ETAQ E-pistle 6-12
Posted by Garry Collins on March 4, 2012 · Leave a Comment
Membership renewal
Have you yet gotten around to paying your own or your school’s ETAQ membership dues for 2012?
I know that you’re all busy but please move this task to the top of your “to do” list if it hasn’t already been attended to. Our Rules require that membership payments are due on 1 January and after the end of March (that’s now this month!) those who have not paid cease to be members. We’d hate to lose you through procrastination.
Membership renewal invoices were mailed at the end of January. If yours has gone AWOL please contact our Admin Officer, Trish Purcell, at trish.purcell@bigpond.com
Brisbane March seminar
Registrations for the first PD activity in Brisbane for the year are due at the end of this week on Friday 9 March. The seminar is to be held at The Gap SHS on Saturday 17 March. The theme is “Teaching the Australian English Curriculum: Opportunities and Challenges“.
The program/flyer and registration form were included in the most recent mailing but can also be downloaded from the Events Page of the website at http://www.etaq.org.au/?page_id=464. Please be sure to provide information about workshop selections. I hope to see many of you there on St Patrick’s Day.
BlackWords symposium
The University of Queensland’s School of English, Media Studies and Art History, AustLit, and the University of Queensland Art Museum are sponsoring a symposium on 20 October to celebrate five years of work on the BlackWords resource for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander writers and storytellers.
Papers and presentations are invited for this event and expressions of interest should be sent to blackwords@austlit.edu.au by 10 March. A pdf with further info has been posted to the Events Page of the ETAQ website at http://www.etaq.org.au/?page_id=106
Like a free book?
Free copies of a book entitled “More or Less: Democracy and New Media” (edited by Dr Helen Sykes AM of Future Leaders www.futureleaders.com.au) are available for for secondary schools & universities. Contact: helen@futureleaders.com.au.
Talking dirty like Shakespeare
Some members may be interested in investigating this offer which turned up via email from someone named Hollee Temple (hollee_temple@yahoo.com ).
“While substitute teaching in high schools, I often hear teenage students using profanity. I tell them they can only talk dirty if they do so like Shakespeare. A vocabulary expanding Kindle ebook, Talk Dirty Like Shakespeare, is the result of my efforts to inspire students to upgrade to a more noble vocabulary. On March 15, and on the first Saturday of April and May, Talk Dirty Like Shakespeare will be FREE on and Amazon.com. No Kindle? No problem. Simply download the FREE Kindle app for PC, ipad, ipod, android, or blackberry and then buy the book for $0!”
Workshops for AATE national conference
There is still time to submit a proposal for a workshop to be part of this year’s AATE National Conference, “Five Bells” which will be held in Sydney on 3 & 4 October. Proposals can be submitted via the website at http://www.englishteacher.com.au/Events/CallforConferencePapers2012.aspx. A workshop prepared for the national conference could get a trial run at the ETAQ State Conference on 18 August. That’s certainly my personal plan.
Women educators’ conference
The national biennial conference of the Association of Women Educators (AWE) is to be held in Cairns 3-5 July. The theme is “Harnessing Dynamic Wisdom”. Further information including the Call for Presenters is available on the AWE website at http://www.awe.asn.au/drupal/content/biennial-national-conference-care-curriculum-communication-and-career. Session proposals are required by 27 March.
Garry Collins
President, English Teachers Association of Queensland (ETAQ)
Sunday, March 04, 2012