ETAQ E-pistle 14-12
Posted by Garry Collins on May 6, 2012 · Leave a Comment
After-school session on English Communication
There is still time to register for the after-school session on English Communication at Runcorn SHS (in the library) in Brisbane this coming Thursday, 10 May. To allow for the Labour Day public holiday, the deadline for registrations has been extended to 9am on Wednesday.
Timings are: afternoon tea 3:30 – 4:00; presentations 4:00 – 5:45pm. The combined flyer and registration form was included in a recent mailing and can also can be downloaded from the page under the Events tab on the ETAQ website athttp://www.etaq.org.au/?page_id=813.
NAPLAN
A pdf containing a series of papers expressing opposition to NAPLAN has been uploaded to the Discussions Page of the ETAQ website at http://www.etaq.org.au/?page_id=92. The papers have been produced by a group of concerned educators as part of a national “Say NO to NAPLAN” campaign that was launched in Melbourne recently. Members are encouraged to read this material to counter some of the misrepresentations to be found in press coverage.
As part of this “Say NO to NAPLAN” campaign, car stickers reading “NO to NAPLAN” have been produced. The stickers are for sale @ $1 each and are available in lots of 10 plus $1.20 postage. Orders can be sent to Lorraine Wilson at l.m.wilson@bigpond.com. Payment can be effected by cheque or electronic transfer. EFT details are: Bank: ANZ Carlton North; Account Name: Wilson, Lorraine M; BSB: 013-374; Account No: 5697-99435. Cheques could be mailed to: L.Wilson, 81 Amess St, North Carlton Vic.
Brisbane May seminar
If you’re in the Brisbane area don’t forget to register for the seminar to be conducted at Brisbane Grammar School on Saturday 26 May. The theme is “Storytelling and the Power of the Word”. Besides a suite of workshops, there will be two keynote speakers: Professor Pat Buckridge, a literary studies academic from Griffith University, and John Danalis, author and illustrator.
Hard copies of the program and registration form have been mailed and can now also be downloaded from the website at http://www.etaq.org.au/?page_id=768.
Australian Curriculum senior courses
ACARA had planned to release new drafts of senior English courses for the Australian Curriculum for public consultation by the end of April. This release has been delayed but phone advice from the authority is that they may be released this coming week. A session for discussion and feedback is one of the options for the seminar in Brisbane on 26 May and further meetings are planned for the week beginning 4 June. Details will be advised in future E-pistles.
Competitions
Members are urged to encourage suitable students to enter the annual Literary Competition and/or the new Digital Story Competition. Details have been mailed to schools and are also available on the website.
Assistance to attend AATE national conference
Members are reminded that they can apply for financial assistance to attend this year’s AATE National Conference, “Five Bells” which will be held in Sydney on 3 & 4 October, hosted by the English Teachers Association of NSW.
ETAQ will cover the cost of earlybird registration for three members. It is anticipated that registrations will open soon. In return for this assistance, awardees will be required to submit an article for publication in Words’Worth on some aspect of their conference experience and also to participate in a Future Leaders Forum at the conference. One of the three “scholarships” is specially earmarked for early career English teachers (1st 5 years).
If you would like to be considered for one of these awards, send me an email to gazco48@bigpond.net.au outlining your teaching experience and current situation and explaining why you would be a worthy recipient.
Writing about reading for journals
Members should recently have received the first issue for the year of our journal Words’Worth. The National Year of Reading is planned as the focus of the next issues of both Words’Worth and the national AATE journal English in Australia. Copy for Words’Worth should be sent to our Editor, Sue Grotherr, at Sue.Grotherr@calvarycc.qld.edu.au. Details re the national journal can be found on the AATE website at http://www.aate.org.au/. Do you have any journal articles on your CV?
Garry Collins
President, English Teachers Association of Queensland (ETAQ)
Sunday, May 06, 2012