. The conference proper will be preceded by full-day Masterclasses on Thursday 4 July.

Registrations are now open and the discounted earlybird period closes on Tuesday 30 April. The conference website with information and registration facility is at www.englishliteracyconference.com.au

The national conference is hosted in the state only every 8 years so Queensland English teachers should not miss this valuable opportunity.

Assistance to attend the national conference
ETAQ will provide financial assistance to selected members to attend the national conference.

This sponsorship is open to 4 members, 2 of whom are to be country members. In addition, one extra award will go to a student member.

The award will cover the cost of earlybird registration plus, in the case of the 2 country members, $200 towards the cost of travel and accommodation.

What will be required in return is:

• An article on some aspect of the conference experience for publication in Words’Worth
• Participation in the Future Leaders Forum session at the conference

If you would like to be considered for one of these awards, email me at gazco48@bigpond.net.au explaining your teaching situation and why you think you would be a suitable recipient. So that the earlybird registration can be utilized, applications are required NLT Friday 19 April.

Other things being equal, preference will be given to individual members but those covered by school corporate membership may also apply.

Like a chance to win an iPad Mini?
You need to have graduated from pre-service teacher education in 2010 or 2011.

The offer is part of a three year longitudinal study of the effectiveness of teacher education being conducted by Deakin University in partnership with Griffith University, the Queensland Department of Education and Training, the Victorian Department of Education and Early Childhood Development, the Victorian Institute of Teaching, and the Queensland College of Teachers.

The online Teacher Survey is at: http://tinyurl.com/SETE-LTEWS

Teachers who complete the survey will go into the draw to win one of six iPad Minis (WiFi, 16GB). For more information, please contact: phillipa.hodder@deakin.edu.au

Enjoy the Easter break
 
Garry Collins
President, English Teachers Association of Queensland (ETAQ)
 
Saturday, March 23, 2013

If you have previously sent a registration form by email, you should have received an acknowledgement message. If you did not, please contact Trish as your information may have inadvertently been sent to Jim Buckley’s previous email address. Trish has found that a few schools still have this recorded in their systems.

Key details about next Saturday’s event are:

• Date: Saturday 16 March
• Timings: registration from 8:30 am; event concludes at 1:10 pm
• Theme: Reading Teens
• Format: keynote address plus supporting workshops
• Keynote speaker: Professor Len Unsworth, Griffith University
• Venue: Centenary SHS, Moolanda Street, Jindalee
• Program & rego form available at http://www.etaq.org.au/?page_id=464

AATE/ALEA joint national conference
It is hoped that many members are planning to attend the “Brave New World” national conference to be held in Brisbane at QUT’s Kelvin Grove campus over the period 4-7 July (at the end of the second week of the winter vacation for EQ schools).

Full details can be found and registration effected via the conference website at http://www.englishliteracyconference.com.au

The earlybird registration period closes on 30 April. This is the PD event that English teachers should not miss this year.
 
Garry Collins
President, English Teachers Association of Queensland (ETAQ)
 
Sunday, March 10, 2013

• Theme: Reading Teens
• Format: keynote address plus supporting workshops
• Keynote speaker: Professor Len Unsworth, Griffith University
• Program & rego form available at http://www.etaq.org.au/?page_id=464
• Registrations due: this Friday, 8 March
• Inquiries re registration: contact Admin Officer Trish Purcell at trish.purcell@bigpond.com

AGM reminder
Members are again reminded that ETAQ’s 2013 AGM will be held immediately prior to the seminar at Centenary State High School on Saturday 16 March. Start time: 8:45 am.

Please come along to help ensure the necessary quorum. There’s no danger of being “press ganged” into a job you don’t want.

Relevant documents can be found under the “About” tab on the ETAQ website at http://www.etaq.org.au/?page_id=193 :

• Minutes of the 2012 AGM
• Nomination form for the Management Committee
• Secretary’s Report on ETAQ activities during calendar year 2012

Have you renewed your membership?
Renewal invoices were sent about a month ago. If you haven’t received yours (or now can’t find it) please contact Admin Officer Trish Purcell at trish.purcell@bigpond.com

Our Rules state that dues are payable as at 1 January and membership lapses if payment is not made by 31 March. The end of March is fast approaching and we’d hate to lose any of you through personal administrative oversight.

Young Writers Competition
Some members may be interested in the writing competition described below:

“Young Writers asked: What’s the big idea?
Express Media is proud to announce the Young Writers Innovation Prize – a new program of support for young Australian writers, funded by the Copyright Agency Cultural Fund.
This prize is a one-of-a-kind opportunity for young writers, giving them a chance to take a new writing or publishing idea and bring it to life. Writers from all genres and all parts of Australia are encouraged to pitch their idea to Express Media. The idea will need to demonstrate innovation in the field of literature and/or publication. It could include anything; from writing for zines, e-zines, comics, multimedia, websites, live performances, spoken word. If you’re aged under 30 in 2013 and think you’ve got a big idea, we want to hear from you.
Express Media will award a first prize for $4,000 to make the winning project a reality. Second and third prizes of $1,000 and $500 will be awarded respectively, giving them a valuable kick-start to reaching their goals. The key to submissions being short-listed in the prize will be that they show innovation in the outcomes or approach to the project. Applicants are also encouraged to make their project sustainable beyond the initial prize.
 “We know young people have great ideas, because they come to us with them all the time,” says Express Media CEO Joe Toohey. “This is your chance to pitch your own project to us. We want to be excited. We know we will be!”
For more information about the prize, including the guidelines and cover sheet, visit the Express Media website at www.expressmedia.org.au .

Applications close 5pm Friday May 17, 2013
For all media enquiries, contact Express Media Communications Intern Katherine Scott at communications@expressmedia.org.au or Express Media Creative Producer Lefa Singleton-Norton at creativeproducer@expressmedia.org.au or (03) 9094 7890.”
 
Garry Collins
President, English Teachers Association of Queensland (ETAQ)
 
Wednesday, March 06, 2013

Jim was one of our Life Members. He was the association’s Treasurer for twenty years and was also the Admin Officer towards the end of that period.

His funeral notice appeared in today’s Courier-Mail. It reads:

 BUCKLEY, James Patrick (Jim)
Late of Gordon Park, passed away 18^th February, 2013.

Aged 74 years

Father of Michael, Stephen, Bronwyn and Jeffrey. Grandfather to Madison and Brother to Robert and Colleen.

A Mass to celebrate Jim’s Life will be held at St Columba’s Catholic Church, 170 Kedron Brook Road, Wilston, Monday 25^th February 2013 at 11 am, followed by Burial at Nudgee Cemetery.

 
I hope that a good number of ETAQ members will be able to make it to the funeral.

Jim gave much to the association and to the many English teachers who were his friends. He will be sorely missed.
 
Garry Collins
President, English Teachers Association of Queensland (ETAQ)
 
Thursday, February 21, 2013

ETAQ Brisbane seminar Sat 16 March

• Theme: Reading Teens
• Format: keynote address plus supporting workshops
• Keynote speaker: Professor Len Unsworth, Griffith University
• Venue: Centenary SHS
• Program & rego form available at http://www.etaq.org.au/?page_id=464
• Registrations due: Friday 8 March

ETAQ Toowoomba seminar Sat 9 March

• Theme: Digital Pedagogies for the future English Classroom
• Format: keynote address plus supporting workshops
• Keynote speaker: Dr Chris Campbell, University of Queensland
• Venue: Toowoomba Grammar School
• More info: contact Donna Jones at djone236@eq.edu.au

ETAQ Townsville seminar Wed 13 March

• Theme: History of language – The Runic Journey to Shakespeare
• Speaker: Michele Jane
• Venue: Pimlico SHS (Block K)
• More info: contact Heather Fraser at heather@chandlergroup.com.au

Speakers Ink PD event
Members may be interested in this event being conducted by Speakers Ink. Key details are:

• Title: Write of Passage
• Date: Friday, May 3rd, 2013
• Venue: The State Library of Queensland, Auditorium One and the adjoining Queensland Terrace, Level 2, Southbank, South Brisbane
• Keynote speaker: Pat Flynn – Child’s Play: Strategies for Young Writers
• Other speakers: Jane-Marie Butler - BYWW: Modelling the Bardon Young Writers’ Workshop; Lili Hampel & George Jaksic (OzSpell) and Susan Butler (Macquarie Dictionary) - Let’s Spell it Out: The Spelling Challenge; Tristan Bancks – iCreate: Engaging Students and Unleashing Creativity with Digital Tools; Lindsay Williams - The Write Stuff – Nurturing Student Success in Literacy in the Australian Curriculum: English; Frances Watts and David Legge - Writing with Pictures and Drawing with Words
• Event features: specialist bookstall, book launch, gourmet catering (by Ab Fab Caterers), lucky door prizes, networking opportunities with likeminded colleagues, handouts, ideas to implement at your workplace’ latest news and availability for speaker visits, PD certificate of participation.
• Registration & further info: Download Event Flyer and Printable Registration Form

Asia literate teachers
The AEF (Asia Education Foundation) is working on project to produce Illustrations of Practice for AITSL (Australian Institute for Teaching & School Leadership). This involves filming four Asia literate teachers in a range of subject areas.

The Illustration focuses on three things: how teachers use the National Standards, how they approach the studies of Asia in their classes and how they support other teachers. This project is to model the relationship between the Standards and the Asia priority in the Australian Curriculum.

If you’re an “Asia literate” English teacher and are interested in being involved, please contact me at gazco48@bigpond.net.au and I’ll pass on your name. If not yourself, perhaps you have a colleague who would fit the bill.

AGM reminder
Members are reminded that ETAQ’s 2013 AGM will be held immediately prior to the seminar at Centenary State High School on Saturday 16 March. Please come along to help ensure the necessary quorum. Relevant documents can be found under the “About” tab on the ETAQ website at http://www.etaq.org.au/?page_id=193 :

• Minutes of the 2012 AGM
• Nomination form for the Management Committee
• Secretary’s Report on ETAQ activities during calendar year 2012

Garry Collins
President, English Teachers Association of Queensland (ETAQ)
 
Wednesday, February 20, 2013